DVC Availability Checker

[twinsouvenirs]

I agree, the waitlist tool is either intentionally crippled or poorly done. We know it can be done, so it is just a matter of why not. They could run waitlist checks more than once a day. A similar app that would be great would be a dining reservation app

 

[KalamityJane]

I agree, the waitlist tool is either intentionally crippled or poorly done. We know it can be done, so it is just a matter of why not. They could run waitlist checks more than once a day. A similar app that would be great would be a dining reservation app

I doubt it is intentionally crippled. My husband is in software development and from what he was saying, the way they set up FP+ was just crap code fundamentally. So I'm not surprised that they haven't done the DVC waitlist well.

 

[LisaS]

I agree, the waitlist tool is either intentionally crippled or poorly done.

I don't believe it is intentionally crippled or even poorly done. I think it was probably adequate at the time it was developed, when there were just a couple of resorts, far fewer members and no way for members to check availability online. It wasn't perfect even back then but it probably did the right thing 80-90% of the time.

Now we have a lot more members and the ability to see if any of the dates we're waiting for are available on the members' website. We can grab those nights online immediately, something that was possible before only if someone happened to call MS at the right time and I suspect not many took that route. MS also had shorter hours back then so it was harder for many to make that call. Members weren't as aware of the shortcomings of the wait list but Internet forums like this has changed all that.

So I don't agree that it is either crippled or poorly done but rather that it needs to be redesigned for the times.

We know it can be done, so it is just a matter of why not.

The "why not" includes cost and priorities. I'm not sure who would pay the cost to re-engineer the WL software, perhaps the members would be charged for it or maybe Disney. But I agree that the current implementation is lacking, especially since things like this Availability Checker make it even less likely that someone will get the nights on their WL.

They could run waitlist checks more than once a day.

For all we know, they do. I don't believe I've ever seen anything from DVC stating how often the WL process is run. Tjkraz once posted a great description of how complex WL management software really is. As is usually the case with software, once you get into the details of the problem you're trying to solve, it's never as simple as you first thought. I'm not saying it's rocket science but it's also not trivial, therefore not cheap to implement.

 

[Lizard Valley]

I doubt it is intentionally crippled. My husband is in software development and from what he was saying, the way they set up FP+ was just crap code fundamentally. So I'm not surprised that they haven't done the DVC waitlist well.

I agree. My husband is a top coder for one of the biggest software companies in the world. It's all just bad code by people who don't know what they're doing.

It wouldn't be that expensive to redo the whole DVC online booking system - if it's done by people who know how to code properly. Experienced and knowledgeable programmers can get the job done in fewer lines, and therefore less time and less $, than someone who takes 100 lines to do what could be done in 5 lines.

He was telling me about some coders who redid the whole US gov't insurance website in a weekend, just for fun.

 

[Sammie]

I agree, the waitlist tool is either intentionally crippled or poorly done. We know it can be done, so it is just a matter of why not. They could run waitlist checks more than once a day. A similar app that would be great would be a dining reservation app

Wait list does not run just once a day.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I see people on here rip Disney IT all the time. I've been in the industry professionally for over 30 years, and have even done and still do work for Disney.

If you guys had any idea what it took to run the P&R (Parks and Resorts) systems, you wouldn't be so harsh. The levels of inter-operability and inter-dependency is unbelievable.

You also have to remember that it MUST be responsive, with near immediate responses on all systems, as virtually everything operates realtime, right down to the braking systems on the roller coasters. This is not your father's nightly batch systems run in a computer clean room. It's truly a wonder it runs at all, but to talk about how terrible it all is is truly a disservice to all of us IT Professional Imagineers that make it all function 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

I'd much prefer that the trains on Space Mountain shut down when the train in front has a problem to getting my waitlist an hour sooner. It's a matter of priorities and where bodies need to be thrown at problems.

Think about all this next time you're at a gate and that Mickey Head turns green sub-2 seconds (Yes. That's a standard). Now think about all the other Mickey Heads doing it all over all the parks worldwide simultaneously. That's just the gates, folks.

There's a huge difference in writing code (Due respect to all programmers. I was one at a large bank in my early career too.) for a program or task and understanding the elaborate integration of systems of programs working together to a common goal.

Anybody that thinks that P&R systems are lacking or otherwise have absolutely no grasp of the magnitude and complexity of the systems involved. I'm sure some of you may have, but if you have seen the racks upon racks upon racks of servers (in the TENS of THOUSANDS) I have seen at the parks, you would be astounded that anything ever works, probably.

It's an unbelievable system. Disney's IT should be applauded instead of cursed.

 

[Sammie]

I see people on here rip Disney IT all the time. I've been in the industry professionally for over 30 years, and have even done and still do work for Disney.

If you guys had any idea what it took to run the P&R (Parks and Resorts) systems, you wouldn't be so harsh. The levels of inter-operability and inter-dependency is unbelievable.

You also have to remember that it MUST be responsive, with near immediate responses on all systems, as virtually everything operates realtime, right down to the braking systems on the roller coasters. This is not your father's nightly batch systems run in a computer clean room. It's truly a wonder it runs at all, but to talk about how terrible it all is is truly a disservice to all of us IT Professional Imagineers that make it all function 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

I'd much prefer that the trains on Space Mountain shut down when the train in front has a problem to getting my waitlist an hour sooner. It's a matter of priorities and where bodies need to be thrown at problems.

There's a huge difference in writing code (Due respect to all programmers. I was one at a large bank in my early career too.) for a program or task and understanding the elaborate integration of systems of programs working together to a common goal.

Anybody that thinks that P&R systems are lacking or otherwise have absolutely no grasp of the magnitude and complexity of the systems involved. I'm sure some of you may have, but if you have seen the racks upon racks upon racks of servers (in the TENS of THOUSANDS) I have seen at the parks, you would be astounded that anything ever works, probably.

It's an unbelievable system. Disney's IT should be applauded instead of cursed.

Thanks and well stated. I think it just that Disney is so large, so many parts to make the World operate, that the layman that has no experience with it at all, except as a customer simply can not grasp the scope of it.

I have many friends that work there from part time hourly at a park store to VP's over an entire park, so I get to glimpse behind that magical curtain often and which is why I don't criticize them too harshly.

I have over the years been accused of drinking the Disney Kool-aid, and it is not that at all I simply understand how it works.

Just like the misconception that wait list runs once a day, which I am sure is info gleaned from a forum discussion, rather than from someone that actually knows and works for DVC.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I agree. My husband is a top coder for one of the biggest software companies in the world. It's all just bad code by people who don't know what they're doing.

It wouldn't be that expensive to redo the whole DVC online booking system - if it's done by people who know how to code properly. Experienced and knowledgeable programmers can get the job done in fewer lines, and therefore less time and less $, than someone who takes 100 lines to do what could be done in 5 lines.

He was telling me about some coders who redid the whole US gov't insurance website in a weekend, just for fun.

That's pretty harsh. You should have your husband apply at Disney. They are always hiring the best coders in the industry.

 

[KalamityJane]

I see people on here rip Disney IT all the time. I've been in the industry professionally for over 30 years, and have even done and still do work for Disney.

If you guys had any idea what it took to run the P&R (Parks and Resorts) systems, you wouldn't be so harsh. The levels of inter-operability and inter-dependency is unbelievable.

You also have to remember that it MUST be responsive, with near immediate responses on all systems, as virtually everything operates realtime, right down to the braking systems on the roller coasters. This is not your father's nightly batch systems run in a computer clean room. It's truly a wonder it runs at all, but to talk about how terrible it all is is truly a disservice to all of us IT Professional Imagineers that make it all function 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

I'd much prefer that the trains on Space Mountain shut down when the train in front has a problem to getting my waitlist an hour sooner. It's a matter of priorities and where bodies need to be thrown at problems.

Think about all this next time you're at a gate and that Mickey Head turns green sub-2 seconds (Yes. That's a standard). Now think about all the other Mickey Heads doing it all over all the parks worldwide simultaneously. That's just the gates, folks.

There's a huge difference in writing code (Due respect to all programmers. I was one at a large bank in my early career too.) for a program or task and understanding the elaborate integration of systems of programs working together to a common goal.

Anybody that thinks that P&R systems are lacking or otherwise have absolutely no grasp of the magnitude and complexity of the systems involved. I'm sure some of you may have, but if you have seen the racks upon racks upon racks of servers (in the TENS of THOUSANDS) I have seen at the parks, you would be astounded that anything ever works, probably.

It's an unbelievable system. Disney's IT should be applauded instead of cursed.

This is a very valid point. From what I have heard about FP+ from another Disney IT, was that it wasn't ready to be rolled out when it was, and management pushed it through. I will concede that sometimes it seems like managers or higher ups don't realize the scope or impossibility of what they ask sometimes, so this may be what happened?

 

[Sammie]

This is a very valid point. From what I have heard about FP+ from another Disney IT, was that it wasn't ready to be rolled out when it was, and management pushed it through. I will concede that sometimes it seems like managers or higher ups don't realize the scope or impossibility of what they ask sometimes, so this may be what happened?

And they are pushed by Board of Directors and stock holders. Someone always has someone above them pushing to get it done quicker. The scope of managing 65,000 plus employees on a daily basis, is beyond comprehension.

 

[disneynutz]

And they are pushed by Board of Directors and stock holders. Someone always has someone above them pushing to get it done quicker. The scope of managing 65,000 plus employees on a daily basis, is beyond comprehension.

Many companies take a certain path and bite of more than they can chew. Granted Disney on the surface is a wonderful company but they are responsible for the decisions that they make, how they pay and treat their employees, the projects that they implement, their budgets, and if we get a clean room. They also decide what to do with their profits, invest in doing the job right or doing a job that is just good enough.

Bill

 

[snarlingcoyote]

That's pretty harsh. You should have your husband apply at Disney. They are always hiring the best coders in the industry.

Uhm. . .where are you getting this from? I've looked at their job postings for some allied fields in the past, just for chuckles and grins, and from what I've seen they're nothing special as companies go, just par for the course as per a non-techy company.

If you have something to back this assertation up, I would love to see it. DH keeps making noise about moving to Florida. . .

 

[WilsonFlyer]

This is a very valid point. From what I have heard about FP+ from another Disney IT, was that it wasn't ready to be rolled out when it was, and management pushed it through. I will concede that sometimes it seems like managers or higher ups don't realize the scope or impossibility of what they ask sometimes, so this may be what happened?

Managers think it ought to be ready after lunch. Analysts think it's never ready. It's a balancing act. Was FP+ rolled out too early? Maybe. Probably. At least parts of it. The problem is that it is a finely tuned machine (believe it or not) and it's very design demands that it work together and it is very interdependent on all of its pieces and parts, not unlike your own car. One part burps and the whole body gets sick.

It's OK to be upset with the problems going on now. We all understand that, but please reserve final judgement for when it's finished. I think most that are complaining will be much happier when it is. There are a lot of assumptions being made on these boards that simply aren't true. What it is today simply is not what it will be in the end. Granted, it will always be a work in progress, but today isn't anywhere near it.

Hang tight. You might be both surprised and pleased in the end. Things are not always as they appear and objects may be closer than they appear in the mirror.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Just like the misconception that wait list runs once a day, which I am sure is info gleaned from a forum discussion, rather than from someone that actually knows and works for DVC.

Perhaps it runs more than once a day but what I am referring to is that you can have a waitlist and it is not granted, from what I have heard, until close of business (they seem to come through overnight, and sometimes people are notified and sometimes they are not.) An you can actually beat the waitlist and spot the reservation and book it before your waitlist for the same room is filled. Functionally, then, the filling isn't realtime--in an ideal system when the room opens up and there is someone on the waitlist, that should be filled. Before the room goes back on the books as open.

 

[Msmithmd]

Wilsonflyer, I appreciate your defense of Disney IT in aggregate- and agree that the park IT systems seem to work pretty well. But back to the thread at hand, how on earth can you defend Disney IT as competent (at least for DVC) when they won't put together a wait list availability tool as valuable and agile as this one, that was created by a single DVC member?

And their response to this extremely useful tool, is to demand that it be shut down?

How is that competent corporate IT priority management?

Seems to me that this is akin to a company insisting on rotary dial phones at all desks. Then, when some customer comes in and starts to use a smartphone in their lobby, insisting that it be shut off and that the customer use one of the rotary dial units when it becomes available in six hours. Please explain to me, how that isn't essentially what DVC is doing here...

 

[Judique]

Wilsonflyer, I appreciate your defense of Disney IT in aggregate- and agree that the park IT systems seem to work pretty well. But back to the thread at hand, how on earth can you defend Disney IT as competent (at least for DVC) when they won't put together a wait list availability tool as valuable and agile as this one, that was created by a single DVC member?

And their response to this extremely useful tool, is to demand that it be shut down?

How is that competent corporate IT priority management?

Seems to me that this is akin to a company insisting on rotary dial phones at all desks. Then, when some customer comes in and starts to use a smartphone in their lobby, insisting that it be shut off and that the customer use one of the rotary dial units when it becomes available in six hours. Please explain to me, how that isn't essentially what DVC is doing here...

I have been on the DVC waitlist for a couple of months for a club level room at AKV for one additional night.

When I read about the ****** on here, I also filled out the form and waited to see if I would get the room. I also continued to check availability several times per day.

The room came through for me using the waitlist. The waitlist beat out the APP and also my availability checks.

It is just my opinion that any one of these methods could have snagged the room.

It is also my understanding that the APP was being run 4 times per day.

So, any one of these methods are not fool proof because it is a timing issue. I can say that I am happy that Disney found me the room first. They cancelled my existing reservation, rearranged my points correctly and booked the night for me.

 

[bookwormde]

I can not believe anyone would defend Disney IT, the best you can say is that it has become marginally better of the past 2 years, with the reservation system being a bright spot while being very clunky from an interface perspective, at least has a high level of reliability.

I think we should create a cooperative to check and publish dates, even if they are only up to date by the day or even week.

 

[VrBchJ]

I wish we would hear from DeDobber. I hope he understands how much we all appreciate his efforts to make our DVC easier to manage.

 

[Minniesgal]

Perhaps it runs more than once a day but what I am referring to is that you can have a waitlist and it is not granted, from what I have heard, until close of business (they seem to come through overnight, and sometimes people are notified and sometimes they are not.) An you can actually beat the waitlist and spot the reservation and book it before your waitlist for the same room is filled. Functionally, then, the filling isn't realtime--in an ideal system when the room opens up and there is someone on the waitlist, that should be filled. Before the room goes back on the books as open.

It doesn't always run overnight I have had two wait lists granted about midday eastern time. There is a lot of hearsay about how wait lists run I. Not sure anybody knows for sure exactly how they run.

 

[disneynutz]

It doesn't always run overnight I have had two wait lists granted about midday eastern time. There is a lot of hearsay about how wait lists run I. Not sure anybody knows for sure exactly how they run.

I was told by a DVC manager that the waitlists are run at night and that the matches are worked and reservations made and or changed by CM's. So the reservation would be made or granted during the day from a match made from the night before.

Bill