Thanks for posting the link.
Here are my takeaway quotes:
[Vision point:] Say the sensors noted that one section of Magic Kingdom was becoming overwhelmed with guests: Operators could immediately respond with a character parade around the corner, to disperse traffic and ease strain on cast members (as Disney calls all its Parks employees). This kind of
traffic management wouldn’t just be a service to customers—it could also help Disney fit more guests inside its parks.
[Vision point:] A character like Goofy, with access to real-time guest data, could even wish happy birthday to a child without prompting….It seemed that the time had finally come to say farewell to old-school inefficiencies like birthday buttons.
[Reality:] But even then [Jan 2013], MyMagic+ was not ready for prime time. According to a source, one
internal audit around this time found roughly 250 defects plaguing the parks’ MyMagic+ hardware and
software systems. MyMagic+ would only roll out slowly, bit by bit, over the course of 2013. … Disney didn’t complete its rollout of MyMagic+ until the first half of 2014.
Park capacity has also increased. At the Magic Kingdom alone, Tom Staggs notes, MyMagic+ has allowed "north of 5,000 more people into the park for the same experience."
Many of these [system] issues have since been fixed (the company tripled the size of its customer support department), but every time a guest has to raise her hand for help with MyMagic+, the Imagineers’ carefully crafted illusion is spoiled.
[Vision:] Staggs [Disney COO] seems to be suggesting that the MagicBand may not be necessary in the future. … Moving to a
smartphone-based MyMagic+ infrastructure may now be more reflective of the realities of the rapidly changing
technology landscape. … "We’ll use it everywhere it makes sense. But we don’t want to let something we think is cool and cutting edge become a legacy item that we’re trying to drag along."
