Disney! Wheeee!

[tifosi77]

When I was in HS my main life goal was to buy a t-shirt at every Hard Rock Cafe in the world. So I'm not in any place to bag on anyone.

[nocera]

It’s going to be a hell of a trip. For us, when Disney isn’t the high point you know things are serious.

[nocera]

@tifosi77

[tifosi77]

Thank you, sir. We'll be in Vegas this weekend, but thankfully I got to see ye Coupe de Stanley when the ASG was in LA back in 2002. I think was the last time I got to see Mario skate in person, too.

[LITT]

Had a good three day visit. Lots of princess and character interactions for the kids. Hit a majority of the character dinings - garden grill, topolino, story book, Cinderella royal table. Had a delicious meal at skipper canteen. Breakfast at topolino stood out. Crowds were pretty manageable. We did 2 full MK days and one HS/Epcot. Genie+ was key. If we were more aggressive we could have easily knocked everything out in MK each day. Was able to do frozen, ratatouille, and Mickey Mouse runaway railway on our Epcot/HS day all with no waits due genie+ and lightning lane

[meow]

Sounds like our trip blow for blow. Lightning lane and genie+ are no brainers

[LITT]

And I think Mrs litt got Covid too

[meow]

LITT is meow

[DigitalGypsy66]

My Google Assistant thing on my phone - (content feed related to Google Searches ugh) - is still feeding me the Disney Park blog sites, which isn't annoying yet. It seems the crowds died down a bit after the President's Day long weekend - college spring break/K-12 spring breaks.

Those aggregator sites are something else. They have writers combing social media trying to find content to write about. Like a cast member chasing a snake in Magic Kingdom? Easy 400 word article that then is picked up by Google and fed to people searching for Disney World. Nothing new, just fascinating that people are making money highlighting others' social media posts. I can't even imagine what some of those sites bring in for ad revenue.

[Joegap]

I got got by one of those articles. Read something about a secret "subway" in Disney world. Thought it was going to be something cool, but nope it was just a Subway restaurant for cast members below Magic Kingdom lol.

[tifosi77]

There's like this whole other city beneath the parks.

[tifosi77]

Going to DLR/DCA on 7/16 w some friends i haven't seen since the Before Times. First time going with just peer-age friends in like 20 years. It's either been just me + Mrs Tif, or the two of us w friends and their kids. So this will be kinda fun.

[nocera]

Disneyland Paris was pretty great. Its basically a clone of Disneyland with a much bigger castle and some major differences in the shared rides. Space Mountain is intense as hell and while fun, I prefer the Anaheim version. Big Thunder, on the other hand, was the best version I’ve ridden. I loved the story of Phantom Manor even if I prefer the US versions. Walt Disney Studios is incredibly small but includes a few really great rides. Ratatouille was so much fun. It was also a blast to finally get to ride the DCA version of Tower of Terror. Maybe a top 5 ride. Crush’s Coaster was also fun and unique to that park. The Avengers and Arendelle expansions are much needed and are really going to improve that park. Right now there are literally 9 rides which means long waits unless you buy the premier access (which we did because **** it). It’s a half day park at best.

Where DLP really stands out is the entertainment. The castle show was unbelievable and unlike anything in the states. Hopefully the US parks begin using drones soon as well. It adds so much magic and breaks up the projections nicely. All in all, had a great time. We only did two days which was more than enough time to experience everything especially with premier access. I’d love to return in the future once Studios is expanded.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Interesting. Did the cast members mostly speak in French or English? I would imagine most speak both, but curious as to what the official language (if there is such a thing at DLP).

[nocera]

Interesting. Did the cast members mostly speak in French or English? I would imagine most speak both, but curious as to what the official language (if there is such a thing at DLP).

It’s a requirement that cast members be able to speak both languages. Every cast member we interacted with was clearly a native French speaker but their English was great. They’d normally start out in French but the minute we’d say “Bonjour” with our American accents they’d switch to English.

Along those same lines, every show and ride is in both French and English. So for example in Pirates of the Caribbean, the burning town scene would be in French while the prisoners/dog with a key scene would be in English.

[tifosi77]

The real life pirate that sort of inspired POTC was a colonial Frenchman called Jean Lafitte.

[tifosi77]

Had a blast on Saturday. Hadn't seen that crew of friends in so long, and it was great fun to nerd out with them. It was also my first time going to California Adventure, which is something I don't ever have to do again. (I'm not an amusement park kind of guy, but the theming was still pretty fun.)

Mrs Tif and I were thinking of going full splurge and doing our anniversary in October at the Grand Californian and DLR. Just checked the Cast Member site and it looks like the hotel is all booked up through Sept and half of Oct already, and Main Entrance Pass ressies for the parks are also closed out. So that's a bit unlucky.

[faftorial]

My Google Assistant thing on my phone - (content feed related to Google Searches ugh) - is still feeding me the Disney Park blog sites, which isn't annoying yet. It seems the crowds died down a bit after the President's Day long weekend - college spring break/K-12 spring breaks.

Those aggregator sites are something else. They have writers combing social media trying to find content to write about. Like a cast member chasing a snake in Magic Kingdom? Easy 400 word article that then is picked up by Google and fed to people searching for Disney World. Nothing new, just fascinating that people are making money highlighting others' social media posts. I can't even imagine what some of those sites bring in for ad revenue.

Are these articles from those content farms in India and Indonesia, etc?

I came across a pro sport one like this from India.

[LITT]

Had a blast on Saturday. Hadn't seen that crew of friends in so long, and it was great fun to nerd out with them. It was also my first time going to California Adventure, which is something I don't ever have to do again. (I'm not an amusement park kind of guy, but the theming was still pretty fun.)

Mrs Tif and I were thinking of going full splurge and doing our anniversary in October at the Grand Californian and DLR. Just checked the Cast Member site and it looks like the hotel is all booked up through Sept and half of Oct already, and Main Entrance Pass ressies for the parks are also closed out. So that's a bit unlucky.

do you get priority booking for anything as a cast member?

[tifosi77]

Not really, no. We actually have somewhat more restrictive blockout dates than Passholders. But that's mitigated by the fact that when we do get a reservation admission is free, parking is free (or deeply discounted for Preferred), we get crazy good discounts on most food and merch, we can bring up to 3 guests with us when we do all that..... all in all, it's nets out as a solid win imo.

[tifosi77]

(That said, Cast Members do get to preview attractions before they're open to the public. But that's a few-and-far between kind of deal.)

[tifosi77]

My Google Assistant thing on my phone - (content feed related to Google Searches ugh) - is still feeding me the Disney Park blog sites, which isn't annoying yet. It seems the crowds died down a bit after the President's Day long weekend - college spring break/K-12 spring breaks.

Those aggregator sites are something else. They have writers combing social media trying to find content to write about. Like a cast member chasing a snake in Magic Kingdom? Easy 400 word article that then is picked up by Google and fed to people searching for Disney World. Nothing new, just fascinating that people are making money highlighting others' social media posts. I can't even imagine what some of those sites bring in for ad revenue.

Are these articles from those content farms in India and Indonesia, etc?

I came across a pro sport one like this from India.

I get them all the time as device-level alerts on my tablets under 'news'. For some reason my Fire 10 thinks I'm super into Behind The Magic, and yet I am not.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Yeah, Behind the Magic, Walt Disney World Daily, and a few others get picked up there.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Walt Disney Co. DIS -0.31%▼ is exploring a membership program that could offer discounts or special perks to encourage customers to spend more on its streaming services, theme parks, resorts and merchandise, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The program would be somewhat akin to Amazon Prime, which offers advantages such as free shipping, discounts at Whole Foods and a complementary streaming video service for a monthly or annual fee, the people said. Internally, some executives have referred to Disney’s initiative as “Disney Prime,” although that won’t be the name of the program, one of the people said.

Discussions at Disney are in the early stages. It couldn’t be learned how much the company would charge for membership and how long it would take to launch such a program.

By creating a membership program, Disney would be betting it could offer customers more value, prompting them to spend more on the company’s products and services, while providing Disney with a trove of information about their preferences.

The effort is supported by Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek, who has been vocal both internally and publicly about the opportunity for Disney to do more to cross-sell to customers, the people familiar with the discussions said.

“Technology is giving us new ways to customize and personalize the consumer experience so that we are delivering entertainment, experiences and products that are most relevant to each of our guests,” said Kristina Schake, senior executive vice president and chief communications officer at Disney, in a statement. “A membership program is just one of the exciting ideas that is being explored.”

Disney already has a special program for superfans, the D23 Official Fan Club, which costs $99.99 to $129.99 a year and comes with access to exclusive events and merchandise. That program offered members a discounted three-year subscription to Disney+ in 2019. A new membership program would be different in that it would be targeted at more casual Disney fans and customers.

As an early step to better link Disney products and services, Disney is working to enable subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service to buy merchandise such as T-shirts, themed accessories and children’s costumes associated with some of its shows by scanning a QR code on the service that links to the Shop Disney website, people familiar with the plan said.

One example that executives have discussed as a possible merchandise tie-in is offering an exclusive toy version of a “darksaber”—a weapon from the Star Wars-themed series “The Mandalorian”—for sale only to Disney+ subscribers, a person familiar with the plans said. The company expects to introduce the retail feature on Disney+ as soon as this year.

Disney has a range of products and services based on its vast stable of entertainment content. In addition to its movies and streaming programming, the company has theme parks and sells a host of travel experiences, from cruises to private-jet trips, as well as clothing and toys.

Mr. Chapek in May highlighted Disney’s “unique synergy machine, or franchise flywheel” on a call with Wall Street analysts, saying the company was different from competitors because it could reach people in many different ways.

Membership programs have gained popularity among retailers from Amazon.com Inc. to Walmart Inc. to Starbucks Corp. because they help companies better understand customers’ purchasing habits, while offering discounts or perks that encourage them to remain loyal.

Streaming video services can be sweeteners in those programs. Walmart said this month it will add free Paramount+ to its $98-a-year Walmart+ membership program and Amazon offers Prime Video through its program.

Competition in streaming video has intensified and all the major players are exploring various avenues to boost growth, from selling ads to raising prices to new distribution partnerships.

In the three-month period ended July 2, Disney+ gained 14.4 million new subscribers, bringing its total to 152.1 million. But the company brought down its forecast, saying it expected to have 215 million to 245 million subscribers by September 2024, partially due to losing the right to air popular Indian cricket competitions.

A membership program could help Disney learn more about its customers’ behavior by collecting data about which shows they watched, trips they took and merchandise they purchased. Ultimately, Disney’s goal is to harness that data to make recommendations based on customers’ preferences, some of the people said.

For example, a fan of Star Wars rides at its theme park would get recommended related programming on Disney+. That cross-company effort, which is ongoing, involves top leaders including Mike White, who leads Disney’s metaverse strategy.

In exploring the membership program, Disney has studied Amazon’s program as well as Apple One, which bundles cloud storage, AppleTV+ and Apple Arcade, among other services, for a starting price of $14.95 a month, some of the people familiar with the discussions said.

Disney has discussed adding perks to the membership program from third parties, such as discounts to tickets for Disney shows on Broadway, said one of the people familiar with the discussions.

I copy pasta'd the whole article because it's WSJ and the paywall is real. So they want to create a Prime like membership so they can create user profiles. Cool. Yikes.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-exp ... 1661978329

[nocera]

I actually don't think that's a half bad idea. Right now if you subscribe to Disney+, you get 25% off at Disney resorts. I assume this new Prime-like program would offer something similar, along with other perks. It's obviously a money maker but it's one that might actually be beneficial to people. If they did something like allow shipping of park-exclusive merch, so many people would jump on that.