Could FLE be just the beginning?

[TP2000]

So pretty much all the people who cannot afford to get out to California should be screwed over? I got to talking to a person working with D23 who more or less told me that by not having the convention in Florida they are greatly hurting themselves. Talking to guests i can even count the number of people who were mad because they could not go to it because it was in super expensive California. What is the point of having a fan convention if you are screwing over most of your fans? Why not have two events or have it switch every other year.

Well, if a trip to SoCal isn't in the budget for some folks, I'm not sure a trip to WDW would be either. A quick check on Expedia shows flights from Orlando to John Wayne Airport (15 minute drive from Disneyland) are running $298 round trip on Delta, Continental and American. If you want to fly into LAX instead, you save a few bucks, with round trip flights from MCO to LAX running from about $260 on a half dozen airlines.

Lodging in Anaheim can be as cheap as you want to go, as there are Motel 6's and other budget chain motels two blocks from Disneyland that run $40 bucks a night on weekends on Expedia.

Not sure where the idea that California was "super expensive" came from. If you want to you can certainly fly First Class and stay in the Mt. Whitney Suite in the Grand Californian and dine at Napa Rose and drop 10K shopping at Fashion Island while you are here. But there are certainly many budget options for visiting SoCal in general, and Disneyland in particular.

And again, the logistics are what prevent D23 Expo from ever going to WDW in its current large-scale format. There's not much to be done to change the logistical realities of that. But you could save for a year and hop a plane out to SoCal next August if you really, really want to. It's not like Anaheim is on the moon; Walt built Disneyland where he did because it was so convenient to get to. :animwink:

 

[wm49rs]

Regardless of who can and cannot fly to Anaheim for the D23 conventions, the simple fact is that they're not exactly hurting for attendance. And logistically, having the event out there is a no-brainer for Disney.

 

[disneydevil1]

Well, if a trip to SoCal isn't in the budget for some folks, I'm not sure a trip to WDW would be either. A quick check on Expedia shows flights from Orlando to John Wayne Airport (15 minute drive from Disneyland) are running $298 round trip on Delta, Continental and American. If you want to fly into LAX instead, you save a few bucks, with round trip flights from MCO to LAX running from about $260 on a half dozen airlines.

Lodging in Anaheim can be as cheap as you want to go, as there are Motel 6's and other budget chain motels two blocks from Disneyland that run $40 bucks a night on weekends on Expedia.

Not sure where the idea that California was "super expensive" came from. If you want to you can certainly fly First Class and stay in the Mt. Whitney Suite in the Grand Californian and dine at Napa Rose and drop 10K shopping at Fashion Island while you are here. But there are certainly many budget options for visiting SoCal in general, and Disneyland in particular.

And again, the logistics are what prevent D23 Expo from ever going to WDW in its current large-scale format. There's not much to be done to change the logistical realities of that. But you could save for a year and hop a plane out to SoCal next August if you really, really want to. It's not like Anaheim is on the moon; Walt built Disneyland where he did because it was so convenient to get to. :animwink:

Okay, so you are a WDW season pass holder, which is more expensive? Driving to OCCC or flying to California?

It is completely possible for the Convention to be at OCCC and with a company like Disney they could do it but like normal they like to dismiss thier fans that live east of the Mississippi.

P.S. Disney also built WDW in florida for a reason and convienience too.

 

[Erika]

Seems like sort of an odd argument- it's all relative, isn't it? :shrug When we lived back East it seemed like most people had been to WDW at least once-- out here in the West almost no one I've met one has been there, but there are a lot of crazed DL fans who make it to California a couple of times per year. FL or CA, whichever, half the people will be happy and half will say it's too far away.

 

[wm49rs]

Okay, so you are a WDW season pass holder, which is more expensive? Driving to OCCC or flying to California?

It is completely possible for the Convention to be at OCCC and with a company like Disney they could do it but like normal they like to dismiss thier fans that live east of the Mississippi.

P.S. Disney also built WDW in florida for a reason and convienience too.

What does being a "season pass holder" have to do with a D23 event?

And yes, any convention could be held at OCCC, but try dealing with the logistics of transporting tens of thousands from there to WDW parks, hotels and restaurants, which is where the vast majority of those attending the D23 convention in Anaheim went once the day's events were over.

And try getting the same level of press coverage in Orlando that you can get in Anaheim. Or the occassional drop-in from a Johnny Depp to promote the next Pirates movie.

 

[disneydevil1]

Seems like sort of an odd argument- it's all relative, isn't it? :shrug When we lived back East it seemed like most people had been to WDW at least once-- out here in the West almost no one I've met one has been there, but there are a lot of crazed DL fans who make it to California a couple of times per year. FL or CA, whichever, half the people will be happy and half will say it's too far away.

That is kind of the point, why not split it up, make two conventions. I am part of the D23 community and i look at the event schedule, almost 5 to 1 the events at DL compared to WDW....it is like Disney does not want anyone to go to WDW or be associated with it.

I mean look at the ranking, attendance and park rating, WDW is more popular....so why is the company so insistant on screwing over the WDW fans.

 

[disneydevil1]

What does being a "season pass holder" have to do with a D23 event?

And yes, any convention could be held at OCCC, but try dealing with the logistics of transporting tens of thousands from there to WDW parks, hotels and restaurants, which is where the vast majority of those attending the D23 convention in Anaheim went once the day's events were over.

And try getting the same level of press coverage in Orlando that you can get in Anaheim. Or the occassional drop-in from a Johnny Depp to promote the next Pirates movie.

Disney is a big company they can deal with the Transportation.

About the press coverage....Celebration V was held in OCCC and it was a smash hit...plenty of coverage. I mean they could of held it at Anaheim yet they held it at OCCC and it was a giant success.

 

[Disneyfanatic!!]

Between ESPN Wide World of Sports, Millenium Village, Wonders of Life, Soundtage 1, Premiere Theater, and all of the other places we know can be used for special events/special presentations (Theater in the Wild, Mickey's Philharmagic, etc.) you're telling me the D23 Expo can't fit at WDW?

 

[wm49rs]

Disney is a big company they can deal with the Transportation.

About the press coverage....Celebration V was held in OCCC and it was a smash hit...plenty of coverage. I mean they could of held it at Anaheim yet they held it at OCCC and it was a giant success.

Disney wouldn't be the only entity having to address the transportation issues, especially considering the fact that OCCC isn't on their property.

And the LA press will give greater coverage to a Disney event being held in Anaheim than anything seen in Orlando.

 

[disneydevil1]

Disney wouldn't be the only entity having to address the transportation issues, especially considering the fact that OCCC isn't on their property.

And the LA press will give greater coverage to a Disney event being held in Anaheim than anything seen in Orlando.

Read Disneyfanatic's response, with the hundreds of areas all over WDW you cannot tell me that they cant handle it. There are four, five if they can use Shades of Green, resorts that have convention centers that can be used, the Wide World of Sports, International Gateway Pavilion, the locations in DHS, etc. they can do it at WDW easily.

 

[disneydevil1]

Disney wouldn't be the only entity having to address the transportation issues, especially considering the fact that OCCC isn't on their property.

And the LA press will give greater coverage to a Disney event being held in Anaheim than anything seen in Orlando.

P.S. The Celebration V had more coverage than the D23 convention

 

[wm49rs]

Read Disneyfanatic's response, with the hundreds of areas all over WDW you cannot tell me that they cant handle it. There are four, five if they can use Shades of Green, resorts that have convention centers that can be used, the Wide World of Sports, International Gateway Pavilion, the locations in DHS, etc. they can do it at WDW easily.

Again, try reading what someone types instead of inserting your own preconceived notions. No one said that the WDW area couldn't handle the accomodations for such a large number of people. But shuttling them off their grounds through Orlando to the OCCC is a transportation nightmare that Disney has little to no control over.

 

[disneydevil1]

Again, try reading what someone types instead of inserting your own preconceived notions. No one said that the WDW area couldn't handle the accomodations for such a large number of people. But shuttling them off their grounds through Orlando to the OCCC is a transportation nightmare that Disney has little to no control over.

What i just said was a solution to that....with the plenty of space at WDW they dont need to use OCCC. Problem solved.

 

[wm49rs]

What i just said was a solution to that....with the plenty of space at WDW they dont need to use OCCC. Problem solved.

Unfortunately, WDW doesn't have the convention space, merely the resort and restaurant capacity, to handle such an event. So they would have to use OCCC, and then would face those pesky transportation issues all over again.

 

[TP2000]

Between ESPN Wide World of Sports, Millenium Village, Wonders of Life, Soundtage 1, Premiere Theater, and all of the other places we know can be used for special events/special presentations (Theater in the Wild, Mickey's Philharmagic, etc.) you're telling me the D23 Expo can't fit at WDW?

Millenium Village is 60,000 square feet. Wonders of Life has 90,000 square feet of usable space in the dome. Soundstage 1 is much smaller than those two buildings. Premiere Theater seats 900 people. (Hyperion Theater at DCA seats 2,000, by comparison, so Premiere isn't that big really.)

2,000 seat Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure, from stage level

Let's drag out the old square footage stats from the other thread again, for comparison;

Anaheim Convention Center: 1.15 Million Square Feet
Exhibit Halls - 815,000 Square Feet
Ballrooms - 130,000 Square Feet
Lobby/Arrival Lounge - 200,000 Square Feet
Anaheim Arena - 10,000 seats

WDW Convention Facilities Combined: 365,000 Square Feet
(Combined spaces of Contemporary, Boardwalk, Grand Floridian, Beach & Yacht Club, and Coronado Springs)
Exhibit Halls - 180,000 Square Feet
Ballrooms - 120,000 Square Feet
Lobbies/Arrival Lounges - 65,000 Square Feet

Add in for WDW;
Millenium Village - 60,000 Square Feet
Wonders of Life - 90,000 Square Feet
Soundstage 1 - 900 Seats

And you haven't gained a whole lot. Aside from missing a huge 10,000 seat arena for keynote speeches and multimedia presentations, you're missing hundreds of thousands of display space. For those who didn't go, D23 Expo was HUGE. Just the Parks & Resorts Pavilion in Exhibit Hall B alone covered 100,000 square feet!

But even with the dramatically less space to use at WDW, you still have that pesky logistics problem. Instead of D23 Expo all being under one roof, as any succesful convention is, you've split it up over multiple locations and facilities, none of them within walking distance. Some are inside parks, some are at conference hotels, and the whole vibe of energy is gone when you separate everything by miles like that.

I totally get that the first D23 Expo didn't give most of us much time to plan, since they only announced it a few months before it happened. But the next D23 Expo was announced well over a year in advance. There is still time to budget and plan a trip to Anaheim in August, 2011 if a D23 Expo visit is important to you.

 

[disneydevil1]

Unfortunately, WDW doesn't have the convention space, merely the resort and restaurant capacity, to handle such an event. So they would have to use OCCC, and then would face those pesky transportation issues all over again.

They do have the convention space.....they have 5-6 resorts with convention space, plus Wide World of Sports, plus the convention places at Epcot and DHS...etc. they have the space.

 

[wm49rs]

They do have the convention space.....they have 5-6 resorts with convention space, plus Wide World of Sports, plus the convention places at Epcot and DHS...etc. they have the space.

See Post #35. You're now just arguing for its own sake.........

 

[disneydevil1]

TP2000, you still dont get it. It is entirely possible but you are just so shortsighted. Plus even with a year to plan it is still out of reach for A GOOD MAJORITY of people. So why screw over a whole bunch of people. Take the one MEGA convention, and make TWO Big conventions, one at each coast, it is completely doable. Look at the Comic Book circuit, ComicCon is the biggest of them all but they also do big ones in Chicago, New York, etc. so that not everyone is left out.

 

[disneydevil1]

See Post #35. You're now just arguing for its own sake.........

His post is not the end all to end all. It can happen, with ease.

I am not arguing for nothing, i am tired of people like you who think a vast majority of Disney fans should get screwed over by a company they love to death. Go tell a little kid that they will not enjoy the benefits of the D23 convention because Disney does not care about them and only wants to please their California fanbase.

 

[Hakunamatata]

His post is not the end all to end all. It can happen, with ease.

I am not arguing for nothing, i am tired of people like you who think a vast majority of Disney fans should get screwed over by a company they love to death. Go tell a little kid that they will not enjoy the benefits of the D23 convention because Disney does not care about them and only wants to please their California fanbase.

Tell that same little kid that Disney got rid of all the rides that they were tall enough to ride on because everyone else wanted thrill rides that "you had to be this --------> tall" to ride. :shrug: