Sherry E
Currently tag-less...
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2008
- Messages
- 19,646
[
pattyduke34 --
You're very welcome! Thank you for following along -- both here and in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread (by the way, remember that there will be a new Theme Week Countdown in the Christmas thread starting in a little over 2 months
! Time for another 3+ months of themes)!
Even when I get busy and can't update things as often as I'd like, this thread is a good place for all of the seasoned Halloween Time DIS'ers to help the people who are new to Halloween Time, and for breaking news to be analyzed, etc. I think that when bits of info trickle out in places (on any forum or anywhere online) other than where there is concentrated, specific Halloween Time-related discussion, that's when facts tend to get blurred and mixed up, unfortunately. The same goes for other subjects -- chances are, the most/best information can be gained in the biggest, most active threads about other topics too, because that is where the biggest concentration of discussion will be about those topics.
With any luck maybe California Adventure will be somewhat decorated for Halloween this year too, so your friend will have more to see! Then again, after not visiting Disneyland for 20 years, I am guessing that things will be looking quite a bit different to her -- even without a few extra pumpkins in DCA!
She will have plenty to see!
Amilo --
Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it.
You're right -- even the CMs sometimes give incorrect info, and they often give inconsistent or downright conflicting info! One CM will say something totally different than what another CM says! Some of them just won't reveal anything, incorrect or otherwise!
I have found that there are CMs who seem to be more "in the know" than others. Some of them are more informed than others because they make it a point to be, so they make the right connections within the greater Disney organization and they find out things. Many CMs are bigger Disney fans and aficionados too, so they want to learn more about what is happening.
Other CMs are not that interested in what's going on, or they think they have an idea but they really don't know. Also, in many cases, I think that the CMs on the phones and on the front lines at DLR are the last to know anything. If any of them are told anything in advance, it's probably because some sort of event will be coming up that will affect their schedules in some way.
I remember that, last year, I was the one who had to tell a couple of different CMs on the phone which dates were printed in the Backstage Pass newsletter (for AP holders) as being the start dates for Halloween Time, the MHP and the holiday season -- because they hadn't seen the BP newsletter and no one at Disney had bothered to inform them! So people were calling them and asking for dates and info, and they never knew that the info had already been published!
I try to make a point of mentioning what is official and what is unofficial/unconfirmed information too, which is always important. I will also try to paint a picture of what is likely to happen and what is not likely to happen during a season. Sometimes rumors will trickle out that something may happen, and it's not even anywhere near being confirmed or announced by Disney, but people will read it and react...sometimes negatively.
I recall an incident back in 2010, in which Al Lutz reported on MiceAge that Disney was supposedly considering letting non-Halloween party guests stay to watch the Halloween Screams fireworks that year. This was never anything that was official. It was never announced by Disney. For all we knew it could have been something they considered for 5 minutes, six months earlier in a meeting, and then quickly abandoned. Al Lutz is not a Disney employee and he had no official scoop.
And still, people in the Halloween thread were ready to storm the Team Disney Anaheim offices...over a mere rumor posted on a Disney discussion/fan site. Many of them began launching a campaign to flood Disney with emails, phone calls and letters, angrily telling Guest Services/Relations how they felt about non-party people being allowed to see the fireworks. The poor CMs on the other end of these calls and emails were likely very confused! They probably had no idea what was happening.
I tried to be the voice of reason and remind everyone that we didn't know if this would ever even happen. No one listened. They all continued to bombard Disney with complaints...about a rumor. And guess what? That rumored plan never came to fruition. Halloween Screams was not made available to non-party guests in 2010 or in any subsequent year. So, most likely, it was all much ado about nothing.
That's why I really try to make sure people get the scoop on what is official, unofficial, plausible and implausible; what to realistically expect in terms of décor and where exactly the décor can be found, etc. I think it's good to know what to expect.
Of course, I will always say so if I am not sure about something or if I don't know the answer, or if circumstances may have changed since a previous scenario took place. I will also specify other people or threads that may be more helpful or relevant in some cases. We're basically all here to help each other out, and there are certain things that some are more well-versed in than others! For example, I have no personal experience with the Happiest Haunts Tour and other people do, so they are definitely more qualified to answer questions about it! We might not always be right about the info we give out, but we will usually state that we don't know if we're correct instead of just giving murky info and claiming it is factual.
In any case, I guess I am just constantly surprised to see how easily misinformation, or incomplete, somewhat skewed information, is tossed around online to people trying to learn and plan! Disney has that whole Disney Moms Panel, right? It seems that they could at least get one of the Disneyland-specific Moms -- if not someone at the Parks Blog or in their Social Media departments -- to kind of manage the Halloween Time Facebook page and the Holidays Facebook page, to at least give basic, garden variety "Disney replies" to the people who post there year-round, instead of risking inaccurate Facebook followers giving out the wrong details!
Sherry- I love all the information that you have on here..and again I am reading everything as I get to make another trip this year with a friend who has not been in 20 years,,,,I want to make sure that she gets to see everything and I know that you are always updating any new information that you get! Thanks a million for all your hard work! I can not wait to see the parks decorated in Halloween theme again!!
pattyduke34 --
You're very welcome! Thank you for following along -- both here and in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread (by the way, remember that there will be a new Theme Week Countdown in the Christmas thread starting in a little over 2 months
! Time for another 3+ months of themes)!Even when I get busy and can't update things as often as I'd like, this thread is a good place for all of the seasoned Halloween Time DIS'ers to help the people who are new to Halloween Time, and for breaking news to be analyzed, etc. I think that when bits of info trickle out in places (on any forum or anywhere online) other than where there is concentrated, specific Halloween Time-related discussion, that's when facts tend to get blurred and mixed up, unfortunately. The same goes for other subjects -- chances are, the most/best information can be gained in the biggest, most active threads about other topics too, because that is where the biggest concentration of discussion will be about those topics.
With any luck maybe California Adventure will be somewhat decorated for Halloween this year too, so your friend will have more to see! Then again, after not visiting Disneyland for 20 years, I am guessing that things will be looking quite a bit different to her -- even without a few extra pumpkins in DCA!
She will have plenty to see!Amilo --
Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it.
You're right -- even the CMs sometimes give incorrect info, and they often give inconsistent or downright conflicting info! One CM will say something totally different than what another CM says!
Some of them just won't reveal anything, incorrect or otherwise!I have found that there are CMs who seem to be more "in the know" than others. Some of them are more informed than others because they make it a point to be, so they make the right connections within the greater Disney organization and they find out things. Many CMs are bigger Disney fans and aficionados too, so they want to learn more about what is happening.
Other CMs are not that interested in what's going on, or they think they have an idea but they really don't know. Also, in many cases, I think that the CMs on the phones and on the front lines at DLR are the last to know anything. If any of them are told anything in advance, it's probably because some sort of event will be coming up that will affect their schedules in some way.
I remember that, last year, I was the one who had to tell a couple of different CMs on the phone which dates were printed in the Backstage Pass newsletter (for AP holders) as being the start dates for Halloween Time, the MHP and the holiday season -- because they hadn't seen the BP newsletter and no one at Disney had bothered to inform them!
So people were calling them and asking for dates and info, and they never knew that the info had already been published!I try to make a point of mentioning what is official and what is unofficial/unconfirmed information too, which is always important. I will also try to paint a picture of what is likely to happen and what is not likely to happen during a season. Sometimes rumors will trickle out that something may happen, and it's not even anywhere near being confirmed or announced by Disney, but people will read it and react...sometimes negatively.
I recall an incident back in 2010, in which Al Lutz reported on MiceAge that Disney was supposedly considering letting non-Halloween party guests stay to watch the Halloween Screams fireworks that year. This was never anything that was official. It was never announced by Disney. For all we knew it could have been something they considered for 5 minutes, six months earlier in a meeting, and then quickly abandoned. Al Lutz is not a Disney employee and he had no official scoop.
And still, people in the Halloween thread were ready to storm the Team Disney Anaheim offices...over a mere rumor posted on a Disney discussion/fan site. Many of them began launching a campaign to flood Disney with emails, phone calls and letters, angrily telling Guest Services/Relations how they felt about non-party people being allowed to see the fireworks. The poor CMs on the other end of these calls and emails were likely very confused! They probably had no idea what was happening.
I tried to be the voice of reason and remind everyone that we didn't know if this would ever even happen. No one listened. They all continued to bombard Disney with complaints...about a rumor. And guess what? That rumored plan never came to fruition. Halloween Screams was not made available to non-party guests in 2010 or in any subsequent year. So, most likely, it was all much ado about nothing.
That's why I really try to make sure people get the scoop on what is official, unofficial, plausible and implausible; what to realistically expect in terms of décor and where exactly the décor can be found, etc. I think it's good to know what to expect.
Of course, I will always say so if I am not sure about something or if I don't know the answer, or if circumstances may have changed since a previous scenario took place. I will also specify other people or threads that may be more helpful or relevant in some cases. We're basically all here to help each other out, and there are certain things that some are more well-versed in than others! For example, I have no personal experience with the Happiest Haunts Tour and other people do, so they are definitely more qualified to answer questions about it! We might not always be right about the info we give out, but we will usually state that we don't know if we're correct instead of just giving murky info and claiming it is factual.
In any case, I guess I am just constantly surprised to see how easily misinformation, or incomplete, somewhat skewed information, is tossed around online to people trying to learn and plan! Disney has that whole Disney Moms Panel, right? It seems that they could at least get one of the Disneyland-specific Moms -- if not someone at the Parks Blog or in their Social Media departments -- to kind of manage the Halloween Time Facebook page and the Holidays Facebook page, to at least give basic, garden variety "Disney replies" to the people who post there year-round, instead of risking inaccurate Facebook followers giving out the wrong details!
). We've done this the last several years, and had so much fun!
!
