DVC backlash!?? tell me what's good about disney!

[gk90]

Tink&PirateMama
My only advice would be to do one simple thing - sign them up to receive the DVC marketing kit (dvd and literature) and all possible Disney marketting materials available and give them something to blog about.

My suggestion is to invite them to these forums and we could all discuss the issues. Or post a link to the blog and we could comment. Just kidding.

Great suggestions, I'd love to go and comment on their blog--also I'd be happy to send them a couple of video postcards the next time we're at the parks

The reaction you received, while a bit extreme, doesn't surprise me either. I've found through various segments of my life a great disdain for Disney out there - especially as materialistic it seems to be. Certainly these boards aren't going to represent it, but there is a large part of our society that feels similar to what your "friends" have expressed. As such, we've chosen NOT to talk about our DVC and continual Disney trips unless there's a pressing need to ... we just choose to not even go there with certain people. Through the years we've learned who does and does not care for Disney anything, and the ones that do - we talk about it with. The ones that don't, we don't. But you're definitely quite safe here - talk away and enjoy it!!

I've heard the Disney is an evil corporation exploiting the workers, despoiling our children's imagination, destroying the environment, ruining our cultural heritage all through my graduate educational career. Oh, and Disney is racist and sexist too. There are people who see everything that doesn't serve their ideological world view as debased and wrong-- whether that view is oriented to the Left or Right, or to a particular religion.

stopher1 and skoi, those opinions of Disney are all too familiar--I teach on the college level and there are only 2 or 3 people (out of a hundred in my department) to whom I'd mention going to Disney and owning DVC. Almost everyone I work with would talk about me behind my back like the OP's "friends" did if I mentioned liking Disney--to them it would be a sign of being completely ignorant and uncultured. Some of them would even try to enlighten me and lecture me about the evils of Disney....it's amazing to me that people who think they're so enlightened and are always preaching tolerance can be so prejudiced and intolerant. What makes it worse is that they don't even realize that they're intolerant. So I just keep my mouth shut. Thank goodness for Disboards!

Tink&PirateMama, how "nice" of your "friends" to tell you that there was no reason for you to be upset Good luck with dealing with them--they sound like a real piece of work. I'm glad you can see how delusional they are and hope that they can leave you alone and just let the issue rest.

 

[PinkTink63]

Those people who want to wait until they remember it miss out on the best experiences, when everything is magical and they truly believe it's all real!!

OMG! What do you mean...it's not real!!!

 

[whitfamily]

And remind them that two things set this Nation apart from all others... (1) The willingness of men and women to die defending the concepts of liberty and freedom (to include their freedom to be jerks) and (2) american commercialism and our ability to develop some of the best products, concepts and services in the global economy... Unfortunately that second one has gotten us in a little trouble lately, but we'll bounce back...

Anyways, Disney has been at the forefront of #2 in the world of entertainment. They have also been extremely supportive of #1 all the back to Walt's work for our troops in World War II. Oh, and lets not forget about all of the wonderful work for science and the environment disney has been doing for three quarters of a century.

To me Disney is one of the most American institutions there is, and that is a very good thing!

Tell the nut jobs to get on the boat!

 

[Disney_Daddy]

Okay, I hope this thread gets locked before ALL of the Disney homeschool secrets are revealed!

We plan most of our trips for periods of time when most public/private school kids are IN school.

Labor Day week is our favorite time to visit because the crowds are very low.

We also like WDW in December BEFORE the schools cut loose for the holidays.

January is an excellent time to visit AFTER the public school's regular holiday break.

BTW, I love the way non-homeschoolers think they know everything about homeschooling. Plenty of posters on this thread have expressed negative opinions based on the 1 or 2 kids they know who were homeschooled.

I'd suggest doing some research on college acceptance, secondary education achievement and salary differences between public school & homeschool kids. Homeschooling provides a significant advantage in all of these areas.

 

[nickspace]

Remember you can’t rationalize an irrational act

I like that!

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

A thought came to me...Disney (the company and the creative people that have worked for it) may have "ruined" great literature (and that point is debatable!), but they have CREATED great works as well....

This is my husband's point exactly! We too, use ohana- no one gets left behind!- and disney-isms in our life all the time!!

Wow! Who knew the DIS has so many homeschoolers!

I know! Kinda cool isn't it!!

Good for you! You know, a lot of people actually go through what you've just experienced (whether with family or friends) and they don't have the personal confidence to stand up for themselves. What's more, they'll continue to allow these horribly judgmental people to bring further disruption and misery to their lives by continuing a relationship with them I think you are lucky to be who you are. I call it "enlightenment" and your ex "friends" certainly don't seem to have it! It will be a little uncomfortable for the first few weeks but you can steel yourself with the knowledge that they are 100% wrong and you don't have to socialize with them any longer Ironic - it sounds like you've experienced many joys with homeschooling, but it seems both public ed and homeschooling have their bullies

Terri

Thanks!!!

Remember you can’t rationalize an irrational act

GOOD POINT!!

Okay, I hope this thread gets locked before ALL of the Disney homeschool secrets are revealed!

Thanks again everyone! It's been fantastic reading this thread!!

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

Just found this thread!

In respose to your OP--WOW!!!

I'm with you, I won't tell you how to spend your $ if you don't tell me how to spend my $. And on top of that, even if I don't get why someone makes some lavish purchase, I am still happy for them because it's what makes THEM happy!

Disney is obviously your family's happy place! Awesome for you (ya' freak )! If it would be camping, or skiing, awesome for you likewise!

If someone doesn't like Disney, okay, fine for them. We like it, and I don't care who doesn't like Disney or doesn't like that I like Disney! We bought DVC to visit our happy place, our children love Disney, and we're fine with that. If I'm contributing to the decline of the American whatever, I'm having a blast doing what makes my children, DW and I happy!

 

[TDC Nala]

Anyway, they hate most everything modern or 'fun'... I mean, their five year old reads, I don't know plato every evening or something like that, no joke. They think disney is terrible, for it's materialism, for how it's 'ruined' all great literature, etc..

so they've put in Finding Plato at WDW? And the Tower of Pride & Prejudice? Can't wait to see Proust Mountain, that might be fun.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

BTW, I love the way non-homeschoolers think they know everything about homeschooling. Plenty of posters on this thread have expressed negative opinions based on the 1 or 2 kids

D_D, I think you yourself may be guilty of overgeneralizing a bit here...most of the posts have been supportive, and even the one that most overgeneralized (negatively) about home schoolers was edited to take out the overgeneralizations.

so they've put in Finding Plato at WDW? And the Tower of Pride & Prejudice? Can't wait to see Proust Mountain, that might be fun.

The ones I most hear about Disney "ruining" are "The Little Mermaid", and "Beauty and the Beast"...and I suppose that "The Jungle Book" would be on the list as well...and "Peter Pan". The thought is that Disney takes these pre-existing classics and then coats them with sugar, ruining them.

So be it! I like both the original "Winnie The Pooh" (A. A. Milne) books AND the Disneyfied "Winnie The Pooh" movies...and BOTH I consider classics!

 

[skylynx]

Disney can hardly "ruin" literature. If you look at the history of world literature, you will quickly see there are really only a handful of themes that all stories in one way or another relate to. Themes like fish out of water, or having to make a difficult choice, or learning of a friend/family member's deception, being uncomforable in your own skin, being at odds with a deity, conflicting with nature, etc. These are all themes of humanity, and were neither created nor destroyed by Disney, or Shakepeare, Moliere, Yeats, Matt Groening, Confucious, or anyone else you recall from college lit classes or pop culture. Chaucer's stories often are about the most base shenanigans of humanity like passing gas and sneaking around with someone else's spouse, and these have entertained the literati and the uneducated alike for centuries (and provided endless fodder for doctoral theses) -how could anyone "ruin" that great literature? Hollywood movies, Broadway plays, short stories and even sitcom episodes have been written using the same primal themes all literature draws from. And like all matter, neither Disney nor the directors of YouTube productions nor Spielberg can destroy tales of the past...they can only change the state they are in.

The poster who used Disney's stories to illustrate themes used them because, for any allusion or analogy to be successful, the person you are trying to make understand must have the context to connect the new information to the old. Kipling didn't invent the theme of how important it is to know where your roots are, as our friend Mowgli eventually discovered, but it's easy to understand that theme when you can connect the character to the situation. Does anyone think because Disney didn't take the Lion King plot directly from any previously published source (we know of) they invented the concept of trying to live up to others' expectations? Or of being true to one's self? Or of fighting evil? The Lion King has characters and situations that could have stepped out of a number of Shakespeare's works. Disney cannot destroy works of literature...they only repackage, like everyone else, and if you don't like the package, leave it on the shelf.

 

[KiminChicago]

Actually, isn't the plot of the Lion King kind of similar to Hamlet i.e. evil uncle kills father, marries mother, father appears to son as a ghost and son must eventually avenge father?

 

[skylynx]

Absolutely like Hamlet...same internal struggle...same shock over duplicity by a relative...Mufasa could be Claudius, Scar could be any number of characters...and that's just Shakespeare. There's undoubtedly an epispode of the Simpsons or South Park about it, too. Not to mention Bugs Bunny cartoons!

 

[dopeygirl76]

As a daily disser I have just come upon this thread today and was shocked at the length and had to read!!!

We have experienced a few people, friends, co-workers and some family, who think we are crazy because we are disney addicts. I have heard it all from - the materialism to they have their own police so that the overwhelming amount of child abuse cases are not openly reported (I am a social worker so of course they say things to hit a nerve!!) I am VERY outspoken and very cheesy - I have been a disney fan most of my life with Dopey figurines usually adorning my offices and I have been known to break into to song - to release the stress. So when faced with strange comments I simply tell people this is what is right for my family right now. We all four really love our trips and we now go twice a year since buying into DVC.

It is obvious that every family is different including their interests and if we were all the same what a strange world it would be!!! Just look - even with all of us Crazy Disney People - we all love different things about Disney and enjoy different aspects!!!

If you and yours enjoy your trips then it is right for you!!! I LOVE to think about my kids faces EVERYTIME we walk into MK - this trip my DD2 kept saying "castle" over and over again - at every park!! I LOVE that there are things we can do as a family - meals, rides (Toy Story Mania), and shows that we all enjoy. In addition to that there are things that we each enjoy and the others learn to respect other people's interests. (DD5 & DH are roller coaster people and I am not - but watching them enjoy is great - plus DD2 and I get some alone time too)!!!

We are blessed with friends who love disney as much as we do and we go together every other year or so. So I always have someone who understands my disney madness - and when she is not around - I find support HERE!!!!

 

[dairyqueenmom]

I think your acquaintances are the ones who are being jerks. I am an admitted "Disney Fanatic", I may not be an unbiased opinion. I believe you have the right to vacation where you are happy, and I am happy at Disney World. It makes my family happy also. I think people think we are a little nutty for going 2-3 times a year, but no matter how many times we go I still feel like I am in my happy place.

Enjoy your DVC, and just be the bigger person and ignore these acquaintances, don't let them ruin your happy place.

 

[stopher1]

And really, ultimately, when push comes to shove - who's business is it where you choose to vacation???? YOURS. (and your family's) - no one else's. We don't go telling our friends or family where to go on trips - and when they try to do so for us - we just thank them for the advice and move on. Some of them are the ones that we choose NOT to talk about Disney nor our DVC membership with in the first place - so in the end I say whatever. It is my business what my family decides to do... not so and so's.

 

[adminjedi]

And remind them that two things set this Nation apart from all others... (1) The willingness of men and women to die defending the concepts of liberty and freedom (to include their freedom to be jerks) and (2) american commercialism and our ability to develop some of the best products, concepts and services in the global economy...

I was just thinking - do people not realize that this is a capitalist country? The point of investing your own money and energy into an idea to create a company is to eventually, hopefully, one day make a profit. Disney is a business selling a product. It must be a good product to have been so successful over so many years. If people don't want to participate in activities that generate income for some company, then they shouldn't be in the U.S.A. Oh, and by the way, how many non-profitable companies that pay employees can your friends name?

 

[boettj]

Please post the blog. I'd love to read what these people have written. When we bought into DVC, I told my DH to not say anything to the rest of the family. My thought was that I don't need to flant it in their face. Over time, they were told, and two of my BILs have used our points to go to Disney. One of them are Disney freaks like us. I think they would buy into DVC, but at the moment have other priorities.


People like this truly interest me. I want to study them and try to understand what has gone wrong with them. Were they ignored as a child? Were they denied social intereaction as a kid? Were they dropped on their head? My SIL is along these lines. I have an idea why she is like she is.

 

[mom2rb]

So when I first started home schooling DH wasn't happy. He kept trying to get me to change my mind. Then we went to Disney World in the off season. The whole time he kept telling me that this was why we home school. In my house Disney and home schooling go hand in hand.

I have met lots of strange home schoolers, but I have met lots of strange people that go to private school or public school also. Either the world is getting weirder or my tolerance level has gone down.

 

[skoi]

Either the world is getting weirder or my tolerance level has gone down.

Agree with this 100%. I think my tolerance level has gone down but I'm seriously working on it.

Our oldest daughter tells people the main reason we home school is so we can go to Disney in September and get cheap rates on DCL.

I'd also be interested in reading the blog. We live in an area where most of the home school families aren't the stereotypical Christians, but more like the people OP mentioned, or they're Muslim.

 

[Rainman]

I am sorry that friends would treat your family like that. In life many things are not for everyone. If the world had more tolerance of the differences in people’s tastes or lifestyles, the world would be a better place. As we try and teach our children, I would recommend doing your best to rise above it all and take the high road. It is hard to do.

All that said we have had some family and friends react negatively for different reasons. Often we hear negative comments. Fortunately, we have not had so much direct conflict as you have had. It is a bummer to have people we know express negative views about DVC or Disney as we enjoy it so much. I usually comment back that I understand that Disney might not be for them and that is ok. I then comment on the things I enjoy about Disney. I find it a place to enjoy my family as the whole place and experience is about family. There is something for everyone.

To reply to your friends I would say: Yes it can be commercial, but you can enjoy Disney from a low to a high level of commercial. For example you can bring in your own food. Your local movie theater won’t let you bring in your own food and drink unless you sneak it in. You don’t have buy anything extra if you don’t want to.

It is very nice to know there are people out there who value their family time and traditions at Disney. We have quite a few friends who happen to be big Disney people too. So hang in there and remember there are fellow Disney loving people out there.