Destination D anyone?

[DanzerSam25]

As much fun as the presentations were, I was very disappointed in the lack of WDW information. There was plenty of future events and what not, but I was expecting history. Where was the opening day video or pictures. We got to hear some stories about the days leading up, but it was inconsistent. Would it have been so terrible to have this all be WDW since it was their 40th anniversary not Disneylands!?!

I also hated the lack of communication. We got stuck in ironman traffic. It took us over an hour to get to the contemporary only to be turned around. Day 1 we parked there, but day 2 they said no. It was not said on the website, in the packets we recieved or anywhere else. There was a reccomendation in the confirmation email, but not a requirement. And when you got to the toll plaza, the 1 sign they had was behind a purple sign. When they brought it to d23's attention, they said there was an announcement made after the last event day 1, after half the room had left.

Bottom line for me: this was a good start, but there is a lot to be fixed. Communication needs to be better and there should be more wdw stuff.

just curious: How many people got autographs? We were lucky to get in stand-by when they apparantly told everyone to leave. We managed to get everyone because once we got done with the table we wanted, there was no else there.

 

[TP2000]

Would it have been so terrible to have this all be WDW since it was their 40th anniversary not Disneylands!?!

I was also surprised at how much mention Disneyland got in the presentations.

But then you also have to realize that almost all of the people planning, staging and presenting at this event were all flown in for the week from Southern California and almost every single one of them is a native Californian and career Disneylander instead of a career Disney World CM; Jack Lindquist, Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter, etc.

It's a shame they didn't have more Disney World CM's presenting, although Debbie as one of the first Preview Center hostesses was a fun touch. They needed more CM's who were in on the ground floor like that reminiscing!

Also odd is the complete lack of TDO executives in attendance, let alone presenting or acting as host to the crowd. At the Destination D last summer at the Disneyland Hotel the President of Disneyland Resort gave a welcome speech and then hung out at the mixer shaking hands and chatting, along with several other TDA executives.

It appears the execs from TDO had a tee time to make this weekend, or simply had to get to Target on Saturday and couldn't be bothered with D23.

 

[MKCP 1985]

We get it, TP2000. Disneyland execs > Disneyworld execs. If Disneyland can't reap the attendance and revenues of WDW, at least they can use the old Avis motto, "We try harder." :lol:

Did anyone who was able to attend want to report on the great swag they handed out?

Can't wait to read all about it. I would have loved to have gone down, but there is just too much going on to take a nostalgia trip right now.

 

[SeaCastle]

I was also surprised at how much mention Disneyland got in the presentations.

But then you also have to realize that almost all of the people planning, staging and presenting at this event were all flown in for the week from Southern California and almost every single one of them is a native Californian and career Disneylander instead of a career Disney World CM; Jack Lindquist, Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter, etc.

It's a shame they didn't have more Disney World CM's presenting, although Debbie as one of the first Preview Center hostesses was a fun touch. They needed more CM's who were in on the ground floor like that reminiscing!

Also odd is the complete lack of TDO executives in attendance, let alone presenting or acting as host to the crowd. At the Destination D last summer at the Disneyland Hotel the President of Disneyland Resort gave a welcome speech and then hung out at the mixer shaking hands and chatting, along with several other TDA executives.

It appears the execs from TDO had a tee time to make this weekend, or simply had to get to Target on Saturday and couldn't be bothered with D23.

George Kalogridis is a bit of a celebrity executive, and his name is associated with good things happening at the Resort (understandably so). Most Disneylanders have at least heard of him, and unless I'm mistaken TDA is presumed to be doing a good job at Disneyland.

Meanwhile, most fans who know of TDO tend to think of it negatively, and I'm sure most folks in the know don't hold Meg Crofton or Erin Wallace in high regard. If I was responsible for lowering WDW's quality, I wouldn't dare show my face at a fan convention filled with people who know what the parks were like back in the glory days.

 

[TP2000]

George Kalogridis is a bit of a celebrity executive, and his name is associated with good things happening at the Resort (understandably so). Most Disneylanders have at least heard of him, and unless I'm mistaken TDA is presumed to be doing a good job at Disneyland.

Meanwhile, most fans who know of TDO tend to think of it negatively, and I'm sure most folks in the know don't hold Meg Crofton or Erin Wallace in high regard. If I was responsible for lowering WDW's quality, I wouldn't dare show my face at a fan convention filled with people who know what the parks were like back in the glory days.

Valid points.

And yet a recent argument can be made that TDA executives did just the opposite when Disneyland quality was suffering badly. During the heyday of Harriss and Pressler (1998-2003) when Disneyland was headed in the wrong direction quality-wise and Al Lutz was leading the online charge of critics and gaining exposure in the mainstream media for it, Cynthia Harriss as Disneyland President held court at Disneyland fan events. She would even show up dressed up as a haunted hostess for a Haunted Mansion fan event while being excoriated by name on the Internet...

Disneyland President Cynthia Harriss arrives in costume at fan event, 2000

Cynthia had guts, you gotta give here that.

There must be a story here why the TDO executives stayed away from the first big D23 fan event on WDW property. :veryconfu

Not that TDO suits needed to be there for the entire 2-day run, but a targeted 30 to 45 minute appearance by Meg Crofton with a few quick welcoming words on the stage while her car idled in the valet lot for a quick getaway doesn't seem unreasonable. Heck, I would think that type of PR appearance would be an important (and mandatory) part of Crofton's paid role for the property, especially when she's got 600 superfans who are willing to spend money and generate positive buzz online. There's an interesting story here behind TDO's total ignore-mode of D23 Destination D this weekend, I'm almost sure of it. :lol:

And yet, judging by the almost complete lack of attention the event gained this weekend here on this active WDW board... :snore: while another Disneyland-centric board covered it widely and continually all weekend, perhaps TDO saw the invite list numbers and demographics of the attendees and figured they needn't have bothered showing up?

.

 

[TP2000]

Can't wait to read all about it.

You'll find a very thorough play-by-play of the entire event here... http://micechat.com/forums/d23-disn...disney-worlds-40th-anniversary-live-blog.html

There's also a couple hundred pictures at that link and streaming commentary from each presentation, including some neat new secrets and info behind the New Fantasyland expansion, Seven Dwaves Mine Train coaster, Dumbo's Circusland, etc.

Very thorough report, and some great pictures of the fabulously kitschy merchandise and gifts offered at the event! I hope we see some of those graphics and merchandise showing up in the WDW gift shops later this year for the 40th! :sohappy:

 

[Victoria]

We get it, TP2000. Disneyland execs > Disneyworld execs. If Disneyland can't reap the attendance and revenues of WDW, at least they can use the old Avis motto, "We try harder." :lol:

Did anyone who was able to attend want to report on the great swag they handed out?

Can't wait to read all about it. I would have loved to have gone down, but there is just too much going on to take a nostalgia trip right now.

There wasn't much in the way of free swag. Everyone who bought a ticket got a reproduction copy of the original Disney World preview book. We also got a lanyard for identification purposes that was pretty cool looking. One of the archives guys gave away items from his personal collection (I think) via a "look under your chair for a sticker" method. Later in the evening it was discovered that not many people had actually found stickers or claimed a prize. Several people I know ended up hunting around for the stickers and were able to claim the prizes the next day. A set of rare Epcot postcards, a D23 pin, and some other postcards were among the items those people won. On Sunday there was a surprise trivia contest that was a test run for a contest they are doing at the Expo in August. All of the contestants got some random D23 stuff and the winner got entry into the main contest out in Cali this summer. I can't recall there being anything else given away. Then again, I am a bit brain dead now that I am back in Realityland. :dazzle:

The non-free merchandi$e was pretty cool too. I bought a button set, an Orange Bird t-shirt, Destination D pins with Figment and the Orange Bird, and a full set of the elusive EPCOT Center patches. Co$t a small fortune but I am happy with my $tuff. :lookaroun

 

[TP2000]

I bought a button set, an Orange Bird t-shirt...

That's the shirt I wanted! :fork:

Congrats on having good taste though, and I'm sure you'll wear it well. :wave:

 

[Victoria]

That's the shirt I wanted! :fork:

Congrats on having good taste though, and I'm sure you'll wear it well. :wave:

I think it was the shirt EVERYONE wanted. :lol: Everywhere I looked there was someone wearing it. I totally would have worn mine too but it was too hot for anything other than a bathing suit once you stepped outside.

 

[WesternRiverExplorer]

I don't think having Tony be such a big part of Day 1 was odd at all. As much as Tony is recognized as a proud Disneylander through and through, I think his panel on never built attractions proves that he has just as much to do with the history of WDW, especially EPCOT Center. It's just that most of his ideas were cut. But Imagination was his and his team's, and that says a lot. Not to mention his role in possibly the most storied lost concept of all, WRE. Big Thunder likely never would've existed anywhere if WRE hadn't been thought of first.

As for the TDO execs, I'm glad they had the sense to not come. Cynthia may have had guts, but was she ever booed off the stage? I could see that happening, not because they personally deserve it, but for what they represent. We all think of the Pressler/Harris as the dark times for DL, but there's a bigger picture here. What exactly did Disneyland lose during that time they they didn't in some way get back, or get a suitable replacement? I would venture to say that WDW has lost more over its history due to bad decisions and bad management than Disneyland ever has, and a lot of it we're never going to get back. Horizons, Mr. Toad, 20k Leagues, Imagination with Dreamfinder, World of Motion (or at least a pavilion that talks about transportation as a broad and forward thinking subject), most of the interesting parts of the once expansive Backlot Tour, a working Animation Studio, expansive live entertainment/music groups at the parks and hotels, both EPCOT and MGM with a true identity and sense of purpose, the Adventurers Club and Pleasure Island, quirky shows like Kitchen Kaberet, Cranium Command, and Timekeeper, a majority of the traffic on the Rivers of America including an entire steamboat, the Wonders of Life, and for a long time, Tropical Serenade. At least one of these errors is being made up for at last. Many of these things got spontaneous applause at the event. As wonderful as the nostalgia was to show off these things things, it's also very sad and disheartening that we won't likely see them in person again. And whether or not they deserve it, TDO is an easy target for those negative feelings.

Eric Jacobson, the WDI VP in charge of WDW, will be speaking for 75 minutes on Sunday morning.

Did Eric never show up to Destination D, or am I mistaken? The Yesterday and Tomorrow WDI panel was "hosted" by someone who I can't remember the name of, but it wasn't the Eric Jacobson I was expecting at least. That entire panel was just odd, why talk so long about things everyone in that audience already knew, save a few details and a bit of new art. This is a group of hardcore fans, not the place for a badly scripted marketing message. The segment on Art of Animation was particularly painful.

 

[TP2000]

I don't think having Tony be such a big part of Day 1 was odd at all. As much as Tony is recognized as a proud Disneylander through and through, I think his panel on never built attractions proves that he has just as much to do with the history of WDW, especially EPCOT Center.

Great point! When I wrote that about Tony Baxter a few weeks ago, I had not considered his contributions to EPCOT Center in the early 80's. I was only thinking of this Destination D event as construction and opening day stuff circa 1969-71, not further expansion into the 1980's. They clearly covered a lot of ground at this event, including Tony's wonderful contributions to EPCOT Center. No wonder he flew out to Orlando for the weekend. How could he not?

As for the TDO execs, I'm glad they had the sense to not come. Cynthia may have had guts, but was she ever booed off the stage?

Actually, no, she wasn't. She was definitely on a charm offensive, and it worked for most of her tenure at Disneyland. Several key Disneyland websites, except for Al Lutz, really treated her with kid gloves as she schmoozed over them and did corny interviews with their fledgling websites. It worked for her until the bad PR (mostly driven by Al Lutz who was increasingly quoted with scathing criticism for TDA in the LA Times, Wall Street Journal, TV news, etc.) and mistakes finally mounted too high, and she left suddenly to "spend time with family" as a single woman without children. On the same day as Cynthia's immediate resignation, she was instantly replaced by the fabulous Matt Ouimet who got Disneyland to turn a total 180 in '04 and '05 just in time for the 50th Anniversary.

Cynthia Harriss, after being booted from The Gap in '08, had been working for a small chain of 70 mall stores called Metropark for the past year. Last week Metropark filed for bankruptcy and immediately began liquidating and closing all of their stores. I don't normally believe in Karma, but that concept seems to be at play here for poor Cynthia.

What exactly did Disneyland lose during that time they they didn't in some way get back, or get a suitable replacement? I would venture to say that WDW has lost more over its history due to bad decisions and bad management than Disneyland ever has, and a lot of it we're never going to get back. Horizons, Mr. Toad, 20k Leagues....

Wow! Another really good point that I hadn't really considered, probably because it had never been said that bluntly. But sometimes blunt is good.

But upon reflection, you are right. The "damage" us Disneyland fans so often reference that was inflicted upon Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom during the 1998-2003 era was mostly cosmetic; chipped paint, burned out lightbulbs, creaky animatronics, broken effects, cheapened offerings. The transformation of Disneyland (and to a lesser extent DCA) after the departure of Cynthia Harriss was lightning fast over much of 2004 and into early 2005, mainly because so much of that "damage" was purely cosmetic and hadn't had enough time to settle in too deeply.

The only permanent losses at Disneyland under Pressler/Harriss can be counted on less than one hand; the PeopleMover in '95, the Keelboats in '97, and the Plaza Gardens ice cream counter in '99. Everything else was reinstated ASAP, refreshed and refurbished, or replaced with something better and sharper. Subsequent executives have keept it that way, if not even improved the overall maintenance across property at Disneyland Resort. In another online conversation I was having, the genereal consensus was that Disneyland has never looked better cosmetically than it does now in 2011, and DCA is rapidly being fixed on both the cosmetic and operational fronts for completion in June, 2012. The WDW parks right now are another conversation entirely.

Okay. Interesting points here, and I've learned something. Thank you! :wave:

So... I guess Meg Crofton knew what she was doing by entirely avoiding D23 this past weekend.

.

 

[WDWFigment]

TP2000, et al, Meg Crofton was at Magic & Merriment (another D23 event) for a lengthy presentation. Trust me, you would not have wanted her at Destination D.

Destination D was an amazing experience. I can't quite understand the complaints about too much Disneyland history. Disneyland is the pre-cursor to Walt Disney World, and the foundation upon which Walt Disney World was built. Moreover, it's the park Walt Disney actually built. To discuss the history of Walt Disney World without discussing Disneyland would have been glossing over an integral part of the history of WDW.

I spoke with several attendees who had also done Destination D last year at DLR. All of them said WDW's was better (that "Magic Journeys" conclusion made anything else very difficult to top). I highly doubt WDW's would have been as good if any TDO executives had been on hand to speak.

 

[Tigger1988]

Damn, some people really look for things to complain about. The event was amazing in every way possible.

 

[WDWFigment]

Damn, some people really look for things to complain about. The event was amazing in every way possible.

Agreed. I already sent a letter off to D23 this morning thanking them for the flawless event (I figure that I need to dispense with praise if I dispense with complaints, and I've sent the latter type of letter to Disney before!).

I actually did include one complaint in the letter--that Destination D was such an amazing event that it has us seriously considering a California trip for the Expo. However, obviously that complaint is in jest.

 

[Figment82]

My only complaint was with the long merchandise line Friday night, but the CMs were all very nice and helpful, and I expected delays after the mess at the 2009 Expo. That, and the scorching heat during the Scavenger Hunt, which was hardly their fault. Otherwise it was a fantastic weekend, and I'll treasure it for a long, long time. I thought the special guests and presentations were superb.

Unfortunately, the dates for this year's Expo didn't work put for us, with the DL Half, but it should be a fantastic time yet again.

 

[Tigger1988]

My only complaint was with the long merchandise line Friday night, but the CMs were all very nice and helpful,

Ah yes, I forgot about that. We finally got up to the merch table an hour after it all went on sale and the EPCOT patches were gone as well as the 'small' size in several shirts. An HOUR into the sale. How did they expect to sell things for 3 days if they were running out so quickly?

 

[Figment82]

Ah yes, I forgot about that. We finally got up to the merch table an hour after it all went on sale and the EPCOT patches were gone as well as the 'small' size in several shirts. An HOUR into the sale. How did they expect to sell things for 3 days if they were running out so quickly?

They told us they were not imposing limits on how much you could buy, and while I didn't see anyone snatching up a ton of stuff, I didn't think that was the best decision. The Epcot patches were in limited quantity from the start, since they had already been sold at multiple events prior to this one.

I think we got in line at about 4:50, and by our calculation, it took us a little over 45 minutes to check out once the line opened. Although I didn't really want to be in line that long (especially as we had just come from running around MK for 3 hours with the Scavenger Hunt), I was glad I did it and was able to get everything I wanted. The line was still long on Saturday, and when it finall eased up on Sunday, almost everything was gone.

I was thrilled to see that Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were responsible for most of the merchandise, as they are the masters of capturing nostalgia in collectible form. The button set was great!

 

[Tigger1988]

They told us they were not imposing limits on how much you could buy, and while I didn't see anyone snatching up a ton of stuff, I didn't think that was the best decision.

This was the big mistake. I haven't taken the time to look but I'm expecting to see most of the merch on eBay for inflated prices.

Limits or no limits there was no excuse to be running low on certain things no more than an hour into it. *goes to shrink my medium sized shirts*

 

[Victoria]

TP2000, et al, Meg Crofton was at Magic & Merriment (another D23 event) for a lengthy presentation. Trust me, you would not have wanted her at Destination D.

Destination D was an amazing experience. I can't quite understand the complaints about too much Disneyland history. Disneyland is the pre-cursor to Walt Disney World, and the foundation upon which Walt Disney World was built. Moreover, it's the park Walt Disney actually built. To discuss the history of Walt Disney World without discussing Disneyland would have been glossing over an integral part of the history of WDW.

I spoke with several attendees who had also done Destination D last year at DLR. All of them said WDW's was better (that "Magic Journeys" conclusion made anything else very difficult to top). I highly doubt WDW's would have been as good if any TDO executives had been on hand to speak.

I completely agree. I was in no way offended by the discussion of Disneyland. I can't understand why anyone would be.

Damn, some people really look for things to complain about. The event was amazing in every way possible.

This. My one and only complaint was how late the events ran on Sunday night. Unfortunately I had to leave property around 4pm to fly back home so I could get to work Monday morning. As a result I missed clearly the best part of the event. When I landed back in NJ and opened up TweetDeck I was on the verge of tears because of what I had missed. I definitely would have preferred to have had Magic Journeys on Saturday evening instead...and can't really think of a reason why it couldn't have been.

Ah yes, I forgot about that. We finally got up to the merch table an hour after it all went on sale and the EPCOT patches were gone as well as the 'small' size in several shirts. An HOUR into the sale. How did they expect to sell things for 3 days if they were running out so quickly?

We got on the line around 4:45 and waited around 45 minutes to get up to the table. I bought the 2nd to last set of EPCOT patches, a friend of mine bought the last set, and the guy behind me (who I thought might kill my friends :lookaroun) managed to get one of the volunteers to give him the display package.

They told us they were not imposing limits on how much you could buy, and while I didn't see anyone snatching up a ton of stuff, I didn't think that was the best decision. The Epcot patches were in limited quantity from the start, since they had already been sold at multiple events prior to this one.

I think we got in line at about 4:50, and by our calculation, it took us a little over 45 minutes to check out once the line opened. Although I didn't really want to be in line that long (especially as we had just come from running around MK for 3 hours with the Scavenger Hunt), I was glad I did it and was able to get everything I wanted. The line was still long on Saturday, and when it finall eased up on Sunday, almost everything was gone.

I was thrilled to see that Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were responsible for most of the merchandise, as they are the masters of capturing nostalgia in collectible form. The button set was great!

I thought the no limit thing was weird too. I didn't see anyone go too crazy buying stuff. I guess maybe it was too expensive in addition to the $175 already spent on the ticket. I was SO glad we made the decision to buy merch on Friday night though. I would have been very upset if I had waited and then ended up not being able to get everything I wanted.

This was the big mistake. I haven't taken the time to look but I'm expecting to see most of the merch on eBay for inflated prices.

Limits or no limits there was no excuse to be running low on certain things no more than an hour into it. *goes to shrink my medium sized shirts*

Suprisingly, there is very little stuff listed on eBay. I kept checking periodically throughout the event but not much has shown up. Either everyone is still in WDW and will list it in a few days, or everyone is hoarding the merchandise for their own personal use. :shrug:

 

[WDWFigment]

Here's the first photo I've had the chance to edit from the weekend. Plenty more to come:


One Little Spark - Richard Sherman, Dreamfinder and Figment by Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), on Flickr