Tom Staggs Confirms Project of "NextGen" Nature

[wm49rs]

You may ... I think I have a WDW trip planned at FW starting in 459 days!:drevil:

Thank goodness my plans are (obviously) maleable then....

Neither.

It was from years of observations at Disney's parks both in Florida and around the globe. It's not unique to myself. I've heard many others who have spent time at the other resorts say similar.

And I do think it make sense on an obvious level. WDW's scale (not to be confused with quality, btw) is so much greater ... and it's located in an area that has many other quality non-Disney parks too. People want to see and do everything and that is setting yourself up for a bad trip ... or certainly not a relaxing one.

Again, crowds at DL, DLP, HKDL and TDR don't seem so rushed. They seem more able to stop and smell the roses ... and that's a shame because some of the greatest things at WDW aren't in the parks at all.

It's simply amazing how someone can supposedly pull empirical data out of their . So in that vein, I myself have seen plenty of people at WDW simply sitting on benches, watching the crowds roll by. Or taking their time in every queue, to take in the full effect (amazing how easy that is).


Nah. If there can be gushing over it, then there can be fair criticisms raised too.

And I'm not bashing it. Some of it may add quality to my visits, but I just think Disney has blinders on when it comes to technology and they're not focusing on what needs to come first.

Hard to be a ton of gushing when most of the technology has yet to be fully revealed. But the criticism is apparently not so restrained. Especially by those already so inclined, who see it as too "fanboi" or "kewl", or "MAGical".....

...

 

[pax_65]

And the dullification of vacationing continues!

Agreed. I barely do sit-down dining in the parks anymore because I don't want to plan every meal 6-months in advance. Does this mean I'll have to "reserve" my spot for Toy Story Mania 6-months in advance? If so, I probably won't be riding that much anymore either.

And if you take away my favorite restaurants and my favorite attractions, why go at all?

I don't mean to be overly negative... putting new technology to good use is excellent. I just want to make sure Disney remembers that creativity and spontaneity are a critical part of human nature - something that Walt Disney and the Disney Parks used to celebrate. We are not automatons.(Well, not all of us, anyway! :animwink

 

[jjharvpro]

Pleased with this. I like how he said guests will already have their room keys, and can immediately go to their room or the parks. Not sure how the "FASTPASS replacement" will turn out or what exactly it will be, but I like what their bringing.

 

[Mammymouse]

I just feel it is creepy for some tech thing to know my name or what I want to do. And beyond that it sounds like WDW will be less magic and fantasy and more New York City. I'm really getting myself upset so I have to take a deep breath now and calm down.:dazzle:

 

[WaltDis4Life]

I still think that they never should have implemented the FastPass system. >.<

 

[jakeman]

I'd really love this system to extend to some kind of official mobile app to all the major smartphone OS's. I do plan ahead, but I can't imagine planning my entire itinerary before I even get to the parks.

Having some kind of official mobile connection would be convenient for a tech guy like me, reserving fast passes, setting dinner arrangements, and viewing queuing information as my day goes along. That would be far more convenient and infinitely cooler in my humble opinion.

I don't really have anything to add to this thread other than your user name is awesome.

Minor Star Wars character reference FTW! :sohappy:

 

[jakeman]

Sigh...

Apparently I do have something to add.

And I'm not bashing it.

It's typical of the direction Iger (a techo-geek) wants to take things. He still doesn't get that quality and story and immersion are what have brought people to Disney parks since 1955.

They've already ruined WDW dining with this. They've caused a lot of problems in the parks with FastPass, certainly as many as they've 'solved' ... yet, they forget the most basic part of a vacation -- relaxing and having fun.

It really sounds to me like Disney is actively working to suck out every last drop of real magic in their giant money-making machine.

Just not magical at al ...:hammer:

I'd argue (cause you know I live to!) that Disney doesn't have the folks who want to just go and enjoy and relax (again, many would argue that's enjoying the parks in the way they were intended) covered at all ...

Disney shouldn't be something you have to plan like doing your taxes ... and that's literally what it's coming to while they're trying to spin it that it's to improve the guest experience.

I was in perhaps a 15-minute (if that) wait for PoC last week and there in the queue are people playing with their iPhones ... nothing quite takes you out of preparing to sack the town and find Captain Jack as seeing some moron updating their FB status in the queue. I don't think Disney should be pandering to this type of person, but that's exactly what they are doing with these 'interactive' queues.

Some of it very kewl ... even to a skeptical Disney-hating Spirit such as myself ... but, honestly, none is as kewl as amazing immersive environments such as TDS or WWoHP. They make you feel a part of the adventure without any need to resort to gimmicks.

Much like Disney's marketing, this is pushing style over substance ... yet again.

I don't disagree with people's obsession with their little toys. But it's an addiction and I don't think Disney needs to pander to the LCD.

The parks should be able to stand on their own. I often take shots at them (mostly at WDW, as you know), but I've never used a phone at the parks for anything other than meeting up with people.

And I do think it make sense on an obvious level. WDW's scale (not to be confused with quality, btw)

It appears you have done pretty much nothing but bash it.

 

[flavious27]

This is what has me scratching my head too. How the heck am I supposed to know when/where I want to be at any given point?! :lol: I usually have a vague idea of what park I will be in each day, but beyond that I couldn't tell you. I'm also prone to switching my "plan" at a moments notice for no apparent reason. The thought of a vacation where I feel like I'm running from one appointment to the next is nauseating. It is no different from what I do every day of my life. I live and die by my Google calendar on my phone. It's bad enough that I already have to put all my ADRs in there when I go to WDW just to make sure I show up on time. :shrug:

I can only see problems arising with people canceling vacations or removing a for reservation and it still show being held.

There will be people who would jump at this. Get a glorified Fastpass in advance for your favorite ride? Guarantee you have a chance for Junior to get a picture with his or her favorite character?

It's less about planning every nano-second of your vacation (though to think there aren't people who do this is wrong), but making sure your high notes are hit, and letting the rest fall where they may.

The biggest effects I could see from this:

- Longer Fastpass lines as more people get them in advance. However, you could balance that out by having less passes in the machines in the park.

- Less staff at the front desks of hotels. If I can have my room key in my hand when I get to the hotel, I won't need to stop there. Sucks for those employees, but families with cranky kids, or those who just took a long flight would probably love going right to their room to freshen up/crash/make sweet love/hit the parks/whatever.

I want to know how they are going to pull this off.

I can't really wrap my head around how this would work. You would reserve a time to be at a ride - how in the world would I know that before leave my house?! Could rides sell out months in advance? Seems really complicated...does anyone have thoughts on specifics?

Agreed, I can see being able to do this when you enter the park in the morning using your cell phone but not months ahead of time. What disney is going to do is still years away, so what staggs mentioned today is going to change so that it can be done.

 

[wdwmagic]

It's typical of the direction Iger (a techo-geek) wants to take things. He still doesn't get that quality and story and immersion are what have brought people to Disney parks since 1955.

Disney wants to data-mine (the real purpose of NEXTGEN) as much as it possibly can.

It really sounds to me like Disney is actively working to suck out every last drop of real magic in their giant money-making machine.

Just not magical at al ...:hammer:

Disney know that the majority of their visitors are visiting on a 2 year cycle and plan ahead. It therefore makes a great deal of sense for them to target this group and give them the tools to manage their vacation in new ways. It's not great for locals, or non-planners, but you can't please all people all the time, nobody can.

Like it or not, the world is technologically changing at a rapid pace. The adoption of Facebook into practically every American's life is a huge indicator of how people want to use technology to manage every aspect of their life. It will get to the point where Disney's nextgen stuff will become the expected normal. Companies who fail to deliver will have problems competing. Just like Universal were made to follow Fastpass, they'll be forced to follow onto some of what Disney has planned. Only problem is, they won't have the few spare billions hanging around to do it.

 

[ChrisFL]

Wow, lots to take in and consider.

Will we have attractions with the "Fastpass line" the "Sat in your underwear 6 months ago and booked this ride at 2:00 PM line" the "Single Rider line" and then the "Standby line"?

I've said this in the past that Disney's target demographic is mothers, they're the compulsive planners, they're the ones who will go over every detail of a trip. Disney is after mothers of families who plan trips every year or two...because they spend lots of money.

The rest of us locals can't get into any of the top restaurants (whoever said they can walk up to any restaurant without any ADR must be really lucky), so we can only go to cheap counter-service places, which means we spend less money.

The question is, besides being "more convenient" for those compulsive planners and to give Disney some incredible data-mining capability...and the queues which I'm still not too sure will be that spectacular, I see NOTHING in this $1 Billion investment that will make the parks more appealing or make me want to visit them more often.

I wonder how Disney plans to market this stuff.

I also don't see why Universal has to try to compete with this idea, they already have a well-run front of the line system in place.

 

[CRO-Magnum]

Soon they'll start asking everyone to take personality tests...

...so they can weed out those pesky Type B people and focus exclusively on the Type A's who are hoping to get a heart attack by the age of 40. There's no reason for a vacation to be relaxing; jam so much into it that you'll live two lifetimes in one. When you die at 40 you'll file like you're 80 and hopefully even look like it! Plan that vacation with all the timed precision of the Blue Angels leaving absolutely no room for error, inefficiency, or rest. And should something happen to upset your trip, such as life intervening and throwing a test or obstruction in your path, you can quickly delete the itinerary which will book you on the next flight home and put your remaining items up for bid for the Super Type A's who are always looking for more, More, MORE!!!

And of course Disney will price everything so high you'll feel compelled to use their planning tools and squeeze every dime from every minute of time. ROI calcualtor to determine fast pass vs queue waits at Winnie the Pooh. TCO analysis of bringing your 3yo who may slow you down as he makes the transition from diapers and twice a day naps. I wonder if you'll be able to short Space Mountain fast passes or buy Disney character dinner futures?

Sounds to me like their recreating my work environment...but worse. It's only a matter of time before they close WDW to day guests.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Will we have attractions with the "Fastpass line" the "Sat in your underwear 6 months ago and booked this ride at 2:00 PM line" the "Single Rider line" and then the "Standby line"?

This would be amazing.

 

[pax_65]

Another thought... I wonder how you deal with the people who work the system. If you've booked attractions in the Studios but you're in Magic Kingdom, do your reservations for attractions disappear so that more people can be admitted into the "standby" line, or will that just happen naturally?

This is even more critical for dining (which is already happening). As I sit here and complain about how I don't do much sit-down dining in WDW anymore (because right now, 3 months prior to my vacation I still don't know which park I'll be in on the evening of day 3 eek), a friend of mine double- and triple-books dining reservations 6 months out so they can have their choice of ressies on any particular evening. He says the process is common... I wonder how the heck the system can possibly function if the process is common. I guess they double and triple book every table? :shrug:

Bottom line, if you try to remove all the creativity from people by developing a system, people will use their creativity to try to get around the system.

 

[DisneyHeather]

This is going to be a travel agent's nightmare....

 

[DisneyNut2007]

It appears you have done pretty much nothing but bash it.

Here, here! After all, bashing is the only thing that Mr. WDW1974 is ever good at.

Let's hope that he'll pack up his pessimism and Gaston-ish attitude problems and hit the road ASAP.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I'm sorry to be critical of this - especially since there's so little actual info as to how this system would work...but it sounds stressful to me. Here's why I think that way: The last time I used the Disney dining plan and made reservations for various restaurants - which meant I had to be in a certain park at a certain time - it kinda bummed me out. In fact, it was a drag; I'd get interested in something at the MK, then think "Oh no, I have to be at Epcot at 7 to eat at the Biergarten!" and take the busses and walk and walk and MAN was I worn out. No fun. The next time I go to Disney, I'm getting the dining plan, but I'm making only a very few reservations, and otherwise eating at the resort I'm at or maybe chancing a walk-in now and again.

If this new system is anything like making too many dinner reservations, I'm out.

 

[aladdin2007]

This sounds bad to me. I don't want to 'plan' on which attractions I want to do at which time via fastpass, I want to continue to do what I do now. Get a fastpass and use it anytime after the first posted time. If this does come to fruitation and it makes it impossible to 'go with the flow' and vacation how I enjoy, then I could see myself not going as much if at all anymore. To me it's like, why fix what isn't broken and pour money into something not needed, when there's a bucketload of stuff they could pour money into and maintain and fix, or simply build new rides. All this personalized crap sounds great to some I'm sure, but it sounds bad to me.

I agree there is something to that. What comes to mind are things like the new parade at DHS. They can do all this new tech stuff yet get away with rolling out poorly executed entertainment, and or letting attractions rott that really need attention. Imagination for example just to name one.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Yeah, the risk here becomes that the vacations become too structured. While I typically know what parks I'm going to be in on any given day of my vacation most of that is dictated by dining reservations or touringplans.com suggestions.

Once I'm in the park I have things that I want to do, but a level of flexibility is needed. At the same time it may create less stress for many vacationers so as others have said, it certainly has it's place. I just hope that 180 days out from vacation I don't have to know that I need to be at Toy story Mania at 9:18 otherwise I won't get to ride.

 

[pax_65]

I'm getting the dining plan, but I'm making only a very few reservations, and otherwise eating at the resort I'm at or maybe chancing a walk-in now and again.

If you get the sit-down dining plan and don't make plans months in advance, it may be difficult for you to get your money's worth out of the plan. It might be better to do a plan that has counter-service for breakfast and lunches (and I think it comes with a snack or two) and then take your chances finding somewhere good to eat dinner.

The days of "walking in" and getting a table are basically gone, I'm afraid. At least for any decent restaurant anywhere near dinnertime.

 

[disneypearl]

This is what has me scratching my head too. How the heck am I supposed to know when/where I want to be at any given point?! :lol: I usually have a vague idea of what park I will be in each day, but beyond that I couldn't tell you. I'm also prone to switching my "plan" at a moments notice for no apparent reason. The thought of a vacation where I feel like I'm running from one appointment to the next is nauseating. It is no different from what I do every day of my life. I live and die by my Google calendar on my phone. It's bad enough that I already have to put all my ADRs in there when I go to WDW just to make sure I show up on time. :shrug:

I agree with this.
I really do not like to plan very much while on vacation. I live in the moment and enjoy that freedom.