Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[Funmeister]

Hearing this really makes me want to hide "my" Magic Band in a ride vehicle to throw off their stats. Now that I think about it...

What happens if they track it at the bottom of Rivers of America? Do they call an alpha unit? What happens if they track it in a backstage area? Do they call security?

How does the company plan to handle "false alarms" if it is used for individual tracking?

 

[luv]

I guess the short term answer is to get an RFID blocking wallet and to put your park ticket in there. Pay for things in cash. Buck the system.

This is exactly what I did. I spent $20 and got myself a little wallet from a company called IDstronghold. It's change-purse size and holds my license and credit cards as well as park passes. It is RFID protected. It isn't Dooney & Bourke cute, but it's cute enough, I guess.

I got it to protect against those scanner things, but it works for park tickets, too.

Problem solved.

 

[FigmentJedi]

At this point, who cares?

They've been cockteasing the idea of the Hatbox Ghost returning ever since Disney saw marketing potential in the character and started dangling merch of him like a catnip mouse in front of the park nerds and realized they could do the same thing with Dreamfinder and to a smaller extent, the Orange Bird.

The Orange Bird coming back was a way for Disney to buy some love from nostalgic park fans and actually make the idea of selling Orange Bird stuff feel a little more legit then just pandering to 70s-era visitors. Hatbox Ghost's return would serve a similar function, plus he's going to be the star of Del Toro's movie so bringing him back has greater purpose. This of course only leaves one "Removed Disney Park Character" cat toy left...

 

[JenniferS]

Hearing this really makes me want to hide "my" Magic Band in a ride vehicle to throw off their stats. Now that I think about it...

What happens if they track it at the bottom of Rivers of America? Do they call an alpha unit? What happens if they track it in a backstage area? Do they call security?

How does the company plan to handle "false alarms" if it is used for individual tracking?

Now this sounds like fun. Better than searching for Hidden Mickeys.

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974 most of what you were quoting and paraphrasing is what we've known all along. You're just now seeing the big scary terminology being elaborated in techicnical terms.

I'm a bit concerned tho how you admit to not understanding a good bit of it yet feel confident to stroke new fears.

The ideas of mesh networks and location are not new nefarious levels of detail in the tracking that has been discussed from the start.

It's a little different, though, when you see the words and the terms in black and white coming from Disney themselves.

You know, Flynn, I'll likey never understand the tech in any way close to you. Hell, I bet I still have a pair of VCRs out in the garage that are blinking 12:00. I am not a techie. But I can comprehend concepts such as datamining and privacy. I also got chills seeing the word 'agenda' tossed around so often. Worse, the gut feeling I had when I read in docs related to the NGE project the phrase ''field experiment'' to refer to people's vacations at WDW. What exactly are they doing here? What's the purpose? It certainly isn't to out-do the competition in the O-Town theme park wars because they're not participating as of yet (check back in four or five years).

 

[HMF]

She is WDI portfolio leader for TPFKaTD-MGMS and EPCOT. In essence, though, she is WDI's top dog in FL right now.

Jacobson doesn't even bother to leave Glendale to stay onsite in the park he oversees last I heard. His job must be just to be on the phone with Show Producers in Orlando giving them advice/orders while sitting in an office in Glendale.

 

[WDW1974]

In some actual news from D23, look who Micechat found at the Imagineering pavilion.

Such a shock (considering the email Disney sent me to buy a tee of him!) ...this is the kind of stuff that shuts the fanbois/lifestylers/addicts up so they don't question anything like ...NGE or the sad state WDW is in.

 

[WDW1974]

DHS 3-d show in Star Wars land?

Distinctly possible says I ...

 

[Turtle]

Distinctly possible says I ...

Will Muppet-Vision die in this plan?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Such a shock (considering the email Disney sent me to buy a tee of him!) ...this is the kind of stuff that shuts the fanbois/lifestylers/addicts up so they don't question anything like ...NGE or the sad state WDW is in.

Orange bird all over again.

 

[HMF]

Such a shock (considering the email Disney sent me to buy a tee of him!) ...this is the kind of stuff that shuts the fanbois/lifestylers/addicts up so they don't question anything like ...NGE or the sad state WDW is in.

To be fair, HBG is likely bigger for the DL fan base and they actually have a reason to be proud of their Resort at this time.

 

[WDW1974]

This is the exact same rant he went on in January. And like Flynn said, there's a difference between reading something you don't understand and calling it a smoking gun and something actually being a smoking gun.

I'm guessing half the people angry posting about this have Android phones in their pockets anyways......

And I am also guessing that many people need to see utter rubble before they are willing to admit 'yeah, there might have been a few flames there.'

Without saying anything more just read about current events and ask yourself if this all happened overnight or has been a slow buildup for a dozen years.

But always a pleasure to see you, Oinks.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I've wondered if this was a knee-jerk reaction to losing Potter.

Well, of course it was! That was painfully obvious from the start. I didn't have a high opinion of Iger anyway, but when the "Avatar's hot and Disney's got it!" announcement came out, my opinion of the dude dropped like a meadow muffin from an over-satiated cow. It was so LAME. So FUTILE. So wrong-headed. And worse, he's still pursuing it. That's not sound business judgement, that's hubris. Avatar will never work in any part of WDW. Period. If Iger wants to salvage the situation, he could announce that "creative differences" have put an end to the Avatar deal and then announce that Beastly Kingdomme or at least a Lion King-based attraction will arise in Avatar's place. That would dull the disappointment and still give park-goers something to look forward to. But nooo.....

 

[disney fan 13]

I know we're talking about some much bigger picture ideas here, but did we really just gloss over the potential return of the Hatbox Ghost?

Maybe it's because The Haunted Mansion remains one of my favorite rides of all time, but that's some huge cult news, IMO.

(No, it doesn't excuse all of this terrifying next-gen data-mining, Disney!)

In Anaheim at least. Which I am definitely visiting as part of my Cali vacation next year!! (Bout time, been trying to get out west for years...)

 

[Magenta Panther]

In some actual news from D23, look who Micechat found at the Imagineering pavilion.

Well, that's obviously not the original (the face doesn't look the same) and he doesn't have his hatbox in his hand. What's the point of it, I wonder?

 

[Lee]

Well, that's obviously not the original (the face doesn't look the same) and he doesn't have his hatbox in his hand. What's the point of it, I wonder?

Yep.
That is a Hatbox Ghost, but not the Hatbox Ghost.
I believe the original is long lost, though they still have the original mold. (But, oddly, didn't use it there...)

Such a shock (considering the email Disney sent me to buy a tee of him!)

Gotta admit...I kinda like the shirt...

 

[disney fan 13]

Well, that's obviously not the original (the face doesn't look the same) and he doesn't have his hatbox in his hand. What's the point of it, I wonder?

Well it isn't a model... that's for sure...

http://instagram.com/p/cx6bKIq7yq/

http://instagram.com/p/cxv4-uo0Ja/

 

[Turtle]

Avatar concept art on Inside the Magic!

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

What's the story with the hatbox ghost I'm not familiar with it

 

[Zweiland]

What's the story with the hatbox ghost I'm not familiar with it