Disney's Punishment of Honest Media/Reviews

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Sundown

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think many have a belief that the Walt Disney company is one of still "good" companies out there. And certainly because so many have such fond memories & experiences associated with Disney & the parks. I know I do. And when I learn of something truly contradictory to this belief....it is really a gut-punch. It saps out the energy to want to go to Disney. And I don't like that feeling.

But here we are. Len Testa, creator of TouringPlans & veteran Disney parks fan released this



This news that people who attended the Star Wars Galactic Cruiser are in fear of reprisals from Disney if they write honest reviews of the experience...is jarring. Especially as relates to the first or second thing we al think about when we think of this new Disney hotel, and that is the high $6,000 expense. Is it worth it? Something to save-up for, something to really treat the family to and enjoy?
 
networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
I'll have to agree with Len's statement that some of the vloggers that were provided a free experience attended to exchange views/gain income to showcase Disney's new product offering. A good example is Tim Tracker. He had been removed from the media list for a while for not performing the exchange that was offered and its taken about a year to repair that situation.

Now the reviews that come after March 1st where people are spending their own money is what people need to assess the value proposition.
 
S

Sundown

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@networkpro, thanks for your post. Where can I learn more about Tim Tracker and is there any info about the what the article was he posted that provoked the Disney retaliation against him? I'd like to learn more about it if it's available somewhere online.
 
Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

Well-Known Member
Sundown said:
@networkpro, thanks for your post. Where can I learn more about Tim Tracker and is there any info about the what the article was he posted that provoked the Disney retaliation against him? I'd like to learn more about it if it's available somewhere online.
Click to expand...

Off topic but:


The Trackers actually discussed this themselves on a live stream. They were kicked off the media list for Disney / Universal because of a controversy with past videos. You can find their apology video on their channel.

They have a pretty loud group of people who hate them, and that group kept emailing Disney and Universal until they kicked them out.

Only recently have they been allowed back on a trial / limited basis with Disney.
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
Sundown said:
Hi @castlecake2.0. What type of joke? From reading Len's thoughts on how reviewers are pressured to post positive things...doesn't look like that's a joke.
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The brass knuckles thing. Show me some proof that Disney is forcing people for positive reviews, l have seen lots of the big vloggers talk about negatives before. And I don’t buy the tim tracker being “punished” for negative reviews, his content getting lazy and sloppy was the main reason for being dropped from Disney for a while.
 
L

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
networkpro said:
I'll have to agree with Len's statement that some of the vloggers that were provided a free experience attended to exchange views/gain income to showcase Disney's new product offering. A good example is Tim Tracker. He had been removed from the media list for a while for not performing the exchange that was offered and its taken about a year to repair that situation.

Now the reviews that come after March 1st where people are spending their own money is what people need to assess the value proposition.
Click to expand...
castlecake2.0 said:
The brass knuckles thing. Show me some proof that Disney is forcing people for positive reviews, l have seen lots of the big vloggers talk about negatives before. And I don’t buy the tim tracker being “punished” for negative reviews, his content getting lazy and sloppy was the main reason for being dropped from Disney for a while.
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Seems like proof.
 
lentesta

lentesta

Premium Member
castlecake2.0 said:
The brass knuckles thing. Show me some proof that Disney is forcing people for positive reviews, l have seen lots of the big vloggers talk about negatives before. And I don’t buy the tim tracker being “punished” for negative reviews, his content getting lazy and sloppy was the main reason for being dropped from Disney for a while.
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I mean, not for nothing, but WDWMagic is banned from media events. I thought that was common knowledge.

I‘m banned specifically because of criticism about prices and DHS that got quoted by the NYT. Between the book and the site, around 250,000 families buy our advice every year before heading to a Disney theme park. If it was a question of “Well, we don’t have room for everyone,” at these events, you‘d never see small podcasts or bloggers.

Here’s Disney blacklisting the LA Times‘ film critics, because of what the LAT business section said about the theme parks: https://slate.com/culture/2017/11/disney-is-blacklisting-los-angeles-times-critics.html

One side effect of that thread was that I got stories from other reporters about how they got cut off, or their editors got calls, from Disney PR about what they wrote.

ETA: I think the Washington Post has been mostly cut off since publishing this in 2015: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ke-disney-world-left-the-middle-class-behind/. They have nothing on Halycon, and they’re the 4th largest newspaper in the country.

ETA: The Hollywood Reporter’s farewell to Disney’s last head of PR refers to her “scorched earth” policy when dealing with negative press: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...enia-much-disney-pr-retire-column-1234985254/
 
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DC0703

DC0703

Well-Known Member
I don't doubt that what Len says here is true. I'm sure Disney views these vloggers as a form of free press - give them some insider access and some swag, and they get great cheap advertising. I've watched vloggers for a long time and I'm fully aware that almost everything they say is sunshine and rainbows. You rarely hear "well, that sucked" (Though if you watch enough of them, sometimes you can tell when their enthusiasm is missing).

For that reason, I tend to watch vloggers for the content rather than the fluffy commentary. I knew everyone would be saying that the Starcruiser was the most epic achievement known to mankind... I just wanted to see what it looked like inside.
 
"El Gran Magnifico"

"El Gran Magnifico"

Mr Flibble is Very Cross.
Premium Member
lentesta said:
I mean, not for nothing, but WDWMagic is banned from media events. I thought that was common knowledge.

I‘m banned specifically because of criticism about prices and DHS that got quoted by the NYT. Between the book and the site, around 250,000 families buy our advice every year before heading to a Disney theme park. If it was a question of “Well, we don’t have room for everyone,” at these events, you‘d never see small podcasts or bloggers.

Here’s Disney blacklisting the LA Times‘ film critics, because of what the LAT business section said about the theme parks: https://slate.com/culture/2017/11/disney-is-blacklisting-los-angeles-times-critics.html

One side effect of that thread was that I got stories from other reporters about how they got cut off, or their editors got calls, from Disney PR about what they wrote.

ETA: I think the Washington Post has been mostly cut off since publishing this in 2015: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ke-disney-world-left-the-middle-class-behind/. They have nothing on Halycon, and they’re the 4th largest newspaper in the country.

ETA: The Hollywood Reporter’s farewell to Disney’s last head of PR refers to her “scorched earth” policy when dealing with negative press: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...enia-much-disney-pr-retire-column-1234985254/
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Prolly why I give more credence to your takes than I do the average vlogger/blogger/“press”/“influencer”

@wdwmagic’s takes as well
 
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"El Gran Magnifico"

"El Gran Magnifico"

Mr Flibble is Very Cross.
Premium Member
lentesta said:
One side effect of that thread was that I got stories from other reporters about how they got cut off, or their editors got calls, from Disney PR about what they wrote.
Click to expand...

What I find ironic is that - that very same PR department has caused as much if not greater damage over the past 6 months in their handling of Genie+ and Galactic Cruiser.

And that’s not a statement on the product. It’s a statement on the focus.
 
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Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
If it was a question of “Well, we don’t have room for everyone,” at these events, you‘d never see small podcasts or bloggers.
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In the case of the Starcruiser, I question the wisdom of inviting some of these bloggers who clearly have a smaller, younger and frankly poorer audience who are much less likely to be able to afford visiting something like this.

Unless there's some general media invite list that never changes no matter what is being promoted.
 
Diamond Dot

Diamond Dot

Well-Known Member
You give vloggers a big bang freebie and you expect positivity in return. What's so wrong with that? If the vloggers want to be in a position to review their experience positively then they should not take the freebies, after all they make enough money from their monetizing vidoes to be able to afford to pay the $6000
 

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