MyMagic+ Delay - Article

[ArwenMarie]

clsteve... to your comment. Love it.

 

[larryz]

A couple of things irritate me which are "based on the feedback from our guests". We spent 9 days with that system, and it has been over a month since we have been back and I have yet to get any kind of survey or anything else asking what we thought of it or what problems we had with it.

You forget -- they got a lot of feedback about how you used the MBs just analyzing your movements and ride/buying history...

 

[larryz]

The correct comparison is New Fantasyland which IMHO is miles better than CarsLand.

I'd rather visit Radiator Springs and ride the Racers than sit through the Little Mermaid...

 

[Planogirl]

You can't compare CarsLand to MyMagic+. The correct comparison is New Fantasyland which IMHO is miles better than CarsLand.

I haven't seen Cars Land but certainly read a lot of good things about it. There doesn't seem to be much substance in new Fantasyland, at least not until the dwarves ride opens.

Plus I can compare Cars Land to MyMagic+ when it comes to money spent.

 

[bcrook]

And still no mention of the interactive elements of the magic bands and the rides and queues. I guess they are not going to introduce that to customers until everyone has the magicbands - it might make people without the bands don't get their names showing up on rides or whatever.

Disney's lack of marketing and keeping this quiet for their mainstream customers was also addressed:

"Although some of Disney's most devoted fans have been discussing and speculating about MyMagic+ for years in online forums, the company has managed to keep expectations muted among its mainstream customers, said Kevin Yee, an author who has written about Disney theme parks. That helps ease pressure to get the project done quickly."

This helps keep trepidation to a minimum.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

You can't compare CarsLand to MyMagic+. The correct comparison is New Fantasyland which IMHO is miles better than CarsLand.

I got to visit both the New Fantasyland and Carsland this summer. Carsland wins - hands down.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I'd rather visit Radiator Springs and ride the Racers than sit through the Little Mermaid...

That's fine. We hated CarsLand and thought it was incredibly boring, but both love the New Fantasyland.

 

[Planogirl]

That's fine. We hated CarsLand and thought it was incredibly boring, but both love the New Fantasyland.

I suspect that location might have contributed to that? A lot of people do prefer WDW over DL and vice versa.

 

[bcrook]

~I have always said from the beginning that FP+ won't be ready until the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is online, it just makes sense. I also predicted that both the 7DMT and FP+ would debut together sometime in early 2014 or late 2013 at the earliest, so this comes as no surprise to me. I was really shocked when rumors surfaced that FP+ was ready to go. This timeline sounds just about right.

This makes sense, but the article implies that Disney is disappointed that they are behind schedule. I think they hoped to have more people on board by the holiday season. I imagine they aren't happy being in their current situation with different things happening among different resorts on site, off site customers up in the air, and even AP holders have different access.

It will be a rough month and a half, and then they have the easy months of January and February to recover.

One other thing, they did start the PR machine last January with an onslaught of news stories through a wide range of media outlets. Then they just shut it all down. I think they realized they had made a huge mistake at that point.

My DVC magazine had a full story on MagicBands and FP+ and said it was coming soon last March I think.

It was probably not planned this way, but I agree full roll out coinciding with The Mine Train ride would be very good for Disney.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I suspect that location might have contributed to that? A lot of people do prefer WDW over DL and vice versa.

Maybe. We've only been to DL once and actually LOVED it. We didn't like DCA, at least not in comparison to the other WDW parks.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't think they are holding FP+ back for the other 50% of their customers (non-resort) for the Mine Train.

I think they are hoping and praying and wishing that they get it all up in running in time for the Mine Train opening.

Because that will be really fun to manage if it's not

 

[mom2rtk]

When C-levels speak to the media they can be a little "obtuse". So I ran the article through an "Executive-Speak" Translator, so It would be more understandable:

Senior Walt Disney Co. executives once said they hoped to have MyMagic+ "largely" introduced by the end of the company's 2013 fiscal year, which concluded in September.
Translation:“We believed our Systems Integration Partner’s timeline because we’re paying them $150 million dollars…..”

"From the outset, our MyMagic+ development has been focused on enhancing the experience our guests have with us. Our roll-out schedule is designed to be flexible so that we can make adjustments based on our testing and guest feedback,"
Translation: “This thing is supposed to make us a lot of money but we’re not going to tell you when we’re going to roll out each part because we don’t want you to cancel and we can still keep doing CYA”

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs said in the statement. "We're happy with the progress we are making, and MyMagic+ is now available to all our Walt Disney World hotel guests."
Translation: “Hey, they can still get in their rooms and into the Parks to spend money - can’t they…?”

Staggs added that Disney has been making "modifications" based on the feedback it is receiving from guests during testing. "Once we're satisfied with those adjustments, we will continue to broaden the availability to our other theme-park guests."
Translation: “Man, this thing is really full of bugs...”

Some analysts had expected the project to begin contributing to profit growth for Disney in 2014, but that now appears unlikely to happen until at least 2015.
Analyst Translation: “Told you they bit off more than they can chew…”


One month after announcing MyMagic+, Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said it would be rolled out "over the next several months." Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo expanded on Iger's comments in May, telling analysts at a New York conference that "by the end of this fiscal year, you're going to feel like it is rolled out," though he said Disney would continue to add elements over time.
Translation:“This thing better be up and running by the end of January or somebody’s getting FIRED…!!!”

But they began to push that target back over the summer. Iger told analysts in August the project was designed for "a probable full rollout in the early part of fiscal 2014." And they have since stopped offering any specific time frames.
Translation:“We can’t believe anything our Systems Integrator is telling us right now…”

During Disney's year-end-earnings call earlier this month, Rasulo said MyMagic+ was "still very much in the early days of rollout."
Translation: “We are way over budget…”

Disney would not discuss the delay in any detail. But in discussions with analysts, executives have characterized the project as exceedingly complex and repeatedly said they intended to make sure all kinks were ironed out before beginning a wide launch.
Translation:“We should have listened to our IT instead of that @#!%& Integrator when they said “no way we can get this done on time…””

"We are walking before we run, so that when you come down and use the service, you are going to feel really good about how it works and not experience glitches, which is our business and not the guest's business," Rasulo said in September.
Translation: “Hey, they should be happy those “Band Thingy’s” at least let them in the Park to stare at the Castle and soak up all that atmosphere, so they should stop complaining so damn much…!”

In addition to taking longer than expected, some analysts suspect the price tag for MyMagic+ has climbed. Doug Mitchelson, a media-industry equities analyst with Deutsche Bank, said he initially projected spending on the project at about $800 million, but "clearly they would have to be north of $1 billion at this point in time."
Analyst translation: “Wow, I can’t believe I bought into their timeline…”

"This is a project of relatively historic undertaking," he added. "It's never been done."
Analyst translation:“What in God’s name were they thinking…?”

Asked what had changed, Rasulo cited MyMagic+ costs, noting that the information-technology infrastructure Disney World has installed as part of the project depreciates more quickly than conventional attractions.
Translation: “We need to buy a lot more servers…”

Rasulo has also said that some of some of Disney's other big investments primarily the California Adventure makeover, which culminated in the 2012 opening of Cars Land turned profitable faster than the company originally expected.
Translation:“Ummm, can we talk about something else….?”

Love it!

And I've been saying for some time that I think they might be slow walking the Mine Coaster until the work the bugs out of FP+.

 

[bcrook]

Love it!

And I've been saying for some time that I think they might be slow walking the Mine Coaster until the work the bugs out of FP+.

The opposite idea of DrDisneyMd. Interesting.

But both ideas suggest that both could be ready at the same time...

...Spring 2015.

 

[SmallWorld71]

So, in anticipation for my President's Week trip, I have been reading lots of the MB threads to keep up with the changes/ what's current.

But, there is something WDW keeps mentioning that I don't understand. Why do they keep talking about MyMagic+ as a huge $ maker?

We are going President's Week because we all have the week off and I got a free dining pin. I am not spending my hard earned $ at WDW because of all the MyMagic+ stuff, I am spending it in spite of it. I also don't see how my spending habits will be any different because of the magic bands. (ie. my budget doesn't change just because they give me an ugly wristband instead of a plastic card ) Our budget per day is actually less than it was in April because the discount we got (free dining) suits our family better than the past one we had (room discount) since my children are over age 10.

So, could somebody clue me in to why this is supposed to make so much $.

 

[stairstepmom]

Interesting article; thanks for posting! I'd love to be a fly on the wall in a MM+ corporate meeting!

So, in anticipation for my President's Week trip, I have been reading lots of the MB threads to keep up with the changes/ what's current.

But, there is something WDW keeps mentioning that I don't understand. Why do they keep talking about MyMagic+ as a huge $ maker?

We are going President's Week because we all have the week off and I got a free dining pin. I am not spending my hard earned $ at WDW because of all the MyMagic+ stuff, I am spending it in spite of it. I also don't see how my spending habits will be any different because of the magic bands. (ie. my budget doesn't change just because they give me an ugly wristband instead of a plastic card ) Our budget per day is actually less than it was in April because the discount we got (free dining) suits our family better than the past one we had (room discount) since my children are over age 10.

So, could somebody clue me in to why this is supposed to make so much $.

It's anyone's guess, as I don't think their reasoning about human motivation in spending is as sound as they think it is, but ultimately it seems to boil down to crowd control (if you are spending less time in line, you will spend more time shopping/eating/spending $) and ideas on human spending behavior in relation to payment form and coupling (see this for a general idea on the research: http://www.researchgate.net/publica...spending_behavior/file/9fcfd510a8bf6d1d5a.pdf)

Unfortunately, their assumptions are short-sighted and don't account for greater complexities in human motivation or in the fact that that motivation is never set in stone, but is constantly changing and adapting to our environment.

Today, "cash" barely exists - many people utilize a transparent method in everyday spending in the form of a debit card, pay their bills online, etc. This has changed and will continue to change how "transparent" non-cash payment actually is, as people adapt their thinking to changes in technology. When we link our debit card to our MBs in January, we know our budget for spending money and despite the increased transparency of waving a rubber band in the air, our minds are able to bridge that gap and remind us of the pain of payment and keep our spending in check. This is becoming increasingly true for everyone - it's not Monopoly money when all money is Monopoly money. And this is on top of the problem that the studies done on these things are generally small-scale and don't address the unique factors that apply to people on a Disney vacation. A psychologist would never latch on to this sort of research and cross-apply it to this huge of a situation.

In the review I posted, one of the studies done involved using $1 cash or $1 scrip to potentially purchase candy. Spending $100 at a Disney gift shop after having just spent $5000 on a vacation is quite a different thing. People are not in the same psychological frame of mind, and my opinion is that MB crowd control and/or increased payment transparency would have little impact, if any, on the average Disney guest. There would've been much more money in getting people to feel their trip was so fabulous that they absolutely MUST go back as soon as possible.

To strip it down to the bare truth, it seems silly to spend $1 billion to get people to buy a few bucks in candy. Better to spend it to get people to want to buy the whole vending machine. But what do I know?

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Maybe I'm being ignorant, but I don't understand the point of this article. All the Disney resorts are currently using FP+ and Magic Bands. So, if the tiniest final details won't be hammered out for months, I mean, so what? Nothing is really being delayed here.

A full rollout would mean, according to all indications, offering it to all guests. Currently, about half do not have access. Integrating unpredictable off-site guests into the system will create new complications.

A full rollout would also mean they felt confident enough in the system and the technology to use it as a marketing tool and not call it a "test" to explain away the glitches.

Those are the main issues from Disney's perspective, but part of the "tiniest final details" may also include which parks will have tiers and what will be in the tiers, whether a fourth FP+ will be available at MK, and whether this will change based on crowd levels. They may also include whether any spots will be held back at the 60-day mark, whether to let people book more FP+ after they've used their three, what kind of limits to put on AP holders, etc.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I guess. Seems like a waste of newspaper space to me. Nobody ever said when exactly off-site guests were going to get access.

It might not be a big deal to you, but I bet offsite guests going to Disney over the holidays appreciate the heads up to know there's pretty much no chance it will be rolled out to them. That's some uncertainty taken away from their trips.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Interesting article; thanks for posting! I'd love to be a fly on the wall in a MM+ corporate meeting!




It's anyone's guess, as I don't think their reasoning about human motivation in spending is as sound as they think it is, but ultimately it seems to boil down to crowd control (if you are spending less time in line, you will spend more time shopping/eating/spending $) and ideas on human spending behavior in relation to payment form and coupling (see this for a general idea on the research: http://www.researchgate.net/publica...spending_behavior/file/9fcfd510a8bf6d1d5a.pdf)

Unfortunately, their assumptions are short-sighted and don't account for greater complexities in human motivation or in the fact that that motivation is never set in stone, but is constantly changing and adapting to our environment.

Today, "cash" barely exists - many people utilize a transparent method in everyday spending in the form of a debit card, pay their bills online, etc. This has changed and will continue to change how "transparent" non-cash payment actually is, as people adapt their thinking to changes in technology. When we link our debit card to our MBs in January, we know our budget for spending money and despite the increased transparency of waving a rubber band in the air, our minds are able to bridge that gap and remind us of the pain of payment and keep our spending in check. This is becoming increasingly true for everyone - it's not Monopoly money when all money is Monopoly money. And this is on top of the problem that the studies done on these things are generally small-scale and don't address the unique factors that apply to people on a Disney vacation. A psychologist would never latch on to this sort of research and cross-apply it to this huge of a situation.

In the review I posted, one of the studies done involved using $1 cash or $1 scrip to potentially purchase candy. Spending $100 at a Disney gift shop after having just spent $5000 on a vacation is quite a different thing. People are not in the same psychological frame of mind, and my opinion is that MB crowd control and/or increased payment transparency would have little impact, if any, on the average Disney guest. There would've been much more money in getting people to feel their trip was so fabulous that they absolutely MUST go back as soon as possible.

To strip it down to the bare truth, it seems silly to spend $1 billion to get people to buy a few bucks in candy. Better to spend it to get people to want to buy the whole vending machine. But what do I know?

Thank-you so much for taking the time to post this.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Maybe. We've only been to DL once and actually LOVED it. We didn't like DCA, at least not in comparison to the other WDW parks.

I'll take the new dca over current dhs any day. I love dhs, but it needs more attractions.

 

[clsteve]

So, in anticipation for my President's Week trip, I have been reading lots of the MB threads to keep up with the changes/ what's current.

But, there is something WDW keeps mentioning that I don't understand. Why do they keep talking about MyMagic+ as a huge $ maker?

We are going President's Week because we all have the week off and I got a free dining pin. I am not spending my hard earned $ at WDW because of all the MyMagic+ stuff, I am spending it in spite of it. I also don't see how my spending habits will be any different because of the magic bands. (ie. my budget doesn't change just because they give me an ugly wristband instead of a plastic card ) Our budget per day is actually less than it was in April because the discount we got (free dining) suits our family better than the past one we had (room discount) since my children are over age 10.

So, could somebody clue me in to why this is supposed to make so much $.

A lot of it seems to be geared towards first time and casual guests:

Make the planning experience less overwhelming by offering FP+ "itineraries" that might keep them in the Park a full day or turn a half-day Park into a full day

"Suggest" quick or table service options in between their FP+ times, as well as other things

Increase Disney's on-site occupancy by having an earlier window for making FP+ reservations or giving a higher number of reservations to them - still speculation, but happening elsewhere (think: Universal)

Offerings to previous guests based on usage patterns based on RFID patterns

Also decrease costs by:

Using FP+ reservations to do better staff planning (they'll know who's going to be in which park, which part of the park, and at what time)

Get rid of infrastructure like FP- machines (widely dispersed, high maintenance and on the grid), and even KTTW cards (hey, they cost something and so do all of the program and acceptance devices)

All of this and much, much more is what they and the analysts are excited about, from a profit perspective.