Disney, SeaWorld experiment with preordering food via mobile apps

That isn't what you said. You're making statements about Disney's expectations that are totally off base.

Well, I doubt they'd offer additional opportunities for guests to pre-plan things if they didn't expect them to use them.

It's not really even speculation. I'm merely commenting on what is happening.

You use language like Bill Clinton sometimes. Of course they would like to offer the opportunity, but they offer all kinds of opportunities, ranging from VIP tours to free Mickey stickers. That's not the same as expecting people to use them. Even in earnings calls, they've said they can't really measure what impact this has on the bottom line, but they can measure guest satisfaction. It might be a little inside baseball, but I can tell you with a high degree of confidence that they're fishing for the sweet spot that allows them to manage capacity and convenience, and most of that effort is focused on Magic Kingdom. The experiment at Be Our Guest is neat and all, but the fact is that the counter service in most of the multi-entree locations is so high capacity that you don't need to "call ahead." They've offered FP+ for fireworks, and people will use it, but as they open up the hub with something like 400% of the space they had, it isn't necessary. This is just another tool in the overall effort to manage capacity. It just happens to be good for other important things too, like room keys and folio accounts.

I think the issue in these discussions is that you perceive the tech and the system to be some be-all, end-all that will schedule everything for everyone, and that just isn't what they're going for.

First, I wasn't trying to be angry. Sorry if I conveyed that. One has to think about Disney and how the old Fastpass system worked, particularly in how many passes were available at any given time block. Now take into account that you now allow these reservations to happen three months out from the trip AND think about the number of people coming and going every day to and from Disney. They have to open considerably more passes per time block to accommodate the number of people trying to reserve rides in any one park on any one day. I know it's sort of a random crapshoot as to what you get and when you get it. It's no wonder they don't allow you to park hop on that system. I would think it would be a logistical nightmare to try and let everyone pick rides in multiple parks. Now two things happen with this system. 1. While they may be aiming it at Joe Sixpack, A significantly larger number of people will try or use the advance reservation system. 2. The standby lines will swell with slower than normal movement, because there can be at any time a greater influx of advanced reservation fastpass users. Now how does all this relate to the topic, What they are doing with the rides, it seems they want to do with the food. I just think they're taking it a bit too far.

My girlfriend spent four weeks, six months prior to our last trip lining up and juggling dining reservations. She had to "Be a pest" to get into Be Our Guest. Now here we are talking about fastpass for food. I think it's a bit over the top. I'm surprised Six Flags didn't think of this first and find a way to charger for it.

I think that your assumption that FP+ requires a higher mix of FP to standby is incorrect. If that were the case, standby lines would have gotten longer after the switch. If they did, I haven't noticed.

Jeff and Lord Gonchar, Think about this for a moment. Disney may be getting everyone use to the concept reserving or itinerizing through "opportunities". Then they could in theory steer guests into less than or more than favorable accommodations based on the price one pays for their vacation. Someone staying in the deluxe resorts versus the value resorts could be steered toward more favorable levels of service. They already know who you are, where you are staying, how long you are staying, what you paid, and so on. We've seen this already with online shopping and booking sites. You can get a better price for something depending on where you are ordering from and even what device you are using to make your order. That's not a joke, that actually happens.

Now you're seeing black helicopters, and underestimating the value of their premium experiences. The core experience is already pretty good, and everyone is on the same standing for that. If you want better, you pay for it, you don't get it just because. That's why they have so many VIP tours and food events. It's not happening with Disney... they've been very careful about that. The only way you get any leg up is if you're a resort guest, and you can reserve FP's sooner, which in practical terms does not benefit you over the standard 30-day window (save for perhaps the holiday season).

Jeff said:

You use language like Bill Clinton sometimes.

That's probably the greatest compliment I've ever been paid.

The experiment at Be Our Guest is neat and all, but the fact is that the counter service in most of the multi-entree locations is so high capacity that you don't need to "call ahead." They've offered FP+ for fireworks, and people will use it, but as they open up the hub with something like 400% of the space they had, it isn't necessary.

Exactly. People want to do this whether they need it or not. Which is something I've said from the start.

This is just another tool in the overall effort to manage capacity. It just happens to be good for other important things too, like room keys and folio accounts.

I think the issue in these discussions is that you perceive the tech and the system to be some be-all, end-all that will schedule everything for everyone, and that just isn't what they're going for.

Ehhhh...

It might not be what they're going for, but at this rate it's where they're looking to end up.

It's simply offering the guest a better experience. People like these sorts of guarantees, for better or worse. In some cases it's necessary (popular restaraunts and such) and in others it's not (your examples). But none of this changes the fact that people partake and Disney keeps offering more opportunities.

At some point, assuming the continued growing popularity of WDW, the continued addition of pre-booking/pre-planning opportunites and the continued eager adoption of those opportunities leads to guests booking their vacation in advance. It just does.

The motivation, I don't think is important. Whether it's Disney as the technological puppet master pulling the strings and making the guests dance in precisely choreographed routines or just the culmination of several customer service opportunities - it's still pre-booking your vacation. (again to varying degrees, but I think you'll be surprised at how receptive people are to booking as much as possible at any given time)

And, quite frankly, I think the latter scenario ultimate leads to the former, but that's neither here nor there for now.