Travel Channel's Ultimate Disney Fan's Show

Mossy,
i watched thre program, and for one enjoyed it. but then again whenever i can get my fix on disney i will take it...............Dave Lloyd good job im glad you had a good time.....have a zippa dee do da day!
 

saltmom1

New Member
Congrats on being on the Travel Channel show ! I was jealous of you staying at AKL. It looked beautiful ! I don't think the quality of the show was a reflection of the participants, but rather the presentation of the info by the Travel Channel. I watch the Travel Channel often and I don't think it was up to their usual standards. The groups themselves did a good job of presenting the material and the hints, but like someone else said, it was for the average person. Not anyone who has done any research ( in the "field "- WDW) or from home. I would have liked to see more of the attractions and the characters although the segment on the CRT character breakfast was excellent. All of the areas should have been covered that well and it should have been a 2 hour special. Maybe I have a slanted pointed of view. Anyway, I felt it was too segmented going from AK to MK to Epcot to MGM. The segments should have been your experience at the Animal Kingdom, then the young family's experience at MK, etc. There was no sense of continuity. That's my opinion for what it is worth.
 

DDuckFan130

Well-Known Member
Ok, I wanted to comment on the whole poncho thing on water rides. Now, I love to get wet on water rides so we don't usually wear ponchos. However, what if this were December in mid-40s weather and all you wanted to do was experience a ride like Splash. There's more to the ride than just getting wet, in fact there's a whole 10 minutes worth of ride before the part you actually get wet in. In these situations, I don't see the problem in wearing a poncho. If Dave's family didn't want to walk around AK soaked for the rest of the day, that's ok. Why must some of you be condescending about the whole thing?! I'm sorry, but it's those kinds of posts that tick me off and make me wonder why I even bother reading in the first place. No offense to the majority of you that are sweethearts, but I've been thinking about this for a while. Again, sorry :)
 

mikeb_86

Member
Hey Dave Welcome to these here boards!!! I enjoyed the show last night but whould of love to see disney and travel ch do more to the show like most people on the boards. By the way i did learn some stuff like that area for wishes!!!

Thanks,
mikeb_86
 

DDuckFan130

Well-Known Member
saltmom1 said:
Congrats on being on the Travel Channel show ! I was jealous of you staying at AKL. It looked beautiful ! I don't think the quality of the show was a reflection of the participants, but rather the presentation of the info by the Travel Channel. I watch the Travel Channel often and I don't think it was up to their usual standards. The groups themselves did a good job of presenting the material and the hints, but like someone else said, it was for the average person. Not anyone who has done any research ( in the "field "- WDW) or from home. I would have liked to see more of the attractions and the characters although the segment on the CRT character breakfast was excellent. All of the areas should have been covered that well and it should have been a 2 hour special. Maybe I have a slanted pointed of view. Anyway, I felt it was too segmented going from AK to MK to Epcot to MGM. The segments should have been your experience at the Animal Kingdom, then the young family's experience at MK, etc. There was no sense of continuity. That's my opinion for what it is worth.
Excellent post, and I completely agree. My first post on this suggested that there was too much information to be condensed into one hour. However, if this was enough to make many families, couples, etc. want to go to WDW for the first time or 50th time, then the show served its purpose to those people. For some WDW freaks such as myself, it only energized my family more for our trip this fall/winter :D.
 

saltmom1

New Member
That was a great idea about the area to watch Wishes ! Where did you say it was, again ? I am leaving in 21 days !( Not that I'm counting. :lol: ) I am driving my family crazy too. I do something similar with the schedules but not with a binder. Not everyone gets one, either, but yur remark about the kids asking what are we doing next was well taken. I have a whole packet stapled together so I can tear off each page as I need it and then throw it away. Did they say anything about doing a sequel in the near future ? We are travelling with a newbie to WDW and we were hoping we could give her a preview of our trip at least in part.
 

mkfan23

New Member
Hey Dave, that looked like a really fun experience. It's nice to know that there are others out there like me.(ie adult family guys obsessed with disney!) Have fun on your "real" vacation. By the way, did you have to wait in any lines, or were you and your family bumped to the front of the line for your entire stay?
 

the-reason14

Well-Known Member
Welcome. I really enjoyed the show A LOT. I mean it was really good IMO. I really appreciated the tip about wishes, but the problem is, is that it probably will be more crowded there becasue of what you said, but thats OK.


And I loved what you said about how you are the ultimate disney fan because you have believed in the magic etc etc. I also loved what the other families said about they come time and time again, and it just helps them build certain character around their trips. Because thats exactly how I feel.


God Bless you, and Welcome to WDWmagic.com :wave: :wave:
 

saltmom1

New Member
Thanks, DDuckFan130. Can you imagine getting to WDW and wanting to get a facial and a massage right away ? Come on, let's be realistic ! That's not MY first priority when I get to WDW ! That was commercialism at it's most blatant.
 

DaveDizney

New Member
Original Poster
So Much to do

Wow -- lots of Q's

Everyone is asking about the schedules I made. Yes, I make a schedule and then make copies for everyone in our family. We're not bound to it, but it's a guide. People make mucho $ doing this in books, so we've developed our own. We like keeping track of our schedule -- especially as far as preferred seatings go. Everyone in my family loves them, because they're not dictated by them, but they have learned what's a fast load and what to ride early from them. But we don't laminate it -- I still don't know where that came from!

The binder I make keeps all my reservations, keeps track of our budget, has phone numbers and email addresses, and photocopies of our passes. It also helps fill the anticipatory days go by before a trip!

As far as saying what we wanted to or being dictated to by Disney, I can tell you that there were very few things we said or did that the Disney suits disagreed with while we were there. But in the same breath, I can't control what they didn't put into the hour-long production. Just remember, we made about 15 hours of tape for less than 15-minutes of a show.

Now about the poncho's -- has anyone ever been on Kali in the middle of the day in April? The best example of why we had poncho's can't be seen in the production, but there was another family who rode with us the 3 times we went on the ride. You'll never see them because they were soaked and miserable. This isn't Splash Mt. -- this ride (like any raft ride) can be a day-ender. Having the "magic water" in your shorts can be a fun-buster. You also didn't hear in the show how we buy our poncho's for $2.50 at WalMart before we go rather than taking out a small loan for the ones in the park.

We also didn't understand how the production would be edited. I thought they'd do 15-minute segments on each of us and was surprised by the montage format. But it was different from the many other productions from Lightship (I think that was the idea).

Wishes -- we have a number of places we'd go to see this -- usually around the small pathways on the right of the hub, or on the platform of the train station in the front of the park. If we've seen it already in the week, we like to see them again by timing out a ride on Thunder Mountain at just the right moment (we've done this many times) -- it's a great view. But Disney rewarded us during the filming of this show -- they opened a grassy gated area to us on the right side of the hub (no crowd, no obstruction, nice cushy grass!!!). Now they've spoiled us -- we'll never be satisfied with another location again!

As far as a sequel goes, we asked about that to the producer on the way out. I got to meet the Young Adult gal during my interview and we tried to talk them into doing "Battle of the Ultimate Fans" Survivor type show -- maybe on the old Discovery Island? But so far, no takers! Oh well, there went my 15-minutes!
 

Lennyg512

Member
I'm happy that there will not be another episode of "Fan's Guide to Walt Disney World." The first one was terrible, and another one would only get worse. I was changing the channel 15 minutes into the show to see what else was on. Next time, use better people.
 

Lennyg512

Member
DaveDizney said:
Wow -- lots of Q's

Everyone is asking about the schedules I made. Yes, I make a schedule and then make copies for everyone in our family. We're not bound to it, but it's a guide. People make mucho $ doing this in books, so we've developed our own. We like keeping track of our schedule -- especially as far as preferred seatings go. Everyone in my family loves them, because they're not dictated by them, but they have learned what's a fast load and what to ride early from them. But we don't laminate it -- I still don't know where that came from!

The binder I make keeps all my reservations, keeps track of our budget, has phone numbers and email addresses, and photocopies of our passes. It also helps fill the anticipatory days go by before a trip!

As far as saying what we wanted to or being dictated to by Disney, I can tell you that there were very few things we said or did that the Disney suits disagreed with while we were there. But in the same breath, I can't control what they didn't put into the hour-long production. Just remember, we made about 15 hours of tape for less than 15-minutes of a show.

Now about the poncho's -- has anyone ever been on Kali in the middle of the day in April? The best example of why we had poncho's can't be seen in the production, but there was another family who rode with us the 3 times we went on the ride. You'll never see them because they were soaked and miserable. This isn't Splash Mt. -- this ride (like any raft ride) can be a day-ender. Having the "magic water" in your shorts can be a fun-buster. You also didn't hear in the show how we buy our poncho's for $2.50 at WalMart before we go rather than taking out a small loan for the ones in the park.

We also didn't understand how the production would be edited. I thought they'd do 15-minute segments on each of us and was surprised by the montage format. But it was different from the many other productions from Lightship (I think that was the idea).

Wishes -- we have a number of places we'd go to see this -- usually around the small pathways on the right of the hub, or on the platform of the train station in the front of the park. If we've seen it already in the week, we like to see them again by timing out a ride on Thunder Mountain at just the right moment (we've done this many times) -- it's a great view. But Disney rewarded us during the filming of this show -- they opened a grassy gated area to us on the right side of the hub (no crowd, no obstruction, nice cushy grass!!!). Now they've spoiled us -- we'll never be satisfied with another location again!

As far as a sequel goes, we asked about that to the producer on the way out. I got to meet the Young Adult gal during my interview and we tried to talk them into doing "Battle of the Ultimate Fans" Survivor type show -- maybe on the old Discovery Island? But so far, no takers! Oh well, there went my 15-minutes!

Come on, it's just water. You don't need a poncho. In the Florida sun, you'll dry off quickly.
 

CaptainMichael

Well-Known Member
saltmom1 said:
Thanks, DDuckFan130. Can you imagine getting to WDW and wanting to get a facial and a massage right away ? Come on, let's be realistic ! That's not MY first priority when I get to WDW ! That was commercialism at it's most blatant.

Every segment that the Levey's were in were for Disney's commercial benefit.
1.) Staying at the Grand Floridian and sleeping in
2.) Going to the Spa
3.) Buying tickets at the gate
4.) Resting after two attractions by shopping at the Art of Disney
 

General Grizz

New Member
Lennyg512 said:
Come on, it's just water. You don't need a poncho. In the Florida sun, you'll dry off quickly.
Panchos really help, to be honest. We had to stand out for a while to get our SOCKS dried after that mess! :D
 

MissM

Well-Known Member
Lennyg512 said:
Come on, it's just water. You don't need a poncho. In the Florida sun, you'll dry off quickly.
Well...in defense of Dave and as someone who's lived in FL for the last 19 years, some days in April can still be relatively cool. You can have days in the 70's still in April if you're lucky. This April was actually beautifully cooler then normal. And, I've ridden the Congo River Rapids here in Tampa at Busch Gardens (same type of ride) before in the middle of summer on a hot day and my jean shorts got so saturated they simply did not dry out. I had to buy some new shorts because it was painfully chaffing my legs. Not a comfortable thing. If you're prepared for it, then fine, but not everyone wants that kind of experience.

Beyond that though, eh. I kind of thought it was rather tame and honestly, slightly lame. No offense to any of the participants, just, I didn't think it was that great. My Love and I watched it thinking it wasn't even remotely "ultimate" and easily knew everything which was discussed and then some. I guess I had expected it to be designed more for fans by fans kind of thing. And like, we'd never go to the park with a schedule - the reason we can get there at noon, 1pm, or even 2pm, and see everything we want and then some (most often a couple times over) is that we go with the flow of the park for that day. We've never left the park failing to ride something we wanted to ride (unless it's something like BTMR which closed for rain).

To each their own though. It just felt so scripted and like a big ad. Which was, to me, disappointing. Congrats though on being on the show, that's very cool in general and enjoy your actual vacation coming up. :)
-m
 

DDuckFan130

Well-Known Member
General Grizz said:
Panchos really help, to be honest. We had to stand out for a while to get our SOCKS dried after that mess! :D
Don't you just hate when your socks get soaked?! That happened to us once when we went to AK and it was raining. The poncho helped the rest of the body but we had to go back to the hotel and let our feet breathe and change our socks.

So yeah, the poncho does help.
 

DaveDizney

New Member
Original Poster
"Magic Water"

General Grizz said:
Panchos really help, to be honest. We had to stand out for a while to get our SOCKS dried after that mess! :D
Nothing like that "magic water" in your socks, squishing in your sneakers -- and that wonderful smell when you get back to your hotel that night and take them off. Ah, the memories!

Remember to keep your feet up when going down the big hill!

BTW -- General, your a gentleman and a scholar. I'm sure everyone on the boards recognize that -- I know I have the last two days.
 

JBSLJames

New Member
My family really liked the show. To be honest, anything on Disney will be watched and liked by us. We are preparing for our first trip to WDW as a family in November and found some of the tips to be useful (parade route, ponchos, individual schedules. etc.). A little more detail and time in each park would have been nice.

Oh well. Good job. God Bless and have a Great Day. :wave:
 

TnkrBelPixiDust

New Member
DaveDizney said:
Though I've got a pretty tough skin, you can't believe how exposed you feel after something like this! Thanks again for carrying a Disney attitude!
Okay Dave....I feel bad becuase I pretty much thought you were a nut with the schedule however after reading all your post i honestly feel really bad about it! When my friend and I watched the show we couldnt believe how everything was so "by the book" in a sense.. all of us know that you ***NEVER*** buy tickets after you get there. After reading your post
"Remember, they had Disney exec's with us all the time. We knew what we would and wouldn't be able to talk about, and with a free trip and two rooms in AKL, I was not about to argue! Remember, target audience of those watching this production are not the small segment of hard-core Disney people like us, but those needing the simple introduction and tips"
It absouluetly makes sense of your simple tips.. I don't know what we were all expecting when we watched it but as I look back and I realize that yeah the show was made to attract NEW people to Disney. But anyways I just want to go on record and say welcome to WDWMagic and sorry for any negative post you may have received! :)
 
Welcome to the Boards, Dave! :wave:

I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I really liked the show. I only saw the last half of it, but I still enjoyed it. It probably stinks though that you guys had to go to AK even though you would've prefered somewhere else. I guess it just made sense when choosing parks for each family.




300 POST!!!!(I think?) :drevil:
 

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