Ok, This is not testing anymore, enough

[lisalis]

Yikes, we are scheduled to be at POP the first week of December and wish I hadn't read this! I'm not too worried, except that one of the days we were planning to tour with my parents, who are staying off site. There will be no way for us to spend the day together, unless we spend the whole day waiting in long lines because neither of us can use the other's FastPass system. This is a huge problem in my mind. This is an issue that Disney will need to rectify with the FastPass+ system. My parents are spending the day at Disney specifically to spend time with us. I may tell them to just skip it.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Exactly. This could happen anywhere anytime. Not just Disney and not just with magic bands. I've had this happen with a regular KTTW card before. People make mistakes.

I've had it happen with regular hotel keys too. The difference, in my mind, is that with the "old technology" it was a very quick fix. Go to the front desk, they code a new key, and you're on your way. Excepting whatever wait a person may have had at the front desk b/c of other patrons, it would usually take less than 5 mins to remedy that problem.

I've read reports on here of it taking an hour+ to fix MB issues, both related to hotel rooms and FP+. That's a major difference, IMO. 5 mins doesn't make a difference to me at all. Lengthy times like have been reported? It's not like it would "ruin my entire trip," but I would *definitely* not be happy while it was happening.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Why would someone complain? I think it's great when people do this.

There have been some very vocal members here who have condemned that practice as being "part of the problem" with FP- as FPs are clearly marked non-transferrable, and people who had spread pixie dust by gifting FPs to others were "breaking the rules."

Personally, I agree with you, Amy

 

[PrincessV]

I only skimmed the last few pages of this thread, so ignore me if this has already been mentioned...

I was a "tester" over Halloween weekend. Not once did I see any indication that FP+ or MB was in "testing" mode - I was given notice that I was getting MBs and if I wanted to customize them, I'd best get on it. Apparently there was some fine print saying I could skip the MB and go with the traditional KTTW, but nothing ever jumped out and said, "GUINEA PIG!" As a DISer, Floridian and APholder, I already knew about this stuff, but I was irked, nonetheless.

That said... I didn't think the system was that bad; not as bad as I expected, anyway. Some things worked well; others glitched. When things did go wrong, like a disappearing FP+, I was able to quickly and easily fix it.

But the big thing I took away from the experience was the post-trip survey. Clearly, based on the questions asked, Disney already knows an awful lot about what's working well, what isn't and what guest expectations are. I sat down to take the survey, ready to vent away and tell them of all the things I like and don't like about FP+, MB and MDE... and found that they'd anticipated every single item on my list. How the MB feels, works, looks. The myriad ways FP+ can screw up, how I feel about booking before my trip, my thoughts on how many FP+ a day is good, and whether or not I preferred the FP- system. How MDE worked for me at home, in the parks, in our room, on my phone, on other devices, at kiosks, etc. 99% of the issues we're talking about on the DIS? They already know.

What remains to be seen is what they do with the survey data. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some things we feel are permanent fixtures change dramatically. My advice at this point to travelers is to try not to stress, assume more will change, and do your best to roll with it. I suspect this will be a work in progress for a long time... and shoot, maybe that's the intention, to keep tweaking on a regular basis indefinitely.

 

[ShayBells]

I've had it happen with regular hotel keys too. The difference, in my mind, is that with the "old technology" it was a very quick fix. Go to the front desk, they code a new key, and you're on your way. Excepting whatever wait a person may have had at the front desk b/c of other patrons, it would usually take less than 5 mins to remedy that problem. I've read reports on here of it taking an hour+ to fix MB issues, both related to hotel rooms and FP+. That's a major difference, IMO. 5 mins doesn't make a difference to me at all. Lengthy times like have been reported? It's not like it would "ruin my entire trip," but I would *definitely* not be happy while it was happening.

But that's not always the case with regular keys either. This one place I stayed at we hiked up and down four to five times before they finally gave up telling us the door lock must of malfunctioned. Thank God we were checking in so they could just give us a different room and fix that one on there own time.

It would be horrible to wait hours for a door to be fixed because your magic band isn't working. But I would hope if this is the case Disney would do something for you. Some kind of "I'm sorry," thing. If anyone's stuck outside a hotel room for literally hours and they aren't over exaggerating and don't get as much as an apology than of course that's awful. But I still don't think these things are solely because of magic bands. It's new. I'm sure when hotels first went from a good old fashion key to cards with magnetic strips they had way worse problems. Again JMO

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[nugov2]

Agreed, my personal issues are with the whole system.

But I have philosophical issues with a company that closes a headliner like Test Track with very little advance notice. Or closes the monorail with little notice to the guests paying top dollar at a monorail resort. Or removing FP- for guests at a given resort with no advance notice.

I wasn't there for any of those specific things, but I can not like what that tells me about that company....... that they think people will not like those things, so they are willing to withhold the information until the last possible moment, leaving people with no chance to reconsider.

I feel the same way. Disney can do whatever they want as far as closings and testing, but acting like people should be grateful just to be there no matter what is going on with new roll outs, new rides, upgrades etc. is just about the worst customer service I have ever seen. There are right way to do things...Hi POP guests. During your stay we will be testing our MB system even more extensively. During this time you will be able to use your MB for...and explain what their experience will be. To thank you for your patience and understanding during these great upgrades please accept this $50 Disney GC, restaurant voucher, or whatever it is that says, hey we get this is your vacation and we care that you are helping us test a new product at possibly the expense a little or even a lot of your enjoyment. Even at $100 GC WDW is out $100,000 if the hotel is booked to capacity. At least by offering something they are saying they care. Being sneaky, which is what they are doing is really bad CS and says a lot about the company they are becoming.

I am a big believer in shopping, spending money places where I feel valued as a customer. For example Toy R Us in past has led me to not feel appreciated in their store. I now spend my money any where but there buying things for my children. Even if I spend more money on an item, I will gladly give my money to a company that treats me kindly vs. saving money and contributing to a corporate giant who doesn't care about my shopping experience. Not all corporate giants are this way, but WDW is quickly heading down this road IMO.

 

[lovin diz]

So let's say they try this for a few weeks and they have customers having major problems with there MB and they have to keep going to customer service and stand in line for hours during there trip. How is this going to look for Disney?? I really think they should have waited for this new phase until the xmas holidays are over. This is really going to be a big PAIN for people who have never gone before during the busiest time of the year. What is disney thinking really!!!!! Let me tell you, if I was going to pop and my bands don't work and I have to spend half my time in line, I would be demanding a manager and my money back now!!!! What are they going to do if they go to a fast pass and they don't work? Turn them away?? This is a disaster waiting to happen!!!!

this is how i feel right now. what if the bands dont work properly. We are going to pop after being told and having a letter sent saying we could do both, paper and fastpass +, now that has changed. then i called about swapping over to all stars, and i cant because i wouldnt be able to keep free dining. I am so angry...

 

[Mad Hattered]

No, I think she meant people complaining about giving FPs away. Well, not "people" so much as one particular poster.....

Let's leave Tarheel fans out of this. We don't want to revisit THAT bizarre scenario ever again!

 

[Granny square]

Yikes, we are scheduled to be at POP the first week of December and wish I hadn't read this! I'm not too worried, except that one of the days we were planning to tour with my parents, who are staying off site. There will be no way for us to spend the day together, unless we spend the whole day waiting in long lines because neither of us can use the other's FastPass system. This is a huge problem in my mind. This is an issue that Disney will need to rectify with the FastPass+ system. My parents are spending the day at Disney specifically to spend time with us. I may tell them to just skip it.

Seriously? Because the number of rides is more important than time spent together?

 

[jiminyfan]

It is not a deception. Clearly you do not understand software testing processes. You can feel however you choose to, your view of this is up to you. But what Disney needs to do is MORE testing and testing of different scenarios, like they are. This is far from a done product.

Being in IT for over 27 years, I understand the software testing process extremely well. And if we would ever put a project into the production environment with this many problems we all would be fired. A system should be fully functioning with zero or limited defects before being rolled out to the end user. We shoot for Six Sigma levels (99.9997%) or better. Most of our applications run at well over 99%.

One would think a company of Disney's size would have had a better test plan in place with a change as large as this.

Seems line a billion dollar waste. I am not sure who did the ROI on this project, but to make up a billion dollars is going to be difficult in a normal 3-5 year ROI time frame.

 

[shadeauxe]

this is how i feel right now. what if the bands dont work properly. We are going to pop after being told and having a letter sent saying we could do both, paper and fastpass +, now that has changed. then i called about swapping over to all stars, and i cant because i wouldnt be able to keep free dining. I am so angry...

I read somewhere (easywdw?) that the test is only until 11/22 at Pop Century. So it looks like they are testing it at a slow time and then stopping it before the busy time.

 

[rebbyparker]

This is from the Hub:

The test begins on November 14. The Advisory End Date is November 19, however, that is not the final day of the test. This is no longer the testing phase, this is the test-and-adjust phase. Next phase would be the rollout. The advisory end date is just the date that it will disappear from our advisories, as we need to know that information by that day.

So, the test phase at Pop may not end, they may just add further resorts to the mix. And keep adding until all the resorts are on board.

 

[mom2rtk]

Seriously? Because the number of rides is more important than time spent together?

I'm sure Disney would just love for people to pay $100 a head to walk through the gates and "be" together without concern for what they get to "do" together during that time.

Because that would save even more capacity on the attractions so they can sell tickets to even more people without adding more expensive ride capacity.

Seriously, I'm sure the PP could come up with a lot less expensive ways of spending time together with family if that was the only consideration.

 

[wisblue]

this is how i feel right now. what if the bands dont work properly. We are going to pop after being told and having a letter sent saying we could do both, paper and fastpass +, now that has changed. then i called about swapping over to all stars, and i cant because i wouldnt be able to keep free dining. I am so angry...

Did you really get a letter saying you could do both?

If you did, I would take that letter along and insist that I be given either access to FP- or a few extra FPs because I booked and kept my reservation based on a promise that isn't being kept.

I would be curious to hear exactly what the letter said, because the ones our family has gotten (two involving stays at POP) have definitely not said that you could have access to both FP+ and FP-.

 

[clsteve]

This is from the Hub:

The test begins on November 14. The Advisory End Date is November 19, however, that is not the final day of the test. This is no longer the testing phase, this is the test-and-adjust phase. Next phase would be the rollout. The advisory end date is just the date that it will disappear from our advisories, as we need to know that information by that day.

So, the test phase at Pop may not end, they may just add further resorts to the mix. And keep adding until all the resorts are on board.

 

[wisblue]

Being in IT for over 27 years, I understand the software testing process extremely well. And if we would ever put a project into the production environment with this many problems we all would be fired. A system should be fully functioning with zero or limited defects before being rolled out to the end user. We shoot for Six Sigma levels (99.9997%) or better. Most of our applications run at well over 99%.
One would think a company of Disney's size would have had a better test plan in place with a change as large as this.

Seems line a billion dollar waste. I am not sure who did the ROI on this project, but to make up a billion dollars is going to be difficult in a normal 3-5 year ROI time frame.

Do you know what Disney's success levels are for the MyMagic+ tests?

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, it is testing. They want to see how being pulled off FP- works for a relatively small group before they pull more guests off.

Pop Century, you are just first.

And yes, you can expect things to change even when there is a full rollout (as to which attractions are offered, which types you can book together, all of that will be in flux. One of the main points of this system is to give DISNEY more control over the Fastpass system.

 

[baileybrad]

You aren't forced to use FP. Therefore, you aren't forced to fall victim in the first place. Let's not forget that the reality is people who use FP are affecting other guests wait times in the first place. You are essentially skipping line. You get a shorter wait time at the expense of someone else in the queue line. If you don't have FP, someone else in the queue line has a better experience. Let's not forget people in the queue line pay for the vacation as well. Why would Disney give you compensation for possibly having a glitch while using a voluntary program that is a convenience in the first place? If we were talking about Universal's line skipping program, whatever it's called, that would be another argument, as it is paid for.

Your entire thought process is wrong. The existing Fastpass system was available for anyone to use. EQUALLY. The opportunity to get more than 3 Fastpasses in a given day was the same for EVERYONE.

That is no longer the case. Fastpass was not broken. Right now the system is unfair because all are not being treated the same.

 

[ShayBells]

Your entire thought process is wrong. The existing Fastpass system was available for anyone to use. EQUALLY. The opportunity to get more than 3 Fastpasses in a given day was the same for EVERYONE. That is no longer the case. Fastpass was not broken. Right now the system is unfair because all are not being treated the same.

It was available to everyone as long as that everyone was up at the butt crack if dawn and wanted to hike a thousand miles just to save a couple minutes.

To you it was fair. To me it wasn't. It's ALL subjective.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[atp]

Being in IT for over 27 years, I understand the software testing process extremely well. And if we would ever put a project into the production environment with this many problems we all would be fired. A system should be fully functioning with zero or limited defects before being rolled out to the end user. We shoot for Six Sigma levels (99.9997%) or better. Most of our applications run at well over 99%.

One would think a company of Disney's size would have had a better test plan in place with a change as large as this.

Seems line a billion dollar waste. I am not sure who did the ROI on this project, but to make up a billion dollars is going to be difficult in a normal 3-5 year ROI time frame.