Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[wdisney9000]

It's almost as if this seems like a chamber of echos, doesn't it?

I think that the social media aspect deserves waaaaay more attention than we are currently paying to it. If TWDC is willing to throw the kind of money and resources like they did this weekend for DSMM's (I won't hashtag that), then they could be willing to base future decisions for parks or resorts on the opinions of these bored housewiv.....I mean woman. Do you want someone who commands an entire 7 viewers on Youtube and probly couldn't tell you didly squat about Disney as a corporation or its history contributing to the parks and resorts even at the smallest level? I dont. It's nothing against ladies like Fadra, it's the misguided path the company is on, even if they can take the financial blow, which they can, it's just.....silly is the only word I can describe it as.

The fact that a site like wdwmagic got her more views simply from a member dropping her name is the real proof of the power of social media, or like others have mentioned, this thread alone got 11,000 views in 24 hours. Those are real numbers, not pathetic numbers in the single digits that are mostly just family and friends. And this thread is just a random thread started by 74 about his observations over spring break. That woman was at DL doing very exclusive "on the scene" videos. She should be killing it on IG, Twitter, YT, etc.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Yes, that is pretty much the case. As one of the founders of Fix the Magic, it became apparently clear after spending a few months getting the online architecture in place that we needed reliable boots on the ground. Everyone was gung ho and all aboard as helpers but we never found the right people to step up. Us 3 were far from locals and we needed (in our estimates) at least 3-6 hardcore locals that could verify user information.

Our database would have been supported by users but verified by our people on site.

It was a great idea and we were willing to put in the work. And I do believe a site that was completely unbiased and only showed accurate defects and/or issues could have held some toes under the fire. for real change maybe not but who knows...you have to dream and all.

I was part of the group who was willing to get on board and help.. problem was, I am not local either... The idea was fine, the people involved had a solid plan... Maybe one day it will all work out...

 

[TP2000]

I don't get why we're continually linking to these women and giving them hits/views.

Seems like the point has been beaten into the ground by now.

This woman's videos I linked to were used as an example and point of discussion in this thread that has been cherry picking from a range of interesting current events and news items related to Disney theme parks.

The importance Disney now places on Social Media with events like this weekend's lavish Social Media Moms Conference at the Disneyland Hotel was the main driver of that conversation. I started it by linking to my new friend Fadra, whom I came upon purely by random after a 15 second Google search, yet who seemed to sum the whole thing up perfectly for us here.

I apologize if you felt the three Fadra videos that were linked here were annoying, but she is the poster child for this new phenomenon of Mommy Blogger feted at great expense by Disney corporate. Trust me, there are FAR MORE ANNOYING examples of Mommy Blogger videos out there to use.

If it helps, this 60,000+ viewership in this thread in the last few days has quadrupled the page views her linked videos have received. She'll probably be thrilled when she realizes it.

I think that the social media aspect deserves waaaaay more attention than we are currently paying to it. If TWDC is willing to throw the kind of money and resources like they did this weekend for DSMM's (I won't hashtag that), then they could be willing to base future decisions for parks or resorts on the opinions of these bored housewiv.....I mean woman. Do you want someone who commands an entire 7 viewers on Youtube and probly couldn't tell you didly squat about Disney as a corporation or its history contributing to the parks and resorts even at the smallest level? I dont. It's nothing against ladies like Fadra, it's the misguided path the company is on, even if they can take the financial blow, which they can, it's just.....silly is the only word I can describe it as.

Yeah, isn't it amazing?!? Silly is a great word to describe it.

It would probably make us all sick, but I'd love to know how much the Social Media Moms event at Disneyland this weekend cost Disney!

300+ Bloggers and their families put up in 300+ rooms at the Disneyland Hotel during Easter vacation. Plane tickets and rental cars for all of 'em. 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 cocktail/dessert receptions for hundreds. Cocktails and wine and beer nightly. A custom design package of banners and signage and décor for hotel ballrooms and outdoor plazas and theme park events. Swag. Exclusive use of two lands and their rides in busy theme parks; Toontown for dinner and dancing, Cars Land for a Fun Run and breakfast. Plus all the speaker fees for celebs and presenters.

That is a package of multi-day events and perks that would run well into seven figures (Over a million bucks) if it was Boeing or Microsoft buying that same menu of offerings for 300 of their employees and families. And what does Disney get out of it?!? Another glowing review from Fadra that is lucky to get 59 views after sitting on YouTube for six months like her Impala video?

There's got to be something here we don't see. There just has to.

 

[TP2000]

The fact that a site like wdwmagic got her more views simply from a member dropping her name is the real proof of the power of social media, or like others have mentioned, this thread alone got 5,000 views in 24 hours.

Point of correction. Yesterday at this time this thread had 49,000 and change views. I remember looking at it as we were discussing viewership numbers then. Late this afternoon Pacific time, 24 hours later, this thread now has just over 60,000 views.

That's 11,000 views in 24 hours for this thread, not 5,000. Try and keep up pal!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

The Season Pass Podcast is not exclusively Disney but has a fantastic archive of interviews with people from the industry, including plenty of known Imagineers.

Did they ever do an interview with @Eddie Sotto ?

 

[JimboJones123]

It depends on what tech you are speaking of. While Lumiere is an effective and kewl use of technology, the AAs (and other than Ursula, I really have a hard time calling things that many fanbois could make in their garages actual AAs) in The Little Mermaid are a huge step backward. They are fake, plastic and don't do much at all.

Now, RSRs absolutely works perfectly, but one could also argue that giant cartoon cars work very well for having projections added to physical bodies.



Oh well, you know me ... old habits!!!

Radiator Springs Racers sets and cars are AWESOME. The weightless bounce that the cars in the scenes have really make them feel alive. They are perfect.

Now if they could only find a way to transport such light weight materials to the east coast and fix the Yeti???

Seriously, that thing can't be any bigger than Mater and Lightning together. Why it should be any heavier and not have the same spry bounce is beyond me.

 

[danv3]

If Fadra is going to be a BRAND advocate, she should at least learn that the attractions are "attractions" and not merely rides. Seems like something the Parks Blog crew could get her up to speed on.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

I'm going to become a Daddy Blogger. My fist review will be on the mulch my daughter and I put down yesterday. Scotts Hyponex Red gets the Uncle Lupe Seal of Approval. Like me it just lays there but it looks great doing it. ...... Alright just waiting for my invite.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Did they ever do an interview with @Eddie Sotto ?

Not yet, but they have done most of the big names from Disneyland Paris.

 

[dhall]

There's got to be something here we don't see. There just has to.

Digital astro-turfing with a side of (stupidly expensive) SEO. How many inbound links did the weekend buy them to their desired blogs, associated with how many unique search terms? The page views these women generate are obviously not what Disney's after -- each one of their sites, tho, is an honest-to-gosh content engine that Google will never ignore, so their presence counts as weight in various search algorithms.

It's possible for a site like Reddit, or a well organized Twitter-bomb campaign, or a mass google search to swing the weight of the search engines: just ask a former Senator Rick who found that the first results on Google for searches of his last name were to an UrbanDictionary entry for a mix of bodily fluids I'll describe no further (let alone link to).

Someone at Disney is scared of the possibility of a digital stampede: I think their social strategy is one part of their online defenses.

Please note -- I don't think their money is being well spent in this case, but I think that's the theory behind it.

 

[dhall]

Digital astro-turfing with a side of (stupidly expensive) SEO. How many inbound links did the weekend buy them to their desired blogs, associated with how many unique search terms? The page views these women generate are obviously not what Disney's after -- each one of their sites, tho, is an honest-to-gosh content engine that Google will never ignore, so their presence counts as weight in various search algorithms.

It's possible for a site like Reddit, or a well organized Twitter-bomb campaign, or a mass google search to swing the weight of the search engines: just ask a former Senator Rick who found that the first results on Google for searches of his last name were to an UrbanDictionary entry for a mix of bodily fluids I'll describe no further (let alone link to).

Someone at Disney is scared of the possibility of a digital stampede: I think their social strategy is one part of their online defenses.

Please note -- I don't think their money is being well spent in this case, but I think that's the theory behind it.

OF course, since I've just watched a lot of Capt. America & Shield, it could just be a cover signal for instructions to the sleepers.

 

[TP2000]

Radiator Springs Racers sets and cars are AWESOME. The weightless bounce that the cars in the scenes have really make them feel alive. They are perfect.

Now if they could only find a way to transport such light weight materials to the east coast and fix the Yeti???

Seriously, that thing can't be any bigger than Mater and Lightning together. Why it should be any heavier and not have the same spry bounce is beyond me.

I've thought the same thing. I've only ever experienced Everest when the Yeti was in his disco mode, so not sure what he looked like when he worked. But the Cars animatronics in the dark ride portion of Radiator Springs Racers are a good point of reference. Those are big cars, and seem to be sized up from their real life sizing to look right in the big dark ride warehouse building. Doc Hudson especially is HUGE, and definitely bigger than a 1951 Hudson was in real life (and those were big bathtub cars to start with).

Here's an interesting one minute long YouTube video that is some sort of WDI test footage or something. It features about one third of the animatronics from Radiator Springs Racers, but is taken from a cameraman standing in the ride while the various animatronics are cycled just for this footage. Interesting to think how, or why, WDI did this originally!

 

[SoupBone]

That's EXACTLY how I feel about the "Social Media" thing too. It's just all fake, made up stuff. And these Bloggers that get wooed and wined and dined and feted are all just preaching to the choir; the same group of 5,000 to 10,000 North American superfans who would all still be vacationing in WDW or renewing their Disneyland Premium AP anyway, regardless of whether or not these amateur bloggers were on the invite list.

As a point of reference, 10,000 people is about the same number of people who ride Pirates of the Caribbean in 3 and a half hours.

There's an entire battalion of cubicle dwellers in TDO and TDA and Burbank who keep the Social Media department going just to keep themselves employed and impressing their middle-aged bosses who are desperate to appear hip and young. But it's all just a sham and a huge waste of Disney's capital and resources.

And then there's this little gem and video proof, which perfectly sums up the lunacy.


From an Orlando lifestyle blogger. And after 8 months on YouTube it's racked up 1,445 views. I rest my case.

This was satire, right? I refuse to believe that this is real. Especially, that really strange lady right in the beginning. No way...no way...no way....

 

[PeterAlt]

I dont want to believe that, but I do, 110% sadly.

Did we just go there?

 

[bhg469]

Lou is one of Disney's top BRAND Advocates, likely the No. 1.

He might as well be aired on one of the Disney propaganda channels in the resorts. His drivel is so awful it cannot be taken seriously by anyone who has any life at all.

 

[bhg469]

Did we just go there?

It makes sense to the execs, I would never put it past them. And yes it would be a shame for sure but the monorail probably costs double the amount that the boats do.

 

[WDW1974]

Spirited Monday Musings:

Not many. I guess it's just another manic Monday ...

I did not yet get to mention that I think all the talk about how bad Casey's redo was was ... well, misplaced. They added seating. They kept the area themed. I don't think they destroyed the place by removing the bleachers and toon screen.

I don't think I've bitched yet (on this thread anyway) about how bad MK shops look with huge swaths cleared out for 500-pounders to be able to drive thru on their ECVs. It totally has destroyed any sense of theming and place in those shops.

Not sure if I have mentioned it yet, but sometime in the not too distant future Little Mermaid and BTMRR will have the DL upgrades added. I believe BTMRR will come first as much of that can be done at night. Mermaid is likely going down at some slow period next year to get the new ending.

Had a great dinner tonight with a MAGICal member who is charming, witty and just plain fun. The food was good, but the conversation that ranged from Disney's parking fees to the new parade's dragon to white supremacy in the Disney fan community was out of this world. Yeah, it was that kind of conversation!

Prior to dinner, I did the next best thing to visiting the MK: yep, I hit the local Disney outlet store. I didn't spend a penny as they just don't have anything that I have to have or even want to have. What a familiar story.

Checked out a few of the other discussion boards here of late and ... and ... well, it's just best that I basically only post on this one.

Iger's Maker Studios acquisition, which had hit a few snags, apparently is now a go:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/maker-studios-disney-deal-approved-696056

Don't know why, but I think something newsy will come out this week ... will it be released by me? Not sure yet.

 

[WDW1974]

While I'm not a fanbois...ok, I'm here so that makes me somewhat of a fanbois, I'd agree with Steven. Seems to be a nice guy and you have to have those folks that connect well with the hardcore fanbase. He appears to be the one that has the connection best right now. He was even willing to meet some of the DL fanbois for drinks at Trader Sam's between mommy meetings.

I think he is just totally addicted to the Pixie Dust to a level that would freak some folks out as it did me when I first met him early last decade when he was WDW Ambassador. He just took it to a crazy level. But unlike many of his coworkers, I believe he genuinely loves the product and you have to give props for that.

 

[WDW1974]

As a local that may work for you, for most guests though a quick 2-4 hour trip to WDW is impossible.

MM+ was not intended to benefit locals in my opinion, it was intended to maximize pre-trip planning done by out of town visitors be they once in a lifetime or repeat guests.

True, but MM+ can be used very effectively by locals ... I can use it and get in and out of a park in no time. Or use it to hit top attractions and add to my total (like the night last week when I hit 11 MK attractions and watched CtM and the MSEP all in under four hours).

I think it will wind up working better for locals and APers much like FP did. Because no matter how much money Disney spends advertising this, many people are still not going to have a clue what it is or how it works. They still don't get FP and that has been around for 15 years.

 

[WDW1974]

No question he's #1. The guy actually draws a crowd as he walks around EPCOT. Same can't be said for Mrs. Ricky's husband (whose name came up in the other poster's post) or any other blogger I've seen.

Also, count me in the camp that doesn't believe he gets away with what he does without some sort of "unofficial official" status in TWDC.

He's allowed a wide path in doing whatever he wants and, from what I have been told, has the 'tude to go along with it.

I'd likely be harassed if I started speaking to six fanbois in front of the EPCOT fountain about how TWDC runs the park and why certain decisions have been made.

Lovable Lou has a 'hands off' policy ... I've seen him doing things that should result in a trespass warning, and you damn well know Celebration Place and the DPB team is intimately aware of everything he does ... like say having a $350 bar tab at Dixie Landings just disappear.