Electronic bracelets at center of vacation management system at Disney Parks

I phrased that a little awkwardly. It has a lot less to do with park trip planning, but is very relevant and very much a part of the NextGen push from Disney. The changes they want to COPPA seem far-reaching, broad, and excessive, and certainly raise serious privacy concerns as it relates to minors. That's all I'll say on that.

But I'm not sure it has to directly lead to more dollars spent.

Usually you are right on the money (heh) with the economics of things, but there is NO WAY that you spend the equivalent of a Fifth Gate, or a 2,500 passenger cruise ship, without some idea of how the ROI is going to go.

I suspect there are three pieces to it. There will be some direct monetization, but that will be the smallest piece. There should be some cost reductions coming from better understanding the guests and what they do, or at least a better targeting of where expenses go. There should also be a nice spike in guest satisfaction---and that's been alluded to before, but that means more guests come back, they come back earlier, and they tell more of their friends how great it was. Occupancy and restaurant bookings are already pretty solid, but this will help fill the gaps that remain and allow a tidy increase in prices. If it works as well as hoped, and combined with what I expect will be a few more investments in the parks, figure also on an increased focus in gate integrity.

Disneyland did the latter in spades when Cars Land came online, sharply increasing AP prices, and dropping 6-day or longer tickets to help drive up the per-day gate.

What I meant by that line is that it indirectly leads to more dollars spent.

GoBucks89 said:

Maybe just the detail to which they drill down.

(cut for brevity, quoted mostly to clarify what the reply is to and for the sake of continuity)

You're dead on.

I just can't imagine anyone being concerned that Disney knows what they're doing...as it relates to Disney....on Disney's property.

"Oh crap, Disney knows I got in line to touch...err, meet...Cinderella 46 times in a row."

The changes they want to COPPA seem far-reaching, broad, and excessive, and certainly raise serious privacy concerns as it relates to minors.

I read this summary from the National Journal. If it is accurate, I don't see what the big deal is---age-gating seems like a perfectly sound approach.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/techdailydose/2012/09/privacy-...acy-law-25

and Disney is hardly alone in objecting to the current provisions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/technology/silicon-valley-objects...d=all&_r=0

As far as making money, they have said that annual passholders and resort guests will get the bracelets for "free", but that those staying off-site will need to buy in.

I'm sure there will be options, too. Cinderella bracelets that flash when activated for $10. Reserve 5 attractions at a time instead of 3 for $20. Not a billion dollars right there, but the upcharge possibilities are numerous.

Ahh. I didn't think about having to pay for the bracelets. Instant money press.

Funny. I imagine the sales of bracelets as being almost inconsequential in the big picture of the revenue this generates.

Which brings me back to my original question - how will this generate revenue? What about it will cause Joe Consumer to spend more money at Disney than they already do?

It's been explained.

You're looking for A+B=C

No one is going to give you that answer. It's rarely that simple.

So you feel it is not about getting people to spend more money but rather simply to keep them spending money now and in the future?

I can accept that logic but it seems to me that Disney spending 1 billion dollars just to keep me spending money is crazy.

How does "Disney Magic" allow Disney to make more money? The incredible service, attention to detail, top quality, things that make a kids' eyes (as well as those of adults) light up, etc. Its because of them that people are willing to pay a premium for what they view as a premium experience.

Disney believes that this new system (of which the bracelets are only a part) will enhance their guests' experiences (through interactivity, the ability to plan and manage a visit online/with a phone, etc.) and Disney's ability to give their guests what they want (in terms of modifications to existing attractions and plans for new attractions) based on detailed data about what guests do and do not do in the parks. Also allows them to focus their marketing efforts (to make them more effective and less expensive). That makes people more willing to come back, stay longer and spend more money.

Strikes me as interesting that people are expressing concerns about privacy at Disney...on the internet, where companies track our every move, what we buy, what we read, what we think about Disney even.

It's been proven that people tend to spend more when using plastic than when spending cash. I'd suspect these wristbands, by taking one more step away from "real" money, will increase guest spending. Whole lot easier to give into the impulse to buy that cool Cinderella t-shirt when you just wave your hand to pay instead of going to all the "trouble" of pulling out your wallet, pulling out your credit card, giving it to the cashier etc.

Shades said:

I can accept that logic but it seems to me that Disney spending 1 billion dollars just to keep me spending money is crazy.

So you're suggesting it's a potentially bad investment? That we'll see some kind of backlash to the lack of ROI on this money spent? Because you're right, it's a HUGE amount of money. Less-than-good ROI on those kind of dollars should be easy to spot.

With that said...

I don't see it as any different than any business doing some kind of infrastructure upgrade - admittedly on a massive level.

Is it crazy for parks to spend money keeping midways in top shape with new concrete and planters and fountains or to invest in new ticketing technology or things like that?

Same thing. Only bigger...much bigger. This is seriously game-changing stuff.

slithernoggin said:

Strikes me as interesting that people are expressing concerns about privacy at Disney...on the internet, where companies track our every move, what we buy, what we read, what we think about Disney even.

Respectfully, those same people who are concerned probably use spyware deleters, private browsing, pop-up blockers (except for on CoasterBuzz, of course :) ), along with cookie blocking and to defend against such invasion of privacy. They might also choose not to get the shopper card from their favorite store, or choose not to even shop at stores that offer them, along with paying mostly in cash and not connecting an RFID to their windshield for payment of tolls... They might even use a Mac computer, among other things. ;)

Privacy is a pretty popular concern in most every area of our everyday life. Just look at the controversy about Government wire tapping and the CIA database connected to everything from credit card use to library book checkouts.

I'm not saying that all those concerns are legit, or necessary. I'm just saying that they are real concerns.

LK, I'd respectfully disagree. Anyone sufficiently concerned about their privacy on the interwebs to go to those lengths probably wouldn't be interested in using NextGen in the first place.

From what I've read about NextGen here and on other sites, some folks are having a visceral reaction to the idea of Disney having such detailed information about guests at WDW.

I think most people don't realize just how "not private" their lives are. Our internet providers know every detail about our online lives, our cell phone companies know where we are every hour of the day, those that live in urban areas are tracked throughout the day on security cameras, whether private or city owned.

My few complaints about the program are these:

-Only 3 passes a day and you cant use regular Fastpass if you upgrade, I know Im not a normal park goer but Im pretty sure (with the exception of Epcot) that I use somewhere from 5-10 fastpasses a day.

-Its only one park per day, which hurts park hoppers. I better be able to choose my times, because when this system becomes fully intergrated I will likely be using it for my afternoon/evening park and relying the opening low crowd levels to efficiently do one park in the morning.

Lord Gonchar said:
I don't see it as any different than any business doing some kind of infrastructure upgrade - admittedly on a massive level.

Same thing. Only bigger...much bigger. This is seriously game-changing stuff.

I am not saying it is bad by any means. I accept the usual infrastructure upgrades because the dollar amounts are so small. It just blows my mind how much bigger this is. I guess I have been conditioned that 5-10 million for some new pavers is OK but now I have to add a few zeros to that number. That is what my struggle is with.

I tend to focus more on what the long term benefits of the system could mean. So, I'm there with my young kids and the younger one is scared of the characters. The bracelet sends a signal to the character as we walk up, telling the human inside my daughter's name and where we are from. My daughter is a little hesitant so Minnie Mouse says, in a Minnie voice, "Hi Samantha, I heard you were coming all the way from Ohio to visit me. Did you have fun in the airplane?" My daugheter is floored, runs into Minnie's arms and the professional photographer snaps a picture which is immediately put on Facebook for all my friends and family to see, capturing one of the most significant childhood memories my daughter will ever have.

The next day we see Minnie at a character breakfast and now Minnie says, "Samantha, nice to see you again. Did you have fun at the Magic Kingdom yesterday?'

So, now Disney has a couple of parents who are absolutely thrilled with the experience their child had (making it very easy to forget how much just spent for pancakes and eggs) and, more importantly, Disney has a fan for life in little Samantha who will NEVER forget her remarkable visits with Minnie. In fact, she WON'T be able to forget it because every year on the anniversary of our trip Minnie will probably send Samantha an email with a copy of the picture she took with her saying, "I sure miss you and hope you will be coming back soon."

The same people who worry about privacy in this context are probably the same people who post photos of themselves doing navel shots off of hookers on Facebook. OK, maybe not that, but you know what I mean. I don't even care if Disney knows when I hit the crapper. It's just not a privacy concern to me.