Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[WDWDad13]

If there are low numbers now it is because people don't yet get it. The adoption of regular FP was slow. Overtime people will get it, and it will be just as popular as FP is now.

completely agree... they are testing FUNCTIONALITY right now,... not how many people who at the last minute get chosen to participate actually do it. This is probably what they prefer right now anyways

once it is rolled out, people who book Disney vacations will be educated about it with instructions on what and how to use if they so choose

 

[ParentsOf4]

If there are low numbers now it is because people don't yet get it. The adoption of regular FP was slow. Overtime people will get it, and it will be just as popular as FP is now.

The current FastPass system has existed for 14 years and requires no preplanning, yet the system is used disproportionately by a relatively small number of WDW experts. The majority of WDW vacationers are not experts and still don't get it.

FP+ is more complex than FP, requiring preplanning. It will appeal to a certain subclass of WDW guest, specifically those who want to preplan their details. However, IMHO, most vacationers will view FP+ as the equivalent of homework assignments.

We sometimes forget what WDW experts we have become. I respectfully suggest most vacationers don't want to have to "study" FastPass+ before arrival.

 

[PeterAlt]

Not exactly sure what you're trying to say here.

Are you saying Walt's attractions were dependent on story? Because the evidence points to the contrary.

Go back to that post. I edited it with clarifications.

 

[WDWDad13]

The current FastPass system has existed for 14 years and requires no preplanning, yet the system is used disproportionately by a relatively small number of WDW experts. The majority of WDW vacationers are not experts and still don't get it.

FP+ is more complex than FP, requiring preplanning. It will appeal to a certain subclass of WDW guest, specifically those who want to preplan their details. However, IMHO, most vacationers will view FP+ as the equivalent of homework assignments.

We sometimes forget what WDW experts we have become. I respectfully suggest most vacationers don't want to have to "study" FastPass+ before arrival.

we have to all remember here... Disney is ahead of the game so to speak...and they are planning on the... wait for it... NextGen of park visitors as well. I think this is a great idea and think it will eventually be a huge hit.

I remember when vcr's came out and the older generation complained about how hard it was to program it etc, in today's world, the newer crowd program DVR's by our smartphone now lol

 

[wdwmagic]

The current FastPass system has existed for 14 years and requires no preplanning, yet the system is used disproportionately by a relatively small number of WDW experts. The majority of WDW vacationers are not experts and still don't get it.

FP+ is more complex than FP, requiring preplanning. It will appeal to a certain subclass of WDW guest, specifically those who want to preplan their details. However, IMHO, most vacationers will view FP+ as the equivalent of homework assignments.

We sometimes forget what WDW experts we have become. I respectfully suggest most vacationers don't want to have to "study" FastPass+ before arrival.

I guess we will found out very soon - my feeling is that it will be very popular. Just the fact that guests wont have to walk between FP machines will sway a lot of people. I can very well imagine people at breakfast whipping out the iPhone and picking up some FP+. Much better than charging across the park in a mad dash to a FP machine in a lot of people's eyes.

 

[WDWDad13]

I guess we will found out very soon - my feeling is that it will be very popular. Just the fact that guests wont have to walk between FP machines will sway a lot of people. I can very well imagine people at breakfast whipping out the iPhone and picking up some FP+. Much better than charging across the park in a mad dash to a FP machine in a lot of people's eyes.

I'll be happy just to not be trampled in the morning heading towards Toy Story Mania or Soarin' lol

 

[wdwmagic]

we have to all remember here... Disney is ahead of the game so to speak...and they are planning on the... wait for it... NextGen of park visitors as well. I think this is a great idea and think it will eventually be a huge hit.

I remember when vcr's came out and the older generation complained about how hard it was to program it etc, in today's world we program our DVR's by our smartphone now lol

You are absolutely right, we are in a new generation. This new generation expects everything to be on their iPhone. If it isn't, it is old fashioned. Walking around the park to machines grabbing bits of paper is going to seem very old-hat soon.

 

[WDWDad13]

You are absolutely right, we are in a new generation. This new generation expects everything to be on their iPhone. If it isn't, it is old fashioned. Walking around the park to machines grabbing bits of paper is going to seem very old-hat soon.

....right...and that's why a lot of people are complaining now because of "change" when in reality, they are ahead of the game. 5-10 years from now we'll be wanting more from it

 

[Clamman73]

The current FastPass system has existed for 14 years and requires no preplanning, yet the system is used disproportionately by a relatively small number of WDW experts. The majority of WDW vacationers are not experts and still don't get it.

FP+ is more complex than FP, requiring preplanning. It will appeal to a certain subclass of WDW guest, specifically those who want to preplan their details. However, IMHO, most vacationers will view FP+ as the equivalent of homework assignments.

We sometimes forget what WDW experts we have become. I respectfully suggest most vacationers don't want to have to "study" FastPass+ before arrival.

I understand your thoughts on it being more about preplanning and it certainly could be a pain for some people...but I started to come around to the idea when you could reserve all headliner attractions and you could still move the times around if you wanted to. For example, now if I want to hop to AK after lunch, (in theory) I can reserve Safari, EE and Dinosaur and not worry if I'm going to get passes for the attractions or not, and I don't have to run around to each machine to get the pass.
So, I could do a rope drop Epcot and get everything done in Futureworld without fastpases in the morning, have lunch, go to AK for the afternoon and still hit the headliners and a do a few other things, and then hop back to Epcot late afternoon to hang in Showcase.

But that's me doing that in the fall when crowds are light and I'm there on my own...but if you were only allowed tiered fastpasses, then I would be 100% against the idea.

Quite honestly, I see a lot of families using up there fastpass choices on fireworks spots and meet and greets, so that should lighten the fastpass load on the headliners and move things along in the fastpass line a little better. IMHO

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

....right...and that's why a lot of people are complaining now because of "change" when in reality, they are ahead of the game. 5-10 years from now we'll be wanting more from it

I'm pretty sure the complaints are mostly towards the fact that being ahead of the game in the Fast Pass field has cost the company over 2 billion dollars (and still climbing). Nothing being shown right now points to any further benefits for us fans. It's easy to imagine why spending so much on something with so little return for the paying customer can be infuriating.

 

[PeterAlt]

we have to all remember here... Disney is ahead of the game so to speak...and they are planning on the... wait for it... NextGen of park visitors as well. I think this is a great idea and think it will eventually be a huge hit.

I remember when vcr's came out and the older generation complained about how hard it was to program it etc, in today's world, the newer crowd program DVR's by our smartphone now lol

Like the VCR, when the next generation adopts, Disney's NextGen will already be obsolete. When this happens, the competition will be installing the DVR-equivalent to NextGen, skipping the first gen entirely, and paying a fraction of what installing the first gen would have cost.

 

[GLaDOS]

I intentially used the word "amusement" instead of "theme" since Walt Disney invented the concept. What makes theme parks different than amusement parks is the principle of story.

Sorry, that's not true. None of Walt's lands really had story. They were settings meant to envoke emotional responses from visitors. There were no narratives. What Disneyland brought was a sense of place. You were in the old west, or the jungles of Africa. You weren't going through a narrative.

 

[WDWDad13]

I'm pretty sure the complaints are mostly towards the fact that being ahead of the game in the Fast Pass field has cost the company over 2 billion dollars (and still climbing). Nothing being shown right now points to any further benefits for us fans. It's easy to imagine why spending so much on something with so little return for the paying customer can be infuriating.

first...show me where they've spent 2bil, 2.8, 3.5 or whatever the number is for today...
next...show me where they won't be getting return on investment down the road
last...show me that this has directly caused them to not build new attractions because I didn't see them doing much before this

 

[matt9112]

This thread is beyond dramatic.

I erupted in laughter.

 

[GLaDOS]

next...show me where they won't be getting return on investment down the road

The problem isn't that they won't get any return. The problem is the system, as of now, will not be making the returns that were promised to the board at the get go.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

first...show me where they've spent 2bil, 2.8, 3.5 or whatever the number is for today...
next...show me where they won't be getting return on investment down the road
last...show me that this has directly caused them to not build new attractions because I didn't see them doing much before this

1. My speculation is as good as yours. I'm willing to trust proven insiders on this one though.
2. Never said it won't return the investment. This is a huge gold mine if done right however that's not something you or I will ever benefit from.
3. I think it's safe to assume that if a project of this scale comes in over-budget that something has to give. They aren't spending money from nowhere you know and let me tell you, those managers you seem to enjoy defending aren't suffering from smaller paychecks because of NextGen.

 

[PeterAlt]

Sorry, that's not true. None of Walt's lands really had story. They were settings meant to envoke emotional responses from visitors. There were no narratives. What Disneyland brought was a sense of place. You were in the old west, or the jungles of Africa. You weren't going through a narrative.

No, there's an Imagineering rule that every project must tell a story and creating a script and story board are part of the creative process. This rule was created by the head Imagineer himself Walt Disney. That doesn't mean he followed his own rule. He was known for consistently being hypocritical and had a pattern of breaking those rules. For example, no employee were allowed to have mustaches. Only he was allowed to break these rules. Employees who broke them were fired immediately.

EDIT - That's what the company needs again - A CEO who is also Imagineer In Chief!

 

[Hakunamatata]

I think we need to remember that most people have no clue how much Disney is spending in Nextgen. Complaints about the amount of money are coming from the hardcore fan ( or critic) community that makes up a relatively small number compared to the millions of fans who go, have a great time, and don't notice the perceived reduction in quality and/value the the avid fan community sees.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

I think we need to remember that most people have no clue how much Disney is spending in Nextgen. Complaints about the amount of money are coming from the hardcore fan ( or critic) community that makes up a relatively small number compared to the millions of fans who go, have a great time, and don't notice the perceived reduction in quality and/value the the avid fan community sees.

You'd be surprised how many friends I have who recently took a vacation in Orlando and came back with comments like "I'm not quite sure why you're so obsessed with Disney parks but Islands of Adventure was pretty cool". People do notice. They may not be able to point out an exact reason but the feelings do linger.

 

[MattM]

To be fair, you guys think FL drivers are bad because the people that you see driving in the area of Orlando that you stay in are predominantly not FL drivers.