Extra magic? Not really.

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Also read the MDE app update release notes, they are now tracking wait times via guests with phones that have bluetooth enabled and the app installed which is anyone not smart enough to disable it when they got the phone or anyone with a fitness band that records in real time to the phone.

Wow. That's creepy. I will have to remember to turn bt off when we go (I have it on for my Fitbit and music in the car). I'd rather Disney not help drain my battery any faster.

 

[GreatLakes]

Wow. That's creepy. I will have to remember to turn bt off when we go (I have it on for my Fitbit and music in the car). I'd rather Disney not help drain my battery any faster.

Keep in mind they can use Bluetooth (standard and BLE), WiFi, or GPS to know where you are so make sure to turn off all of those radios if you don't want to be tracked. Then, even with all of those turned off, they can use the RFID in your magic band to track you so make sure to put it in one of these bags if you don't want to be tracked at all.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Keep in mind they can use Bluetooth (standard and BLE), WiFi, or GPS to know where you are so make sure to turn off all of those radios if you don't want to be tracked. Then, even with all of those turned off, they can use the RFID in your magic band to track you so make sure to put it in one of these bags if you don't want to be tracked at all.

This. You are tracked all over at Walt Disney World all day along via your Magic Band. If you don't think it's creepy that wearing your MB can get your ride photos automatically uploaded to your photo pass account, or tell Disney exactly where you are every time you tap a FP reader, buy a meal, or even enter your resort room, all of which specifically identify who you are since MBs are nontransferable, then you can't complain about your phone being tracked for the purposes of estimating attraction waits via processes that cannot tell in any way who you are. The idea of turning off your Wi-Fi in a Walt Disney World park in 2017? Why go? Unless you want a self-imposed time-machine visit to the era before the MDE app.

 

[AngiTN]

Wow. That's creepy. I will have to remember to turn bt off when we go (I have it on for my Fitbit and music in the car). I'd rather Disney not help drain my battery any faster.

I keep mine in airplane mode to save battery. Just turn it off when I need to access something.
Otherwise, not sure why I should care what data Disney is mining from my trip.

 

[GreatLakes]

This. You are tracked all over at Walt Disney World all day along via your Magic Band. If you don't think it's creepy that wearing your MB can get your ride photos automatically uploaded to your photo pass account, or tell Disney exactly where you are every time you tap a FP reader, buy a meal, or even enter your resort room, all of which specifically identify who you are since MBs are nontransferable, then you can't complain about your phone being tracked for the purposes of estimating attraction waits via processes that cannot tell in any way who you are. The idea of turning off your Wi-Fi in a Walt Disney World park in 2017? Why go? Unless you want a self-imposed time-machine visit to the era before the MDE app.

I don't connect to any WiFi access point I don't control so I never have my WiFi on at Disney but I do have LTE so I am not not connected.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That's not correct. Do none of the Disney regulars on here not know where those times come from? The cast member at the beginning of the line scans a card (usually red) on lanyard and and gives it to a guest with instructions to give it to the cast member at the end of the line. The 2nd cast member scans it and the wait time pops up on the screen at the beginning of the ride (and in places like hub at Epcot where it shows current wait times).

So...at 11:50 pm, if it's saying the Space Mountain line is 120 minutes, that is how long it took someone getting in line at 9:50 to make it through. The times posted are only as accurate as the latest time they sent a card on a lanyard through...and they have no reason to mess with that within the last hour of park closing, it will be inaccurate as soon as posted.

Of course the lanyard is a way they use to get the wait times you are totally right on that. But in all honesty it doesn't take a Disney regular to guess/assume that at SOME point ride times do not reflect actual time and for a reason. Whether that reason is discouragement of guests entering the line or a big rush was going through the line and thus wait times reflect that big rush and not necessarily what it is after the rush or multiple other things.

In Sep 2011 TSMM rarely went below 75 mins...it wasn't always listed as 75 mins but it was that a lot of time and certaintly wasn't 75 mins actual wait time one or two minutes before park closing when we got in line for it and there was a total of 6 people including my husband and I even though it was listed as 75 mins. It wasn't like there was a big line before the park closed it was just that they didn't update the time to reflect a more accurate time (may have been due to not doing the lanyards close enough to closing OR they wanted to discourage guests from entering the line OR some other reason).

 

[Missyrose]

I don't connect to any WiFi access point I don't control so I never have my WiFi on at Disney but I do have LTE so I am not not connected.

You do realize that Disney starting tracking guests decades before everyone carried a cellphone, right?

 

[SaintsManiac]

My bluetooth is always enabled for various reasons. It's not stupid to have it on.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I don't connect to any WiFi access point I don't control so I never have my WiFi on at Disney but I do have LTE so I am not not connected.

LTE uses far more battery life than wifi, as well as using up your own paid data. The idea of never, ever connecting to wifi anywhere outside of your own house is overkill. But to each their own.

 

[GreatLakes]

You do realize that Disney starting tracking guests decades before everyone carried a cellphone, right?

I don't care about tracking, I care about security. I won't connect to a WiFi radio I don't control unless I absolutely have to and even then only if it is encrypted. I also tunnel a VPN through it so I'm never in the clear or relying on someone else's security know how. I'd rather just use my own data. Besides work and home I don't believe I've attached to a hotspot in the two years I had my phone.

 

[HopperFan]

Tracking is happening in many ways and honestly with MagicBands they don't even need the lanyards anymore. They can install scanners to check your MagicBands in the line. All of the above are ways to track you and if you think it's scary at Disney .... it's happening where you don't even know.

We have a huge issue right now in our town. Lost a lawsuit to block billboards and they are installing those LED electronic kind. Guess what else they installed on those billboards? Tracking devices to track everyone in the car and try to mine our phones. Called cellphone metadata collection technology. They "claim" they aren't on them/turned on, fuzzy ... yet ... but will be. How they do it "with permission" is to collect data from your phone via the "free apps" that you agreed to the terms who in turn are willing to sell you out. Nothing is free. The info they get helps sell specific ads. Bottom line, there is infrastructure everywhere to track our phones and our apps via many tech models.

TO THE OP:

It's been about a year since I stayed for EMH but when I did, Resort Guests scanned and entered the FP+ line and we were always sent in on arrival to next scanner while they held back the SB. We didn't find any issues with the offsite guests because SB was held back.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Keep in mind they can use Bluetooth (standard and BLE), WiFi, or GPS to know where you are so make sure to turn off all of those radios if you don't want to be tracked. Then, even with all of those turned off, they can use the RFID in your magic band to track you so make sure to put it in one of these bags if you don't want to be tracked at all.

It's not really that. I'm fine with them tracking the MB. It's something they gave me. I make the choice to wear it knowing it can and is used that way. What I find creepy is them connecting via Bluetooth without really asking. The phone is mine not theirs. Yes, I understand it's in the terms of service for MDE but my car and my Fitbit (which I own) have to get a code to be allowed access or explicitly require that I grant permission before connecting via BT. But because I use their ap, Disney feels they can connect and use my phone without even a dialog pop up saying that they are connecting? That's what I don't like. That seems to me to be underhanded. But perhaps I'm splitting hairs.

 

[DisneyOma]

Agreed! One spring break visit my son drug us onto Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain repeatedly during pm EMH.....bouncing back and forth, just walking on the rides.

Your son drugged you? Oh, you meant dragged, right?

 

[Cinderella94]

It's not really that. I'm fine with them tracking the MB. It's something they gave me. I make the choice to wear it knowing it can and is used that way. What I find creepy is them connecting via Bluetooth without really asking. The phone is mine not theirs. Yes, I understand it's in the terms of service for MDE but my car and my Fitbit (which I own) have to get a code to be allowed access or explicitly require that I grant permission before connecting via BT. But because I use their ap, Disney feels they can connect and use my phone without even a dialog pop up saying that they are connecting? That's what I don't like. That seems to me to be underhanded. But perhaps I'm splitting hairs.

A previous poster mentions that their ability to do that is mentioned in the update release notes of the app. I haven't read through the terms and conditions of the app, but I imagine that by using the app, you're consenting to that now.

 

[HopperFan]

Your son drugged you? Oh, you meant dragged, right?

It is so not cool to drug your parents ........... although I've seen some I would have been okay with that happening.

It's not really that. I'm fine with them tracking the MB. It's something they gave me. I make the choice to wear it knowing it can and is used that way. What I find creepy is them connecting via Bluetooth without really asking. The phone is mine not theirs. Yes, I understand it's in the terms of service for MDE but my car and my Fitbit (which I own) have to get a code to be allowed access or explicitly require that I grant permission before connecting via BT. But because I use their ap, Disney feels they can connect and use my phone without even a dialog pop up saying that they are connecting? That's what I don't like. That seems to me to be underhanded. But perhaps I'm splitting hairs.

But you do give permission to be mined by accepting all terms on apps, especially free apps. Like if you have the "facebook" app on your phone, if fine print says, they could give Disney permission, or billboard company permission, or your grocery permission.

https://disneyprivacycenter.com/privacy-policy-translations/english/

 

[JungleCruiseFan]

Regarding wait times not being correct we were at HS 2 summers ago and in the middle of the day Toy Story was showing a 180 min wait. Everyone would walk by look at the time and then move on. I told my wife no way it's that long, we got in line and walked all the way to the ride without a wait. We got off and did it again, by the third time the wait time had changed to 45 minutes and it looked like it was easily an hour people were literally pouring in because the time had finally gone down so much.

 

[lpereira]

Shortly before Christmas I was in the park with my daughter. We were just hanging out for 30 minutes near Toy Story waiting for our fastpass time. During that time I watched standby go from 25 minutes to 85 minutes to 30 minutes. The stream of people entering both queues remained relatively constant. I don't believe wait times. They are typically over and sometimes just made up from whole cloth.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

It is so not cool to drug your parents ........... although I've seen some I would have been okay with that happening.



But you do give permission to be mined by accepting all terms on apps, especially free apps. Like if you have the "facebook" app on your phone, if fine print says, they could give Disney permission, or billboard company permission, or your grocery permission.

https://disneyprivacycenter.com/privacy-policy-translations/english/

I understand that but I'm trying to think of any other instance where using a piece of software forces you to consent to letting a company use your hardware without notification at the time it's going to do it (at least the first time). Data yes, other software yes, but even my running app which needs the GPS to operate properly tells me to turn it on. All the apps that use the camera tell me before doing it or it's obvious in the app. Most apps tell you they're going to turn on location services at the first activation. Malware turns things on and uses them without telling you. I guess I should probably be more upset about the data that so many companies are mining but it seems like they've crossed a line here that most reputable companies don't.

And I just read the release notes and they say the app will ask you about everything else (location services, your camera, wifi) but it implies it's just going to use Bluetooth. Why, I wonder?

 

[AngiTN]

I understand that but I'm trying to think of any other instance where using a piece of software forces you to consent to letting a company use your hardware without notification at the time it's going to do it (at least the first time). Data yes, other software yes, but even my running app which needs the GPS to operate properly tells me to turn it on. All the apps that use the camera tell me before doing it or it's obvious in the app. Most apps tell you they're going to turn on location services at the first activation. Malware turns things on and uses them without telling you. I guess I should probably be more upset about the data that so many companies are mining but it seems like they've crossed a line here that most reputable companies don't.

But they did inform you they were doing it. I posted about it several months ago when the update to MDE came out and the notice first appeared. So I'm not sure what you are saying they are doing without your permission.

ETA - it was weeks, not months. Time flies
http://www.disboards.com/threads/newest-mde-ios-update-has-a-curious-new-feature.3564664/

 

[csjordan]

Disney inflates the wait times close to park close to discourage guests from getting in lines. You fell for it.

Just got back Tuesday from an 8 day trip. Went to MK on Monday. The park was slammed! Space Mountain was at a 110 minute wait after the castle show and Wishes. Fast Pass line was backed up significantly. Took around 30 minutes to ride with Fadt Pass. Wait times were pretty much spot on the entire week from what we experienced. DD and her friend got in stand by line at Test Track on NYE wait time posted was 180 minutes. They waited every minute of the wait time.