DISBOARDS v. DISNEY CORPORATE

[barney44]

I was not too sure as to how to caption the title but thought this would be apropos. Not that I am advocating a combative litigation posture however.

Clearly, there are 1000's of people who use this forum to find information, make complaints, and suggestions about all things Disney, from park strategies, to cruising to DVC et al.

I am wondering, if anyone is in the know, does Disney Corporate monitor the boards? I would think that the reach of DISBOARDS and passion out here would be something that Disney would want to know.

And, assuming Disney corporate does know of the forum's wide reach, why do they not have someone whose job it is to chime in on the Corporate behalf when need be. As impassioned as many of us are, Disney is at the end of the day a publicly traded corporation with an obligation to its shareholders.

It is quite common on another forum, flyertalk, for an airline rep to monitor the forum and provide feedback, help or another side when need be. Major corporations have persons who monitor Twitter for that very same purpose as well.

 

[Tiramisu]

I think it would be foolish to assume that ANY company does not have insiders on a forum that discusses its products. It's free market research.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

On the Podcast, the owners of the Disboards have said that Disney does monitor the boards.

 

[barney44]

I fully expect that they monitor, but I am more interested as to why they don't take a public stance and have a Disney Employee as a Member. A recognized member and not a shill I might add. One who would reply on behalf of Disney Corporate. There might be posters here with 1000's of posts that are assigned this task. I guess I am asking why not be open and public about it.

I think it would be foolish to assume that ANY company does not have insiders on a forum that discusses its products. It's free market research.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

On the Podcast, the owners of the Disboards have said that Disney does monitor the boards.

I seem to remember years and years ago Pete mentioning that Disney once offered to buy the DISBoards back when they were conceptualizing D23. It's a vague memory, so don't quote me on that.

And there is no way in heck Disney isn't reading these boards. I wouldn't be surprised if there weret peope whose whole job was to stay on top message board chatter.

 

[bwang123]

i wouldn't imagine it would be too productive for Disney to openly post on this message board. Could you imagine how much time they would spend defending the company after being attacked over the removal of "disney parks" from napkins?

They have many other outlets for putting out information (their own blog, social media, etc) and there are way too many message boards to keep up with.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I am more interested as to why they don't take a public stance and have a Disney Employee as a Member. A recognized member and not a shill I might add. One who would reply on behalf of Disney Corporate. There might be posters here with 1000's of posts that are assigned this task. I guess I am asking why not be open and public about it.

That's what the DisneyParks Blog and Moms Panel is for. They can't control the information here, so having an "official" voice on an unofficial webpage would probably do more harm than good.

 

[MrsSilvaStrat]

Yes they do. Pete said on the podcast that they even tried to get info on someone who posted and he said NO, and would not do so without a subpoena. He's always lookin' out!

 

[Eoghann]

In the most recent show he noted that Disney wanted details on a specific poster last year (because of the unusually accurate advance information that poster had).

So yeah they monitor at least somewhat.

But it doesn't really make that much sense for them to have official responders on an unofficial site. There's far too much risk for someone to say the wrong thing. Disney are going to want to keep all communication in "secure" channels.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

In the most recent show he noted that Disney wanted details on a specific poster last year (because of the unusually accurate advance information that poster had).

There was someone on the resorts board who always knew exactly what discounts were coming and was always spot on. I wondered how long it would be before Disney shut that down (if I'm thinking about the same person)

 

[DebbieB]

I fully expect that they monitor, but I am more interested as to why they don't take a public stance and have a Disney Employee as a Member. A recognized member and not a shill I might add. One who would reply on behalf of Disney Corporate. There might be posters here with 1000's of posts that are assigned this task. I guess I am asking why not be open and public about it.

They have their own forums, like the Mom's Panel. I doubt they would want someone posting on an outside forum, it could be considered official information and held against them. What is a Disney cm going to say in response to "I hate this or that". If they don't respond, then they will get grief for ignoring it.

 

[BrianL]

I work in this knd of realm for a different company, and we definitely do monitor message boards and social media, but we do not read individual posts. We use companies that aggregate information and roll it up. They can monitor for certain word combinations and such. So the feedback does get throguh, but not in the way you think.

Caveat: I can not speak for Disney, only that my company does it and it is very important to our market research initiatives.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I work in this knd of realm for a different company, and we definitely do monitor message boards and social media, but we do not read individual posts. We use companies that aggregate information and roll it up. They can monitor for certain word combinations and such. So the feedback does get throguh, but not in the way you think.

Caveat: I can not speak for Disney, only that my company does it and it is very important to our market research initiatives.

So everytime one of us types "FASTPASS+ SUCKS" a bell rings

 

[Luscien]

I'd be surprised if they didn't have someone monitoring these, and other popular boards. It's probably the same folks who monitor their other social media outlets.

Also there are CMs who post here, but it seems not in an official PR capacity from Disney (Cheshire Figment for example). I bet they have no problem when the info is helpful and accurate, or at least not painted in a derogatory way toward Disney.

 

[Tiramisu]

i wouldn't imagine it would be too productive for Disney to openly post on this message board. Could you imagine how much time they would spend defending the company after being attacked over the removal of "disney parks" from napkins?

They have many other outlets for putting out information (their own blog, social media, etc) and there are way too many message boards to keep up with.

These are my thoughts as well. I'm sure they don't want to employ someone to deal with napkins, straws, and the sticky mug someone bought in 1997.

 

[summerskye]

So everytime one of us types "FASTPASS+ SUCKS" a bell rings

maybe it will ring again...

 

[timmac]

While I'm certain there are people who monitor these boards and others as a type of market research, I am not sure that necessarily equates to the voices on the boards having as much reach as one might like to believe. The boards, for the most part, represent the die hard fans who go back multiple times, know of things that change over time, and are interested in every little detail of everything. And, much as we might like to believe that as the highest affinity group, our voice should matter the most, I don't think that's actually the case when it comes to the bottom line. The overwhelming majority of business comes from those who are once-in-a-lifetime visitors. This is particularly the case if you focus specifically on those who stay on property and spend the most on merchandise.

In my estimation, although there's probably some desire to try to avoid too much "bad press", if you will, I doubt there is all that much attention given to the "I can't believe X changed!" type of comments.

 

[barney44]

I would think corporate would want their views on FP + espoused. It is not that people may like it, but to get the other side out.

From afar, I would surmise 20 percent of all posts are about FP+. That is more than a napkin rant, it is something that has had widespread affects on people's opinions.

Think of it as an official reply to New Coke as opposed to why Coke had an Ostrich as opposed to a Polar Bear in a Super Bowl commercial.

These are my thoughts as well. I'm sure they don't want to employ someone to deal with napkins, straws, and the sticky mug someone bought in 1997.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

While I'm certain there are people who monitor these boards and others as a type of market research, I am not sure that necessarily equates to the voices on the boards having as much reach as one might like to believe. The boards, for the most part, represent the die hard fans who go back multiple times, know of things that change over time, and are interested in every little detail of everything. And, much as we might like to believe that as the highest affinity group, our voice should matter the most, I don't think that's actually the case when it comes to the bottom line. The overwhelming majority of business comes from those who are once-in-a-lifetime visitors. This is particularly the case if you focus specifically on those who stay on property and spend the most on merchandise.

In my estimation, although there's probably some desire to try to avoid too much "bad press", if you will, I doubt there is all that much attention given to the "I can't believe X changed!" type of comments.

I think you're right. Cause anyone who reads these boards will quickly figure out that even though we complain, we keep going back.

 

[JimmyV]

1. Of course they read it. The same way that cruise lines (including Disney) monitor Cruise Critic and the way restaurants and hotels monitor TripAdvisor.

2. It would serve no purpose for Disney to post here. Anything said here could be interpreted as "official", and before that happened, it would have to be vetted by countless people including "legal". On a "real time" chat board, that is simply impractical.