More Wrapped Buses

[arko]

Hyperboyle does you no favors - the topic was not about excluding sponsorship.

The examples being discussed were those of the original Disneyland, where DL flat out outsourced much of the park's features/services (and naming reflected it). The same happened in FL too with the hotels.. until Disney felt experienced enough to buy them out and do it themselves. Sponsorships still exist to this day because Disney capitalizes on their market exposure... and one can argue if they still have a place or not. And it's not just because "its like that everywhere else..."

If WDW management suddenly decided to rip out all corporate sponsorship and all third party presence in the park. I would then maybe concede that they are distracting. But we both know that is not going to happen. But even then while they are not tied to WDW, they are tied to Disney in general which makes them relevant in some fashion. The Disney Inifinity toys are available all over the resort, including inside the parks.
I guess I have never viewed WDW as a place where I go into this complete bubble that excludes the outside world. If want to do that I will go hiking in the wilderness, or go out on a boat where I can't see land.

 

[sshindel]

Of course you don't.

I am guessing you are referring to this statement:

If I know that I cannot speak intelligently about a subject, I won't speak of it as if I do.

I did say if I know I cannot speak intelligently about a subject. If I don't know I can't, yet think I can, I'll flap my (cyber) gums all day.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

For what it's worth, I think the Agent Carter one looks really cool, and I would just as soon look at the Disney Infinity one as I would a plain white bus.

 

[jakeman]

No, but I can go visit the Coke Club Cool at Epcot, ride on the Test Track presented by Chevrolet. I can go to a Rainforest Cafe from inside of Animal Kingdom.
All of which are advertising products, within the parks themselves, not just on the roads between them.

Also, going back to the Space Mountain example, the entire exit ramp was how FedEx would handle your packages (heh) in the future.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Wait, I thought we were talking about the recent ratcheting up of the visual noise in the resort environment.

Obviously, the usual suspect here will applaud it as a brilliant move by the brain trust. And will try and convince the ones that don't like it that this is nothing new even though the reason it is even being discussed is that it's new.

 

[jakeman]

For what it's worth, I think the Agent Carter one looks really cool, and I would just as soon look at the Disney Infinity one as I would a plain white bus.

I would have ate up some Launchpad McQuack, Disney Afternoon buses as a kid.

 

[flynnibus]

I said that Disney in no way is doing something to ruin the Disney experience, IMO, by putting marketing on their busses, and that it is a product of the world we live in.
[...]I've not been on DCL, so I cannot speak objectively about what is and isn't offered on their ships. I didn't ignore the point, I just cannot speak from experience about the cruises, therefore I cannot respond to the argument. If I know that I cannot speak intelligently about a subject, I won't speak of it as if I do.

Well take it on good accord than.. that advertising like this isn't just "a product of the world we live in" and you don't have to just accept it as the new norm on vacation. Other businesses (including within P&R) have refrained from these blatant synergy opportunities to market to you.

See, I agree with you on some of this. I'll jump on board with you to tear down the issues that Disney has brought upon itself by ignoring the core mission of Epcot Center when it updated Future World. I'll yell and gnash my teeth with the best of them that by ignoring it's core principles, they've ruined their product.
But, the busses? C'mon. Again, IMO (I keep saying IMO now so that people realize I speak only for myself), it's a non-issue.

It's not about the scale of the impact of the wrapped buses - it's about them being 'wrong' in the first place. It's the principle, and lack of adhering to it that shows the deeper rooted problems.... that manifest themselves in other ways, including things you respect as being much more impact-full.

No one is saying they need therapy or wanting a refund because their bus was wrapped... but if you want to talk about "Why doesn't leadership get it anymore??" - this is just yet another example of the thousands of little things they blow off and make the wrong choices over that prove... they just don't get it.

The bad manager with the bad core understandings is going to make choices both big and small that reflect their philosophies and rules.

When your kid steals a .50c candy bar.... you don't say "well its only .50c, who cares, its not gonna ruin the store"... you look at the mindset behind that decision and what justified it and try to shape the PRINCIPLES that say "taking from others is wrong". Same thing here... it's not that the bus wrap itself causes vacation failures... no more than the .50c candy bar would bankrupt a store... it's about the principles behind the choice and where that steers you.

 

[flyerjab]

Has anyone else found it ironic that the one poster sensitive to the whole bus topic has the word bus in his name?

Seriously though, this is a simple distinction in interpretation. There are those who believe it to be in uncle Walt's core set of values that bus wraps are the devil. There are those that feel it to be a distraction. While there are others who have no problem with it at all (me). I simply don't believe there is anything documented, or taught at university, or in one of the 11 through 15 commandments that Moses dropped indicating that wrapped busses are wrong.

If there are those that feel differently that is fine. Just don't shove it down my throat that I am wrong in some way. People on these boards sometimes feel that the aesthetics of the theme park industry are facts dictated somewhere. They are not. The fact that they can be described in terms of aesthetics precludes any concept that they are factual.

Admiring a themepark or resort is possible on multiple levels, the same way that a symphony, or a novel, or a piece of art can be appreciated. And I am fine with multiple interpretations or opinions of others. Just don't tell me my opinion is wrong as that is a tad bit disingenuous.

Look on the bright side. At least they aren't wrapped in giant Magic Bands. I hear they are real popular right now. They sold what, like ten million of them, give or take?

 

[sshindel]

Wait, I thought we were talking about the recent ratcheting up of the visual noise in the resort environment.

Obviously, the usual suspect here will applaud it as a brilliant move by the brain trust. And will try and convince the ones that don't like it that this is nothing new even though the reason it is even being discussed is that it's new.

Or instead, we'll say it's a non-issue. It doesn't have to be a brilliant move, it can just be a move. These particular wraps on these particular busses are new, but bus wraps are not, neither are monorail wraps. Larger than that, advertising inside of the Disney resort complex is as old as the resort itself.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Big is the visual loud. And about the only bigger ad space I can think of is a blimp.

 

[John]

I guess I will tread in to these waters.....Here is my take. In of it self are the buses that intrusive? No....but wait.....we see a trend here. We were saying the same thing when they put Starbucks in the parks. My question is what's next? In of it self each case isn't that big a deal. But where does it end? SO if we let each little thing slip by with a "no big deal" Well when does it become a big deal?

Its like a slow leak. The erosion has been very slow. The guest experience has been eroding the same way. I feel the same way about Rainforest restaurant....TRex among other outside influences. Where does it end? I am afraid the toothpaste is out of the tube. It will only get worse. WOnt be long before we some Disney stylized billboards.....you just wait and see.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'll quote the entire section, not just a hand picked part.



No where in here is there speak of Disneyland. It's spoken as a present tense statement.

No, but I can go visit the Coke Club Cool at Epcot, ride on the Test Track presented by Chevrolet. I can go to a Rainforest Cafe from inside of Animal Kingdom.
All of which are advertising products, within the parks themselves, not just on the roads between them.

Are you really unable to see the differences from a restaurant or ride and a billboard?

 

[jakeman]

WOnt be long before we some Disney stylized billboards.....you just wait and see.

You mean like the ones at DHS that have been there for over 20 years? Or the ones on World Drive that have been there longer?

 

[flynnibus]

I'll quote the entire section, not just a hand picked part.
[...]No where in here is there speak of Disneyland. It's spoken as a present tense statement.

uhmm... the post it was responding to (bolding added)

which makes no sense because there have always been tons of things that have been there to burst the bubble from the day Walt opened Disneyland to today. Corporate sponsorships is just another example of that, and its been around since the beginning.

and from my post... again bolding added)

Disney's success with avoiding 'over the top' with this of course has blemishes in its past (people's take on UoE's message for instance)... but it's not uncontrolled or glaring. You wouldn't find a FedEx truck parked in front of Space Mountain. People point to them existing from the start.. Yes, because Disney needed the money. And as soon as he had the money, he took control again and bought them out. Sponsorships were a means to an end for Disney... not simply "well they exist everywhere else, why not accept them here too?" justifications.

No, but I can go visit the Coke Club Cool at Epcot, ride on the Test Track presented by Chevrolet. I can go to a Rainforest Cafe from inside of Animal Kingdom.
All of which are advertising products, within the parks themselves, not just on the roads between them.

I'll just point you to @lazyboy97o 's repeated posts on this... there is no need to rehash what he has already pointed out.

 

[sshindel]

Are you really unable to see the differences from a restaurant or ride and a billboard?

Yes, at a theme park, a restaurant and/or ride is MUCH more important to me than the method in which I arrive at said theme park. If I can look past advertising on a ride itself without ever questioning it, why shouldn't I do so on a free bus service that is offered to me as a resort guest.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Or instead, we'll say it's a non-issue. It doesn't have to be a brilliant move, it can just be a move. These particular wraps on these particular busses are new, but bus wraps are not, neither are monorail wraps. Larger than that, advertising inside of the Disney resort complex is as old as the resort itself.

Is this or is it not a recent increase in the visual noise in the resort environment? Yes, or no. That simple.

And if you say no, I'm gonna come over to your house and jack slap you upside the head for lying.

 

[sshindel]

Is this or is it not a recent increase in the visual noise in the resort environment? Yes, or no. That simple.

And if you say no, I'm gonna come over to your house and jack slap you upside the head for lying.

No.

It is not.

Because I do not consider it visual noise.

 

[jakeman]

Is this or is it not a recent increase in the visual noise in the resort environment? Yes, or no. That simple.

And if you say no, I'm gonna come over to your house and jack slap you upside the head for lying.

Ooo a threat.

Classy.

 

[arko]

I guess I will tread in to these waters.....Here is my take. In of it self are the buses that intrusive? No....but wait.....we see a trend here. We were saying the same thing when they put Starbucks in the parks. My question is what's next? In of it self each case isn't that big a deal. But where does it end? SO if we let each little thing slip by with a "no big deal" Well when does it become a big deal?

Its like a slow leak. The erosion has been very slow. The guest experience has been eroding the same way. I feel the same way about Rainforest restaurant....TRex among other outside influences. Where does it end? I am afraid the toothpaste is out of the tube. It will only get worse. WOnt be long before we some Disney stylized billboards.....you just wait and see.

how is having a Starbucks in the park any different than this

as Flynnibus likes to remind us the corporate presence in the parks is carefully crafted

They fit into the overall scheme of their surroundings and are no different than previous 3rd party establishments within the park.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Yes, at a theme park, a restaurant and/or ride is MUCH more important to me than the method in which I arrive at said theme park. If I can look past advertising on a ride itself without ever questioning it, why shouldn't I do so on a free bus service that is offered to me as a resort guest.

Are we really to the "who are we to question a FREE service"? point? At WDW? Free? Hahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!