Why is every one upset about disney ending their GAD promotion?

[Buckalew11]

I don't get it. But I never understand why people get upset about codes, free dining etc. either.

 

[brerrabbit]

I'm not upset with Disney at all. We are planning a trip for this summer and were not going to use the GAD promotion. What I am disappointed about is the number of people who either found out the volenteering they were going to do was not going to earn a ticket and so they decided not to volenteer, and the people who will not consider volenteering now that the promotion is over. Between my wife and I we have volenteered over 100 hours this year alone. We are blessed to have all that we have and feel that we can give back by volenteering at numerous ventures through our church. We have helped build pre fab houses to be shipped to Haiti, at a local food bank called Christian Helping Hands, and at a construction project at Kids Harbor, a facility for foster and troubled kids building a new residential building.

If Disney prompted anyone to get out and volenteer then the program was a success. If people found the joy in lending a helping hand and it leads them to contiune to do so then great. If all it did was motivate someone who already had a trip planned to give a single day to reduce the cost of their trip and they have no intention of volenteering again then shame on them.

 

[DawnM]

I didn't know it was no longer available.

I am only bummed because my youngest turned 6 last week and we were waiting for him to get to 6 to sign him up. The kicker is that he did BOTH of the volunteer activities with us and helped with both, but he wasn't old enough to be an actual volunteer for credit.

Oh well.

Dawn

 

[bicker]

Why is every one upset about disney ending their GAD promotion?

Because people are myopically inclined towards what they want, and often don't care very much about what they were actually promised/owed. They regularly impose their own personal preferences onto others as if those preferences are holy dogma, and then express outrage when the world doesn't align itself to placate their own personal proclivities.

Those other promotions are usually for a set time period... June 1st - August 31st, say. This was not... it was a "Year 2010" thing

What you are implying is a grievous distortion of what Disney promised.

If the idea was to celebrate and encourage volunteering for the whole year, they didn't do a great job.

The idea was very explicitly to encourage one million people to volunteer, and they did do a great job.

 

[JESW]

Were you on the boards during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion?? At times it seemed more like the Year of a Million WHINES when people came back complaining they didn't win anything. Can't please everyone all the time..

Jill

 

[eliza61]

Were you on the boards during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion?? At times it seemed more like the Year of a Million WHINES when people came back complaining they didn't win anything. Can't please everyone all the time..

Jill

Man oh man Jill do I remember that. How many "I've been to Disney 60 times and still haven't gotten any prize" threads were there.

Maybe because I don't base my trips around promotions, I'm not getting it. We pretty much decide when we want to go, if there is a promotion to take advantage of cool, if not we still go. I look at them just like store coupons, they never include every piece of merchandise and they always have a limited supply.

Maybe disney needs a "deprogramming" period. No offers for 1 year.

In the interest of self examination, I'm probably just as whiny (sp?). I wasn't a happy camper when they took away free valet parking for dvc members.

 

[ajk912]

I am bummed but not in an uproar. I was going to look for something to do with my kids this summer when they are out of school to kill some time. I will still do that anyway (I do volunteering on own already as well) but the ticket would have been nice to help defray Disney costs..or donate it..whatever. I wasn't even going to start looking for opprotunities till April or May because most are to be completed in thirty days.

 

[Spinning]

That must explain why I never heard back from the places I sent requests too! Which is a bummer....the ticket was great but what I liked is I found the neatest place to volunteer at and would have never found it if this promo didn't happen...It was at a bird hospital.
I will recontact them because I think it was so neat...but it would have been nice to say no more tickets but we would still love to have you!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Disney learns once again that with some people, no good deed goes unpunished. Sad...

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I agree, I think for some people they are angry that they didn't get their freebie. I read somewhere, that one woman said that her DH wasn't going to be able to join her on her volunteer activity because there were no more free tickets. Really? He couldn't volunteer otherwise? For some people it was only being done to get a free ticket, it had nothing to do with actually helping people.

Hopefully, for the majority of the people, it sparked an interest and love in volunteering in them and they will continue to do so for no other reason then to help someone, not because they are getting a free ticket to Disney.

I hope so. Volunteering is a great way to give back.

 

[Jennasis]

I don't understand why the one million person limit. This seems to be a GREAT way to encourage volunteerism and for Disney is a great "loss-leader". Everyone knows you spend money IN the parks, not getting in. I can't fathom why they would pull the plug on it. It is obviously popular and with the state of the world...Haiti, Chile...we need volunteers more than ever.

 

[MrsPete]

People are disappointed and that is called greed? BTW, did you get your free ticket?

Nope. Didn't try -- I do plenty of volunteering, but I didn't even try to get in on this particular deal.

Does that mean I'm not allowed an opinion? I do happen to think that everyone should do things for the good of the community just because it's the right thing to do.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Nope. Didn't try -- I do plenty of volunteering, but I didn't even try to get in on this particular deal.

Does that mean I'm not allowed an opinion? I do happen to think that everyone should do things for the good of the community just because it's the right thing to do.

Then perhaps Disney shouldn't have offered the promotion in the first place.

But since they did--it stands that people who tried to follow the rules are upset with how they handled it.

I think there is a mix of those who tried to follow the rules and got the shaft and those who are just crying over spilled milk.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Were you on the boards during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion?? At times it seemed more like the Year of a Million WHINES when people came back complaining they didn't win anything. Can't please everyone all the time..

Jill

Those threads were nuts.

Disney needs to come up with a theme that does not include give aways. People just go crazy when they think they are missing out on something.

 

[undertheradar]

I don't think that the Disney people projected Hands On Network filling so many volunteer positions so quickly. Many Summer events were approved for the program but were not able to accept volunteers until 60 days out. Reading about the food drive in NC, how were they going to be able to give 4 vouchers for a donated bag of food? Yes,the Disney ticket was a nice incentive to encourage folks who do not volunteer, I just don't understand the inequity in time and efforts invested. Exactly what level of volunteerism is it to bake 2 dozen cookies and donate them? We spend 5 to 6 months planning a 1 week day camp for 200 scouts. What I see is the same people who volunteer as leaders also volunteer to plan and then run activities at the camp. We were hoping to use the GAD program as an incentive to motivate people who would otherwise not volunteer. I think it is a wasted effort to tell charities NOT to sign up volunteers. Perhaps even if all of the million vouchers were accounted for, there could have been a certificate of appreciation from the big mouse himself? If GAD was generating so much interest, it just appears to waste the opportunity to get volunteer activites front and center.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Those threads were nuts.

Disney needs to come up with a theme that does not include give aways. People just go crazy when they think they are missing out on something.

Aren't you the poster that wanted to get in on the cheaper Y.E.S. passes even though you did not have a child to participate in the program?

 

[KellyNY]

I think it was a wonderful promotion. I did not participate. The closest location available was 60 miles away. However many people did. It is a great saving and good for community. More power to Disney for doing such thing.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I think it was a wonderful promotion. I did not participate. The closest location available was 60 miles away. However many people did. It is a great saving and good for community. More power to Disney for doing such thing.

I agree. We made blankets and donated the tickets. I love that children who need some magic will get it because of us. We aren't going until next January. (eta: were we going we would have used the tickets.)

 

[disneyjunkie]

Aren't you the poster that wanted to get in on the cheaper Y.E.S. passes even though you did not have a child to participate in the program?

Yup, kinda

You missed the part where I said I would be happy to sign up someone's child to attend a class. I called YES and was told by 3 CMs (including a supervisor) that what I wanted to do was fine.

So this September I will get our park passes at the discounted rate and my cousin's daughters will get to attend a YES class.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yup, kinda

You missed the part where I said I would be happy to sign up someone's child to attend a class. I called YES and was told by 3 CMs (including a supervisor) that what I wanted to do was fine.

So this September I will get our park passes at the discounted rate and my cousin's daughters will get to attend a YES class.

That makes you a chaperone.