MK feels different.

[clsteve]

Retracted by Smitch LOL

A quick Google search on Rasulo MyMagic+ comments will give you a host of things to read. If you want to find it all in one place, Bcrook's sig line has links to a host of information on this.

BusinessWeek, Yahoo Fin, WSJ, CNBC, etc., are also full of info (although, some is behind a paywall). I'd also suggest the Patent info in Laketravis" sig line.

Disney has been very forthright from the beginning about what MM+/FP+ is designed for: higher spend rate per guest, guests locked into WDW earlier, a greater number of hours in the Parks for some (so they can spend), more time at the broader Resort (so they can spend) for others. Nowhere, in this huge amount of info is there even the hint or mention of fairness or a broader distribution of rides to the masses.

We're not making this up- it's there for everybody to see and read.

 

[jade1]

That's a matter of perspective. I find that Universal has its own special type of magic but this continued use of Universal as a weapon is really something else. Universal is innocently trying to become amazing and people keep threatening to somehow show Disney by going there. OK.

Sorry didn't mean to "threaten" to go on a day trip to US every few years. Was responding to SamRoc's opinion on US. For us there is no tug on the heart there, but like I said that's not why we go there-and will continue to. Not to get back at Disney, but for the thrill attractions there. Some of us enjoy both places.

 

[Disney Queenie]

I do not threaten to go to Universal. However, Universal, Sea World, Discovery Cove, with some other Orlando attractions is definitely a valid option for a choice as a vacation destination, when you are not happy with spending your money in Disney. My kids would be very happy with this scenario or Universal/Cruise option. I don't think is a threat, it is a choice.

If people are like sheep and do not voice their dissatisfaction and complacently stand on the sidelines nothing ever changes. I do not think anything would ever change for the better if people just hope. Consumers have the right to say, I will choose somewhere else to spend my money and have the right to speak of their disappointment with service given. Obviously, a Disney forum is exactly the place to have this say.

Even when I was a Disney acolyte, I appreciated others points of view, even if they were not in-line with mine.

 

[granmanh603]

We were there the same day as OP and left around 1 after using our 3 FP+ and see long lines at FP+ and every ride POTC 60 ? Outta there. Hard to get out like OP said filming on Main Street and packed at kiosks for entering park had to go out security table area and fought crowds to get to busses . Never even thought to go to another park . Just packed up and left early the next morning. Could not even use pools as was cold too.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I really don't think this is the reason. I think it's about crowd management and reducing the negative perception that Disney is all about standing in lines. They will use the technology to make money yes, but I don't think "locking plans in" gains them any additional $$. After all, if you bough a 5 day ticket you're going to be in the parks for 5 days, regardless of which days those are.

Here's Disney's CFO talking about "locking plans in" in an article entitled "Disney CFO Explains MyMagic+"

We have known for a really long time that getting our visitors to Walt Disney World to make decisions about where they spend their time before they leave home is a powerful driver of visits per guest. When they get into the Orlando market and their time isn't yet planned, they can be subject to everything you see down there, which is a lot of in-city marketing for all the many products that people have put there to basically bleed off the feed that we fundamentally motivate.

So if we can get people to plan their vacation before they leave home, we know that we get more time with them. We get a bigger share of their wallet. So that's one thing for you guys to think about. And the second thing is what happens to purchases when they become much more convenient, and you don't spend time queuing up for a transaction, queuing up to get in the park, and you actually have more time to enjoy the entertainment and, subsequently, spend more money doing things — other than standing in line, which, of course, you can't spend any money while you're doing that.

MM+ is entirely about the money and getting people to stay at Disney. Yes, getting them out of lines is listed - but notice it's second, and even then the conversation around it is all about how keeping guests out of lines gets them to spend more money. It's not about changing a "negative perception" - it's about $$$, nothing more.

(Note, I'm not saying they are wrong for wanting to get more money, just saying that Disney has made it very clear that that is what this is all about).

 

[xie]

Has anyone notice that there aren't any commercials highlighting the new mine coaster on TV? I seem to see one talking about FP+ every hour. At times it seems FP+ and MBs are Disney's answer to what the other parks are doing.

I believe that they are keeping their powder dry, so to speak, on the mine train advertisements for a couple of reasons.

1. They need it to be "finished" enough to put actors on it to film for the onsite resort TV loop with the "must do" chick and also potential television spots. When we were there last week, they were still working on the emergency exit sidewalks and stairs - I doubt they would put actors on the ride without all of the safety work completed.

2. They're waiting for Universal to announce a date for HP and start their PR push so they can do something similar with the "new ride".

We have seen quite a few WDW commercials recently, but they have all been the "resort" focused ones. (We found this interesting and ironic since the resorts are problematic right now to say the least.)

 

[Angel Ariel]

2. They're waiting for Universal to announce a date for HP and start their PR push so they can do something similar with the "new ride".

I've already seen plenty of commercials about diagon alley. I've seen them for a few weeks now.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

I don't understand why people can't grasp the concept that FP- was fair to everyone. It gave everyone and equal opportunity to get FPes. If some chose not to, or didn't know enough too that does not make the system "not fair".

And like the previous poster mentioned, this is not about fairness. Disney doesn't give a lick about making it fair for everyone. They care about making it easier for everyone to spend more money in the parks. That is the goal so please can we stop with the "its now fair for everyone" crap.

Exactly!

 

[Planogirl]

I'm helping some extended family plan and they in fact just purchased tickets so they could pre-book their FP+s. Yes, they pretty much knew how many days they were going to spend at Disney but if they had arrived in Orlando with no tickets, which was the plan to begin with, they could have been swayed by all the cool brochures and road signs while driving in. They were not staying on-site. Once a family had put out the money for tickets, they are probably not going to forego those tickets to buy new tickets to those parks down the road with all the cool new stuff going on.

They wouldn't but they could just as easily buy passes for a certain number of days and save time for the other parks "down the road". That's what we've always done.

I wonder what percentage just shows up in Florida without tickets? I had no idea that this might be common.

 

[bandmhmommy]

I haven't read everything, but that Wednesday, the 26th was absolutely crazy. I've never seen it so packed and we've been for spring break the last couple of years. (Dang kids in school... ) My hubby couldn't take it and left in the middle of the day. It was awful. We waited 30 minutes just to get to a counter to order lunch at Columbia Harbor House.

But, we went back to MK on Sat the 29th and it was AWESOME! We didn't wait more that 10 minutes for rides in the morning, then after lunch it stormed, which cleared the park out, and afterward waits were only around 20 minutes. Even for the princesses... 25 minutes for Cinderella. It was nice.

We are also a family who maximized the old fastpass system and would pull around 10 for MK. So, while there are things I like about FP +, I still want to be able to have more than 3...