D23 Anniversary Party News?

[Brian Noble]

Why take it personally? It is what it is.

As for multiple identities: I'm not sure you have even one whole one.

 

[krankenstein]

Why take it personally? It is what it is.

As for multiple identities: I'm not sure you have even one whole one.

Perhaps that is the point.... remain elusive so "the man" can't find me.... :lookaroun


*puts on tin foil hat and hides in his cave* :lol:

 

[Brian Noble]

Better wrap your whole body in it. I hear those new security scanners at MCO are actually owned by the Rat.

 

[krankenstein]

Better wrap your whole body in it. I hear those new security scanners at MCO are actually owned by the Rat.

:lookaroun

 

[krankenstein]

Why take it personally? It is what it is.

As for multiple identities: I'm not sure you have even one whole one.

And oh, btw, I have pictures on here and well over 1,000 posts. I've even met people from this site in real life several times. You've been here the same amount of times, no pictures and haven't reached 500 posts. Yeah, I think I have a lot more of an identity on here than you. :lol:

 

[WDW1974]

Agreed in full! I think it is fairly obvious that Lou's slant has changed in recent years. He has become less and less critical and has stopped discussing rumors. He basically is now giving the company line on everything, which disappoints me greatly. It is also obvious that he is getting those awesome interviews for doing it. I still respect him, but he has changed a lot since the whole Social Media thing started.

On top of that, it's becoming more and more clear that Disney is paying off certain big names in the community with information and other incentives to get them to paint a pretty picture of the mouse and to discourage criticism.

I've largely kept quiet on this and other issues of late because I've been busy and, frankly, don't have much to say ... but THIS is a key point about everything Disney has done lately as far as the online community.

Kevin Yee had a good column on this subject recently on Miceage, although I think he didn't focus enough on the big picture ... and that is TWDC using 'social media' to co-opt the fan community.

It is much easier to impress a blogger/fan than it is a real journalist ... it's also much easier to buy one off with swag, free meals/booze and access to celeb Imagineers. And if said bloggers gush about whatever Disney is (or isn't) doing, it's much easier to control the majority of opinions of the fan community.

Anyway, just some thoughts ...

 

[Brian Noble]

I think I have a lot more of an identity on here than you.

Allow me to share with you the Theory of Nobody. It was developed by a poster on Coaster Buzz. Sadly, the original post is lost to the ravages of time, so I can't point you to the full description. The idea is that some people need validation from their online communities because they don't get it in real life. Really quite insightful.

As for my identity, I post under my real name on this and most other sites. I'm not that hard to find.

 

[krankenstein]

I've largely kept quiet on this and other issues of late because I've been busy and, frankly, don't have much to say ... but THIS is a key point about everything Disney has done lately as far as the online community.

Kevin Yee had a good column on this subject recently on Miceage, although I think he didn't focus enough on the big picture ... and that is TWDC using 'social media' to co-opt the fan community.

It is much easier to impress a blogger/fan than it is a real journalist ... it's also much easier to buy one off with swag, free meals/booze and access to celeb Imagineers. And if said bloggers gush about whatever Disney is (or isn't) doing, it's much easier to control the majority of opinions of the fan community.

Anyway, just some thoughts ...

Thanks for posting this Spirit. You are always insightful when it comes to these matters.

Allow me to share with you the Theory of Nobody. It was developed by a poster on Coaster Buzz. Sadly, the original post is lost to the ravages of time, so I can't point you to the full description. The idea is that some people need validation from their online communities because they don't get it in real life. Really quite insightful.

As for my identity, I post under my real name on this and most other sites. I'm not that hard to find.

Yeah, that's it. Nail, head, etc.

My identity is also readily available here and on other sites. :shrug:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I was at the event last night and have to say I came away disappointed by a few things. The main reason I attended was because I'm a big fan of collecting character photos and autographs (hey it's free and it's fun to see my family grow and the characters change over the years). So when I saw the promise of "characters who we haven't seen walking around the parks lately" I knew I had to attend -- even with the steep cost. Well the only "rare" character there last night was Gaston. My wife is now riding me that Gaston's photo and autograph cost us $280. They had Horace and Clarabelle but those characters met in the parks every day until like a year and a half ago -- I'm sure everyone there last night already had their photos which is why those 2 characters spent the night walking aimlessly with few people taking interest. They had Jiminy Cricket -- maybe he's rare in Disneyland out in California where D23 is based but he appears everyday at AK. I feel they really misrepresented the character experience last night. I had been especially hopeful for who we would see based on the rumors for who will be appearing at tomorrow's Princess half-marathon: including Ariel and *Prince Eric*, Tiana Naveen & *Louis*, Pocahontas and *John Smith*, *Maleficent* and *PHEOBUS*. NOW there's a character line-up!!!!!!! I can't believe they pull Phoebus out of retirement on Sunday for everyday fans running the marathon and not bother to bring him to the event for major Disney enthusiasts who would truly appreciate his appearance. Even if we had just a few of those "rare" characters who'll be at the marathon -- that would have made it all worth it to me. Gaston and Belle's antics were truly the highlight -- but there should have been two or three more similar appearances.

I was also bummed by how they used the Diamond Horseshoe. The other reason I went was because the event was in this venue and I figured they just HAD to make use of the stage for something even though nothing was advertised. I was hoping for entertainment like a mini Diamond Horseshoe revue experience (circa 1998) with someone singing songs customized for the group on guitar (ala John Charles). What we got was like 3 or 4 different slideshows / video presentations saying how great D23 and the Walt Disney Company are. How is that entertainment? I dreamt of a lot of different things I would be presented with at the Diamond Horseshoe (maybe the Dapper Dans?) but what I imagined was entertainment not a Powerpoint presentation and a portable screen. I don't come to the Diamond Horseshoe for what I can get in the office -- I come to be entertained.

The food was great -- both at the Diamond Horseshoe and the Dessert buffet. The Imagineer presentation was OK -- I never expected them to reveal anything. But what I did learn was that this far into the project they still have a lot of things to figure out. The letdown for me was the "entertainment". When I entered the gates and when they started the presentation at the Horseshoe -- they promised a lot of surprises throughout the night which got my hopes up. But there were no surprises for me other than total lack of entertainment. When they say "characters" that we haven't seen for a while I expect them to deliver that at that price point -- to me that implies more than one rarity.

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy yourself...Hopefully D23 takes note of your displeasure and attempts to fix these problems.


Appreciate the report, though. Was this the general consensus?

Wouldn't you? I sure would, and Mickey's more clever than I.

Heck this goes way way back---the ol' Mousetro himself wined and dined the press regularly, not to mention all those Florida officials who basically gave him his very own government to play with. This is the same thing, just with new media outlets.

I agree, it's much of the same, but when Disney reaches into the DISNEY COMMUNITY itself, very specifically, and not going for the whole media, it's a bit suspicious. Maybe they don't like the fact that we know of the quality and the past ways of TWDC. :shrug:

 

[puntagordabob]

My wife & I attended last night....was fun for the most part.. was kind of neat to walk down main street usa with essentially no one on it except us.

Did find out one thing that was speculated on on the past that Aladdin's magic carpets was leaving Adventureland and that its "wheel" would be used in the new Dumbo .. Aladdin is remaining in Adventureland so therefore the second Dumbo wheel is brand new. Yeah I was the one who nervously asked that question. Of course I wanted to really ask about the Tiki Room! I did ask about it privately with some of the D23 cast members and the WDW park ambassador... it was funny because a little while later someone else asked about the Tiki Room within my earshot... they seemed genuinely surprised that so many people are not fond of Under New Management which kind of is scary to me since it is rather public knowledge.

Anyways, being that this was only my second Disney special event (1st was a passholder event with David Goelz *Gonzo* at DHS last year...) I cannot really rate this event fairly as many of you all can.... but overall it was fun. Was kind of hoping for some "40th" news....oh well!

I wonder how many of you we met?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

My wife & I attended last night....was fun for the most part.. was kind of neat to walk down main street usa with essentially no one on it except us.

Did find out one thing that was speculated on on the past that Aladdin's magic carpets was leaving Adventureland and that its "wheel" would be used in the new Dumbo .. Aladdin is remaining in Adventureland so therefore the second Dumbo wheel is brand new. Yeah I was the one who nervously asked that question. Of course I wanted to really ask about the Tiki Room! I did ask about it privately with some of the D23 cast members and the WDW park ambassador... it was funny because a little while later someone else asked about the Tiki Room within my earshot... they seemed genuinely surprised that so many people are not fond of Under New Management which kind of is scary to me since it is rather public knowledge.

Anyways, being that this was only my second Disney special event (1st was a passholder event with David Goelz *Gonzo* at DHS last year...) I cannot really rate this event fairly as many of you all can.... but overall it was fun. Was kind of hoping for some "40th" news....oh well!

I wonder how many of you we met?

Interesting report, and yeah, there was a whole breakdown on the Aladdin Spinner a few months ago. :lol:

 

[asianway]

I didnt really think there was $140 in value there. As posted above, 6 of the characters were regulars, 2 are occasional, and 2 are rare. I cant imagine many people did not have APs, so for most people there was no benefit. I didnt go to the Food and Wine or Merriment events because they seemed too much, and I would think twice about attending another.

 

[radiohost]

I didnt really think there was $140 in value there. As posted above, 6 of the characters were regulars, 2 are occasional, and 2 are rare. I cant imagine many people did not have APs, so for most people there was no benefit. I didnt go to the Food and Wine or Merriment events because they seemed too much, and I would think twice about attending another.

 

[drew81]

I was at the event last night and have to say I came away disappointed by a few things. The main reason I attended was because I'm a big fan of collecting character photos and autographs (hey it's free and it's fun to see my family grow and the characters change over the years). So when I saw the promise of "characters who we haven't seen walking around the parks lately" I knew I had to attend -- even with the steep cost. Well the only "rare" character there last night was Gaston. My wife is now riding me that Gaston's photo and autograph cost us $280. They had Horace and Clarabelle but those characters met in the parks every day until like a year and a half ago -- I'm sure everyone there last night already had their photos which is why those 2 characters spent the night walking aimlessly with few people taking interest. They had Jiminy Cricket -- maybe he's rare in Disneyland out in California where D23 is based but he appears everyday at AK. I feel they really misrepresented the character experience last night. I had been especially hopeful for who we would see based on the rumors for who will be appearing at tomorrow's Princess half-marathon: including Ariel and *Prince Eric*, Tiana Naveen & *Louis*, Pocahontas and *John Smith*, *Maleficent* and *PHEOBUS*. NOW there's a character line-up!!!!!!! I can't believe they pull Phoebus out of retirement on Sunday for everyday fans running the marathon and not bother to bring him to the event for major Disney enthusiasts who would truly appreciate his appearance. Even if we had just a few of those "rare" characters who'll be at the marathon -- that would have made it all worth it to me. Gaston and Belle's antics were truly the highlight -- but there should have been two or three more similar appearances.

I was also bummed by how they used the Diamond Horseshoe. The other reason I went was because the event was in this venue and I figured they just HAD to make use of the stage for something even though nothing was advertised. I was hoping for entertainment like a mini Diamond Horseshoe revue experience (circa 1998) with someone singing songs customized for the group on guitar (ala John Charles). What we got was like 3 or 4 different slideshows / video presentations saying how great D23 and the Walt Disney Company are. How is that entertainment? I dreamt of a lot of different things I would be presented with at the Diamond Horseshoe (maybe the Dapper Dans?) but what I imagined was entertainment not a Powerpoint presentation and a portable screen. I don't come to the Diamond Horseshoe for what I can get in the office -- I come to be entertained.

The food was great -- both at the Diamond Horseshoe and the Dessert buffet. The Imagineer presentation was OK -- I never expected them to reveal anything. But what I did learn was that this far into the project they still have a lot of things to figure out. The letdown for me was the "entertainment". When I entered the gates and when they started the presentation at the Horseshoe -- they promised a lot of surprises throughout the night which got my hopes up. But there were no surprises for me other than total lack of entertainment. When they say "characters" that we haven't seen for a while I expect them to deliver that at that price point -- to me that implies more than one rarity.

Sorry you did not have a nice time. There are lots of characters that could appear at these special events, but rarely do they see the light of day. I bet Disneyland might be having rare or retired characters out for their event.

 

[jmuboy]

I cant wait to compare the WDW vs the DL Events

 

[radiohost]

I cant wait to compare the WDW vs the DL Events

Lets start....

Walt Disney World Event..........$140 per person

Disneyland Event..............$65 per person

Check out the Disney celebrities who will be attending DL Party....

http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/010410_EE_DLAnniversary.html

I'm not real sure, but I think the Florida event got screwed on this one!

 

[Monty]

Wow.

11 pages of drivel and two posts from people who actually attended. One generally disappointed and one who had a good time.

Well I guess I'll tip the balance to the positive... I had a wonderful evening. :sohappy:

I enjoyed the dinner [though I found some of the meat a little dry - cooking for the masses tends to do that]. The Steve Clark presentation during dinner was entertaining and they did have piano accompaniment for a slide show summary of the first year's events. The meet-up and escort to PhilharMagic was a bit disorganised and we waited a bit too long in the cool night air, but not ridiculously so. The WDI presentation was light-hearted and interesting. I think Mark Cole did a wonderful job right up until the Q&A, at which point he turned into the consummate politician, never really answering direct questions and skating around issues that were raised. I imagine he had very strict limitations on what he could and could not reveal and he very diligently followed them. The Mickey and Minnie houses discussion was a perfect example. Ultimately, all he said that was clear was that there will always be Mickey and Minnie M&Gs in WDW. The "technical" problems with presenting PhilharMagic were a simple matter of the transition from presenting a multimedia presentation and cycling the show back to the synchronized presentation and it only took a very brief period, nothing dramatically problematic. The remainder of the evening was character photo ops with a number of characters that have already been listed here. The character interaction was much better that usual from what I saw. The Tremaines, Gaston and Belle and Pinocchio all appeared to really be having a lot of fun with guests. The desserts were absolutely wonderful and it was really great to finally ride Snow White [the line has always been ridiculously long]. I also re-rode Peter Pan but skipped Dumbo. Despite having really looked forward to finally riding Dumbo, I decided it was just too chilly for an open-air ride.

My only disappointment with the event [and I will grant it's a major one] is that the "Free admission" was a complimentary ticket and as such had no value toward an AP renewal nor could it be upgraded to any other ticket type. So in reality, the admission likely had no real value to any but possibly a tiny number of the 350 attendees [only someone without an AP and only planning on attending the event itself without any other park days on their visit/trip would possibly be able to use it - unless they give it to someone who is only going to WDW for one park and one day]. I will be writing to WDW to complain about that aspect.

That said, I'll easily save the loss of being able to use it toward my AP renewal by the 40% discount I got on WL for my December trip using the offer I received in my room!

All in all, IMO the event was a great experience and very well done.

 

[SoccerMickey]

Wow.

11 pages of drivel and two posts from people who actually attended. One generally disappointed and one who had a good time.

Well I guess I'll tip the balance to the positive... I had a wonderful evening. :sohappy:

I enjoyed the dinner [though I found some of the meat a little dry - cooking for the masses tends to do that]. The Steve Clark presentation during dinner was entertaining and they did have piano accompaniment for a slide show summary of the first year's events. The meet-up and escort to PhilharMagic was a bit disorganised and we waited a bit too long in the cool night air, but not ridiculously so. The WDI presentation was light-hearted and interesting. I think Mark Cole did a wonderful job right up until the Q&A, at which point he turned into the consummate politician, never really answering direct questions and skating around issues that were raised. I imagine he had very strict limitations on what he could and could not reveal and he very diligently followed them. The Mickey and Minnie houses discussion was a perfect example. Ultimately, all he said that was clear was that there will always be Mickey and Minnie M&Gs in WDW. The "technical" problems with presenting PhilharMagic were a simple matter of the transition from presenting a multimedia presentation and cycling the show back to the synchronized presentation and it only took a very brief period, nothing dramatically problematic. The remainder of the evening was character photo ops with a number of characters that have already been listed here. The character interaction was much better that usual from what I saw. The Tremaines, Gaston and Belle and Pinocchio all appeared to really be having a lot of fun with guests. The desserts were absolutely wonderful and it was really great to finally ride Snow White [the line has always been ridiculously long]. I also re-rode Peter Pan but skipped Dumbo. Despite having really looked forward to finally riding Dumbo, I decided it was just too chilly for an open-air ride.

My only disappointment with the event [and I will grant it's a major one] is that the "Free admission" was a complimentary ticket and as such had no value toward an AP renewal nor could it be upgraded to any other ticket type. So in reality, the admission likely had no real value to any but possibly a tiny number of the 350 attendees [only someone without an AP and only planning on attending the event itself without any other park days on their visit/trip would possibly be able to use it - unless they give it to someone who is only going to WDW for one park and one day]. I will be writing to WDW to complain about that aspect.

That said, I'll easily save the loss of being able to use it toward my AP renewal by the 40% discount I got on WL for my December trip using the offer I received in my room!

All in all, IMO the event was a great experience and very well done.

Glad you had a great time!

Complaining to WDW about the ticket won't do you any good as that was something that D23 purchased from WDW to give to attending guests. Those can be used by others up until May 5th. We will be using our two to give to a friend who lives here in Orlando and has never been to any of the Disney parks. The ticket was listed as part of the evening's $140 price tag so it was something you agreed to when you purchased the tickets. D23 is aware that most members already have tickets but they like to give them out with these events to encourage others to go into the parks.

As for the Steven Clark presentation, I thought it was great as well but FOR ME the highlight of that, and possibly the entire night was Miss Piggy's section of the sizzle reel where she says, and I am paraphrasing something like, "Throughout the years, no one has entertained the world as much as vous." The the camera slowly pulls back and you see she's holding a hand-held mirror then says, "Okay when are we ready to start this and what was it you wanted me to say about Disney?":ROFLOL:

All in all I thought it was a great time. I agree with you on the Q&A someone from D23 told us that the section got cut a little short, that's why there was that brief downtime between that and the movie due to the fact that it started to feel a bit embattled. I came away that a lot of fans are not too eager or excited about the Fantasyland expansion. I guess time will tell on that one.

I think one of the biggest hits of the night, which was not listed on these boards yet was the merchandise that was available for order. This was the first time D23 did this at an event and it was an overwhelming success. So much that at the end of the night they kept trying to close the line but people wanted to spend, spend, spend. We spent over $100 on some D23 pins from past events, the D23 Expo promo posters, the D23 Launch posters, and the full set of patches that came with the Fall 2009 Disney Twenty-Three magazines.

How about you, Monty? Did they get you for any $$$ with the merchandise?

 

[Monty]

Glad you had a great time!

Complaining to WDW about the ticket won't do you any good as that was something that D23 purchased from WDW to give to attending guests. Those can be used by others up until May 5th. We will be using our two to give to a friend who lives here in Orlando and has never been to any of the Disney parks. The ticket was listed as part of the evening's $140 price tag so it was something you agreed to when you purchased the tickets. D23 is aware that most members already have tickets but they like to give them out with these events to encourage others to go into the parks.

As for the Steven Clark presentation, I thought it was great as well but FOR ME the highlight of that, and possibly the entire night was Miss Piggy's section of the sizzle reel where she says, and I am paraphrasing something like, "Throughout the years, no one has entertained the world as much as vous." The the camera slowly pulls back and you see she's holding a hand-held mirror then says, "Okay when are we ready to start this and what was it you wanted me to say about Disney?":ROFLOL:

All in all I thought it was a great time. I agree with you on the Q&A someone from D23 told us that the section got cut a little short, that's why there was that brief downtime between that and the movie due to the fact that it started to feel a bit embattled. I came away that a lot of fans are not too eager or excited about the Fantasyland expansion. I guess time will tell on that one.

I think one of the biggest hits of the night, which was not listed on these boards yet was the merchandise that was available for order. This was the first time D23 did this at an event and it was an overwhelming success. So much that at the end of the night they kept trying to close the line but people wanted to spend, spend, spend. We spent over $100 on some D23 pins from past events, the D23 Expo promo posters, the D23 Launch posters, and the full set of patches that came with the Fall 2009 Disney Twenty-Three magazines.

How about you, Monty? Did they get you for any $$$ with the merchandise?

I know complaining won't likely help, but it'll make me feel better! :lol:

We stopped by the merchandise location, but unfortunately we got bad information about what was in there. The CM we talked to said it was order forms for D23 merch, but that it was all stuff we could get on the internet. Since it was ridiculously crowded, we didn't go in. Pity, I would have bought the patches. I tried getting the ones I'm missing through eBay, but prices always got way too high. $30-ish for the set is something I would have gladly paid had I known.

 

[SoccerMickey]

I know complaining won't likely help, but it'll make me feel better! :lol:

We stopped by the merchandise location, but unfortunately we got bad information about what was in there. The CM we talked to said it was order forms for D23 merch, but that it was all stuff we could get on the internet. Since it was ridiculously crowded, we didn't go in. Pity, I would have bought the patches. I tried getting the ones I'm missing through eBay, but prices always got way too high. $30-ish for the set is something I would have gladly paid had I known.

There was a lot of miscommunication about the patches. I guess they had 25 units on hand, which sold out immediately, but they took orders for the others. It wasn't until I talked to one of the D23 staff were they able to clear things up and I was ready to stand in line for the merchandise.