Tuesday, November 25, 2008
What will the weather be like?
A common question people have is "What is the weather like when I'll be at Disney World?" If you are close to your trip you can get 15 day forcasts from Accuweather.com or a 10 day forcast from The Weather Channel. However, if your trip is months away what do you do? My solution is to go to WeatherUnderground.com and look at their historical weather section. For instance, if you want to see historical high/lows, rainfall, wind for May go here. You can change the month or view by week/day. This is the most useful tool that I have found for planning long range. As they say in the stock market, "Past performance is not an indicator of future performance." However, with weather you can get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you know the highs/lows and averages.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Waiting in line is part of the fun, if you are a psychologist
I minored in psychology in grad school and the question "why do people do what they do" has always fascinated me. When I was a kid I would do psychological experiments on my siblings to see how far I could push them before they either beat me up or told on me. OK, maybe calling those psychological experiments is taking it a bit far, but you get the idea.
I came across this interesting article about Queuing Psychology. It shouldn't surprise anybody that there are people who study the psychology behind waiting in lines given that we wait in lines virtually every day. It makes three main points about what helps people accept waiting in lines.
Eliminating empty time is the first concept. You see this done very well, especially on the newer attractions, all over Disney. It's basically giving people something to do while they are in line. One of the examples used is the interactive group games in the Soarin' queue. Our kids actually wanted to stay in line longer so they could play the game! Another example is Expedition Everest. I actually wanted the line to go a little slower so I could spend more time reading.
The second tenant is fair play. This includes "first come, first served" but also includes the balance of greater service demands greater wait. Basically that's the idea behind "express checkout lines" for people purchasing 20 or less items or paying cash. One of the interesting points made about "first come, first served" is the move away from multiple lines when checking out to a single serpentine line where the next person always get served next. This removes the guessing game of which line will move faster. Of course, that removes the quasi-secret of always choosing the left most line at Disney.
Finally is information. Basically, people are less anxious in line if they have some idea of how long their wait will be. This is the logic behind Disney posting wait times. If the wait is less than the posted wait time you feel happy about your wait time, even if it was long. Of course the opposite is true, too. We once waited 1:20 for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad when the sign said 40 minutes. We were really ticked off by that, so this is a 2 edged sword.
Overall, Disney does a great job and is getting better all the time with their preshows. According to the article, they employ 75 industrial engineers who study queuing as part of their jobs. With new technology being deployed to provide more information I think it will get even better.
I came across this interesting article about Queuing Psychology. It shouldn't surprise anybody that there are people who study the psychology behind waiting in lines given that we wait in lines virtually every day. It makes three main points about what helps people accept waiting in lines.
Eliminating empty time is the first concept. You see this done very well, especially on the newer attractions, all over Disney. It's basically giving people something to do while they are in line. One of the examples used is the interactive group games in the Soarin' queue. Our kids actually wanted to stay in line longer so they could play the game! Another example is Expedition Everest. I actually wanted the line to go a little slower so I could spend more time reading.
The second tenant is fair play. This includes "first come, first served" but also includes the balance of greater service demands greater wait. Basically that's the idea behind "express checkout lines" for people purchasing 20 or less items or paying cash. One of the interesting points made about "first come, first served" is the move away from multiple lines when checking out to a single serpentine line where the next person always get served next. This removes the guessing game of which line will move faster. Of course, that removes the quasi-secret of always choosing the left most line at Disney.
Finally is information. Basically, people are less anxious in line if they have some idea of how long their wait will be. This is the logic behind Disney posting wait times. If the wait is less than the posted wait time you feel happy about your wait time, even if it was long. Of course the opposite is true, too. We once waited 1:20 for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad when the sign said 40 minutes. We were really ticked off by that, so this is a 2 edged sword.
Overall, Disney does a great job and is getting better all the time with their preshows. According to the article, they employ 75 industrial engineers who study queuing as part of their jobs. With new technology being deployed to provide more information I think it will get even better.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Disney real-time infomation on your cell phone
A while back I posted about the fact that Universal Studios gave their guests the ability to check wait times on their cell phones via web browsing. Well, Disney has come through with something similar. I haven't been able to find out a lot of details about the service, but it looks like it's mainly for Verizon customers. Also, parts of the service may only be available with certain packages. From what I've read, anybody with any cell service will be able to access some features.
Here's the full news story:
Here's the full news story:
Marking a first in both the travel and mobile industries, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Verizon are teaming up for a multi-year relationship designed to enhance the guest experience – before, during and after guests arrive at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. This alignment allows guests to have a personal tour guide right in their wireless phones along with reliable new services at the parks. Early next year guests will also use Verizon Wireless’ technology when experiencing Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, an ultra-interactive attraction coming to Epcot in Walt Disney World Resort.“With more than 90 percent of families bringing a mobile phone into our Parks, our objective was to enhance the magical Disney experience through innovative wireless technology,” said Jay Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Imagine receiving up to the minute tips on special Park activities with just the touch of a button or receiving a call from Buzz Lightyear welcoming you to the Magic Kingdom.”
Source: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
· View Multimedia Gallery Beginning next year, guests will be able to access an array of features on their Verizon Wireless phones while at the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort to help them make the most of their Disney experiences. Planned services include an exclusive mobile application that will give guests with Verizon Wireless service the ability to easily locate shows, restaurants and the Disney characters anywhere inside the Parks; get real-time attraction availability information; access mobile games; receive messages from characters and more. Verizon Wireless is also continuing to invest in its wireless network from coast to coast, and the relationship with Disney means the wireless users will benefit from further enhancements to the Verizon Wireless network in the Parks.
John Harrobin, senior vice president of digital media and marketing for Verizon, said, “All of our efforts focus on one goal: making the Disney experience even better for our customers. There are few life experiences that are more memorable than visiting a Disney Park, and now guests with Verizon Wireless service will unlock even more magic from their visit – by navigating the Parks easier and faster with instant access to key information such as ‘Where’s Mickey now?’ and other special features – even when they travel home and share their experiences with family and friends.”
In addition, guests visiting Epcot in Walt Disney World Resort in early 2009 will be among the first to experience Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. An ultra-interactive attraction, Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure invites guests of all ages to team up with members of Team Possible to save the world from various comical villains and their mad inventions. Armed with an official Verizon Wireless “Kimmunicator,” guests will use these handheld devices to help maneuver through the mission. The interactive wireless theme park game was inspired by Disney Channel’s Emmy® Award-winning animated series, “Kim Possible.”
While Verizon Wireless customers will have exclusive access to an array of enhanced features, Disney and Verizon are also working to ensure that some mobile information such as dining locations, show times and locations will be available to all Parks visitors, regardless of their wireless company.
Additional details will be available next year as the companies expect to add a suite of services and functionalities to help guests at Disney Parks have the most magical experience. For more information about Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, visit www.disney.com. For more information about Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.
Disney Parks and Resorts – Taking Guests to New Frontiers
The agreement between Disney and Verizon is another step in a series of new initiatives that highlight the latest technologies from Disney Parks and Resorts with a continued focus on improving guest experience and providing immersive entertainment. Disney Parks and Resorts continue to exemplify how technologies can be used to build new connections and redefine how guests plan and enjoy their vacations. From the time guests begin planning their vacation using Walt Disney World Resort in 3D on Google Earth or tuning into Disney Travel on Demand, the experience is designed to make their lives easier. Guests can take their vacation experience to a new level with Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, an interactive wireless theme park game for families, and by personalizing and sharing their Disney experiences when they return home, using DisneyLink, a desktop application.
What happens if you get sick at Disney?
Last year we planned a family trip that included my parents. The first day at the parks, my mom started feeling poorly. She was having shortness of breath and seemed to have symptoms of low blood pressure. Eventually, she decided she should go to the first aid station just to make sure it wasn't something serious (like a heart attack or something).
The cast members at the first aid station were not able to do much more than check her blood pressure and do an EKG, but they recommended that she go to the hospital to have things checked out.
It was a pretty scary start to our vacation to say the least. However, I was so impressed with Disney's response. Not only did they pay for her ambulance ride to the hospital, they added a day back onto my parent's tickets so they wouldn't lose a day of admission. They did this even though it was early afternoon before they went to the first aid station. That was exceeding expectation, which I realize is something Disney always strives to do.
Everything turned out ok and my mom was fine, although they decided to go home right after she got out of the hospital rather than finish their trip. It was sad that they weren't able to enjoy more time with their grandkids, but Disney's simple gestures really helped ease the pain some.
The cast members at the first aid station were not able to do much more than check her blood pressure and do an EKG, but they recommended that she go to the hospital to have things checked out.
It was a pretty scary start to our vacation to say the least. However, I was so impressed with Disney's response. Not only did they pay for her ambulance ride to the hospital, they added a day back onto my parent's tickets so they wouldn't lose a day of admission. They did this even though it was early afternoon before they went to the first aid station. That was exceeding expectation, which I realize is something Disney always strives to do.
Everything turned out ok and my mom was fine, although they decided to go home right after she got out of the hospital rather than finish their trip. It was sad that they weren't able to enjoy more time with their grandkids, but Disney's simple gestures really helped ease the pain some.
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