Originally Posted By TDLFAN I can't confirm this for sure but my sources in Japan inform me that TDS will become the first Disney park to have an Oswald the rabbit walkaround rubberhead character in the park and he may have a dedicated meet and greet spot in the American Waterfront area of the park. Can anyone confirm this??? It will probably be Mickey's body suit with a new Oswalk head on top! LOL! Also.. japanese fans have been tweeting about CM's enforcing the return time window for all fastpasses, with guests being declined to enter rides if they are late. Again.. can't confirm this info but if it's true then bravo! for TDR. Considering the abuse versus the long lines that usual plague TDR's most popular attractions, this was long overdue.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That would be awesome if they had an Oswald character. I assume he'd have crazy long lines so I wouldn't get to see him (other than from a distance), but it sounds like fun. I assume he would make his way to DCA eventually too, since his merchandise there is so popular And I had no idea that the FP return times weren't enforced already. I would have assumed that the Japanese would be fairly conscientious when it comes to return times, but I guess once word got out everybody learned the new system (like at DL). Does this mean that all of the parks now enforce return times?
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Could the enforcement of FP return times be an indication that FP+ is on the way?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I doubt FP+ would go to TDR any time soon. The system was originally designed specifically for the US parks, with an option that Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai could join in later if they wanted. But Disney doesn't have any control of the operations of TDR, so they can do whatever they want. I'm not sure that they have enough hotel capacity to justify the new system, and it seems like a lot of unnecessary tech for the park (but I guess the Japanese do love technology, so it might fit)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt If in fact it"s proven to drive revenue and guest satisfaction why wouldn't OLC be interested?
Originally Posted By SuperDry Things that drive revenue and guest satisfaction in Orlando don't necessarily do so in Tokyo. One aspect of the Magic Band is that it makes it exceedingly easy to purchase small-ticket items, such as F&B and merchandise. In Tokyo, most guests already have such a device, as it's used for subway and train fares. It also allows for small cash purchases, and is used all over the place at vending machines, convenience stores, etc. Most guests have it in card format, although they also come integrated into cellphones. So, for that particular purpose, it would make a lot more sense for OLC to add readers for that existing system that everyone already has. They already have done so for the Resort Line. BTW, at HKDL, they already support the Hong Kong version of this card at all F&B locations, including ODV.
Originally Posted By leemac Oswald starts April 2 at Cape Cod - it is a trial for Easter. The character looks great - I think guests will get a real kick out of seeing him. His face is very expressive.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "In Tokyo, most guests already have such a device, as it's used for subway and train fares." Does it open the door to your Disney hotel room? Does it unlock personal name recognition at character meet and greets? I could go on, but I think you get the point that OLC would want something "Disney" that's exclusive and tied directly to the experiences that they are offering at their property.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I can imagine they'd go wild for the name recognition since they are so big on characters there.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I can imagine they'd go wild for the name recognition since they are so big on characters there.>> Don't forget that face characters are almost always Caucasian (usually American or Australian with a few Brits) - they won't be able to handle the Japanese names
Originally Posted By leemac <<Does it open the door to your Disney hotel room? Does it unlock personal name recognition at character meet and greets? I could go on, but I think you get the point that OLC would want something "Disney" that's exclusive and tied directly to the experiences that they are offering at their property.>> SD's point is valid - Suica (Japan) and Octopus (HK) are widely used as payment methods and are very popular. It would be difficult to get guests to part with them as they are culturally and economically so important. OLC hate spending money on infrastructure - they won't commit to anything unless it is has a high ROI. Replacing cash registers and door locks isn't cheap and they don't have the room inventory to justify the uplift in revenue.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Does it open the door to your Disney hotel room? Does it unlock personal name recognition at character meet and greets? I could go on, >>> The door opening thing is a great feature that helps sell guests on MB, but it doesn't in of itself drive revenue. The reason I mentioned the POS payments was that the additional revenue generation features of MB is supposedly what is justifying the $1b+ investment in the technology. Disney certainly isn't spending the money just to make it easier to open your room door. In addition to the existing near-universal contactless payment systems already in place in Japan, there's another aspect to this: having charging privileges to MB in Florida enhances what I'll call the "casino affect" - when you're in a casino, you don't play at the tables with real money, but casino chips. Once your money is dropped into the lockbox and you get chips, the value for them somehow seems less real and you're much more apt to bet them than if you had to put actual notes on the table for each bet. I suspect that in addition the ease of use, this notion of detaching the purchase from the exchange of money partially explains the reported increase in guest spend in Florida due to MB. Part of this is bound to be due to a large portion of the guests staying on-site for 5-7 or more days and being in the bubble, detached from reality for their vacation. Not having to pay in perceived real money enhances that. The guest mentality at TDR is likely totally different, with only a tiny fraction of guests having the on-site, multi-day in-the-bubble experience, and most of them being day visitors.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "The door opening thing is a great feature that helps sell guests on MB, but it doesn't in of itself drive revenue." If OLC considers FP+ it is likely to insist that that the system be adapted and tweaked to be in alignment with the cultural sensibilities of the Japanese. I know little to nothing about Japanese habits and customs when it comes to TDLR, so there's that. Maybe FP+ would be of no benefit to TDLR guests and therefore not worth the investment for OLC. If so, I would find it surprising. "OLC hate spending money on infrastructure - they won't commit to anything unless it is has a high ROI. Replacing cash registers and door locks isn't cheap and they don't have the room inventory to justify the uplift in revenue." I'm inclined to think that this sums up any reluctance to adopt the system more than any other reason.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, Lee is very much in the loop with these things so I assume it's a non-starter, at least in the short term. I can see merit in both SD and Hans' arguments though, in the sense that if it were 'Disney Magic' enough, I could see guests going for it, but it would have to be far enough from the mundane Suica payment system to be of interest, and also in a sense kind of the opposite of the Florida "the overnight guest is king" notion, in that if it were to provide big advantages to the AP holders then I think it might work (then again, you could just make readers out of the AP passes and there would be no need for any extra bands or whatever). I tend to imagine what SD said is true though, what works in Orlando is quite different from what works in Tokyo, sometimes in glaring contrast (if you're looking for more similar comparisons, think Anaheim at least, WDW is a beast unto itself in many ways).
Originally Posted By TDLFAN The official ad for Meeting Oswald on the TDR website can be seen here.. but need to scroll down that page to see it. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/fantasy/event/springvoyage2014/enjoy.html">http://www.tokyodisneyresort.j...joy.html</a> The meeting spot is in Cape Cod behind the Cook-off restaurant where the Duffy show is played.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Very neat! Will this just be for Easter, or will it possibly become a regular occurrence? I'd love to meet him when we're there in July
