Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[luv]

Did anybody need for the hotels to switch from keys to cards?

I never heard anyone come home saying they wanted that. People still complain about magnetic-strip room keys when they don't work. I had to go to the desk THREE times (four, if you count the original stop at the desk) to get a key card that worked. Still annoys me. Such a pain. And it started raining on the last trip from lobby to room. Those who remember using regular keys will occasionally complain about key cards.

But I never heard anyone come home from vacation and voice disappointment over the lack of RFID door locks, no.

 

[Tim_4]

No, minimal queuing at the attraction.

Perhaps we enjoy walking the park. Perhaps we stay in an adjacent area until the pass is ready. Perhaps we ride the CoP or WEDway (neither of which under the current system needs pre booking I might add) until out Space Mountain Fastpass is valid.

Booking a ten minute time slot for a specific park on a specific day weeks or months in advance is not our idea of fun.

I'm not arguing in favor of FP+ because I have no idea how it will effect standby times or the overall experience. I'm arguing in favor of "let's just wait until full rollout when we actually SEE how it's going to work and, if necessary, we can hate it then."

 

[Tim_4]

That's what doesn't make sense to me. If this system is designed to streamline waits and keep guests in locations where they might spend money I can't imagine this hasn't been thought of.

I may be missing something but do we have ALL the facts yet on how this system will work? As I understand there are still specifics we are waiting to hear.

(on a side note: I finally reached 100 posts - it only took me 9 years)

We know the RULES of how the system will work. Speculation about how it will impact wait times or anything else once fully implemented is just that: speculation.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I never heard anyone come home saying they wanted that. People still complain about magnetic-strip room keys when they don't work. I had to go to the desk THREE times (four, if you count the original stop at the desk) to get a key card that worked. Still annoys me. Such a pain. And it started raining on the last trip from lobby to room. Those who remember using regular keys will occasionally complain about key cards.

But I never heard anyone come home from vacation and voice disappointment over the lack of RFID door locks, no.

RFID will likely decrease the issues you have with the key cards. No great innovation comes from a wide range of people say they want. A faster horse and all that.

 

[GoofGoof]

Sorry, by ten minutes I meant an average 5 minute FP line, load, two or three minute attraction, then unload.

As in deciding where and when specifically to dedicate a ten minute part of my vacation well before I arrive. Even before I get plane tickets.

Good. Well not really good, but not as bad.

 

[janoimagine]

Booking a ten minute time slot for a specific park on a specific day weeks or months in advance is not our idea of fun.

Agreed, and this has been my issue with the Dining Reservation system from the beginning ... some people like spontinaety and just like to flow while they are on vacation. Planning my attraction schedule 180 days in advance borders on lunicy ... not everyone in the world views their vacations as an Excel file ... I for one simply don't get the need to plan every, single, minute aspect of my vacation ... it holds no value to me whatsoever.

 

[luv]

RFID will likely decrease the issues you have with the key cards. No great innovation comes from a wide range of people say they want. A faster horse and all that.

Plain old keys would have been fine, too. Had they never changed the locks to put it the cool, new technology, there wouldn't have been a problem in the first place. I'm not convinced that spending more money on more cool, new technology will be the answer to the problem it created. The plastic RFID APs do work better than the paper ones, though. For that, I'm very glad. I've been missing tickets that worked for quite a long time now.

Though it has, of late, been frequently attributed to him, there is no record anywhere of Henry Ford actually saying that. Urban legend.

But I don't run Disney. It isn't my decision to make. It's their decision. They're going with spending a billion dollars on this. I don't think it's going to, but I do hope it works out for everyone in the end.

 

[Nubs70]

If you're interested in the possibilities of a technology would you really get overly focused on a company with a poor track record in the field?

If they supplied a huge Petri dish that includes a cross section of the economic strata in a controlled environment, yes I would be interested.

 

[ParentsOf4]

RFID will likely decrease the issues you have with the key cards. No great innovation comes from a wide range of people say they want. A faster horse and all that.

I've done 3 DVC stays since the introduction of RFID technology and had problems getting into my room during all 3 stays.

I had a similar problem with a magnetic strip card during my most recent hotel stay in London.

New technology doesn't mean better technology.

 

[marni1971]

I'm not arguing in favor of FP+ because I have no idea how it will effect standby times or the overall experience. I'm arguing in favor of "let's just wait until full rollout when we actually SEE how it's going to work and, if necessary, we can hate it then."

I do actually agree. I really hope it works as promised and park wait times are no different than they are beforehand.

I do know however how bad the tests are currently going from first hand personal reports, how the system may never deliver what was originally promised, and what is the official response from WDW guest relations.

All whilst the actual theme parks (remember them, TDO?) continue to stagnate and what used to be routine is today turned into a press hoopla.

 

[wogwog]

I've done 3 DVC stays since the introduction of RFID technology and had problems getting into my room during all 3 stays.

I had a similar problem with a magnetic strip card during my most recent hotel stay in London.

New technology doesn't mean better technology.

I have similar reports from friends who used the bands recently. They went through multiple trips to the front desk after the bands failed to open their room. They wished they were never at a resort for a test. The childrens bands had all of their fast passes disapear while the parents were fine. A trip to guest relations was required in a park to fix the problem. The GR person shared with them that it was a known problem and being worked on. "Have a Magical day!"

 

[lazyboy97o]

Plain old keys would have been fine, too. Had they never changed the locks to put it the cool, new technology, there wouldn't have been a problem in the first place. I'm not convinced that spending more money on more cool, new technology will be the answer to the problem it created. The plastic RFID APs do work better than the paper ones, though. For that, I'm very glad. I've been missing tickets that worked for quite a long time now.

Though it has, of late, been frequently attributed to him, there is no record anywhere of Henry Ford actually saying that. Urban legend.

There is a reason I did not make an attribution to Ford. Whether or not he said it is irrelevant, the point is still quite valid. You keep making claims about technology being unnecessary since nobody has been asking for it. In the service industry you don't want to be in the position of people widely asking for something new. That Disney did not offer in-room WiFi, paid or free, was embarrassing. Hotels are switching to RFID keys. They are deploying apps that handle reservations across the chain. Disney set themselves apart by not having to play keep up, not staying behind.

 

[Nubs70]

And all the NASA engineers said it would not and were ignored..., Leading to tragedy and Richard Feynmann's famous O-ring in his glass of icewater where it promptly failed and broke.

But this also brought to thefore NASA's dysfunctional management culture a mere Rocket Scientist telling his better a MANAGER that Manager was about to make a fatal engineering mistake on a 'Criticality 1 system which scientist designed' was a 'Career Limiting Move'.

Looks like that spirit is alive and well at WDW

This event is from which I have derived my mantra, "Optimistic engineers kill people." No matter how well designed and tested, a system can fail.

 

[luv]

There is a reason I did not make an attribution to Ford. Whether or not he said it is irrelevant, the point is still quite valid. You keep making claims about technology being unnecessary since nobody has been asking for it. In the service industry you don't want to be in the position of people widely asking for something new. That Disney did not offer in-room WiFi, paid or free, was embarrassing. Hotels are switching to RFID keys. They are deploying apps that handle reservations across the chain. Disney set themselves apart by not having to play keep up, not staying behind.

I would disagree about no great innovation being something people wanted, but do agree that people will buy something they want, even if they never thought or dreamed it could be done.

I take it you think spending a billion dollars on new wristbands, door locks and credit card machines is a smart thing to do. I disagree with it, but respect your opinion (and right to it.)

I would like Disney to start playing catch-up on basic things like cleanliness, keeping the parks looking fresh and pretty, having cool rides (instead of door locks!) and would LOVE it if we could get running water in the Ladies' Room sinks...I'm not even going so far as to suggest we get warm water! Just a good stream that allows us to rinse the soap from our hands. That would be lovely.

When the parks have good rides, look pretty, no trash, have pleasant staff AND give us reliable indoor plumbing, I will then begin to consider spending money on door locks, wristbands, credit card machines and all that jazz. I doubt I'd ever be convinced to spend a billion dollars on it, though.

 

[ford91exploder]

This event is from which I have derived my mantra, "Optimistic engineers kill people." No matter how well designed and tested, a system can fail.

Which is why you want the grumpy curmudgeon as your engineering PM who keeps reminding people about safety factors interdependence of of backup systems etc because he's seen it crash and burn too many times

 

[lazyboy97o]

I would disagree about no great innovation being something people wanted, but do agree that people will buy something they want, even if they never thought or dreamed it could be done.

I take it you think spending a billion dollars on new wristbands, door locks and credit card machines is a smart thing to do. I disagree with it, but respect your opinion (and right to it.)

I would like Disney to start playing catch-up on basic things like cleanliness, keeping the parks looking fresh and pretty, having cool rides (instead of door locks!) and would LOVE it if we could get running water in the Ladies' Room sinks...I'm not even going so far as to suggest we get warm water! Just a good stream that allows us to rinse the soap from our hands. That would be lovely.

When the parks have good rides, look pretty, no trash, have pleasant staff AND give us reliable indoor plumbing, I will then begin to consider spending money on door locks, wristbands, credit card machines and all that jazz. I doubt I'd ever be convinced to spend a billion dollars on it, though.

You're still just focusing on what is visible and ignoring the massive back end to make these few things work. It is costing so much because, like what you mention regarding onstage issues, the system was left to rot.

If there is a plumbing issue preventing water flow (versus it being set to such outflow) Disney would have to go in and fix the piping to address the issue. Your complaints are the equivalent of saying the new faucet is not worth the expense, ignoring that there is a cost associated with fixing the piping far more substantial than the cost of just a new faucet.

NextGen also has no baring on what is happening with show quality. That would require a far bigger change in the culture and business model of Walt Disney World. And if that change did occur, the technological infrastructure would still need updating.

 

[Goofyernmost]

If you're interested in the possibilities of a technology would you really get overly focused on a company with a poor track record in the field in dealing with their website?

If you are referring to Disney, I fixed that for you! Other then that, for many years, they were the innovators in technology.

 

[luv]

You're still just focusing on what is visible and ignoring the massive back end to make these few things work. It is costing so much because, like what you mention regarding onstage issues, the system was left to rot.

If there is a plumbing issue preventing water flow (versus it being set to such outflow) Disney would have to go in and fix the piping to address the issue. Your complaints are the equivalent of saying the new faucet is not worth the expense, ignoring that there is a cost associated with fixing the piping far more substantial than the cost of just a new faucet.

NextGen also has no baring on what is happening with show quality. That would require a far bigger change in the culture and business model of Walt Disney World. And if that change did occur, the technological infrastructure would still need updating.

I'm sorry if I didn't explain it correctly. What I was trying to say is that they shouldn't spend massive sums of money on new technology when they can't afford running water.

Take care of the basics first, then spend money on new tech doodads.

 

[ford91exploder]

To the point of Disney as worlds largest psychological Petri dish, Try this one on for size NGE has had so many issues with things like people with same name only one able to get into park, Kids FP+ entitlements being wiped and parents not so and instead of letting kids ride with parents the no entitlement no ride rule is strictly enforced. Most of these things would have gotten us an F at university and in the real world well...

What if this is simply NOT bad software but a psychological study on how people will react to being separated, entitlements denied etc. Puts a whole new dimension on why all this stuff is happening and there are not mass firings of IT executives and Project managers. This is the kind of stuff the US Government has done before and the evidence only turned up much later and they ended up paying compensation to the victims

Lets face it Disney has never run a project with a unlimited budget, they are famous for cutting and they are also famous for poor execution of IT initiatives. Where better to try a system which would simulate loss of benefits from a once benevolent organization...

And its not like Disney or Government is really worthy of trust about now...

 

[The Empress Lilly]

tell that to every 'monorail expansion' thread poster...

While no one visits disney just for it's efficient 'xyz' - these work as contributing factors to make you enjoy your experience and make you prefer your experience in Disney vs somewhere else.

Exactly!

One of the more intangible aspects of old skool WDW that us veterans keep going on about, is that classic WDW felt magical because of all its high tech everywhere, which was there as much for entertainment as for practical purposes. Classic WDW had a layer of tech and transportation systems over it that elevated the place over more mundane attraction park experiences.

That monorail, the worldkey, even the satellite dishes and polling station, those were as essential to the EPCOT experience as the rides. I really did prefer that over a possible FW attraction eight, just as much as right now I might prefer a queue-less Disney over adding WDW rides 72, 73 and 74.