No More ESPN Weekends

[grimghost999]

i'm sad to see it go. I went to the event in 2008 and had a really fun time. My brother even got to play football with Donavan McNabb. It was a really cool experience. Ever since that i've been bugging my parents to go back. It will be missed .

 

[ayefour corp.]

I can understand both sides of this arguement but, think of all the unique and special events that have been cut over the last few years;

1: Lights Of Winter
2: Grad Nights
3: Pleasure Island
4: Monorails For EMH
5: ESPN Weekends

Now there is 5 things that may impact where and how many people vacation during the year!!

These are places/events/perks that made going to WDW an experience u just dont get anywhere else! The more these things are cut the less there is to seperate WDW from other vacation spots!

Grad Nights - Cut for Safety/Logistics. Have you been to a grad night at any of our Disney Parks? Or worked one? Some guests are great, but generally it's a nightmare. Disney is not the only park that cut grad nights, so did Cedar Fair, and many of the Six Flags parks.

Pleasure Island - While obviously the people on this board are not the average consumer or fairweather fans, if you look past your fond memories and times there, you too can admit that PI had lost it's draw, and was bleeding money. While the initial plans for HW are not what everyone wants, it is a step in the right direction utilizing the area. I'd say keep an eye on the wharf here soon.

Monorails for EMH - It just came down to money. The monorails were not typically packed during extra hours, and with all buses already running to the resorts, it made sense.

ESPN weekends - Quick to blame the big D on this one, and comparing it to SW weekends? Have any of you attended both events and can honestly say they are same? SW weekends are known for record numbers and crowds, ESPN, was not. Is this sad for a lot of fans? yes. But with all things, change is due.


I am a long time lurker, first time poster, a lot of negativity on the boards here, but I due enjoy the posts, and the excitement over the new and exciting things coming to Disney as well.

 

[MKCP 1985]

the sign of things to come.. ?

Tell us honestly, did you ever visit ESPN the Weekend? This is disappointing news, but hardly end-times worthy. :shrug:

 

[Brian Noble]

I suppose those ESPN the Weekend 5K race medals

I have one from this year's race, and would have gotten next year's had they run it.

It was a fun event, and I've been DS for three of them for at least a little while. But, it wasn't so amazingly awesome that it will ruin my trip next year. What's more this isn't necessarily only WDW's decision. It may well have been ESPN's---I have to believe they spend a LOT of money on The Weekend. Now that EWWOS' co-branding is complete, (and all the fancy-shmancy video production stuff they are doing for the youth sports events is there), they may figure that they get better return out of that.

With the cancelation of The Weekend, and moving the Flower & Garden dates back, my regular week now just has the Princess Half. And, I'm not sure I could run it without being tarred and feathered...I may see if I can get some friends who are running it to adopt me as their token Y chromosome.

 

[Mukta]

Agreed. This specific change doesn't affect me, but there are people who gained joy from this event and will no longer have this annual event to make their WDW trip extra special.

And that's just the way things will go. These cutbacks might seem small, or you might not care if it's not something important to you, but eventually something will change that impacts your personal experience in a noticeable way. For some, it's the broken yeti. For others, it could be this. Then there's the Lights of Winter. For me, it's the MK monorail EMH fiasco and the impending loss of GF's beach. Individually, each change certainly doesn't affect a large proportion of people, which makes it even easier for Disney to do.

Exactly. I am not a sports fan, so this doesn't affect me. I do see it as yet another cutback to make WDW less special.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Grad Nights - Cut for Safety/Logistics. Have you been to a grad night at any of our Disney Parks? Or worked one? Some guests are great, but generally it's a nightmare. Disney is not the only park that cut grad nights, so did Cedar Fair, and many of the Six Flags parks.

Pleasure Island - While obviously the people on this board are not the average consumer or fairweather fans, if you look past your fond memories and times there, you too can admit that PI had lost it's draw, and was bleeding money. While the initial plans for HW are not what everyone wants, it is a step in the right direction utilizing the area. I'd say keep an eye on the wharf here soon.

Monorails for EMH - It just came down to money. The monorails were not typically packed during extra hours, and with all buses already running to the resorts, it made sense.

ESPN weekends - Quick to blame the big D on this one, and comparing it to SW weekends? Have any of you attended both events and can honestly say they are same? SW weekends are known for record numbers and crowds, ESPN, was not. Is this sad for a lot of fans? yes. But with all things, change is due.


I am a long time lurker, first time poster, a lot of negativity on the boards here, but I due enjoy the posts, and the excitement over the new and exciting things coming to Disney as well.

And yet another new for July poster defending WDW.

For background see this thread starting at post #36
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=773029

Curiouser and curiouser......

 

[joanna71985]

Noooo!

 

[meekoman]

TDO is running out of feet to shoot themselves with.

 

[ayefour corp.]

Well to be honest, all that seems to happen here is griping and crying over things that honestly change very little. As someone who has been around the parks A LOT the last few years, I can tell you these changes have been coming for a while now. It's for the best

 

[backinaction]

losing all these unique experiences is best for who? certainly not the customers of disney that actually enjoy them. maybe its best for the Fat cat CEO types ruining disney in effort to try and put a couple extra bucks in their pockets. Having gone to ESPN the weekend the last three years, my family has made many great memories including meeting a globetrotter and seeing all my favorites yankees last year in a very intimate and unforgettable setting. Losing ESPN the weekend is just another terrible management decision(along with losing EMH Monorail transportation). Disney was built on giving the customer their money's worth(not penny pinching). Now, they are adding computer chips to cups. It's sad to see how far Disney has come. I dont think a little mermaid dark ride will fix all the problems that disney is going through right now.

 

[828tnt]

Well to be honest, all that seems to happen here is griping and crying over things that honestly change very little. As someone who has been around the parks A LOT the last few years, I can tell you these changes have been coming for a while now. It's for the best

fool. this is not (supposed to be) a "run to the piggie bank" kind of company. they build their image on that.

wdw is not just supposed to be a money in the bank ordeal. this USED TO BE a quality over quantity business model that EVERYONE used to chase after. hell, disney used to have the top corporations in the world PAY them to teach guest service and business techniques. (THE DISNEY INSTITUTE- not what it used to be)

no joke, they replaced that facility with another dvc hotspot.

disney has reduced it's forward thinking, cutting edge, radical, one of a kind, "good show will win out" philosophy with...... walmarting the "what sells?" philosophy.

WDW IS NO LONGER UNIQUE. IT IS MAINSTREAM. (dumb it down far enough and you get the local state fair- dinoland usa? :lookaroun)

when i board a bus and hear about "come see our newest attraction, expedition everest", and my wife (not as huge a fan as i) states "isn't that what they've been saying for 5 years now?" wdw gets credit for a new attraction in any park, and gets to share it like the others did the same thing.

i love wdw, but being blinded by all the marketing and pixie dust doesn't change the fact that you get far less from a visit than last decade. economy, or no.

 

[ayefour corp.]

Do not assume I am blinded by any pixie dust, first off it's created in another department outside of my own

2nd. I have barely seen any mention of Disney's press release :

ESPN The Weekend will not return in 2012. We are shifting our focus beyond a one weekend event to future projects that leverage ESPN's growing year-round presence at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. We look forward to building on events such as the ESPN RISE Games and ESPN RISE Girls Showcase that provide a stage for tens of thousands of athletes around the country and those such as the Old Spice Classic and Home Depot College Football Awards that result in hundreds of hours of programming for ESPN.



Now this is sad for a lot of people, Do not get me wrong. But in the long run and grand scheme of things, it will make sense. Patience is a virtue. MAking better use of existing property, and clearing up crowding issues makes sense. Why have all the athletes and events in a park with 0 athletic presence when we have an amazing branded complex right around the corner?

It's not as if we cut star wars weekends, or the flower and garden festival.

Maybe I'm seeing more of the bigger picture, and less of the smaller one, for which I apologize for, but I surely can see both sides of the issue, but will side with this being an ok change.

 

[Lee]

2nd. I have barely seen any mention of Disney's press release :

ESPN The Weekend will not return in 2012. We are shifting our focus beyond a one weekend event to future projects that leverage ESPN's growing year-round presence at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. We look forward to building on events such as the ESPN RISE Games and ESPN RISE Girls Showcase that provide a stage for tens of thousands of athletes around the country and those such as the Old Spice Classic and Home Depot College Football Awards that result in hundreds of hours of programming for ESPN.

Thanks, I meant to bring that up.
Just because the weekend event is leaving, that doesn't mean that the concept itself is dead. Expect it to be reborn, likely bigger, in some form in the future.

 

[ayefour corp.]

Thank you Lee, you seem to be a sound voice of reason around these parts, and what a great icon

 

[Lee]

Thank you Lee, you seem to be a sound voice of reason around these parts, and what a great icon

I do what I can.

 

[Yankee Mouse]

Just saw this this morning and while, I am kind of disappointed by this, in the end I think we will just have to wait and see what replaces it at WWOS as stated in the press release. I did always want to go to this but never had the chance, so I think that is the thing that really disappoints me the most. What I would have liked to see Disney do instead of just canceling it, perhaps have one more year and make an announcement that would be the last one. That way people that have never been but wanted to go get one more chance and people who may have made plans (tickets, reservations etc.) to go still get a chance to go. Is that feasible? I don't know since I don't know all the reasons behind it ending, but maybe it would have helped lessen the sting for fans of the event.

 

[SleepingMonk]

...in the long run and grand scheme of things, it will make sense. Patience is a virtue...

Yeah fellas, just give 'em time!

It will be back better than ever...right after they fix the yeti, finish SSE, patch up BTMRR and Splash Mountain, bring Dreamfinder back, re-open the Adventurer's Club....

:lol:

 

[jakeman]

This is all very reminiscent of when everyone was ready to burn the place down over the torch lighting ceremony at the Poly.

No one had ever seen it. No one really cared until it was gone. It was stated by a few people in the know that it was temporary. It came back and no one cared.

 

[The Crickets]

espn the weekend no more?????

We are annual passholders...We planned our winter vacations around ESPN The WEEKEND!!!!!....We are very disappointed & contemplating not renewing our Annual Passes......

We may use our entertainment dollars elsewhere, instead of spending money on Annual Passes.....We go to Disney 5 or 6 weeks a year, but now, we will think twice about going there....

 

[828tnt]

Yeah fellas, just give 'em time!

It will be back better than ever...right after they fix the yeti, finish SSE, patch up BTMRR and Splash Mountain, bring Dreamfinder back, re-open the Adventurer's Club....

:lol:

my bad! :brick: