Official Disney Parks Blog to host live chat with Fantasyland Imagineer Chris Beatty

[theguitarman]

I agree with the general sentiment... generic, high level answers. Would have been nice to have him just talk to us like a normal person would.

 

[MickeyPeace]

What I don't think Disney understands is that this sort of thing just frustrates fans. People showed up with certain expectations. And Disney undershot even the lowest expectations. That doesn't do anything to get people excited about their park expansion.

Exactly.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I asked 4 or 5 questions, and then gave Steve from Pixie Vacations a bunch of crap for somehow getting 3 questions in. Needless to say none of mine were answered including, "I thought softball season was over, any chance you'll answer a real question?"

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Chris Beatty took almost every specific question and gave a generalized answer. Every answer had something to do with creating magic for the guests and completing avoiding answering the question asked.

Also, there was no "chat" at all.

Very disappointed. Should have advertised it as a prearranged Q&A with nothing to see here.

Well I guess if Imagineering doesn't work out for him, he can always consider politics.

 

[devoy1701]

What I don't think Disney understands is that this sort of thing just frustrates fans. People showed up with certain expectations. And Disney undershot even the lowest expectations. That doesn't do anything to get people excited about their park expansion.

I agree. I don't even think regular visitors of the Disney Parks Blog or the Mom's Panel could have gotten excited over any of those answers that were given. And the way that some of the answers had nothing to do with the questions just goes further to strengthen the idea that there were predetermined canned responses that some "intern" tried to best fit some of the questions that got through. And it was obvious that those were straight from PR because I highly doubt that any esteemed Imagineer actually answers every question using the word "magic" or "magical".

Not to mention that the chat interface was pretty jagged. Of course it could have been my network here at work cutting the "live" feed, but there were a few times I had to refresh the browser after the chat started.

I didn't expect much at all, but I expected a LITTLE more than that. How about just one piece of artwork we hadn't seen before?

 

[RSoxNo1]

The only thing to come out of this was high resolution images of concept art we already had.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

I asked 4 or 5 questions, and then gave Steve from Pixie Vacations a bunch of crap for somehow getting 3 questions in. Needless to say none of mine were answered including, "I thought softball season was over, any chance you'll answer a real question?"

Yeah, throughout the whole chat I was wondering "who is he sleeping with to get all his questions answered?"

None of mine were answered either. I even tried to ask questions that weren't *too* detailed thinking that this gave them a better shot of being selected because I knew Disney would keep everything very high level. Oh well.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I was just hoping they'd go on record on some of these thing haven't been officially confirmed. I asked the following:

"will storybook circus be a separate land?"
"with dumbo re-opening after refurbishment in mid february will that be re-opening in it's new location?"
"what attractions in the expansion will include fastpass?"
"will the lumiere figure have some of the same technology as destini from the d23 expo?"

I was tempted to ask, "who's leg do I have to hump to get a question answered?"

 

[devoy1701]

I just asked one question about how the Imagineer's were going to handle opening the rest of the Forest with a huge construction site still in the middle for the mine train and if they thought it would take away from the "Opening Day" feeling of the rest of the land.

Atleast they allowed it through to the Comments on the Blog itself... normally my comments are deemed "inappropriate" from the Mods and not allowed through! :dazzle:

 

[RSoxNo1]

In the Comments section of the original post I went through and answered more questions than Chris Beatty did with more "insider information". That got posted. I'm not sure the comment that I put in the new thread will get posted though...

Sorry to say this, but I agree with Lauren. I know the person who got 3 questions in, and I have no issue with his questions getting through. The problem was that it seemed that Chris had a very strict gag order on him, so anything that would be remotely revealing wasn't even asked.

Nothing new was revealed in this other than high resolution versions of existing Concept Art. I don't expect every little detail of every aspect of the land, but perhaps some confirmation of things that are already out amongst Disney fan communities would be nice.

The Disney Parks Blog was created because the fan communities were controlling the story and this gave Disney the opportunity to get out in front of it. For the most part, trusted insiders on established fan sites are a better source for actual information than Disney themselves.

The concept of this blog is great, but it doesn't work if the participants are afraid to confirm the smallest of details in favor of softball questions more fit for their online dating profile.

Tim
Co-Host
WDW Fan Boys Podcast

 

[WDW Vacationer]

Well.

This was disappointing.

The questions that should have been answered are like the ones RSoxNo1 asked. They don't give away any info that should be locked down.

 

[raiden]

So they mentioned we may get more details. My theory lives!

:zipit:

No your theories die like the rest of them!

 

[WDWFigment]

In the Comments section of the original post I went through and answered more questions than Chris Beatty did with more "insider information". That got posted. I'm not sure the comment that I put in the new thread will get posted though...

Wow...your comment made it through. The mod most be asleep at the wheel!

 

[RSoxNo1]

Honestly, I got more information from a somewhat guarded cast member at the D23 Expo. He knew he was being recorded and still said things like the goal is to not have any downtime for Dumbo, the hope is to have one open in the new location, take the other one down, plus it, and re-open it as a double dumbo.

The same imagineer wouldn't comment on which attractions would offer Fastpass. I know I wasn't alone as many fansites had interviews with people in the Carousel of Projects that gave us more info than this.

I like that they're doing this, but this was a very poor first performance.

 

[devoy1701]

Wow...your comment made it through. The mod most be asleep at the wheel!

I almost wonder how long it will stay up. Usually any signs of the slightest dissent is NEVER allowed up in the comments section.


EDIT: I think the Mod might have the blog set to "approve all comments" or something. Mine got through as well and it only took a minute to moderate.

 

[brightlillstar]

it was like watching a political debate. Nothing was really answered.:brick:

 

[SyracuseOrange]

I almost wonder how long it will stay up. Usually any signs of the slightest dissent is NEVER allowed up in the comments section.


EDIT: I think the Mod might have the blog set to "approve all comments" or something. Mine got through as well and it only took a minute to moderate.

Wow, I'm really surprised that they've let not one but THREE comments go through saying that the chat was disappointing.

 

[devoy1701]

Wow, I'm really surprised that they've let not one but THREE comments go through saying that the chat was disappointing.

Thomas is going to come back from his lunch break and go "HOW DID ALL OF THESE COMMENTS GET ON THE BLOG @#$^@(#$(?!?!?!?"

Then there will be an opening for a new Social Media Intern in the near future.

 

[GrimGhost]

Sad.. with questions like "How can I become an imagineer?" and "What inspires you?". I almost sent a comment after it ended noting what a waste of time it was. I did however submit a benign question that didn't make it - "What background music will you have in the area?"

 

[WDWFigment]

Honestly, I got more information from a somewhat guarded cast member at the D23 Expo. He knew he was being recorded and still said things like the goal is to not have any downtime for Dumbo, the hope is to have one open in the new location, take the other one down, plus it, and re-open it as a double dumbo.

The same imagineer wouldn't comment on which attractions would offer Fastpass. I know I wasn't alone as many fansites had interviews with people in the Carousel of Projects that gave us more info than this.

I like that they're doing this, but this was a very poor first performance.

I think part of the problem is that the Parks Blog audience is very diverse. Reading the comments on random posts reinforces this point. Some know very little, some know a lot. This chat was obviously aimed at the ones who have had their heads buried in the sand, and haven't read the hundreds of other tidbits of info concerning the expansion. Heck, I'm sure some questions that WERE asked and answered in the chat will also be asked AGAIN in the comments.

By contrast, I'm sure your podcast (and other podcasts) have a much more knowledgeable audience, on average. 99%+ of your audience probably knows what FastPass is, that there will be two Dumbo spinners, etc..

I'm certainly not saying it's right that the chat wasn't as generic as it was--write a FAQ prior to the chat, refer the people with pedestrian questions to that, and provide a little more detailed answers (I'm not asked WDI to reveal any state secrets or anything, just provide answers of substance) in the actual Q&A.

Don't appeal to the lowest common denominator in the chat.