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Toocherie
12-05-2007, 03:11 PM
A thread in another section made me remember something that I wanted to bring up and see if everyone was aware of: when my Mom upgraded from her parkhopper to an annual pass, the CM who was processing the upgrade was very funny . .. . and one of the things he did while we talked to him was tell us everywhere she had been with her parkhopper, including the exact time she went through gates and who the CM was who was working at the turnstiles she went through! So, apparently Disney can keep really tight tabs on everyone, and I assume this is especially true with annual passes. I assume they can keep track of fastpasses and everything, including discounts used, etc.

Are the regulars on these boards aware of this? I don't know why I was surprised by this--but was! So, apparently Disney knows how many times you've used your passes and where you have been, where you frequent, etc.

Burnt Toast
12-05-2007, 03:15 PM
A thread in another section made me remember something that I wanted to bring up and see if everyone was aware of: when my Mom upgraded from her parkhopper to an annual pass, the CM who was processing the upgrade was very funny . .. . and one of the things he did while we talked to him was tell us everywhere she had been with her parkhopper, including the exact time she went through gates and who the CM was who was working at the turnstiles she went through! So, apparently Disney can keep really tight tabs on everyone, and I assume this is especially true with annual passes. I assume they can keep track of fastpasses and everything, including discounts used, etc.

Are the regulars on these boards aware of this? I don't know why I was surprised by this--but was! So, apparently Disney knows how many times you've used your passes and where you have been, where you frequent, etc.

OH NOES!!111!!?!?11!one!

Niwel
12-05-2007, 03:17 PM
Maybe THAT's why I can't seem to win a Dream prize ... they always know where I am so they intentionally avoid giving anything out on Main Street first thing in the morning. hmmmmmm.....

coronado_g
12-05-2007, 03:22 PM
I would wish I could have a print-out of all my activities in the park during a visit....then I could keep as a souvenir!
As for Disney keeping tabs of my AP activities - it doesn't bother me one bit. I can think of lots of excellent reasons for keeping tabs on AP activity. It's all for better security, you know.

Toocherie
12-05-2007, 03:54 PM
As for Disney keeping tabs of my AP activities - it doesn't bother me one bit. I can think of lots of excellent reasons for keeping tabs on AP activity. It's all for better security, you know.

For the record--it doesn't bother me either--I just thought it was interesting and something that I hadn't thought about.

Bytebear
12-05-2007, 05:00 PM
It is kinda like those savings cards at the grocery store. I can see some guy in front of a computer in some office building, and suddenly his computer flashes: Warning: Customer 154356 is buying broccoli instead of carrots. Code red!

CV12Pirate
12-05-2007, 05:06 PM
Warning: Customer 154356 is buying broccoli instead of carrots. Code red!

Don't do that... Rootbeer through the nose hurts!

darph nader
12-05-2007, 05:47 PM
Don't do that... Rootbeer through the nose hurts!

Beer doe's NOT do a keyboard any good either.

potzbie
12-05-2007, 07:00 PM
If I were a business, then I would "market" the once-or-twice-a-year "customer" differently from the steady weekly/monthly "customer."

Why wouldn't Disney likewise know who they can count on to respond to their advertising for special events?

Example: I bet the Annual Passholder preview of the submarine (NEMO) ride was NOT sent to 100% of all Annual Passholders throughout the United States.
I bet I got one because Disney knows I'm at DL with high regularity.

K & S
12-05-2007, 07:51 PM
A thread in another section made me remember something that I wanted to bring up and see if everyone was aware of: when my Mom upgraded from her parkhopper to an annual pass, the CM who was processing the upgrade was very funny . .. . and one of the things he did while we talked to him was tell us everywhere she had been with her parkhopper, including the exact time she went through gates and who the CM was who was working at the turnstiles she went through! So, apparently Disney can keep really tight tabs on everyone, and I assume this is especially true with annual passes. I assume they can keep track of fastpasses and everything, including discounts used, etc.

Are the regulars on these boards aware of this? I don't know why I was surprised by this--but was! So, apparently Disney knows how many times you've used your passes and where you have been, where you frequent, etc.

I was aware.

A couple of years ago I called the AP office with a question and a somewhat ill-tempered CM said as often as I go to DL I shouldn't be complaining about the 26% price increase.

Tinker Bell
12-05-2007, 08:46 PM
If I were a business, then I would "market" the once-or-twice-a-year "customer" differently from the steady weekly/monthly "customer."

Why wouldn't Disney likewise know who they can count on to respond to their advertising for special events?

Example: I bet the Annual Passholder preview of the submarine (NEMO) ride was NOT sent to 100% of all Annual Passholders throughout the United States.
I bet I got one because Disney knows I'm at DL with high regularity.

I hope that is not true cause I go once a week and did not get the nemo tix. :(

olegc
12-05-2007, 11:11 PM
If I were a business, then I would "market" the once-or-twice-a-year "customer" differently from the steady weekly/monthly "customer."

Why wouldn't Disney likewise know who they can count on to respond to their advertising for special events?

Example: I bet the Annual Passholder preview of the submarine (NEMO) ride was NOT sent to 100% of all Annual Passholders throughout the United States.
I bet I got one because Disney knows I'm at DL with high regularity.

Yeah - I knew they did somethig like this.. How else do they know you already entered DLR when you go to DCA to ride Soarin..

Well, I am at DL a lot and I DID NOT get one.

Maybe it was, as they said, random (at least somewhat).

they know where you are with your park hopper because it all ties in with the fastpass system. Any time you scan the barcode - they know where you are.

Oh yeah, and this is the same with credit cards, and other things you can scan/swipe (not at DLR but anywhere). if you don't want to be followed -use cash and don't use fastpass...

then again - who can do that these days...

RStar
12-06-2007, 05:45 AM
I would be surprised that the information would be so easily retrieved by a CM
at the AP Processing Center. I think this CM may know something most others don't. I rarely use FastPass anyway, so they know when I arrive, and which park I'm at, and that's about it.

I suppose that the same could be said about the PhotoPass. If they connected it with the AP then they would have that much more info about one's activities.

But does that bother me? Not really, I don't have anything to hide. I'm also aware that I'm being filmed half the time I'm outside of my home. Should it bother me, probably.

ralfrick
12-06-2007, 07:38 AM
It's all for better security, you know.

Although I'm naturally wary about this type of thing, in this case, not really bugged about it. However, I don't for a second think it has anything to do with security. Now, marketing.....

Cheers.

Bolivar
12-06-2007, 08:15 AM
Yet if you lose your ticket and have a receipt and a copy of said ticket, customer service tells you there is nothing they can do, that their computer system isn't sophisticated enough to track that ticket and disable it so they can issue you a new one. Which is not just what I was told by one CM, but I returned multiple times to see if my ticket was turned in and I was told the same thing by different CMs and overheard many other people being told the same thing.

I don't know why they won't cancel and reissue a ticket: reselling tickets is a profit center, preventing fraud (what if I really sold that ticket to someone), some other reason -- whatever the reason is, I do not believe what they are telling me for a second. That is what really bothers me about it. Not that they won't replace my ticket, but that they lie about why. I would rather be given no reason than one that is so obviously not true.

SJF510
12-06-2007, 08:18 AM
I know they can track when individual tickets are swiped too. My cousin was a last minute substitute for our team at the October MA. Given how much she enjoyed it and that we wanted to her to be on the team again, we wanted to upgrade her to an AP. Of course we figured this out the next day. When my parents upgraded in March/April, they were told that they had a month to upgrade. I didn't realize they could do that only because of the annual spring promotion. We ended up going down the next weekend to upgrade my cousin and they gave us some grief about doing it, since we were supposed to do it the day the ticket was used. I begged a little bit and they said the would do it, but they wanted to know when and where we had used the ticket to enter the park. They checked our answer against the ticket and processed the annual pass. I thought it was a good check against people trying to use a used ticket that wasn't their own.

TTFN92
12-06-2007, 09:00 AM
Yet if you lose your ticket and have a receipt and a copy of said ticket, customer service tells you there is nothing they can do, that their computer system isn't sophisticated enough to track that ticket and disable it so they can issue you a new one. Which is not just what I was told by one CM, but I returned multiple times to see if my ticket was turned in and I was told the same thing by different CMs and overheard many other people being told the same thing.

I don't know why they won't cancel and reissue a ticket: reselling tickets is a profit center, preventing fraud (what if I really sold that ticket to someone), some other reason -- whatever the reason is, I do not believe what they are telling me for a second. That is what really bothers me about it. Not that they won't replace my ticket, but that they lie about why. I would rather be given no reason than one that is so obviously not true.

That is interesting that they can't do that because they can at WDW. DH left mine in a FP machine somewhere and we just went to the Customer Relations dept. in the park and they cancelled the other one and gave me a new temporary one. I had to go to my hotel to get the real one.

vfire
12-06-2007, 09:36 AM
This tracking practice has little, if anything, to do with security; it's about marketing.

Bolivar
12-06-2007, 10:05 AM
That is interesting that they can't do that because they can at WDW. DH left mine in a FP machine somewhere and we just went to the Customer Relations dept. in the park and they cancelled the other one and gave me a new temporary one. I had to go to my hotel to get the real one.

Well, my whole complaint is that they *say* they can't while I think they really can. I think the issue is one of policy, which is fine if that is the policy they want to set, but then be honest about it and say it is because of policy and don't say you can't do it. Well the CM can say he can't do it because of policy, but they shouldn't be saying that the system isn't capable of doing it.

pixar
12-06-2007, 11:18 AM
If I were a business, then I would "market" the once-or-twice-a-year "customer" differently from the steady weekly/monthly "customer."

Why wouldn't Disney likewise know who they can count on to respond to their advertising for special events?

Example: I bet the Annual Passholder preview of the submarine (NEMO) ride was NOT sent to 100% of all Annual Passholders throughout the United States.
I bet I got one because Disney knows I'm at DL with high regularity.

assuming it wasn't random, I would think they would send it to passholders who don't go often. they figure you're there anyway, they might as well go for the people who wouldn't go otherwise.

Another Dimension
12-06-2007, 11:46 AM
I was aware.

A couple of years ago I called the AP office with a question and a somewhat ill-tempered CM said as often as I go to DL I shouldn't be complaining about the 26% price increase.

Ouch.


I am hoping "Mickey" has shown "Grumpy" the door by now...

charpaul
12-06-2007, 01:13 PM
MY tracking surprise occurred a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my NAME and PassHolder ID Number now appear on my parking pass for the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure. I had not noticed that before. I THINK that this is something new in the last month or so.

I have always just tossed it on the dash and left it in the car....
Not any more!!

Bytebear
12-06-2007, 01:18 PM
MY tracking surprise occurred a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my NAME and PassHolder ID Number now appear on my parking pass for the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure. I had not noticed that before. I THINK that this is something new in the last month or so.

I have always just tossed it on the dash and left it in the car....
Not any more!!

I noticed that too. They used to just hand you a pass, but now they take your AP and scan it. I think it was because people were getting multiple parking passes on the same day for their friends, and now they say if you don't have your original parking pass you have to pay, so if you leave the structure, keep your pass!

cstephens
12-06-2007, 01:41 PM
They don't actually keep track of as much as I'd think they would. They've finally started scanning APs at the parking structure, but they still don't scan APs when you buy something and use the discount, be it merchandise or food. They know that someone with an AP bought something, but they don't know which AP.

As far as Fastpasses, I don't know if it recognizes what kind of media (day ticket, multi-day ticket, AP of some sort, CM) is being used for those. To do better tracking, it should.

There are days where for various reasons, we're in and out of both parks all day, or we're in one or the other park for just a few minutes before heading over to the other ones. I figure those are fun for them to read.



To go along with the thread title, though, I think a "Big Brother" version of Disney would be fun!

janell
12-06-2007, 02:57 PM
MY tracking surprise occurred a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my NAME and PassHolder ID Number now appear on my parking pass for the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure. I had not noticed that before. I THINK that this is something new in the last month or so.

I have always just tossed it on the dash and left it in the car....
Not any more!!

I just noticed that. I have one from a few weeks ago. Wow, my name and number is on this. Its so small I missed it till you said something. I just toss mine too. Not any more.