It's over: Give a day...

[MKCP 1985]

I don't think anyone is saying it is lame they gave away one million tickets. I think everyone is surprised they actually capped it at one million. Most thought it would extend the promotion. :shrug:

yeah, probably. . . but did anybody think that a MILLION people would get registered in the first 69 days of the year? That's impressive!

At 365 days in a year, if spread out evenly that's 2,740 people coming free through the turnstiles every day for a year! That's a LOT of freebies!

 

[Spyne]

I want to personally congratulate the 1 million volunteers who have participated in Disney Parks' Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. It really shows how strong the community can come together to help those in need. Mickey ears off to all of you!

 

[krankenstein]

Yes, really.

There is a subset of negativity around here that borders on irrational because it simply centers around either "Disney is not catering to me" or "I know better with my interwebz facts".

And it's gotten to the point that Disney giving away 1,000,000,000 park tickets for people volunteering can't even be met with so much as a congratulation.

In my opinion, that crosses the line for me from disheartening to disgusting.

False! Everyone here loves Disney, they all want what they see as being best for the company to occur. Now, those opinions might differ from other peoples, but that doesn't mean they are overtly negative.

This promotion was a HUGE success and something Disney should be really proud of. However, I see no problem with people finding disappointment in the promotion not being extended.

I volunteered for Habitat, I'll go back to do it again. I think that the point people are trying to make is if they had extended it, others would see the benefit of volunteering and continue doing it without getting a Disney ticket.

 

[SirGoofy]

I volunteered for Habitat, I'll go back to do it again. I think that the point people are trying to make is if they had extended it, others would see the benefit of volunteering and continue doing it without getting a Disney ticket.

Exactly!:wave:

But no...I'm disgusting! Something the ladies say too often!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Yes, really.

There is a subset of negativity around here that borders on irrational because it simply centers around either "Disney is not catering to me" or "I know better with my interwebz facts".

And it's gotten to the point that Disney giving away 1,000,000,000 park tickets for people volunteering can't even be met with so much as a congratulation.

In my opinion, that crosses the line for me from disheartening to disgusting.

I think you are looking for information you want to see. No one is bashing Disney in the sense that they did this. It's a great thing.


The only bad thing, that people ARE complaining about, and deservedly so, is that they are not doing this for longer.

:shrug:


Don't know why people are so criticize others for immediate "bashing" or "hating". That's just reactionary.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

You don't think that giving 1,000,000,000 park tickets away to promote volunteerism is enough.

Whoa...they gave out a billion tickets???

(OK, that was cheap. I admit it.) :lookaroun

 

[Monty]

I wonder how many of those million took the one day pass and will use it ?

It would have been nice if they extended it, but the fact they even did it at all is commendable. Hopefully it got some people into helping their community.

And no, I did not participate. I took a look at what the had available, and it was a lot of "fluff" in my area.

My kids an I have already collected food for the local Food Pantry. I worked on a coat drive, I jumped in the 38 degree Atlantic last weekend to raise money for the Special Olympics, and my Rotary is putting together a Pedals for Progress collection.

Eh, the extra $240 in savings would have been nice, but as hokey as it may sound, I have to agree with SirGoofy. The real reward comes for volunteering. Some of the options they had on the site were not going to inspire anyone. Making pot holders at home? Thats a craft. You need to see the people you are helping, see the gratitude they have, understand how something as simple as a can of beans or the ability to participate in a sporting event like all the other kids do can mean so much more to a person than a one day pass means to you.

Somehow the soapbox came out. Oh well. :shrug:

Actually I wouldn't have used it, had I volunteered [I did register, then thought better of it], I would have donated the day. I chose not to volunteer simply because I already volunteer in excess of 1500 hours per year and I decided it was more important that others who don't be given the opportunity to learn about volunteerism.

I would argue that spending time making crafts is a valid form of volunteer work. Poor people need pot holders, knitted sweaters, winter hats, etc... Premature babies need knitted hats, mittens and sweaters. Any time spent doing such things is certainly noble work. Defining volunteerism as needing to see the gratitude of the recipients of your magnanimosity is actually rather selfish-sounding in my view. :shrug:

 

[SirGoofy]

But I do appreciate you throwing out other forum members names to make you seem like a victim.

Not trying to seem like a victim. Just pointing out the hypocrisy of a lot of posters.:wave:

You don't think that giving 1,000,000,000 park tickets away to promote volunteerism is enough. That is what you have intimated in this thread. If that is wrong then please clarify your stance.

It's a great start. But I think they could have gone further to show how great volunteering is to a broader base. Sorry that I actually want MORE volunteers. I don't see what the problem is.:shrug:

 

[pixiedust629]

Okay, first of all.... one million is 1,000,000.
Not a billion, which requires 9 zeroes. Just FYI. :brick:

yeah, probably. . . but did anybody think that a MILLION people would get registered in the first 69 days of the year? That's impressive!

At 365 days in a year, if spread out evenly that's 2,740 people coming free through the turnstiles every day for a year! That's a LOT of freebies!

I agree... I bet they were met with some hesitation--
"are people actually going to DO this??"
"we should cap it, so it's more like a challenge"
"can we seriously convince a million people??"

Does anyone know any of the numbers for how many birthdays WERE admitted? Nearly 3,000 isn't a lot...

Then again, if the enrollment for the campaign kept up, it would be nearly 6 million tickets distributed. That IS a lot! Maybe capping it was necessary. :shrug:

 

[Monsterfan99]

You're right. It's definitely butt-kissing to congratulate a company for giving up anywhere between $25 and $85 million in profit to get people out into the community.

You didn't give an explaination. You recited a personal experience as evidence of what Disney should do rather than acknowledge what they have done.

Rational acknowledgement of a beneviolent accomplishment by a corporation is not "butt-kissing".

It's just the same negativity regurgitated day in and day out here.

And how much did they make back with that $25-$85 million write-off? Disney is raking in the money on this.

To me, this was a doomed promotion from start if the goal was to last a year. With it being one per family member, it just ate through the tickets too fast. I figured they would make a family cap of 2 adults and a kid or 1 adult and 2 kids, but oh well.

What really sucks about all of this is the charities that had way too many people that wanted to help last week will, odds are, be desperate for people in 2-3 months. If anyone thinks most people were doing the work out of the goodness of their heart, they are insane.

 

[Victoria]

The financial point is a fair one...but I also think it's fair to ask why they offered free tickets to anyone who wasn't born on Feb. 29 (boy, were they screwed :lookaroun) last year, then capped this promotion at a million. What made the two promotions so different to the Disney accountants? It's a question born more of curiousity than disappointment for me.

This is pretty much where I stand on the topic as well. I absolutely understand that Disney has already undertaken a potential $84 million hit (although probably a lot less in reality) with this promo. Disney is above all a business. In tough economic times I don't know of any corporation who is looking for new ways to spend money these days. However, it just came as a surprise to me that it was capped at 1 million and not extended given how quickly the 1 mil mark was reached.

As I said in my first post, I can't imagine that they expected this kind of rapid and overwhelming response. Disney Parks is too smart to sink millions of dollars into a company wide campaign that only lasted a short time. Given how quickly the 1 million mark was reached I definitely thought they would have found a way to do some damage control and extend the program in some incarnation. Even if they just continued to offer the Fast Pass option for volunteering it would sound better to me than just ending the program 2.5 months in. :shrug: I know FPs won't exactly get people all tingly and chomping at the bit to run right out and volunteer but it seems better than nothing.

Now, all of this being said, if Disney DID anticipate the program ending so quickly I think they are fools for spending that much money on commercials and other promotional ephemera for such a fleeting program. I understand the message of the campaign was to get people off their butts and out into the community....and it worked fabulously. I just think that a lot more people could have gotten bitten by the volunteerism bug if they had more opportunities to do it. :shrug:

 

[jakeman]

yeah, probably. . . but did anybody think that a MILLION people would get registered in the first 69 days of the year? That's impressive!

At 365 days in a year, if spread out evenly that's 2,740 people coming free through the turnstiles every day for a year! That's a LOT of freebies!

If you low ball it to $25 a ticket you are looking at just over $132 million dollars in free tickets.

False! Everyone here loves Disney, they all want what they see as being best for the company to occur. Now, those opinions might differ from other peoples, but that doesn't mean they are overtly negative. They are trying to get a subset that thinks Mickey taking a dump in Town Square is magical to see that everything isn't always peachy just because it is Disney.

Why? Who care's about what other's think? On top of that, is complaining about capping a volunteer program at 1 million (which I just realized that I've been typing as 1 billion ) really something to piont our flaws? Especially when there are legitimate problems, like a giant yeti that doesn't move?

I'm sorry, but so much is complained about, it's just negative word vomit at this point with legitimate concerns being lost in sea of nitpicking and browbeating.

This promotion was a HUGE success and something Disney should be really proud of. However, I see no problem with people finding disappointment in the promotion not being extended.

Disney did what they said they were going to do. It would be great PR if they extended it, but I don't see why we should call it lame for not.

I volunteered for Habitat, I'll go back to do it again. I think that the point people are trying to make is if they had extended it, others would see the benefit of volunteering and continue doing it without getting a Disney ticket.

Perhaps, but see above for the financial implications of running it all year. That number spirals upwards closer to almost a half billion dollars if they extended it for the rest of the year.

 

[rsoxguy]

So, um, how about them Red Sox? ......(quietly backs out of room)

 

[Wilt Dasney]

One million free tickets is a lot of tickets, and it isn't like last year's "free on your birthday" promotionbecause whole families can get a free day on the same day with the volunteer plan, where birthdays tend to be spread out. :shrug:

This might be the answer to my "why was last year different?" question.

Letting a whole family of 4 in for free is a lot different than saying "Sure, Dad gets in free today...as long as Mom, Billy and Susie all buy full admission tickets."

Assuming the same number of families took advantage of this promotion as last year's, you'd have 3-4 times the number of free admissions if it lasted all year.

 

[jakeman]

I think you are looking for information you want to see. No one is bashing Disney in the sense that they did this. It's a great thing.

The only bad thing, that people ARE complaining about, and deservedly so, is that they are not doing this for longer.

That's the whole point. "Disney can never do enough." There will always be flaws. That's the message around here more often than not lately.

Whoa...they gave out a billion tickets???

(OK, that was cheap. I admit it.) :lookaroun

Okay, first of all.... one million is 1,000,000.
Not a billion, which requires 9 zeroes. Just FYI. :brick:

Yeah sorry about that.

Zero button got stuck? :lookaroun

It's a great start. But I think they could have gone further to show how great volunteering is to a broader base. Sorry that I actually want MORE volunteers. I don't see what the problem is.:shrug:

It's the lack of any acknowledgement of what they have done. It's the immeadiate jump to, as I said before, of "Disney should do more" with out showing any respect to what they did do.

I don't follow your post Goofy, or SMRT-1. So for you two to immeadiately pop in and declare the promotion ending is lame without any other context reeks of knee-jerk negativity.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

This is pretty much where I stand on the topic as well. I absolutely understand that Disney has already undertaken a potential $84 million hit (although probably a lot less in reality) with this promo. Disney is above all a business. In tough economic times I don't know of any corporation who is looking for new ways to spend money these days. However, it just came as a surprise to me that it was capped at 1 million and not extended given how quickly the 1 mil mark was reached.

As I said in my first post, I can't imagine that they expected this kind of rapid and overwhelming response. Disney Parks is too smart to sink millions of dollars into a company wide campaign that only lasted a short time. Given how quickly the 1 million mark was reached I definitely thought they would have found a way to do some damage control and extend the program in some incarnation. Even if they just continued to offer the Fast Pass option for volunteering it would sound better to me than just ending the program 2.5 months in. :shrug: I know FPs won't exactly get people all tingly and chomping at the bit to run right out and volunteer but it seems better than nothing.

Now, all of this being said, if Disney DID anticipate the program ending so quickly I think they are fools for spending that much money on commercials and other promotional ephemera for such a fleeting program. I understand the message of the campaign was to get people off their butts and out into the community....and it worked fabulously. I just think that a lot more people could have gotten bitten by the volunteerism bug if they had more opportunities to do it. :shrug:

Good point, V! :lol:


Yet another reason to extend it out.

 

[krankenstein]

If you low ball it to $25 a ticket you are looking at just over $132 million dollars in free tickets.

Why? Who care's about what other's think? On top of that, is complaining about capping a volunteer program at 1 million (which I just realized that I've been typing as 1 billion ) really something to piont our flaws? Especially when there are legitimate problems, like a giant yeti that doesn't move?

I'm sorry, but so much is complained about, it's just negative word vomit at this point with legitimate concerns being lost in sea of nitpicking and browbeating.

Disney did what they said they were going to do. It would be great PR if they extended it, but I don't see why we should call it lame for not.

Perhaps, but see above for the financial implications of running it all year. That number spirals upwards closer to almost a half billion dollars if they extended it for the rest of the year.

I can also say that overtly pixie dust is amazing POV makes me want to vomit, what's the difference? :shrug:

I think you have latched ahold to this word lame that one person used. It's a shame that you can't see the rational point of view, which is people were shocked it didn't, not that they should.

Btw, I don't buy the financial implications, after the birthday promotion and YOMD. I'm actually wondering what the ROI is on the marketing campaign they created for this since those ads are now useless. They are going to have to either create new ones or change them.

 

[Monsterfan99]

Given how quickly the 1 million mark was reached I definitely thought they would have found a way to do some damage control and extend the program in some incarnation. Even if they just continued to offer the Fast Pass option for volunteering it would sound better to me than just ending the program 2.5 months in. :shrug: I know FPs won't exactly get people all tingly and chomping at the bit to run right out and volunteer but it seems better than nothing.

This is what shocked me about the entire program ending. There were 2 other options left outside of the tickets. Sure the pins/hat combo and FP were not the best, but you had to figure people would do it.

 

[SirGoofy]

It's the lack of any acknowledgement of what they have done. It's the immeadiate jump to, as I said before, of "Disney should do more" with out showing any respect to what they did do.

I don't follow your post Goofy, or SMRT-1. So for you two to immeadiately pop in and declare the promotion ending is lame without any other context reeks of knee-jerk negativity.

I acknowledged it was a great promotion when the promotion was announced. I didn't think I had to do it again.

And not following my posts? Oh...I don't think that's true.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I think you are looking for information you want to see. No one is bashing Disney in the sense that they did this. It's a great thing.

The only bad thing, that people ARE complaining about, and deservedly so, is that they are not doing this for longer.

That's the whole point. "Disney can never do enough." There will always be flaws. That's the message around here more often than not lately.

There's an error in your forum code...I think I fixed it. :wave:


That's not the message I'm getting. That seems holistically negative. I think people are glad that this program is working out so well, and that they want to see it's continued success.


On top of that, it's perfectly within anyone's prerogative to be a critic as you so implied. There's a definite reason for it.