What did Disney gain/lose for their Billion dollars?

[Laketravis]

I have also enjoyed reading some of the opinions - I just don't accept them as fact. No one on the Disney executive management team is posting on the Dis, and this is not the type of information that makes it down to the CM level. What information does make it down that far has been filtered many times.

Nor have bus drivers proven to be accurate sources of information.

To get back to the OP's original question, there is a wealth of credible public information available on the concept, intent, and expectations of the entire NexGen project, including the detailed information in the actual patent for Disney's "GUEST EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD"

MB and FP+ Patent

For some reason some DIS'ers are extremely infuriated whenever I reference that patent, but it's such an interesting read and I think others will find it interesting as well so I'll go ahead and add the link to my signature.

 

[morethananyonex]

Also consider that most Disney marketing is to new customers. For these customers, there is no change - this is just a feature set that they can advertise. I am not sure how much, if at all, the WDW market is reliant on repeat business. Frankly, they might not really care.

I think that is completely false, and I see it speculated all the time around here. Disney cares that people come back every year, those guests just require much less work on Disney's part.

I think they just know they have much more leeway with repeat guests because of the Disney name so they are harder to lose, and they also have to do much less work to bring those guests back to Disney. They can spend a minimal amount of marketing dollars on this group and they will still visit.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

Guess I'm in the minority. It wouldn't matter if I had a chip embedded in my right hand, I wouldn't spend more than we ever or usually spend. We have a Disney/Chase VISA and we use it to earn Disney reward dollars. However, we don't spend more in order to get more dollars.
Once our May trip is over, we have no real reason to keep the VISA and it's up to DH if we do or not. We used to have an airlines reward miles card. Then we didn't have access to nearby flights and didn't care about that.
I truly don't care if Disney knows where I am in the parks, hotels, stores, etc. I never did. They can track my activity all they want -- probably bore them all silly.
Seriously, they lost my goodwill and faith. It's just as well we don't live in FL any more. I don't think I'd want an AP again, although we loved it when we did. I don't see that 95% of the guests will benefit from the changes as they stand now. We always stayed on property -- at least since 1990 -- and that won't change for our last trip.
I'm not making idle threats, but the distance and the cost just doesn't compute in my mind any more. We're not kids any more and I guess it's time we find somewhere else to vacation. And don't jump all over me. We're in our early 70's and we love Disney. Just not liking the way it's going.

 

[MickeyOCD]

Legacy FastPass was a terrible idea from a business standpoint unless you view it as "give it to them for free at first then charge them for it later" or as I call it, the crack-dealer model. I knew from the moment it rolled out that it was going to eventually change to a product that could be monetized so I never integraded it into the way I toured. I am surprised it took so long but I suspect they needed to wait for other technologies to advance to the point where they could be leveraged. The things we have heard about and witnessed so far in regards to monetization are almost surely the tip of the iceberg. The way NextGen will end up being monetized is with things like incentives, add-ons, and customizations and I don't think Disney is ready to announce any of that yet which is why the upcoming call will be vague. The additional spending using MBs is nice and I do think it is noticeable if you had the data to look at but it will be a very small portion of the ROI NextGen returns. It will be very cool to see it all play out. I love data and these kinds of systems and seeing all the potential for monetization. It is a big part of my job. ETA: There are also going to be a lot of ROI we never see like improved forecasting and scheduling.

It was never "free" we paid for it with higher than competitors' ticket prices. And Disney could say "you don't pay for FOTL passes here, you can get it free"

 

[skilesare]

Weeeellll...

If that was the goal, it failed for us. I cancelled 2 upcoming, onsite resort week-long trips after our very difficult trip 3 weeks ago.

For the first time in literally years I have no upcoming reservations in the next 18 months.

I'm sorry you had a bad trip. What went wrong. I'd imagine if it was 3 weeks ago over the Christmas-New Years holiday that it was a lot. I'd not go within 100 miles of Orlando that week.

 

[nugov2]

Legacy FastPass was a terrible idea from a business standpoint unless you view it as "give it to them for free at first then charge them for it later" or as I call it, the crack-dealer model. I knew from the moment it rolled out that it was going to eventually change to a product that could be monetized so I never integraded it into the way I toured. I am surprised it took so long but I suspect they needed to wait for other technologies to advance to the point where they could be leveraged.

The things we have heard about and witnessed so far in regards to monetization are almost surely the tip of the iceberg. The way NextGen will end up being monetized is with things like incentives, add-ons, and customizations and I don't think Disney is ready to announce any of that yet which is why the upcoming call will be vague.

The additional spending using MBs is nice and I do think it is noticeable if you had the data to look at but it will be a very small portion of the ROI NextGen returns. It will be very cool to see it all play out. I love data and these kinds of systems and seeing all the potential for monetization. It is a big part of my job.

ETA: There are also going to be a lot of ROI we never see like improved forecasting and scheduling.

Exactly!!! I would be shocked if extra FP's aren't something we will be purchasing in the next year or two.

I doubt MB make anyone spend more than the card did. How much easier is it to tap the band vs. taking the card out of your back pocket or purse. I mean is anyone not buying their mickey bar b/c they had to pull the card out? Oh wait, it is buried so deep that it took 15 to pull it out of your purse or your wallet is so thick it is stuck in your back pocket and you can't get it out so forget it, you don't want your Mickey bar anymore. I would guess these are the same people who were racing from one end of the park at high speed to grab their FP only to find crowds of crazy people fighting at the machine for one.

 

[ArwenMarie]

1. If you teach people about the old fast pass you still have to support the machines and print the paper tickets. Mechanical machines break down way more than the electronic system and are costly to repair.

2. The FP machines were in physical location. Very few people 'got it' until they did it at the park....by then it was too late to plan. Now they send out pre materials that forces guests to do it before hand. They arrive knowing how it all works.

3. What in the world was 'kind' about the old system? It was exploitable and inconvenient. We all made work and found our hacks, but it was clear that most guests were not using it. Think about it, the fast pass runner is now extinct. Was anyone ever happy to be the runner? Sure I'll dodge strollers while you ride this cool ride...see you in 20. Fun times.

1. So what they replaced it with is cheaper? All of those Mickey Heads? Bands? Servers? Apps? CMs? iPads? Shipping costs?

2. Why didn't Disney teach people how to use the old FP more often then? Including where the FP machines were, how to use them, etc.

3. You're the one saying that the new system is intended to raise customer satisfaction by making customers happier. My point is that was never the goal. The goal is to make more money.

If many guests were not using it (is that even true?)...even if it is, why didn't Disney work to educate customers about it more?

 

[lugnut33]

Well, from us they got 4 more trips tthis year than usual, and an upgrade to AP's we haven't bought in a few years, and a renewed excitement!

I need to ask, why the renewed excite because of this program?

 

[ArwenMarie]

Legacy FastPass was a terrible idea from a business standpoint unless you view it as "give it to them for free at first then charge them for it later" or as I call it, the crack-dealer model. I knew from the moment it rolled out that it was going to eventually change to a product that could be monetized so I never integraded it into the way I toured. I am surprised it took so long but I suspect they needed to wait for other technologies to advance to the point where they could be leveraged.

The things we have heard about and witnessed so far in regards to monetization are almost surely the tip of the iceberg. The way NextGen will end up being monetized is with things like incentives, add-ons, and customizations and I don't think Disney is ready to announce any of that yet which is why the upcoming call will be vague.

The additional spending using MBs is nice and I do think it is noticeable if you had the data to look at but it will be a very small portion of the ROI NextGen returns. It will be very cool to see it all play out. I love data and these kinds of systems and seeing all the potential for monetization. It is a big part of my job.

ETA: There are also going to be a lot of ROI we never see like improved forecasting and scheduling.

Really? Wow. For fifteen years you just ignored it, knowing it couldn't last?

I agree on the monetization part, which can be increasing revenue or cutting costs.

 

[glamdring269]

Really? Wow. For fifteen years you just ignored it, knowing it couldn't last?

Well, that could be one reason why it was pretty easy to pull paper FPs throughout a normal day...

 

[xie]

I'm sorry you had a bad trip. What went wrong. I'd imagine if it was 3 weeks ago over the Christmas-New Years holiday that it was a lot. I'd not go within 100 miles of Orlando that week.

Almost anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We had difficulties at the resort, difficulties with the Magic Band (the only thing that worked without additional assistance was vendor purchasing), difficulties with broken KTTW cards (parking and room lock system), difficulties with ADRs, problems with the MyMagic app, just problems every day. It was the most stressful and least relaxing trip we have ever taken to WDW. We spent hours trying to get help for things which should not have broken.

It costs too much money to stay onsite for it to be like that. Cost / value is broken for us right now.

 

[skilesare]

1. So what they replaced it with is cheaper? All of those Mickey Heads? Bands? Servers? Apps? CMs? iPads? Shipping costs?

2. Why didn't Disney teach people how to use the old FP more often then? Including where the FP machines were, how to use them, etc.

3. You're the one saying that the new system is intended to raise customer satisfaction by making customers happier. My point is that was never the goal. The goal is to make more money.

Again, most guests were not using it (is that even true?)...even if it is, why didn't Disney work to educate customers about it more?

1. Yes. Capital Improvements are depreciable. Service Fees and maintenance contracts aren't.

2. The old system had inefficiencies that they are trying to get out of the system. Walk 10 minutes to BTMRR. See the wait is 90 minutes. Get a FP to come back in 3 hrs. Walk 10 mins to next attraction. In two hours walk 10 minutes back. That is 30 minutes of wasted 'experience.' Walking in an amusement park(particularly a crowded one) is less fun that enjoying an attraction.

3. Disney has always made money by making people happy. They have spent 30+ years doing so. Do you expect them to pivot and start money grabbing for the sake of it? Their stockholders wouldn't stand for it. Thier stock has increased 9500% in the last 36 years by increasing customer satisfaction and making guests and media consumers happy.

 

[clsteve]

Nor have bus drivers proven to be accurate sources of information.

To get back to the OP's original question, there is a wealth of credible public information available on the concept, intent, and expectations of the entire NexGen project, including the detailed information in the actual patent for Disney's "GUEST EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD"

MB and FP+ Patent

For some reason some DIS'ers are extremely infuriated whenever I reference that patent, but it's such an interesting read and I think others will find it interesting as well so I'll go ahead and add the link to my signature.

Yup....

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It's all about the hotels. The parks exist to fill up the hotels, not the other way around.

They will get some people to move onsite from offsite. They will be able to reduce free dining and room discounts. They will make their money back, it will just take longer than they thought.

The loser in this will be the customer, who will end up paying more and receiving less.

 

[mom2rtk]

For some reason some DIS'ers are extremely infuriated whenever I reference that patent,

Well..... mostly just one. Or was it three?

 

[Laketravis]

I think this is overstated. Disney is much more interested in you booking another $5000 vacation next year than spending 10% more on your current trip. A bump in spending is a bonus but not the point here.

Actually, no. The patent is literally filled with Disney's reasons, and that is not one of them.

For example:

"Guest strategy for guests on a one-day pass may include expanding the time windows to keep the guest at the park longer and creating schedules that place the guest near popular restaurants at mealtimes."

In other words, manipulate the FP+ times and attractions so as to place a guest near a particular restaurant maybe even at times we know from past history that guest prefers to dine? How ingenious.

No wonder the app is so slow - just imagine the numbers it is crunching in the background before telling you when you can ride Soarin.

I suggest reading the entire document, it provides a wealth of information direct from Disney.

 

[johde]

3. Disney has always made money by making people happy. They have spent 30+ years doing so. Do you expect them to pivot and start money grabbing for the sake of it? Their stockholders wouldn't stand for it. Thier stock has increased 9500% in the last 36 years by increasing customer satisfaction and making guests and media consumers happy.

3. You're the one saying that the new system is intended to raise customer satisfaction by making customers happier. My point is that was never the goal. The goal is to make more money.

If many guests were not using it (is that even true?)...even if it is, why didn't Disney work to educate customers about it more?

To put it another way, Disney goal has always been customer satisfaction so the customer happily open their wallet and says here take all my money.

There may be some direct monetizing, but for the typical guest that that "locked in" concept is going to ring from a customer service perspective. Under FP- you get to tomorrow land at 1:30 and your choice are a 60 minute wait or a 5:30 FP for space mountain. A lot of people will just suck it up and wait. Under FP+ you have a 5:30 FP for Space they plan their day around being in tomorrow land early evening. For their 10:00 AM POTC They plan the morning in adventure land. Is it the perfect plan Josh would come up with, no. But, they weren't cris crossing the park either.

If the reason why people didn't use FP- was needed go to the attraction twice, this will be a huge hit with the general public once they get the kinks worked out.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

Think about it, the fast pass runner is now extinct. Was anyone ever happy to be the runner? Sure I'll dodge strollers while you ride this cool ride...see you in 20. Fun times.

This made me laugh, only because trying to ease the "pain" recently to my children about FP- being no more, I told my 15yo the benefit of FP+ would be he wouldn't have to "run" to other rides to get our FP's. He said, "but I LIKE doing that, this sucks!!"

 

[ArwenMarie]

1. Yes. Capital Improvements are depreciable. Service Fees and maintenance contracts aren't.

2. The old system had inefficiencies that they are trying to get out of the system. Walk 10 minutes to BTMRR. See the wait is 90 minutes. Get a FP to come back in 3 hrs. Walk 10 mins to next attraction. In two hours walk 10 minutes back. That is 30 minutes of wasted 'experience.' Walking in an amusement park(particularly a crowded one) is less fun that enjoying an attraction.

3. Disney has always made money by making people happy. They have spent 30+ years doing so. Do you expect them to pivot and start money grabbing for the sake of it? Their stockholders wouldn't stand for it. Thier stock has increased 9500% in the last 36 years by increasing customer satisfaction and making guests and media consumers happy.

Don't forget that they had to hire more social media listening analysts as well, that costs money too.

 

[kenshinelite]

If the reason why people didn't use FP- was needed go to the attraction twice, this will be a huge hit with the general public once they get the kinks worked out.

Excellent point I never even thought about that. I agree most people who want to ride something now they will wait in line vs coming back later because hey I'm here now why would I want to come back in 3 hours. The new way says do whatever you want before and after your FP just be here when you scheduled it for. Hey you don't wanna ride SM anymore ok just change it and you can be anywhere in any park or in your room to change it too! Awesome