MM+ never materialized?

[eyehartdisney]

Wasn't A Pirate's Adventure released due to MM+?

 

[Kobey]

I think a lot of it will happen eventually. I'm glad they aren't rushing things just to get them out there when they're not perfected. It's hard for me to complain about it when I can't even get all my clocks to show the same time.

 

[IrishNYC]

One calls it ride rationing, others call it leveling the playing field. Everyone now gets the same opportunity to get FPs, and get them at a time that works for them. Under FP- my daughter never would have made it to a random evening FP for a ride if we were up at RD. now I was able to make those plans from the comfort of my home and no FP was booked for later than 4pm. Three ride she wanted, guaranteed. No racing to get them, no timing when we could pull another, no hoping we didn't pull A&E for 11pm.

 

[bcrook]

In your reply, I'll go with a lack of understanding of how IT capital expenditures on a large scale are handled being what's missing. Unlike many other things, Disney literally couldn't spend money for the last 40 years, they had to spend it all on one chunk. IT equipment tends to fall into two categories: things that can be updated every year as the manufacturers release new models, such as servers and desktops, and items where technology changes so slowly that you only can update them on 5+ year intervals. Fiber optics, generators, battery power systems, and most networking equipment is on the longer cycle. Because of this, IT budgets are broken into capital improvement and maintenance expenditures; and installing the infrastructure to move from legacy systems to IP based systems must fall into capital improvement. The ongoing maintenance part is that, as rides undergo refurbishment, new features are added - but that required that an IP system be in place, first. (I won't go into the steps that must happen to keep it running in the future, but that's not cheap, either).

To put this in perspective, you're suggesting that instead of constructing a new park all at once, Disney should have been building it slowly over 40 years. The concept and scale is the same as MM+, which is an entire theme park's worth of investment.

What their marketing machine says may be different, and of course some things were tried and guests were skeeved out, but the fact of the matter is that it's rolled out and been successful. The true measure of any large IT upgrade is that the users (us!) don't even know it's happened, that it just works in the background.


The narration comes off of the same flash storage as the music does. That seems like a power issue, and Pooh to my knowledge hasn't been updated to MM+ yet - its last major refurbishment was in 2010; the two day closure in 2013 wasn't long enough to do a conversion on a ride.

I completely understand your point. I get that IT is expensive.

As a vacation goer spending thousands of dollars on my Disney vacations, I'm going off what the marketing and PR materials said would happen. When Tom Staggs and Nick Franklin went to the press and blogs they promised a PLUS experience that would transform the theme park industry. When Rasulo was giving finance interviews he was talking about capturing customers with new technology and locking them in.

Nobody was saying, "this 1.5 billion MM+ initiative is going to take a completely outdated WDW from the 20th century to the 21st Century... It has to be done...Most of it will be in the background nobody will notice it."

As for what has come of it isn't cutting edge, original, groundbreaking, or even widely popular. You can see there is a lack of consensus on these boards about the success, and I saw it in the parks and resorts. I spent my money, I'm comparing my experience to what was discussed by Disney since 2012. And my review: MM+ doesn't really exist... There isn't a Plus for sure, and what they created doesn't make experience any better than any other park.

It is clearly a mechanism to distribute a very limited set of ride reservations to a very large group people. A system needed at WDW because of the shortage of rides, and clearly not needed at DLR in California because they have a sufficient number of rides to accommodate their guests.

I guess when DLR goes to the magic bands (not calling it plus anything), they will be doing it for the data mining, infrastructure upgrades, keyless doors, and pay with the bracelet. I spent a week there in mid June, the crowd levels were high, I didn't Fastpasses that often...they aren't even available for a lot of rides. If I could walk into a park, use my phone to grab a Fastpass for 4:00 pm for Grizzly Falls that sounds ok to me. It will be like a digital version of legacy with convenient times. And same day Fastpasses would work there too.

Currently Dhs nor Epcot even have 3 FP slots to share per customer...about 2.5 per customer and that counts a full day of the Land and Figment and Nemo. Which is why they have tiers (and tears). Disney California Adventure has about 6 FP per customer more than Epcot and DHS combined - their weakest ride is probably Monsters Inc. FP+ was designed to ration the rides in Florida because the company mismanaged their parks. FP+ might be able to work as people had hoped WDW would in California because of the capacity. WDW's shortfall is a total lack of attractions for a growing population base. The bracelets didn't help that for me and my family. My BIL spent four days on site and still didn't get a chance to ride a Test Track, Splash, Peter Pan, Space Mountain or Aerosmith. We had to waste Fastpasses on Lion King show, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and the Great Movie Ride. His remaining 8 FPs got him Soarin, TSMM, dinosaur, Everest, mine train, Anna and Elsa with his daughter (can't believe parents have to waste a FP for that), btmrr and tower of terror. He was in at rope drop three times, and stayed to close every night.

We all got to ride the Barnstormer as much as we wanted at 11:30 at night. We had a blast. I guess that was a PLUS but it had nothing to do with my magic band...

Meanwhile, those TV screens that I saw installed in 2013 on IASW are still hidden behind plywood cutouts.

Farvel! Ciao! Shalom! Adios!

 

[bcrook]

One calls it ride rationing, others call it leveling the playing field. Everyone now gets the same opportunity to get FPs, and get them at a time that works for them. Under FP- my daughter never would have made it to a random evening FP for a ride if we were up at RD. now I was able to make those plans from the comfort of my home and no FP was booked for later than 4pm. Three ride she wanted, guaranteed. No racing to get them, no timing when we could pull another, no hoping we didn't pull A&E for 11pm.

I understand this system works well for you, the point of my post was to compare what Tom Staggs described in 2012 to what I experienced in 2015. Based on their publicity, they haven't delivered...and they have even stopped talking about it

They have a ride "leveling" system and a way to track spending better. Apparently that's all they really wanted. I guess those other interviews and publications were simply Damage Control. It seems to be working, attendance didn't decrease and costs of trips are soaring. People must be happy. I had a good time on my trip.

It just isn't what they said was coming. I was disappointed in that.

 

[bcrook]

I think a lot of it will happen eventually. I'm glad they aren't rushing things just to get them out there when they're not perfected. It's hard for me to complain about it when I can't even get all my clocks to show the same time.

I'm not sure about that. I think the spin released in January 2013 was to keep trips being planned for upcoming two years to stay planned. I knew I was going in 2015 then. It gave me reasons to stick with it. They moved forward with a lot of the technology immediately. But it looks like it has been shuttered like the Wonders of Life building or the Animation Academy .

I think they have fully reversed course and are focused on adding rides...at a very very slow "glacial?" pace. Next month they will announce a vague Star Wars presence in DHS and the focus and attention will go that direction. But I can't see anything happening there for years. I think the Transformative aspect of My Magic are dead. They were left on the cutting room floor.

 

[bcrook]

Wasn't A Pirate's Adventure released due to MM+?

I never saw anybody doing this and I was there on three different days. Is the wizarding game still there? I did see one screen pop up somewhere during a parade... In liberty square?

 

[eyehartdisney]

I never saw anybody doing this and I was there on three different days. Is the wizarding game still there? I did see one screen pop up somewhere during a parade... In liberty square?

Yes, it's still there. The pirates game isn't well advertised. It's a really cool game, but they made it look like a DVC pavilion, which is a shame.

 

[bcrook]

Yes, it's still there. The pirates game isn't well advertised. It's a really cool game, but they made it look like a DVC pavilion, which is a shame.

I never see anybody at the DVC pavilions either! Lol.

 

[eyehartdisney]

I never see anybody at the DVC pavilions either! Lol.

Yeah, I think it would get a lot more attention if they would have done the initial themeing to the start of the game right. Imagine having to walk a plank to get on a pirate ship, moat and all...

 

[LOL!]

What their marketing machine says may be different, and of course some things were tried and guests were skeeved out, but the fact of the matter is that it's rolled out and been successful. The true measure of any large IT upgrade is that the users (us!) don't even know it's happened, that it just works in the background.

Yet in that sense the most public portion of this endeavor (their website) is plagued with issues on an almost daily basis.

 

[cakebaker]

My BIL spent four days on site and still didn't get a chance to ride a Test Track, Splash, Peter Pan, Space Mountain or Aerosmith. We had to waste Fastpasses on Lion King show, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and the Great Movie Ride. His remaining 8 FPs got him Soarin, TSMM, dinosaur, Everest, mine train, Anna and Elsa with his daughter (can't believe parents have to waste a FP for that), btmrr and tower of terror. He was in at rope drop three times, and stayed to close every night.

My question would be why? If he stayed until closing, and was there at rope drop, why couldn't he ride those? Splash and Space usually have sdfp availability. So I'm confused as to why he would not be unable to ride any these- especially at rope drop or closing, or emh or using FP+.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

One calls it ride rationing, others call it leveling the playing field. Everyone now gets the same opportunity to get FPs, and get them at a time that works for them. Under FP- my daughter never would have made it to a random evening FP for a ride if we were up at RD. now I was able to make those plans from the comfort of my home and no FP was booked for later than 4pm. Three ride she wanted, guaranteed. No racing to get them, no timing when we could pull another, no hoping we didn't pull A&E for 11pm.

Really? Have you been reading other posts on the board lately?

This poster could only get A&E for one time that essentially conflicted with a BOG ADR:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/ou...inner-reservations-for.3428421/#post-54029859

This post has several people who have had problems booking FP+s for ideal times for trips during party season:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/60-days-out-midnight-no-anna-elsa-for-us.3427533/#post-54013380

And those are just in the last week or so.

 

[itchin2go]

One calls it ride rationing, others call it leveling the playing field. Everyone now gets the same opportunity to get FPs, and get them at a time that works for them. Under FP- my daughter never would have made it to a random evening FP for a ride if we were up at RD. now I was able to make those plans from the comfort of my home and no FP was booked for later than 4pm. Three ride she wanted, guaranteed. No racing to get them, no timing when we could pull another, no hoping we didn't pull A&E for 11pm.

I don't know what this has to do with (what I thought was) the point of this thread - that some of the touted effects of MM+ have not materialized. Regardless, I disagree with the "everyone" statement. You can certainly speak to your experience and the experiences of others you know, but it's hard for anyone to know about "everyone". 60 day booking windows for some, 30 day booking windows for others, 70 day booking windows for those with long trips .... all of this does not add up to the "same opportunity".

Really? Have you been reading other posts on the board lately?

This poster could only get A&E for one time that essentially conflicted with a BOG ADR:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/ou...inner-reservations-for.3428421/#post-54029859

This post has several people who have had problems booking FP+s for ideal times for trips during party season:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/60-days-out-midnight-no-anna-elsa-for-us.3427533/#post-54013380

And those are just in the last week or so.

Exactly. My FPs worked out ok, but I never had the opportunity to book A&E. Luckily, that was ok with us. I had to put in some work to book SDMT. Again, that's ok with me. I just don't think it's as glowing as one might infer from the above.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yet in that sense the most public portion of this endeavor (their website) is plagued with issues on an almost daily basis.

Plagued daily?

Source?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't know what this has to do with (what I thought was) the point of this thread - that some of the touted effects of MM+ have not materialized. Regardless, I disagree with the "everyone" statement. You can certainly speak to your experience and the experiences of others you know, but it's hard for anyone to know about "everyone".



Exactly. My FPs worked out ok, but I never had the opportunity to book A&E. Luckily, that was ok with us. I had to put in some work to book SDMT. Again, that's ok with me. I just don't think it's as glowing as one might infer from the above.

You had the same opportunity. You did not have the same result. The chance was the same though. But the finite number for capacity places a barrier to everyone getting to do it.

But your opportunity was the same.

Does that make sense?

I had the same opportunity. I just wasn't first.

 

[LOL!]

Plagued daily?

Source?

You omitted that one little word "almost". Search these boards for starters; you could also try it yourself for several times a day and benchmark the results if you're curious. I just tried to check on resort reservations this morning and got the infamous Technical Difficulties message.

 

[LOL!]

People who stay on-site have a 60 day opportunity. People who don't have a 30 day opportunity. That's just one example how "Everybody" does not have "the same opportunity".

But as someone has already pointed out, this thread wasn't about Fast Pass and making it about Fast Pass is probably a death knell.

 

[Robo]

I think they have fully reversed course and are focused on adding rides... I think the Transformative aspect of My Magic are dead. They were left on the cutting room floor.

I'm thinking that we are on the "ebb" side of MM+ rather than still in some sort of "flow" towards expansion of it.

Consider in the resent past that there have been several things that were on the "verge of happening" at Disney but technology, needs, and attitudes moved on before they could be implemented.

Case-in-point:
The use of portable gaming systems for in-park ride-wait info and the like.
Systems were even tested in the parks, but before they could be implemented, smart phones
swept the country AND swept away the need for a bulky game system to communicate with guests.

By the time Disney works/worked out a foolproof way of saying, "Hi Aloishous!" that kind of "gee whiz" technology is/was
"who wants it?" or more importantly, "who cares?"

Consider how many are "impressed" when we get an email from a company that "knows my name."
(Many of us wish that they DIDN'T.)

Retailer Walmart started a program a few years ago where checkout clerks called customers by name when credit/debit cards or checks were used.
It was thought that customers would like being recognized in a personal way.
But in practice, it was so disliked by customers that Walmart quickly stopped the program.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You omitted that one little word "almost". Search these boards for starters; you could also try it yourself for several times a day and benchmark the results if you're curious. I just tried to check on resort reservations this morning and got the infamous Technical Difficulties message.

Almost doesn't negate the extreme nature of the use of the word "plagued"."

Do problems happen daily? Sure. Numbers dictate it will happen. Nothing is ever 100% perfect.

But "plagued"? It doesn't even reach the litmus of "almost".

As far as website issue. I noted issues on other websites as well. Pampered Chef had their website go ballistic as did Thirty-One as did Southwest Airlines recently. (Pampered chef was a few months ago.)

I have gotten messages for this website as well.