AEfx
Well-Known Member
Again, you miss the point -
MOST GUESTS DO NOT WIN.
That's why it's a failure in terms of design when it comes to promoting a "celebration". There is no anniversary here, there is no new ride campaign, it's all hinged on this contest. Designing an 18-month celebration centered around the minority of guests who actually would win was the mistake.
If Disney promotes it too much, they make it look like "everyone wins" at least something, they don't.
If they don't promote it enough, it's a failure because...well, promoting is the point of a promotion.
It was also poorly executed; many CM's don't understand how it all works, let alone the average guest.
So yeah, some families have had extra magical vacations. The majority of guests it either had no impact or a negative one (getting expectations built up over something that only a small portion of guests experience).
Contests and promotions are a great idea, the problem was theming the whole 18-month party to the contest this time. Yes, there is a distinction between "When Dreams Come True" and "Year of a Million Dreams", but you have to admit they are awfully close, and if people like ourselves on Disney boards sometimes get confused as to the distinction, imagine the average guest.
It is also well-documented that the whole thing was thrown together at the very last minute; heck, they didn't even have the castle suite done in time. It was a last ditch effort by the last management team that hasn't done nearly what it was intended to do. That doesn't mean that the people at the front lines handing out these awards aren't doing a fabulous job, or that the people winning them aren't enjoying them, but it's very myopic to just look through the eyes of the winners.
Yes, all contests are like this - but that's why it was a bad idea to hinge the whole promotion on a contest with something like a Disney World vacation. The whole thing is so confusing to most people that it simply did not work as intended. "Where Dreams Come True" was not a good match with "Year of a Million Dreams" as a concept. In the parks, either you don't know it's going on because the process is so "secretive", or you are one of the lucky few who wins. In the middle are those people who know about it and are with the majority of guests who do not win. I'm not saying it makes them all miserable, or that many of them even care - but it's certainly not creating positive images for them either, which is the point of a mass-company-wide promotion like this.
AEfx
