Get ready for the contentious posts about new "Get A Day" 2010

[Petraman]

It is still very early, there may be some things in the works that Disney simply hasn't made public, but I got a sneaky feeling the promo for 2010 entitled "Get a Day... Give a Day" may turn out to be a very problematic promo.

On the surface, this sounds fantastic. I love it, I get my kids out doing something good for others and in return Disney rewards them... what could be negative about that? The problem lies in their love affair with the Hands On Network. As it stands, this org is the main processing conduit for "authorized" opportunities. Currently there is no HON Action Center located in the entire state of New Mexico or North Daktoa... 1 in SD and Montana. In the state of Texas (huge landmass) there are only 7.... and that's a few of the limited areas. Currently if I do a search from my zip code for projects, the closest ones are 70+ miles away and all of the ones that listed (all 2 of them) are for 18 years and older, nothing that kids can do.

Now maybe this is WAY too premature, and believe me I hope so, but if they don't find a way to "authorize" more projects through Habitat for Humanity, local food banks, etc. I see a disastrous potential for many people in America who don't live in metropolitan areas having no ability to be apart of this great promo. This could turn into a fiasco of huge proportions, when entire states may not have a reasonable chance to be a part.

Like I said, I really hope they are working on these logistical things, and when 2010 starts up it will be the greatest promo ever! And I really hope my kids can be a part of it.... guess we'' have to wait and see

 

[dvc at last !]

I think it sounds like a great idea...waiting to hear more, too !

 

[Alesia]

I have a hard time thinking that someone not getting a free ticket to a theme park is disasterous.

Then again, the Disboards have shown me that I have a difeerent standard than most as far as what constitutes a disaster, fiasco, nightmare, horror story, etc...

 

[ivgotahalo]

I tried looking into this for our trip in June but couldn't find anything. It said check back on jan 1st.

 

[Petraman]

I tried looking into this for our trip in June but couldn't find anything. It said check back on jan 1st.

If you go to HandsOn Network, it shows a listing on their site for the Disney plan. About a month ago, there was a link directly from the Disney page but it doesn't seem to be there now. I hope it is because they are going to offer more options.

 

[englishteacha]

As someone who does lots of local volunteer work in a rural area with no national agencies, it would be nice to get a Disney ticket, but I'm not counting on it being available in Maine except in Portland or in other more populated areas.

 

[Petraman]

As someone who does lots of local volunteer work in a rural area with no national agencies, it would be nice to get a Disney ticket, but I'm not counting on it being available in Maine except in Portland or in other more populated areas.

I'm with you... would be nice, I am always looking for ways to teach my kids to give back and good will come of it. Would have been nice, but we are very rural, plus we're going in March, so will be tough to do needed volunteer work in time. Oh well.... truth is we are AP holders so it wasn't about the free day (they are going to give some nice little things to AP as well)

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I do quite a bit of volunteer work, and we will be heading down early December next year. I am going to try to get the ticket, but will most likely donate it to charity so a child that normally couldn't go will ge the opportunity. Here is the information for donating your ticket.

Guests who present a valid multi-day ticket or Annual Pass or Passport may choose from one of the following three options instead of receiving the free 1-day, 1-park ticket:

• Disney's Special FASTPASS® cards for certain attractions for you and up to 5 additional members of your party.†
  
• A collectible Ear Hat figurine with exclusive trading pins‡
  
• Donate your free ticket to one of the select non-profit organizations designated by Disney Parks:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern California
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
• Dreams Take Flight Canada

 

[DVCGeek]

I just went to http://www.handsonnetwork.org/ to see what is in my area so far and the network does have a number of items in my area, but I'm smack between Cleveland and Akron Ohio and could easily drive to things in either city.

Good luck to all those further away or otherwise with limited or no area options!

However, we have WDW APs and will be there at the end of January. Then in Oct. we'll be going to DL, but were hoping to trade no-expiration MYW WDW park-hopper days for use there. I'd love the figurine with trading pins, but I'm not sure if they would allow the exchange. Guess we'll find out!

 

[DVCGeek]

oh- for anyone looking for the Disney website, here is a link:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

at the moment, the FAQ still says this:

The program’s eligible volunteer opportunities are made available solely by or through HandsOn Network (“HON”), Points of Light Institute and their affiliates. Disney is not affiliated with HandsOn Network, the Points of Light Institute or any of the volunteer opportunities available under this program, and shall not be liable for any damages, injuries, losses, claims or expenses of any kind resulting from the volunteer opportunitiesor any activities related thereto.

 

[nicki.momof3]

• Disney's Special FASTPASS® cards for certain attractions for you and up to 5 additional members of your party.†
  

[/INDENT][/COLOR]

So you can get a fastpass - anyone know details about this? How many rides does this apply to?

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

So you can get a fastpass - anyone know details about this? How many rides does this apply to?

I asked the same thing over on Theme Parks board, guessing it is going to be just like the Birthday FP option for AP holders. Here is the thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2349203

 

[disneylove69]

Disney has set a limited amount of tickets of 1 million to be given out. So do it early for the chance. I read it could take 8 weeks to get the ticket.

 

[nicki.momof3]

I asked the same thing over on Theme Parks board, guessing it is going to be just like the Birthday FP option for AP holders. Here is the thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2349203

Thank you for the link

 

[dewdropfairy]

This could turn into a fiasco of huge proportions, when entire states may not have a reasonable chance to be a part.

I'm sure Alaska will be left out in the cold as usual.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

As someone who does lots of local volunteer work in a rural area with no national agencies, it would be nice to get a Disney ticket, but I'm not counting on it being available in Maine except in Portland or in other more populated areas.

The only things I saw in Maine were post office evaluators (or something? Had to be 18 and seemed to involve letting mail be sent to your house and you tell them how long it took. ) I'm not sure how that is a day long activity and is certainly not what I consider a charitable organization.

The other was something on Feb 18 for Camp Sunshine- certainly a fine organization. Not sure what exactly the event was there, in Feb, but I'm out of town that day anyway.

It does seem to me they should have a "standard" list of acceptable organizations- the Red Cross, homeless shelters, food pantries, schools...

 

[Colleen27]

I'm interested to see how it works too, since none of the groups we're already active with participate and one that I'm familiar with that I know accepts all ages of volunteers lists 18+ on the HON site. I wonder if that means they won't certify volunteer hours there for minors even though the organization encourages family volunteerism?

I am a little disappointed in what I'm seeing on the HON site so far. We live in a semi-rural community now, but I was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs and went to a Catholic University in the city where service was a big part of the curriculum and campus culture. I expected that our small-town organizations might not be included, but I was absolutely shocked to see that Boys & Girls Club is the one and only organization listed in all of Detroit - none of the soup kitchens or shelters or community gardens that I volunteered at in my younger days is a participant.

 

[Petraman]

I'm interested to see how it works too, since none of the groups we're already active with participate and one that I'm familiar with that I know accepts all ages of volunteers lists 18+ on the HON site. I wonder if that means they won't certify volunteer hours there for minors even though the organization encourages family volunteerism?

I am a little disappointed in what I'm seeing on the HON site so far. We live in a semi-rural community now, but I was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs and went to a Catholic University in the city where service was a big part of the curriculum and campus culture. I expected that our small-town organizations might not be included, but I was absolutely shocked to see that Boys & Girls Club is the one and only organization listed in all of Detroit - none of the soup kitchens or shelters or community gardens that I volunteered at in my younger days is a participant.

I am glad to see that I am not the only seeing the huge gaps in this plan. For Disney to put all the $$ and time and exposure into this year-long program, I personally think this is going to end up being a lot more egg on their face than "Disney Magic". Just my opinion

It's not so much that we feel "robbed" of something, my kids are great and get involved in the community all the time and will continue to do so, whether Disney does anything or not.

 

[Petraman]

Well, there's good news and bad news for this new promo...

There are some very nice ways to get involved for us folks who don't live near a HandsOn Center. We picked the one for making blankets for ill/ atrisk children. Very nice.

Now the bad... I have been actually trying to complete the registration for it for over 90 minutes. First the site is overwhelmed and won't logon over and over. Finally it will load to the page where you enter personal info.
So far I have arrived there around 15 times with these results.

1) page loads but not all buttons will work so can't enter my kids info
2) You type as fast as you can, but in about 60-90 seconds it suddenly says "session time expired... reload"
3) And the most frustrating of all.... While you type in personal info, it realoads page and erases what you just typed (birthdate, city, etc) so you type over and over and over and over



I will keep at it but this is pretty crazy