Oh so THAT'S WHY I can't get a reservation at Be Our Guest (and every other restaurant in WDW)!!

[Dean Marino]

I hope people stop giving these sites their CC info. It is just a matter of time before they are gone based on DDB shutting down. No one knows anything about the level of security of these servers. I would not want them to store my credit card.

That is a VERY good point. And mrsjoannh13? You actually make the very same good point. It's a good thing we have FEDERAL laws protecting those CCs - because almost ANYONE can get breached, with the consumer left in the lurch.

SOME folks are far better than others at guarding your info.... but MINIMIZING the number of people that GET that info is a good idea (at least for us).

People I do not worry about, regarding CC info: Amazon, Disney. That's it. You see, both of these are LARGE TARGETS in the event of a data breach. Anyone else? I'm pretty picky. I do use PAYPAL as a CC parking spot.... but I look at it like a hawk. This one is tough.... it let's me hide my CC data, but (just to me) looks like the ultimate rich target for a hacker . On the other hand? So does the US Government.

So - quick wrap up. EVERYONE will yell about how GOOD their security is. The sad fact is, you'll know the truth based on weather or not they get hacked - and by then? It's too late. Were it me: I would trust NOTHING other than the Federal LAWS surrounding CC fraud claims - not promises, not assurances, not "we love you's" - JUST THE LAW. There are a whole bunch of people that want your CC data - they will be your friends, brothers, sisters, trusted allies.... yada yada yada . Totally personal opinion - I would avoid most of these. Most web sites, without contracting these services from serious security providers, can't afford to hire competent security people. No way a nickel & dime shop can get these folks.... but they CAN fake the whole thing. Please, be wary.

 

[Dean Marino]

Disney wants to control the experience. Any service that is offered around ADRs, FP+, or anything else liked to MyMagic+ needs to pass through the system as designed to generate the correct and complete data on each individual.

If Disney wanted to allow access to the system through third parties they would have an API that does it. It comes down to controlling the system.

Now please - all? I tend to really LIKE this post. That's just me, all personal opinion....

"Disney wants to control the experience"
Yes. Consider what happened to Walt in CA - and why WDW was created. THIS is a fundamental concept of the company, if they have any sense of history.

"If Disney wanted to allow access to the system through third parties they would have an API that does it"
Absolutely true. A DECENT API would place far less load on the Front end web server, and back end DataBase. Disney could easily sell this service, if they had a competent coding staff. They don't. They don't even have a competent CIO that could recognize the business opportunity. Worse, they are effectively getting HACKED- DAILY. The resources they are paying for are being consumed - they are getting nothing, and their base line human customers are experiencing an effective DOS attack.

A GOOD CEO would, at this point, FIRE the CIO and find someone that could actually perform. If the CEO actually "got" the value of the Internet. No shame here - even Microsoft hasn't "got" this, to date.

All of the above are personal comments based on 25 years worth of Network Architecture (yup, that would be just about the time the US HAD anything like a network . WDW is not being "evil" - they ARE being incredibly stupid. I sort of get this.... I'm old too. But "old" and "stupid" don't need to go hand in hand. When it get's this bad? Start hiring people that are SMARTER than you are.... and get off the "old and experienced" bandwagon. If we did a good job, as teachers? OF COURSE these younger people will be better than us. Just go out and HIRE them. They are absolutely there....