Limited-time meet and greet with Belle at the Magic Kingdom's Heritage House starts soon

[asianway]

WDW has replaced its audience.

I bought a replica Declaration of Independence here once. Instilling a lifelong fascination for legal and historical subjects, and colonial architecture. Now you meet random, unrelated toon characters for a vast upcharge fee.

From day to day, in short term thinking, it makes sense to replace the demanding audience. Others pay more for less.Although what really should've been done is for Disney to have kept WDW as the upscale resort, and to have build the crass carnival resort elsewhere. To serve both markets.

All we can hope now is that WDW will be turned into a casino strip resort, replacing it's audience once more, even lower on the cultural ladder, just to spite the audience that lapped up the previous destruction of WDW.

@PhotoDave219 and I are still waiting for Bellez Princessez Dance Club and Steakhouse to open in Tomorrowland. What about us?

 

[WDWYankee15]

And what is the point in this? You want to make an incentive to buy something, then create something worthy of being an incentive.

Put a rare/random character m&g there and maybe people would be interested.

That still doesn't address the thematic issues, but that is another issue all together. We already know TDO has stopped caring about that awhile back.

If they wanted to put characters in there that would be in demand, make people go buy these products, and didn't care about fitting thematically (they don't), then they should have put Nick & Judy in there. They meet at the other parks around the world and don't meet anywhere in WDW.

It would be a draw and they could "sell" more product. Which this is about. Everything is about the up sell and exclusivity. It's the class system within an already expensive club. (see new Star Wars interactive experience for $500 dollars!!!)

 

[WDWYankee15]

Exclusive M&Gs for PhotoPass customers isn't that offensive, not really worse than the Visa card exclusives but it does seem an odd choice of character.

Agreed, but this fits the same thing as the Star Wars Visa meet and greet, but worse. The Star Wars Visa meet and greet is an "exclusive" opportunity to meet Kylo Ren. Problem is you can meet Kylo Ren at DHS. So not "exclusive." The only benefit possible is a "shorter" line and not having to go to another park to meet him. It is worse with this new Belle "test" as she is meeting in the SAME park already.

If they wanted the Star Wars meet to be "exclusive" and offer something "special" to Disney Visa card holders, have Darth Vader or Boba Fett or another character there that you can't meet somewhere else. Do the same thing with this new "test." I'm not spending extra money for the priviledge to meet and character I can see on the other side of the park.

If I have kids that would "love" to meet Belle so much that it would push me over the edge to buy Memory Maker, then we would be going to ETwB any way. No way we could miss that experience if they really cared that much.

 

[asianway]

Agreed, but this fits the same thing as the Star Wars Visa meet and greet, but worse. The Star Wars Visa meet and greet is an "exclusive" opportunity to meet Kylo Ren. Problem is you can meet Kylo Ren at DHS. So not "exclusive." The only benefit possible is a "shorter" line and not having to go to another park to meet him. It is worse with this new Belle "test" as she is meeting in the SAME park already.

If they wanted the Star Wars meet to be "exclusive" and offer something "special" to Disney Visa card holders, have Darth Vader or Boba Fett or another character there that you can't meet somewhere else. Do the same thing with this new "test." I'm not spending extra money for the priviledge to meet and character I can see on the other side of the park.

If I have kids that would "love" to meet Belle so much that it would push me over the edge to buy Memory Maker, then we would be going to ETwB any way. No way we could miss that experience if they really cared that much.

Thats exactly it, and as @71jason stated, there is a gold mine to be made in non character meal paid meet and greets.

This just exposes the idiocy of entertainment management - "exclusive" meet and greets that arent exclusive.

 

[ford91exploder]

WDW has replaced its audience.

I bought a replica Declaration of Independence here once. Instilling a lifelong fascination for legal and historical subjects, and colonial architecture. Now you meet random, unrelated toon characters for a vast upcharge fee.

From day to day, in short term thinking, it makes sense to replace the demanding audience. Others pay more for less.Although what really should've been done is for Disney to have kept WDW as the upscale resort, and to have build the crass carnival resort elsewhere. To serve both markets.

All we can hope now is that WDW will be turned into a casino strip resort, replacing it's audience once more, even lower on the cultural ladder, just to spite the audience that lapped up the previous destruction of WDW.
('.....but let's face it...nekkid Ariel making out with Belle in that mudbath in DAK's Asia is fun for our group, we happily part with $500 for that upcharge event. And besides, there has always been mud in Asia so it fits theme wise')

Don't worry the EPCOT Casino and Resort complex is coming sooner than you think.

 

[Matt_Black]

Alright, everybody, stand back and prepare to have your minds BLOWN. Belle is French, right? Married to a wealthy landowner? Obviously, the now human Beast wants to aid the colonials against the hated British, so he sent Belle with a big payment of cash.

Also, Gaston didn't die, but he followed Belle and then realized he could make a new life in the states, and he did so under the name BROM BONES.

 

[MinnieWaffles]

Oh my god it's a person dressed as Belle. This isn't as big a deal as you think it is. Get real.

 

[Rickster7]

This is stupid. Also can anyone tell me why Belle has top billing at Askerhus in the Norway Pavillion?

 

[WDWYankee15]

This is stupid. Also can anyone tell me why Belle has top billing at Askerhus in the Norway Pavillion?

Because her dress is too big to walk around the restaurant in. It is as simple as that.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

What are you guys talking about? Of course she fits!

Everything fits in DISNEY® Land Amusement Park

 

[brb1006]

That idea would had made more sense if Ichabod Crane was a meetable character not Belle.

 

[Matt_Black]

That idea would had made more sense if Ichabod Crane was a meetable character not Belle.

Ichabod isn't on a metric butt-ton of merchandise.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

I know we decided that we're all fine with Muppets in Liberty Square because... reasons.

Am I allowed to be mad about this and find it thematically inappropriate, though?

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Don't worry the EPCOT Casino and Resort complex is coming sooner than you think.

A few slot machines in Energy adventure sure couldn't hurt.

 

[Pleakley]

I remember getting to meet the fab five dressed in full colonial garb at the American pavilion in the 90's. I was still in a stroller but it sticks out in my memory as the first time I had ever seen that style of clothing before. I'd much rather see something like that. (That's what I'm assuming the Muppets will be like.)

 

[ford91exploder]

What are you guys talking about? Of course she fits!

Everything fits in DISNEY IP Amusement Park®

Fixed it for you

 

[Capsin4]

Why do you think people wait hours to meet the 7 Dwarfs during MNSSHP?

Because special events are the only time they get dragged out of storage for photos.

 

[Tavernacle12]

It's weird, but a traditional Belle meet and greet isn't at MK, and you can only meet her normally in Epcot and it's not in her yellow dress. Heritage House is empty space they can use. The thought process probably went "What if we can add something people want, get more people to use Memory Maker, AND make use of this open space all at once?"

It may not even be to make more people buy Memory Maker. There may be an increase of physical add ons for 'exclusive' events like these.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Oh my god it's a person dressed as Belle. This isn't as big a deal as you think it is. Get real.

Actually, it sort of is. Attitudes like this are the reason Disney is able to keep downgrading their product more and more with every decision.

Since it's not a big deal, please explain for us how it is thematically acceptable to have a French princess meeting in the Colonial America section of the park.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I don't think anyone is "against" a Belle meet and greet at all. It's actually a great idea. But why Heritage House? Belle has her own little slice of heaven over in Fantasyland. Why not set something up around Gaston's? Why not in that general area?

Moreover, Belle is not really a rare character. The 7D are pretty rare.. Friar Tuck and the Brer animals are rare. I think Disney fans would be more upset if there was only a certain exclusive way to meet these characters.