Say "NO!" to Pixie Dust pins!

[PencilTest]

So, either personal greed/apathy over the situation or blind faith in a celebration for Epcot because "it's the right thing to do" but we have no proof they're doing it.

True, but there's also no proof that they're not doing it. It's essentially two sides to the same argument - the "glass half full" side assumes that they will, whereas the "glass half empty" side makes the assumption that they won't. Ultimately, neither side really has the proper information necessary to make an accurate educated guess (except for the people who do know, and they just ain't sayin').

Giving out pins for such acts as clearing off your table is wrong. These are acts that we as respectable adults* should do on a normal everyday basis, without thinking about it. We shouldn't have to be rewarded for it.

I totally hear you. However, if some supposedly respectable adults refuse to act as such unless they see a reward, then what do you do? I know a couple of adults in my family who normally act like complete brats, because that's just the way they are. But maybe if they heard somewhere that you can get rewarded for acting like a normal human being, they'd put on their best behavior. Though it won't necessarily stop the problem of rudeness in general, perhaps it'll make a crazy relative think twice before trying to punch out another guest in the park.

 

[leftymoreno]

Unlike speck, I see two other trains of thought..

1. Yay! A pin!

2. Epcot's anniversary will be celebrated.

So, either personal greed/apathy over the situation or blind faith in a celebration for Epcot because "it's the right thing to do" but we have no proof they're doing it.

The pin scheme isn't inherently a bad thing, though poorly thought out and certainly not having 15 months worth of interest - it's that the celebration was clearly listed a year long event prior to them.

Then focus changed. Critique of the whole system came in, not many people were going to win prizes, CMs complained because they weren't going to be involved. Then they throw in the pins, appeasing the CMs who want to be involved and the guests who wanted to have something they feel they won, and viola - the celebration is extended for 3 more months because of the momentum it gains!

Before, the model and idea was to let YOMD fizzle out just prior to October and then have Epcot's 25th bring in lots of publicity and guests. Now, instead, the momentum of people getting free pins will barrel right through. Unless it fails - which hopefully it will. Where Magic Lives failed, so mercifully this will too.

Im just curious to hear how exactly "Where Magic Lives" failed? As far as I know, Disney's profit is still climbing. Am I wrong on this? Seriously, I'd like to hear your oppinion and where youre coming from.

Also, the only reason for YOAMD is because marketing figured out that guests like it more when there is a celebration going on. While HCOE was actually celebrating something, YOAMD is celebrating nothing. From what I know, you can expect some sort of celebration every year from now until....a long time from now.:hammer: And in the grand scheme of things, pins are supposedly "down trending," but as of now are just as popular as ever.

 

[PencilTest]

Oh yeah, this too. There've been a couple of people lamenting the fact that Disney hasn't done a 30th or 35th anniversary celebration for MK. But here's how I look at it. I don't really want to see a big party for every 5 years a park has been open, 'cause here's what you'd end up with:

Opening Year -- Anniversary Years
MK - 1971 ----- 76, 81, 86, 91, 96, 01, 06
Epcot - 1982 -- 87, 92, 97, 02, 07
MGM - 1989 --- 94, 99, 04, 09
AK - 1998 ----- 03, 08

So add those together. During this decade, that's 1 in 2001, 1 in 2002, 1 in 2003, 1 in 2004, 1 in 2006, 1 in 2007, 1 in 2008, and 1 in 2009. Eight anniversaries in ten years. And that's only WDW parks! Imagine factoring in all the other parks in the world.

Too many!

When you throw a celebration event every five years per park, I think you lose the "specialness" that it's supposed to bring.

 

[mousermerf]

Which is why you do celebrate big milestones - the 25th is a big milestone.

Epcot did not open in 81.

 

[PencilTest]

Which is why you do celebrate big milestones - the 25th is a big milestone.

Agreed. 35th, 40th, 45th? Maybe not so much.

Epcot did not open in 81.

Crap! You're right. I edited it to make it accurate.

 

[mousermerf]

A few notes on the "Epcot aint special" comments...

Epcot's icon, Spaceship Earth, is used in marketing campaigns for Europe because its recognizeable. The word, Epcot, is in dictionaries. It did not exist before the theme park. Epcot is considered as one of WDW's most defining features, and is readily identifiable by people from all over the world.

Just hold up a picture of "the big ball" and ask where it is...

If you hold up a picture of a castle, you'll get an answer based on locality, either Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, or even DLP or TDL - but folks know where the big giant ball is from.

 

[Erika]

A few notes on the "Epcot aint special" comments...

Epcot's icon, Spaceship Earth, is used in marketing campaigns for Europe because its recognizeable. The word, Epcot, is in dictionaries. It did not exist before the theme park. Epcot is considered as one of WDW's most defining features, and is readily identifiable by people from all over the world.

Just hold up a picture of "the big ball" and ask where it is...

If you hold up a picture of a castle, you'll get an answer based on locality, either Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, or even DLP or TDL - but folks know where the big giant ball is from.

You mean the giant golf ball? :lookaroun






Sorry, I couldn't resist

 

[speck76]

Unlike speck, I see two other trains of thought..

1. Yay! A pin!

2. Epcot's anniversary will be celebrated.

So, either personal greed/apathy over the situation or blind faith in a celebration for Epcot because "it's the right thing to do" but we have no proof they're doing it.

Do you think it is "the right thing to do" because you really want it to happen, or because it will bring in significant return on the marketing dollars spent?

I doubt you feel the latter point, but unfortunately for you...that is the point that would make the celebration (I mean marketing campaign) actually occur.

 

[mousermerf]

Epcot's capacity is actually well beyond that of the Magic Kingdom. It has a local fanbase that rivals Disneyland's AP crowd.

If marketed PROPERLY, rather than treated like a red headed stepchild, Epcot could very well perform to its limits and be the number one attended theme park in the world. There is a reason the highest single day theme park attendance record was set at Epcot - remember when Eisner had all the hoopla over that during that holiday season?

Epcot, of all the parks, is the one most physically capable of monetary return.

 

[speck76]

Epcot's capacity is actually well beyond that of the Magic Kingdom. It has a local fanbase that rivals Disneyland's AP crowd.

If marketed PROPERLY, rather than treated like a red headed stepchild, Epcot could very well perform to its limits and be the number one attended theme park in the world. There is a reason the highest single day theme park attendance record was set at Epcot - remember when Eisner had all the hoopla over that during that holiday season?

Epcot, of all the parks, is the one most physically capable of monetary return.

Yes....but the mass marketing of Epcot will do nothing but position the park against the other Disney parks.

Epcot will be successful by building upon its strengths, like the Food and Wine festival, the Flower and Garden festival, and things of this nature. The marketing of Epcot HAS to be targeted, as it is with these two special events.

The object of the "celebrations" is to get families to fly in from New York, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit in large amounts to spend 5-7 days at WDW, fill the hotel rooms, and spend thousands of dollars. The object of the Epcot festivals, Star Wars weekend, and things of this nature are to get people from Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville to come and spend a day or two at the parks.

WDW needs both of these engines working in order to be successful. Tourists are NOT coming from the NE and Midwest in bulk during months like May and August/September/October, which is why these local-pleasing events are held at this time. It is not about appealing to EVERYBODY (like HCOE or the celebrations do) it is about appealing to a demographic that has a chance to be "grabbed".

The current event at MGM is there because it appeals to parents with toddlers that are not yet in school....they have no reason not to travel this time of year, unlike those with school-aged children, who are less likely to pull their students out of school in the first month or two of class.

So....what demographic does "Epcot's 25th" appeal to? Is it large enough where WDC would see any significant return on their investment?

 

[raven]

When you throw a celebration event every five years per park, I think you lose the "specialness" that it's supposed to bring.

True. But it's also called "marketing" and Disney knows that there are people out there like us who will visit for any occasion.

 

[Magicot]

I will nicely ask this for a fourth time since I have received no responce:

Merf, where does it say that YoaMD is a 15 month celebration??

 

[marchofthecards]

What on earth has giving out pins got to do with a compromise on EPCOTs 25th?

What a load of negative tosh you guys are spurting out. This 'Mission Magic' program is going on all over the company, not just for the theme parks! It's to recognise we can make a difference to someones day! It is to mean that we can make someone smile and recognise a good deed or a special moment. Don't blast it!

EPCOT is going to have big changes over the coming years, and this will turn general guest expectation around. Currently, it doesn't quite level off to guests expectations, and I mean in general. EPCOT lovers see a different park, a different experience.

Something will happen for EPCOTs 25th, but don't forget the 50th was more important, not for just Disneyland, but all properties. This is now just ending, but a single park alone does not deserve a grand scale celebration, but certainly does need marking.

Just don't knock the giving out of pins and other incentives. I have never heard of anything so ridiculous, (bar the reoccuring Harry Potter attraction).

We moan when the magic flickers low, we moan when they do things to brighten it up!!!!

There are bigger things out there that need addressing and supporting!

Simes

 

[Kontra]

This is my question, do you really think people (generally speaking) will actually give people one of their pins? In my opinion, I dont think there will be a lot of people giving them out. I can see a lot of people keeping both pins to them selves...But that is just me.

It will be the difference between those who give away their extra FastPasses to others and those who just choose to throw them away. I think all people generally enjoy the act of gift giving. It makes the giver feel good, and it makes the receiver feel good (all at Disney's expense, thanks to the free pins). Beyond promoting good guest behavior in the parks this program is encouraging a guest-to-guest interaction. I know when I'm in the parks, the most memorable times I have are when it involves interaction with other guests. And it seems less and less we see people going up to one another to just have a simple conversation. People that choose to wait in silence during a 60 min. queue for Splash Mt. are going to associate Disney with long lines, but those who use that time to strike up a conversation can make friends and memories that will bring a smile to their face. Now, I usually use sport shirts that people wear to make a connection before I talk to someone, but maybe using these pins as a gateway into guest interaction would help jump-start the movement.

And on a similar note, I can’t wait until Cast Members are wearing nametags with their hometowns on them again.

 

[marchofthecards]

They have just started to run the "Disney Parks" tv advert here in the UK to support the year of a billion pins marketing idea and it is cr*p. It seems cheap as we used to have adverts for Disneyland Paris and WDW running now we have a cheap looking advert for Disney Parks and a quickly put together webpage www.disneyparks.co.uk to direct you to the correct website since they can't put both on the advert or that would look even cheaper.:hammer:

The reason for this new 'Disney Parks' umbrella is to bring the Disney globe closer and make more aware that there is more resorts than they may first realise. In Europe, people know about WDW and of course DLP, but forget about DL,Anaheim, may not have heard of Tokyo, and never dreamt of one being in Hong Kong! This new campaign is changing that.

Indirectly connected is the new Walt Disney Pictures crawler (that headed POTCII) which stimulates audience minds that we are also about theme park resorts as well as movies, both produced with a flair of magic.

This is also about the job that Al Weiss has gone to do, merging the happenings of the parks, and syncronising what they do. If something works in Tokyo (and quite frankly what doesn't?) can we transfer this to France, or the US

We'll see what attendance figures results are published.....

Simes

 

[mousermerf]

This is also about the job that Al Weiss has gone to do, merging the happenings of the parks, and syncronising what they do. If something works in Tokyo (and quite frankly what doesn't?) can we transfer this to France, or the US

A whole heck of a lot.

The Snow Queen musical had to shut down production half way through. The Tower of Terror just opened at TDS, and it cannibalised attendance at TDL making it a ghost town. That resort is still filled with problems. TDS is still seen as a drain on resources though it's a beautiful park, as the fans keep picking one park or the other, not both.

DLP? Yeah, let's never - i repeat - NEVER import another one of their attractions again, shall we? Astro Orbitor in DL created a big ugly mess of crowd control at the hub, and the rest of the imported "look" destroyed their Tomorrowland, that is costing millions to repair.

Then we have LMAX, a very expensive failure at MGM.

Parks and Resorts function seperately because they function best that way. Jay Rasulo and Al Weiss created the division because otherwise they'd be obsolete and not have jobs. They have been criticized from inside and outside the company for this campaigne since its inception - and if this campaigne fails, which it will, they'll be goners.

 

[leftymoreno]

Then we have LMAX, a very expensive failure at MGM.

Theres that word again...what exactly constitutes a failure? Bringing in bucket loads of money?

 

[mousermerf]

Theres that word again...what exactly constitutes a failure? Bringing in bucket loads of money?

If you consider that MGM's attendance is down and the show is unpopular.. but the show cost a fortune to build. No, it is not bringing in buckets of money.

 

[imagineer boy]

See, the thing is that a surprising amount of people go to WDW with a limited time. Some can only go for 3 days ( for financial reasons or because they want to visit other Orlando attractions ) and some tend to skip over Epcot because "its too boring." Well, if they went with a limited schedule and saw that "Epcot is celebrating 25 years of excitement with amazing new rides, shows, parades, and fireworks in our most spectacular celebration ever!" then it would change their minds a bit about which parks to go to. It wouldn't take away from the other parks, but it would make Epcot's attendance peak a bit more.

The thing that made the 50th anniversary so popular was that it brought in the crowds because of great new rides. That's what people really want. People WILL NOT want to go just to get a few cheap pins. If you were the average tourist, which advertisement would interest you more? "Come to WDW for the YOAMD and get free pins and possibly can win a fancy hotel room!" or "Come to WDW and make a special trip to Epcot celebrating 25 years of excitement with all new rides and shows. Don't miss out!" Besides, TDS always celebrates its anniversary of its opening and it always brings in the crowds.

 

[drei]

Do you realize that the vast majority of people don't care or even know about Epcot's 25th? However, many unassumming guests will be delighted to receive pins.

Disney's marketing isn't meant for people on this site, it's meant for the other 99% of people that go to Disney.