The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[HM Spectre]

To be clear, I don't agree at all with running a corporation the way most are run.

Most guests that stay in WDW at their resorts do so for proximity, that is the ammenity that is worth so much money for most guests. It is the oldest rule in real estate... Location, location, location. Same reason an empty lot in a bad neighborhood sells for $1500 while the same size lot in a high-end neighborhood sells for $25,000. Same dirt, different location.

Budget concious customers will always search out a good deal, we do but are not in as much of a limited resource situation as many guests but that makes me lucky to a point. I don't believe TDO wants to grow their base too much, right now MK in particular is bursting at the seams and cannot seem to handle too many more guests and maintain any level of experience.

Never forget too, value is a perception. I purchase iPhones/iPads/Mac because the hardware is generally highly quality, lasts for many years with little to no repair and the resale value after a few years is very high compared to the general competition.

Do you really want to see a 34% jump in attendance at MK? I certainly do not want to see anything of the sort, it is already too crowded right now and would require multiple new attractions to handle many more guests, more trams, buses, boats, larger parking lots, wider roads, more toll booths, etc. to handle the additional guests. In my 20,000 foot view those are the infrastructure things they are working on right now so they can grow in the long term. It is a sad reality but those infrastucture projects have to come first or the initial customer experience is a nightmare and they will not come back even if the attractions far exceed their expectations. Personally, I view what they are working on as very important to my experience.

In the last few years TDO has increased the size of the bus fleet and the bus stops at MK, increased the ferryboat capacity by double, they are automating the monorail system to increase capacity, adding more concrete (not my favorite project) to MK hub and reworking the flow through it, creating a semi-permanant bypass for exiting the MK, added larger restrooms in Fantasyland/Liberty Square, and Expanded Fantasyland/Circusland to name a few. Most of these projects signal a shift to infrastructure improvements designed to expand the capacity of the park as a whole.

TDO is faced with the fact that nearly everyone that comes to WDW visits the MK as their priority, the rest of the parks are a bonus so the park capacity must be expanded before any major new attractions should be added to improve the experience we all hold so dear.

You'll never hear me argue against increased MK capacity and infrastructure and I agree with your post for the most part. I just happen to believe you can increase attendance without increasing it much at MK.

Yes, most people want to see the MK at some point during their trip but the issue as I see it is not people wanting to see MK, it's people wanting to ONLY see MK. If the other parks are viewed as a "bonus" like you say, that's a problem. Make them destinations too. When MK is pulling in 17.5M but you have Epcot at 11M and HS/DAK at 10M, there's a growth opportunity there... and that growth doesn't necessarily have to cause MK attendance to swell even worse.

DCA opened Cars Land in mid-2012 amidst other improvements. Their attendance increased 22%. Meanwhile, Disneyland attendance actually fell 1% that year.

Potter opened at IoA in 2010. From 2010-2012 their attendance jumped 34%. Universal Studios (built 9 years earlier) in that same timeframe only jumped 5% to a level still below their 2008 number. IoA now pulls in higher attendance numbers.

Just because MK attendance doesn't have much room to grow doesn't mean the other parks don't... they're nowhere near capacity. Investing in technology to squeeze the last drop out of current customers might work right now but there's only so much you can squeeze. It's incredibly short-sighted thinking, especially when there's real room for growth elsewhere with a proper investment.

 

[Funmeister]

Me. Jurassic Park island should be for Jurassic Park rides only. Especially considering JP is getting revived soon and the last King Kong movie was a flop that came out 10 years ago. They can go make room for King Kong somewhere else.

Someone please correct me but I was under the impression that Kong would go on the outer rim of JP essentially making itself a small "mini-island?" Skull Island?

 

[sshindel]

No one is arguing with the idea that WDW's technical infrastructure was not in dire need of complete overhaul.

What I'm saying is that mm+ is not the answer to that problem.

I don't think @Lord_Vader was saying MM+ was the answer either.

MM+ is the carrot that got the business people writing the checks to swallow cost of the the massive IT infrastructure upgrade, which was required anyway. It's the bells and whistles sold to the business owners ("look at all this operational efficiency and customer spend we can drive") and the guests ("look, you can be sure to ride TSMM every park visit as long as you schedule it from home!").

 

[Lord_Vader]

I don't think @Lord_Vader was saying MM+ was the answer either.

MM+ is the carrot that got the business people writing the checks to swallow cost of the the massive IT infrastructure upgrade, which was required anyway. It's the bells and whistles sold to the business owners ("look at all this operational efficiency and customer spend we can drive") and the guests ("look, you can be sure to ride TSMM every park visit as long as you schedule it from home!").

You nailed it!!!

 

[Lord_Vader]

No one is arguing with the idea that WDW's technical infrastructure was not in dire need of complete overhaul.

What I'm saying is that mm+ is not the answer to that problem.

As @sshindel stated, I think TDO needed the project and sold the new features (MM+) as justification to trigger the funding. MM+ is supposed to help them distribute the crowds in a more even fashion, it looks like that design is actually working well as compared to FP+ and MDE.

 

[Ignohippo]

Someone please correct me but I was under the impression that Kong would go on the outer rim of JP essentially making itself a small "mini-island?" Skull Island?

Yes, if you look at the satellite map, it's going in the area in the south corner, between Dudley and JP.

I asked my "friend" about Kong the last time I spook to them and they just rolled their eyes. I have no idea what that meant.

 

[Ignohippo]

As @sshindel stated, I think TDO needed the project and sold the new features (MM+) as justification to trigger the funding. MM+ is supposed to help them distribute the crowds in a more even fashion, it looks like that design is actually working well as compared to FP+ and MDE.

Except, had the same money been used for a renovation of DHS and a few new things at EPCOT, distribution amongst the parks wouldn't have been an issue.

Attendance would be up (which MM+ doesn't give you), capacity within the parks would have been heightened (taking stress away from other in-demand attractions with long lines as well), and hotel occupancy rates would have increased.

Everything they are trying to accomplish with MM+ could have been done by simply investing in the core product.

A centralized Fastpass system, without the Magic Bands and all of that silliness, could have been created too at a fraction of the cost using the same old paper tickets they had used for years.

 

[Captain Neo]

King Kong 2005 made more money than either of the JP sequels.

No it didn't

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=kingkong05.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jurassicpark2.htm

and that's without adjusting for inflation

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I'm seeing that tonight.
Everything I'm hearing about it sounds great. And Cap is my favorite Avenger.

By far my favorite Avenger, too!

 

[PhotoDave219]

I don't think @Lord_Vader was saying MM+ was the answer either.

MM+ is the carrot that got the business people writing the checks to swallow cost of the the massive IT infrastructure upgrade, which was required anyway. It's the bells and whistles sold to the business owners ("look at all this operational efficiency and customer spend we can drive") and the guests ("look, you can be sure to ride TSMM every park visit as long as you schedule it from home!").

That makes sense.

It's just a shame that managers, leaders and executives are so out of touch that this is what it takes to get things fixed

 

[Lord_Vader]

Except, had the same money been used for a renovation of DHS and a few new things at EPCOT, distribution amongst the parks wouldn't have been an issue.

Attendance would be up (which MM+ doesn't give you), capacity within the parks would have been heightened (taking stress away from other in-demand attractions with long lines as well), and hotel occupancy rates would have increased.

Everything they are trying to accomplish with MM+ could have been done by simply investing in the core product.

A centralized Fastpass system, without the Magic Bands and all of that silliness, could have been created too at a fraction of the cost using the same old paper tickets they had used for years.

You seem to miss MY POINT, if the back office systems are so old and prone to failure the systems that rely on them will fail. What if the day you are trying to ride your brand new E-Ticket at DHS, the gate entry validation system goes down and will not reboot.

As I have said before, nobody cares about data until it fails.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

That makes sense.

It's just a shame that managers, leaders and executives are so out of touch that this is what it takes to get things fixed

Yeah, just look at WDW's transportation infrastructure.

 

[ford91exploder]

You seem to miss MY POINT, if the back office systems are so old and prone to failure the systems that rely on them will fail. What if the day you are trying to ride your brand new E-Ticket at DHS, the gate entry validation system goes down and will not reboot.

As I have said before, nobody cares about data until it fails.

The trouble with that analogy is it's the NEW system which goes down for hours on end leaving everything running on manual procedures.

 

[sshindel]

That makes sense.

It's just a shame that managers, leaders and executives are so out of touch that this is what it takes to get things fixed

I swear, I've spent the better part of the past 3 years trying to convince people to invest in an IT solution at our company for a big ( but no where NEAR as big) project to consolidate 3 database systems that maintain the same data. No buyers until we can prove that it adds business value outside of fixing a broken system with bad data that inhibits growth. Finally getting the right level of management involved to maybe make something happen, but we have to prove how we are going to provide incremental business value. IT only projects rarely ever get traction.

 

[Cesar R M]

Yes, if you look at the satellite map, it's going in the area in the south corner, between Dudley and JP.

I asked my "friend" about Kong the last time I spook to them and they just rolled their eyes. I have no idea what that meant.

Could be many things..
maybe kong is hated by employees due of hard maintenance or management?

Except, had the same money been used for a renovation of DHS and a few new things at EPCOT, distribution amongst the parks wouldn't have been an issue.

Attendance would be up (which MM+ doesn't give you), capacity within the parks would have been heightened (taking stress away from other in-demand attractions with long lines as well), and hotel occupancy rates would have increased.

Everything they are trying to accomplish with MM+ could have been done by simply investing in the core product.

A centralized Fastpass system, without the Magic Bands and all of that silliness, could have been created too at a fraction of the cost using the same old paper tickets they had used for years.

What if the disney infrastructure was in the verge of collapse and they couldn't do the centralized system the current internet age needs?
Add park capacity.. but systems failing every minute would get people way more ed than capacity issues.

You seem to miss MY POINT, if the back office systems are so old and prone to failure the systems that rely on them will fail. What if the day you are trying to ride your brand new E-Ticket at DHS, the gate entry validation system goes down and will not reboot.

As I have said before, nobody cares about data until it fails.

Agree there!!

hopefully the next stage will mean they will fix all the bad of epcot and DHS.

 

[bhg469]

Agree there!!

hopefully the next stage will mean they will fix all the bad of epcot and DHS.

Fix all the bad of Epcot?! Nobody has that much money, besides most of the bad came from their cuts. When I think about how much I loved Epcot as a young adult and how much I miss how it was I feel so depressed.

 

[Stevek]

I swear, I've spent the better part of the past 3 years trying to convince people to invest in an IT solution at our company for a big ( but no where NEAR as big) project to consolidate 3 database systems that maintain the same data. No buyers until we can prove that it adds business value outside of fixing a broken system with bad data that inhibits growth. Finally getting the right level of management involved to maybe make something happen, but we have to prove how we are going to provide incremental business value. IT only projects rarely ever get traction.

It has taken our company years and a ton of investment to establish our database...one of the top 2 or 3 in size in the US and far larger than anything Disney will ever have. Our business is dependent upon our database so it was an easy sell. Disney could continue to provide a high quality service/experience without the investment they made in MM+. Many would argue that the experience would be better without that investment...I would agree.

 

[asianway]

7DMT "I'm a bigger Disney fan than you are" media invites arriving. Check your mail kiddies

 

[Computer Magic]

I don't think @Lord_Vader was saying MM+ was the answer either.

MM+ is the carrot that got the business people writing the checks to swallow cost of the the massive IT infrastructure upgrade, which was required anyway. It's the bells and whistles sold to the business owners ("look at all this operational efficiency and customer spend we can drive") and the guests ("look, you can be sure to ride TSMM every park visit as long as you schedule it from home!").

Good point. I will say I went in Feb 2012 for 8 days only at WDW and never got to ride TSMM. This was partly my fault as my schedule didn't allow us to get the to FP machine across the park. Knowing I can ride TSMM before arriving is a plus. However, I still have to work my schedule to make sure I'm in the park at the correct time, that's a minus. So I guess it really doesn't matter if my schedule can't get me there.

 

[bhg469]

7DMT "I'm a bigger Disney fan than you are" media invites arriving. Check your mail kiddies

But Disney bloggers are so important!!