Universal Orlando Resort Expansion (Part 1)

[Frank Drackman]

The article reminds me of a pre Magic band time (I know Disney was well into the project by then) when someone talked of Cindy’s Castel having these folks watching guest, dispatching entertainment as lines grew in specific areas of the park.

Did you even read the article? It specifically talks about how the Magic bands don't track you all day.

And this is monumentally different than wearing a band that you have to choose to wear and activate. This is going to track you through the entire park and record everything you do. Even if you opt out, it's still going to record that random guest123438u734y went to the bathroom 4 times today.

Like I said, I personally don't care. If this leads to Spiderman sending me a free express pass for my next visit, sign me up.

The thing I do not get is that an APP in a cell phone can track someone fairly well, I think the privacy issue in this country is long gone (in the name of ‘free’). Store cards folks use to get discounts...it goes on and on. I would guess a place like Walmart picks up a library of Congress’s worth of data in a day.

Someone once told me some things about WD after MB’s came out...I was shocked at how little they knew or understood. The sad thing to me is that they ran out and had to build it themselves. To me, it also looked like they had missteps along the way...I recall them needing to change Fl law that requires policies on the back of ticket mediums....recording info on kids...

This sound like Comcast doing things it should know enough about (or willing to learn from). I would think some patterns, like an AP or an AP family having an APP on, I would think that would help skynet screen some faces faster.

I recall once wondering how Disney always seemed to be able to find a child that a parent took (from another...). The next time I was up there, I realized the cameras that read the license plates for every vehicle that enters the World.

 

[shiekra38]

I think the only real solution is to implant us with Universal chips

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I think the only real solution is to implant us with Universal chips

@JungleSkip made the joke first, pal.

 

[shiekra38]

@JungleSkip made the joke first, pal.

Yes, and he convinced me

 

[tielo]

I don't think this is comparable to a security system. A security system is scanning everybody's face and comparing it to a couple of thousand faces in a database to see who matches. This system is talking about scanning 50 thousand people a day (With large surges in crowds in the morning) and expecting every face to have a match in it's database of 10 million+ people.

Eocortex, just one player in this market, does 10M. It should be upscaled but there are some nice technical tricks I could think of like putting a matrix over the park to limit database stress. Use the entrance area, divided in different virtual squares, to scan the entering guests and checking them in the database. In the background accumulate a subdivision of guests who actually entered the park. Some people will get into the park (it's about 95% accurate) but can be filtered out later in the park, recognised by the system or alert a team member to sell them a ticket or remove them from the park.

 

[GAcoaster]

As it is I would guess that anyone carrying a phone or a credit card probably can be tracked very easily by anyone anytime with the right equipment.

 

[Mad Dog]

I just got back from Shanghai Disneyland and they actually take photos of you without you knowing at the turnstile. I didn't see it until I used the 2nd day of my ticket, which I'm sure they implemented to deter ticket reselling, but I was surprised to see such a shitty picture from a bad angle. I was like when the hell did I take that?

Off topic, but....what were your impressions of the park?

 

[Cheezbat]

I think the only real solution is to implant us with Universal chips

And that would be the end of my pass lol

 

[JoeCamel]

And that would be the end of my pass lol

Right - you wouldn't need it :bolt:

 

[epcyclopedia]

MagicBands track people all day and WDW is still kicking.

Magic Bands don't track you. There are a few beacon type spots for photo linking and showing your name on a screen - but even things like your FP choices aren't studied in any sort of data set (like "this demographic chooses Soarin, Space, and Kali...")

There's not some grid of beacons tracking people or bands.

You have to opt in, not opt out, to even be studied/recorded. All their ticketing info, room ressies, etc.. don't share data.

And then that data they have recorded is generally not used. "One day we'll use it..."

It's painfully stupid - they know someone bought a ticket. So they know how many of each type of ticket they sold. They sort of know how many of each ticket type is in the park on a given day - but it's an opt-in and compared to park population a stupidly small number that is collected.

But you'd think cuz it's on your magic band they'd know where you're from, when you bought the ticket, etc... nope. That it's from a resort guest? Nope. That you have FP in 30mins and just barely made it to the park? Nope.

If Disney wants to know how different demographics like a ride/show they have to ask them - and then classify it by whatever info the survey taker self reports. Out can lie all day and say you only ride Figment and spent 8 million dollars on sunglasses. If you self report it, that's all they know.

Every time a repeat guest declines to fill out a survey it's essentially like they didn't visit the park. There is no data that you are you and a repeat visitor with opinions and stuff. There is that data point from 5 years ago that said it didn't like XYZ, but if you show up again and still don't like XYZ formally via a survey there's no data point and your opinion doesn't exist or matter.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Magic Bands don't track you. There are a few beacon type spots for photo linking and showing your name on a screen - but even things like your FP choices aren't studied in any sort of data set (like "this demographic chooses Soarin, Space, and Kali...")

There's not some grid of beacons tracking people or bands.

You have to opt in, not opt out, to even be studied/recorded. All their ticketing info, room ressies, etc.. don't share data.

And then that data they have recorded is generally not used. "One day we'll use it..."

It's painfully stupid - they know someone bought a ticket. So they know how many of each type of ticket they sold. They sort of know how many of each ticket type is in the park on a given day - but it's an opt-in and compared to park population a stupidly small number that is collected.

But you'd think cuz it's on your magic band they'd know where you're from, when you bought the ticket, etc... nope. That it's from a resort guest? Nope. That you have FP in 30mins and just barely made it to the park? Nope.

If Disney wants to know how different demographics like a ride/show they have to ask them - and then classify it by whatever info the survey taker self reports. Out can lie all day and say you only ride Figment and spent 8 million dollars on sunglasses. If you self report it, that's all they know.

Every time a repeat guest declines to fill out a survey it's essentially like they didn't visit the park. There is no data that you are you and a repeat visitor with opinions and stuff. There is that data point from 5 years ago that said it didn't like XYZ, but if you show up again and still don't like XYZ formally via a survey there's no data point and your opinion doesn't exist or matter.

In a lot of ways, this is part of my problem with Disney (I see the way they are run and it scares me a bit). Some of these things impact guest...kind of like them building an area for Zebras, putting Zebras on exhibit...just to realize they do not like the way Zebras behave.

All the stuff I had read while MB's were being developed....my last trip to Disney was when they first started using a PIN on the hotel key with the new pos system....I am just shocked that Disney went out and built all this 'stuff' on their own (even though there is better stuff out there already)....it really seemed they were getting on the 'big data' buzz word bandwagon....later, I would learn that Disney knows nothing about Business Intelligents or something as they have no clue on how data would help them....they seemed to be building the means to collect data to learn from, but thier focus seemed to be elsewhere...not sure how to explain it, but they just seem to assume everyone comes to Orlando just to go to Disney.

I never understood (if that were the case) how the airport can report double digit visitor growth while Disney maybe had 2% growth in attendance......some stuff I heard made it sound like Disney had no clue that hotels near them offer deals for people visiting the Wizarding World....just seemed silly to me that Disney had no clue that they have other companies in town that draw people to Orlando...they seemed to think 'if the Hilton is at 100%, it will be busy this week at the MK'....but they would not know that the Hilton was running a 'free breakfast' package somewhere that HP folks were searching that month and 25% of the guest whee using the Mears bus that went to UoR instead of the one that went to WDW...none of this is how I heard the stuff I heard back then, but I am just trying to word it in ways that might express what I am trying to say. But the main thing it did for me was cause me to lose a lot of respect for Disney as a company.....or at least how it is run in today's world.

I just could not imagine they would spend so much on data at a time when they seemed to know so little about what data even means (but it is a buzz word, so we must need it).

 

[AlexanderMBush]

From Paul Brinkmann...

 

[epcyclopedia]

But why..?

 

[AlexanderMBush]

But why..?

I'd look at something in particular, it looks like that Golfing, Timeshares, and commercial use will be prevalent in what Universal does.

 

[Disneyhead]

But why..?

Construction workers don't walk to work.

And it begins...

 

[Legacy]

This shows SO MUCH about Site B.

This really looks like what they wanted to do with the original Turkey Lake Road plans.

 

[epcyclopedia]

I'm still confused since I ran out of free article views for Orlando Sentinel.

Which parcel exactly is the parking..?

And I can see the whole resorts and attraction thing.. ok...

Why does it have student housing? What's that about?

 

[zg44]

The old zoning is based on Vivendi's old plans (Stan Thomas hasn't really done much other than sell a few parcels for development and lose a lot of the land through bankruptcy).

Comcast's plans are parks and hotels; that's where the money is. Don't put too much stock in the current zoning; Comcast can change that if needed (on the smaller parcels).

But this is the beginning of long-term construction for sure.

 

[epcyclopedia]

The old zoning is based on Vivendi's old plans (Stan Thomas hasn't really done much other than sell a few parcels for development and lose a lot of the land through bankruptcy).

Comcast's plans are parks and hotels; that's where the money is.

But this is the beginning of long-term construction for sure.

Or maybe it really is a desperately needed parking lot...? They are running out of space for peak periods.

 

[fryoj]

Better to put construction trailers on pavement than dirt.