Magic bands at DL?

[DisSurfer878]

Having just come back from DL, and getting away from the could magic bands be implemented side. The biggest reason I wish it was at least an option is that it would speed up the lines. After being in the DLR for 5 days what drove me crazy was how utterly clueless many people were on how to:
(A) Enter the line on time and not before.
(B) Have your entire party with you, so you don't clog the line waiting for half the group to catch up
(C) Have your Disneyland app opened up and the FP window loaded and ready to go.

In this way Magic Bands would only be help with the last item, but that one item seemed to be the biggest reason people were bunched up at the scanning stations. We tried to help others to have the app ready and then slip your phone in an then just swipe without pulling the phone out at all, but so many people would do it one an a time, pulling the phone out for each person in the group.

The CMs really acted like they didn't care anymore, they were frustrated but honestly I think they had just have given up really caring, at last the vast majority.

i just think any of those 3 could be problems with magic bands too. Everything has a learning curve and maxpass is still new here. It hasn't been an institution like magic bands for years and years.

Yes slow unprepared people are annoying, but this system isn't even fully 2 years old.

I've also noticed guests at DL seem to be ruder than WDW. I think in general a lot of Californians are rude, especially a subset of the local AP population (i'm a californian myself and well familiar with the "dark side" of passholders), and while not an excuse, I genuinely think Disneyland CMs are just fed up with the entitled Californian attitude I see so much at Disneyland vs the non snobby, mush pot of people from everywhere at WDW.

 

[TikiTroll]

i just think any of those 3 could be problems with magic bands too. Everything has a learning curve and maxpass is still new here. It hasn't been an institution like magic bands for years and years.

Yes slow unprepared people are annoying, but this system isn't even fully 2 years old.

I've also noticed guests at DL seem to be ruder than WDW. I think in general a lot of Californians are rude, especially a subset of the local AP population (i'm a californian myself and well familiar with the "dark side" of passholders), and while not an excuse, I genuinely think Disneyland CMs are just fed up with the entitled Californian attitude I see so much at Disneyland vs the non snobby, mush pot of people from everywhere at WDW.

I think it’s a result of WDW being a tourist park, while DLR is definitely more of a “locals” park. You have a much higher percentage of people who go dozens of times a year, if not more, and with those increased numbers you increase the amount of people who act entitled and don’t care about the efficiency that a person who has saved money for two years to have the trip of a lifetime might. It’s also what leads to the AP teens who have memorized the dialogue on a ride and repeat it at the top of their lungs, thus ruining the experience for the rest of the group. I can see the CMs just being done with it.

 

[StormyCA]

That's the problem, really. They would need to have a signed document from everyone who enters the park consenting to the tracking. If they opted to go with the Magic Band method they would want it to be 100%, like at WDW and allowing people to opt out would be problematic.

The other thing to think about is that Magic Bands started before the ubiquity of smart phones. Now that like 98% of all visitors have smart phones you can get pretty much all of the functionality of the magic bands through the Disneyland app, including FP and PP. Pretty much the only thing it doesn't offer is the ability to open your hotel room. SWGE has included the interactivity function with DisneyPlay so that your experience is more immersive, so you get pretty much all the benefits on your phone.

I see what you're thinking. But my phone is in my purse. It's a hassle to drag it out to swipe every time. Plus the risk of dropping it (Butterfingers, me). In fact, I normally swipe MPs with the paper ticket they give you so I don't have to keep getting my phone out and putting it away. It's much easier to simply lift your wrist to a scanner and keep walking. I've seen the backups in lines at DL as people scramble for phones from bags and pockets. The other thing the app doesn't do is auto load your ride pics. The MB does (not on 100% of the WDW rides yet, but many of them).

I don't think they'd need a signed document per se (but I'm not a lawyer). An extra step to opt in or opt out of the RFID, then if one opts in an electronic 'click and sign' at purchasing would do. I don't think letting people opt out would be problematic for guests, but I can see that it could be problematic for Disney as they'd have to find a way to 'meld' the data from the 2 systems for wait times, MPs, etc. IMO, that's the reason there won't be MB at DL. Disney won't put the $$$ needed into developing the parallel systems.

 

[SteveH]

I've also noticed guests at DL seem to be ruder than WDW. I think in general a lot of Californians are rude, especially a subset of the local AP population (i'm a californian myself and well familiar with the "dark side" of passholders), and while not an excuse, I genuinely think Disneyland CMs are just fed up with the entitled Californian attitude I see so much at Disneyland vs the non snobby, mush pot of people from everywhere at WDW.

I will say I didn't run into a lot of rude people, well I'll walk that back a bit, we did, but those were the ones that refuse to walk on the right hand side and expect people to move out of their way, but I digress. Where I 100% agree with you was the CMs, I ran into less then half a dozen that tried to have any type of conversation with us. Most were to busy chit chatting with their fellow CMs. While it's been 18 month since my last WDW trip, I really feel there was a big difference in the CMs attitude. Around where I live we're blaming it on the new minimum wage to some degree.

 

[dsnyfamily4]

On the disunplugged they stated the MaxPass system was amazing compared to the magic bands at wdw. The MaxPass system has been an amazing addition to Disneyland imo. What would we gain from switching to wrist bands?

 

[StormyCA]

On the disunplugged they stated the MaxPass system was amazing compared to the magic bands at wdw. The MaxPass system has been an amazing addition to Disneyland imo. What would we gain from switching to wrist bands?

MBs and FP+ don't have to be synonymous. You can have one without the other.

What we'd gain with MB (combined with MP) would be the ease of having everything you need right on your wrist. The only time you'd have to pull out your phone would be to schedule your MP. Once that was done, you'd use your MB to 'swipe' at the FP return turnstile. The MB is also your entry ticket. You swipe it (and your fingerprint) at the main gate and walk through.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I've also noticed guests at DL seem to be ruder than WDW. I think in general a lot of Californians are rude, especially a subset of the local AP population (i'm a californian myself and well familiar with the "dark side" of passholders), and while not an excuse, I genuinely think Disneyland CMs are just fed up with the entitled Californian attitude I see so much at Disneyland vs the non snobby, mush pot of people from everywhere at WDW.

Not sure where you're getting this from, other than the old internet trash talk. We talk with a lot of CMs on our visits, and the general consensus is that they really appreciate the local APs. They can usually spot us at a glance because: we are the ones who consistently say "please" and "thank you," we are the ones who are nice to them (i.e. we don't hit them, yell at them, or abuse them), and we're the ones who smile at them first. Any population is going to have a certain percentage of rude people -- unfortunately, anyone can fall into that category, regardless of ticket type.

I think it’s a result of WDW being a tourist park, while DLR is definitely more of a “locals” park. You have a much higher percentage of people who go dozens of times a year, if not more, and with those increased numbers you increase the amount of people who act entitled and don’t care about the efficiency that a person who has saved money for two years to have the trip of a lifetime might...

But I've seen plenty of non-AP guests demanding special treatment in the parks because, "Do you have any idea how much money I"m spending on this trip?!" There will always be people who think cash = personal importance. Their spending just makes them more important than anyone else in the parks. Sad, but true. Whether these folks hold tickets or passes isn't really the issue; they'd be selfish and rude either way.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For those people complaining about lackluster CM performance on recent visits, send in a comment to Disney. Include as much specific detail as possible: dates, times, locations, CM descriptions/names if you can remember, what happened, how it affected your experience, what could have gone better. Management needs to know what's going on at the ground level in the parks if things are going to improve.

 

[DisSurfer878]

Not sure where you're getting this from, other than the old internet trash talk. We talk with a lot of CMs on our visits, and the general consensus is that they really appreciate the local APs. They can usually spot us at a glance because: we are the ones who consistently say "please" and "thank you," we are the ones who are nice to them (i.e. we don't hit them, yell at them, or abuse them), and we're the ones who smile at them first. Any population is going to have a certain percentage of rude people -- unfortunately, anyone can fall into that category, ticket type notwithstanding.


But I've seen plenty of non-AP guests demanding special treatment in the parks because, "Do you. have any idea how much money I"m spending on this trip?!" There will always be people who think cash = personal importance. Their spending just makes them more important than anyone else in the parks. Sad, but true. Whether these folks hold tickets or passes isn't really the issue; they'd be selfish and rude either way.

As I said, it's a small percentage of frequent goers.

I didn't say all so you can stand down, pluto.

 

[Kimpossible1]

Mentioning a specific CM is not really a solution. The complaint should be addressed at a higher level. Blaming a CM that you didn't have a magical experience is not going to fix the problem that may originate higher up. I've been going to Disney frequently since 1994 and yes the atmosphere has changed and people's expectations need to change also. Most of the time CM's are doing the best they can given the situation. There are two sides to every coin.

 

[dsnyfamily4]

MBs and FP+ don't have to be synonymous. You can have one without the other.

What we'd gain with MB (combined with MP) would be the ease of having everything you need right on your wrist. The only time you'd have to pull out your phone would be to schedule your MP. Once that was done, you'd use your MB to 'swipe' at the FP return turnstile. The MB is also your entry ticket. You swipe it (and your fingerprint) at the main gate and walk through.

Thanks for that insight

 

[theluckyrabbit]

As I said, it's a small percentage of frequent goers.

I didn't say all so you can stand down, pluto.

And I didn't say that you said "all," so please don't put your words in my mouth. What I did say, which I think you agree with, is that the rude people (whatever the percentage -- thankfully still not the majority) are not rude because they own passes or because they live in CA, but because they are selfish and rude -- and they would still be rude with tickets or passes or wherever else they would live. Sad, but that's their choice.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Mentioning a specific CM is not really a solution. The complaint should be addressed at a higher level. Blaming a CM that you didn't have a magical experience is not going to fix the problem that may originate higher up. I've been going to Disney frequently since 1994 and yes the atmosphere has changed and people's expectations need to change also. Most of the time CM's are doing the best they can given the situation. There are two sides to every coin.

So write in with this exact comment. Management needs to hear this. And from the managers and suits whom I have spoken with, they really do want to hear these opinions, especially from guests like you who've seen things changing over a longer period of time. Your insight can be very helpful to them.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

That's the problem, really. They would need to have a signed document from everyone who enters the park consenting to the tracking. If they opted to go with the Magic Band method they would want it to be 100%, like at WDW and allowing people to opt out would be problematic.

Magic Bands aren't mandatory at WDW. People can opt for the standard RFID ticket cards instead.

 

[StormyCA]

Magic Bands aren't mandatory at WDW. People can opt for the standard RFID ticket cards instead.

I think that it's the RFID system itself that's the issue with some people. From what I understand, WDW's RFID system allows tracking whether you have an MB or a paper card. Personally, I have no problems with RFID at WDW. It actually makes my day easier and more enjoyable.