WDW Awakens ...

[Progress.City]

Where oh where did Disney's PR and marketing wizs come up with that? Oh yeah ... sorta like when they discovered Frozen a year after it became the highest grossing animation feature of all time.

Yes, the Awakenings deal came from the mediocre Star Wars: The Force Awakens and They Won't Ever Let You Forget It film. (Ssshhh ... you do all know Darth Vader is supposed to be in Rogue One Civil Infinity Jungle Book Wars 2, right?)

Well, today is supposedly the start of a three day WDW whorefest ... I mean ... media showcase for real reporters ... OK, can't do that with a straight or even a bi-curious face. Nope, it is designed for social media 'influencers' (why is the EPCOT Explorer not invited? The boy has 17,000 Twitter followers ... and I'll bet a few thousand are likely real human beings).

The event was meant to showcase all the new things -- hey, stop snickering ... compared to almost any year since Robert A. Iger took over TWDC -- melding the company in his bland as white bread image -- Disney actually does have new product going into its parks in the swamps this year and a good 15% of it actually doesn't replace anything that existed before.

The problem is Disney is spending millions of dollars to showcase things that are not ready for primetime (or anytime that isn't after Shanghai DL opens and the new fiscal quarter begins) so they will have all these fine folks, staying for free, dining for free, boozing for free, coming back to their rooms to find swag bags on their beds, obviously, for free with the following new summer 2016 offerings:

RoL;
ToL show;
Night safari experience;

New Star Wars pyro and projection show;

Frozenstrom;
Soarin Over The World;

MK stage show;

None of these things are ready or open, so it will be interesting to see what happens. RoL apparently can be run in sort of a manual mode for, perhaps, a piece of a show. And it may be possible that one Soarin theater could show a preview of the new film. I am reasonably sure Disney can do the new SW show (has it started for real yet? I have had to take leave of the fan community goings on of late and may have missed its debut.) for a private party. And they likely could do much of the new MK show in a Contemporary ballroom.

But still this is a first. I have never seen WDW stage one of these pricey, huge whorefests with none of the products it is touting ready to roll. Should be an interesting few days, which is why I started this thread.

Please put any/all 'news' that comes out of Awakenings right here, so I ... I mean ... we can mock them appropriately or cheer Iger and Chappie on for the remarkable way they have systematically -- and with intent -- made WDW even worse than it was a decade ago.

That wasn't easy, but they sure have done a bang up job. And let's not forget the roles played by the "puckish gladhander" or "the oddly waifish man of anemic personality" and their roles in this trash pile as we move forward. And remember, this is a slow year for the competition. UNI is only opening one E-Ticket new attraction (not replacing anything, but empty land) and a new resort hotel and SW is only opening what will be the top coaster in O-Town.

This should be entertaining ... or I could just keep looking at that cute 'wittle Dakota boi who keeps putting up every Shanghai pic he can find on the Tweeter almost like he was gunning for a job as ... as ... as a Disney exec's boy on the side!

Nah, WDW is the best, the boss, the flagship ... let's hear about how Disney is going to blow ... our socks off (hopefully, mostly of those UKers who wear them with sandals and look ridiculous, right @marni1971?)

Let's have some news as WDW ... Awakens.

Why the unusually dark sadistic tone? You're in very rare form.

 

[-em]

I could hope with the addition of virtual runs that at live races it once again becomes a 'finisher' medal vs a 'participation' medal..

Personally I'm not a fan of virtual runs but I see that they have a huge following and fit a need that many newer runners have till they are ready to join live races.. I'm curious to see how they'll work it...

 

[Quinnmac000]

Not going to happen.

Remember, 99% of the attendees are seeing this event as a free vacation. Flights, stay in a deluxe resort, food, and being treated like a VIP for 3 days. They are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.

That's when you go there enjoy your time get all you can get and write a pleasant article for your website and then for an even larger newspaper, you send in your true scathing review of #awakensummer under the pseudonym Joan Martin. I mean if Disney thought me anything, from their hit show Hannah Montana, you can always get the best of both worlds.

 

[Astro Blaster]

I get so many *** looks when I drink from a water fountain, or the tap water at home. I don't get it Yeah it tastes funky, but heck, when its 95+ degrees outside, as long as its not sewage, what difference does it make.

Being from the northeast, I actually enjoy the swamp water taste. It's a novelty that reminds me I'm in WDW

 

[Progress.City]

Marketing hits a new low.

Its complete Style over Substance. Ugh.

I don't get Disney marketing as of late. Have you seen the Blu-Ray packaging for Force Awakens? Not one mention on it that it is Episode 8.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

I find it ironic WDW fans get it, but not the DLR fans. Blows my mind.

I just might create an anti-Star Wars Land thread.

Yes! I already can't wait to post on it.

 

[Mike S]

Not everyone was charmed and awakened this morning, it seems! This is pretty good . . . from
a twitter account @*******

This is so perfect in every way. Kudos to the writer!!!

That's when you go there enjoy your time get all you can get and write a pleasant article for your website and then for an even larger newspaper, you send in your true scathing review of #awakensummer under the pseudonym Joan Martin. I mean if Disney thought me anything, from their hit show Hannah Montana, you can always get the best of both worlds.

That sounds so tempting.

 

[Progress.City]

I look at it this way. Disney is 3 years from being where it needs to be. After Avatar, SWL, Toy Story Land, and all of the other little things are complete Disney will be back to normal. The problem is they started 5 years too late and won't finish for 3 more years. They need to be planning now for what goes beyond those new areas and ready to implement those changes immediately after completing these.

No, what they did before was open a new attraction at regular intervals at each park. They stopped doing that and instead skipped several intervals in a row while they planned big things (whole lands not single attractions) instead (i.e. Fantasyland, Disney Springs, Avatar, Star Wars...)

 

[Progress.City]

Why is Star Wars in Tomorrowland (Hyper SM) when tomorrow is the future and Star Wars was "a long time ago..." (In a galaxy far, far away)

 

[Brian Swan]

This was imagineered? This is the Frozen overlay? This is a joke right? Like one of those meme things?

As someone who does a lot of PhotoShop work, if this is fake, my hat is off to whoever did it. The lighting angle is right, and the shadows were expertly added. I fear that it is real. All that's missing is an FPP checkpoint...

 

[Brian Swan]

I would assume it's going to be like the Virtual Races my wife and I have been doing through Make Yes Happen. You log your fitness activity from your device (phone, fit bit, etc) at whatever interval the particular event requires (mostly daily results), and as long as you meet the aggregate requirements in the allotted time period, you get the reward (medal or tshirt).

Scoff at the concept and crack all the jokes you want, but this platform is a great way to encourage physical activity and work toward goals in those who might otherwise not be inclined or discouraged, or don't have the time to train extensively and travel to various races. I can be active and participate on my own time, at my own pace, without some smug elitist looking down on me because I can't run a 16 minute mile.

I just participated in my first-ever running event this past weekend with the Dark Side 5k. I would never have done that in the past, but the Virtual Races have gotten my motivation up to the point where I wanted to tackle it. I'm still early on in my weight loss and fitness journey, but now I want to seriously train for next year, maybe even tackle the 10k.

Please tell me how this is worth being mocked?

I've also seen it very effectively used for runs/walks to raise money for non-profits.

 

[Brian Swan]

Paying money to run is stupid.

I only run if I'm being chased. And I try to avoid those situations at all costs...

 

[Progress.City]

Not really a "bandwagon" thing. People were already commenting on this opening weekend.



Oh, so it was intentionally unoriginal? Isn't that like Pee Wee Herman tripping over his feet and smirking, "I meant to do that."

Yes, it was. LucasFilm is no longer a small independent label. It's Disney now. Big studio. George Lucas was able to experiment with originality on his dime without the studios telling him what to do. That's why the original trilogy was a huge success and, conversely, that also explains the prequels. With a big studio running the show now, they go with what works and there's no room for experimentation and originality. In that context, JJ Abrams did a great job.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yes! I already can't wait to post on it.

Can't wait to see you there!

I've come up with a witty title in my head as well... Looking forward to it.

 

[Progress.City]

The same guy who they decided to trash his vision of Episode VII of.

He didn't sell out his vision. Iger told him they would use his stories. In fact, Iger told him he was so impressed with Lucas' original stories and that was the big selling point for Iger's decision to buy LucasFilm. It was only later after JJ Abrams was brought in that a decision was made to abandon Lucas's vision. Lucas was publicly not happy about it.

 

[danlb_2000]

And all of them are stupid.

I never really knew much about the running scene until recently since I now have two co-workers who are runners. The entry fee on a lot of these runs isn't that much, and part of it often goes to charity. It's a hobby for them, and people spend far more money then the cost of these races on their hobbies.

[Edit]: Note that I am not talking about the Disney races, like all things at Disney you pay a premium for these.

 

[Rteetz]

And all of them are stupid.

Why are they stupid?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Ahhhhhhh the annual spring whor (cough cough) press freebie give away. At this point what else can they do? They have this thing every year. This year they have nothing more then rehashing stuff that has been known. You would think "real" media would see right through this and I am sure they do. But a lot of them are not above a free WDW trip for a few days and being fed.

Attendance is down? You don't say? And what will be TWDC response be? More supposed discounts ( did anyone else get their pin code in the a mail?) and more upcharge events. Rise in food and merch? Yes I did see that sodas went up 40 cents. You think that ban on outside food wasn't a preemptive move? HA! Don't look now but there will be more increases.

Awwww look who came out from hiding? Is that our old pal Georgie K? My guess is Chappie leaned on him. Mr. K really wishes that no one will remember he is the boss. Bless his heart. Don't worry George its almost here. Actually George doesn't like what's going on no more then any of us. There is no way he is going to throw away an entire career down the toilet. He is going to be the good soldier he is till the very end.....which isn't to long....is it George?

BTW, lets give 74 a big hand! Really, the only poster that can have a thread with real "spirited" discussions. And Kudos to the management of this site for allowing such discussions. Don't worry @WDW1974 even the ones that don't like you still read. Isnt that what a true journalist does.

This is gonna sound rude.... and maybe its meant that way.... but who the hell are you?

 

[danlb_2000]

Why are they stupid?

There are people who think spending the money to go to Disney is stupid.

 

[Nemo14]

Take the Star Wars debate elsewhere. This isn't about the film. Sorry I made an off the cuff response that the film wasn't all that and you just had to offer an alternate opinion. You loved it. Great. Let's move on ...

Yes, it was. LucasFilm is no longer a small independent label. It's Disney now. Big studio. George Lucas was able to experiment with originality on his dime without the studios telling him what to do. That's why the original trilogy was a huge success and, conversely, that also explains the prequels. With a big studio running the show now, they go with what works and there's no room for experimentation and originality. In that context, JJ Abrams did a great job.

He didn't sell out his vision. Iger told him they would use his stories. In fact, Iger told him he was so impressed with Lucas' original stories and that was the big selling point for Iger's decision to buy LucasFilm. It was only later after JJ Abrams was brought in that a decision was made to abandon Lucas's vision. Lucas was publicly not happy about it.