Question for WDW local VMKers - Save VMK related

[Disney Dreams]

Hi All,

I was sent a PM by someone who had a few thoughts regarding the save VMK efforts. One point that was mentioned is something that is not something I thought someone else on DIS might be able to / want to pursue. In regard to the protest that is being arranged at DLR by a group of vmk kids, the question was raised, "Would a march on WDW be helpful?"

It's an interesting point. Done on the same day and time as the DLR protest (and by same time, I mean at the same moment in time - so 3 hours apart based on the clock) it would show a strong united effort - and perhaps catch the eye of more large media.

I have NO knowledge of the layout at WDW and am completely the wrong person to ask about this, but wanted to put the idea out there and see if a WDW local would like to step up and perhaps get in touch with the individual (s?) coordinating the DLR day to coordinate this.

Just thought I would put this person's ideas out there for thought amongst the many in case anyone wanted to do something.

- Dreams

 

[AlonelyMom]

I am in Orlando, but going to WDW is not affordable for me or my family. I haven't been to Disney since I worked for them over 20 years ago. At 80.00 a piece per park is not feasible this single disabled mother of 3 kids. Closest to Disney my kids and I get is playing on VMK. Closing VMK hurts me but disney isn't making or losing money off of me atleast. Of course I buy very little disney merchandise and now I won't buy any at all.
Good luck to you all
HopelesslyLost on VMK

 

[Disney Dreams]

I am in Orlando, but going to WDW is not affordable for me or my family. I haven't been to Disney since I worked for them over 20 years ago. At 80.00 a piece per park is not feasible this single disabled mother of 3 kids. Closest to Disney my kids and I get is playing on VMK. Closing VMK hurts me but disney isn't making or losing money off of me atleast. Of course I buy very little disney merchandise and now I won't buy any at all.
Good luck to you all
HopelesslyLost on VMK

Hey HopelesslyLost,

I completely understand. I think what you said above is exactly why so many enjoy VMK.

As for organizing something at WDW, I don't believe entry to the park would be involved. If I am correct, the DLR group is NOT on Disney property, but just outside of it. Again, I was just tossing out an idea shared with me via PM. I don't know the WDW layout at all - it's been 12 years since I've been

- Dreams

 

[ILoVePIRATES18]

Hey HopelesslyLost,

I completely understand. I think what you said above is exactly why so many enjoy VMK.

As for organizing something at WDW, I don't believe entry to the park would be involved. If I am correct, the DLR group is NOT on Disney property, but just outside of it. Again, I was just tossing out an idea shared with me via PM. I don't know the WDW layout at all - it's been 12 years since I've been

- Dreams

Heya Dreams!,

I have NO idea of the plan stated on DLR I have never been there so I can't state anything towards this but I can state what you said the "layout" of WDW. I have gone to it many items and know it by heart, if you mean my layout it's entrance,park stracture etc I can detailed atleast the Magic Kingdom Park sense this is the HEART of WDW.

To enter said park you 1st must buy the tickets so here would be the way to protes w/o entering the park but this park would be the WRONG park to choose due to the fact it's not infront of the park. To get to the park you MUST buy the tickets then choose the Fairy Ship or the Monorail that will take you to the front of the kindom and STILL you are not IN the park.

My guess any of the other 3 parks would be the BEST to protest w/o needing to enter the parks.

If you or anyone need any detailted of the WDW parks I can gladly state them

Hope this helps a bit!

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

Ok the MK has a far off parking lot like stated. But there is a bus plaza and a little area just outside the main enterance. If alot of people for the protest and alot of park goers show up not much breathing room. Adding to that a cast member will see what you are doing and likely call security to escort you off the grounds. HWS is better they have more room outside the main gate. Same with EPCOT and AK.

 

[CelebrationNM]

Yeah, it is much more tricky at WDW because the property is like a bubble surrounding all the main entrances to the various resort and park operations, and I wouldn't imagine pulling this anywhere on the Disney property would be welcomed by WDW Security.

Not that I am a supporter of this protesting, but an alternative might be the highway 192 shopping/dining/tourist district...right on the outside of Disney property. You'd catch the attention of a fair number of tourists, but it's not really the same as what you are planning at DLR, and I have no idea what kind of property/protesting rules are in place for this area: Link to Google Street View Map

 

[redshoe]

I would think that if it were on the sidewalk just outside Downtown Disney, it would be in a public area and Disney couldn't do much. It's a very busy spot, too! Might be a good idea to get whatever the area's equivalent of a picketing permit is, though.

 

[ILoVePIRATES18]

Yeah, it is much more tricky at WDW because the property is like a bubble surrounding all the main entrances to the various resort and park operations, and I wouldn't imagine pulling this anywhere on the Disney property would be welcomed by WDW Security.

Not that I am a supporter of this protesting, but an alternative might be the highway 192 shopping/dining/tourist district...right on the outside of Disney property. You'd catch the attention of a fair number of tourists, but it's not really the same as what you are planning at DLR, and I have no idea what kind of property/protesting rules are in place for this area: Link to Google Street View Map

I agree the WDW property is difficult but you have to know where you stand to make it work and personally I know it fairly well and didn't state that shopping district bc the fact is it's OFF Disney property it won't make any statement and to be honest Disney couldn't care less if we do it there we will just be giving a bad name to ourselves and VMK because the statement is to Disney not tourist/people who haven't heard about VMK and don't care. Tho it's a great idea but it just doesn't in pact as much(I'm not being mean or disrespecful if I sound like that please forgive me)

I would say instead of choosing a park or protest why not people go to Downtown Disney/Market Place make some flyers explaining what's VMK and the site to the online petition and ask if they have further question that maybe you can answer to them and convince them to help us out-if anyone does this you can go to the parks and give said flyers this way many people can participate

This is just an idea, the WDW property as celebration said it's difficult to work with and for me more dangerous lost and lost of guards are now at the entrance(I know I went last year) so Cast Members are the least of our worries- I know that you ask "why guards? we aren't doing anything wrong" we aren't but anything they see as a threat even to the peace can lead to many things.

These are just my thought.. I want VMK to continue so I want to do the best to help ANY plans work

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I am not tryint to put a damper on this valiant effort, but here are some real facts:

• Disney owns Downtown Disney and all the roads, all the way out through hotel boulevard to the gate.
  
• The protest anywhere on WDW property would be risky. I'm sure Disney Security will respond immediately and ask everyone to leave quietly. If they don't, the county sherrif will be called and are guaranteed to cooperate with Disney Security.
  
• You do not need a ticket to get to the "front" of the Magic Kingdom. You can park your car (for a fee) and take the monorail or ferry without a ticket. You would then arrive at the front of the Magic Kingdom, outside the turnstyles, but all right in front of Security. But, as above, I don't think you'll be tolerated...at all.

 

[redshoe]

I am not tryint to put a damper on this valiant effort, but here are some real facts:

• Disney owns Downtown Disney and all the roads, all the way out through hotel boulevard to the gate.
  
  Downtown Disney is accessible via a public road. You don't have to go through the gate to get to it. And I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't own that street.

 

[CelebrationNM]

I am not trying to put a damper on this valiant effort, but here are some real facts.

Exactly; thanks for pointing those out. This map isn't great, but it shows the extent to which WDW owns property surrounding their operations, including that road outside DTD (East Buena Vista Drive); those other name-brand hotels are part of the Downtown Disney Resort Area. If you can find evidence against that I'll certainly believe you.

As you can see, other than the highways there aren't many roads leading into the property, aside from 192 (which is why I suggested it) and other more minor roads.

Good luck with this!

 

[qruthie]

I am not tryint to put a damper on this valiant effort, but here are some real facts:

• Disney owns Downtown Disney and all the roads, all the way out through hotel boulevard to the gate.
  
• The protest anywhere on WDW property would be risky. I'm sure Disney Security will respond immediately and ask everyone to leave quietly. If they don't, the county sherrif will be called and are guaranteed to cooperate with Disney Security.
  
• You do not need a ticket to get to the "front" of the Magic Kingdom. You can park your car (for a fee) and take the monorail or ferry without a ticket. You would then arrive at the front of the Magic Kingdom, outside the turnstyles, but all right in front of Security. But, as above, I don't think you'll be tolerated...at all.

This is correct and is why a protest at WDW would be difficult to pull off. I hate to discourage anyone trying to save VMK but there are some huge barriers to protesting anywhere near a front gate to any WDW park.

One of Walt's big disappointments with Disneyland was he wasn't able to afford to buy the land around it. That allowed other businesses to do their own development there and in some cases take away from the magic of Disneyland, at least in Walt's eyes. When it came time to buy land in Florida, Walt made sure this couldn't happen there. First Disney, using various fake names, bought up all the land they could. Then they formed the Reedy Creek Improvement District, their own little government for the land they bought. RCID is who WDW reports to, not Lake Buena Vista. I believe RCID is in charge of things like the zoning laws for WDW which means Disney gets to control what happens on their property. (I believe Disneyland has to conform to the zoning laws of Anaheim and has to apply for permits just like anyone else.) I believe RCID does have to report to Orange and Osceola counties and follow their rules but that doesn't matter much for staging a protest.

Because of Walt's cleverness, the only sort of protest I could see succeeding on Disney property would be for a group of people to quietly gather at a specific place and time and do something like put on "SAVE VMK" shirts at that time. However, it would be next to impossible to organize this as a secret protest since Disney employees are on the internet too. WDW security would be quite aware of any planned protest and even if you couldn't see them around, they would be there, ready to pounce should a group disrupt the Disney magic.

Sorry to be a wet blanket.

 

[aengus]

Well to demonstrate you need a permit, so if a permit is approved you can march where your permit says you can march. Disney would not be able to do a thing about it. How long does it take to get a permit? The folks in Disneyland might be able to answer that.

The downside is, logistically, I dont think you can impact WDW like whats happening at Disneyland. It would have to be massive to even get any notice I would think.

 

[Imagineer_Tech]

Well to demonstrate you need a permit, so if a permit is approved you can march where your permit says you can march. Disney would not be able to do a thing about it. How long does it take to get a permit? The folks in Disneyland might be able to answer that.

The downside is, logistically, I dont think you can impact WDW like whats happening at Disneyland. It would have to be massive to even get any notice I would think.

Aengus you hit the nail on the head.

 

[qruthie]

Well to demonstrate you need a permit, so if a permit is approved you can march where your permit says you can march. Disney would not be able to do a thing about it. How long does it take to get a permit? The folks in Disneyland might be able to answer that.

The downside is, logistically, I dont think you can impact WDW like whats happening at Disneyland. It would have to be massive to even get any notice I would think.

Right, you need a permit, most likely from the Reedy Creek Improvement District if you want to protest on Disney property. Good luck with that. If people want to march, carry signs and shout slogans, they are going to have to do it off of Disney property.

This is a serious suggestion, not sure if it's feasible though. It might make sense to have a HUGE group of people go to Universal Studios for the day with media in tow, perhaps wearing SAVE VMK shirts, definitely not carrying signs and definitely not shouting slogans - I'm guessing Universal Studios would not appreciate a disruptive crowd so people would need to be on their best behavior. Just go to Universal Studios for the day to have fun and spend your money there, have the media tabulate how much money the entire group spends that day. The message would have to be something about choosing to spend your money at Universal Studios instead of WDW because VMK is closing. Clearly someone of fewer words needs to come up with the slogan.

 

[aengus]

This is a serious suggestion, not sure if it's feasible though. It might make sense to have a HUGE group of people go to Universal Studios for the day with media in tow, perhaps wearing SAVE VMK shirts, definitely not carrying signs and definitely not shouting slogans - I'm guessing Universal Studios would not appreciate a disruptive crowd so people would need to be on their best behavior. Just go to Universal Studios for the day to have fun and spend your money there, have the media tabulate how much money the entire group spends that day. The message would have to be something about choosing to spend your money at Universal Studios instead of WDW because VMK is closing. Clearly someone of fewer words needs to come up with the slogan.

this is a very interesting suggestion.

 

[bowlofcereal]

Universally United against Disney

Disney told our kids to get lost so we united and went to Universal.

 

[mom2cookies]

Why not park your car along side the road leading up to MK front gates ( the toll booth looking things). Then sit on top of them holding signs significant to VMK closing.

e.g. Disney killed the magic for thousands when they decided to close VMK
e.g. Sign the petition to save the Virtual Magic Kingdom at SAVEVMK.COM
e.g. Be a part of the Year of a Million Dreams..... Sign the petition to SAVE the Virtual Magic Kingdom.
e.g. Disney be a hero to many disabled children and adults Keep VMK OPEN

 

[redshoe]

Why not park your car along side the road leading up to MK front gates ( the toll booth looking things). Then sit on top of them holding signs significant to VMK closing.

e.g. Disney killed the magic for thousands when they decided to close VMK
e.g. Sign the petition to save the Virtual Magic Kingdom at SAVEVMK.COM
e.g. Be a part of the Year of a Million Dreams..... Sign the petition to SAVE the Virtual Magic Kingdom.
e.g. Disney be a hero to many disabled children and adults Keep VMK OPEN

I like.

There has to be SOME place close to WDW property where you could protest and they couldn't touch you. I still say there are public streets bordering, if not exactly on or adjacent to, Disney property that would be good places to look at. But again, just make sure you cover all your bases and get the proper permits!

 

[aengus]

the gates are well into the property actually. Nobody will see you honest if you sit off their property. The closest I can think of would be by downtown disney, but even that isnt going to get much view. You would be across the divided road. Nothing anyone would see unless they are at that particular group of off property hotels, not to mention those hotels wouldn't want you there either.