This week’s Disney Dish

Tagline: You’re going to have fun, dammit!

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I’m not asking this to be flippant, or to troll, but because I genuinely don’t know: why else did you think Disney spent $4 billion+ on NextGen - the umbrella name for MDE, magic bands, and all the technology that ties the guest experience together - if it wasn’t to increase effective capacity without construction?

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Just FYI, here is an actual example of the random questions asked in an online survey

Which of the following activities did you do last weekend? Please select all that apply.

Went bungee jumping

Visited McGrath, Alaska

Flew in a helicopter

Visited a flea market

Went skiing

Watched TV

Went Geocaching

Played poker

None of the above

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Yup. MDE has ALWAYS been about manipulating crowds. That’s why the inflated wait times, the magicbands at first, now Magic Mobile.
They’re always watching what you’re riding, what stores you visit, whether you buy anything. How much they can increase food and merch prices before people stop buying them.
It’s all data mining for the purpose of steering you where they want you to go.

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@len writes about the “Seven Ways” in the Touring Plans Blog

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Sorry I got that backwards. It has standby pass but no premier. I got that intel from you but just flipped it.

It’s complicated enough to induce analysis paralysis.
I think families will find themselves overwhelmed by the choices - and the dollars attached - and just :hourglass_flowing_sand: staring at phones and maps, unable to determine if they should spend or wait for one attraction or maybe just look for some other attraction and spend the money or time there…

There will be yelling.

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Oh no worries. I do think that Premier/Paid access only and no standby is a worst case scenario. I was actually wondering if you knew something I didn’t because if Crush was Premier that might be one of the ones I would likely buy since we’d only need to buy 2 passes!

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Yup, and I just think about the people that are willing to buy a Dining Plan up-front just to be able to figure it into their travel budget and have it covered. This is the big appeal of the DP, knowing your costs before you go. But it is impossible to know these types of costs beforehand. How do you budget a trip? The prices for the premier access seem to be dictated by demand, so will you even know until you get there? I think people are more willing to pay a bigger cost upfront for a pass that gets you front of the line access the duration of the trip, if it means avoiding paying it all piecemeal later. That is the entire appeal of the DP, which has proven to be so profitable for Disney. Why the different approach for rides and attractions?

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I commented on the blog, but I’m actually a little apprehensive about how this will impact DAS.

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I think this is a worthy aim and I’m all for it most of the time. The few situations where it is icky for me is things like getting a bundled FP for Philharmagic or something that never needs a FP - the only reason they issue it is to disperse crowds.

The Genie will be like that as well - for example, maybe it would be in your best interest to go to Space Mountain, but Genie will tell you to go to It’s a Small World because it needs to spread out crowds.

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I’m sure they will offer packages??? Maybe??

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Definitely.
How many times will I want to jump the queue at the park?
Not sure.
How many times do I want to stand in the park, hot and tired, “discussing” with my spouse whether we want to spend an extra $50 for this specific ride, while my kids scream they’re bored of indecision and will die if they don’t ride?
Yeah. That’s a big freaking zero.
Trip of a lifetime, I can’t afford anyway. Take my money.
Serenity and Dole Whip Now.

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I’d listened to it on the podcast, and seeing it written out helps, but holy cow - what an absolute mess if they do all 7.

Len tweeted a link to a series of Medium posts about Disney and crowd management, and since the ticket books were before my time, it was interesting to read about them and specifically how they managed expectations (10 rides is a full day, with a mix of headliners and smaller attractions). None of the current proposed changes do anything to address this side of line management.

ETA: Len’s tweet, which you can follow link to multi part series
https://twitter.com/lentesta/status/1424478556277542912?s=21

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( I have this plush next to a unicorn and a bird with goggles on a printer on my desk just high enough to be seen over DH’s shoulders during Zoom calls. He’s gets so much crap for it and I think it’s hysterical that high level execs keep telling him they know working from home can be such a zoo! :rofl::rofl:)

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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I’m linking the medium article here so I can click it on my work computer (can’t access Twitter):

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Good call, thanks!

Header at top of article has links to parts 1-3.

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My work at home set up has my back to our turtle’s 60 gallon tank, so I have a live screensaver behind me at all times. I will be in the middle of a meeting and all of a sudden someone will exclaim…“I See the Turtle! I See the Turtle!!” :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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