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The appended article about Disneyland is absolutely fascinating ESPECIALLY when you consider the analogous technologies and management trends being applied to recreation on America's public lands. As you read this, think "Copper Mountain's Beeline Ski Pass", think "Digital Angel Embedded Wilderness Permits", think "Commercial Grand Canyon River Trips" ... THINK ...
As you read this also think about the June 12, 1986 Congressional Testimony (pasted here) given by the President of the American Recreation Coalition -- the very same folks who brought you fee-demo. This is what Derrick Crandall told Congress:
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The terms user fees and entrance fees carry negative baggage politically and do nothing to garner popular support. Despite claims that there is a philosophic distinction between the two charges with the Congress, the line is by no means drawn (or of significant concern) in the minds of most recreationists. Technically, Disney collects its fee as an entrance fee - a simple fee for a daily pass. yet his is a change; Disney initially sold a ticket book with coupons for specific rides (Class A, Class B, etc.). Disney concluded that the single entry fee was preferable for several reasons:
* guests were able to select those attractions of interest to them and/or where lines were smallest
* guests didn't have to face the need to buy additional tickets during the day, and this feel "nickeled and dimed;" and
* personnel could aid guests rather than collect tickets.
Presently, we a marching toward more and higher fees in out parks and forests. In the face of budget cuts, more and more services will either be abandoned or be made fee-based (sometimes with private parties assuming the role). It is a real possibility that a visitor to a national park in the 1990's will pay an entrance fee, a fee for brochures and maps, a fee for nature walks and campfires chats and charges for campsites and boat launching ramps. We may find, as Disney found, that people would prefer a single, comprehensive charge.
And perhaps people would respond better to a new term which gives a sense that they are contributing to their parks with their payments. Few recreationists describe themselves are "users".
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As you read the following article, reflect upon what you've just read. You're about to discover that things at Disney have changed yet again. And please know that I'm not concerned about Disneyland. I'm seriously concerned about Disneyfied public lands and most especially with those public land managers who've been blinded and brainwashed by the Walt Disney Company and who are faithfully following the Disney model.
Scott
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Enjoy Disney without standing in long lines
By Steve Jermanok, Globe Correspondent, 1/14/2004
ORLANDO, Fla. -- "The parade's in a half-hour," says Pal Mickey, a
cuddly hand-held doll that, you guessed it, has the familiar squeaky
voice of the famous cartoon rodent.
I look at my watch, and it says 2:30 p.m., indeed 30 minutes before the
big shindig at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, where well-known
princesses and animals greet thousands of their fans. "There's lots of
places to see it from. I prefer Main Street," the foot-tall Mickey adds.
Available since May, Pal Mickey is the latest gadget created by Disney
to help inform and accommodate visitors. Following such successful
programs as Fastpass and VIP Tours, Pal Mickey hopes to add to the
pleasure of the Disney experience by engaging 5- to 10-year-olds.
My wife and I were skeptical of this toy, thinking it another marketing
ploy that parents would feel pressured to buy ($50) or rent ($8 daily)
once their kids saw other children in the park playing with him. But
our skepticism faded once we saw that Pal Mickey does help slow down
children who otherwise might be sprinting from ride to ride, dragging
their harried parents along.
Embedded with computer chips triggered by concealed electronic beacons
through the park, Pal Mickey vibrates when he has something to say.
Push his tummy near the Norway pavilion at Epcot, for instance, and he
talks about the history of the Vikings. If he's not vibrating, a push
in the tummy yields a kid-sized joke: "What did Pluto say when he sat
on a piece of sandpaper? Rough, rough."
While kids are focusing on their new tour guide, parents can slip
admission tickets into the free Fastpass machines at the 23 most
popular rides around the parks. Since lines are the biggest concern of
most families visiting theme parks, Fastpass has been a revolutionary
device since its debut in June 1999, helping to significantly cut down
on wait time.
"We were basically told to break the mold and come up with any device
that would help minimize people's dissatisfaction with waiting in
line," says Dale Stafford, vice president of the Global Fastpass
Service. At first, the team of 15 staff members from all areas of
Disney design thought of passing out pagers, but quickly scrapped that
idea. Within three months, they had patented a process whereby a
ticket's bar code could be scanned into a machine, which would churn
out paper receipts that stated what time to return. At attractions
where Fastpass is available, there are two lines: the long regular one,
and the Fastpass one, which lets you walk right up to the ride.
Nonetheless, 30 percent of visitors do not use the machines. "We have
been told by some families that they actually like to wait in lines,"
says Stafford. "It's a way to finally have their children's undivided
attention."
At peak times like spring break, even Fastpass can do little to offset
large crowds. Standing with Stafford in front of the Rock 'n' Roller
Coaster at MGM Studios, I noticed that people using Fastpass were being
given tickets telling them to return for the ride five hours later.
Once you get a return time, the machine also tells you when you can use
Fastpass again to get tickets to another ride; if everyone used
Fastpass all day, they would overwhelm the system. These times can also
be lengthy when the parks are packed.
That's when VIP Services comes into play. If you really want to
de-stress at Disney (a striking concept), you can -- for an additional
$80 an hour for a minimum of five hours. What you get in return is an
escort like John Constantin, who not only knows every nook and cranny
of every Disney World park, but knows which rides to visit at any given
hour that are least likely to have long lines.
Constantin picked up our family of four at our hotel at 8:45 a.m. and
drove us to a back lot at Magic Kingdom. The gates opened, and we were
quickly escorted to Fantasyland. Considering our children's ages, 4 and
6, his first choice was the Dumbo ride, which has no Fastpass yet,
resulting in lines that often reach two hours long by noon. We walked
right up, since the doors had just opened. While we were on Dumbo and
the neighboring "It's a Small World" cruise, Constantin zipped over to
the Fastpass machines at Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan so that we could
return to these attractions effortlessly -- in both cases, within a
half-hour.
Next up was Adventureland, just left of the main entrance. If you
choose attractions by going either clockwise or counterclockwise around
Magic Kingdom, it is usually the first or last stop of the day. Few
folks check out the "Pirates of the Caribbean" around lunchtime, which
is exactly the reason Constantin guided us there and exactly why we had
only a 5-minute wait. The park was quickly filling up, so while we sang
along with those crusty salty dogs, Constantin was ahead of us in
Tomorrowland getting tickets for the Buzz Lightyear ride. He knew from
experience that a zigzag route leads to more rides in the day than the
more common circular route.
Constantin also earned his money by getting us into the more popular
restaurants, which had been booked months in advance. Like Mickey Mouse
using his wand in "Fantasia," he made several calls on his cellphone
and tables magically opened at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot and
the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, a country-and-western vaudeville-style
show at the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
Those using VIP Tours also get their own VIP seating at many of the
shows. We had front-row seats for the Playhouse Disney show at MGM
Studios and prime waterfront viewing for Illuminations, the nightly
fireworks spectacle at Epcot. There was even a VIP section for the
daily parade at the Magic Kingdom. Instead of taking Pal Mickey's
suggestion and getting a spot on the hot and crowded sidewalks of Main
Street, we sat on benches reserved for VIP guests at the front of the
parade, under a shaded magnolia tree. Now that's what I call a vacation.
Newton-based writer Steve Jermanok writes about family travel for
FamilyFun, Travel & Leisure Family, and Outside Magazine's Family
Vacation Guide.
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- Privatization 
