Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[flynnibus]

Can a layperson, such as yours truly, access these reports for a bit of light reading?

He's just referring to WDW1974's posts - http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ons-ii-nge-baxter.859440/page-65#post-5328826 and the few after that

DIS has a lot more people posting about using the app and wifi in the parks.. with less than steller results.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I don't know if I can post a link to this or not. There is a thread on the Dis where someone is having a privacy issue with My Disney Experience. The OP logged into her account and tried to add her reservation, but now she is is seeing someone's personal information. The OP says she can see EVERYTHING about this person including the home address.

#LimitedTimeIdentityTheft

Seriously, after the Human Centipede/iTunes episode, I'm looking forward to how the South Park guys treat these privacy concerns.

 

[Todd H]

The main thing I've noticed about MM+ the last few days...the readers are down A LOT. Most of the time the CMs are having to swipe the cards like they usually do.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The official company answer: everyone has their personal favorite rides (must do rides). For 95% of people tea cups is not in the top 3. For those other 5% they can now reserve a spot on their favorite ride in advance and be guaranteed not to have to wait in line. It was really hard for me to type that with a straight face. The real answer IMHO, which has been referenced around here by many, is they are creating a larger inventory of FP+ reservations so when the popular rides run out you still get something. There is no reason to have FP for this ride so that's the only logical answer.

The thing is, for those 5%, the teacups may be their favorite ride but I doubt it was ever prioritized more than Peter Pan's Flight, even if it was 10th on their list. They knew that they can get on the teacups in 15 minutes at noon on New Year's Eve.

 

[George]

Thanks for the info. I had read the posts in here..I suppose I was dreamily and unrealistically awaiting a link to some mythical website that detailed the crapulence of this idea. I'll give that website 8.74 days before appearing. It occurs to me that the problem with EMHs, the after hours parties (which could simply take place from time to time and be available to those in the park willing to stay up late), seeing someone else's info whilst making ADRs are all tied into Disney already making what was a relatively simple vacation experience too complicated. Maybe they'll have to simplify a few things to get this investment to work. Hey, a guy can always fantasize, right?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Belowthesurface said: ↑

Random thought...

I observed the Mad Tea Party queue today and it never went above 10/15 minutes.

Can anyone please present the logic that this ride needs a Fastpass? Honestly, SOMEONE convince me why this is a good idea.

Which reminds me... please document the Mad Tea Party now before it is over complicated with a brand new queue, touch points and merge point. Say goodbye to that simple, small and EFFICIENT footprint.

Once again, SOMEONE convince me why this is a good idea.



Sorry, I'll take a stab and tell you I can't convince you. I'm not a liar or a corporate shill and, therefore, there is no way I can find for why FP should exist on many of the attractions it already is on, let alone messing with something that has worked just fine the way it is since 1971.

It's stupidity and it will make almost every attraction at every park a hassle and create the very lines it aims to eliminate (well, that and the new revenue stream).

But I have a question for you: do you enjoyed baking?

This goes against my previous post, but it's mainly because the Mad Tea Party isn't the best example. If Disney was creating the "option" for every attraction to run Fastpass on an as needed basis, I would support it. Attractions like Pirates, it's a small world, and Haunted Mansion have days where the wait will exceed 30 minutes for several hours of the day. During these days, I have absolutely no problem with Fastpass being available. To the opposite end, I was in the Magic Kingdom at 3:00 PM on September 4th or 5th of this year and I walked onto Space Mountain with absolutely no wait. On days like this, they can also shut off Fastpass for marquee attractions.

I don't think Mad Tea Party ever reaches waits of 30 minutes or more, and if it does, I would expect it to be isolated to under 2 hours on the busiest of days.

 

[RSoxNo1]

More on the NGE test:

<<It was funny seeing all the execs and project team squirreling away in a conference room "bunker" at the Studios Feature Animation building over the last few days. They want these RFID devices to interconnected to everything, but ultimately have no analog backup. The legacy systems it connects to have these elements shoehorned in. On top of that many of the back of house systems it is communicating with Anaheim does not have. If they implement it domestically it will cost so much more capital. >>

We were joking at the time, but I know when talk of this was first ramping up, a few of us said, "Don't worry, Disney's website is awful and they have yet to prove they can get something like this working correctly."

 

[Todd H]

Also, the app and wifi are about useless. The app's wait times never match with what is posted at the ride and the wifi is awful. Eventually just stopped using both.

 

[Darth Sidious]

I am just about to place you on my ignore list, which I've never done to anyone. I may agree with you much of the time, but I feel you are extremely disingenuous on datamining and NGE and while it isn't my job to tell people to read between the lines, that's exactly what needs to be done when dealing with someone who always wants to defend a corporation.

The police and local authorities are protecting me from my idiot neighbor (not that I have one, thankfully). See, in the USA, individuals have to follow rules and regulations and laws. Corporations basically make up what they will and won't do unless the big, bad, evil government (I could take people's angst so much easier if they were protesting in the streets against the Patriot Act, the TSA or the Wall Street bailout) FORCES them to do so.

The fact you bring up civil court verdicts is laughable. An individual going up against a corporate entitity has virtually no chance at any semblance of justice. But you'd blame them ... you sound like the type that believes Wall Street didn't cause the economic collapse with its Ponzi like structure and selling of derivatives and credit default swaps and other BS 'products', but that people buying $600,000 homes when they could only afford $200,000 homes did.



No, I have. You just chose to ignore it because it doesn't fit your pro-business bias. ... I said that ALL cruise ships that make port in the USA should have to be regulated by this country and follow standards that are set out by maritime safety experts that aren't part of the cruise lobby. ... I'm sorry, but I just don't trust officials in the Bahamas as much as our own.

I'm glad you are so quick to brush aside civil claims as largely stupid. I guess people never get damaged due to the negligance and avarice of others and corporations and should just 'butch up and deal with it' ... I'm sure that's exactly what you'd do if you were in their shoes. It shows so clearly in your personality here.



For Wall Street and Big Business it absolutely would!

I graduated with a degree in finance and can say the financial meltdown was just plain stupidity. The industry, from my perspective, is filled with those who don't get it and fake their way/shmooze their way to the top. The giant idiots that I went to school with, watched cheat their way by and subsequently watched them land a cozy job with a big firm are a huge part of the problem. They see one thing, $ and at a total disregard to others. The government was part of the issue during the meltdown as well but they won't ever admit that. However as you stated the main culprits are the idiot financiers who were warned of the risk but proceeded anyway.

If anyone here would like to try and explain to me how guarantors of mortgages can invest in the same mortgages, I'm all ears. Not to mention their investing in the more risky sub prime mortgages, that were so risky, they themselves wouldn't 'insure' them. Couple that with their implied (and eventually true) quasi governmental status, which allowed these firms to take out loans at government rates since the banks saw them as implicitly government backed entities. So in finality you had guarantors, taking out loans (risk for themselves and the bank) at low rates, investing said money in the riskiest of investments, all while backing the rest of the mortgages, whilst still investing in those too. It was quite easy to see all that investment in sub prime mortgages would need was a natural downturn in the business cycle to cause defaults. Once those mortgages defaulted the guarantor and other investors started taking a huge hit. The situation snowballed into a majority of defaults, harming the guarantor financially. Now when normal, less risky mortgages were defaulting, they could no longer insure them. See how contagion works... everyone played their role and nobody cared beforehand because they were making the big bucks.

 

[thehowiet]

If these reports are true, it sounds like MM+ is working out just fine and that we don't have anything to worry about....

 

[bubbles1812]

Also, the app and wifi are about useless. The app's wait times never match with what is posted at the ride and the wifi is awful. Eventually just stopped using both.

Just curious, do you have to be connected to the park wifi for the the app to work correctly in the park? Maybe I just got lucky but I had good service and nearly full bars the entire time I was in the parks and even on rides. (My service is Verizon just fyi). I tried once to get on the wifi and it seemed like an exercise in futility. Not that I'd have used the Disney app anyways but was just wondering.

 

[Todd H]

No you can use it with your carrier's service. I eventually just used AT&T's LTE instead of wifi. Still, the app wait times with either weren't accurate at all.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Also, the app and wifi are about useless. The app's wait times never match with what is posted at the ride and the wifi is awful. Eventually just stopped using both.

I really wonder what Disney wa thinking when deciding how much capacity to build. Did they think it would just be one person per party checking their app?

Just curious, do you have to be connected to the park wifi for the the app to work correctly in the park? Maybe I just got lucky but I had good service and nearly full bars the entire time I was in the parks and even on rides. (My service is Verizon just fyi). I tried once to get on the wifi and it seemed like an exercise in futility. Not that I'd have used the Disney app anyways but was just wondering.

Wi-Fi is not required, but it has the advantage of typically being less battery intensive (but that means you need to have a good connection). Wi-Fi is also a means of using the system without paying through the nose for data (doubly true for international guests). A properly implemented system should be clear choice over using cellular.

 

[GoofGoof]

The thing is, for those 5%, the teacups may be their favorite ride but I doubt it was ever prioritized more than Peter Pan's Flight, even if it was 10th on their list. They knew that they can get on the teacups in 15 minutes at noon on New Year's Eve.

Yeah. I totally agree. Anyone who has been to WDW would realize that. There may be some uninformed guests visiting for the first time or for the first time in a long while who don't realize it. Tea Cups is probably a bad example, but a ride like PIrates which as you said rarely has a wait over 30 mins will probably still be semi-popular for FP+ since families with little boys who love the movies may book it for that reason. Little Mermaid may be the same for little girls.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Also, the app and wifi are about useless. The app's wait times never match with what is posted at the ride and the wifi is awful. Eventually just stopped using both.

That actually hasn't been my experience at all. I have found the wait times app to be dramatically improved on my trips in September and January.

 

[thehowiet]

Also, if someone uses my personal information due to it being visible to them on the My Disney Experience website, will I be able to hold Disney accountable, or should I just "cry a bloody river" because Disney did the best that they could and sometimes things just happen?

 

[bubbles1812]

I really wonder what Disney wa thinking when deciding how much capacity to build. Did they think it would just be one person per party checking their app?


Wi-Fi is not required, but it has the advantage of typically being less battery intensive (but that means you need to have a good connection). Wi-Fi is also a means of using the system without paying through the nose for data (doubly true for international guests). A properly implemented system should be clear choice over using cellular.

Ah. I get unlimited data each month for 30.00 a month because was grandfathered in to the new Verizon data pricing program. They don't offer unlimited anymore but I still have it up until the point I get a new phone... Which means I won't ever get a new phone again But thankfully using data up is one concern I don't have to have right now.

I never honestly had much trouble with low battery in the parks. I did bring an external portable charger but I only used it once and that was the day that I spent the whole day in MK.

I know Disney is trying to get more wifi in the parks but it is pretty clear they have a long way to go. Isn't exactly guest friendly of the connection drops every two minutes.

 

[ParentsOf4]

If these reports are true, it sounds like MM+ is working out just fine and that we don't have anything to worry about....

Software and deployment problems are to be expected for something of this magnitude. If executives at Disney thought this was going to go smoothly, they were only fooling themselves, which is possible since this is not the usual type of R&D project Disney typically deals with.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion on MM+, it is incredibly complex. Disney is integrating all transactions into a single system. It's an enormous project. It's going to have problems. Things are not going to work the way they want and they are going to have to come up with alternate plans.

Given the scope of what they are trying to accomplish, it will be impressive if MM+ is only a few months behind schedule. If MM+ ends up only being six months behind, IMHO they would have done a pretty good R&D job.

The scariest part is they are exposing real "guest" data to potential identity theft. That is bad.

 

[Todd H]

A

That actually hasn't been my experience at all. I have found the wait times app to be dramatically improved on my trips in September and January.

App says Mermaid time 60 minutes. Sign in front says 35 at the moment.

 

[thehowiet]

Software and deployment problems are to be expected for something of this magnitude. If executives at Disney thought this was going to go smoothly, they were only fooling themselves, which is possible since this is not the usual type of R&D project Disney typically deals with.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion on MM+, it is incredibly complex. Disney is integrating all transactions into a single system. It's an enormous project. It's going to have problems. Things are not going to work the way they want and they are going to have to come up with alternate plans.

Given the scope of what they are trying to accomplish, it will be impressive if MM+ is only a few months behind schedule. If MM+ ends up only being six months behind, IMHO they would have done a pretty good R&D job.

The scariest part is they are exposing real "guest" data to potential identity theft. That is bad.

I agree with you on all accounts. I was mostly referring to the report of someone allegedly being able to see another person's information.

If the reports about the less than stellar results from the AKL test are true, it will be interesting to see how quickly they get this all worked out. I'm also assuming that since they went with CM's for this test that they were expecting some serious issues to occur from the start. I would love to see the project management schedule for this system rollout.