Very impressed with IT on Disney web site!!!

[JanaDee]

And you have specific info to the contrary? I know a ton of people that go to WDW and use their system. Probably more than the average person knows. The vast majority of those people have had no issues. The economy is better so more people are traveling. Not so hard to understand.

As for other company websites and IT depts? Well....I doubt Sandals or Amazon have the number of hits that Disney gets......

You're right, I doubt Disney has anything close to the hits Amazon does on a daily basis.

 

[mom2rtk]

The bottom line for me, is that Disney has impressive "IT CUSTOMER SERVICE" (most of the time). If they had truly impressive "IT" (as in the infrastructure) then nobody would ever need to call the IT Department .

BINGO.

 

[Jennytoon]

As for other company websites and IT depts? Well....I doubt Sandals or Amazon have the number of hits that Disney gets.....just look at the dismay when the CP pkgs open. People continually complain about wait times and system crashes. But....they all just 'have' to get that particular time slot. Same for FP+...it's like a feeding frenzy. There are only a few FPs that have to be booked asap. But the whole getting up at midnight? Seriously....I got every single one of my FPs at a normal time, 60 days out. And I've been able to move most of them around to different times.

Many people here have suggested various companies whose web experience they feel should be comparable to Disney. I suspect goofy4tink is wrong about the total volume of hits amazon gets, but that is a measure of overall traffic. I think she is right about the total volume of hits in a small area of the offerings, or focused traffic, being very different on Disney's site from many that are named. From the perspective of volume aimed at a single item or very limited item group as goofyfortink describes, one of the closest comparators would be ticketmaster IMO.

The top four search suggestions when you type "Disney website" are:

1. Disney website
2. Disney web based interview
3. Disney webmail
4. Disney website down

The top four search suggestions when you type "Ticketmaster website" are:

1. Ticketmaster web site
2. Ticketmaster website
3. Ticketmaster website down
4. Ticketmaster website won't load

Is that tremendously meaningful? No, but I think it is interesting -- it says that another website that experiences volume attacks on limited items may well have similar problems handling them to what Disney users experience. And I don't know the answer to this question, but does ticketmaster also offer you the opportunity to try to manage your friends and family who may also have their own individual accounts? Because that adds a huge second layer to the complexity of the workflow that Disney's site must execute.

The top five search suggestions for "Ticketmaster can't" are:

1. Ticketmaster can't print tickets
2. Ticketmaster can't buy tickets
3. Ticketmaster can't find my tickets
4. Ticketmaster can't process request
5. Ticketmaster can't leave single seat

#1 might stand on it's own, but #2-4 sound eerily similar to "can't make ADR","can't find my reservation / FP+ / ADR", etc.

The top four search suggestions for "Disney can't" are

1. Disney can't wait to be king
2. Disney can't help falling in love
3. Disney can tell the future
4. Disney trash can

Since those are obviously not what I was looking for I also tried "Disney IT can't", "Disney website can't", and "Disney internet can't", and got no search suggestions. Note that this does not mean there are no hits, just that these phrases aren't searched often enough as the first part of a unique phrase to yield a suggestion.

Am I trying to say that the site doesn't have problems? No. It obviously does have issues. Am I trying to say that the underlying system doesn't have problems? No, because sometimes even people who have done everything over the phone experience IT issues. Clearly, this is not a perfect system. OTOH I don't think it so easy and simple for Disney to fix by simply putting effort and people into it as some people seem to be suggesting.

Oh, and one other thing ... it is true that Amazon occasionally experiences these kinds of focused volume issues when very anticipated products are released. From personal experience, I suspect that the way it handles them is to loosen or bypass constraints on order locks. For instance, when we ordered one of the new kindles the day it was released, we got a delivery date that was less than a week. That delivery date was changed five times after we placed our order, the first 3 times moved later, the last 2 moved slightly earlier, and we received it just over 3 weeks from when we placed the order. I suspect this may be because in a super-high-volume scenario like this, amazon bypasses some of the order locking that may normally be in place to keep two people from ordering the same physical item. An alternative explanation would be that there is no order locking in these instances because amazon opens the ordering based on a predicted manufacturing / shipping schedule, and does not physically have the items actually in the warehouse. Either way, the point is that the absence of the need to do order locking reduces a huge amount of the strain on the website. Disney doesn't have that option, can you imagine the furor if someone made a reservation for BOG on May 18th at 8PM and then received an email a week later telling them their ressie was moved to April 2 based on availability issues? Disney has to order lock ... and that means they have no choice but to absorb the overhead that goes with it.

So please, let us discuss ... but let's leave comparisons to other businesses out of it, unless they truly have to handle the same scenarios that Disney does or are being discussed in the context of what those other businesses do or don't have to handle compared to Disney.

 

[TheDisGuy]

Many people here have suggested various companies whose web experience they feel should be comparable to Disney. I suspect goofy4tink is wrong about the total volume of hits amazon gets, but that is a measure of overall traffic. I think she is right about the total volume of hits in a small area of the offerings, or focused traffic, being very different on Disney's site from many that are named. From the perspective of volume aimed at a single item or very limited item group as goofyfortink describes, one of the closest comparators would be ticketmaster IMO.

The top four search suggestions when you type "Disney website" are:

1. Disney website
2. Disney web based interview
3. Disney webmail
4. Disney website down

The top four search suggestions when you type "Ticketmaster website" are:

1. Ticketmaster web site
2. Ticketmaster website
3. Ticketmaster website down
4. Ticketmaster website won't load

Is that tremendously meaningful? No, but I think it is interesting -- it says that another website that experiences volume attacks on limited items may well have similar problems handling them to what Disney users experience. And I don't know the answer to this question, but does ticketmaster also offer you the opportunity to try to manage your friends and family who may also have their own individual accounts? Because that adds a huge second layer to the complexity of the workflow that Disney's site must execute.

The top five search suggestions for "Ticketmaster can't" are:

1. Ticketmaster can't print tickets
2. Ticketmaster can't buy tickets
3. Ticketmaster can't find my tickets
4. Ticketmaster can't process request
5. Ticketmaster can't leave single seat

#1 might stand on it's own, but #2-4 sound eerily similar to "can't make ADR","can't find my reservation / FP+ / ADR", etc.

The top four search suggestions for "Disney can't" are

1. Disney can't wait to be king
2. Disney can't help falling in love
3. Disney can tell the future
4. Disney trash can

.

You know google search suggestions are personalized .... right ? lol.

 

[Ambear]

You know google search suggestions are personalized .... right ? lol.

No. Not as simple as that.

"Autocomplete predictions are possible search terms, not statements by other people or Google about the terms, and not the answer to a search that you have."

And:

"Apart from the Google+ profiles that may appear, all of the predictions that are shown in the drop-down list have been typed before by Google users or appear on the web."

 

[draybook]

But ya know, keep pretending this is just a disney problem. Its clear now these attitudes are part of a bigger issue than just disliking their website.

Well, this IS a Disney fan forum.......so you might expect complaints about Disney and NOT Royal, Amazon, etc... to be here.

I'm not someone with an advanced IT background but facts are facts, the website is garbage and it's gotten worse over the years. I honestly can't think of one single website besides Disney's that has had as many time-outs and crashes as theirs has had while I'm using it. However, I absolutely agree that their CS and IT folks on the phone are awesome.

 

[Cormoran]

Huh? You honestly think Disney's MDE site gets more hits than Amazon?? I would truly be shocked if that were true.


The bottom line for me, is that Disney has impressive "IT CUSTOMER SERVICE" (most of the time). If they had truly impressive "IT" (as in the infrastructure) then nobody would ever need to call the IT Department .

Since Disney has made everyone so dependent on their website, it shouldn't have as many glitches as it does. Every time I log on, I feel like I'm at a roulette wheel. Will the website be available and will my reservations be there or not? It's not the kind of feeling I like to experience when I'm spending thousands of dollars for a vacation.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

Also, thinking back to the recent BOG lunch reservation debacle (which I was unfortunately involved in), I would have thought that by that time Disney would have foreseen the crush and been ready for it. The CM's on the phone were friendly, but entirely overwhelmed. I really felt bad for the few I spoke to that day. They were getting an earful from everyone and could offer nothing more than saying the problem should be fixed soon. It was frustrating to sign on around 6 AM, only to find out that they opened up reservations as early as 1 AM. By then it was too late and many people (myself included) were able to go through all the screens for reserving (including credit card info)- up until the final confirmation. Then the connection was lost. Later some people received emails about those reservations, or some would see them appear in MDE, while others like myself saw nothing. Finally at 3:30 that day the website seemed to be back in order and I was able to book something. But WOW! What a mess!

Again, I honestly feel like Disney should have been prepared for the onslaught. Not just for that day, but whenever they release something high in demand like that. They know a huge amount of people will be on simultaneously trying for the same thing. They've been handling ADR's for years now. Plus they did just spend billions on the MDE system. So I don't think expecting more from them is misguided. Although when I think about how glitchy just the day-to-day operation is, perhaps it doesn't come as too much a surprise that they can't handle the big release days. But still....it's Disney....and billions spent on a system.

 

[Ambear]

Well, this IS a Disney fan forum.......so you might expect complaints about Disney and NOT Royal, Amazon, etc... to be here.

Yea again, I didn't bring up the other sites in the first place. And obviously the whole narrative of the thread has evolved from what it started as.

 

[mom2rtk]

Also, thinking back to the recent BOG lunch reservation debacle (which I was unfortunately involved in), I would have thought that by that time Disney would have foreseen the crush and been ready for it. The CM's on the phone were friendly, but entirely overwhelmed. I really felt bad for the few I spoke to that day. They were getting an earful from everyone and could offer nothing more than saying the problem should be fixed soon. It was frustrating to sign on around 6 AM, only to find out that they opened up reservations as early as 1 AM. By then it was too late and many people (myself included) were able to go through all the screens for reserving (including credit card info)- up until the final confirmation. Then the connection was lost. Later some people received emails about those reservations, or some would see them appear in MDE, while others like myself saw nothing. Finally at 3:30 that day the website seemed to be back in order and I was able to book something. But WOW! What a mess!

Again, I honestly feel like Disney should have been prepared for the onslaught. Not just for that day, but whenever they release something high in demand like that. They know a huge amount of people will be on simultaneously trying for the same thing. They've been handling ADR's for years now. Plus they did just spend billions on the MDE system. So I don't think expecting more from them is misguided. Although when I think about how glitchy just the day-to-day operation is, perhaps it doesn't come as too much a surprise that they can't handle the big release days. But still....it's Disney....and billions spent on a system.

This sort of stuff does not catch them off guard. It was the same when BOG first opened in 2012. I knew what would happen when they opened for lunch ADRs. I still don't get why Disney doesn't do something. At the very least they could have rolled out availability one month at a time so it wasn't 6 months worth of people calling in all at once. It's like that over and over again when big things are released. Yet they do nothing to make the next incident different from the last.

 

[Cormoran]

Again, I honestly feel like Disney should have been prepared for the onslaught. Not just for that day, but whenever they release something high in demand like that. They know a huge amount of people will be on simultaneously trying for the same thing. They've been handling ADR's for years now. Plus they did just spend billions on the MDE system. So I don't think expecting more from them is misguided. Although when I think about how glitchy just the day-to-day operation is, perhaps it doesn't come as too much a surprise that they can't handle the big release days. But still....it's Disney....and billions spent on a system.

The website crashes when new discounts or free dining is announced. Also DCL experiences the same thing when new cruise itineraries are announced. I agree, Disney knows their website will be bombarded, but the always seem surprised. Where else is this type of ineptitude excused?

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

This sort of stuff does not catch them off guard. It was the same when BOG first opened in 2012. I knew what would happen when they opened for lunch ADRs. I still don't get why Disney doesn't do something. At the very least they could have rolled out availability one month at a time so it wasn't 6 months worth of people calling in all at once. It's like that over and over again when big things are released. Yet they do nothing to make the next incident different from the last.

The website crashes when new discounts or free dining is announced. Also DCL experiences the same thing when new cruise itineraries are announced. I agree, Disney knows their website will be bombarded, but the always seem surprised. Where else is this type of ineptitude excused?

If the system is really that complex where they cannot fix these issues after years of repeat occurrences, then why do they even have this system? Why have the same problems happen again and again with no improvements made?

 

[mom2rtk]

My point is that the system had all of these flaws prior to the implementation of FP+. One of the reasons I was so against FP+ is that it was already well-known that Disney IT was less than stellar. So knowing that, they THEN decided to start running ride access through that system?

 

[Cormoran]

My point is that the system had all of these flaws prior to the implementation of FP+. One of the reasons I was so against FP+ is that it was already well-known that Disney IT was less than stellar. So knowing that, they THEN decided to start running ride access through that system?

Kind of a joke isn't it? Want to place bets on when the next crash based on customer demand will occur?

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

My point is that the system had all of these flaws prior to the implementation of FP+. One of the reasons I was so against FP+ is that it was already well-known that Disney IT was less than stellar. So knowing that, they THEN decided to start running ride access through that system?

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either- why Disney would push something through knowing they can't/won't handle arising issues that repeat over years and years.

 

[mom2rtk]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either- why Disney would push something through knowing they can't/won't handle arising issues that repeat over years and years.

Because they CAN. Because people continue to book in spite of it.

I just wish they would care about the customer's experience from beginning to end like they used to.

 

[Ambear]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either- why Disney would push something through knowing they can't/won't handle arising issues that repeat over years and years.

I'm not seeing all posts made in this thread so not sure what you're responding to. However it's false to say disney can't or won't fix issues. It just is. And this disdain for the system is now coming from past frustrations clouding judgment. That's fine but it's not truth that they don't try to fix bugs and mistakes.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

I'm not seeing all posts made in this thread so not sure what you're responding to. However it's false to say disney can't or won't fix issues. It just is. And this disdain for the system is now coming from past frustrations clouding judgment. That's fine but it's not truth that they don't try to fix bugs and mistakes.

The past frustration for me was from a few weeks ago when they released the BOG lunch reservations on MDE. If you read through my original post you would have see that it's perfectly relevant to the thread, given that the OP was referencing an encounter with IT CM's- just like my original post referenced as well. I also dealt with friendly CM's, just like the OP. Where the separation occurs is between CM interaction and the operation of the whole MDE system. This is where Disney needs to make some major improvements. Also, if there's a history of the same failures within a system- that repeat over time without being fixed- can you explain why Disney would choose not to fix them?

 

[Ambear]

The past frustration for me was from a few weeks ago when they released the BOG lunch reservations on MDE. If you read through my original post you would have see that it's perfectly relevant to the thread, given that the OP was referencing an encounter with IT CM's- just like my original post referenced as well. I also dealt with friendly CM's, just like the OP. Where the separation occurs is between CM interaction and the operation of the whole MDE system. This is where Disney needs to make some major improvements. Also, if there's a history of the same failures within a system- that repeat over time without being fixed- can you explain why Disney would choose not to fix them?

I agree their site needs work. I don't agree that they aren't trying to fix it. Your subjective experience is not proof they don't fix issues. I can't answer your last question because I don't believe that's what's happening. So I wonder what your explanation is for why Disney would choose not to fix issues. Providing actual proof of disney repeating the same exact mistakes and NOT fixing them is helpful. It'd be helpful if you could tell me what programming language they use, whether they've recently switched to a new Web framework, and/or whether they've rebuilt the system from the ground up. Personal experiences don't say much, especially on a site I know has quite a few people who like to badger disney on every move they make.

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree their site needs work. I don't agree that they aren't trying to fix it. Your subjective experience is not proof they don't fix issues. I can't answer your last question because I don't believe that's what's happening. So I wonder what your explanation is for why Disney would choose not to fix issues. Providing actual proof of disney repeating the same exact mistakes and NOT fixing them is helpful. It'd be helpful if you could tell me what programming language they use, whether they've recently switched to a new Web framework, and/or whether they've rebuilt the system from the ground up. Personal experiences don't say much, especially on a site I know has quite a few people who like to badger disney on every move they make.

She doesn't NEED to be able to do any of that. She is fully qualified as a customer to form an opinion of how well the site functions. That's sort of the whole point.

It needs to work well for people who DON'T know all of that. Because I imagine that represents the vast majority of their customer base.

And I don't CARE if Disney is trying to fix it. I only care if they DO fix it. And the crashes continue to happen. I was trying to book dining 2 days ago and link tickets and a resort reservation and I couldn't even log on. That went on for the better part of the day with my 60 day point looming.