TSM standby-less test Oct. 6-9

[jtowntoflorida]

Full year results will be fantastic. Not so much due to MM+, but because of all the belt tightening procedures and price increases they have made lately.

I agree the results will be fantastic overall, thanks to Frozen and Marvel, mostly. They'll be highlighting those wins and downplaying whatever is happening in Parks & Resorts. After reading the transcript of that call with Rasulo, with the huge expenditures at Shanghai Disney, they're going to be able to easily hide whatever is happening at WDW. It's disappointing that they've made it so clear where their Parks focus is...and it isn't the domestic market. It's so true what people say...people will keep coming to WDW no matter what they do. They don't need attendance to grow in the domestic space since the parks are already so crowded. China is a whole new growth market for them, with literally a billion people just waiting for a chance to experience a little Disney Magic.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Really? Do they really believe guests will figure is out for themselves? Most guests can't figure out what to order at a quick service! So Rasulo admits this is a money pit.
I'm not saying they'll dump all of MDE, I just think they'll dump the FP+ portion. Since that's the part that costs the most to support and really confuses people.

Hard to imagine that first-time guests -- many of whom still complain about rich people using fastpasses -- will magically start figuring out FP+ without massive assistance. Not to mention, enjoy the process. The same people who skim through a 5-year-old guidebook before heading down for Easter week and buying tickets at the gate?

I understand how MDE w/ FP+ sounded like a brilliant idea on paper. Putting charging privileges on a "magic band" was a good move. And they got loads of positive feedback in the beginning because testers had access to both systems and felt special.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

That's pretty revealing stuff; thanks for linking it, Hipster. It's interesting to see him link guests figuring it out with the revenue coming through.

I've said for a long time now that customer satisfaction will not be the problem with this system; it really doesn't matter if customers like it or not. The problem is the high operating cost. It's taking way more manpower than they planned, and that's just for the limited use of the features they've implemented. They haven't really tried to use many of the monitoring and trending functions that gives them the data they crave yet. The longer it takes them to turn on 4th Fastpass selection on the app instead of the kiosks, the more it looks to me like they are still trying to get the basic functions down, even with an army of CMs trying to coddle guests through the process.

Rasulo's expectation that guests will figure it out is a futile one. What percentage of guests would you estimate to be annual or more frequent visitors? Because those will be the only people who retain enough savvy with this ponderous system to have it "figured out". So many of the guests are first time visitors or infrequent visitors who only come every few years or so that there will not be a significant learning curve unless they simplify this thing somehow.

Don't fool yourselves into thinking that Disney is too big and smart to make a monumental (as in 8 figure) blunder; bigger blunders have been made by bigger companies with histories of smarter decisions. This is all going to make a great business school case study one day.

What is wonder about is the very thing that guest need the help with, it is only locking guest into their parks. It doesn't "really" bring in the extra money. Yeah, locking a guest in keeps them from going to other places but it seems if a family wants to go to Disney, they are going to go Disney. They don't need Disney locking them in to get them to do this. The tap to pay seems where the extra money is going to come in. We all know that the easier it is to buy things, the more most guest will spend. That aspect of MM+ doesn't need all the extra manpower to help guest figure out the system.

 

[OtherScott]

Really? Do they really believe guests will figure is out for themselves?

Hand an iPhone to a 6 year old.

 

[decoy7375]

Hand an iPhone to a 6 year old.

But not my in laws....

 

[cakebaker]

The gloom and doom here is just mind boggling.

Thank goodness I read the Dis and learn from the experts what's really going on or I might just think MDE is not rocket science, that scheduling 3 fp+'s, then adding one after I use them is just too difficult to get the hang of, that basically Disney execs are idiots, fooling themselves and their stockholders and that it's just a matter of time until the doors are shuttered.


Talk about hubris....

 

[vacationer1954]

If the truth is this system is a failure, then why isn't it showing in the bottom line? The parks are wildly popular right now, more than they've ever been.

Yes that's true. And we cannot lose sight of the fact that this is the way they've been operating for 20 years.

I'd be nicer about this, but I don't get that courtesy in return.

I think everyone needs to just accept that people have conflicting opinions on this and so Disney cannot satisfy everyone. So Disney is going to satisfy one group of guests or another. And so what they do is going to be right by some guests and wrong by other guests. And Disney has no reason to do anything other than what's best for them.

I understand what you are saying, but if Disney turned rides into FP+ only then, in effect, FP+ would become the new SB line with long waits.

Actually FP+ would become the new SB line without long waits. The long waits were caused by the wrong number of guests (too many) getting on line at the same time. FP+ makes sure that the right number of guests (just the right amount) get on line at a time.

As a PP pointed out, if you make 100% of the line FP+, then you won't have very short waits to ride anymore.

As I pointed out above that isn't correct. Reservations systems are used in many different places without causing long lines.

They are not increasing ride capacity, so any decrease in wait for one person, results in an equal an opposite reaction (i.e., longer wait for someone else).

So an even trade from Disney's view. Some people like the trade, some people don't. And the people who don't like the trade are being abusively toward Disney and anyone who does like the trade. It's unfortunate.

 

[Suvadoo]

Hand an iPhone to a 6 year old.

I watch guests at the FP+ kiosks and they can't figure out what to do. I don't think guests will ever be able to "figure this out" Maybe FP+ would've been a good idea 12 years from now, when the 6 year olds were adults, but not now.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Hand an iPhone to a 6 year old.

Are you saying all those folk that post asking for help with MDE and FP+ aren't smarter than a 6 year old?

 

[lugnut33]

Yeah, I'm going to let a 6 year old call tech support when there's a "glitch" in the system.

 

[Jfine]

Really? Do they really believe guests will figure is out for themselves? Most guests can't figure out what to order at a quick service! So Rasulo admits this is a money pit. I'm not saying they'll dump all of MDE, I just think they'll dump the FP+ portion. Since that's the part that costs the most to support and really confuses people.

what I find most interesting is that if they're admitting that guests don't understand, why make changes like tsmm fp+ only for a day? That doesn't seem logical unless it was to "force" guests to use fp+, but why not let guests know ahead of time? That defeats the purpose.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I watch guests at the FP+ kiosks and they can't figure out what to do. I don't think guests will ever be able to "figure this out" Maybe FP+ would've been a good idea 12 years from now, when the 6 year olds were adults, but not now.

And back at the beginning of FP+, those excited about new system use to tell the "haters" that guest didn't know how the paper FP+ worked. Good thing Disney came up with an easier system than sticking your ticket in and getting a return ticket.

 

[cakebaker]

I think everyone needs to just accept that people have conflicting opinions on this and so Disney cannot satisfy everyone. So Disney is going to satisfy one group of guests or another. And so what they do is going to be right by some guests and wrong by other guests. And Disney has no reason to do anything other than what's best for them.

Couldn't agree more. I'm just grateful this one works in my favor!

Actually FP+ would become the new SB line without long waits. The long waits were caused by the wrong number of guests (too many) getting on line at the same time. FP+ makes sure that the right number of guests (just the right amount) get on line at a time.

That's exactly what someone reported they were told- that Disney wanted to change the idea of fp+ being the "real" line. If they can figure out a way to stop long lines, I'm all for it, even if it means scheduling in advance to some degree. I'd much prefer a few clicks on my phone while in the park to schedule a ride an hour away, than to go stand in line for an hour.

 

[Jennasis]

. I'd much prefer a few clicks on my phone while in the park to schedule a ride an hour away, than to go stand in line for an hour.

I'd much rather they add rides and capacity to reduce lines.

 

[KCSherri]

...that scheduling 3 fp+'s, then adding one after I use them is just too difficult to get the hang of...

But it's so much more than that…

Just looking at some of the recent threads posted in the last 24-48 hours here on the DIS:

Questions about adding family & friends to your FP+ reservations...

Concerns about FP+ reservations showing up for SOME family members, but not others….

A question about purchasing an electronic MVMCP ticket - and how to link so that FP+ reservations can be made...

A concern about adding a parade FP+ without losing the other FP+ reservations already made...

And it goes on…and on…and on…and this is just within the LAST DAY of posts here on the DIS...

So, yes, there is definitely more than just "scheduling 3 FP+'s, then adding one"….

And they expect guests to "figure it out"???!!

 

[Cyrano]

Folks discussion about FP+ should be elsewhere.
If the discussion regarding the TSM test is finished I will close the thread.

 

[cakebaker]

And they expect guests to "figure it out"???!!

Eventually, yes.

Just like anything else that's new, it takes time for some people to get the hang of it. I see tons of questions on this forum every day from people that don't know how to do this, that or the other.

WDW has not been an easy vacation to schedule for a very long time, IF you want to get everything you can out of it. Newbies who want to do it all, always are lost and need help. A WDW vacation can be intimidating- if you let it be.

 

[glamdring269]

*Edited due to not TSMM related*

We took a survey last week after riding during the test period. It felt slanted. She asked questions about how long we would wait if not for the test and I said, 'basically not at all. We're usually first in the park, ride standby, then ride FP+, then go on to something else while everyone is swarming here'. She didn't do anything with that answer but started asking similar questions until we finally said something she could use. I think the one she finally bit on was 'how long would you be willing to wait in line for this'.

 

[vacationer1954]

Eventually, yes. Just like anything else that's new, it takes time for some people to get the hang of it.

I agree. If Disney goes standby-less they'll make it easy enough that the guest walking in off the street can use it and they'll provide enough help for those who need it. It may not be that easy to get big advantages over other guests with that system but it will be easy enough for what Disney intends to make available.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I watch guests at the FP+ kiosks and they can't figure out what to do. I don't think guests will ever be able to "figure this out" Maybe FP+ would've been a good idea 12 years from now, when the 6 year olds were adults, but not now.

I saw a lot of this when we were at the Magic Kingdom on our last trip. The majority of the guests in front of me had no idea hat to do. It's one of the reasons the kiosk lines were so long that evening.