Lame Disney Announcement about 2009

[ChefColette]

3) An admission really costs Disney nothing, neither does a fast pass.

How can you say that admission doesn't cost anything? I think the admission prices cover the majority of the parks operating costs, and depending on how many people go to the park on their birthday, it could cost them a lot.

Let's say there are 100,000 people in Disney on any given day. Perhaps 500 of those people are celebrating their birthday, times that by $75, and that is almost $40,000 each day that they could of earned from admission. There are 365 days a year, that adds up to about fifteen million a year, and people are complaining because that isn't enough? I don't get.

I've been to Disney before, and I was happy just to be there on my birthday. I didn't need anything for free to make the day more magical for me.

 

[Lavender_Blue]

What other companies give you something on your birthday of this value,

That's not the point I was making. I believe Disney to be a huge company and there isn't another place or business like it - so comparing it to other companies is kinda...unfair (not sure if it's the right word)? That's why I'm confused as to why, being that it always tries to go above and beyond, it didn't try to trump last year's celebration. I'm not saying it's not still not a nice idea - I know the people who come into the park on their birthday will be super happy to be there (who wouldn't?) and it's always great when you get a guest who's having a wonderful time. I got to do a magical moment with a family who was visiting for the first time yesterday and that was a great experience for me and them.

I was just hoping for something I could do too. And I don't think it's wrong to hope for that - wouldn't you hope for it...just a little? Even though I may be a CM, I'm a guest too.

It's not like I'm throwing a fit, though, and saying, "This sucks! I'm gonna quit and never go to Disney again!" I'm just saying, I was expecting something else. Not anything free, mind you. I was hoping, honestly, for more stuff for couples to do. Or that maybe AK was going to have more animal exhibits. =P Not everyone who is unsatisfied with this announcement has to be called "spoiled" and all other nasty names. And I didn't expect that from the DIS boards.

Though, honestly, I, too, don't understand why we even NEED a theme. I would be happy if they just made announcements on attractions and stuff.

Also to add my thoughts on why DL is probably more excited about this than us: You really don't need to spend as much time in DL. A free ticket probably would help more for a 3 day stay than for a 14 day stay in WDW. I know when I was in DL - even though they had a lot of really cool rides and I loved NOS....I was done with the park in about two or three days. But...again, that may be just me.

 

[WDSearcher]

All I'm asking for is the chance to get a $75 gift card like everyone else who can come on their birthday. I'd sooooo love to use that to buy whatever I wanted at Jiko's.

Just as a note ... even if you got the $75 gift card, you couldn't buy whatever you wanted at Jikos since the card can't be used for food.

But on the larger point of your post, you're a CM. You have the ability, if you want, to go to WDW for free every single day, including your birthday, right now. Sure, you may have to work or you may not want to go that day, but you still have the ability to do so. You already get a huge perk that the rest of the guests don't get. And, since you already get in for free on your birthday, it would be kind of a double-dip for CMs if they got in free AND got the $75 card or the Fastpass. Does that make sense?

My guess is that Disney hasn't even begun to announce all the various parts of this promotion and that there will, down the road, be CM exclusive elements -- whether it's merchandise, pins, sweepstakes, promotions, or whatever. It's been less than a week since they announced, and you know that Disney tends to reveal things in phases. I wouldn't be so down and disappointed just yet.