Originally Posted By CuriousConstance " There is also the fact that Disney has the capability to track your movements inside the park. For instance, if Disney wanted to it would know that you walked in and headed straight to Soarin, but skipped over Innoventions. Or that you did all the thrill rides in the park but skipped Living With the Land boat ride. The information that Disney could collect is really amazing." Maybe I'm missing something, but who the heck cares if Disney knows that kind of stuff? Is that going to effect my life in any way? Nooooo.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 That is kind of how I see it...and if Disney can use that information to improve the parks then so much the better.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I guess if you don't care that Disney could know every step you take inside the park it isn't a big deal. But a friend who works for another industry and does similar work in collecting personal data about their customers says that this whole thing is pretty scary. On the whole it seems pretty benign on the face of it, but do you really want Disney to know where you walked to, where you stopped, what merchandise you looked at but didn't purchase, what attractions you rode, what attractions you skipped?
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub So technically if they have your credit card and confirmation #s and cell and email info and track your location during vacation will they be sending me constant email text messages to alert me to magical ways to spend more money? I heard they are notifying guests in hotel messaging that the new Grand Floridian DVC models can be reserved for tours and I presume NO Sales PRESSURE TO PURCHASE.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 My take on this is fairly simple. Disney isn't spending the kind of money that they are on this because they want you to have a great experience. I think at this point we can all agree that Disney is a mean, lean money making machine. And while the WDW experience can be wonderful, you have to ask what does Disney gain by all of this? There has to be a financial payoff for Disney. I don't see any reason why any company, including Disney, should have access to that much of my personal information. Add to that as soon as this whole thing goes live, there will be people who will try to crack the system to gain your personal information that is stored on the cards or bracelets. Imagine what a very smart person could do with thousands of credit card numbers that they got from just sitting in the hub of the MK.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "On the whole it seems pretty benign on the face of it, but do you really want Disney to know where you walked to, where you stopped, what merchandise you looked at but didn't purchase, what attractions you rode, what attractions you skipped? " Why would I possibly care if they have this info?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros For me, them watching me in their theme park isn't all that scary; as has been pointed out, they already have most of my information, and there are other ways they can track crowdflow patterns. What is a little worrisome is how easily this can become a slippery slope. Once any company has that much information about you, it's a little scary to think about what they're going to do with it. Disney has invested more in NextGen than they did in DCA1.0, and I bet they're hoping for big financial returns. By the time it is fully rolled out, this system will have been the sole focus of development in the parks at WDW for the better part of a decade. No major new attractions. Little infrastructure development. Just this data mining system. Disney (led by Iger's desire to make everything interactive) seems to think that it will be enough to draw guests in, as it has replaced any other deveopment in the parks; I think it could end up being their biggest boondoggle yet
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I think WDW has been quite brilliant at securing the future . Targeting International youth sports and foreign tourists with money to spend...and the locals with all the special events to celebrate the different seasons and holidays. Also the retired military with the Shades of Green Resort and finally the DVC members. And don't forget we are all teaching our children to love Disney. If it is a school holiday where ya gonna go??? Families head to Disneyland or Disneyworld.
Originally Posted By kennect I like what ferrot said but am concered what this could mean for the future of the parks. I think it could easily create some very unwanted changes.
Originally Posted By phruby I fear the day when mymagic+ becomes self aware and sends robot Mickeys out to destroy the human race.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 I fear the day when mymagic+ becomes self aware and sends robot Mickeys out to destroy the human race.<< "Open the Fast Pass entry doors MyMagic+" "I'm Sorry Hal, I'm afraid I can't do that..."
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "That is kind of how I see it...and if Disney can use that information to improve the parks then so much the better." Agreed. Disney has no use for this information other than to track how to manage its facilities and to strategically market to customers. Since the program is optional you can bow out if you're fearful about some kind of sinister Disney plot to watch your every move while in the park. With 25 million + people visiting the place every year I wouldn't be too concerned about them getting up and personal, though.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I fear the day when mymagic+ becomes self aware and sends robot Mickeys out to destroy the human race." It's only a matter of time before this happens you know.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Interesting assumptions. Everyone assumes that Disney is spending more than it cost to build an entire theme park on a system so that can improve the guest experience? What Disney are we talking about? Are we talking about the same company that wont fix a Yeti? or build new attractions? or the one who just let go of scores of animators? I don't believe for a minute that it has anything to do with making your experience any better. And you expect Disney to be a good corporate neighbor and not track people when the opt out? What assurance do you have of that? How often do we read about companies that do not do what they say they are doing? It is interesting to me that if your neighbor monitored your every move you would call the police but we will give a company a pass because it is Disney. I don't think that Disney is doing something that is sinister in anyway, but a company doesn't spend a billion dollars on a system so it can make your experience happier.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>And you expect Disney to be a good corporate neighbor and not track people when the opt out? What assurance do you have of that?<< I full expect that Disney will continue to track every guest. They do it now without the NextGen system, and they'll do it in the future with it. It's just a lot more difficult to connect the dots to get a better picture of the 'in between' time with the current system, but they're watching. Part of what is great about the system is that Disney doesn't really know how it will work yet. They're being vague on the details because they are waiting to see how it works in reality just like the rest of us; once they get a better idea, it will be adjusted, some options will be dropped, others will be added. Instead of saying "We have a system that will do X, Y, and Z," they're going to learn from its capabilities before giving too much detail. On the flipside, that approach does absolutely nothing to settle any fears, since Disney also doesn't know how they're going to use it; they can talk in broad terms, but they really have no idea how much it will impact your visit or their cashflow. They can't definitively say that it won't be used for certain things, because they don't know its full capabilities, or how guest patterns will change once its implemented. This flexibility is both a huge asset and a liability for NextGen's success
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 For me, it's about being bombarded. As several have pointed out, this is a very expensive gamble for Disney, and they don't spend this kind of money without expecting returns. So, I expect they will use any and all data they collect to really push people into experiences and marketing situations that they want them to go to. They will "suggest" things for you to do (with an upcharge), or mention dining options, or merchandise to buy. Or, as was pointed out above, push DVC sales. I really don't like being pressured into buying or doing things that I don't want to. Going on a Disney vacation should be (somewhat) relaxing, but if it all turns into something like visiting a car showroom with high-pressure sales, then I will opt out of a Disney vacation. I don't want to be bombarded even more with Disney marketing while on vacation. This is my theoretical beef with MyMagic+.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper So, just got back from a great 5 day trip to Uni/WDW this weekend, and I think one HUGE problem Disney is going to have here is that their in park wifi is straight up AWFUL. If they're expecting people to be using it and their smart phones all day to use NextGen, they're going to have trouble.
Originally Posted By phruby Do they lock down their wifi for just disney related stuff like mymagic+? It seems like they would instead of letting people go to sites that have nothing to do with them.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Do they lock down their wifi for just disney related stuff like mymagic+? It seems like they would instead of letting people go to sites that have nothing to do with them.>> Nope. They lock out inappropriate sites, but not everything.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn What would a Disney drone look like? Are there Pixar examples from the Planes movie?
