Okay, Google Maps is Freaking me Out!

[BrianL]

So, sometimes I'll peruse Google Maps and look around the Disney area, especially since I have a trip coming up (not like I don't know the parks well enough by now, but still). So, what I am seeing is so crazy, as the park names have listed when I am expected to be at them. I mean, right down to 6:30 at HS for the Star Wars Desert Party! It knows this. I've seen it know when I was staying at a hotel, but I assumed because the confirmation was sent to my gmail account. How can it know exactly which days I'll be in each park? The only thing I can think of is that I keep my planning spreadsheet on my Google Drive to transfer it between computers. It was made in Excel and isn't in a very typical format.

Anyway, what does everyone think of that? Is it going too far? It's not something that actually bothers me from a privacy standpoint, but then I think, what if it weren't just a trip to WDW, but something more personal?

 

[msjprincess]

So, sometimes I'll peruse Google Maps and look around the Disney area, especially since I have a trip coming up (not like I don't know the parks well enough by now, but still). So, what I am seeing is so crazy, as the park names have listed when I am expected to be at them. I mean, right down to 6:30 at HS for the Star Wars Desert Party! It knows this. I've seen it know when I was staying at a hotel, but I assumed because the confirmation was sent to my gmail account. How can it know exactly which days I'll be in each park? The only thing I can think of is that I keep my planning spreadsheet on my Google Drive to transfer it between computers. It was made in Excel and isn't in a very typical format.

Anyway, what does everyone think of that? Is it going too far? It's not something that actually bothers me from a privacy standpoint, but then I think, what if it weren't just a trip to WDW, but something more personal?

Exactly, it's all connected to your Google account.


That's one of the reasons I love Google.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Exactly, it's all connected to your Google account.


That's one of the reasons I love Google.

I believe the My Disney Experience also uses Google maps.

 

[earfulofmagic]

What do you mean the dates and times are listed? Whereabouts when you use the map?

Can you post a screenshot (blacking out dates and plans and any other info, of course)?

I'm poking around now and can't see any of my plans showing up near park names on google maps -- and I created my planning spreadsheet using Google Sheets! *harrumph*

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Wouldn’t your confirmation number give your dates away unless I am missing something

 

[BadPinkTink]

if you are logged into a Google account, then you will see things marked on Google map. For example, if you have saved places on Google maps and are logged into your Google account, if you go to a website with a Google map, those saved places will show up.

 

[msjprincess]

What do you mean the dates and times are listed? Whereabouts when you use the map?

Can you post a screenshot (blacking out dates and plans and any other info, of course)?

I'm poking around now and can't see any of my plans showing up near park names on google maps -- and I created my planning spreadsheet using Google Sheets! *harrumph*

I have a reservation in Lake George this weekend. When I go to Google Maps it lists the date right under the hotel name. If I click on it this comes up on the left side of the screen


Your reservation
Fri, Oct 6
Check in: 3:00 PM
Mon, Oct 9
Check out: 11:00 AM
VIEW EMAIL

 

[BrianL]

What do you mean the dates and times are listed? Whereabouts when you use the map?

Can you post a screenshot (blacking out dates and plans and any other info, of course)?

I'm poking around now and can't see any of my plans showing up near park names on google maps -- and I created my planning spreadsheet using Google Sheets! *harrumph*

It shows the times right under the names.

So looking at it a little more, it does seem to coincide with ADRs, though in some cases it shows the reservation at the actual restaurant, like Skipper Canteen, but in other cases it just says Epcot, then the time of my Garden Grill reservation. Now I realize the ADR confirmations were sent to my Gmail account, so that is probably where it is getting this, not from reading my spreadsheet in Google Docs. It's still a little freaky though.

 

[earfulofmagic]

It shows the times right under the names.

So looking at it a little more, it does seem to coincide with ADRs, though in some cases it shows the reservation at the actual restaurant, like Skipper Canteen, but in other cases it just says Epcot, then the time of my Garden Grill reservation. Now I realize the ADR confirmations were sent to my Gmail account, so that is probably where it is getting this, not from reading my spreadsheet in Google Docs. It's still a little freaky though.

Well, the ADR part of it makes sense -- I see this all the time for hotel confirmations, flight confirmations, etc... but haven't for dining reservations or movie tickets or theater showings, nothing like that yet.

I wonder what triggers this, because I never saw any ADR info populated when looking around Maps on my last few Disney trips.
We have a brunch reservation this Sunday downtown and our time/dining info doesn't populate when I poke around Maps either. But it did import info immediately from confirmation email->G-Cal a few weeks back, when I booked the res, so I wonder.

Will have to keep an eye out for our November trip, I guess!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It did that for me too on our trip last week. I even received notifications telling me when I should leave and make my way to my ADR. It was creepy. I have no idea how google knew.

 

[earfulofmagic]

Oh, but just to add -- it would indeed be strange if it were pulling from an Excel sheet saved in Drive. It wouldn't be great optimization either, since plenty of people have spreadsheets/docs stored in Drive with plans, times, etc. that aren't for them personally.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Wouldn’t your confirmation number give your dates away unless I am missing something

You think the confirmation number has the trip dates?

 

[TriMom]

It's probably all from gmail. Disney sends email confirmation on all Dining and Party reservations - with date and time.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

You think the confirmation number has the trip dates?

Dates that you are staying at the hotel

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Dates that you are staying at the hotel

I'll have to check back on my reservations - I never noticed that the actual dates of the reservation are in the confirmation code.

 

[Dan Murphy]

What is really neat, go back to a past trip. I went back to our August trip. Google maps has everywhere we went each day. The times, locations, restaurants, attractions, pictures.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Dates that you are staying at the hotel

OK, just checked our reservation from our last trip. Confirmation number does not have the hotel dates in it.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Your right what I ment is when you type it into the MDE it gives hotel and dates

 

[BrianL]

OK, just checked our reservation from our last trip. Confirmation number does not have the hotel dates in it.

Confirmation number 47*3815*4897 (sorry don't feel comfortable printing actual whole number)
dates of stay 6/28-7/1

I think what it is is that the date and time come with the email confirmation, and if that goes to a gmail account, Google is watching. I can see it being a helpful feature, though I feel like it's something that I should have to opt-in to, not that just happens automatically.

 

[sam_gordon]

Do any of you use Google's calendar? We'll put in things for kids events and I'll get notifications on my phone "time to leave for <insert event name here>." Usually I'm already on the road, but I think it's kind of cool.