Yep.
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Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Yep.
John
Well-Known Member
I just spoke to her and it was an issue with the payment not showing up....as I said I wasnt going to automatically assume someone changed it thru an error in the system. I repeat it was not someone other then her that cancelled the reservation.
wannab@dis
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the update.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Just to be clear there is no parsing of language. When you purchase DVC it is an asset. There is no arguing that point, its a fact and not dishonest at all for Disney to call it that. Whether you think buying into DVC is a good decision or a wise investment is highly subjective. For Disney to sell it to you by implying it's an investment which will likely appreciate in value would be shady. I've never heard a DVC sales person make that claim, but every sales person is different so it's possible some do. I'm also not sure that your 2 friends are a large enough sample size to say "most" purchasers think they are buying a traditional timeshare. I know 2 other people besides myself who knew exactly what they were buying when they bought DVC so if we combine our samples it's down to 40%, not most
. I am sure there are many people that buy in on a whim or as an impulse buy without getting all of the facts, but I don't think it's most people (especially when you are talking about a serious cash outlay).
GoofGoof
Premium Member
It's not the first time and I'm sure not the last
Sounds like something different than what I thought you were talking about. They just recently started a special for add on points for current owners via a webcast.
While I'd love to spend a MAGICal Friday night here and am lacking in time, I just had a rather bizarre and weird and typical-for-me experience involving the FBI.
OK, no, it wasn't involving me directly. More something I witnessed, which plays into everything I've been talking about regarding surveillance and why technology is a bad thing because it tracks you anywhere if the government or individuals within or powerful folks in companies want to go after you, to know your every move.
The problem here was the group in a SoFla burger joing that starts with Fudd and ends with ruckers was being tracked by three of the most obvious FBI agents I had ever seen in my life. Imagine a bad movie from about a decade ago with the guys wearing sunglasses indoors at 6 p.m. on a cloudy/dark day ... imagine one wearing a Tommy Bahama type casual button down the front shirt and a hat etc.
The group they were surveiling was also like a stereotype -- folks looked like they were born in the 1940s, snowbirding here and connected to some organized crime in the NYC/NJ or Boston areas ... the women had big hair, the men had leather jackets and jewelry ... they were loud and flamboyant (not in the fanboi way, either).
The only thing they didn't have, though, was not one of the six people (three couples, one who got a very pricey watch as a gift) was carrying a smartphone or tablet. Nothing that big old USA FBI (the folks who can't protect us when they need to) could use discretely from a distance, even one of many miles. So they had to do it the old-fashioned way and man, was it bad. It was like spotting the 'mark' in a theme park show who is pretending to be a tourist in the crowd and gets pulled into the action.
Yes, it was THAT bad.
To make matter worse, I didn't notice things at first. Well, I noticed the flamboyant marks, but not the agents. One who was sitting with his back to me.
While he was while pretending to be playing with his own smart phone, I happened to engage in a conversation with my companions where I discussed whether it was possible my phone calls could be monitored by the FBI (I've worked in China, speak regularly to important people across the globe including an official in Europe today, often use words like '9/11' and 'Obama' on the phone, and have ed off plenty of people with considerably more power than the people I gleefully off here daily). Again, no clue what was going on 4-6 inches behind me (no fanboi jokes here, please). But my topic clearly spooked the agent behind me who got up, and moved to another table a ways away to continue monitoring the group (he also had a man purse that didn't fit the look, so I assume he had equipment in there).
As soon as he had to move, Agent #2 moved in closer and gave a dirty look to our table. ... Hell, we even got some dirty looks from two of the women at the 'evildoers' table because they damn well knew they were being watched and didn't want us to blow the cover of Agents Larry , Moe and Curly because then they might have to deal with watchers they weren't so aware of.
The point, here, beyond the bizarre incident (phone call incoming @Lee) was that if those folks just had those amazing (let's all kneel and pray to the Cult of Jobs) iPhone5s on them, then they could have been spied on in a less intrusive, less in your face and, yes, waaaay less obvious manner. Oh, and cheaper too.
Again, I know all you techies are going to say the train is out of the station, but clearly it only is if you allow it to be. If you don't buy products that track your every move, then you do have a leg up.
Technology allows us to be followed and tracked in ways we couldn't have even imagined in Y2K.
Just a strange burger incident. .... But, man, I have to say I wanted to walk over to one of the agents and say simply 'Dude, with my tax dollars you damn well shouldn't be so obvious.'' I was talked out of said move by my more level-headed companions.
Y'all have nice Friday nights and I'll be back a little later ...
OK, no, it wasn't involving me directly. More something I witnessed, which plays into everything I've been talking about regarding surveillance and why technology is a bad thing because it tracks you anywhere if the government or individuals within or powerful folks in companies want to go after you, to know your every move.
The problem here was the group in a SoFla burger joing that starts with Fudd and ends with ruckers was being tracked by three of the most obvious FBI agents I had ever seen in my life. Imagine a bad movie from about a decade ago with the guys wearing sunglasses indoors at 6 p.m. on a cloudy/dark day ... imagine one wearing a Tommy Bahama type casual button down the front shirt and a hat etc.
The group they were surveiling was also like a stereotype -- folks looked like they were born in the 1940s, snowbirding here and connected to some organized crime in the NYC/NJ or Boston areas ... the women had big hair, the men had leather jackets and jewelry ... they were loud and flamboyant (not in the fanboi way, either).
The only thing they didn't have, though, was not one of the six people (three couples, one who got a very pricey watch as a gift) was carrying a smartphone or tablet. Nothing that big old USA FBI (the folks who can't protect us when they need to) could use discretely from a distance, even one of many miles. So they had to do it the old-fashioned way and man, was it bad. It was like spotting the 'mark' in a theme park show who is pretending to be a tourist in the crowd and gets pulled into the action.
Yes, it was THAT bad.
To make matter worse, I didn't notice things at first. Well, I noticed the flamboyant marks, but not the agents. One who was sitting with his back to me.
While he was while pretending to be playing with his own smart phone, I happened to engage in a conversation with my companions where I discussed whether it was possible my phone calls could be monitored by the FBI (I've worked in China, speak regularly to important people across the globe including an official in Europe today, often use words like '9/11' and 'Obama' on the phone, and have ed off plenty of people with considerably more power than the people I gleefully off here daily). Again, no clue what was going on 4-6 inches behind me (no fanboi jokes here, please). But my topic clearly spooked the agent behind me who got up, and moved to another table a ways away to continue monitoring the group (he also had a man purse that didn't fit the look, so I assume he had equipment in there).
As soon as he had to move, Agent #2 moved in closer and gave a dirty look to our table. ... Hell, we even got some dirty looks from two of the women at the 'evildoers' table because they damn well knew they were being watched and didn't want us to blow the cover of Agents Larry , Moe and Curly because then they might have to deal with watchers they weren't so aware of.
The point, here, beyond the bizarre incident (phone call incoming @Lee) was that if those folks just had those amazing (let's all kneel and pray to the Cult of Jobs) iPhone5s on them, then they could have been spied on in a less intrusive, less in your face and, yes, waaaay less obvious manner. Oh, and cheaper too.
Again, I know all you techies are going to say the train is out of the station, but clearly it only is if you allow it to be. If you don't buy products that track your every move, then you do have a leg up.
Technology allows us to be followed and tracked in ways we couldn't have even imagined in Y2K.
Just a strange burger incident. .... But, man, I have to say I wanted to walk over to one of the agents and say simply 'Dude, with my tax dollars you damn well shouldn't be so obvious.'' I was talked out of said move by my more level-headed companions.
Y'all have nice Friday nights and I'll be back a little later ...
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
-
Ah yes...a wonderful read. Thank you for this!
I was thinking about maybe sharing this here, but assumed most had already seen it.
I am glad you posted the link, as it is a great couple of stories he tells.
Tony has such interesting stories...
Even back in his youth, Tony was speaking out when he knew something was not right. The example in the article above i refer to is his tenture as a lead at the ice cream shop. Read it and enjoy....
A rebel at heart...even then!
A pic to share, since we are talking about Mr. B again....
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
This is quite possibly the funniest thing I've read in days. Excellent work.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Are you absolutely sure it wasn't you that they were tracking? You know the old saying...Hide in plain sight!
dhall
Well-Known Member
Typically, changes to primary records are tracked in a separate table in the database to some level: you'll usually have the ID of the user making the change and the date & time that changes were made. Being able to roll back changes is a frequently implemented feature, but not always. Generally this is stuff that the IT folks can use -- it is rarely exposed to end users.
This is all a feature that the customer has to ask for and include in the project plan and if there's any customization at all, pay for. Many times, price sensitive customers will turn it off or leave it at bare minimums.
If Disney has included audits in the system, it's probably one of the key tools they're using to figure out what's going on.
dhall
Well-Known Member
Still, though -- correctly assigning money received (assuming it was received, of course) to the correct customer is a fairly critical feature.
dhall
Well-Known Member
I think that's why they choose that particular establishment -- they know that any bugs they see are really just bugs.
The one on Federal or are there more than just that one left?
Topic to ponder this weekend as winter finally arrives in FL:
Spoke at length with a very well-respected industry insider (more on the entertainment end, not the theme parks) earlier and he helped me view NGE/MM+ in a way that I admit, while sorta obvious now, I hadn't before.
Namely, we've all talked about Bob Iger and his legacy with Disney. How it will be all about being a buyer ... someone who sought out and acquired the creative content/IP of other great names -- Pixar, Marvel and Lucas (we'll leave out Avatar because I have hard time calling it great and Disney is licensing the rights IF the project ever comes to fruition). Under Iger, there is no doubt that Disney will have created less IP of its own than at any time since the 1970s.
Now, how does that play into NGE and MM+? Glad you asked.
Simple. By creating the technological tracking/datamining/planning system/tools, Disney is pinning all its hopes in O-Town on simply exploiting existing IP. What it already has in the parks. What has already been built whether in 1975, 1982, 1990, 2003 etc.
Despite all the amazing IP Disney has spent a collective $15 billion for because Iger is smart enough to value content and buy it, using it is another matter. That content is product. Now, look at WDW with NGE and MM+. It's all about redistributing/mining existing content/product.
There's no need in this model to actually put new product in the parks despite the spending spree The Weatherman has been on since taking over in late 2005.
As my friend put it ''Next Gen has become little more than a vehicle for distributing content or product that already exists. From the standpoint of a consumer, it is a scheme to reap added revenue from existing product by creating the illusion of heightened demand and presenting that parkgoer with a more limted and limiting experience.''
The word 'governing' came up frequently and if you think about it, the whole idea of MM+ is governing your day at WDW by structuring it like never before.
The question that my friend asked (speaking to his background) ''Do people pay for the cable that comes into their homes or the content that it delivers?''
Disney is better heavily that people are in essence paying for what is that cable.
Spoke at length with a very well-respected industry insider (more on the entertainment end, not the theme parks) earlier and he helped me view NGE/MM+ in a way that I admit, while sorta obvious now, I hadn't before.
Namely, we've all talked about Bob Iger and his legacy with Disney. How it will be all about being a buyer ... someone who sought out and acquired the creative content/IP of other great names -- Pixar, Marvel and Lucas (we'll leave out Avatar because I have hard time calling it great and Disney is licensing the rights IF the project ever comes to fruition). Under Iger, there is no doubt that Disney will have created less IP of its own than at any time since the 1970s.
Now, how does that play into NGE and MM+? Glad you asked.
Simple. By creating the technological tracking/datamining/planning system/tools, Disney is pinning all its hopes in O-Town on simply exploiting existing IP. What it already has in the parks. What has already been built whether in 1975, 1982, 1990, 2003 etc.
Despite all the amazing IP Disney has spent a collective $15 billion for because Iger is smart enough to value content and buy it, using it is another matter. That content is product. Now, look at WDW with NGE and MM+. It's all about redistributing/mining existing content/product.
There's no need in this model to actually put new product in the parks despite the spending spree The Weatherman has been on since taking over in late 2005.
As my friend put it ''Next Gen has become little more than a vehicle for distributing content or product that already exists. From the standpoint of a consumer, it is a scheme to reap added revenue from existing product by creating the illusion of heightened demand and presenting that parkgoer with a more limted and limiting experience.''
The word 'governing' came up frequently and if you think about it, the whole idea of MM+ is governing your day at WDW by structuring it like never before.
The question that my friend asked (speaking to his background) ''Do people pay for the cable that comes into their homes or the content that it delivers?''
Disney is better heavily that people are in essence paying for what is that cable.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Thought I'd post this. A lot of great stuff in here. We need to go back to that.
Thanks Michael Crawford of Progress City U.S.A. for putting this up!!
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Perhaps they can get people to stay later at DAK by recommending that you watch Fantasmic! from in front of the Tree of Life. This is gold!OK, so I was playing around this morning with the mostly-useless-at-this-point (OK, you can make ADRs) My Experience "app." Where I'm imagining FP+ will eventually live there is a description of "reminders" you can set for stuff like Illuminations.
I'm headed down in a week or so to check out the Flower & Garden fest and the new Food & Wine offerings, so I took a glance at the Illuminations page, and voila! I see now how Disney is planning on keeping crowd levels stable for stuff like fireworks and parades. I'm confident that having folks view Illuminations from WL will definitely help me in obtaining a good spot alongside the WS lagoon, which IMHO feel is a better spot than the Nature Trail... no dissing intended, mr/mrs App Developer... keep up the great work!
Alektronic
Well-Known Member
Great video. Bring back Dick Nunis!! I still see him in the parks once in a while.
Alektronic
Well-Known Member
Like I have been saying, when you use outside contractors you lose a lot of quality. Probably the people who are writing this have never been to WDW before, and there is obviously no quality control.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
I miss Michael Eisner.
His philosophy was "if there's money to be made, TWDC should be the ones making it". I wonder if you'd see so many outside contractors if he didn't turn into "bad Eisner" and get booted out.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
They seriously need to hire some quality control people in general. This is just another example of the lack of attention to detail that seems to be the norm now. Wasn't WDW built with extreme attention to detail as it's trademark in the first place? They could use some employees whose sole job is pointing out the obvious issues and suggesting simple ways to fix them. There are more than a few people around here who would be perfect for the job...