Podcasts about my magic plus

WDW Opinion Ep. 9 - FastPass+ Tips and Tricks In 1999 Disney released a new technology that revolutionized the theme park going experience. The virtual queuing system known as FastPass, pegged the simple question “what if you could reserve your ride time?” What came of that question was a tool that has now been implemented in almost every major theme park theme park in some form or another. But in 2013 the FastPass system Disney park fans had come to know and love would be changed forever. With the advent of My Magic Plus and My Disney Experience, Disney began to take a technology first approach to much of the daily routines the average theme park guest would encounter. This meant giving guests the ability to book FastPassess months in advance and change, edit and adjust reservations on the fly from the convenience of their smartphone. Love it or hate it FastPass+ is here to stay. Rather than complain you should embrace this incredible tool and use it to its full potential. In this segment Hank and I will be giving you tips, tricks and tactics you can use to get the most out of FastPass+. By the end of this you’ll be a pro when it comes to reserving rides and you’ll be leaving other guests in the dust when it comes to experience the attractions you want to. Plus we also talk about Pandora the World of Avatar making Time Magazine’s list of Greatest Places for 2018, a new giraffe makes its way onto the savannah at Disney Animal Kingdom Park and we share our Disney legend of the month. All that and more on this episode of WDW Opinion. Stories discussed in News to Opinion Time Magazine Names Pandora: The World of Avatar one of the World’s Greatest Places for 2018 Welcome Giraffe Calf to Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Disney Legend of the Month: X Atencio Remembering X Atencio and the weird career path that took him from assistant animator to Disney Legend 23 Questions With X Atencio Visit www.WDWOpinion.com for all the latest from the blog and to find out more about WDW Opinion! Subscribe to our newsletter and get a FREE copy of our Ultimate Disney Trip Task List. Use this customizable list to help plan for your next Disney trip. Share your Disney opinions with us! Email your opinions to Conor@WDWOpinion.com and if we like them you might even be featured on a future show! Follow Us on Social Facebook Instagram Twitter

The O’Reilly Design Podcast: The future of wearables, hiring designers, and understanding the value of design.In this week’s Design Podcast, I sit down with Max Burton, founder of Matter. Before starting his own firm, Burton spent the last two decades at places like Frog, Nike, and Smart Design. We talk about the future of wearables, what he looks for when hiring designers, and what tech companies can learn from Nike’s and Disney's approach to product design.Here are a few highlights from our conversation: Design at Nike and what tech can learn from their approach When I was at Nike, the designers were instrumental in defining what products they were going to work on. We actually would write the briefs to our own products, and it was the designers who often came up with some of the most innovative products and product ideas. It didn't come from a separate marketing group, it didn't come from a strategy group, it often came from the designers. The executives at Nike understood and valued design and allowed the designers that level of autonomy and control. I've worked with a lot of tech companies, and they tend to be either run by or founded by engineers. I love working with engineers. They're incredibly inventive, they know how things work, and they can put things together in meaningful ways. They're often very obsessed in their area, and that's not exactly what the end user might want. I think what designers do is they really think about the end user, they have that level of empathy. Also, companies like Nike are brand driven, design driven, and the focus is much more on the user. It's also the aspirational user—it's the emotional side of a product experience, not just the functional side. I think that probably is the emphasis—that design or design-led companies understand the human, the emotional side, the artful side, and that that has an important value. That people who buy products at the end of day, these products have to fit into their lives, they have to be something they want, something they want in their home or to wear on their bodies. The emotional side has to be recognized, and perhaps a lot of the tech companies are still a little bit engineering-led. The future of wearables: Disney I worked on the new My Magic Plus for Disney, which is basically making the park into a smart park. Part of that solution was a wearable that connected to the park. The great thing about this product is that it was actually a really, really simple product. It had no display on it. It's a band you wear, but it's connected to the park, so it's connected to a series of sensors in the environment that enable certain things like entry into the park or payment for merchandise or food, or entry into your hotel door without a key, or access onto a ride without having to wait in line. A lot of these developments in wearables requires an environment that's networked and smart. I see that this is a very exciting new path for wearables, where it's not about just you and the wearable; it's about you, the wearable, and the environment you're in. The work that was done at Disney is kind of indicative of where the future might go. For example, you can imagine in the future that a city like San Francisco could have a similar kind of network of sensors and at that the wearable could connect with the city, or you as a person in that city could connect with that city. I think that's a very likely future, and if someone thinks, "Well, that's crazy—cities like San Francisco are much more massive and complex than the park, the Disney park." Well, that's actually not even true because if you go to the Disney Park, they have more than 16 million guests a year; they have more than 100 restaurants in the park; they have complexity of all of the hotels and resorts that guests could stay in. It's almost equal to San Francisco, so I think it's very likely in future. T-shaped designers + storytelling IDEO define what they call the T-shaped designer—that's somebody with a deep expertise in one specific area, but a general knowledge of others. I look for that as well. If I'm taking on an industrial designer for example, I expect that they have an amazing skill and talent in their area of designing and making physical product. I also look for their ability now to understand the digital world, to understand interface, to understand experience design, and to be willing to think of their profession more broadly. In today's modern world, you need those kinds of broader thinking skills. That applies again for the interaction designers, that they must also be very skilled and adept at their profession, but at the same time, have an interest and passion for the physical world, and know how to work in the physical world as well. We still have to deliver, we still have to make products, so that depth of skill and knowledge in one's area of expertise is required. The ability to work with others is also paramount. The other thing that I'm emphasizing a lot now as well is that design is, in a way, moving toward filmmaking, if you like, because with experiences or service-based design, you're thinking about a consumer's experience over time and space. The best way to design with that level of complexity is by creating narratives and stories with characters, and I find this is a very good way to anchor the team or to provide the guiding power for the designers to work toward. If they can share the narrative, then they can each go off in their areas of expertise and create the outputs from that narrative. We always try to put some storytelling and a narrative into our project plans, and that might start in the beginning with defining our personas and characters. Then it's creating a journey map or a day in the life of a person; and then, throughout the UX track, we further that story and often we end the project with a short three-minute or five-minute film with live actors that basically explains how the product is used. That's a very good method of communicating a product idea that's physical and digital, and we've had a lot of success with that.

The O’Reilly Design Podcast: The future of wearables, hiring designers, and understanding the value of design.In this week’s Design Podcast, I sit down with Max Burton, founder of Matter. Before starting his own firm, Burton spent the last two decades at places like Frog, Nike, and Smart Design. We talk about the future of wearables, what he looks for when hiring designers, and what tech companies can learn from Nike’s and Disney's approach to product design.Here are a few highlights from our conversation: Design at Nike and what tech can learn from their approach When I was at Nike, the designers were instrumental in defining what products they were going to work on. We actually would write the briefs to our own products, and it was the designers who often came up with some of the most innovative products and product ideas. It didn't come from a separate marketing group, it didn't come from a strategy group, it often came from the designers. The executives at Nike understood and valued design and allowed the designers that level of autonomy and control. I've worked with a lot of tech companies, and they tend to be either run by or founded by engineers. I love working with engineers. They're incredibly inventive, they know how things work, and they can put things together in meaningful ways. They're often very obsessed in their area, and that's not exactly what the end user might want. I think what designers do is they really think about the end user, they have that level of empathy. Also, companies like Nike are brand driven, design driven, and the focus is much more on the user. It's also the aspirational user—it's the emotional side of a product experience, not just the functional side. I think that probably is the emphasis—that design or design-led companies understand the human, the emotional side, the artful side, and that that has an important value. That people who buy products at the end of day, these products have to fit into their lives, they have to be something they want, something they want in their home or to wear on their bodies. The emotional side has to be recognized, and perhaps a lot of the tech companies are still a little bit engineering-led. The future of wearables: Disney I worked on the new My Magic Plus for Disney, which is basically making the park into a smart park. Part of that solution was a wearable that connected to the park. The great thing about this product is that it was actually a really, really simple product. It had no display on it. It's a band you wear, but it's connected to the park, so it's connected to a series of sensors in the environment that enable certain things like entry into the park or payment for merchandise or food, or entry into your hotel door without a key, or access onto a ride without having to wait in line. A lot of these developments in wearables requires an environment that's networked and smart. I see that this is a very exciting new path for wearables, where it's not about just you and the wearable; it's about you, the wearable, and the environment you're in. The work that was done at Disney is kind of indicative of where the future might go. For example, you can imagine in the future that a city like San Francisco could have a similar kind of network of sensors and at that the wearable could connect with the city, or you as a person in that city could connect with that city. I think that's a very likely future, and if someone thinks, "Well, that's crazy—cities like San Francisco are much more massive and complex than the park, the Disney park." Well, that's actually not even true because if you go to the Disney Park, they have more than 16 million guests a year; they have more than 100 restaurants in the park; they have complexity of all of the hotels and resorts that guests could stay in. It's almost equal to San Francisco, so I think it's very likely in future. T-shaped designers + storytelling IDEO define what they call the T-shaped designer—that's somebody with a deep expertise in one specific area, but a general knowledge of others. I look for that as well. If I'm taking on an industrial designer for example, I expect that they have an amazing skill and talent in their area of designing and making physical product. I also look for their ability now to understand the digital world, to understand interface, to understand experience design, and to be willing to think of their profession more broadly. In today's modern world, you need those kinds of broader thinking skills. That applies again for the interaction designers, that they must also be very skilled and adept at their profession, but at the same time, have an interest and passion for the physical world, and know how to work in the physical world as well. We still have to deliver, we still have to make products, so that depth of skill and knowledge in one's area of expertise is required. The ability to work with others is also paramount. The other thing that I'm emphasizing a lot now as well is that design is, in a way, moving toward filmmaking, if you like, because with experiences or service-based design, you're thinking about a consumer's experience over time and space. The best way to design with that level of complexity is by creating narratives and stories with characters, and I find this is a very good way to anchor the team or to provide the guiding power for the designers to work toward. If they can share the narrative, then they can each go off in their areas of expertise and create the outputs from that narrative. We always try to put some storytelling and a narrative into our project plans, and that might start in the beginning with defining our personas and characters. Then it's creating a journey map or a day in the life of a person; and then, throughout the UX track, we further that story and often we end the project with a short three-minute or five-minute film with live actors that basically explains how the product is used. That's a very good method of communicating a product idea that's physical and digital, and we've had a lot of success with that.

Angie and Josh have a slow news week as everything is leading up to the D23 Expo but a few little surpises got into the show including a new app for Disneyland that is the beginning of My Magic Plus being introduced into Walt's original park. Frozen will also have a presense at Christmas in the parks this year and we are kicking off the Halloween season with merch at the parks. In personal news, Josh and Angie discuss Modern Mouse being at this years D23 Expo. Meet Keith, Angie, Josh, and Erika in Anaheim or at least follow them on social media platforms. 

Listen to the team discuss the genesis of the Florida Project and Project Future.  News Wheel turns on the Flower Power concerts, Disney Co. spin on My Magic Plus, and Anna and Elsa OUTRAGE.  Dutch also has three big announcements.

This week, anticipating the release of Disney's "Maleficent," we welcome Disney historian and author Charles Solomon to the show to discuss his latest book "Once Upon a Dream: From Perrault's Sleeping Beauty to Disney's Maleficent." Solomon talks about the origins of the Sleeping Beauty story, and discusses the artwork and animation of the classic animated feature, as well as some of his stories about the cast of the upcoming movie, to be released in less than 4 weeks. Also, Jeff starts planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, and we dive into the world of My Disney Experience, My Magic Plus, and the illusive Magic Bands. Learn a little bit more about what you can expect when you book a trip to the East coast's Magic Kingdom. Plus - celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Mousetalgia as we discuss our favorite Mexican eateries on Disneyland Resort property - and more!

In this episide Annie and Dan talk about more Avatarland related news, with the release of the first attraction blueprints and the close-date for Camp Minnie-Mickey. They discuss the highest selling items at the Food and Wine Festival, the allure of the cranberry bog, the release of some ultra-realistic magnets, and Frozen's appearance in Norway's Church.Then they start in on discussing the weird opinions of Disney forum posters and their preliminary thoughts on My Magic Plus. 

This week we start the show off with a discussion on whether to book the dining plan or not in Walt Disney World. Then we talk about what's happening with My Magic Plus in Walt Disney World.

Welcome! This week we talk about many of the new details found in the My Magic Plus and the My Disney Experience app that is slowly being rolled out in Walt Disney World. Stay tuned as this continues to roll out. Thanks for listening and we all hope you have a great week!

The INTERCOT Insider Live Episode 46 – I Don’t Follow The Baseball The Cast: Michael Montanez, Christine Warner, Gary O’Brien, Ian Mitchell, John Yaglenski - Cranky old people complaining about how cold it is - Gary was selling his new product - Athletic Trainer Plus (athletictrainerplus.com) and the kerning is beautiful - This year’s D23 and Alan Parsons. Michael is planning a breakfast - My Magic Plus formally announced and there’s a lot of details to go over - Michael wants the magic bands to zap you when you do something dumb - Christine is apprehensive about how all this will work for AP holders/locals - Wrist band should light up to shows and parades – thank you to INTERCOT Consulting - A Logan’s Run reference by Gary - classic - Prime Pick - Down and Out In The Magic Kingdom: http://www.amazon.com/Down-Magic-Kingdom-Cory-Doctorow/dp/076530953X/intercotcom - Best of Place to Have a Meal at a Great Price. Michael says Tomorrowland Terrace, Christine goes with Columbia Harbor House, Capn’ Tom – Errr, Gary likes some lunch at the Flame Tree Grill, Ian picks the Kona Café, John’s value is a hot dog the size of his head at Casey’s or the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. - We get sidetracked by the Calgon commercial - RunDisney and Jeff Galloway, New Balance shoes and merchandise. - Mary Poppins the Musical - Universal Mardi Gras Celebration – Concerts - Disney management shuffling, reorganization - Mickey and the Magical Map at Disneyland

This week we discuss the most recent news coming out of Walt Disney World, My Magic Plus. We talk details including what this means for future visits to WDW. We'll be releasing shows as we can, so stay tuned and thanks for listening!