No Pixie Dust Yesterday!! I Hate Magic Bands!

[Angel Ariel]

I was going to post something similar. I believe some people experience legit problems. But, I also believe many problems are guest related. Either someone trying to game the system or someone who is confused.

And while I can believe perhaps that a large number of guests had an issue, I find it hard to swallow that it was thousands. I think some exaggeration is going on here.

Why is it hard to believe it was thousands? I'd say there are easily 1000 people at rope drop on any given day, especially in peak season. I was in Epcot last March (spring break season) when all of the Epcot turnstiles went down, right at opening. That definitely affected everyone who was trying to enter the park.

 

[SimonSez]

I've said all along that it's NOT a good idea to depend completely on technology- because what happens when it goes down? SOL. This isn't just for Disney, this is for everything. I am always amazed that people are so proud of their dependence on technology and look down their noses at people who can "do it themselves."

ANYHOW… Almost as concerning as the magic bands not working is the attitude of the Disney employees. They accused you of trying to sneak into the park? They think you are lying about having FP+ or ADRs? Since when is rudeness part of a CM's job description? There are plenty of theme parks to attend if one is looking for poor customer service and rude employees! It sounds almost as if they CMs have been convinced that Disney's new technology is flawless, and of COURSE it's going to work all the time. What flavor kool-aid have they been drinking? OP, were they not concerned or sympathetic at all about dead magic bands? This is getting ridiculous, especially with reports on other threads about cast members telling visitors that it is no longer possible to get cards for room and park admission (old KTTW cards, or similar).

With the money they spent, and all the things tied to your MB, you'd think Disney would have built in several layers of redundancy for this technology.

We were sent the KTTW cards ahead of the MBs. We were a little confused as to why they sent those, and a CM said they just do, and when we get the MBs we can decide which ones to use--cards or bands. Now some CMs are saying they don't use the KTTW cards We haven't hit our 30 day point so haven't received MBs yet, but this thread is scary. I think they should keep the parks open 2 extra hours to make up for the time guests lose trying to de-glitch the system

 

[DisUniversal]

No one is forced to buy anything at Disney, they can make the stuff, but, it is up to the guest as to if they want to buy it.

Not so sure...the guests I saw buying this junk didn't look like they were acting of their own free will. They had this vacant look in their eyes and were just buying everything like merchandise zombies. Saying you don't have to buy anything at Disney is sort of like saying you don't have to drink or gamble when in Vegas.

 

[luvthemouse71]

For several reasons:

If it were truly thousands, this board would have had more than one post about it.

The trendy thing to do around here lately is complain how awful the new system is. Saying that dozens had issues will not produce the same level of hysteria as saying thousands.

An incident like that would have made it onto some of the other WDW related blogs and websites. Thus far, I have not seen anything stating that thousands were inconvenienced.

 

[SimonSez]

For several reasons:

If it were truly thousands, this board would have had more than one post about it.

The trendy thing to do around here lately is complain how awful the new system is. Saying that dozens had issues will not produce the same level of hysteria as saying thousands.

An incident like that would have made it onto some of the other WDW related blogs and websites. Thus far, I have not seen anything stating that thousands were inconvenienced.

You make a good point here!

 

[tripinbrums]

I was going to post something similar. I believe some people experience legit problems. But, I also believe many problems are guest related. Either someone trying to game the system or someone who is confused.

And while I can believe perhaps that a large number of guests had an issue, I find it hard to swallow that it was thousands. I think some exaggeration is going on here.

I am absolutely NOT Exaggerating! In order to stand in a line for 2 hours just how many people do you think we in front and behind me? I had 5 in my family alone and another family of close friends. We are here at Hollywood Studios today and everything has worked great! I spent some time at the front desk this morning (25 min) while they come rely cancelled my ressie and rebooked everything. A lot of things I am but when it comes to my hard earned time at Disney...I savor every second!!!

 

[Missyrose]

For several reasons:

If it were truly thousands, this board would have had more than one post about it.

The trendy thing to do around here lately is complain how awful the new system is. Saying that dozens had issues will not produce the same level of hysteria as saying thousands.

An incident like that would have made it onto some of the other WDW related blogs and websites. Thus far, I have not seen anything stating that thousands were inconvenienced.

Who knows how many people were standing in that GR line yesterday? Is having dozens of people spending two hours to get into the park that muxh more acceptable than hundreds?

 

[Angel Ariel]

For several reasons:

If it were truly thousands, this board would have had more than one post about it.

The trendy thing to do around here lately is complain how awful the new system is. Saying that dozens had issues will not produce the same level of hysteria as saying thousands.

An incident like that would have made it onto some of the other WDW related blogs and websites. Thus far, I have not seen anything stating that thousands were inconvenienced.

I don't recall seeing multiple posts here about the turnstiles at epcot going down when I was there It's possible there were, I'm not saying it isn't possible, but it's not something that stuck out to me.

ETA: Just did a quick search for "epcot turnstiles" and had it search for posts from last year and older (to cover the date of my March 2013 trip) and had it show posts. There were no posts from the dates I was there that mention Epcot's turnstiles going down at all. I can assure you they were down. CMs were going through and stamping our tickets to let people in instead.

But I guess it's OK to just assume that didn't happen, or that the person is exaggerating it, because there aren't other posts on this board to back it up.

 

[CAS239]

Sounds like some bad luck. I go to Disney about every other month and have had magic bands and been using FP+ since they rolled it out to AP's, and we've never had a problem. From time to time I've seen a couple peoples turnstile light blue, but majority seems to be their fault. Either not using the correct finger or not keeping their finger still on the scanner.

I've never experienced seeing masses of people at guest services luckily. Love the MB's and FP+

 

[roobug]

I've said all along that it's NOT a good idea to depend completely on technology- because what happens when it goes down? SOL. This isn't just for Disney, this is for everything. I am always amazed that people are so proud of their dependence on technology and look down their noses at people who can "do it themselves."

ANYHOW… Almost as concerning as the magic bands not working is the attitude of the Disney employees. They accused you of trying to sneak into the park? They think you are lying about having FP+ or ADRs? Since when is rudeness part of a CM's job description? There are plenty of theme parks to attend if one is looking for poor customer service and rude employees! It sounds almost as if they CMs have been convinced that Disney's new technology is flawless, and of COURSE it's going to work all the time. What flavor kool-aid have they been drinking? OP, were they not concerned or sympathetic at all about dead magic bands? This is getting ridiculous, especially with reports on other threads about cast members telling visitors that it is no longer possible to get cards for room and park admission (old KTTW cards, or similar).

With the money they spent, and all the things tied to your MB, you'd think Disney would have built in several layers of redundancy for this technology.

Problem is there are a lot more scammers now, and they do a good job so CM's do not know if you are one of the many scammers trying to take advantage of the situation. It's got to be hard, because even people with families will try and get what they can for free. Everyone knows that there have been glitches so it makes sense that the scammers would be trying to take advantage. The few bad apples ruin it for everyone else, I wouldn't put the blame on the CM's it's got to be frustrating trying to figure out who is lying and who's telling the truth.

 

[bzzelady]

There must be some widespread computer problems in the Mouse House...I just logged into the DVC member website to check my July reservation-the website told me that I didn't have any reservations booked and that I was behind in my annual dues Now I knew that I paid my annual dues at the beginning of the year, so I called member services, who told me that she can see my reservations behind the scenes, but they are having some major computer problems this weekend.

I have never seen a place have more computer IT problems than Disney

 

[Missyrose]

Sounds like some bad luck. I go to Disney about every other month and have had magic bands and been using FP+ since they rolled it out to AP's, and we've never had a problem. From time to time I've seen a couple peoples turnstile light blue, but majority seems to be their fault. Either not using the correct finger or not keeping their finger still on the scanner.

I've never experienced seeing masses of people at guest services luckily. Love the MB's and FP+

How many of those trips to Disney include onsite stays? Because those seem to be where most of the issues have popped up -- for people staying at Disney resorts.

 

[Guapy]

My parents were at mk yesterday and encountered the same problem. They each got a fastpass to seven dwarfs ride, free dessert, and an extra one day park hopper pass. Pretty good if you ask me.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't recall seeing multiple posts here about the turnstiles at epcot going down when I was there It's possible there were, I'm not saying it isn't possible, but it's not something that stuck out to me.

And we all know that the DIS is only such a tiny portion of the overall population, right? Or so I've heard.

 

[Suvadoo]

I am absolutely NOT Exaggerating! In order to stand in a line for 2 hours just how many people do you think we in front and behind me? I had 5 in my family alone and another family of close friends. We are here at Hollywood Studios today and everything has worked great! I spent some time at the front desk this morning (25 min) while they come rely cancelled my ressie and rebooked everything. A lot of things I am but when it comes to my hard earned time at Disney...I savor every second!!!

I don't think you're exaggerating and I think the people who are making excuses for the foul ups you've experienced have been lucky enough to have glitch-free experiences. I wonder how they would feel if they were the ones standing out in the sun for 2 hours!

 

[JimmyV]

What the OP described sounds like a systemic problem that affected thousands of guests, not a thousand individual problems. It's common enough with complex systems like MM+ that there's no reason to be suspicious of it.

Very true. But suspicions aside, there is no reason for people to say "This isn't Disney's fault." Of course it is. If one were to go to their bank only to be told that the computer was showing that their account was closed and they had no money there, would that person shrug it off or proclaim that the bank was at fault?

For several reasons:

If it were truly thousands, this board would have had more than one post about it.

The trendy thing to do around here lately is complain how awful the new system is. Saying that dozens had issues will not produce the same level of hysteria as saying thousands.

An incident like that would have made it onto some of the other WDW related blogs and websites.

Absurd. When someone here complains about something, we are quickly informed about how small and insignificant this board is compared to the bigger picture. Now, all of a sudden, something like this happens and we are supposed to believe that everyone affected should have posted on a chat board.....in the middle of their vacation? The OP could not have waited 2 hours for a resolution with only a dozen people in front of them.

In the end, the most egregious part of all of this may have been the selling of the water. Though, the old saying: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" was clearly ignored.

 

[Angel Ariel]

And we all know that the DIS is only such a tiny portion of the overall population, right? Or so I've heard.

 

[itchin2go]

My parents were at mk yesterday and encountered the same problem. They each got a fastpass to seven dwarfs ride, free dessert, and an extra one day park hopper pass. Pretty good if you ask me.

This wouldn't be good enough for me. I buy tickets for the number of days we need. One extra day wouldn't do me any good because we won't be in a position to extend our trip. If it's a totally separate ticket, I guess I could hold onto it for the next trip.

But the only thing that would come close to making up for the time lost would be additional fastpasses.

 

[mom2rtk]

In the end, the most egregious part of all of this may have been the selling of the water. Though, the old saying: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" was clearly ignored.

So I wonder whether bottled water sales was figured into that increase in guest spending they were anticipating with magic bands...........

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe it's the new promotion -- "Magic No Way."

You know, that just might do it!