Now Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style Wristbands (Time Magazine)

[crazy4wdw]

Now Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style Wristbands

Big Brother's got mouse ears

Article posted in this week's issue of Time:

http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/02/disney-nsa-style-magic-bands-theme-park/

 

[jcnewton]

For the tinfoil hat crowd.

 

[wdwgreg]

They can but what possible reason would they have for wanting to

i can only see two uses for this, lost children being found, and stolen/lost/dropped bands being found

neither of these are a negative to me

you cannot get any personal information of the band (except whatever name you put on the back) only a unique number
that number is only relative to the Disney main computer which records all the information same as it has always done for your key to the world card

They may use it to go, oh crap 30,000 people are heading towards its a small world, lets try and get some character greets over there, have someone giving out fastpasses for other ride etc, and get the cast members ready for it

they are not going to go oh look john and jane doe from small town Indiana rode tower of terror three times, then went on rock n roller coaster at 11:35 they bought 2 mickey ice cream bars, and then went to watch beauty and the beast, because that would be a waste of time and money

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm sure the NSA is flattered by the comparison.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

They can but what possible reason would they have for wanting to

i can only see two uses for this, lost children being found, and stolen/lost/dropped bands being found neither of these are a negative to me

you cannot get any personal information of the band (except whatever name you put on the back) only a unique number
that number is only relative to the Disney main computer which records all the information same as it has always done for your key to the world card

They may use it to go, oh crap 30,000 people are heading towards its a small world, lets try and get some character greets over there, have someone giving out fastpasses for other ride etc, and get the cast members ready for it

they are not going to go oh look john and jane doe from small town Indiana rode tower of terror three times, then went on rock n roller coaster at 11:35 they bought 2 mickey ice cream bars, and then went to watch beauty and the beast, because that would be a waste of time and money

You are right about lost children and watching how people as groups move through the park, but you are wrong about the rest. The certainly will note what John and Jane Doe rode and where they went and what they bought.

This will be extremely valuable information with which Disney will learn the patterns and desires of every possible demographic. They will learn that X number of people from X that spend X amount of time at Disney do A and B but not C. People from Europe do this, but people from Florida do that. People with X number of children within X and X ages will ride these rides but not those and will buy this but not that after.

They can do two things: Begin to change to better meet desires, change where things are placed in the park, change the offers made to guests, etc.

They will also be able to do this:

After their return home John and Jane receive the following email/letter/call:

"Hello John and Jane Doe, thank you for your recent visit. If you book a X number of days within this period of time we'll give you 2 special fast passes for each member of your party to Tower of Terror. Also, here are some coupons for free mickey bars. See the attached ad for the new Tower of Terror T-shirt, too! Thanks for your visit and see you real soon!"

From a business and statistical standpoint this technology will be a game changer. No longer will they need to do flawed surveys to find out in very general terms what you do and what you like. They will have it all in their computer system for evaluation.

Disney will be able to adapt to the consumer in so many ways it will make our heads spin. In a good way. Other companies can only drool over the advantage such information will provide!

I'm at Disney, I could care less what they know, because I know they will use it to improve the experience and save money. Good for us and good for investors.

It will be a monumental change to the industry. It probably already puts Disney 10 to 20 years ahead. They will make back 10 times the cost just in licensing to other companies.

 

[Napria]

I'm sure the NSA is flattered by the comparison.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

You are right about lost children and watching how people as groups move through the park, but you are wrong about the rest. The certainly will note what John and Jane Doe rode and where they went and what they bought.

This will be extremely valuable information with which Disney will learn the patterns and desires of every possible demographic. They will learn that X number of people from X that spend X amount of time at Disney do A and B but not C. People from Europe do this, but people from Florida do that. People with X number of children within X and X ages will ride these rides but not those and will buy this but not that after.

They can do two things: Begin to change to better meet desires, change where things are placed in the park, change the offers made to guests, etc.

They will also be able to do this:

After their return home John and Jane receive the following email/letter/call:

"Hello John and Jane Doe, thank you for your recent visit. If you book a X number of days within this period of time we'll give you 2 special fast passes for each member of your party to Tower of Terror. Also, here are some coupons for free mickey bars. See the attached ad for the new Tower of Terror T-shirt, too! Thanks for your visit and see you real soon!"

From a business and statistical standpoint this technology will be a game changer. No longer will they need to do flawed surveys to find out in very general terms what you do and what you like. They will have it all in their computer system for evaluation.

Disney will be able to adapt to the consumer in so many ways it will make our heads spin. In a good way. Other companies can only drool over the advantage such information will provide!

I'm at Disney, I could care less what they know, because I know they will use it to improve the experience and save money. Good for us and good for investors.

It will be a monumental change to the industry. It probably already puts Disney 10 to 20 years ahead. They will make back 10 times the cost just in licensing to other companies.

You think John and Jane will throw what is now probably $4,000 average on another week at the land of all things magic for a ride on tower of terror? A 20 year old ride?

Then I say John and Jane deserve whatever they get.

I suppose this kinda tactic will work on some. No way in hell it will work on others. I can't wait until I see the "direct marketing" from this...it's already insulting...I hope it turns to laughable by then.

And the Mickey bars used to be alot better too.

No thanks

 

[OKW Lover]

You think John and Jane will throw what is now probably $4,000 average on another week at the land of all things magic for a ride on tower of terror? A 20 year old ride?

How about if they decide to add one more day to what was previously just a week as a result of better targeted marketing? It doesn't have to work for everybody (heck, look at today's marketing) in order for this project to make financial sense for Disney.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~Disney just needs each visitor to spend sixty dollars on virtually anything during their vacation or park visit and they will see a profit in just a year! It's a little ambitious but not impossible. If each guest were to spend only ten dollars during their visit, it would take roughly six years to pay off. My modest estimate is that Disney's investment will pay for itself within three years. The Magic Bands make it so convenient to spend. The fact that I can stop into any shop or cart vendor and flash my wrist for a treat or visit any gift shop and have the items delivered to my room after a flick of the wrist is effortless. This is instant gratification at it's finest and people love to indulge on vacation. And yes, it is all consumer driven.

~Oh, and that article will no doubt win the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. Well done.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

You think John and Jane will throw what is now probably $4,000 average on another week at the land of all things magic for a ride on tower of terror? A 20 year old ride?

Then I say John and Jane deserve whatever they get.

I suppose this kinda tactic will work on some. No way in hell it will work on others. I can't wait until I see the "direct marketing" from this...it's already insulting...I hope it turns to laughable by then.

And the Mickey bars used to be alot better too.

No thanks

You miss the point. It doesn't matter what ride or mickey bars, or whatever, but Disney will know everything you do and like and will be able to customize offers to you accordingly. So if you ride Tower of Terror 4 times a day, every day for a week and buy 30 mickey bars, then maybe those offers would get you to come back.

This idea will work on everyone. It is a matter of finding out what they like, what's important, and then making appropriate offers.

You never ride rides? How about a discount for giving up your FP+? You ride lots of ride from opening to closing? How about an offer of extra FP+?

There is something for everyone.

DrDisneyMD is right, expense will be recouped in a few years and then the data will be used to better our experience and bring in lots of money in the future. Which means profits into the future.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

How about if they decide to add one more day to what was previously just a week as a result of better targeted marketing? It doesn't have to work for everybody (heck, look at today's marketing) in order for this project to make financial sense for Disney.

Logistically...the airlines have made that all but impossible

 

[Annadesu]

Because the government is very interested in knowing how many times I ride Splash Mountain. MWAHAHAHA.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

You miss the point. It doesn't matter what ride or mickey bars, or whatever, but Disney will know everything you do and like and will be able to customize offers to you accordingly. So if you ride Tower of Terror 4 times a day, every day for a week and buy 30 mickey bars, then maybe those offers would get you to come back.

This idea will work on everyone. It is a matter of finding out what they like, what's important, and then making appropriate offers.

You never ride rides? How about a discount for giving up your FP+? You ride lots of ride from opening to closing? How about an offer of extra FP+?

There is something for everyone.

DrDisneyMD is right, expense will be recouped in a few years and then the data will be used to better our experience and bring in lots of money in the future. Which means profits into the future.

I get the point...and I'm sure they statistically figured out that they can't lose...
I just think the product they are offering might be a little more flawed than they want to admit.

They stagnated (let's be honest) their parks in Orlando for 15 years leading up to this rollout.

Now, that won't matter to the first timer segment... And that will always keep the place going...but all this data mining is not meant for first timers.
It's meant to build the coveted longterm/repeat/guaranteed business that they have so long been after. What good are personal preferences if its in a system where they want to prebook you on everything (due to labor and cost control), which doesn't allow you (or severely limits) to adjust on the fly...or is dependent on you returning - which means they run the risk of exposing the limitations of what they offer if they have deemed amusement park "refreshing" bad for profits (and it seems they have).

I'll admit...after using them I love the magic bands (can't stand that they are not reusable...like the stupid mugs)...but after thinking about it for a year ima thinking that they really are blowing smoke about what they'll "do" with the info...
They'd like to be eggheads with it...but logistically it may not be possible.

I think the whole thing might just be the two barbaric reasons I originally thought:
1. To predict crowds and slash staffing when possible
2. To free you up from lines and waiting rooms in restaurants (they've largely done that already and the effects are sad) so you have no choice but to enter the mini walmarts they've placed every 10 feet.

But hey...my opinion could always change

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Because the government is very interested in knowing how many times I ride Splash Mountain. MWAHAHAHA.

I think there might be a day not too far off when Disney looks at how many people are riding splash mountain and determine how much rehab tlc (money) they'll put into it or whether or not it will open on "slow" days at all...

That's some prime time minimum wage scratch they'll be saving to build a golden throne in Anaheim for whatever paper doll that's in charge to sit on

 

[twebber55]

I think there might be a day not too far off when Disney looks at how many people are riding splash mountain and determine how much rehab tlc (money) they'll put into it or whether or not it will open on "slow" days at all... That's some prime time minimum wage scratch they'll be saving to build a golden throne in Anaheim for whatever paper doll that's in charge to sit on

Totally agree
I think that is one of the big drivers
Predicting crowd control

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Well darn it. This means they won't be sending me any more pin codes after they see how little we spend there.

We're not shoppers at all!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Well darn it. This means they won't be sending me any more pin codes after they see how little we spend there.

We're not shoppers at all!

Disneys real issue is that they can't figure out why you don't shop...and it's in any biography of Walt disney.

 

[beer dave]

Disneys real issue is that they can't figure out why you don't shop...and it's in any biography of Walt disney.

The problem is that they are figuring it out-- the higher your income, the more you will spend. This is why you will not see another value resort built. This is why they will give perks for resort level in the future. (IMO)

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The problem is that they are figuring it out-- the higher your income, the more you will spend. This is why you will not see another value resort built. This is why they will give perks for resort level in the future. (IMO)

I'm 50% with you...
I like your take...but think there might be something societal at work as well...
When the All stars and the moderates were conceived... Late 80's and early 90's...there was a market.

I believe that market is going away...as not only has disney's "inflation" contributed to that...but your boss is no longer expected or required to give you enough to go...for an alarmingly high number of people if you look into it - turn off the cable "news" and read a book

But I know...the markets are never wrong

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The problem is that they are figuring it out-- the higher your income, the more you will spend. This is why you will not see another value resort built. This is why they will give perks for resort level in the future. (IMO)

I can afford disney...yet buy nothing.
Why?