The Spirit Takes the Fifth ...

[Cosmic Commando]

I seen it too, he also talked about at the end of the interview how a company might be #1 today but inevitably will cease to exist. That he knew Amazon would be knocked off its perch one day ( paraphrase). He said he hoped he would be dead by then. But said "that day will come".

Missed that... I must have still been thinking about the little helicopter drones bringing stuff to my house!

 

[ParentsOf4]

Then again, for whatever cultural reasons or maybe some schools still not closing all week, Thanksgiving always seems to run a distant fourth to Christmas/Easter/Independence Day. At this point, with the Latin American market, Three Kings Day may even give it a run for its money (crowds now heavy from the Friday before Christmas through Marathon Monday or Tuesday pretty much without a break). Even Jersey Week and Mardi Gras can feel more crowded, with their localized crowds.

There's no question that, at best, Thanksgiving week runs a distant 4th in terms of crowd levels behind the three holidays you mention. Depending on how spring breaks line up, I wouldn't be surprised if there are other weeks in February to April that are more crowded.

It's why I thought Thanksgiving would be the first good test of FP+. All onsite resorts are using FP+ and crowds are up but not at peak. From what I observed, it's clear that they have some problems to work out, all of which are solvable.

However, looking at the big picture, it's also clear that FP+ simply changes how wait times are distributed. Some guests will be better off with FP+, some will be worse.

In total, FP+ doesn't improve anything, it only changes it. FP+ & MDE feel like a lot of smoke-and-mirrors, as if we are supposed to equate "different" with "better".

I suspect the new DAS policy is having a bigger impact than FP+ on wait times. And that new policy was effected at modest cost.

At least when increased crowds are attracted by brick-and-mortar additions, they are partially offset by increased ride capacity. Not with MyMagic+ though.

Given that the stated goal of MyMagic+ is to get guests to stay onsite longer and since MyMagic+ doesn't increase attraction capacity, a successful MyMagic+ program simply means that we all wait in line longer.

Guest opinions are influenced largely by how long they wait in lines. If MyMagic+ does keep guests onsite longer, then MyMagic+ essentially was designed to make guests less happy.

MyMagic+ only could have been approved by executives who spend half their days with their heads buried in their smart phones, who have never stood in hour-long Standby lines like everyone else.

 

[JimboJones123]

There's no question that, at best, Thanksgiving week runs a distant 4th in terms of crowd levels behind the three holidays you mention. Depending on how spring breaks line up, I wouldn't be surprised if there are other weeks in February to April that are more crowded.

It's why I thought Thanksgiving would be the first good test of FP+. All onsite resorts are using FP+ and crowds are up but not at peak. From what I observed, it's clear that they have some problems to work out, all of which are solvable.

However, looking at the big picture, it's also clear that FP+ simply changes how wait times are distributed. Some guests will be better off with FP+, some will be worse.

In total, FP+ doesn't improve anything, it only changes it. FP+ & MDE felt like a lot of smoke-and-mirrors, as if we are supposed to equate "different" with "better".

I suspect the new DAS policy is having a bigger impact than FP+ on wait times. And that new policy was effected at modest cost.

At least when increased crowds are attracted by brick-and-mortar additions, they are partially offset by increased ride capacity. Not with MyMagic+ though.

Given that the stated goal of MyMagic+ is to get guests to stay onsite longer and since MyMagic+ doesn't increase attraction capacity, a successful MyMagic+ program simply means that we all wait in line longer.

Guest opinions are largely influenced by how long they wait in line. If MyMagic+ does keep guests onsite longer, then MyMagic+ was essentially designed to make guests less happy.

MyMagic+ only could have been cooked up by executives who spend half their days with their heads buried in their smart phones, that have never stood in hour-long Standby lines like everyone else.

Additional holidays worse than Thanksgiving

Veterans Day/Wine and Dine Weekend
Columbus Day
Tower of Terror Weekend
President's Day


Marathon Weekend is almost right on par with Thanksgiving.

 

[Future Guy]

MyMagic+ only could have been approved by executives who spend half their days with their heads buried in their smart phones, who have never stood in hour-long Standby lines like everyone else.

The executives definitely spend their days with their heads buried in something, but it's not their smartphones.

 

[danlb_2000]

Oh, god, what now? The Smurfs? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Alvin and the Chipmunks? I wouldn't put it past Iger to buy such junk. He's done it before.

One of the many good things about Frozen being a hit is that it proves once again that Disney doesn't need outside cast-off properties to thrive. It can create its own hits with its own creations. So there is no good reason for Iger to go shopping again. I hope those rumors stay rumors, and never materialize. Enough is freaking enough!

I think it's good to have a mix. The proven franchises are much less of a risk, so it gives them the opportunity develop new things that might be a little more risky. It's still not like the old days, but in today's risk-averse business world it's probably the best we can hope for.

 

[WDWFigment]

I have not used that site. I always use a mix of kayak, orbitz and airlines own sites. @WDWFigment is that a TA site?

It's a start-up that was acquired by Google (for integration into Google Flight Search) a couple of years ago. Think of it as Kayak on steroids. Way more options, advanced codes, etc., for finding flights.

I use a combination of it and Airfarewatchdog.com alerts. I receive a daily email summary of lowest prices out of IND to US and top in'tl destinations from Airfarewatchdog (gives me alerts for low fares to places I might not otherwise consider...like weekend RT airfare to JFK for <$100) and also occasional, specific threshold alerts for airfare to NRT & HDN out of LAX, SEA, and SFO (typically the cheapest airports for fares to Tokyo, and a good proxy for discounted rates out of other airports). Once I see something in one of these emails that catches my interest, I head to ITA to do an actual search. All of this really simplifies things for me, and saves me a lot of time.

Here's a good primer on doing stopovers via ITA searches: http://www.theflightdeal.com/2013/07/25/what-is-a-stopover-and-how-to-take-advantage/

 

[Cesar R M]

Additional holidays worse than Thanksgiving

Veterans Day/Wine and Dine Weekend
Columbus Day
Tower of Terror Weekend
President's Day


Marathon Weekend is almost right on par with Thanksgiving.

no saint patricks?

 

[CDavid]

Given that the stated goal of MyMagic+ is to get guests to stay onsite longer and since MyMagic+ doesn't increase attraction capacity, a successful MyMagic+ program simply means that we all wait in line longer.

Thank You - far more succinctly stated than I could have managed. More people in the parks for longer periods means lines have to get longer (unless people experience fewer attractions); A finite number or FP+ allotments (with more people after them) also means those who otherwise still want to ride are forced into the now longer standby queue.

Of course, there is still one way in which MM+ may well reduce attraction wait times, and that is if guests aren't so enamored with plastic bracelets they overlook Disney's stale parks, and opt instead for new experiences elsewhere.

 

[fillerup]

I thought I'd post this in this thread since the discussion now is more about NGE than most other things at this point. And this info isn't really worthy of a thread of its own.

O'Sentinel printed an interview that Jason Garcia did with Tom Burnett, CEO of accesso Technology Group, PLC. The company's client list includes Universal Orlando, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., and Six Flags Entertainment Co.

Here's a small portion of the interview that pertains to the discussion. And I grant, it's only one man's viewpoint and not conclusive of anything. (Bolding by me)

Garcia: What do you think of Disney's MyMagic+ project?

Burnett: Disney has always been an innovator and is making a very large-scale investment to leverage technology to both enhance their guests' experience and increase the amount of money they spend on vacation.

This is a very smart investment approach and speaks to the importance of the technology accesso offers to the broader leisure market and is certainly capturing the interest of many other operators round the world.

In the specifics of ride reservations, which the band [Disney's MagicBand wristband] offers, we tried these some years ago and found that most guests love the spontaneity of a day in the park, which doesn't always sit comfortably with reserved time slots for rides. So it will be interesting to see how that works out in practice.

Full Article Here

 

[71jason]

However, looking at the big picture, it's also clear that FP+ simply changes how wait times are distributed. Some guests will be better off with FP+, some will be worse.

Not surprisingly, agreed with your whole post, but I think this is the point that online fanbois tend to miss. We know who will be better off: those willing to shell out $600 for a Best Western room on the monorail, and APs. We also know who will be worse off: 1-day guests and casual guests who stay off-site or who only visit every few years.

Here's the glaring problem: The first group is going to visit WDW anyway. They're the "regulars." TDO is actively creating a less pleasant experience for casual guests. It makes sense if you're trying to maximize profits over the next 5 years, but not as a long-term strategy.

The best comparison I can think of is the comics industry. Starting in the 80s, DC and Marvel increased prices and eliminated virtually all distribution other than comic shops. End result by 2010? Kids don't read comics, just an ever-shrinking hard-core fanbase of 30 and 40-somethings do. Do they buy every special event crossover event issue each year? Some of them do. But as that fanbase shrinks, there are no new young readers coming up to replace them.

 

[flynnibus]

We also know who will be worse off: 1-day guests and casual guests who stay off-site or who only visit every few years.

*IF* they can't get any FP+ usage. Which is why I still have doubts that Disney will allow allocation/distribution to get to the point where there are 'no FPs' available for those guests.

I still have a tiny sliver of faith that they still have the idealistic process behind this to redefine the theme park visit in a way customers would want. The potential is there.. but their execution so far is not very reassuring. But I also can't get my head around why they are fumbling so much with FP/FP+ concurrently. It really makes me think they plan on keeping the FP distribution in some way.. but I can't see a clear path.

 

[marni1971]

^ how many first timers know even what a Fast Pass is, let alone they should have booked it six months before arriving? Or that they need it for something called a Splash Mountain or a Midway Mania, whatever those might be?

 

[ford91exploder]

Just saw a great piece on Amazon/interview with Jeff Bezos on 60 Minutes. I'm paraphrasing, but the gist is definitely the same. Bezos: "Every time we do the math, it tells us to raise prices. If we did that, it would erode customer trust and it would cost us more money in the long run." Later, he talked about his willingness to give projects more time to return a profit than the 1, 2, 3 years that most companies give. Something called a "long-term view".

Gee and they call Amazon a 'Overnight' success

 

[ford91exploder]

It's a start-up that was acquired by Google (for integration into Google Flight Search) a couple of years ago. Think of it as Kayak on steroids. Way more options, advanced codes, etc., for finding flights.

I use a combination of it and Airfarewatchdog.com alerts. I receive a daily email summary of lowest prices out of IND to US and top in'tl destinations from Airfarewatchdog (gives me alerts for low fares to places I might not otherwise consider...like weekend RT airfare to JFK for <$100) and also occasional, specific threshold alerts for airfare to NRT & HDN out of LAX, SEA, and SFO (typically the cheapest airports for fares to Tokyo, and a good proxy for discounted rates out of other airports). Once I see something in one of these emails that catches my interest, I head to ITA to do an actual search. All of this really simplifies things for me, and saves me a lot of time.

Here's a good primer on doing stopovers via ITA searches: http://www.theflightdeal.com/2013/07/25/what-is-a-stopover-and-how-to-take-advantage/

It's actually WAY more than that, ITA is designed as a drop in replacement for SABRE for Airline flight scheduling and management but it's scheduling algorithm is light years ahead of SABRE's

 

[Cody5242]

This has nothing to do with Disney but ... (and let's leave spoilers out for a few days) but I was VERY disappointed with tonight's midseason finale of The Walking Dead. I am sure it will pull huge numbers, but that doesn't equal quality as the MK, Walmart or McDonald's prove.

That show died after the second season

 

[ford91exploder]

Not surprisingly, agreed with your whole post, but I think this is the point that online fanbois tend to miss. We know who will be better off: those willing to shell out $600 for a Best Western room on the monorail, and APs. We also know who will be worse off: 1-day guests and casual guests who stay off-site or who only visit every few years.

Here's the glaring problem: The first group is going to visit WDW anyway. They're the "regulars." TDO is actively creating a less pleasant experience for casual guests. It makes sense if you're trying to maximize profits over the next 5 years, but not as a long-term strategy.

The best comparison I can think of is the comics industry. Starting in the 80s, DC and Marvel increased prices and eliminated virtually all distribution other than comic shops. End result by 2010? Kids don't read comics, just an ever-shrinking hard-core fanbase of 30 and 40-somethings do. Do they buy every special event crossover event issue each year? Some of them do. But as that fanbase shrinks, there are no new young readers coming up to replace them.

Such a BRILLIANT move on the part of DC/MARVEL, Yes cheaper to administer and short term more profitable but no more customers in the making - ie kids at drug and grocery stores. Tell me again how many MBA's did it take to figure that one out.

 

[ford91exploder]

Iger probably wants DC Comics so that pretty much all comic related IP will belong to TWDC.

 

[ford91exploder]

I could only imagine which companies are being looked at. Of course the company is bigger than P&R, but other divisions need just as much TLC or in the case of the Studios letting Mr. Horn or Ms. Kennedy do their jobs well.

If I HAD to guess it would be DC Comics as then Disney would control the superhero universe.

 

[StageFrenzy]

If I HAD to guess it would be DC Comics as then Disney would control the superhero universe.

I don't know if they would want DC, I believe the big characters are already licensed out to various companies over many agreements. The ability to capitalize and get a immediate ROI is probably not there.

 

[GoofGoof]

^ how many first timers know even what a Fast Pass is, let alone they should have booked it six months before arriving? Or that they need it for something called a Splash Mountain or a Midway Mania, whatever those might be?

But they all know Pirates of the Caribean and Nemo. Gives us the answer to the question of who is going to book fastpass for a ride that never has a wait.