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Disney's Punishment of Honest Media/Reviews
- Thread starter Sundown
- Start date
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
It's very strange how nobody ever answers the question why are so many of the vloggers who have continuously and honestly said negative comments about Disney invited to the Hotel freebie? DFB is continually making videos about things such as "The ten biggest Disney World rip-offs in 2022" or "10 tricks Disney uses to make you spend more" etc? For anyone thinking I'm making this up just go through their catalog of videos here. On this very thread somebody has just said that two of the invitees have said on their videos that they're returning as a paying guest to make sure Disney isn't offering less to paying guests than they did to the media and social influencers including DFB. Saying that implies that they don't trust Disney, is that the behavior of somebody terrified of upsetting Disney? We're told Disney have said to them "You've been given a free stay at our new hotel, you better not say anything negative or else" and yet on their very videos of that event they've said they don't trust Disney and are paying to make sure the same quality experience is offered to paying guests!!!! This surely negates those claiming that they will never say anything bad for fear of reprisals and shows Disney invited guests who have been proven to say negative things about Disney previously. Something just doesn't quite add up there does it?
A common sense approach would be to accept that some vloggers will have reason to fear the mouse or believe bigging them up will enhance their Disney relationship. Whether that fear or belief is right or wrong doesn't matter, it COULD be there and influencing their review. But surely common sense would also dictate that there's also vloggers who are honest, many of those invited have made numerous negative statements about Disney in the past but a minority are selling the idea that this never happened or happens, it did and it does. By all means choose who you believe, weigh up what they've said previously about stuff and decide whether they've previously lied about things or come across as being right in their reviews. Another poster said the other day "You can't even trust paying guest reviews because they may say they loved it as they're embarrassed admitting they've wasted 6 grand". I mean come on, you can't have your cake and eat it. Does anyone really think that somebody paying 6 grand and hating it is going to log onto Trip Adviser and say "I absolutely loved it" to a bunch of strangers they don't know in some attempt to claw back their dignity?
By all means wait for the paying guests to give their reviews, there's a logic to that which I can't deny. But certainly watch videos made by vloggers there for free and SEE with your own eyes what the place looks like or how the characters interact etc. Those things aren't affected that much by the opinion of the person filming. They can of course edit bad stuff out but what's including is exactly what YOU would have SEEN if you were there too. The fact that filming is their livelihood also probably means their visual quality is going to be better than the average none vlogger paying guests who films it, ironically giving you a more realistic image of what it looks like than you'll get from the paying guest. Again use some common sense and judge accordingly, it's a lot of money but somebody telling you "Don't book, it's terrible and the vloggers all lie" is giving a strange opinion and telling some fibs themselves.
A common sense approach would be to accept that some vloggers will have reason to fear the mouse or believe bigging them up will enhance their Disney relationship. Whether that fear or belief is right or wrong doesn't matter, it COULD be there and influencing their review. But surely common sense would also dictate that there's also vloggers who are honest, many of those invited have made numerous negative statements about Disney in the past but a minority are selling the idea that this never happened or happens, it did and it does. By all means choose who you believe, weigh up what they've said previously about stuff and decide whether they've previously lied about things or come across as being right in their reviews. Another poster said the other day "You can't even trust paying guest reviews because they may say they loved it as they're embarrassed admitting they've wasted 6 grand". I mean come on, you can't have your cake and eat it. Does anyone really think that somebody paying 6 grand and hating it is going to log onto Trip Adviser and say "I absolutely loved it" to a bunch of strangers they don't know in some attempt to claw back their dignity?
By all means wait for the paying guests to give their reviews, there's a logic to that which I can't deny. But certainly watch videos made by vloggers there for free and SEE with your own eyes what the place looks like or how the characters interact etc. Those things aren't affected that much by the opinion of the person filming. They can of course edit bad stuff out but what's including is exactly what YOU would have SEEN if you were there too. The fact that filming is their livelihood also probably means their visual quality is going to be better than the average none vlogger paying guests who films it, ironically giving you a more realistic image of what it looks like than you'll get from the paying guest. Again use some common sense and judge accordingly, it's a lot of money but somebody telling you "Don't book, it's terrible and the vloggers all lie" is giving a strange opinion and telling some fibs themselves.
DisneyCane
Well-Known Member
I don't watch any vloggers but if what was posted upthread is what got them pulled from Disney/Universal media events then it doesn't take much if there is a campaign against somebody. I have no idea if they had other videos that actually had something offensive in them but the one posted above didn't say anything derogatory about anybody or any group.
If we've reached the point where that joke is considered offensive and deserving of punishment then there is no hope for humor about anything.
As for the main topic of the thread, I 100% believe that Disney will blacklist media or internet content producers who give them negative PR. They are certainly not going to give somebody a free experience that is worth thousands of dollars if the person receiving it isn't going to give them good PR.
How many bad product reviews do you see on Amazon where there is disclosure that the reviewer received the product for free? I haven't seen many (if any) truly "bad" reviews in that situation. The people who like getting free products to write reviews about know that if they are too negative, the gravy train will end.
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
Do you think this video gives good PR to Disney, look at the title and watch it. Guess what, this youtube channel has made a number of videos being just as critical of Disney and they got a free invite to the hotel the other day?
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
Agreed. They made one where Jenn made a comment about an evening being Tim's 'Steak and BJ night' with a mouthful of yogurt dribbling down her chin. I think there were complaints by parents who watched that with their kids assuming every video in their back catalog was family Friendly. Then again Disney + is showing Pam and Tommy where there's sex scenes galore so go figure?
As a form of punishment when CA writers wrote about articles on TWDC of taking advantage of tax shelters etc then the same writers that would review the movie Thor Ragnarok in 2017 were not invited to the Los Angeles screening.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
That I find pretty reprehensible.
Disney laying on a spread for vloggers or travel writers on the "understanding" that they are there to generate positive buzz for whatever they're pushing seems more like a routine marketing exercise to me. There's no law that says Disney has to hold previews for new offerings, so Disney is free to view them as only being worthwhile if they generate positive publicity and those who get invites are free to buy into that or not. The rest of us just need to be informed and critical of the information we receive, whatever the topic.
Just deserts:.................................................................................................................Just desserts:
Have you ever watched one of these “critical” clickbait videos?
DFB never tells guests not to go to WDW, they basically tell viewers on how to find alternatives to what they’re being critical of. It’s a way to tacitly direct guests on the fence to commit to their trip even though they have identified these negative items.
At the end of the day the guests who are watching will still go and will still spend, so Disney is ok with this.
Thanks for that.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
People aren't suggesting anything remotely like this (yes, there are a couple of people on here who act that way, but it's like 1% of commenters).
If anything, this seems like evidence of your own bias. Just because people have something negative to say doesn't mean that they only accept negative comments -- there are plenty of positive comments in the Starcruiser thread that are not being dismissed or attacked (again, other than by a couple of people who are basically trolling and ignored by everyone else).
You have to be aware of any inherent bias in content you're consuming, whether news, reviews, or anything else. And it's certainly not only about positive bias; there's plenty of negatively biased content out there as well. You wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) tell someone to watch Fox News or MSNBC and take everything at face value without any further thought.
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I guess let’s see what happens next to Gizmodo.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
My guess is Disney won't care so much (if we're accepting that Disney is going to punish offenders) if people say it isn't worth the price as long as they describe the experience itself as great, because price/value is so subjective. People can talk themselves into the price if it sounds good enough to them.
And no, I'm not suggesting that they only said it's cool because Disney wants them to.
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mergatroid
Well-Known Member
So you've just admitted that they're being critical of things. Yet we're told by the minority that they're not critical of Disney because of reprisals? Nobody has ever said "They dare not criticise Disney unless they criticise Disney in a nice voice and leave you to make the decision", instead it's a blanket "Don't believe anything, they dare not criticise Disney".
I watch many of the videos they produce, I'm not denying they're very positive but they absolutely do say certain things aren't worth buying, I guarantee you that. They were also saying after the pandemic re-opening that they wouldn't advise going till more things in the parks got back to normal, I'm sure Disney were delighted with that view.
Unfortunately I think this is going to be the storyline for most reviews from the common folk. Emphasis won’t be on the experience - rather the calculation of experience vs cost
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I don't think people are suggesting it's as black and white as this.
I could certainly have missed some posts, but I've never gotten the impression that they're saying any criticism whatsoever will be swiftly punished and the criticizers will be banned.
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It’s being critical in a tongue and cheek manner. Again if you’ve ever watched their videos they never violate the golden rule of telling people not to go to a Disney property or visit their competitor. They say you may not like Disney offering “X” so try Disney offering “Y” instead.
Big difference here, because they’re still being a team player with Disney.
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
They absolutely were. That's why I always say 'a tiny minority' or similar in my posts because those are the only posters I'm referring to. I was just going to quote your post where you replied to somebody else saying it's about 1% and say I agree. You then quoted me so I'm replying here instead to say we're pretty much on the same page.
Vitamin Dee
Member
He's not giving it a negative review, at all. In fact, he straight up says it's, "incredibly cool". He just says it's not in his budget at full price. That's not the same as saying it sucks.