Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[TalkingHead]

#CancelColbert was successful, he will not be on comedy central after 2014... If the Seminole Tribe is ok with it, I'm ok with it. Does still look crap though.

Right, they got him cancelled right into a job promotion. Job well done, social media activists.

Funny thing about the Seminole Tribe's approval -- the early story was that the Tribe had requested the new logo, but that now sounds like it was just the University officials trying to deflect the negative response. I hadn't heard anything to suggest the new logo wasn't spearheaded (oh, the pun) by the University, and more likely, by Nike.

 

[Sneezy62]

Oh, you are absolutely correct. It isn't simply a Disney problem. But there was a time when Disney sought to raise its guests up. Now, it dumbs its offerings down and allows almost anything to go, so long as they are making money.

Orchestra in front of the castle>Tomorrowland dance party

 

[StageFrenzy]

Right, they got him cancelled right into a job promotion. Job well done, social media activists.

Funny thing about the Seminole Tribe's approval -- the early story was that the Tribe had requested the new logo, but that now sounds like it was just the University officials trying to deflect the negative response. I hadn't heard anything to suggest the new logo wasn't spearheaded (oh, the pun) by the University, and more likely, by Nike.

I read that story as well and then when it materialized as a worse version of the current logo, I rolled my eyes. That is one thing that should have never been raised from the swamp. Nike is notorious for pedaling BS in uniform and logo refreshes if you follow that sort of thing.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Speaking of Transformers v. Spider-Man, the previously mentioned Passport2Dreams has an article discussing just that and more: http://passport2dreams.blogspot.ca/2014/04/universals-magnum-opus-spider-man.html

 

[lazyboy97o]

In honor of the Social Media fest, I thought it would be apropos to mention the recent controversy over FSU changing its Seminole logo.

By all appearances, the University and Nike saw an opportunity to "rebrand" FSU athletics in the aftermath of the football team's National Championship -- and sell a bunch of new merchandise with the new "brand" logo. A photo of the new logo (which I'm no fan of) was leaked on Twitter a few days ago. There was an outcry among many FSU fans on social media. Petitions to keep the old logo and the like.

Since social media is so democratic and allows people to have a meaningful voice in conversations they might otherwise be left out of, these social media protests must have had some effect, right?

Well, as of today, the new logo is painted at midfield at Doak-Campbell Stadium. It's plastered all over the facilities and the new merchandise. The social media "protests" didn't amount to anything.

Sorta reminiscent of the #CancelColbert "protest" last week. (I'd love to have drinks with Spirit and rail about the stupidity of hashtag activism...)

Oh, well. At least these Social Media conferences continue to push this idea that social media is something other than the overlords trying to control the message.

Off topic, while I'm not a fan of the new Seminoles logo (looks like Fat Elvis in the throes of passion with bacon pieces substituted for war paint), the new jerseys get a big thumbs up from me.

The Atlantic Cities had an article recently on why social media orchestrated street protests fails to drive meaningful change. It mostly points to a lack of strong organization and an easy means of being casually involved during the moment.

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm not going to defend a hashtag activist like the person behind #cancelcolbert who trolls for attention, but...

You guys do realize this is social media, right? If social media is ineffective, well...

 

[WDW1974]

#CancelColbert was successful, he will not be on comedy central after 2014... If the Seminole Tribe is ok with it, I'm ok with it. Does still look crap though.

That ridiculous campaign had nothing to do with him getting a huge promotion and better job with CBS.

And the logo does look like crap, but Nike is going thru as many teams/universities as it can to 'update' logos/looks (that's all code for sell more merchandise to fans).

It's sorta like WDW going back to using the original 1971-1996 logo on lots of merchandise, but not simply making it the official logo again.

 

[StageFrenzy]

And the logo does look like crap, but Nike is going thru as many teams/universities as it can to 'update' logos/looks (that's all code for sell more merchandise to fans).

It's sorta like WDW going back to using the original 1971-1996 logo on lots of merchandise, but not simply making it the official logo again.

You know I was being coy with the CancelColbert BS. I'm happy nike didn't consult too closely with the Seminole Tribe otherwise Jackpot:

 

[WDW1974]

I'm not going to defend a hashtag activist like the person behind #cancelcolbert who trolls for attention, but...

You guys do realize this is social media, right? If social media is ineffective, well...

This is social media at a pure level. Disney is looking to get rid of voices like mine and sites like this or at least make them so insignificant that it doesn't matter what we say.

That is what Dr. Blondie, Bland Tommy, Crazy Gary, Scary Steven and Co get paid to do. It is like the infamous Duncan Wardle video where he crows about having 18 positive comments about Disney for every negative one online. It's like being a liberal guest on Sean Hannity's FOX show. You never get to hear them because they are drowned out.

And they use people like yourself as defacto BRAND advocates, Tom. Sure, you are honest and you blubber on about how great the international parks are (and rightly so), but you're still visiting DL and WDW regularly and still talking about how much you love those parks and resorts and restaurants, so Celebration Place doesn't care that you'd rather be in TDS than EPCOT, rather ride Mystic Manor than the Little Mermaid, rather stay at Sequoia Lodge than Pop Century. They win because you're still telling the world that WDW is worth people's vacation dollars. And the folks at Disney aren't that smart, but they are smart enough to realize that all your crowing about how MAGICal exploring the Fortress at TDS is that more of your readers (like 98%) will visit Tom Sawyer Island (and does anyone actually go there anymore? I think it's been 9-10 years for me now) still.

Disney owns Social Media. That's why they can crow about it at an event like the recent Ragan Conference at WDW and the current Mommy Bloggers event at DLR.

Sure, stuff here can explode into things elsewhere. One day you write about Disney being hypocritical about not wanting mega casino resorts in Florida when they have a thriving gaming business of their own, and soon after a story appears in the NYT on that very subject. But that doesn't happen with every topic, obviously.

Who knows when or what that next big one will be?

And since Al Lutz became ill and retired, there isn't a voice out there who commands that presence and respect by the media and Disney ... and that is a crying shame.

 

[WDW1974]

One very important thing left out of the above post, but that I feel really needs to stand on its own is that Disney's victory in Social Media is very much like Iger and Rasulo and Staggs crowing over quarterly earnings, it's a short term victory. Nothing more.

And it misses a very important point: there is no back-and-forth when dealing with Disney (or its top whores like Brigante, Mongello, the DIS people, the Mommy Bloggers) because it's all one-sided.

This is TRUE social media because we can discuss, banter, debate and argue points. We communicate (sometimes more effectively than others). We are the SOCIAL in social media. We don't all sing the same tune.

 

[TalkingHead]

I'm not going to defend a hashtag activist like the person behind #cancelcolbert who trolls for attention, but...

You guys do realize this is social media, right? If social media is ineffective, well...

I don't see discussion boards like this as public protest. I see it as conversation, jokes, and rumors.

Now in the past there have been groups of WDWMagicers (WDWMagicians?) who organized "Save WDW" projects in which they'd catalog all the broken effects in the parks. You can tell how effective those efforts were. Probably as effective as any Twitter protest would be.

 

[StageFrenzy]

This is social media at a pure level. Disney is looking to get rid of voices like mine and sites like this or at least make them so insignificant that it doesn't matter what we say.

That is what Dr. Blondie, Bland Tommy, Crazy Gary, Scary Steven and Co get paid to do. It is like the infamous Duncan Wardle video where he crows about having 18 positive comments about Disney for every negative one online. It's like being a liberal guest on Sean Hannity's FOX show. You never get to hear them because they are drowned out.

And they use people like yourself as defacto BRAND advocates, Tom. Sure, you are honest and you blubber on about how great the international parks are (and rightly so), but you're still visiting DL and WDW regularly and still talking about how much you love those parks and resorts and restaurants, so Celebration Place doesn't care that you'd rather be in TDS than EPCOT, rather ride Mystic Manor than the Little Mermaid, rather stay at Sequoia Lodge than Pop Century. They win because you're still telling the world that WDW is worth people's vacation dollars. And the folks at Disney aren't that smart, but they are smart enough to realize that all your crowing about how MAGICal exploring the Fortress at TDS is that more of your readers (like 98%) will visit Tom Sawyer Island (and does anyone actually go there anymore? I think it's been 9-10 years for me now) still.

Disney owns Social Media. That's why they can crow about it at an event like the recent Ragan Conference at WDW and the current Mommy Bloggers event at DLR.

Sure, stuff here can explode into things elsewhere. One day you write about Disney being hypocritical about not wanting mega casino resorts in Florida when they have a thriving gaming business of their own, and soon after a story appears in the NYT on that very subject. But that doesn't happen with every topic, obviously.

Who knows when or what that next big one will be?

And since Al Lutz became ill and retired, there isn't a voice out there who commands that presence and respect by the media and Disney ... and that is a crying shame.

Were you as bothered by the April fools Lutz post as I was? I found micechat relatively late and even the tail end of Lutz was usually balanced in appraisals. Yeah he had an agenda, but it was clear it was for the "fans" and of course for him. I'm going to cast some aspirations on him but he liked the power of being "in the know" and being the "voice of the Disney fans". Who wouldn't right? For the most part he used that voice for the better of the parks and the fan community. But read between the lines of what the online community is posting these days. There is no outright truth or truthiness* in most that is published today. Everything is along the company line, no one ever wants to publish the ugly truth lest it disconnect them from the teet that dispenses that sweet company graft. I hesitate to call people out for a hobby that they love and enjoy, but at this point it may be a job right? If they are getting paid for BS, then maybe I shouldn't feel bad about it.

Full disclosure you notice I post primarily on spirit threads, I like to know if I bother to add a pithy comment it will be read.



*Copyright Stephen Colbert

 

[Captain Chaos]

I don't see discussion boards like this as public protest. I see it as conversation, jokes, and rumors.

Now in the past there have been groups of WDWMagicers (WDWMagicians?) who organized "Save WDW" projects in which they'd catalog all the broken effects in the parks. You can tell how effective those efforts were. Probably as effective as any Twitter protest would be.

Was not effective because it died long before ti even got started... It was a good idea, just never carried out to full potential.. I'm sure it is because most of the people involved have real lives, unlike others who can spend 24/7 camped out in front of bathrooms so they can say they were the first ones to take that oh so magical first dump and brag how the new toilets are much more magical that the older ones...

The Save WDW/Fix the Magic crowd needed someone with no life who would spend 24/7 at the parks detailing every case of poor show, horrible maintenance, etc to be successful...

 

[tirian]

That is what I have long suspected. If you are traveling to Orlando and not an expert on what parks have what rides, let alone what IP, I can see folks wondering why they can buy Spidey, Hulk and Iron Man toys at the MK, yet there are no attractions.

I just recall how fast they moved the stuff in. When I was living in HK in 2010, I was shocked to walk into the Storybook Shop at HKDL and find an entire section of Marvel items ... in HK ... in Fantasyland.

It was sent to outlets and Cast Connection almost as suddenly as it appeared.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'm not going to defend a hashtag activist like the person behind #cancelcolbert who trolls for attention, but...

You guys do realize this is social media, right? If social media is ineffective, well...

Care to explain how a 5 year contract with CBS is a cancellation?

 

[TalkingHead]

The Save WDW/Fix the Magic crowd needed someone with no life who would spend 24/7 at the parks detailing every case of poor show, horrible maintenance, etc to be successful...

I guess it depends how you define "successful." Having someone in the parks 24/7 might have made the catalog of grievances more accurate, but I don't think it would've forced TDO's hand at improving things.

The Sentinel has published stories about the Yeti and other decreased maintenance, and nothing changed. The Sentinel probably has a bigger megaphone than a fan site.

Like I said, I don't think online protests are effective except for the really important stuff like getting the Duck Dynasty guy back on TV or getting MSNBC anchors fired. ( in case it wasn't obvious)

 

[tirian]

Tbh, few people stay in deluxe at rack rate. Nearly all rooms are booked at least 30% off. If Disney would drop their prices to reasonable numbers, they could stop offering discounts and cheapening their BRAND.

And I agree with your earlier comment. Anyone who has stayed in a true 4 or 5-star hotel would laugh at Disney's deluxe rack rates. (I do love the Contemporary but only stay there 50%–60% off.)

Disney's best resort right now might be Art of Animation. Great food. New rooms. Decent location with a rental car. Decent price with a discount.

Gotta disagree with the blaming it all on credit. You may have been able to say so a decade ago, but the credit market dried up in 2008. Many folks with excellent credit saw it taken away or reduced considerably. I know people who had $50K lines reduced to $5K and those with $5K reduced to $500. Things have opened up slightly since then, but you'll never convince me that the Walmart shoppers I see spending $500 a night have AmEx Black cards (or even regular AmEx Cards because many don't).

Again, I'm quite convinced that all those government jobs (funny how so many people who rip the big government have no problems taking paychecks from it), most in the defense sector have allowed many very poor folks to suddenly be able to pay $500 a night (they're still rubes so they don't know better).

It isn't people simply using credit cards. It isn't 1994 or 2004. Many don't have them, have maxed them out or don't use them.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I guess it depends how you define "successful." Having someone in the parks 24/7 might have made the catalog of grievances more accurate, but I don't think it would've forced TDO's hand at improving things.

The Sentinel has published stories about the Yeti and other decreased maintenance, and nothing changed. The Sentinel probably has a bigger megaphone than a fan site.

Like I said, I don't think online protests are effective except for the really important stuff like getting the Duck Dynasty guy back on TV or getting MSNBC anchors fired. ( in case it wasn't obvious)

By successful, I meant being able to run a website 24/7 and get the information out there with physical proof... The OS runs a little story, then does no follow up after getting a statement of corporate spin from WDW... That's good enough for them... Now, not saying Fix the Magic or a Save WDW online site would induce any kind of change, but one never knows what could have happened... If they had a 24/7 guy/gal/people, and kept a daily running list with complete evidence, with the way stupid little silly things catch on fire and run wild on the internet, who knows? Once things are documented, and followed up on, constantly reported on, they get embedded.... Would it have had any impact? Maybe, maybe not... But because they couldn't get it off the ground, we'll never know...

 

[Cesar R M]

Gotta disagree with the blaming it all on credit. You may have been able to say so a decade ago, but the credit market dried up in 2008. Many folks with excellent credit saw it taken away or reduced considerably. I know people who had $50K lines reduced to $5K and those with $5K reduced to $500. Things have opened up slightly since then, but you'll never convince me that the Walmart shoppers I see spending $500 a night have AmEx Black cards (or even regular AmEx Cards because many don't).

Again, I'm quite convinced that all those government jobs (funny how so many people who rip the big government have no problems taking paychecks from it), most in the defense sector have allowed many very poor folks to suddenly be able to pay $500 a night (they're still rubes so they don't know better).

It isn't people simply using credit cards. It isn't 1994 or 2004. Many don't have them, have maxed them out or don't use them.

I still find it very interesting that those who have the best ratting, got hit worse than those who didn't.
Its like cards KNEW that people who barely managed to keep their debt in check (because they had to pay more interests) are more profitable.. thus giving them higher levels than people who had full control of their debts.
Then the credit market goes bust.. and they still dared to raise theri hands "I TOTALLY DIDN'T KNOW THIS COULD HAPPEN!"

I appreciate that you made this distinction. I usually can't keep up with your threads for long (300 some-odd pages are just too much to wade through...), so I've never seen you clarify these types of statements on guest appearances. And I've always been baffled by what some here would consider appropriate day-wear for an outdoor theme park in a city that's hotter than the seventh circle of hell 275 days of the year. Sorry, but I am not wearing heels and pearls for a day at the Magic Kingdom. But I'm also not strolling up to V&A in a tank top and tennis shoes. Venue and activity should inform attire. But I don't see that as simply a WDW problem. Go the the theatre, the ballet, the symphony and look around at what people are wearing. Many will be appropriately dressed. And many will not be. I think it's much more wide-spread than just Disney. I work in international programs at a major university, and sometimes I'm shocked at what people wear to the office.

Agreed. Why have a dress code if you're not going to hold guests to it? And, frankly, the existing dress code for Disney's signatures is pretty lax. If you can't at least meet those standards...

I still wonder why have the rules too.
Maybe they noticed that the guys who hardly follow the rules are those who throw more money? (after the rent-a-disabled fiasco.. makes me think so)

The Atlantic Cities had an article recently on why social media orchestrated street protests fails to drive meaningful change. It mostly points to a lack of strong organization and an easy means of being casually involved during the moment.

Speaking of social media campaings.
I still remember when a few extremely conservative guys wanted to to use social media to make a "huge protest"... only the reverend and 8 of their die hard followers managed to get out of their homes to "protest"... then when interviewed.. he claimed his followers "in the thousands" were harassed.
It was an hilarious blunder!

One very important thing left out of the above post, but that I feel really needs to stand on its own is that Disney's victory in Social Media is very much like Iger and Rasulo and Staggs crowing over quarterly earnings, it's a short term victory. Nothing more.

And it misses a very important point: there is no back-and-forth when dealing with Disney (or its top whores like Brigante, Mongello, the DIS people, the Mommy Bloggers) because it's all one-sided.

This is TRUE social media because we can discuss, banter, debate and argue points. We communicate (sometimes more effectively than others). We are the SOCIAL in social media. We don't all sing the same tune.

Well there is a very basic yet huge difference..
a site full of drone-like throwing good comments in hope to get some bread crumbs from the 'big guy" vs this site who allows full discussions, bad and good to assemble...

 

[RSoxNo1]

Care to explain how a 5 year contract with CBS is a cancellation?

The twitter account for Colbert's show took a joke he made on the show out of context and put it on twitter. The joke was condemning the charity set up by the Redskins owner and the joke made fun of Asian people. Many jumped to twitter with the #cancelcolbert cry because they did 3 seconds of research and don't understand what the word satire means.