Congress concerned over MagicBand security issues..

[Disney_Princess83]

And the issue of knowing where their customers are and what they are purchasing is what? If you walk into my sister's shop she personally watches and knows her customers and their practices.

Watching is one thing, I can't stop Disney from hiring security or undercover people to watch us in the parks. But the idea of them knowing literally every step you take? I realise it doesn't bother everything and that's alright but people should respect other people are bothered.

My concern is what is Disney going to do with this information? They don't want it to make our park experiences better And yes, it's a business, they are thee to make money but it still feels icky to me. I've already written to Disney to say this. We are AP holders and it's making us rethink future trips.

 

[doconeill]

Watching is one thing, I can't stop Disney from hiring security or undercover people to watch us in the parks. But the idea of them knowing literally every step you take? I realise it doesn't bother everything and that's alright but people should respect other people are bothered.

My concern is what is Disney going to do with this information? They don't want it to make our park experiences better And yes, it's a business, they are thee to make money but it still feels icky to me. I've already written to Disney to say this. We are AP holders and it's making us rethink future trips.

It always comes down to a matter of trust.

Disney has already said you can opt out of the tracking transmitter by not getting a MagicBand. You need to trust that they aren't also tracking by RFID, which is harder but not impossible for them to do.

Disney has already said that the receivers for the transmitter are only at strategic locations within the park, and not all over. You need to trust that they are telling the truth.

You need to trust that they are also following their privacy policies as posted.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

It always comes down to a matter of trust.

Disney has already said you can opt out of the tracking transmitter by not getting a MagicBand. You need to trust that they aren't also tracking by RFID, which is harder but not impossible for them to do.

Disney has already said that the receivers for the transmitter are only at strategic locations within the park, and not all over. You need to trust that they are telling the truth.

You need to trust that they are also following their privacy policies as posted.

I'm much happier to hear that we can opt out and that we can still participate in FP+ and Photopass with the cards.

I agree that it comes down to trust and a I generally don't "trust" any business because at the end of the day, they're looking to make more money. It's as simple as that. We adore Disney, have had countless magical trips. But they're still a business.

 

[Floridagram]

Finally someone who thinks like me, I was just saying this same thing to my DH, just because its new shiny technology that makes life easier and more of a personal experience doesnt mean its all hunky dorey just because its Disney doing it. Personally I am glad he wrote this letter and the answers should be made public. We are not comfortable with wearing or using these and will opt out. If I wanted someone tracking my every move while I was on vacation I wouldnt go on vacation I would stay at work. I had to laugh my husband just said its like they are fitting people with GPS, or like the ankle bracelets the criminals wear while on house arrest. LOL ....Im sure I will be slammed on here for telling that one!

I think the ankle bracelet comment is pretty funny!

My thoughts are that this whole thing is going to be a debacle. We already experienced it last week end. One third of the gates at MK are for Magic bands, one third were shut down converting and everyone else was lined up trying to get through the remaining third of the turnstiles. NOT a magical way to start the day.

Then you have the line cutters to deal with but that could be a thread of its own.

So I am thinking that if those who are targeted to get the bands don't get them the lines will be even longer for those of us that don't have them. I just don't think Disney thought this out very well and it makes me sorry we chose this year to get annual passes again. I have read that annual passholders may be supposed to get them too. Does anyone know how that could possibly work?

 

[doconeill]

I think the ankle bracelet comment is pretty funny!

My thoughts are that this whole thing is going to be a debacle. We already experienced it last week end. One third of the gates at MK are for Magic bands, one third were shut down converting and everyone else was lined up trying to get through the remaining third of the turnstiles. NOT a magical way to start the day.

The converted turnstiles are being used by guests who have the KTTW RFID cards already, but they need to have their ticket entitlements on them.

But it does seem like they are jumping the gun with the conversion.

I have read that annual passholders may be supposed to get them too. Does anyone know how that could possibly work?

Annual passholders are supposed to be able to get MagicBands. We don't have details yet. And eventually all ticket media is likely to be RFID anyways, which is why they are doing the turnstile conversions. But it seems like they are doing them faster than they have guests to use them, and the reported delays in the rollout won't help.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

AP Holders will be getting Magic Bands. You get them when you activate/purchase your AP. You get one for each person who has an AP. There are basic designs to you can pay to upgrade to a Band with characters. That is your Magic Band for the entire year. If you lose it, you need to pay a replacement cost (no news yet how much the replacement is)

So I am thinking that if those who are targeted to get the bands don't get them the lines will be even longer for those of us that don't have them. I just don't think Disney thought this out very well and it makes me sorry we chose this year to get annual passes again. I have read that annual passholders may be supposed to get them too. Does anyone know how that could possibly work?

 

[dadddio]

I think the ankle bracelet comment is pretty funny!

My thoughts are that this whole thing is going to be a debacle. We already experienced it last week end. One third of the gates at MK are for Magic bands, one third were shut down converting and everyone else was lined up trying to get through the remaining third of the turnstiles. NOT a magical way to start the day.

Then you have the line cutters to deal with but that could be a thread of its own.

So I am thinking that if those who are targeted to get the bands don't get them the lines will be even longer for those of us that don't have them. I just don't think Disney thought this out very well and it makes me sorry we chose this year to get annual passes again.

I think that the problems that you are experiencing are going to go away pretty quickly because soon all of the gates will will have RFID readers. Once the transition is complete, the lines to get into the park should flow much faster than they did with the old gates.

I have read that annual passholders may be supposed to get them too. Does anyone know how that could possibly work?

I assume that you would stop at Guest Services where they would make sure that your AP number is in your profile, enter the magic band's number to same and then hand you the magic band. If the battery were to die prior to your AP needing to be renewed, you'd stop off at Guest Services and get a new band.

 

[doconeill]

AP Holders will be getting Magic Bands. You get them when you activate/purchase your AP. You get one for each person who has an AP. There are basic designs to you can pay to upgrade to a Band with characters. That is your Magic Band for the entire year. If you lose it, you need to pay a replacement cost (no news yet how much the replacement is)

Did we get confirmation on these details already and I missed it?

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Did we get confirmation on these details already and I missed it?

I'm fairly sure we did, it was on the other thread about FP+ AP Holders and those with resort/room packages would get the regular Magic Bands for "free". Those staying off site could purchase the Magic Bands. I'm sure I saw this in an article

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Did we get confirmation on these details already and I missed it?

I found this but I've read it somewhere else as well:

Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs has provided a few more details on how the experience will work for annual passholders and guests staying at off Disney property:

• Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels, and Annual Passholders will receive a band, as well as those guests who purchase a photography package. Guests who stay at non-Disney hotels will receive a ticket with features of touch to enter the park, touch to redeem FastPass+ and touch to pay. These guests can participate in My Disney Experience and purchase a MagicBand if they wish.

Taken from http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog...gicbands-for-a-personalized-guest-experience/

 

[doconeill]

I found this but I've read it somewhere else as well:

Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs has provided a few more details on how the experience will work for annual passholders and guests staying at off Disney property:

• Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels, and Annual Passholders will receive a band, as well as those guests who purchase a photography package. Guests who stay at non-Disney hotels will receive a ticket with features of touch to enter the park, touch to redeem FastPass+ and touch to pay. These guests can participate in My Disney Experience and purchase a MagicBand if they wish.

Taken from http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog...gicbands-for-a-personalized-guest-experience/

OK, I missed when he mentioned APs. We don't know when in the conversion process that will happen yet though.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

OK, I missed when he mentioned APs. We don't know when in the conversion process that will happen yet though.

No, not yet.

 

[SaraJayne]

I'm fairly sure we did, it was on the other thread about FP+ AP Holders and those with resort/room packages would get the regular Magic Bands for "free". Those staying off site could purchase the Magic Bands. I'm sure I saw this in an article

Are AP holders able to opt out of the bands?

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Are AP holders able to opt out of the bands?

We don't know yet.

 

[SaraJayne]

We don't know yet.

Ok, thanks. I didn't know if it had already been said and I missed it.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Ok, thanks. I didn't know if it had already been said and I missed it.

I don't think it's been said, I'm trying to keep on top of Magic Bands in regard to the AP's

 

[doconeill]

Are AP holders able to opt out of the bands?

Presumably they can get the same RFID card anyone else can get if they choose, with the same limitations. Iger did say MagicBands were optional.

 

[dawnball]

I'd need more information before I believe they are. And they don't have a way to track my purchases with the mac either. So their benefit of knowing a particular phone was in the store for X minutes is of limited use.

Navizon makes turnkey solutions for vendors to do their own tracking and Euclid Analytics does its own monitoring, then sells analyzed data. It's just the next step in the evolution of customer tracking and marketing.

The fact that I searched for "flu" or "flu symptoms" doesn't mean anything in particular - but if you aggregate all the flu-related searches together, you get google flu-tracker, which is a remarkably good proxy for actual flu activity. They don't have to know who you are for that.

Stores don't have to know who you are to know how long you stayed in the store - if you went to the cash register, if you looked at the sections of the store with new product, or with clearance items... the data is more valuable aggregated for data mining and monitored for suspicious activity (shoplifting) than on an individual basis.

I'm hardly yelling that the sky is falling here. I'm just saying that retailers will track what data they can, and crunch the numbers after the fact to see if they can get something meaningful. I hardly expect the magicband to become enough of a fashion accessory that people would wear them at home. But stores in Orlando that often get a lot of tourists might be curious how many are wearing Disney MagicBands, or what people wearing MagicBands tend to buy.

 

[Granny square]

Lol, thought that said "turkey" not "turnkey" was wildly confused.

I agree that people collect data and then see what it can be used for. I do that whenever I do research.

 

[doconeill]

FYI, the DIS Unplugged episode release today discusses this, and they talk with a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.