PETE ARTICLE HERE!!! "Hard-Core Disney Fans Can't Be Corralled..."

[DCTooTall]

No, I guess it's not bashing to publicly say in a newspaper "D23 is edited due to Dis Board Policy."

Having actually MET scak while he was working on this story, I get the impression that this was not a case of Pete looking for a newspaper to ***** to this about.

Having heard the podcast (sadly not a regular listener due to time constraints), I do know that if Pete was looking to actually bash something, He is very capable of doing so.

Saying "xyz is BS" is not really bashing something, as it is someone stating an opinion.




And while I've attempted to avoid jumping into this side of the conversation, I will state MY opinion. I just don't see the Value in a D23 membership. I was thinking about joining, but I can't justify the cost. I don't wear a watch. Magazine might be cool, but I'm not spending that kind of money just for a quarterly magazine. General Discounts aren't enough (above and beyond what i can get with my regular WDW AP) to make the numbers tempting based off money I could save... And MOST of the special 'members only' events seem to happen on the west coast with only a few so far on the east coast.... and even still, since I work a regular job and live in the northeast US, with the relative short notice given for most of the events (maybe a month or 2?), There is no way I could take advantage of them because I wouldn't be able to keep planning and affording last minute trips.


And Exclusive merch isn't for me either. I'm not a huge collector so buying something just because I can isn't going to entice me either.


that said.... D23 may work for some people. For people in Southern Cali for whom a day trip to the studios or parks is easy to do, They may find a ton of value in it because with the last minute announcements for events, they can easily adjust things to attend. For die Hard collectors, they may find value because of their ability to complete their collection of Disney merch. etc.... But for me (and I'm guessing plenty of others), it's just hard to find the value in paying so much for a 'fan club' membership that doesn't really offer a lot that we either can't get elsewhere [newstand D23 mag] or take advantage of because of our geographic location.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Please refrain from using foul language on the Dis Boards.

xxxxing out parts of the word is against Dis Board Policy.

 

[kaligal]

?..but instead of supporting it and trying to find a way to NURTURE it...

You kind of come across looking like a "crazy fan" in this, not someone who loves Disney and wants to spread the same feeling of happiness and joy.

You've got a nice little Internet forum thing going here, but you are NOT the Disney fan to represent my opinion and my feelings, that's for SURE.

There are a lot of crazy Disney fans out there. Count me in.

It is not our job to pay for membership and then nurture the thing along. If Disney wanted nurturing, they should have asked for it. If they want to charge $75 foe it, nurturing should not be involved in any way. For $75, we should have gotten more than a bad magazine and a couple trinkets. That magazine was more a giant ad than a magazine for die-hard Disney fans.

Disey should have known that nobody but die-hards would pay $75 for their stupid club...and what those fans would want. I am one of the people who plunked down the cash and was a little pissed off about it later.

Pete is a big boy and can speak (or not) for himself, but I doubt he was attempting to represent you or anyone else, for that matter. He represents himself.

But I agree with him on this.

I, too, got my first little taste of Disney on a business trip. Always wanted to go, but that's when I did. And it took about ten years before I was able to get back. But I went back and have dragged along almost anyone who would go, too. Lots of them got bitten by the Disney bug and went back with families. I suspect Pete and I are not the only ones.

Pete has managed to get a gazillion people to sign up for these Disney trips and cruises. I don't know what, if anything, Disney gave him in return, but whatever it may be, they've still come out ahead.

The crazy fans have dome a lot for Disney and deserved better than a crappy magazine and a chance to buy stuff for their $75.00

 

[LuJoy]

Please refrain from using foul language on the Dis Boards.

xxxxing out parts of the word is against Dis Board Policy.

Disney Kevin -- I didn't say it, actually, Pete did. I was just quoting him. Sorry.

 

[dansyr2514]

Lujoy,

Maybe listen to some of the podcasts and get a better feel for the whole team. Pete can be very passionate about his beliefs but alot of times...Disney listens and things that are broken get fixed.
I think the article in general was meant to show different sides of being a disney fan, albeit all are fans and none are perfect.

 

[kaligal]

I don't know if you object to Pete's diction or message, but I totally agreed.

D23 is a bunch of ********. (see, I did what we were told to do - typed it out and let the filter do its job. Gold star for me.)

After the way they advertised it (and, again, that $75), it should have been so much more.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Disney Kevin -- I didn't say it, actually, Pete did. I was just quoting him. Sorry.

He didn't say it on the Dis Boards.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've never, ever seen Disney say anything except, "We value the opinions of our fans."

Actions speak louder than words LuJoy.

That aside....I have no idea why you seem to be so upset about Pete's opinion. Seems to me he is as passionate about his as you are about yours.

 

[DCTooTall]

I think D23 has a LOT OF ROOM for improvement. Based on the way people have responded to me being angered by that article, I'd say DIS Boards probably has room for improvement, too. (And, not being a Florida resident, those events don't mean anything to ME, so I guess it works both ways?)

the DIS suffers from what a lot of online forums suffer from... Lots of people with differing opinions, and with lots of differing opinions, you'll be able to find people who will get very vocal about what they either see as an attack, or on topics they believe strongly about. Overall though, it's probably one of the most polite forums of it's size that I have ever found on the internet. (As long as you avoid certain hot button topics for Disney Fans [pool hopping / resort mug refills / ECV 'abuse'] on top of the traditional religion and politic no-no topics)



Don't let people here turn you away from the site. It sounds like you've started to discover all the board has to offer, and as you look around more, you'll noticed that if you name it, there is a group here that can probably give you information on it. Don't let this one thread turn you off to the people here. Your perceived attack on Pete may have brought out the defensive nature in some of the people here, but you'll also discover that it takes a lot for people to really hold a grudge here.

it's funny how our mutual love of Disney really does help bring this community together, and hold us together, Even despite any differences we may have in opinions on how the current Disney Management is handling things.

 

[LuJoy]

There are a lot of crazy Disney fans out there. Count me in. It is not our job to pay for membership and then nurture the thing along. If Disney wanted nurturing, they should have asked for it. If they want to charge $75 foe it, nurturing should not be involved in any way. For $75, we should have gotten more than a bad magazine and a couple trinkets.

You don't like the magazine, I do. When I defend it, I'm accused of having an ax to grind and being rude to Pete -- that's weird to me.

It seems a lot of people haven't really been keeping up with D23. They started doing more special offers recently. If you don't like the magazine -- then by all means don't join. If you do (as I do) and you love looking at the incredible archival photos, reading the articles and enjoying it the way you used to enjoy the (equally advertorial) Disney News way back when, then on top of that, I actually JUST saved $20 on SuperShuttle for a business trip (round trip -- I live a long way from the airport), there's a $23 off offer at Brookstone, and I've already found two things there for Christmas, I bought two games for my nephews on THQ's website using the discount, which saved me $7.50, and I actually plan on using my D23 discount for "Mary Poppins" when we go over the Veteran's Day Holiday next month, which is saving me something like $45. So, I saved $95.50 there on stuff that I otherwise WOULD have bought anyway but now can buy with a discount. That's cool to me.

I'm NOT trying to sell anyone on D23. You've made up your minds. I'm just trying to explain why it IS a value to me .......and why I feel kind of like you all are trying to say I'm stupid for thinking it's worth it. For me, $75 a year to get what I get out of it is actually a really good value.

 

[LuJoy]

Why is it OK for Pete to call D23 ******** (OK, I'm gonna see if this filter works!) and someone else to call the magazine crappy, but not for me to express my opinion that the article does NOT speak for me as a Disney fan, does NOT represent who I am or what I think of Disney, and that I thought it was offensive, rude and arrogant? It's OK to call Disney names, but not the people who run DIS Boards?

And, honestly, I am trying to get the hang of this. I want to say again, I think overall DIS Boards is (are?) pretty cool.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Why is it OK for Pete to call D23 ******** (OK, I'm gonna see if this filter works!) and someone else to call the magazine crappy, but not for me to express my opinion that the article does NOT speak for me as a Disney fan, does NOT represent who I am or what I think of Disney, and that I thought it was offensive, rude and arrogant? It's OK to call Disney names, but not the people who run DIS Boards?

And, honestly, I am trying to get the hang of this. I want to say again, I think overall DIS Boards is (are?) pretty cool.

Well, Okay...first, D23 is a "thing" .... Pete is a person. In fact he is the person who owns, runs and pays for these boards. He is someone that many of us call friend and know personally, so to show up and basically call him names, is not the same as his expressing his opinion of a Disney fan club. Pete didn't go on Disney's site and bash them, he did it on his own forum. If he did go on Disney's site (you can post comments on the Disney Parks Blog site) I'm quite sure they wouldn't even have let it post at all...their site, their rules, much like here. Coming here to post a rant about the person who runs the site is rude and disrespectful, plain and simple.

 

[kaligal]

Lu, I don't care if you want to be head cheerleader foe D23. It's the whole attacking someone for saying that d23 is ******** and using "crazy Disney fan" like it's a bad thing that irks me.

You like D23, have at it. I don't argue with people who slam Disney and I won't argue with you about your D23 loving, either. Plus, everyone is entitled to spend their money in whatever way they wish.

But crazy Disney fans who think D23 is ******** should be able to have their say, too.

 

[DCTooTall]

Why is it OK for Pete to call D23 ******** (OK, I'm gonna see if this filter works!) and someone else to call the magazine crappy, but not for me to express my opinion that the article does NOT speak for me as a Disney fan, does NOT represent who I am or what I think of Disney, and that I thought it was offensive, rude and arrogant? It's OK to call Disney names, but not the people who run DIS Boards?

And, honestly, I am trying to get the hang of this. I want to say again, I think overall DIS Boards is (are?) pretty cool.

Honestly..... I don't think anything is wrong with what you did. Free Country, free speech, and all that.

The problem is the audience you said it to. It's kind of like going to Yankee stadium and saying that the Yankee's stink. You may have a point. You certainly have a right to say it. But since it's the location you are going to find a lot of people who believe differently, You are going to end up ruffling a few feathers and get some people telling you why your opinion is wrong compared to their opinion.


Disney fans are no different then Star Wars fans or Star Trek Fans or Sports fans, or any other type of fandom. You are going to find a lot of people within that fandom community who have differing opinions on things. Not all Star Wars fans are going to agree on every aspect of the fandom (Well... except maybe how Jar Jar is the devil incarnate), but that doesn't mean that one Star Wars fan is more of a fan than another.

 

[WaltD4Me]

The problem is the audience you said it to. It's kind of like going to Yankee stadium and saying that the Yankee's stink. You may have a point. You certainly have a right to say it. But since it's the location you are going to find a lot of people who believe differently, You are going to end up ruffling a few feathers and get some people telling you why your opinion is wrong compared to their opinion.

Disney fans are no different then Star Wars fans or Star Trek Fans or Sports fans, or any other type of fandom. You are going to find a lot of people within that fandom community who have differing opinions on things. Not all Star Wars fans are going to agree on every aspect of the fandom (Well... except maybe how Jar Jar is the devil incarnate), but that doesn't mean that one Star Wars fan is more of a fan than another.

Good analogies!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Why is it OK for Pete to call D23 ******** (OK, I'm gonna see if this filter works!) and someone else to call the magazine crappy, but not for me to express my opinion that the article does NOT speak for me as a Disney fan, does NOT represent who I am or what I think of Disney, and that I thought it was offensive, rude and arrogant? It's OK to call Disney names, but not the people who run DIS Boards?

And, honestly, I am trying to get the hang of this. I want to say again, I think overall DIS Boards is (are?) pretty cool.

As I have said several times....everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

On top of that, you are welcome to voice your opinion here (within the boundaries of Dis policy).

In my opinion, you are getting a negative reaction because of the way you entered this forum.

If you re-read your original post, I think that you will see that you went after a person and not a corporation.

But you don't like it. Fair enough. Do you have to go and try to ruin it for everyone else? You kind of come across looking like a "crazy fan" in this, not someone who loves Disney and wants to spread the same feeling of happiness and joy.

I don't know what Walt would have thought of D23, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have taken his complaints to some small alt-weekly in South Florida to shout from the mountains what he doesn't like and how slighted he felt.

Reading this article depressed me so much because now people will think ALL Disney fans are this crazy. They're not. Some of us love the fact that Disney is trying at ALL to create some kind of organization for us, after so many years of doing nothing at all. And some of us just really love Disney and its message of optimism and hope, which is exactly the OPPOSITE of what you have conveyed in this article. I was depressed enough to actually JOIN DIS Boards to post this reply. I'm sure you'll remove it, because that's what kind of a person you seem to be -- someone who is ALWAYS RIGHT, no matter what anyone else thinks. If you do remove it, at least YOU will have read this. If you keep it up, I hope others will chime in if they agree.

You do NOT represent Disney fans. You've got a nice little Internet forum thing going here, but you are NOT the Disney fan to represent my opinion and my feelings, that's for SURE.

Again, you are talking about a person (who many here hold in high regard) and not a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Mr. Werner said he didn't like D23. It's his opinion. It's no more valid or invalid than yours.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

It never goes well when I try to "defend" D23, I just upset people and lose friends.

So, I'm just gonna say...

LuJoy....welcome to the disboards!!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

This thread is now closed.

Nicole
DIS Unplugged Forum Moderator