New article about FP+ done by msn...

[practicallyperfect77]

From Coca-Cola themselves:

The Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. The company didn't set out to create the firestorm of consumer protest that ensued; instead, The Coca-Cola Company intended to re-energize its Coca-Cola brand and the cola category in its largest market, the United States.

That firestorm ended with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic, a few months later. The return of original formula Coca-Cola on July 11, 1985, put the cap on 79 days that revolutionized the soft-drink industry, transformed The Coca-Cola Company and stands today as testimony to the power of taking intelligent risks, even when they don't quite work as intended.

And here is a good article about it. So much rings true...

http://reviews.wikinut.com/New-Coke-by-Coca-Cola-Biggest-Marketing-blunder-Ever!/1-gyx.l5/

And another spooky example...

http://imcetys.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/caso-newcoke.pdf

Great links..thanks for sharing.

 

[Minniekins]

Their FB is full of negative reviews of the system.

I hear this all the time on these boards. No, people who are HAPPY about something are not anywhere near as vocal as people who are UNHAPPY with something. Human nature. Well known and uncontroversial in marketing, etc.
...

That may be true, but even so, whether it's 2% or 20%, all that negative is making a lot more noise than the 80% positive which doesn't make any sense at all. There should be much more positive noise being heard from that 80% than the relative blip that we see here, or anywhere else, including their own FB page. If the positives really were outweighing the negatives to that overwhelming degree of anything even close to 80% we really should be hearing it and seeing it much more than we are. The positive word of mouth would be common to hear in the online community and to notice in the parks, among guests and the CM's! The CM's and guests are not grumpy and frustrated because everything is so wonderful and happy. And the articles touting the wonderful success and many happy guests would be what was being written about, not the articles that are actually being written with places for even more negative comments. The articles would be shouting the praises of the new Disney. Word of mouth, whether it's positive or negative, will eventually come out and show the truth of what is, and it seems to be doing that in this case, even if Disney refuses to see it or admit it.

So the man in the article, floating in the pool, doesn't have to carry any identification with him? I thought you needed it with you at all times; when did this change?

If they believe that only 2% of the responses are negative, they need to read through the comments at the bottom of the MSN article - some of them are more vicious than those here on the DIS board or the Disney Facebook page.

People do not want to be tracked and they definitely don't want their children tracked. Plus, they are fearful of identity theft.

I think this article is going to hurt FP+ and Magic Bands even more than we all could with our comments.

Absolutely! And, MSN, that's a pretty neutral place - not a board like this, full of fanatical disney posters or fp super users, or a Disney operated page - just printing an article that a variety of disney guests across the country have stumbled across and felt the need to share their not so positive thoughts.

I saw that too and was infuriated. It's just Disney flat out lying.

I understand Disney not wanting to admit what a failure (and yes, it is a failure) FP+ is, but the ways they try and spin it into something better than it was before are just so ludicrous, you'd think somebody in PR would tell them to just remain silent about it.

I love Disney and will continue to go back, can't help myself at this point, lol. But, that attitude and lying on Disney's part has me so disappointed in them. And this entire debacle has really been very disheartening to me. I'm just so disappointed in Disney for all of this and the way it's been handled and pushed on people, disappointed in so many changes that are not for the better but for the bottom line - charged more but get less, and so disappointed at how much their greed is showing. Disney was always more than just a business. It used to feel that Disney was in the business of making magic, now it just feels like Disney is ... in business. And I'd certainly have more respect for them if they admitted things hadn't turned out as planned and they planned to work on fixing things that weren't broke to begin with. But still I will go back and love our trips, just with that twinge of disappointment. And a hope that they will one day find their way back to the magic!

 

[cgates616]

Disney's testing for FP+ was flawed! I was part of the test in Sept 2012 and was allowed to pre-book attractions AND use the existing fast pass machines. I believe that people in last year's tests were allowed to do the same. How can you have a realistic test of consumer reaction when you are not giving them the product that you intend to "sell"?

 

[wdwfanatic316]

I love Disney and will continue to go back, can't help myself at this point, lol. But, that attitude and lying on Disney's part has me so disappointed in them. And this entire debacle has really been very disheartening to me. I'm just so disappointed in Disney for all of this and the way it's been handled and pushed on people, disappointed in so many changes that are not for the better but for the bottom line - charged more but get less, and so disappointed at how much their greed is showing. Disney was always more than just a business. It used to feel that Disney was in the business of making magic, now it just feels like Disney is ... in business. And I'd certainly have more respect for them if they admitted things hadn't turned out as planned and they planned to work on fixing things that weren't broke to begin with. But still I will go back and love our trips, just with that twinge of disappointment. And a hope that they will one day find their way back to the magic![/QUOTE]

Just wanted to say this sums up how I feel too! I am hopeful that they will make changes for the better for FP+ soon, but who knows. But, as a dvc member and someone that has small kids (again) I don't think I'll stop going altogether anytime soon, but who knows if all we do all day is stand in lines all day (minus our 3 FP).

Also, just want to say I like(probably like a lot of other people) the idea of the magic band as far as getting in the room, room charging, park entry, etc, and also the mde site if the glitches were fixed. However I strongly dislike FP+!

 

[Missyrose]

Disney's testing for FP+ was flawed! I was part of the test in Sept 2012 and was allowed to pre-book attractions AND use the existing fast pass machines. I believe that people in last year's tests were allowed to do the same. How can you have a realistic test of consumer reaction when you are not giving them the product that you intend to "sell"?

When you need to tell reporters (with a straight face) that the tests have gone FABULOUSLY and everyone loves the new system.

 

[Disney Doll]

It has been my experience that the people at the top generally have in idea what's going on at the bottom nor do they particularly care.

I received a survey about FP+ The other day. I was quite vocal in my dislike of it. I'm not convinced it's going to matter.

 

[2Tiggies]

When you need to tell reporters (with a straight face) that the tests have gone FABULOUSLY and everyone loves the new system.

And that feedback is 80% positive...

 

[rteetz]

From Coca-Cola themselves: The Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. The company didn't set out to create the firestorm of consumer protest that ensued; instead, The Coca-Cola Company intended to re-energize its Coca-Cola brand and the cola category in its largest market, the United States. That firestorm ended with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic, a few months later. The return of original formula Coca-Cola on July 11, 1985, put the cap on 79 days that revolutionized the soft-drink industry, transformed The Coca-Cola Company and stands today as testimony to the power of taking intelligent risks, even when they don't quite work as intended. And here is a good article about it. So much rings true... http://reviews.wikinut.com/New-Coke-by-Coca-Cola-Biggest-Marketing-blunder-Ever!/1-gyx.l5/ And another spooky example... http://imcetys.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/caso-newcoke.pdf

interesting thanks I thought it lasted a bit longer than a year.

 

[troyseyfert]

Wow...650 comments...


How many of them are negative? At LEAST 80% (if not higher)...

AND, Disney can't delete them

If these people tell 10 of their friends and the negative word spreads, this might not be good for Disney. Take into account the increase in ticket prices and you've got a potential backlash.

So, this whole thing about positive talk in social media is a bunch of bunk in my opinion.

 

[mom2rtk]

And that feedback is 80% positive...

 

[faneuil]

interesting thanks I thought it lasted a bit longer than a year.

Crystal Pepsi lasted about a year.

 

[troyseyfert]

So...who thinks the marketing department could be reevaluating their dates for discounts in the fall due to this article?

Anyone have an opinion on this? Do you feel an article like this could affect things or do you feel like Disney is kind of brushing this article off like it's no big deal?

 

[clsteve]

So...who thinks the marketing department could be reevaluating their dates for discounts in the fall due to this article?

Anyone have an opinion on this? Do you feel an article like this could affect things or do you feel like Disney is kind of brushing this article off like it's no big deal?

Kinda depends on what happens Spring Break and Easter- and what articles follow. I can't think of another time a project such as this garnered so much visibility mainstream. But Disney started the focus by touting it so early- before the delays, cost over-runs and such. What's being said, published and discussed in July will be interesting....

 

[ougrad86]

From Coca-Cola themselves:

The Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. The company didn't set out to create the firestorm of consumer protest that ensued; instead, The Coca-Cola Company intended to re-energize its Coca-Cola brand and the cola category in its largest market, the United States.

That firestorm ended with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic, a few months later. The return of original formula Coca-Cola on July 11, 1985, put the cap on 79 days that revolutionized the soft-drink industry, transformed The Coca-Cola Company and stands today as testimony to the power of taking intelligent risks, even when they don't quite work as intended.

And here is a good article about it. So much rings true...

http://reviews.wikinut.com/New-Coke-by-Coca-Cola-Biggest-Marketing-blunder-Ever!/1-gyx.l5/

And another spooky example...

http://imcetys.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/caso-newcoke.pdf

In that second article, that interesting statistic about the 80/20 rule. 20% are the biggest purchasers and perhaps the 20% that did not give overwhelmingly positive reviews?

I haven't even been in the park, but already the amount of planning to make sure we are where we should be to utilize our FP's and trying to give DH a FP to ST while we do RnR has been a major pain...

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

From Coca-Cola themselves:

The Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. The company didn't set out to create the firestorm of consumer protest that ensued; instead, The Coca-Cola Company intended to re-energize its Coca-Cola brand and the cola category in its largest market, the United States.

That firestorm ended with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic, a few months later. The return of original formula Coca-Cola on July 11, 1985, put the cap on 79 days that revolutionized the soft-drink industry, transformed The Coca-Cola Company and stands today as testimony to the power of taking intelligent risks, even when they don't quite work as intended.

And here is a good article about it. So much rings true...

http://reviews.wikinut.com/New-Coke-by-Coca-Cola-Biggest-Marketing-blunder-Ever!/1-gyx.l5/

And another spooky example...

http://imcetys.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/caso-newcoke.pdf

Wow! Really interesting articles. Before my current career, I used to work for a marketing agency with several very large clients, so these were a great read for me. Thanks so much for sharing. A couple of crazy parallels:

From the first article:


"What Coca-cola apparently neglected to take into account was that many of the 45% who preferred old Coke did so passionately. The 55% who voted for new Coke might have been able to live with the old formula, but many on the other side swore that they could not stomach new Coke."

Hmmm...so a vocal and passionate minority *does* matter and *can* make a difference. This affirms what a lot of us here have been saying about FP+ (even though the supporters continue to poo-poo the "minority," claiming that all Disney needs to do is focus on the once-in-a-life timers and newbies to be successful). There is similar language in the second article.

Also, from the second article:

"In taste testing a new Coke formula, Coca Cola Company used three different formulations, which it tested against traditional Coke and Pepsi. Of the 200,000 consumers who took the test, however, only 30,000 or 40,000 actually tasted the new formula which was finally introduced. In addition, most consumers were not informed what they were tasting. In other words, most consumers simply had no idea that their preferences were helping the Coca Cola company to decide whether it should introduce a new formula for Coke. If informed of the full ramifications of their preferences- in other words, a vote for new Coke also meant choosing to get rid of the old, standard Coca Cola – perhaps many consumers, moved by an emotional attachment to the familiar drink, would have registered a preference for the old Coke. As the taste tests were constructed, however, a majority of consumers, (about 53% versus 47%) who tasted both the old and new Coke liked the «new» Coke better than the original formula. This result was apparently instrumental in the company’s decision to use this new formula and replace the old one. Besides conducting the taste tests, the company also surveyed a different set of consumers to see whether or not they favoured the Coke change, in concept.
As some researchers have pointed out, however, this survey consisted of simple Yes/No questions and was not likely to reveal consumers’ deep seated feelings about Coke.
Although consumers were asked to respond to «the idea of changing the formulation », they were not clearly advised that their responses might mean never being able to taste the old formula again. Under such hypothetical conditions, many consumers made a greater departure from tradition than they could in actuality."

Well...that pretty much sums up the early FP+ testing, now doesn't it! It sure was easy to like FP+ when you were able to grab all kinds of paper FP as well. Also, I tested in Sept 2013, and the survey that I took afterwards made it very difficult to give negative answers about FP+ in specific, even though I wanted to. It was also confusing because most of the questions were geared towards Magic Bands and/or MM+ as a whole...it was like they didn't want to hear about FP+ in any possible negative way. And it sounds like they are still blurring the lines between Magic Bands, MM+, MDE, and FP+ in their surveys and marketing materials. So it's been quite difficult to get a real read on how people feel about FP+ in its current form. I would wager that Disney's failure to gather this information appropriately is/will be to their detriment.

Another paragraph from the second article:

"Coca-Cola Company also made a mistake by failing to note that many U.S. consumers
strongly favour continuity and tradition over novelty. According to one well-known breakdown of the American population into consumer types the largest single group consists of «belongers» – those who like stability more than change. For years, Coca-Cola Company had successfully gone after this group by appealing to its members’ traditional values. Reformulating Coke was like a slap in the face to those for whom Coke represented familiarity and tradition."

Now...I personally don't believe for a minute that people only hate FP+ because they "don't like change" as has been expressed on the DIS by many, many FP+ supporters (I think people don't like it because it sucks, lol). However, even assuming that that is one reason people are reacting so negatively towards FP+, it's a valid reason that Disney would be wise not to ignore.

Anyway, there definitely are a number of striking parallels between New Coke and FP+, aren't there?

 

[mom2rtk]

Wouldn't it be fun to see them try and roll out New Coke again now? In the midst of all this social media?

 

[surferdave]

I'm sure others remember differently but this is what I remember most about the New Coke fiasco (and I was going to college in Atlanta, corporate HQs for Coke at the time where news coverage was heaviest):

- They had lost some market share to Pepsi and were looking to change to get new customers.

- They did blind taste tests with individuals who claimed no existing preference for one of the two drinks.

- These people indicated a preference for the slightly sweeter formula.

- The new drink, to Coke's loyal following, tasted like Pepsi.

So yes, what Coke did was take their existing customers for granted and assume they would remain loyal no matter what while they changed their product to attract new customers.

 

[Laz]

If my memory serves my correctly, when Coke brought back Coca Cola Classic, its sales skyrocketed and the image of the company rebounded quite well. Could the same happen to WDW?

 

[Minniekins]

Wow...650 comments...


How many of them are negative? At LEAST 80% (if not higher)...

AND, Disney can't delete them

If these people tell 10 of their friends and the negative word spreads, this might not be good for Disney. Take into account the increase in ticket prices and you've got a potential backlash.

So, this whole thing about positive talk in social media is a bunch of bunk in my opinion.

Exactly! Word of mouth is huge, and that word of mouth is overwhelmingly negative! I still say that if the numbers were really 80% positive, that positiveness would certainly be loud enough to be heard over the negative noise. Just look at all the numerous sites with huge numbers of negative comments and unhappy guests, not just the Dis, it's not an illusion - that's the real word of mouth, and MSN picked up on it in their article and with the large numbers of negative comments there.

So...who thinks the marketing department could be reevaluating their dates for discounts in the fall due to this article?

Anyone have an opinion on this? Do you feel an article like this could affect things or do you feel like Disney is kind of brushing this article off like it's no big deal?

I don't see how they could possibly brush it off like no big deal, but they will at least appear to and we'll probably never see their real reaction. They should be cringing, and you'd think their hearts would be dropping to the pits of their stomachs with how wrong they got this whole thing, lol! I suppose, and actually hope, they may change things, but they will never attribute it to all the negative response. I'd respect them more if they did, though!

...

Hmmm...so a vocal and passionate minority *does* matter and *can* make a difference. This affirms what a lot of us here have been saying about FP+ (even though the supporters continue to poo-poo the "minority," claiming that all Disney needs to do is focus on the once-in-a-life timers and newbies to be successful). ....

From the article, " Iger told analysts in February that the new system helped the Magic Kingdom park accommodate 3,000 additional daily guests during the Christmas holiday season by reducing congestion around the most popular attractions. "I'd say the biggest impact is, one, being able to accommodate more people because it's just more efficient," Iger said, "and second, enabling guests to have a substantially better experience than they've had before because they're doing more."

First of all, he's specifically referring to guests who've been there before,and come back, not once in a life timers or first timers. And secondly, from all reports, and my own Dec trip, not sure how things ran more efficiently or that congestion was reduced around popular attractions. Word of mouth, pictures of crowds, show that lines are longer with lots of congestion around the fp lines and stand by lines, as well as kiosks now. Not sure how saying they are stuffing in thousands more guests daily is supposed to be a selling point of the their great new system.

 

[knewton64]

......increasing December occupancy @ MK 3K doesn't mean squat IMO.
**
*******


fROM THE NEWS ARTICLE POSTED IN POSTING #1 FROM THIS THREAD:
"Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger told analysts in February that the new system helped the Magic Kingdom park accommodate 3,000 additional daily guests during the Christmas holiday season......
**
**
**
**** FYI **** TAKE NOTE HOW IGER FAILS TO GO INTO DEFINING THE PHRASE, "CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON." fOR ALL WE KNOW THAT COULD MEAN LATE OCT 2013 THRU EARLY JAN 2014 WHICH TRANSLATES INTO ONLY A 1000 PERSON A MONTH INCREASE WHICH TRANSLATES INTO A 7.4 PERSON DAILY INCREASE FOR PARK ATTENDANCE AT MK FOR THAT 90 DAY PERIOD.

NOT VERY GOOd STATS IMO ******
****
**
**
...... by reducing congestion around the most popular attractions. "I'd say the biggest impact is, one, being able to accommodate more people because it's just more efficient," Iger said, "and second, enabling guests to have a substantially better experience than they've had before because they're doing more."
**********************



IMHO, IT ISN'T ABOUT OCCUPANCY......
It's $.



Time will tell when 2014 1st quarter earnings report comes out.

ONCE WE SEE 1st quarter 2014 occupancy for WDW vs $..........

and
weigh it against how much was spent on this folly -
THEN THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT.


Having Iger 'claim' that MK December 2013 Holiday attendance was increased 3K daily (w/o going into detail how much revenue was gained in that month) IS VERY MISLEADING.


tho ----- SHOULD & IF EACH PARK attendee spend say $200 EACH DAY at a minimum.........
and then you weigh that against the cost of this new program......


Now.....
Q: how much was spent on MB, FP+, etc???????



**** But again, to suggest that 'everything is all hun-key-dor-ee' and that WDW profits is just soarin through the roof due to this new fangled MB, RDIF-chipped program, etc.....is very misleading.




WHOAH!!!!!!!!




ANYWHO -
ALL KIDDIN' ASIDE.......



Q: Wouldn't that be funny if (& I do stress the word 'IF') 1st quarter 2014 earning for WDW PArk side of Disney comes out as Flat??
Hmmmmm........






thank you all for listening as this is EXACTLY the reason why I choose to stay out of WDW for atleast another 2 yrs. Too many bugs in the system, too many Guests trying to circumvent the system & just too many headaches to deal with.
Yes, I do want to see the Guest experience be enhanced but when the experience literally takes a PHD in Nuculear Physics just to experience a Disney park, it's no wonder why I always feel compelled to go through a TA =

less hassle
less headache






T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all