MyMagic+

[Amy]

Looks like the more advanced wristband ticket/fastpass/pay option is going to become a reality starting this spring. What does everyone think? Here is a link to the New York Times article from yesterday... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/busin ... d=all&_r=3&

[cousininmiami]

Not so sure what I think about it until I see it myself. Will it be the haves and have nots? If you stay at GF, will you get more Fastpasses than someone staying at a value resort? How about if you are a Fla resident that generally stays off property, maybe not get one at all?

[rdeacon]

They are going to incorporate RFID tags in everything, including the APs. I think this will greatly improve the gate time getting into the park. I know with wheelchairs and strollers this will really help. The rest I will use a wait and see attitude

Rich

[cy1229]

This is my favorite quote from the article:

“If we can enhance the experience, more people will spend more of their leisure time with us,” said Thomas O. Staggs, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts.

I find it bothersome that something that is OBVIOUSLY a convenience and benefit to the company is being sold as an "enhancement of the experience." Sure, waiting in shorter lines would be fabulous, but what about all of the maintenance details that have been ignored? What about things that have already enhanced the experience that are going away, like AP discounts and the continuous changes being made to the dining plan? I wish a company, especially one as influential as Disney, would just say "This is going to make it easier for us to improve our marketing and cater offers to our customers." There's nothing wrong with that - it's what every good business would strive to do.

Just seems like things that would truly "enhance the experience" but don't directly benefit the company are being neglected, and the attention is being turned to only those things which have an immediate cash value. And I think that's, well, stinky.

[theBIGyowski]

my fear is that this will become the new norm

By that I mean that paying for things that used to be free. What Disney is very good at is finding ways to charge for things that dedicated, hard-working guests get for free. Some people may disagree, but I think FastPass is the problem, and that people are smart enough to avoid long lines themselves, thus naturally controlling the wait times for the bigger attractions. If I am walking through Tomorrowland and see that the wait for Space Mountain is 60 minutes, I will not go to it and check out the People Mover, then swing back around to Space Mountain later to see if it has better wait times. Or, I could just get to MK early enough to ride it without a long wait.

You'll see...TDO will start "charging" for ADR's in the next 3-5 years...and they will sell it as a "down payment" or a "security deposit" that will be applied to your meal once you check-in. You will only lose the money if you don't show up. It's similar to charging you for being a no-show...but different in that they go ahead and get your money up front...then they increase the prices on the menu slightly...keeping you from realizing you are paying more than before.

[Wizzard419]

I bet, since this will probably have more percision tracking through a greater saturation of readers, that finding lost people will be a lot easier. Though, the same can be accomplished with giving your kids a phone (tracking, not just calling).

I have a feeling, since they noted anything under $50 is automatically authorized, that they are trying to drive sales by turning everything into an impluse purchase. If all you have to do is wave your wrist and you bought it, then it may make you not think as much about if you really want that item in the first place.

Not a huge fan of wearing a roomkey/ticket/etc. I would probably just keep mine in my wallet.

[cy1229]

I bet, since this will probably have more percision tracking through a greater saturation of readers, that finding lost people will be a lot easier. Though, the same can be accomplished with giving your kids a phone (tracking, not just calling).

I have a feeling, since they noted anything under $50 is automatically authorized, that they are trying to drive sales by turning everything into an impluse purchase. If all you have to do is wave your wrist and you bought it, then it may make you not think as much about if you really want that item in the first place.

Not a huge fan of wearing a roomkey/ticket/etc. I would probably just keep mine in my wallet.

My concern about having everything linked to my bracelet would be misuse if I lose it, up until the point I realize it's gone. It would help catch criminals quickly, though, so maybe that's a 50/50.

People who don't want to be tracked at all can just slide their bracelet into an aluminum case of some sort, can't they? My daughters' passport cards, which have RFID technology, have a "protective sleeve" that keeps it from being read in an unauthorized way.

[Wizzard419]

Since it would be linked to a credit card, the misuse factor is nill and they most likely would also have a similar liability promise if your key is lost or stolen. Usually, with stuff like that, they would not actually catch anyone since they aren't in law enforcement and there is a huge lag time, they would just cut off their source.

Having to whip out a mini Faraday cage when you want to get in your room, buy merch/food, get a fast pass, use a FP (which may also set off red flags with them), etc would probably have people looking at you like you were nuts though. Since they wouldn't get your actual credit card, just your room key (which is a different security conversation), so your personal info would be the same as the slips of paper that you throw into the trash can. No SS# but an address, name, etc. I don't think they could legally track your exact location through the wristbands since that might not be legal but they could (if someone was lost) use security cam footage from the last time it was used to track where the person went.

[JenMuse]

Downloaded the new companion My Disney Experience ap for my iPhone...it crashed twice in the first 5 minutes.

And it's not like Disney has fixed the new online reservation system to link to reservations made before the switch...

Edit: I take that back - not less than 10 minutes after I posted, I was finally able to link my resort reservation (Made in Oct) to my Disney profile. I had linked it before the software changeover, but it vanished and stubbornly refused to be found until today (I tried every day for 3 weeks then gave up).

Bad form!

[Wizzard419]

Hmmm, if your phone is fully compatible and you have not done anything like jailbreak the device, I would imagine the reason it has stability issues is that it has become overloaded.

[cy1229]

Since it would be linked to a credit card, the misuse factor is nill and they most likely would also have a similar liability promise if your key is lost or stolen. Usually, with stuff like that, they would not actually catch anyone since they aren't in law enforcement and there is a huge lag time, they would just cut off their source.

Having to whip out a mini Faraday cage when you want to get in your room, buy merch/food, get a fast pass, use a FP (which may also set off red flags with them), etc would probably have people looking at you like you were nuts though. Since they wouldn't get your actual credit card, just your room key (which is a different security conversation), so your personal info would be the same as the slips of paper that you throw into the trash can. No SS# but an address, name, etc. I don't think they could legally track your exact location through the wristbands since that might not be legal but they could (if someone was lost) use security cam footage from the last time it was used to track where the person went.

Are they not allowing people to pay with cash once in the park? So really, the only time it would be needed inside the park is with a FP. Besides, a piece of aluminum foil isn't that obnoxious.

Pretty sure I read in the article that the wrist bands will help people locate lost party members. Have to go back and re-read that part. That's about as close to real-time tracking as you can get. Edit: Wasn't the article. You suggested it, Wiz... said it would be easier for people to find lost kids, like you can use with a cell phone.

Had a thought... doesn't this theoretically prevent one person from getting FP's for an entire group, and the rest of the group doing something else? Ok not PREVENT it, but certainly make it more of a pain in the hiney. "Ok kids, give me all your wrist bands." "Ok kids, here are all your wrist bands." Etc.

[JenMuse]

It seemed stable after the 3rd open. Kinda slow, but basically a nice miniature version of the site that will offer more info when actually in the park. I shall see....

[Wizzard419]

Are they not allowing people to pay with cash once in the park? So really, the only time it would be needed inside the park is with a FP. Besides, a piece of aluminum foil isn't that obnoxious.

Pretty sure I read in the article that the wrist bands will help people locate lost party members. Have to go back and re-read that part. That's about as close to real-time tracking as you can get. Edit: Wasn't the article. You suggested it, Wiz... said it would be easier for people to find lost kids, like you can use with a cell phone.

Had a thought... doesn't this theoretically prevent one person from getting FP's for an entire group, and the rest of the group doing something else? Ok not PREVENT it, but certainly make it more of a pain in the hiney. "Ok kids, give me all your wrist bands." "Ok kids, here are all your wrist bands." Etc.[/quote]

They are, but they are trying to lower the incentive to use it (that and we are moving towards a cashless society considering anyone can take electronic payments now). The foil can be annoying/set off red flags since you have the "One minute, let me just unwrap my pass" and the inconsistent data coming off of the device. Kind of like how some people will fully remove their battery and sim card from their phones when not in use, they may not be doing it for any nefarious reason but it still is suspicious.

They are not going to, most likely, get rid of the paper passes since it appears that this system is linked to an iOS app and while smartphones are common the dump phone saturation level is too high plus you have Android, Windows, and RIM, and don't forget that most people will probably not want to use data plans if they are traveling internationally. Though, within the parks, the wifi is now free for all, from what I understand.

I would say it is no worse, from the perspective of everyone other than the person who is gathering up FPs, since would still be standing at a machine, scanning all the "tickets" in. Just as annoying as standing behind someone who has 20 tickets for the machine. They may also, in the future, create something to deal with this if it becomes a problem.

I cannot picture this coming to DLR though, mostly becasue we still have ticket takers, and a lot of the functions seem to be more suited for WDW than us.

[JenMuse]

I downloaded the MyDisneyExperience app to my Kindle Fire (android platform) and it ran fine.

Free wi-fi in the parks is what I heard too...probably to encourage use of all these wonderful gadgets.

Plenty of subsonicers are headed to WDW this month, so I'm sure we'll have first hand reports sooner rather than later.

[Wizzard419]

Yeah, you and the 9 other kindle fire users are not always on the same servers that the iOS ones have. (Yes, the kindle fire has a dramatically lower userbase than other tablet platforms).