This just in from Disney Parks blog!

[Angel Ariel]

I'm definitely not a fan of FP+, but I'm pretty sure that the new Radiator Springs Racers cost nearly $500M. To be fair, I think we should be thinking about one new RSS type attraction in each park, or a DCA+ type overhaul to one park as equivalent spend. Disney's not putting up a whole lot of $30-$60M out of the box coasters (well at least not after the original DCA fiasco.)

Actually, RSR cost $200 million, not $500.

Disney spent $1.1 Billion in the entire DCA overhaul, which included:

During the five-year renovation, Disney California Adventure re-themed several attractions (Silly Symphony Swings and Goofy's Sky School) and added a pair of classic dark rides (Toy Story Midway Mania and Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure), wildly popular nighttime entertainment ("World of Color" and ElecTRONica) and two new lands (Cars Land and Buena Vista Street).

 

[maryj11]

Awesome ! I wish they would let us make an extra one in advance so we wont be waiting in a line at the park to do it.

 

[Angel Ariel]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-bricker/cars-land-disneyland-reso_b_1695902.html

"Cars Land is already proving true John Lasseter's famous remark that "quality is the best business plan." Disney essentially bet the farm with Cars Land as the land, with its incredibly detailed Ornament Valley Mountain Range and E-Ticket attraction, Radiator Springs Racers, was rumored to cost nearly $1 billion by itself, or nearly as much as the entire Disney California Adventure park when it first opened in 2001."

See the LA Times article I quoted in my last post. The 1.1 billion was for the entire DCA renovation, not RSR alone.

 

[jharaldson]

Just out of curiousity, where is the $2 Billion cost for MyMagic+ coming from? I googled MyMagic from disney and found articles from the Orlando Sentinel, NY Times, Business Week, and Internation Business Times stating the cost to be $1 Billion. I would post the URL's but the site require 10 posts to do so.

NY Times - 4/2/2014

Walt Disney World has spent more than a year rolling out a $1 billion system

Orlando Sentinel - 2/12/2014

Some analysts estimate that Disney has spent more than $1 billion on MyMagic+

Business Week - 3/7/2014

Walt Disney’s (DIS) $1 billion experiment in crowd control, data collection, and wearable technology

International Business Times - 3/10/2014

The Walt Disney Company (NYSEIS) has invested $1 billion into a wearable technology experiment

 

[Angel Ariel]

I believe someone a few pages back said the 2 billion dollar number came from a recent podcast.

 

[JimmyV]

Just out of curiousity, where is the $2 Billion cost for MyMagic+ coming from?

From a disney tourism blog (3/16/2014)

MyMagic+ will be available for all on-site guests, Annual Passholders, and Cast Members at no additional visible charge. However, since this entire NextGen project that includes MyMagic+ has cost Disney an estimated $1.5 to $2 billion dollars, you can bet that Disney will be rolling the costs into existing charges. Sort of the same way Disney’s Magical Express and transportation are ostensibly free, but Disney builds these “freebies” into the cost of vacation packages. Disney is a for-profit business, so you can bet you’ll be paying for this one way or another.

From inthemousehouse.com April 4, 2014

In the summer of 2013, the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida began testing a brand new program called My Magic Plus (My Magic+), an almost $2-billion technology that has been in the works for quite some time. The goal of this program is to allow resort guests to have a completely personalized experience during their Disney vacations by creating customized itineraries and plans for their trips.

Apart, none of these sources is authoratative. But this coupled with the podcast teams sources are as reliable as anything else.

 

[jharaldson]

Apart, none of these sources is authoratative. But this coupled with the podcast teams sources are as reliable as anything else.

Well that is annoying. I like the old Daniel Moynihan quote "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts". Unfortunately there are 2 equally plausible sets of facts out there that can be cited, $1 billion or $2 billion.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

It will change things for some people. There cannot be a universal, wholesale change in the way everyone books their FPs, because not everyone will be able to get the coveted "early times" (assuming that it turns out that early is better. More on that below.) Only a small percentage of people will be able to get the early times, as they are allocated and finite. So before the change, people might worry about FPs for a popular ride running out, period. In the future, people will worry about the early times running out. Since there are far fewer early FPs than there are total FPs, that means more people worrying over a more limited commodity. More angst and frustration. Instead of a Rope Drop where people run to get FPs early in the day, we will now see a "Window Drop" where people stalk their computers at midnight 60+ days out. This was already happening to a degree. (See Elsa and Ana). Now, it is assured. That is, again, if it turns out that earlier is better.

So true. First we were on the phones at 7am to book ADR's 180 days out, now we are gonna be fighting over getting early Fastpasses to our favorite attractions in order to get the most out of the new system. Whats next? Reservation times to use the restroom?

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I agree. I think Disney has seen the impact of removing barriers to access of FP. I'm really afraid the kiosk thing might not be temporary for additional FPs as it was for same day guests getting on board. That of course would then leave guests to wonder if it's worth 15 minutes in a kiosk line to avoid a 25 minute POTC line. Knowing all along of course, that either of those wait estimates could be wildly off.

Yeah, it makes no sense to wait in a line at a kiosk (that might be quite long especially in the afternoon when people already use their 3 fp) for another 10 min or longer wait in the fp return line. We are not actually saving any time. In fact, we might be waiting longer depending on the length of the kiosk line, fp return line and the attraction.

This is the part that makes my head hurt. If I hovered over the app for weeks leading up to my trip hunting for a certain FP and never succeeded, yet someone else was able to walk up to the kiosk one afternoon and get said FP, it would be so frustrating. Between that, and chasing parade FPs, A/E FPs, Wishes FPs, this really is becoming a full time job of chasing things down.

I remember the good old days. When I had the trip booked, and had finally scheduled that one last elusive ADR, and I put it all away, knowing I was "done" and only had to count down the days. Sigh. It really does seem that is a thing of the past.

And can you imagine someone who has never been to Disney or doesn't have the info like we do on here? What a nightmare!

The kiosks will be busy but most folks will have 3 reserved, so most of them will need to use the 3 before heading to a kiosk. I wouldn't expect those to get busy until late am at least.

Right, but I would assume that from late morning on, they will be quite long and not to mention, many headliners will run out. I feel sorry for people that arrive in late afternoon. Even if they hold some fastpasses for this reason specifically, at some point, they will likely run out. I would assume summer, and holidays are going to be the worst.

If the lines are long now,how will this "new"FP+ deal make things better? I am really hoping things get around to being better so We can book another trip without all of the uncertainty that made us cancel 2 trips already....we do love WDW,but won't pay the inflated prices to be"test guests".

Simple...because this whole new system is for Disney's benefit, not the guests.
In my opinion, it is not better and it won't get better. I could be wrong and maybe in the long run, things might work out, but I don't see how with waits at kiosks, plus longer waits in fp return lines. Are we actually saving any time? Not really. But Disney is going to make more money. Especially when people realize they need to make rope drop in order to take the most advantage of this new system. They use up their 3 fp that they reserved in advance from home and then they stand in lines at kiosks to get more if there are any left.

Yep, and the deluxes are where they have an occupancy problem, not the values. I can't imagine they built this whole system and won't try to use it to boost their occupancy at their most profitable hotels, but we'll see.

I have never stayed at a deluxe and there is no way I would stay in a deluxe just to get fp advantages. If that's the case, I may as well stay off site and save even more money. If there are no or little perks for those staying in value or moderates, whats the point of staying at Disney at all? I cannot afford deluxe accomodations so no matter what Disney does to try to fill up those deluxe rooms, it won't make a difference to me and I would bet many other families would agree. Even being able to make fp reservations online from home before day guests isn't a big selling point for me.

 

[OtherScott]

Simple...because this whole new system is for Disney's benefit, not the guests...

... But Disney is going to make more money.

How does Disney make money offering guests what they don't want?

 

[over50visits]

Just out of curiousity, where is the $2 Billion cost for MyMagic+ coming from? I googled MyMagic from disney and found articles from the Orlando Sentinel, NY Times, Business Week, and Internation Business Times stating the cost to be $1 Billion.

A billion here, a billion there...soon you're talking about real money.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

How does Disney make money offering guests what they don't want?

More people are going to be there at rope drop once this whole new system is implemented. If you have to reserve 3 fp in advance, your gonna want to get those for early in the morning because then you will be able to go to a kiosk and get another and another cause that is the only way to get more than 3 in a day...therefore, more people will be in the park earlier in the day once they realize the advantage to this (so much for getting there at rope drop to avoid long waits). This means more money for Disney because people will shop more, and eat more.

Trust me, people are not going to stop visiting Disney just because they don't like the new fp system. It benefits Disney, not the guests. I don't see how this new system is beneficial to guests at all. First, guests have to fight for their fp reservations in advance by getting online and trying to get what they want before its all gone, then they have to wait in yet another line at a kiosk and finally, another fp return line which I hear have been longer since this new fp+ system began.

 

[*disgal*]

I thought Robo had a pretty good plan in post #4 of this thread that would have made great improvement on the worst situations without the side effect on the secondary attractions that we're seeing.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3231102

Can we somehow get Robo an exec job at Disney? lol 'Cause that is one awesome plan!

 

[jade1]

I feel sorry for people that arrive in late afternoon. Even if they hold some fastpasses for this reason specifically, at some point, they will likely run out. I would assume summer, and holidays are going to be the worst.

Then you must have really felt bad for those that arrived late afternoon summers and holidays with FP- when they were all dispersed-and certainly could not walk right in and ride a major headliner with minimal/no wait much less 3. Plus just a week ago that was the recommended time to reserve the 3.

 

[Minniekins]

Can't keep up with this thread, but I just don't understand all the love for this move. It is pretty much meaningless.

If you waste your FP+ for early times, when it isn't really needed, then you MIGHT get one more decent FP+, and that would probably be it.

If you save your FP+ for the afternoon or later, you may be able to get a Pirates of HM FP+. But that IS NOT A BENEFIT. Remember, just a year ago, you NEVER had a serious wait for those rides except the absolute worst days.

This change in the system is a slight improvement on the mess that was created by the system to begin with.

On any day that an FP+ will available for Space Mountain at 1 pm, crowds are going to be fairly light anyway.

-R

First of all, to preface my comments, we aren't rope drop people at all. So, I guess we'll be lucky if we get any extra FP+. We are not huge ride 20 rides a day people, and used to grab a few FP- a day, usually getting what we wanted. We go during typically slowish times, last several years in early to mid Dec.

Yes, but there is a wait now for those rides like HM and Pirates, and I really hate those particular lines! And we don't ride most of the mountains, (because we are big chickens, lol!), only BTMRR. So these rides with extra FP+'s would be good extras for us. Would be nice to get PP, too, and Little Mermaid ride later in the day. But, we'll see I guess.

I do not like FP+, though we now we can get on TSM, lol! Even though we never tried to get tons of FP's, I hate the limits of 3 and no more, and no park hopping a lot! So, if this new change helps us with getting any more FP's for rides we like without having to do terrible SB lines, and we can(eventually) park hop, this will at least make it a little better for us.

Let's look at how they managed guests at MK (the one park where people have the least beef with FP+).

Once upon a time, at RD, people rushed to:

• Space Mountain
• Frontierland (BTMRR and Splash)
• Dumbo
• Mickey's House
• And to a lesser extent, PP

They spend money on Fantasyland. Now, at RD, people disperse rather evenly and efficiently, heading toward:

• Space Mountain
• Frontierland (BTMRR and Splash)
• ETWB
• Mickey Meet and Greet
• Princess Meet and Greets
• Soon the Mine Train
• And to a lesser extent, Under the Sea and PP

This is a very efficient way to manage crowds. Give them choices of what to do. And it didn't cost $1B to do this. (Estimates hover around $600M)

So you want to manage crowds at DHS better? Give them somewhere to go besides TSM, RnR, ToT and Jedi Training. Want to manage crowds better at Epcot? Give them somewhere to go besides Soarin' and TT. Heck. When the Frozen Girls were there, that was a game changer. Imagine if there was actually a Frozen ride that siphoned off more guests than just the 400 unlucky fathers who had to sit in Norway. Much of the displeasure is coming from the fact that, yes, we know more is coming. But it will be in our childrens' lifetime or that of our grandchildren. In our lifetime, we will get to use fancy plastic wristbands and stand in line to use fancy new kiosks. Yeay!!

I have to admit, this is what I'm afraid of and hate reading that someone wrote this, lol! I knowing that more great rides and attractions will come eventually, but what if I miss them?! These great changes may not come for years, and too many years and I'll be too old, (mid fifties here, )!

 

[jpolak]

Sounds mostly good to me, although I would prefer to be able to get the additional FP+ by app rather than kiosk.

Agreed. If you could use the app it would be better.

 

[AmyB2006]

More people are going to be there at rope drop once this whole new system is implemented. If you have to reserve 3 fp in advance, your gonna want to get those for early in the morning because then you will be able to go to a kiosk and get another and another cause that is the only way to get more than 3 in a day...therefore, more people will be in the park earlier in the day once they realize the advantage to this (so much for getting there at rope drop to avoid long waits). This means more money for Disney because people will shop more, and eat more.

I'm not so sure about this. People who don't do RD now are probably not the FP superusers that care about getting 5 or 6 or more in a day. Of course there might be some, but I don't think you're going to see a giant mob of people all of a sudden decide to do RD, where it will impact it that significantly.

I know getting an extra FP or 2 certainly wouldn't drag my butt out there at RD, that's for sure. LOL The people who figured out to optimize the old FP system are the same people that will figure out how to optimize this one, and both involve being there at RD. So I think it'll be the same crowd of people, for the most part.

JMO

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm not so sure about this. People who don't do RD now are probably not the FP superusers that care about getting 5 or 6 or more in a day. Of course there might be some, but I don't think you're going to see a giant mob of people all of a sudden decide to do RD, where it will impact it that significantly.

I know getting an extra FP or 2 certainly wouldn't drag my butt out there at RD, that's for sure. LOL The people who figured out to optimize the old FP system are the same people that will figure out how to optimize this one, and both involve being there at RD. So I think it'll be the same crowd of people, for the most part.

JMO

I agree.

If you are a rope dropper, you're a rope dropper. If you like to sleep in and go later, you'll probably continue to do so. If you're a super user, you'll find a way to super use again to the best of your ability.

It doesn't really matter what kind of FP system you put in place at DW. Human nature rules.

I really don't think there will be any type of significant increase of people at RD. A slight increase? Maybe.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Was there any mention of being able to pull even more after you get the 4th? It'll be interesting for sure to see how this all plays out but I'm envisioning folks having their FP+ for 9,10,11 or even 10, 11,12 and then they get their 4th for 7 or later. So what do you do all afternoon when the parks are really crowded? Are commandos going to go back to resorts and swim during the afternoon? Or do you think you'll be able to get the 4th one for maybe 2 and then keep getting additional ones?

 

[AmyB2006]

Was there any mention of being able to pull even more after you get the 4th? It'll be interesting for sure to see how this all plays out but I'm envisioning folks having their FP+ for 9,10,11 or even 10, 11,12 and then they get their 4th for 7 or later. So what do you do all afternoon when the parks are really crowded? Are commandos going to go back to resorts and swim during the afternoon? Or do you think you'll be able to get the 4th one for maybe 2 and then keep getting additional ones?

Just guessing here, but I would imagine this has a lot to do with those morning time slots going unused. Naturally, most people who are Disney savvy wouldn't schedule FP+ in the morning because you really don't need them then. Disney figured they could spread out the FP+ "love" and get all those time slots used if they say hey, you can now get a 4th, 5th, etc once you use up your first three. So now what are people talking about.... scheduling them all in the morning, now using up those time slots and they're not being "wasted".

Again, just guessing. I said this a while ago too, that they would come up with some sort of "incentive" for people to schedule FPs in the morning hours.