He's talking about Tom Smith from Disney, not the man-child.First... I have hot friends.Second... she knows her wine (& vodka).
I keep telling you that in the real world, Tom is a very likeable nice guy who's pretty quiet.
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Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV
- Thread starter WDW1974
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flynnibus
Premium Member
This is a MARKETING/PR activity - this shouldn't even be a question for anyone. Influencing and controlling reporters IS THE JOB.
The messy part of this is when Disney tries to obfuscate their marketing activities with things they label FAN activities. Meet-ups are intended to be fan community things - not media events. The problem is the Disney Social Media team blurs the line between the two and in turn tries to put off their media plants as 'fans'. This displaces regular community folks and gives false impressions.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
No, they took DDP for me a few months back.
I dont consider that to be a "Disney" restaurant given that they have many locations elsewhere.
And now I want a steak. Thanks Ed
tirian
Well-Known Member
"Exactly the same" with fewer pyro shells, less candy, a shorter parade, and more tickets so that the up-charge events are as crowded as a typical day in mid-August.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Thing is the Steak at Shula's is indeed WORTH $49, Now I've had better steaks for less in some small towns in Texas where the steak is locally grown etc there are some awesome steak places around Texas A&M,
But the Disney steak for 49 is at best on par with the 24 dollar steaks at the Hilton Garden, NOT worth the $49 bucks and the ambiance of slobs oozing out of their clothes, I am not infrequently tagged as a Mgmt CM because my Disney uniform is khakis and a tucked in polo. I was taught that this is how one respects others and the experience so one dresses appropriately.
It's just the way I was brought up when you are in public you should make a professional impression at all times.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
The trouble with an 'insider' blog is one can inadvertently let things out of the bag, I work in the IT industry our social media team is constantly begging my team members to 'contribute' we keep pushing them off in that havng us contribute has the potential to let competitors (who read our blogs) know our intentions by 'reading between the lines' so to speak.
I've looked at some of the lifestyler stuff and it borders on mental illness in some cases, I obsess on Disney for a few minutes each day and then go back to the regular business of obsessing over the technical details of our products and services. For me Disney is a mental snack so to speak.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
They are always thanking you for your patience if you go to the restaurants! Its partially the culture; the Japanese who visit Hawaii are very private but also very polite
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
LMAO....oh my
KevinYee
Well-Known Member
I agree with all of that. Also:
In 2005 (my first year going; it's been an annual thing since then for us, as we have small kids) there was a FREE 5x7 photo snapped of you with the characters in their Halloween finery (I think it was Mickey and Minnie). It came in a themed cardboard frame. They offered discounts to the photo in future years, but I never bothered again.
Adult price that year: $37
This year: $57/62/73 (it depends on which night you want to go)
baymenxpac
Well-Known Member
it's a bummer to learn someone you know is in the demographic spirit often describes. it hits you hard when you find out.
on twitter today, an acquaintance of mine started raving about MM+. i responded (because i'm a ) in short order, saying the company has wasted money, roll out has been a nightmare, and it's built with data mining in mind: three points that sum up our gripes and are pretty hard to argue. this is the response:
"If there’s one place I don’t mind being data-mined it’s Disney haha."
sweet 6 pound 9 ounce baby jesus!
i...just...i can't. this is a CORPORATION. a corporation that people are just blindly trusting. no one sees anything wrong with that?! other responses include:
"I think it’s the coolest thing ever! Don’t ever need to remove anything from your wallet!"
and
"Would be cool if all the parks could seamlessly do something as cool as the modern equivalent of the ET ride saying your name."
the reason why opinions like this are possible is because of disney's limitless PR outreach and capitalizing on the brand equity that it has built up over the last 40-50 years. people flat out trust disney, because they've been bred to. and when you have someone literally reciting disney's own talking points for them, you start to see just how effective the parks blog or jason garcia's laughable attempt at journalism is for the lazy consumer. it's a smokescreen to prevent the customer for asking themselves these very simple questions:
what does it do?
what benefit do i get as a guest?
why is that necessary?
call me crazy, but the sheer convenience of not reaching my hand into my back pocket doesn't scream WORTH 2 BILLION DOLLARS!
oh, and i'm sure this person doesn't know that traditional fast passes are all but donezo.
on twitter today, an acquaintance of mine started raving about MM+. i responded (because i'm a ) in short order, saying the company has wasted money, roll out has been a nightmare, and it's built with data mining in mind: three points that sum up our gripes and are pretty hard to argue. this is the response:
"If there’s one place I don’t mind being data-mined it’s Disney haha."
sweet 6 pound 9 ounce baby jesus!
i...just...i can't. this is a CORPORATION. a corporation that people are just blindly trusting. no one sees anything wrong with that?! other responses include:
"I think it’s the coolest thing ever! Don’t ever need to remove anything from your wallet!"
and
"Would be cool if all the parks could seamlessly do something as cool as the modern equivalent of the ET ride saying your name."
the reason why opinions like this are possible is because of disney's limitless PR outreach and capitalizing on the brand equity that it has built up over the last 40-50 years. people flat out trust disney, because they've been bred to. and when you have someone literally reciting disney's own talking points for them, you start to see just how effective the parks blog or jason garcia's laughable attempt at journalism is for the lazy consumer. it's a smokescreen to prevent the customer for asking themselves these very simple questions:
what does it do?
what benefit do i get as a guest?
why is that necessary?
call me crazy, but the sheer convenience of not reaching my hand into my back pocket doesn't scream WORTH 2 BILLION DOLLARS!
oh, and i'm sure this person doesn't know that traditional fast passes are all but donezo.
ChrisM
Well-Known Member
Last time I ate at the Shula's down there I was actually pretty appalled at the attire they were allowing in the restaurant.
It was a solid meal - about what you'd expect from a national chain steakhouse that serves prime beef.
Lucky
Well-Known Member
And most of that increase can't be blamed on general price inflation. Adjusting for inflation, $37 in 2005 is the same as $44 now.
(There's a nice inflation calculator here: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/index.cfm)
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Being in the IT business for years uncounted I've always found Fox Mulder's dictum of 'Trust no one' to be downright good advice.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
or...OR.. Maybe that they are able to separate degrees of danger and uses. When all is said and done, WDW is a THEME PARK, with rides and make-believe stuff all over the place. When you or others put the same MO on it as say the IRS or CIA or FBI or the US Military, that's when you start losing people and some of us start to see the tinfoil hats.
Everyone states over and over how awful this data mining part of it is. Yet, no one can tell us how it is going to affect us in a negative way. No one has been able to explain how our brains, ability to make our own decisions and somehow give us money to spend that we didn't have when we walked in will suddenly change, that is what makes it a hard thing to sell.
What happens with FP+, ADR's or alleged requirement to spend additional money to stay onsite in order to get any enjoyment out of the place, is possible, but, I don't see how it is workable. I, for one, will not be be extorted into that mess and unless MM+ has the ability to alter my mental processes, I never will. If I cannot enjoy it anymore, I will simply stop going. That is a big chance to take. 30 years, 42 trips, even without staying onsite, I spent one hell of a lot of money there, and I am just one person. If they can extort enough others to make up that difference, well, I guess that will be the way it is.
They may like to have everyone stay onsite but economically it wouldn't be to their advantage to have it that way. Let's say that they succeeded in basically stopping all offsite visitors. Who will maintain the infrastructure outside the gates. Maintain the roads, pay that taxes and generally keep everything running and looking alive. Like it or not, Disney depends on that external support to keep their little kingdom working.
Disney bought all that property to isolate itself from the physical bleeding over of the outside world into the controlled world of Disney World. Walt or anyone else, certainly never imagined that they didn't need that outside world close by, just not visible. What I see with all this is that there will be good and bad with this system, but generally it is more just an upgrade of their current systems. Upgrade with a few extra's yes, good or bad they will become very obvious before much time passes.
As far as brainwashing is concerned they have already convinced thousands that they just cannot have a complete experience without spending the family fortune to stay there, on property. Leave your car at home, we will ride your butt everywhere you NEED to go. Captive! Heck, we will even send free transportation to the airport to pick you up to insure that you don't get accidentally exposed to something that might interest you. I certainly cannot speak for everyone, but those that either didn't want too, or couldn't afford to stay onsite, will not automatically now be able to afford it or willing to afford it. They will lose that business if they don't include those people in the mix. Right now Disney is considered a right of passage. A place where all parents are almost morally required to bring their brood in so that they will be considered a good parent. BUT, that can change and it can change quickly. There are no more guarantees for Disney then for the rest of us.
The very concept that there are some of you that are so in-tuned with exactly what the reaction from the action will be, is beyond my comprehension. Look at this, they say, this is going to be the end of life as we know it. We are so much more able to see into the future then the rest of you, so heed our warning before it's to late. You will be giving up everything you value if you buy into this system. The sad part of it is, we do not even know what the system is yet, and even if we did, we have no idea what they are going to do with their new found system. If it wasn't for over reaction there would be no reaction at all. Many of us have decided to wait until the system is running and has had some time to work out the bugs as well as be modified to make sure that it is positive for both sides, then we will decide if it failed or was a good thing.
cbsav
Active Member
She is interspersed in this video (it's good at the 7:20 mark)...which is, in and of itself comical for many reasons. Enjoy!
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misterID
Well-Known Member
As flynn and lazyboy have pointed out, Disney is much more than a Theme Park. You can't have it both ways; It's just a themepark... No, no, no, theme parks are just a little slice of the pie, Disney is a humongous corporate entitiy, it's not just theme parks!
And if you knew what shady stuff Disney has done in the past you would be concerned. I'm not spilling the beans in public, it's that serious, but I will tell you it ain't all pixie dust. And the people they used to hire to carry out their shady business, defintiely ain't PG rated. At the coporate level, they are VERY lucky nothing has come to light. And this isn't so much Disney, as it's par for the course on most coporations that are that big. When you're aware of stuff like that, it makes people look naive who don't think this tech wouldn't be used for not so wonderful reasons by a big corporation.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
Thank you! Now I'm wondering who is who. I don't follow a lot of people but I'm sure a few of these characters are loved around here.
nytimez
Well-Known Member
Wow... that video is entertaining for all the wrong reasons.
On the whole, people are not dressed badly IMO. But, my goodness, anyone care to take a stab at the average waistline in that room?
Also, the guy shooting this video... he doesn't get what's going on with Mya Space, does he?
Wow. It is like my worst nightmare in that room. As anyone who has been unlucky enough to be around some of those people before will know, they are extremely annoying. They would have to pay me to go in there. I pity those that were there and not part of "the group". I see Jeff Lange and co are there, even though they are not on the attendee list. All part of the benefit of being part of "the group" - they get you in one way or another.
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