Jim Hill on Magic Band Testing

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

Dalmatians!!!

>>You've been to Disney what 300-400 times? I wouldn't be too worried, I'm sure you'll figure things out ;P<<

But WDW though? I've only been there about 10 times, so I'm practically a newb! : )

 

Originally Posted By Disney Joy

Just got back Monday ... love the Magic Band .. no room key and entry into the park is speedy fast ... much better than before.

3 Fastpasses a day were plenty for me. I made all my for afternoon 3ish or after.

Had a glich one day and guest relations were great to correct ASAP. Actually Toy Story broke during my start. Well it just reload FP for later before park closes.

I was even given an extra bonus fast pass for Toy Story from the hotel.

One cast member was not happy I ended up with 6 fast passes one day. WHATEVER !!When Toy broke he had to manually look me up and saw them.
It was

 

Originally Posted By Disney Joy

OH It was ...... GREAT !!

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

Just got back Monday ... love the Magic Band .. no room key and entry into the park is speedy fast ... much better than before."

Multiply this response by millions of guests at Disney resorts around the world and the billions of dollars spent may have been more than worth it in guest satisfaction, repeat business, and increased profits. We'll see.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym333

My feeling is that in the end this is going to be a great thing for people who are going to be staying at a Disney resort. In fact this could push more people to the resorts. You can get to preplan your FP's out and it seems some of the perks of it will work better for resort guests who register online such as pictures that automatically appear on your account, Mickey knowing you name and such. I have long felt that MyMagic+ is about getting people to stay at the resort.

For AP holders it is going to be ok. Since local AP holders tend to be last minute park visitors, I will be curious to see what options will be available when they get up in the morning and decide to head to the parks.

For day guest the biggest question is going to availablility of FP's when they get to the park. Since we haven't seen the full release of it for all guests, it is going to be interesting to see when a day guest gets to the park and what options they have.

I have been skeptical about MyMagic+ but everyone I know that has used it has loved it. I don't think we have seen the full impact of it yet and that is going to fun to watch. I wonder what we will be saying about it all a year from now.

 

Originally Posted By Yookeroo

"Multiply this response by millions of guests at Disney resorts around the world and the billions of dollars spent may have been more than worth it in guest satisfaction, repeat business, and increased profits. We'll see."

It's weird how all the Disney fanboys are claiming it's a disaster since it seems almost everyone using it has a positive experience. Well, maybe not that weird given Disney fandom, but really, the rush to declare it a failure might be a little premature.

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

The internet Disney theme park fans apparently are only passionate about two things: Walt's legacy and big new rides. Large sums of corporate money invested in anything out of the box that isn't the next WWoHP and the fangs come out.

 

Originally Posted By plpeters70

<<Large sums of corporate money invested in anything out of the box that isn't the next WWoHP and the fangs come out>>

In their defense, the sums that have been hinted at are HUGE - more than building a whole them park!! It's hard not to be somewhat upset about that when so much of WDW is negated and in need of repair or updates. It's hard not to look at things like broken Yeti's and closed pavilions at EPCOT and wonder if this was really the best use of billions of dollars.

I hope it ends up being amazing, but so far, even if I end up loving the experience, it doesn't seem worth the amounts they've supposedly spent.

 

Originally Posted By plpeters70

Sorry - "theme park" and "neglected". Stupid phone.

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

"It's hard not to be somewhat upset about that when so much of WDW is negated and in need of repair or updates. It's hard not to look at things like broken Yeti's and closed pavilions at EPCOT and wonder if this was really the best use of billions of dollars."

If you are so dissatisfied with what WDW is offering then why worry about how the money is spent?

"I hope it ends up being amazing, but so far, even if I end up loving the experience, it doesn't seem worth the amounts they've supposedly spent."

How can you make that judgement without having any inside knowledge on guest satisfaction metrics and estimated revenue increases generated by the MyMagic+ program?

 

Originally Posted By plpeters70

<<If you are so dissatisfied with what WDW is offering then why worry about how the money is spent?>>

Must we always fall back on this tired argument of "if you don't like it, why do you talk about it"? Obviously, as a Disney fan who posts on a Disney message board, I like the parks FAR, FAR more than the average person. That should be quite obvious just from my continued presence here. But that doesn't mean I have to like EVERY decision Disney makes.

<<How can you make that judgement without having any inside knowledge>>

It's nothing but a personal judgment - so far, from my own personal experience, it really doesn't seem to be worth the crazy amounts that they have supposedly spent on this. Maybe I'm wrong - who knows - it's just a personal opinion.

I hope I am wrong, and this ends up amazing! But at the moment, after years of what I see as neglect at WDW, I would rather they had spent the billion dollars on an expanded monorail system or new attractions. But that's just a personal opinion, and I'm well aware that Disney has different ideas.

 

Originally Posted By plpeters70

I would like to add that I love the idea of the Magic Bands - I think they sound great, and being able to have an RFID device that can act as my FastPasses, Credit Card, Room Key, etc - and maybe have added interactivity as well. All that sounds great.

I'm just not convinced that it was worth the huge sums quoted here.

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

"Must we always fall back on this tired argument"

Yes.

 

Originally Posted By Yookeroo

"I'm just not convinced that it was worth the huge sums quoted here."

Maybe not. But it's not my money, so I can't be bothered too much about the cost.

 

Originally Posted By Disney Joy

Every penny will be well spent. Sure were a lot of happy faces with the magic bands on. Guest relations were all over - fixing and checking - resetting fast.

They were ready and prepared.

I couldn't imagine getting in those lines waiting at turnstiles again.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

For what it's worth, I've been working to set up next week's trip with the various MyMagic+ stuff for several days now. It's not especially difficult, but it is time consuming, and this is coming from someone who obviously spends a lot of time thinking about Disney parks. I've had a few hiccups along the way (Not the least of which is the slow website. Disney's website has always been incredibly slow compared to other large-scale hotel reservation sites; this just compounds the issues since you have so many more clicks), but it's been relatively smooth sailing

Anyway, I just woke up from a bad dream set during the trip. Never has planning a trip stressed me out so much, especially to a place that I know so well and know exactly what to expect. I'm hoping that my view of the system will be different by this time next week, but it's going to have a lot of baggage to overcome

 

Originally Posted By hopemax

Well, you could be me. I'm going 1/14-1/28, but because I partake in the unforgivable sin of staying with my family, there are no reservations to make. Just that unsettling voice in the back of my head that says, what if I get there right at opening and there are still no FP's available before 3PMish (the time we usually leave for the day) for the one ride in the park I want to do. And stressing over how the AK day will work, and hoping that the lines at the kiosks won't be too long, so I can arrange the day's FPs and still get into a standby line before it grows too big.

At least with slow website, once you get your rides reserved, you know you're good.

I've never bothered with those crowd predictor websites before, but now I'm using them.

 

Originally Posted By TDLFAN

"Must we always fall back on this tired argument"

Yes. Because that's what WDW apologists know what to do. They're so blinded by the pixie dust (due to their being devoted CMs or planted here by Disney to fight fire with fire..etc) But really... do they even appreciate the true attributes of WDW when all they do is argue about how good the areas that need improvement really are and WDW can't do no wrong? So Peters... take those critics for what they are.

 

Originally Posted By CuriousConstance

I wish Disney had planted me here.

 

Originally Posted By dizneed

From AllEars.net:

<< Walt Disney World is continuing to implement the MyMagic+ program, with important changes coming in the next week or so.
First, Key to the World cards will no longer be automatically issued. During the testing phase of the MagicBand wristbands, Disney resorts still gave guests the usual key cards as a backup for the MagicBand and to use with original, paper-based FASTPASS machines. Sometime in the next two weeks, however, Disney resort guests are scheduled to start receiving ONLY MagicBands.
According to our friends at DVC News, Key to the World cards have already been eliminated at Disney's Old Key West Resort, Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Disney's Beach Club Villas and Disney's Wilderness Lodge. The schedule for the conversion of other Disney Vacation Club resorts is as follows:
• January 14: Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
• January 15: Disney's BoardWalk Villas
• January 16: Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
• January 17: Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
Currently, resort guests can still request request a Key to the World card rather than a MagicBand.
Additionally, as of today, Tuesday, January 14, Disney is scheduled to discontinue use of the old, paper-based FASTPASS machines in the Magic Kingdom. All park guests -- including those staying at Disney resorts, passholders AND day guests using Magic Your Way passes -- will now be on the FastPass+ system. This move mirrors the mid-December shutdown of legacy FASTPASS at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.
Disney resort guests, including Disney Vacation Club members, can use the My Disney Experience website and mobile app to customize their MagicBands prior to arrival and schedule FastPass+ ride times. Offsite guests cannot currently use the MDE site or app, nor can they schedule ride times in advance. These day guests must use the in-park FastPass+ kiosks to plan ride times upon arrival.
Here is a flyer that has been distributed to visitors to Animal Kingdom with instructions on how to use FASTPASS+ in the park.
<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://allears.net/tp/Animal-kingdom-fastpass-plus-flyer.pdf">http://allears.net/tp/Animal-k...lyer.pdf</a>
There has been no official announcement on when paper-based FASTPASS will be discontinued at Epcot or Disney's Hollywood Studios.>>


The game is afoot....