Why did so many people here join in the early to mid 2000's?

[fly girl]

As a lot of PP said, I lurked for 2 years before I had the guts to post.

I first was with Tour Guide Mike, but when he fell ill and wasn't posting I made my way over here. I knew after my 2003 trip to WDW it was a different beast than when I went before. Needed to learn all the ins and outs to make the most of our vacation.

Been on here ever since! Sometimes I post a lot, other times I just read and like posts.

 

[scrump]

I was researching one of my first WDW trips and somehow found my way to these boards. I don't post a ton, was more active back then, but I always find my way back to these boards and thus feel it is a "home" for me.

I guess I would credit Disney and specifically WDW for getting me back here, on a practical level. There is always something new to research, and where better than the DIS?

 

[Sweettears]

I weighed in earlier as I joined In 2010. I do liove the low key community vibe of the today DIS. However the purge took out a lot of discussion that was interesting and could have been isolated onto another thread instead of banning the participants.

 

[Magical2017]

I joined for the Disney planning advice. I did not even know about the other boards for a long time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Back in 2003, ten days before our first Disney cruise, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, out of the blue. Kids had a birthday scheduled on the ship, so we decided, with my doctor’s blessing, to still go. But it was bittersweet. So DH told me to book another one for when my treatment was over, a year later, which turned out to be a great diversion for me. That’s when I found myself delving into more planning forums and wound up here. Since treatment and recovery were on my mind during that time, I got the idea for starting a breast cancer support group here, and launched it with a great group of other Dis Survivors. I made a lot of friends that way, and felt like I did some good. Wound up enjoying the CB so stuck around. This year was 20 yrs for me and I feel like this forum played a large part in getting me through it. I like to pay it forward if I can.

 

[tony67]

So many of us joined in the late 90s early 2000s as it was one of the best sites at that time for Disney info.
Also it was early days for teh internet so not like there were a ton of sites.
I joined in 2003, but probably learked for 5 years before that.

That was also when Disney was at its peek IMO.
This site helped me plan and saved me a ton of money on my trips.
I always came back to it because there was always lots of good info.

Then in the late 2000s Disney started to go south IMO and I came here to argue about how bad things had gotten at Disney. At that point if you had anything negative to say about Disney you were berated, so I continued to come back just to annoy the kool-aid drinkers.

Ultimately it was not worth it, but I started spending time at Universal instead of Disney and started contributing to the Universal Board so that kept me around. Lot of good folks on that board and much more open minded.

More recently folks have started to see that Disney has gone south so I like to go thorough the Disney board and see people saying the things I was saying at least 12 years ago.

And I've also started to read this board as there are some interesting topics and I think it gives you a good view of what is really going on around the country as its a very diverse group of people from many different background and beliefs talking about the issues of the day, something you really don't see much of anymore in most of the echo chambers.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Think I was researching a trip. Stayed for the free lunches. And the fact that I hate most of the people here slightly less than everyone else I know.
Slightly.

 

[sasywtch]

In the 90's a bunch of us had groups on AOL boards. I came here to plan our first WDW trip in 2000. I had a change of name so not sure what date it shows for me right now as joining. I don't really read the planning boards any longer, just the fun threads on here.

Edited to add: I just saw the 2008 date by my name so that must have been when I switched my screen name. I can't even remember the old one that got hacked.

 

[goofyernmost]

Why do you care?

Kinda rude, don't you think? Why do YOU care?

 

[Newsies]

I joined in 2013 FWIW, so after social media had already started blossoming into what it is today and this forum was still active, but not to the extent it was in the early-mid 00s. I came here specifically to write and read PTRs/TRs, but I've found value in every board on the forum.

I would argue that DIS stands the test of time because there just isn't a comparable space like it anywhere online: a specialized forum strictly for talking about the most popular vacation destination in the world. This forum is really comprehensive to anyone who has Disney on the brain, whether they need advice planning their first trip or want to share insights regarding DVC ownership, TWDC financial reporting, or just want to reminisce in some happy memories shared at WDW over the years.

I've planned dozens of vacations in my lifetime and even worked for WDW twice and I still come here first when I have a question or when I just need a sounding board for my plans because there are so many people here who love Disney like I do, but bring a different perspective to the table.

 

[RangerPooh]

I joined in 2005 as it was more active than the other site I was on. We didn’t have all of the social media options that exist today. I continue to enjoy the site as we’ve traveled to DLP and cruised for the first time in recent years.

 

[Miss Park Avenue]

I was a stay at home mom who loved Disney and was looking for tips for my vacations. Then I would gab in the Community Board. Then FB came along and I migrated over there. I went back to work, among other changes (a divorce, remarriage, kids grown). It was when I started planning a trip to Aulani this past May that had me coming back.

 

[JLTraveling]

My mom passed away three weeks before Christmas in 2004, my husband ran out in the middle of night shortly after, and my dad and I decided to go back to Orlando from NOLA to be with family for awhile. My entire world had turned upside down and I needed to build a new life. I had worked at the parks before moving to NOLA, so it was a natural place to return. I found this board by accident, and the sense of community is exactly what I needed at the time. Life has taken a million twists and turns since then, and I've gone in and out of being active here. But it feels like a long-time home, and one that helped me through the worst couple of years of my life, so I always find my way back.

 

[MIChessGuy]

As it happens, I joined in 2008. Memory has faded. I assume it was because I wanted more dynamic information about the parks and related matters than I had been getting from print sources up to that point. I had been around since dial-up days (CompuServe and Mosaic, anyone?) and found this kind of forum a lot easier to deal with.

 

[OKW Lover]

I joined in 2004. Probably found my way here from RADP or CompuServe. Really don't recall specifically.

IIRC, the general "banning" in 2009 occurred when one of the DU agents split from the company shortly after PCC 2.0 to establish their own agency. That got the agent banned. Many of the agent's friends questioned the action. That caused them to get banned and a wild fire ensued.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I joined in 2003, and I probably began reading in 2002. Once I knew I wanted to buy DVC, I joined because there was a lot I could learn. Very happy Disboards user here!

 

[luvthatduke]

My mom passed away three weeks before Christmas in 2004, my husband ran out in the middle of night shortly after, and my dad and I decided to go back to Orlando from NOLA to be with family for awhile. My entire world had turned upside down and I needed to build a new life. I had worked at the parks before moving to NOLA, so it was a natural place to return. I found this board by accident, and the sense of community is exactly what I needed at the time. Life has taken a million twists and turns since then, and I've gone in and out of being active here. But it feels like a long-time home, and one that helped me through the worst couple of years of my life, so I always find my way back.

God bless you JLT.
I hope your life has taken a turn for the better.
Glad you found comfort here

 

[slo]

I joined in 2004.
I don’t remember the exact reason why I joined, but I do remember finding The DIS when I was up late with DD20 (then under a year old) when she was sick (which was often). I must have used a laptop, because I didn’t have a tablet then. Seems like so long ago now, which I guess it was - we were in our old house when I joined and we’ve lived in this house 19 1/2 years now. Time goes by so fast!

 

[slo]

I rarely see anyone here who joined after 2008. Why is that? How are you guys still active all these years later?

I just realized that I didn’t answer the original post.

Why am I still active?
One answer……the people here
Many have come and gone - i miss the ones that have left or passed, I love getting to better know ones that have stayed and I look forward to meeting ones who are new.

In a world filled with unrest and ugliness, I enjoy coming here and visiting with my DIS friends every day. This is my daily opportunity to be with many like many minded people to celebrate their happinesses, give hugs when needed, support when support is needed and more. We may not always agree, but that’s ok - that’s what makes the world go round. It’d be pretty boring if we all agreed on everything.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all

 

[Patio]

I joined almost 23 years ago because I found the DIS posters to be so knowledgeable, not only about Disney, but, about life in general. I fondly remember posters that I loved to follow because they felt like they were friends. I don’t sign on nearly as much now, but, when I do, it’s always nice to see a post from Dan or another familiar person. There’s so many I miss, but, I’m thankful for the joy this website has brought to my life.