Did the Expo Make D23 Worth It?

No. Does that answer your question?

I’ve already done a few posts on D23 including a post on how it could be fixed and turned into a cash cow. The recent expo in Anaheim did little to change my opinion on D23. When I saw what went down there I realized that the expo really had little to do with D23 and more to do with Disney marketing. The expo was simply a Disney expo. I’d have a hard time really calling it a fan meet (which a D23 expo should have been). If you want to do a fan club expo there is one simple rule. The fans have to be the focus. That means the fans run it, the do presentations, and so on. When a corporation plans and executes everything, it’s not a fan meet.

Lets forget about what the expo was for a minute. How many people had the ability to make it to Anaheim California to attend the expo? I know that was out of the question for me. I’m guessing a majority of the Disney fans east of the Mississippi were in the same boat. So what does that leave me? A discount at Disney on Broadway is something. Only problem is I’m not going to drive five hours each way to go see a play. If it his Boston I might consider it.

Is there anything else? Yes! Don’t forge the magazine! Ok I might enjoy that but I won’t enjoy paying $75 for a magazine subscription.

How about the special parties in Disney World for D23 members? Let me get this straight, to maximize the benefit of my membership I should plan a trip to Disney World based on the dates D23 members get the free stuff. In other words I paid $75 to get into a free party that is going to cost at least $2,000 to attend.

I could go over the rest of the benefits but it doesn’t get any better. The final head scratcher is the fact that the D23 expo let anyone in who was willing to pay for a ticket. You didn’t even need to be a member of D23.

Disney Accidents

Some people have criticized Disney recently because of the deaths of three cast members. I normally don’t take Disney’s side on most subjects. I often poke fun at them for not thinking things through or just being stupid. This is one area where I will defend them.

1 – The Monorail Accident: How long has the Monorail been in operation? How many people have ridden the Monorail over that period of time? I’m just going to guess at the number but I’d say it’s at least 500 million. So that means for every 500 million people who ride the Monorail, one person dies. There is nothing wrong with your safety policies if you have the ratio on mass transit. So what happened? It looks like it was gross human error. The safety procedures were not followed. What could Disney have done about that?

2 – The Jack Sparrow Accident: First let me say that I’ve seen this show. This is not an extreme show. It’s just a nice funny show. What can you do to prevent someone from slipping? He was on tarmac. The shoes the actors wear are not crazy. Accidents happen. What are the odds someone is going to slip and strike their head so hard they break a vertebra? It was a fluke accident.

3 – The Indiana Jones Accident: During a rehearsal a cast member blotches a roll and breaks his neck. This one is beyond a fluke. Take into consideration that he was a stunt man in a stunt show. Also remember he was doing a minor stunt that I did all the time when I was a kid. He was just doing a rolling summersault. He wasn’t jumping off a building or anything wild. How can you blame Disney for that? If anything he was doing something that promotes safety. He was practicing.

In the past Disney has made some big mistakes and they have had some loose safety policies that have led to injury and death. In all cases they made changes to try and prevent any future accidents.

Disney has to be one of the safest parks in the world. I’ve never felt unsafe while in a Disney Park or resort. If you want to feel like you are in danger, go check out your local fair. The fairs are starting up in New England this time of year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see duct tape holding some of those rides together. It is the only place you can go and have the merry go round be considered a thrill ride because you don’t know if it’s going to give way seriously injury you.

If you want to criticize Disney do it where they deserve it. Need some ideas? How about: D23, ticket prices, hotel prices, food prices, cut backs, layoffs, poor quality merchandise, ride closures, shameless self promotion, and stuffing Stich down our throats.

How to Fix D23

A lot of people went nuts when D23 was announced. I can understand why. I already threw my two cents out there about why I wasn’t thrilled about D23.

The fact is until Disney pulls the plug on it, D23 is going to be in our faces.

So, how can you make it more palatable to the average online Disney fan? It’s not that hard. With a few tweaks D23 could be a huge cash cow:

Bronze Membership – Create a base membership that anyone can join by providing a little information. By joining you would get access to the website, merchandise, and get your base membership certificate.

Silver Membership – For the $75 fee you get the magazine, a D23 tee shirt, and a D23 lapel pin.

Gold Membership – For an additional fee you get access all of the above plus access to exclusive member functions and a 10% discount at all retail locations.

Platinum Membership – For another hike in fee you get all of the above plus access to a private club inside the Magic Kingdom and Disney Land and free admission to the party of your choice i.e. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

To Infinity and Beyond Membership – This is a life long membership to D23. It includes all of the above plus a high quality membership plaque and an animation cell from a Disney movie.

I think this would have been a much better approach. It would have allowed everyone to join. Even the people who have lost their jobs, their homes, and life has really kicked them in the shins would be able to be a member. I also think this would have been much more profitable. Even the people joining at the base level would be profitable. You know that a number of them are going to buy some merchandise. One last thing Disney could do as a piece offering and to really foster a community spirit would be to have a links page where Disney could provide access to community websites. I know that would never happen because some of those sites offer criticism as times but I think Disney is a big boy and can take it.