Wired Feature "Disney's $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband"

[ford91exploder]

Tons and tons of anecdotal evidence says so. Did Figment ever have a 20 minute line before Fast pass+? Did Pirates ever drop below 30 minutes? Was Living With The Land always a 20 minute wait, and Spaceship Earth 45?

Yes there are more guests, but attendance didn't MyMagically double the day the system went online.

But what did happen is most of the rides that have seen increases are the ones where they didn't even have a Fastpass line so *everyone* went in standby.

In the past a person might get a Fast pass for one big ride on average, whereas now Disney pushes them into getting three, even for ones that used to be walk ons.

So that person who might have in the past used a standby line now uses the new Fastpass line, which loads *faster* (the clue is in the name) so those in the standby line now have to wait for the other line to load first, as they don't load one standby for every fastpass rider, hence a slower experience than before.

No JII used to have 5-10 minute waits with maybe a 20-30 minute wait during Christmas/NYE. BEFORE FP+

 

[Little Green Men]

Even if the wait time is listed longer, I've never waited more than five minutes for JII post FP+.

 

[bhg469]

No JII used to have 5-10 minute waits with maybe a 20-30 minute wait during Christmas/NYE. BEFORE FP+

I'd imagine if there is a 30 minute wait for that, it means 200 people got lost looking for a restroom and accidentally queued themselves up for the ride.

 

[xdan0920]

The smart watch market is very saturated, now apple has one for their own that does little more that the ones that have been out for years.

If it replaces the magic band and someone drops a grand for that ability... good for them I guess.

If you think anyone is buying the Apple watch simply to replace the magic band then you are certifiably insane.

Nope. Never did much planning. I usually only make one or two dining reservations at most for the entire trip. We would usually wake up early, decide what park to head to that morning, and go. We usually arrived early enough to get whatever Fastpasses we needed. Plus the lines early in the morning were short enough that the wait wasn't bad. But thanks to FP+, those days are long gone. Now if you don't make your Fastpass reservations at the 60 day mark the chances of getting one the day of your visit are pretty low.

This will probably be our last trip. Disney doesn't like families like mine that hate planning every minute of our vacation. I think after this we are going to be a Universal family. Nothing beats staying on site and getting front of the line access. When the wife and I went there a couple of years ago we were amazed at how much more relaxing it was compared to WDW. We didn't have to worry about dining reservations or fastpasses. It allowed us to be "spontaneous" and do whatever we wanted to do. To me THAT'S a relaxing vacation.

Because, thanks to FP+, the standby longs are a lot longer. Remember the days when the wait for HM was not that long? Well thanks to the addition of FP+ to that ride (and tons of other rides that don't need FP+ like POTC) those days are long gone. People that choose to not plan and use FP+ are basically being punished for it.

Quoting these together. I find it odd that you don't approve of Disney punishing those who don't want to use FP+, but praise Universal for punishing all those guests who don't stay onsite or shell out big bucks for express pass. Planning ahead costs you nothing, meanwhile Universal is charging you a hefty fee to get its version of FP.

For me personally, both systems work. I don't mind the up charge at universal, and while I don't like the 60 day window at WDW, I wish they would shorten it significantly, I also (generally) like FP+. Yes it's still pretty buggy, and that can be wildly frustrating, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

 

[bhg469]

If you think anyone is buying the Apple watch simply to replace the magic band then you are certifiably insane.





Quoting these together. I find it odd that you don't approve of Disney punishing those who don't want to use FP+, but praise Universal for punishing all those guests who don't stay onsite or shell out big bucks for express pass. Planning ahead costs you nothing, meanwhile Universal is charging you a hefty fee to get its version of FP.

For me personally, both systems work. I don't mind the up charge at universal, and while I don't like the 60 day window at WDW, I wish they would shorten it significantly, I also (generally) like FP+. Yes it's still pretty buggy, and that can be wildly frustrating, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

No, but there are no features that it will add that don't already exist in the smart watch market already, magic band feature is the only thing existing products won't do.

And no I don't think anyone will but I wouldn't put it past people Since people pay $250 to get a magic band and a fastpass for shopping for star wars apparel.. it's possible. .

 

[xdan0920]

No, but there are no features that it will add that don't already exist in the smart watch market already, magic band feature is the only thing existing products won't do.

And no I don't think anyone will but I wouldn't put it past people Since people pay $250 to get a magic band and a fastpass for shopping for star wars apparel.. it's possible. .

I'm not steeped in knowledge of the smart watch market, but I assume you are, so I'll defer to you. You say the Apple watch does nothing new, I guess that's got to be true, since you've said it twice now.

Still, I don't think the market for Apples watch is WDW park goers who would prefer a more technologically advanced MagicBand.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Imagine a park that has hundreds of sensors (like those in Be Our Guest) all around to literally monitor you wherever you are in the park. Imagine a giant map of the park (or the resort for that matter) with tens of thousands of little dots moving around, each dot representing a different guest). Imagine the data that could be mined from such information! You could literally track the amount of time it takes from the time each individual guest gets in line until they get on the ride providing amazingly accurate wait times for the rides. You could see (with 100% accuracy) the patterns at which guests move around the park so you could improve staffing, determine which paths need to be widened, determine where you could get the most traffic with a new churro cart... the amount of information (from a business standpoint) would (will) be AMAZING!

Then from a guest standpoint, imagine a system that realizes that you have been riding all the coasters/thrill rides. The system notes that the lines for Thunder Mountain are shorter and therefore, the ride has some capacity to spare. The system also realizes you are close to Thunder Mountain and sends you a text that says "Hey! I see you like thrill rides... Thunder Mountain is close by and the line is currently only 10 minutes!" It's a win/win for both the guest and the park. Or, maybe the system sees you and your group leaving the park and heading towards the bus wait area. The system knows you are staying at Coronado Springs and knows that their is currently a bus at the terminal for Coronado Springs. The system sends a message to the bus to wait an extra 60 seconds and you don't miss the bus. Again, the park wins because it keeps capacity up on the busses and you win because you wait less time for the bus. Same could work at the hotels. The park could literally see the number of people waiting at each bus stop and quickly determine if they need to send more busses.

The wonders of the Magic Band aren't going to be what the guest can do up front with them (like use them to get into the park or their hotel room or for FastPasses)... the wonders are going to be what the park can do behind the scenes with all the data they can collect from these devices...

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Back in the 80's, Figment always had a +45 line. It would wind around outside, going all the way back to the restrooms.

Just saying....

 

[ford91exploder]

As to shameless TWDC plugs saw the iWatch Ad last night and it was showing a dancing Mickey Mouse on the face, Yeah I'll pay between $349 and $10,000 (gold version) to get an animated mickey NOT!

 

[ford91exploder]

Back in the 80's, Figment always had a +45 line. It would wind around outside, going all the way back to the restrooms.

Just saying....

JII - was a LOT different in those days it was a true E-ticket then.

 

[ford91exploder]

If you think anyone is buying the Apple watch simply to replace the magic band then you are certifiably insane.





Quoting these together. I find it odd that you don't approve of Disney punishing those who don't want to use FP+, but praise Universal for punishing all those guests who don't stay onsite or shell out big bucks for express pass. Planning ahead costs you nothing, meanwhile Universal is charging you a hefty fee to get its version of FP.

For me personally, both systems work. I don't mind the up charge at universal, and while I don't like the 60 day window at WDW, I wish they would shorten it significantly, I also (generally) like FP+. Yes it's still pretty buggy, and that can be wildly frustrating, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

UNI is charging for a PREMIUM experience with FOTL which FP+ is decidedly NOT, Also with the Premier AP you get FOTL after 4PM every day.

 

[xdan0920]

UNI is charging for a PREMIUM experience with FOTL which FP+ is decidedly NOT, Also with the Premier AP you get FOTL after 4PM every day.

Still creates a "have" v. "have not" system, punishing the "have nots." Which like I said, I don't mind. It's just odd to me to dislike FP+ for that reason, but be fine with Front line.

 

[danlb_2000]

No, but there are no features that it will add that don't already exist in the smart watch market already, magic band feature is the only thing existing products won't do.

And no I don't think anyone will but I wouldn't put it past people Since people pay $250 to get a magic band and a fastpass for shopping for star wars apparel.. it's possible. .

It has one major feature that no other watch on the market has, it's from Apple.

 

[bhg469]

It has one major feature that no other watch on the market has, it's from Apple.

so it will only work for one phone combined with a higher price tag than anything else.. That sounds like a huge drawback.

 

[danlb_2000]

so it will only work for one phone combined with a higher price tag than anything else.. That sounds like a huge drawback.

Not for people who will buy anything with the Apple name on it.

 

[punkabella]

I enjoy planning for vacations, but I always offer my help to my friends who want to plan a trip to Disney. I think there is a learning curve to it with understanding how the fast pass system and magic bands work. I feel bad for the first time families you see trying to understand what to do next while in the park. "They will know what to do next time..." While I am stressed when reserving the dinner times or fast passes when still at home, it's just not as stressful to me to change our plans when at the park. I do like that part. I am looking forward to future enhancements and "magical" options that can Disney can create.

One feature I'd love to see on the magic band is a simple digital clock located below the mickey icon. So much of the functionality of the fast pass system needs you to be aware of the time. I'd love to be able to glance at the time quickly on my watch and not have to whip out my smart phone. I felt very OCD the amount of times I pulled out my smart phone so I knew where we had to be and at what time. Maybe an app(not one that makes you sign in every other time) for the watch would quickly display the current time and the times of your fast passes and reservation times..

 

[biggy H]

I

One feature I'd love to see on the magic band is a simple digital clock located below the mickey icon. So much of the functionality of the fast pass system needs you to be aware of the time. I'd love to be able to glance at the time quickly on my watch and not have to whip out my smart phone. I felt very OCD the amount of times I pulled out my smart phone so I knew where we had to be and at what time. Maybe an app(not one that makes you sign in every other time) for the watch would quickly display the current time and the times of your fast passes and reservation times..

If you have a watch why do you need to get your phone out???

If you don't have a watch just get one... that's what they are designed for..to have on your wrist to tell the time...

 

[raymusiccity]

A soundstage next door to Buzz? Perhaps they meant Midway Mania?

At the very end of the article, the author apologizes for some inaccurate descriptions of the locality and such. He corrected himself and stated the accurate soundstage next to Midway Mania.

"*This story originally stated that the design lab was next door to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, instead of Toy Story Midway Mania. It also stated that the lab was begun in 2008. This referred to a previous iteration of the lab at another location. Finally, the story stated that John Lasseter was a Disney board member, instead of a member of Pixar’s board. We regret the errors."

 

[punkabella]

If you have a watch why do you need to get your phone out???

If you don't have a watch just get one... that's what they are designed for..to have on your wrist to tell the time...

I don't want to have to get my phone out as much as I currently do. I don't mind every once and awhile. I don't wear a watch currently, so why can't there be a tiny one on the magic band? I'm not planning to get an apple watch as I don't use apple products, but I would be interested in seeing more integration of magic band features with all types of smart watches.

 

[ford91exploder]

Still creates a "have" v. "have not" system, punishing the "have nots." Which like I said, I don't mind. It's just odd to me to dislike FP+ for that reason, but be fine with Front line.

At least for our family it's the forced aspect of FP+ and if you do not or cannot use FP you are a second class citizen at WDW, FOTL is a premium experience and if Disney had implemented FP+ in a more guest friendly manner instead of as a substitute for capacity (much like the so called 'Smart Grid' which manages customer power usage instead of building production capacity) I think the experience would be better.

If Disney had done FP+ reservation as a resort guest/AP 'day of' experience for 1-2 rides and replaced paper FP with a scan the MB at the attraction I think it would have been a better system for the guests. And for the day guests they would simply scan their ticket at the attraction or a kiosk to eliminate the running.

We all talk about the old FP commando's who got 8-10 FP's per day who are bent but lets face it they were an extreme minority, Most of the people I know personally would FP a favorite ride or two and do standby the rest of the day.