Just a few thoughts from a long time listener...

[Strikan]

So I first want to make it clear that I am and have been a Dis listener for many, many years. I love this show and, even though I have not met any of the team, I feel weirdly close to them having listened to them for such a long time. I am a Dreams Unlimited client as a result of the show as well. Again, very happy with that experience as well.

However, (you knew there was going to be a "however" didn't you?), I must admit that I sometimes feel a little frustrated and even angry after listening to a show or checking out the site. I think it comes down to a few things:

1. The format of the main show has changed quite a bit. It may be my selective memory as I get older, but the show seemed longer and always had at least one main topic or feature each time. A restaurant review, a discussion about a particular attraction, some hints and tips etc. Now, I feel we have a whole lot of housekeeping (which for me is not that gripping), followed by Kevin updating us on how his trips are selling and then some news discussions. That's it for most shows. I miss the longer shows with more original content. Now, that content is still there, but it is in at least five different places and that leads me on to my second point.

2. There is a huge amount of content but everything is kind of confusing now. Dis content is in so many different places - a Dreams Unlimited podcast (which has discussion that would normally be part of the main podcast), multiple YouTube channels, daily fix videos, Facebook live posts, blogs and articles on the site etc etc. This is all great content but I feel it is so hard to find it and figure out where to look. There are two YouTube channels and when I look at them I never understand which is supposed to cover what. It all seems to be a mixed up jumble of so many different things. Then on the site, I still get confused as different versions of the forum index will come up depending on where I am clicking at the time. I just feel that as the content has increased (which is great), it might be time for a YouTube, Facebook, WDWInfo design overhaul. Something that is a little clearer and more easily digested. As a husband and father to twins, plus long hours at the office and all that stuff, I really need other things to be simple and intuitive - whereas now I almost feel like I have a second job trying to find things at the Dis.

3. Last point (I promise) and this one will probably not get a great reaction but, in for a penny in for a pound as they say (whoever they are). So, the older guard of the team seem a little, how can I put this, jaded? I get it, you live in Orlando, you go to Disney every week, you have seen it all. I understand that. However, most of your listeners do not get to go all the time. We get to go once a year, if that. We listen to the show to get our Disney fix and we wish we could go more. It is just a little depressing and irritating to hear the more senior members of the team complain so much about things when I wish I could be in their position. You guys are so very lucky. Now I know you need to be honest and criticise Disney when it screws up - absolutely, I get that and agree 100%. I do not want the Dis to be The WDW Radio Show as Lou already has that covered. However, would a little more positive vibe hurt? As a side note, I am really liking Ryno and Oliver - they see things a little fresher perhaps and that is great. It would be lovely if they rubbed off a bit on the other members of the team from time to time. (Ok that did not come out quite right, but I think you know what I mean).

Now, even with the above, I will still listen every week. I love Disney parks and I have loved listening to the shows all these years. I am rapidly approaching 50 with my husband and we have twin 5 year old girls who went to Disney for the first time this year. Yes, we started our family late - with a same sex couple it is a little more...err...complicated. Anyway, we had an amazing time and I cannot wait to enjoy many more trips with them. I loved seeing their faces light up at everything. I seriously think we smiled and laughed for the whole time. I just hope they love it as much as I do as they get older!

So, for it's worth, those are my thoughts. I am not trying to be a downer or pick a fight with anyone. I truly love the show and the team. You have collectively made me laugh and cry (in a good way) for years and helped me pass the long, slow times between Disney visits. I just thought I would let you know how I feel as one of your listeners and, yes, even a fan.

All the best. - Michael.

 

[samsteele]

My guess is that the segmenting (for want of a better term) into bite-sized products over a variety of mediums like Facebook, daily fix, etc is at least a partial response to:

1. the new realities of online information and trying to get a handle on how the majority of new listeners want/demand their information. If a news/entertainment outlet doesn't grow and attract new listeners/viewers, then it stagnates; and
2. it's a natural fit for the growing DIS Team and the younger additions like Craig, Ryno, Ollie. It allows them to be creative, independent, manage their own smaller projects, and get product out there quickly and efficiently.

Maybe the above are only the musings of an out of it 40-something.

It sounds cliche but everything does change. People change, their interests change and technology change(s). I'm not as enthusiastic or excited about the same things or interests that kept my attention 10 or 15 yrs ago. My tastes have changed. I think that's just a natural part of life. It would drive me crazy to be stuck in the same rut for a decade. No doubt the original DIS team have experienced the same.

I always find things about the weekly show and also the online content that I love.

I can't follow everything so I pick and choose a few favourites. And if I get bored, I can sample a new or different offering. For example, I never thought I'd be interested in a weekly program about Universal. However, I love the personalities on the show and am now roped in because it is so fun, quick & witty.

The DIS is a great product. And for a free product, its fantastic.

 

[DLM1980]

To point 1. When Dustin left the second half of the show seemed to have left too and I thought it was going to be temporary but it seems like it's not going to comeback. Probably because of all the added content there isn't much time. However I loved hearing the tables reaction to whatever the 2nd part of the show topic was

2. I've said this before all the shows got a channel. You have disboards wdwinfo and disunplugged. Put them all under one brand/domain. It would make it a cohesive brand and it would stop the "find out more at wdw I mean disunplugged.com" that happens lately

3. I love when they get all grumpy on a place or a change cause I just say to myself "they have it so great to be able to go whenever". What depresses me is when I hear them say "I just booked this" or that and think "last week they just did such and such this week they are doing that! how the hell are they affording all of these things." I can barely afford a moderate hotel package for a week once a year. But I get it. Good job good pay and the nature of the show prolly means the company pays for a lot of things otherwise there are lots of work related tax deductions going on . Someday I'll start my own travel company and podcasts and someone else can be envious of me. Until then I'll just sell candles all day and come home and watch the latest dis video and add things to my Disney bucket list

 

[MadMadamMim1]

Completely agree about Housekeeping taking too long. I get that it's necessary, but it's half the show. I don't go to Universal or Disneyland and don't have interest in ABD. Obviously the show isn't tailor made for me though! I fast forward to the News.

I miss Dustins shows!!! I loved those. I like the new videos but I started listening to the podcast on my 2 hour commute to/from work. So I don't get to watch the videos very often.

I do wish there were more restaurant reviews in the podcast! I love them!

 

[Strikan]

Samsteel - I certainly understand what you are saying about the segmenting approach allowing the team members to do their own stuff. I think that is right and it has produced some great content.

I suppose it also depends on how you primarily use the Dis. While I certainly spend way more time than I would like to admit skimming this site and the YouTube channek etc, my primary use of the Dis content is through listening to the podcast in the car on the way to the office. As a result, I tend to miss out on a lot of the other content as you cannot watch YouTube,drive a car and live at the same time very easily. :-/

I have actually found I prefer listening to the Universal podcast and Ryno's Pop podcast more and more. I feel like I get a great topic on something when I listen to those podcasts rather than just a news update and housekeeping. I suppose I just miss the old format when all the team would weigh in on a topic that was not just the current news item that has been discussed to death on all the other Disney sites already that week.

 

[figmentofmyimagination]

Welcome , nice to have someone who cares about the program but has noticed a change

I have been saying this for months but have been ridiculed , referred to as a TROLL (whatever that is) , told that this is a free service , etc

I appreciate your input and hope your reception is better received than mine

 

[Strikan]

Oh and you are 100% right that for a free product it is awesome. I cannot complain on that front. I think all I was trying to do with my post was highlight how the style of the show (a move from podcast only to video segments in many formats etc) doesn't fit everyone and that, if this is the way to go, then perhaps an overhaul on the sites and sources might be a good idea to make things clearer and easier to digest.

 

[disneysteve]

Strikan, first, welcome to the forum. I'm also a long-time listener and a long-time board participant.

Second, thank you very much for coming and sharing your thoughts in a polite, rational, non-offensive, non-confrontational manner. There are others here who could learn a great deal from your approach. Criticism is welcomed here but not if it's presented as insults and rudeness.

I actually agree, at least to some extent, with all 3 of your points.

1. The show has changed. As others have noted, the "segment" portion of the show is no longer a part of the Tuesday podcast in the way it used to be. Occasionally it is, like this past week when they had the Flying Fish review. More often, though, what used to be that segment is now a separate video on YouTube and not a podcast. I've expressed my own opinion before that I'm mainly a listener, not a viewer, so as great as all of the videos are, they don't really appeal to me so I miss a great deal of the content that the team is now producing. I wish the audio feeds for those videos would be available on iTunes so that folks like me could listen to them, but that isn't going to happen. I also think the show is a little more promotional than it used to be, but they are running a business and need to pay the bills in order to be able to continue to do what they do and give us all of this awesome content so I'm okay with that.

2. I hadn't really thought about it before, but maybe some type of grand overhaul is in order to better organize and unify all of the content. As the variety of content has grown, it has gotten harder to keep track of what is where or to find something particular that you might be looking for. Between the podcasts, the vlogs, the videos, the facebook live stuff, Periscope, and who knows what else, it would be great to have one single site that catalogued all of it.

3. This is the one point of yours that I'm least bothered by. Yes, I do think the locals (and not just those on the show but also friends of ours who have moved to the area) just naturally develop a different relationship with WDW than they had before they became locals. I think that's a normal evolution and probably unavoidable. The place down the street is always different to you than the place 1,000 miles away. The place that you go to a few times a month is different than the place that you save and plan to visit once a year or less. But I think this is also exactly why Pete put into place having everyone visit the parks regularly. He wanted them to take a fresh look and get updated on what is happening right now, today, rather than how things were previously. WDW is constantly changing in both big ways like new rides and shows and in dozens of little ways like new menu items at a restaurant or revamping of a store layout. And I agree that the younger/newer members of the team bring a different view than the older/more established team members. Having that diversity of viewpoints is part of what makes the show so great and why most of us love the whole team so much.

Thanks again for weighing in. I hope you'll continue to share your thoughts.

 

[disneysteve]

referred to as a TROLL (whatever that is)

Troll: In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows ******* on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.

Hope that definition is helpful.

 

[Strikan]

Welcome , nice to have someone who cares about the program but has noticed a change

I have been saying this for months but have been ridiculed , referred to as a TROLL (whatever that is) , told that this is a free service , etc

I appreciate your input and hope your reception is better received than mine

So sorry that you felt ridiculed. I am certainly not looking to upset people or cause trouble. The Dis means a lot to me and I am certain from things said in the past that Pete and the team care about what the listeners think. So on that basis I thought I would add my thoughts. Even if we are not happy about something and have a criticism, I think we only have best intentions. If we didn't care, we wouldn't bother posting right?

 

[disneysteve]

I am certainly not looking to upset people or cause trouble.

No worries. You're not doing that at all. Your post was perfectly reasonable and nicely stated.

 

[Strikan]

Disneysteve - Many thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it.

I think you hit the nail on the head with your response to point 1. Ultimately, I think folks who just listen to the main podcast may miss out. I think that is a shame and would love to see the main podcast extended by 20 to 30 minutes to include extra discussion topics. Even Dustin's old silly head to head attraction competitions were fun.

Having said that, there is a lot of new cool stuff coming down the line in the future for WDW what with Rivers of Light
and Pandora at AK, Star Wars and Toy Story at DHS and now potentially new rumors at Epcot. Hopefully all that will prompt some great segments and discussion on the podcasts in the future. I am very excited about all these developments, but then I am a bit of a sci-fi geek and nerd at heart. I get the feeling Pete is too perhaps, so I am certainly looking forward to hearing all his thoughts on these developments.

 

[Tonyz]

I have been referred to as a TROLL (whatever that is)

Funniest thing you've ever said.

 

[Tonyz]

Troll: In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows ******* on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.

Hope that definition is helpful.

How expensive are the clothes you're wearing?

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Both negative and positive comments about the show are welcome here.


Let's keep the comments related to the original post, folks.

 

[jcb]

Let me offer a different perspective. As Nikki said, "negative and positive comments about the show are welcome here" so take this as a rebuttal, not an attack (believe me, I can be and have been blunt if the situation warrants it).

OP and others are certainly entitled to dislike the format changes, especially changes that adversely affect how you listen. Still, when the show started, audio only podcasts were a more practical medium than video and now that video is more widely available (and attracts a wider audience) I don't see any reason not to get on the video parade float. A lot of the video content is made available through audio downloads but some things, mainly the in park videos, just won't translate very well to audio.

As to the podcast being "more promotional than it used to be", I'm not sure I follow why OP brought this up if you are "okay with that." It implies that you aren't OK with it.

As to more organization, I wonder if this is more your resistance to video than anything else. I don't Facebook much anymore so I typically miss the live broadcasts being done. I'm fine with that. It was remarkably simple to set up my YouTube account to follow the content from the DIS. YouTube will even send you emails when new videos are posted from accounts you follow. Periscope will also notify you if someone you follow is doing a live video. As far as having "one single site" for everything, the content is usually available on wdwinfo.com and for others Nikki or others post links in this forum links to other videos. The dilemma I have is keeping up with all the content but, so far, I've heard no one complain that there is "too much content."*

OP states: "It is just a little depressing and irritating to hear the more senior members of the team complain so much about things when I wish I could be in their position." Here, I simply have a different perspective. Perhaps because I know "the more senior members of the team" I just don't see them complaining "so much" about "things." You don't give specific examples of them complaining so I suspect your issue is more that they, to your perspective, seem "jaded" about having Disney in their back yard. If anything, some of the fault for this is with the team but only in the sense that they don't often describe (e.g. "complain") all the work they do on a daily basis to be in their "position." They don't need me to defend them, however. If you haven't watched or listened to the Dreams Unlimited Travel Podcast of April 25, 2016, you should. Here is a link:http://www.disunplugged.com/2016/04/25/dreams-unlimited-travel-show-042516-2/ I work many long hours and weekends in my job and yet I would not begin to want their jobs. Yes, they often speak of the wonderful travel opportunities, it sounds fantastic to be within a 30 minute drive of WDW and who would not be jealous of folks who are assigned to go to the parks in order to "work." But it takes a lot of other work we don't often hear about for them to have these fantastic "perks." Nothing comes free.

* I wrote this sentence before I saw a thread complaining about too much content on the Flying Fish re-opening...

 

[disneysteve]

As to the podcast being "more promotional than it used to be", I'm not sure I follow why OP brought this up if you are "okay with that." It implies that you aren't OK with it.

I only mentioned it because it has come up in other threads and conversations. People have been noticing it and it's been talked about. Personally, I've noticed it too but I understand why it needs to happen, so I'm fine with it. I think many of us, myself included, tend to forget that Pete and crew are running a business and can't continue to provide all of this fantastic and FREE content if there isn't some sort of payoff on their end.

 

[disneysteve]

it takes a lot of other work we don't often hear about for them to have these fantastic "perks." Nothing comes free.

This! For sure. These guys and gals work very, very hard to do what they do and give us all that they give us. They don't just gather at Pete's house for a couple of hours each week to put on a show.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I would agree with the organization of the different channels. I, too, have found it confusing to know which youtube channel to go to find which content (and we are watching the video). It's not a huge deal to check through the different feeds, but it would be appreciated if there could be some condensing/reorganizing to the different channels.

 

[Strikan]

JCB - thanks for the rebuttal. A few points I just wanted to come back to you on.

1. I actually did not say anything about the podcast being too promotional. I think that was a different poster. In fact, it is absolutely the case that a large drive behind the whole site and the podcast is to promote Dreams and I have no problem with that at all. It is what made me a Dreams client after all.

2. I have no issue with video at all. I use YouTube, Facebook live, Periscope and others all the time. My issue is how the video components have resulted in a more slimmed down version of the main podcast. The reason I have an issue with that is because I usually listen to the podcast while I drive so audio is all I have during that part of my day. I miss the old 90 minute podcast that included a review or topic.

3. On your last point about the team, I fully understand all they do at Dreams. I too listen to the Dreams Unlimited podcast. For me it is not a matter of how hard people work or being jealous so much. In fact, I sort of see the podcast and related stuff as part of their jobs. They are promoting Dreams right?

What I am trying to say is that I feel the senior guys tend to go to the negative a lot. I can't give specifics off the fly - it is more a general tone of the discussion. There is a lot of focus on how things are not what they were. While that may be true, it would be good to also focus on the positive as well. Also, many senior members of the team don't bother with many attractions and cannot understand why we would do X or Y at the park. For example, comments about why on earth would someone queue for 2 hours to see a certain attraction and that they would never do that. Well that is great, but if you only go to WDW once every few years during peek season because you have kids in school then you are going to have a very different point of view on this than someone who can go whenever or however many times as they like. When I hear comments like that I feel like it is a little dismissive or belittling - almost like we are foolish to do such a thing. I am sure this is not intended but it has that effect on me. To counter this it would be good to hear a little more of the vacation visitor (with or without kids) point of view sometimes.

Now, what I would also love to see is more podcasts like the last Flying Fish one. It included the usual stuff but had a review plus real enthusiasm from the team about something. It was awesome. I felt good listening to it and after. That was great.