NextGen, Magic Band, and FP+

[DizneyFreak2002]

Right from Bob Iger's mouth:

"If we could sell your behavior to an advertiser -- I am actually pretty bullish about what technology is going to allow in terms of behavioral tracking. I think we are going to have information to sell to marketers."

Now are you all understanding what is behind this facade of "improving guest experience"?

[Quadstriker]

Now that's the first thing I've seen that makes sense as to what all this was really about.

[kbean]

I don't think anyone knows how this is going to play out once in motion. There's gonna be a bugs that will need to be worked out. I bet there will be changes to this new "change" in the future. Like even being scraped a few yrs down the road if this turns out to be a bust.

[March Hare]

If you are truly afraid of DATA MINING or them tracking your every move then get yourself a RFID blocking bag and only take your wristband out when you absolutely have to that way you can't be tracked and no one can access the info on it

[BrerGnat]

Goodness. Let's all just put on our tinfoil hats and wait for the end of the world.

RFID can be stolen. Yes. So can your credit card number by a PERSON. I had my cc info stolen from a Disneyland CM the very first time I purchased an annual pass at the ticket window in 2001. She proceeded to charge up over $300 on my credit card on some electronics website. And, I saw the bogus charge, called my cc company, and that was that. They handled it. I have had credit cards for over 15 years. I've had a few of them compromised. I've never encountered resistance in dealing with fraudulent charges. That's the whole point of credit cards...there is fraud protection built in. I trust it.

You know what I don't trust? Cash. And, debit cards, and CHECKS. Goodness, what with all the ability to electronically wire funds using just a routing and checking number...they are the LEAST secure thing around. Yet, people still use them regularly.

Your Disney RFID bracelet needs to be tied to your room charge, which needs to be backed up with a credit card. It's very easy to monitor your credit card and watch for bogus charges. It is something everyone should do very regularly anyway. I have no fear of this sort of thing.

Once you step foot on Disney property, you are on THEIR property. They have every right to track your every move if they choose.

My husband is in the military. He is, essentially, government property. If they decided one day that they wanted to attach a GPS unit on him, in order to follow his every move, he would be totally okay with it. Seriously. We talked about it recently. They OWN him. They have a right to know what he is doing all the time if they so choose. No one is forced to go to Disney World. If you CHOOSE to go, you play by their rules. If you don't like them, don't go. Simple as that.

Turning this NexGen thing into some sinister plot by Disney is ridiculous. All inclusive resorts like Sandals and Beaches have been using this technology for years. Great Wolf Lodge has this technology also, as do many cruise lines. It's not new.

[Jared]

When this whole thing was very first announced, I was totally underwhelmed by the whole thing.

Now, after getting more information and seeing a lot more of the details, I have to say I'm totally underwhelmed.

I agree. But I'm stopping, for now, at underwhelmed. The nefarious conspiracy angle to this whole thing is a bit ridiculous, I think. This is not an evil plot. This is not a system designed to ruin your vacation. In fact, I'd pretty much guarantee that for 99% of guests, this whole MyMagic+ will be viewed as the coolest thing ever. Heck, my family thought the RFID system at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos was awesome, and that's a miniscule fraction of what Disney is planning to unveil.

Without a doubt, this is a boondoggle. It goes without saying that the $1.5 billion would have been better spent on attractions and infrastructure improvements, at least from the guest perspective. Ultimately, though, I see this as neutral at worst and a marginal improvement at best.

[BrerGnat]

Heck, my family thought the RFID system at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos was awesome, and that's a miniscule fraction of what Disney is planning to unveil..

Exactly.

On our next trip, in 2014, we will be taking a "newbie" (my BIL). Honestly, knowing him, this is going to BLOW HIS MIND. He is going to think it's the coolest thing ever. This guy is impressed with how the 4th of July fireworks in San Francisco are synced to music. I was with them this past 4th. It was a TINY fireworks display, rather pathetic, and he was so impressed with it. I was like "you just wait until you see what Disney does with fireworks."

Honestly, I think many people here fail to realize how impressive this type of technology is to the majority of people out there.

It is going to blow people away.

[Stu29573]

Ok, a bit of a rant here. Please feel free to go to the next post if you don't want to hear it.

To me, the whole Disneyworld experience has gotten too complicated. I am one of those visitors who always left my cell phone in the room because I don't want any contact with the "outside world" while I am in the parks. I want to be a world away from schedules, stress, deadlines, and hassles. Now I'm being told that in order to get the "full experience" I have to stay connected 24/7.

There are fewer and fewer spontanious experiences in the parks. Everything is a competition to get there first, be the most informed, be the first in line. Can you visit WDW without using the "perks" that keep us all on schedule? Sure, but its not the same as it was.

The joy of wandering the parks and just discovering things is gone. You are now a cog in a huge mouse shaped machine, and you feel it (or at least I do). When the computers crashed with all my information on my last trip, I was shown how much this is true. I wasn't a "guest," I was a number. A number in a machine that didn't care.

Now with the economy as it is, I may never get back to WDW. The truely frightening part is how I am beginning to genuinely not care. My WDW is dead. I guess I will cling to my memories of a simpler more joyous time and let the technocrats take over.

[Altair]

To me, the whole Disneyworld experience has gotten too complicated.

I agree with your post completly.

[Stu29573]

Goodness. Let's all just put on our tinfoil hats and wait for the end of the world.

RFID can be stolen. Yes. So can your credit card number by a PERSON. I had my cc info stolen from a Disneyland CM the very first time I purchased an annual pass at the ticket window in 2001. She proceeded to charge up over $300 on my credit card on some electronics website. And, I saw the bogus charge, called my cc company, and that was that. They handled it. I have had credit cards for over 15 years. I've had a few of them compromised. I've never encountered resistance in dealing with fraudulent charges. That's the whole point of credit cards...there is fraud protection built in. I trust it.

You know what I don't trust? Cash. And, debit cards, and CHECKS. Goodness, what with all the ability to electronically wire funds using just a routing and checking number...they are the LEAST secure thing around. Yet, people still use them regularly.

Your Disney RFID bracelet needs to be tied to your room charge, which needs to be backed up with a credit card. It's very easy to monitor your credit card and watch for bogus charges. It is something everyone should do very regularly anyway. I have no fear of this sort of thing.

Once you step foot on Disney property, you are on THEIR property. They have every right to track your every move if they choose.

My husband is in the military. He is, essentially, government property. If they decided one day that they wanted to attach a GPS unit on him, in order to follow his every move, he would be totally okay with it. Seriously. We talked about it recently. They OWN him. They have a right to know what he is doing all the time if they so choose. No one is forced to go to Disney World. If you CHOOSE to go, you play by their rules. If you don't like them, don't go. Simple as that.

Turning this NexGen thing into some sinister plot by Disney is ridiculous. All inclusive resorts like Sandals and Beaches have been using this technology for years. Great Wolf Lodge has this technology also, as do many cruise lines. It's not new.

Although I agree that the conspiracy theories are a bit overwrought, you may make your point better by being a little less condescending. I was insulted and I basically agree with you....

[Janmac]

To me, the whole Disneyworld experience has gotten too complicated.

I submit that this is true for a minority of Disney guests. Those who are paying attention to the sorts of things we are talking about in this thread.

Most WDW guests aren't going to notice or care.

Jan

[Ian]

Right from Bob Iger's mouth:

"If we could sell your behavior to an advertiser -- I am actually pretty bullish about what technology is going to allow in terms of behavioral tracking. I think we are going to have information to sell to marketers."

Now are you all understanding what is behind this facade of "improving guest experience"?

WHOA! You're taking that quote completely and totally out of context and making it say something that Iger didn't intend for it to say. Iger was strictly discussing the ability to track people's preferences (specifically their shopping preferences) on the Internet not in their theme parks.

Now if you want to make the case that if he feels that way about data mining on the Internet he also feels that way about data mining in the parks, then okay ... I guess I could go there with you. But truth is, I don't think Iger thinks all that much about the theme parks. If he did, and this was some company wide conspiracy to furtively track all of us down to the nth degree so they could bilk every nickel out of us that they can, why wouldn't Iger also be rolling it out at DL, TDL, DLP, etc.?

No, I could maybe believe that TDO is interested in that aspect of it, but I don't think Iger's quote has any relevance here at all.

To me, the whole Disneyworld experience has gotten too complicated.

This, on the other hand, I completely agree with. I've said as much on the podcasts ... you need a PhD and a Microsoft Project Plan anymore just to have a WDW vacation.

Just not my idea of fun, sorry.

[Stu29573]

I submit that this is true for a minority of Disney guests. Those who are paying attention to the sorts of things we are talking about in this thread.

Most WDW guests aren't going to notice or care.

Jan

Perhaps. A little knowledge can be dangerous. Simply knowing such "perks" exist can lead to a desire to compete and take advantage of all the bells and shiney baubles offered, when it is not completely needed.

Having said that, however, I have a friend who went on her first WDW trip this Christmas and has no desire to ever go back. She stated that it was much more stressful than actually being at work, and that she felt that she was always "not in the loop" on what was going on, how things were done at WDW, etc. Surely there is a happy medium somewhere.

I feel WDW needs to embrace the KISS principle. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)...or at least give the impression that they do. If I have to work harder at being at a resort than I do in my everyday life, then that ain't no vacation.

[Jared]

To me, the whole Disneyworld experience has gotten too complicated.

I still contend that it's only that complicated if you want it to be. I'm going down there for three days over Martin Luther King weekend. We booked it, without any exaggeration, 12 days before we're leaving. We may or may not make dining reservations. Often, I just make them once I arrive. We rarely use Fastpass, so I can't imagine doing too much with Fastpass+. I just don't quite understand why everybody is saying that going to Disney has become a chore. For people that like to plan, the option is there. For people that don't, we still don't have to.

[Dopey's Girl]

Goodness. Let's all just put on our tinfoil hats and wait for the end of the world.

Dies laughing!!!!

I'm reserving judgement still on this one. If they keep the timing for reserving Wishes viewing spots and Fastpasses to a reasonable time period (24 hours out or so) I'm ok with it. I don't want to have to do all of this 6 months out though. I'll never see Wishes or ride Soarin again if that's the case. I already refuse to make many ADR's because I can't possibly know what I want to eat in 6 months!

I'm a planner at work, I refuse to make vacation anything like work. I don't have Disney spreadsheets so I know where I need to be to have fun every second of every trip. It's not fun to me, I know it is to some, but I refuse to vacation like that.

[Stu29573]

I still contend that it's only that complicated if you want it to be. I'm going down there for three days over Martin Luther King weekend. We booked it, without any exaggeration, 12 days before we're leaving. We may or may not make dining reservations. Often, I just make them once I arrive. We rarely use Fastpass, so I can't imagine doing too much with Fastpass+. I just don't quite understand why everybody is saying that going to Disney has become a chore. For people that like to plan, the option is there. For people that don't, we still don't have to.

But if you want the "whole experience" you have to play the game. Rather simplistic example: We didn't ride Toy Story Mania last trip because we never were able to get Fastpasses. Now, it can be argued that was our fault for not getting there on time, and that Next Gen will solve that issue by letting us get them beforehand.

However, I contend that the same result could be obtained by not having Fastpass at all. How many stories have we heard about how Fastpass actually slows down wait times? If you have attractions that are always too crowded, maybe you need more attractions to disperse the crowds, not some scheduling gimmick.

[Janmac]

Having said that, however, I have a friend who went on her first WDW trip this Christmas and has no desire to ever go back. She stated that it was much more stressful than actually being at work, and that she felt that she was always "not in the loop" on what was going on, how things were done at WDW, etc. Surely there is a happy medium somewhere.

I feel WDW needs to embrace the KISS principle. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)...or at least give the impression that they do. If I have to work harder at being at a resort than I do in my everyday life, then that ain't no vacation.

Absolutely agree - don't really care to work harder on vacation. Then it's not a vacation. And there is the can't take it back problem. Once I escalate to a different level, regarding vacation - such as ADRs - it's difficult to back off. KISS would be nice.

Regarding your friend's experience, I have the tale of two brothers, both in their 40s, who were going to go to WDW with their families - in July. They'd both previously been as teens. Somehow they got reservations on different weeks, one leaving WDW a day after the other arrived. (This was due to a technical snafu with one brother's bank at home, not Disney - long story)

Anyway, the older brother wanted spontaneous, winging it each day, stayed off property. The younger asked me for planning advice, made a few ADRs, avoided EMH experiences in the parks and stayed on property (FOQ).

Guess which brother (younger) was planning a repeat trip the next summer and which one (older) claims he's not going back ever.

Some of this reflects the personalities of the two brothers. Going with the flow, working with the system, a tendency to focus on the positive.

It's also difficult to get back that newness, exploration, discovery. We know too much. To that end, the last two trips, and this upcoming one, we have included newbies in our group.

Jan

[BrerGnat]

We don't take the kind of vacations where we plan much at all anymore. We just make the travel reservations and go. Winging it usually works out really well for us. Our kids' autism and related issues make it difficult to formulate a plan and stick with it. We have to be flexible. Our most enjoyable trips have been since we had our kids and stopped with the obsessive planning.

I think people have forgotten that there used to be NO Fastpass. For the people saying they didn't get to ride X attraction because the FP were all gone, or they didn't want to deal with the rope drop stampede (which I agree is insane) why didn't you just wait in the standby line? Honestly, I want to know. If I really wanted to do something, I'd be willing to wait for it.

If this new system allows you to get your FP with the touch of a button, at a time that works for you, on the day of, what's so bad about that?

[March Hare]

Goodness. Let's all just put on our tinfoil hats and wait for the end of the world.

RFID can be stolen. Yes. So can your credit card number by a PERSON. I had my cc info stolen from a Disneyland CM the very first time I purchased an annual pass at the ticket window in 2001. She proceeded to charge up over $300 on my credit card on some electronics website. And, I saw the bogus charge, called my cc company, and that was that. They handled it. I have had credit cards for over 15 years. I've had a few of them compromised. I've never encountered resistance in dealing with fraudulent charges. That's the whole point of credit cards...there is fraud protection built in. I trust it.

You know what I don't trust? Cash. And, debit cards, and CHECKS. Goodness, what with all the ability to electronically wire funds using just a routing and checking number...they are the LEAST secure thing around. Yet, people still use them regularly.

Your Disney RFID bracelet needs to be tied to your room charge, which needs to be backed up with a credit card. It's very easy to monitor your credit card and watch for bogus charges. It is something everyone should do very regularly anyway. I have no fear of this sort of thing.

Once you step foot on Disney property, you are on THEIR property. They have every right to track your every move if they choose.

My husband is in the military. He is, essentially, government property. If they decided one day that they wanted to attach a GPS unit on him, in order to follow his every move, he would be totally okay with it. Seriously. We talked about it recently. They OWN him. They have a right to know what he is doing all the time if they so choose. No one is forced to go to Disney World. If you CHOOSE to go, you play by their rules. If you don't like them, don't go. Simple as that.

Turning this NexGen thing into some sinister plot by Disney is ridiculous. All inclusive resorts like Sandals and Beaches have been using this technology for years. Great Wolf Lodge has this technology also, as do many cruise lines. It's not new.

That was the point of my post if you are truly afraid of that kind of the situation then do something about it and stop whining. Oh and by the way they can track you every time your key to the world, credit cards, or debit cards Big brother is ALWAYS watching

[Aurora]

I still contend that it's only that complicated if you want it to be. I'm going down there for three days over Martin Luther King weekend. We booked it, without any exaggeration, 12 days before we're leaving. We may or may not make dining reservations. Often, I just make them once I arrive. We rarely use Fastpass, so I can't imagine doing too much with Fastpass+. I just don't quite understand why everybody is saying that going to Disney has become a chore. For people that like to plan, the option is there. For people that don't, we still don't have to.

PLEASE post a trip report when you return. I'm really interested to find out your experience over MLK weekend. We are also, for the most part, minimal planners, and I'd like to see what your take is on this vacation.

As for MyMagic+ or FastPass+ or MakeMeIntoARobotMickey+ or whatever they're calling it these days, I do feel sorry for the people who, like Stu's friend, feel like they're out of the loop. I hope when this is rolled out that ALL guests are included, not just those on property, and that people don't feel like they're sacrificing parts of their vacation if they opt out.