Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[The Empress Lilly]

I believe we may be seeing a disconnect between the paper and the website, as I have it on good authority that the paper side of things isn't pleased with the situation.

As in the example above, a Disney-written piece may well eventually end up on the USAToday site with no indication that it is, in essence, a PR piece/advertisement.

That sort of thing may be fine for some sites, but I can assure you, based on my information, the powers that be at USAToday aren't keen on it.

I anticipate a possible change in policy.

I'm sure your source feels uneasy about USAToday mixing quality editorial and advertising content, and I totally love you trying to get to the bottom of this. But I must ask: are we all talking about the same USAToday website?

Topless swimming pools in Vegas, book now at USAToday travel section! http://www.usatoday.com/experience/experience/las-vegas/vegas-buzz/

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

The problem is there are very few intellectual properties that can support an entire "land" with multiple rides, shops and restaurants. Harry Potter, Cars, Star Wars ... maybe (big maybe) Lord of the Rings. I can't think of a fifth--and no, I'm not forgetting Avatar.

In any case, Radiator Springs Racers is a strong contender for best ride in America, and I might give Cars Land the edge over WWoHP for #1 land. If you're going to clone something, clone the best.

Maybe if you're talking about "lands" that can really bring in customers. But the entirety of Islands of Adventure seems to suggest that there's a bunch of properties that can do the trick: Jurassic Park and Marvel in particular seem to be pretty much perfect candidates.

I'll note, too, that Disney has done a pretty good job in Tokyo of proving that you can make a full "land" out of, say, Indiana Jones or Aladdin.

You're definitely on the right track of identifying the right candidates for what makes a perfect theme park "land:" Ideally, there's an iconic location that you can basically re-build in earnest, and that place already has stores and restaurants, and they sell well-known and desirable merchandise and food items that exist in the world of the IP. It's not necessarily an IP that everyone knows or even likes, but the place itself is pleasant and exciting enough even to people with only a passing interest in the property. (My mother, who has never seen a second of any Harry Potter movie or read a page of any of the books, was very excited to see the theme park land and kept gushing over the "loveliness" of the place when she went).

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'll note, too, that Disney has done a pretty good job in Tokyo of proving that you can make a full "land" out of, say, Indiana Jones or Aladdin.

I think the Lost River Delta and Arabian Coast both show how to more successfully create a land tied to a franchise as neither land is wholly dependent on these franchises.

 

[MattM]

I believe we may be seeing a disconnect between the paper and the website, as I have it on good authority that the paper side of things isn't pleased with the situation.

As in the example above, a Disney-written piece may well eventually end up on the USAToday site with no indication that it is, in essence, a PR piece/advertisement.

The people on the website may well not give 2 cents what the people on the print side think, too.

I think the faux outrage is overblown and people are searching for things to be mad at now. You can always find something if you're looking.

 

[luv]

I think everyone is greatly oversimplifying issues here. I will say two things, based only on personal observation. First, a friend of mine owns a VIP tour company--he discourages guests from staying at Disney hotels simply because the service will not be what they expect. I think the wealthy are the first to notice things like dirty carpet or having to stand in a 10-person line to check in. Second, based on my fairly extensive time in the Grand, I'd say the top two categories of guests are (1) convention-goers and (2) retirement-age hard core Disney fans.

Yes, people who can afford to stay in real luxury hotels (and routinely do) will very quickly realize that Disney has none...but that they charge as much or more than many of them and certainly are way more expensive than better hotels in Orlando.

For some people I know, I can recommend Disney. But there are other people I know who might ask about the Poly or GF and I have to say, "Uh, you don't want to stay there." I know they'll be not only not impressed, but a little ed by the poor quality. They won't balk at the price, but they won't like the place...and that's the problem.

 

[Lee]

But how does any of this make it more than internal politics and drama at USA Today? The left hand not talking to the right hand is not exactly big news for a sizeable organization.

I only mention it due to it's Disney connection.
They have a knack of getting well-placed pseudo advertising, especially recently.

 

[Lee]

The people on the website may well not give 2 cents what the people on the print side think, too.

I think the faux outrage is overblown and people are searching for things to be mad at now. You can always find something if you're looking.

The people who are...unhappy...would be in a position to have influence on both sides.

And there's no "outrage" here. Nobody is mad. I personally just find Disney's habit of landing in the "news" interesting.

 

[luv]

The people who are...unhappy...would be in a position to have influence on both sides.

And there's no "outrage" here. Nobody is mad. I personally just find Disney's habit of landing in the "news" interesting.

Disney isn't the first company to buy "news." Not by a longshot.

 

[flynnibus]

I only mention it due to it's Disney connection.
They have a knack of getting well-placed pseudo advertising, especially recently.

And that's what good PR and advertising people do. Create content and encourage it to get picked up by others. People do a lot of ground pounding and networking to get their product releases, industry news, etc in various magazines, etc. It's a full time job for many people in most companies to push their news out into the market.

This is no different in consumer products, technology, etc. You don't sit back and wait for reporters to find you and write a review/coverage.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I only mention it due to it's Disney connection.
They have a knack of getting well-placed pseudo advertising, especially recently.

The people who are...unhappy...would be in a position to have influence on both sides.

And there's no "outrage" here. Nobody is mad. I personally just find Disney's habit of landing in the "news" interesting.

I'm still not seeing anything interesting. A Disney blogger who writes about Disney food wrote an article for a food website that also distributes content to other news outlets. I think you're over thinking how the web presence and outsourcing/purchasing content allows large names in news to rather easily fill up their sites with content aimed at niche markets that their more mainstream presence would not bother covering. They see their websites in competition with aggregator services and everybody else out there, so they're trying to make themselves a one-stop shop for news for anybody and everybody.

 

[Lee]

I'm still not seeing anything interesting.

That's fine. I did/do.
Feel free to bring up another topic for discussion.

 

[asianway]

I think everyone is greatly oversimplifying issues here. I will say two things, based only on personal observation. First, a friend of mine owns a VIP tour company--he discourages guests from staying at Disney hotels simply because the service will not be what they expect. I think the wealthy are the first to notice things like dirty carpet or having to stand in a 10-person line to check in. Second, based on my fairly extensive time in the Grand, I'd say the top two categories of guests are (1) convention-goers and (2) retirement-age hard core Disney fans.

I can say with certainty - the higher net worth of the individual, the more likely they are to rip your @$$ apart for something inconsequential - let alone things that are standard at a Hilton Garden Inn. Not having their nose wiped for them at what is supposed to be a 4 or 5 star hotel will have them demanding compensation...

 

[the.dreamfinder]

With SDL, I get this strange feeling that the Chinese are being left in the dark as much as we are.

 

[Lee]

With SDL, I get this strange feeling that the Chinese are being left in the dark as much as we are.

The Chinese people, yes.
The government...not a chance. They are very involved in everything, including approving the attraction menu.

Those guys don't mess around.[/i]

 

[Clever Name]

I have never thought of USA Today as a reputable news organization. I consider them to be on about the same level as social media.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That's fine. I did/do.
Feel free to bring up another topic for discussion.

If there is more to it then you're going to have to be more specific with the information, especially if there is something beyond what is readily available.

 

[MattM]

The people who are...unhappy...would be in a position to have influence on both sides.

Maybe they will be. But they can't be too unhappy. The minute "news" became a for-profit venture, this was bound to happen.

Like @flynnibus said, if the Disney people did in fact pull this off (which A.) Im not sure they did and B.) is really no huge feat), then they are only doing what many other companies do. Have you read a review of a new car in the NYT or USAToday recently? Check out the buzz words the reviewers use to describe the vehicle...I'm sure its a coincidence they're the exact same words the manufacturers use in their material...

 

[MattM]

I can say with certainty - the higher net worth of the individual, the more likely they are to rip your @$$ apart for something inconsequential - let alone things that are standard at a Hilton Garden Inn. Not having their nose wiped for them at what is supposed to be a 4 or 5 star hotel will have them demanding compensation...

new money vs old money.

 

[BryceM]

new money vs old money.

Gatsby?

 

[COProgressFan]

Yes, people who can afford to stay in real luxury hotels (and routinely do) will very quickly realize that Disney has none...but that they charge as much or more than many of them and certainly are way more expensive than better hotels in Orlando.

For some people I know, I can recommend Disney. But there are other people I know who might ask about the Poly or GF and I have to say, "Uh, you don't want to stay there." I know they'll be not only not impressed, but a little ed by the poor quality. They won't balk at the price, but they won't like the place...and that's the problem.

I know exactly what you mean here. 10 or 15 years ago I would still wholeheartedly recommend either of those resorts. But more and more I don't feel comfortable giving that type of recommendation. Bottom line is the quality and service at those resorts has gone down, and the prices have skyrocketed. I would feel foolish to tell them it was worth it.

A family I know who used to visit WDW regularly in the 1980s and 1990s recently went for the first time with their grandchild. They had two comments -- 1., that pricing for tickets/food/lodging was out of control and they were quite upset to pay several hundreds of hundreds of dollars for each sit down meal (2 grandparents, daughter, son in law, 1 grandchild) and $500 a night for a deluxe. And 2., that they never change or anything and everything is the same as it was since they went nearly 10 years ago.

I fully agree with both comments.