Originally Posted By Admin This topic is for Discussion of: <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/Blogs/FanBoy/View-135.asp" target="_blank">10/2/07 We've Only Just Begun to Dream</a>
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Just one question.. why was not Rebekah and Doobie at EPCOT yesterday? ...and Doobie, if you are reading this... drop me an email.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Well, they could have sent Leemac ... we'd have loved to have seen him upfront at the GeekFest!
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Thankfully I was many many thousands of miles away from Epcot on Monday. And I am thankful for that.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Oh, one more thing Lee... you missed out on a rather cool commemorative 25th anniversary wrist watch. Or maybe you sent a secret pal to the party to get it for you?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^A very quick response! And you missed a very small scale presentation to make the fans/cast happy, but Meg couldn't be bothered to show up. It was a very weird day ... not very crowded and all over were signs of the REAL EPCOT Center, from the retro merchandise (really not much) and old (wonderful) soundtrack playing ... and a copy of the opening day guidemap (but not in original wheel form). It seemed like it was all about stuff that was gone instead of being a push for the next 25 years. No hint of a vision from TWDC. Best part was Marty's seminars with the fans ... but again, it just reminded me of how great EC was and how so much has been taken away. Oh well, at least the park looks in good shape ... and SSE is back. That's a start. But I do hope the new Canada movie isn't a sign of what we can hope to see in the future.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Did anyone out there get to see Dave Smith's presentation? He did it for the NFFC Convention in July. There was some great early film footage.
Originally Posted By leemac <<^^A very quick response! And you missed a very small scale presentation to make the fans/cast happy, but Meg couldn't be bothered to show up.>> Glad it made the fans/cast happy. Wasn't convinced of the need to do anything really - but then I'm not particularly driven by anniversaries. There wasn't anything to push (except all of the minor WS changes) and for WDW I don't see the need or reason to market just one park's anniversary. It won't happen with DAK's 10th next year either. WDW is the Vacation Kingdom and people aren't likely to change their plans just for a few changes at one park. I know most people don't like the execution of the YOMD but ultimately getting the entire resort involved does make sense. I wasn't convinced by the 100 Years of Magic originally (and only really liked the DAK parade) but it does make a lot of sense commercially.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Gotta save your pound$ for your beloved TDL celebration come April.>> Not sure "beloved" and "TDL" belong in the same sentence when talking about me. I'll be happy to be there providing the weather is fine (which is a rarity for April 15 in my experience). I'll be there more to support Steven's new parade - which kicks butt.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Best part was Marty's seminars with the fans ... but again, it just reminded me of how great EC was and how so much has been taken away.>> And it was a nice touch - especially for a resort that locals always complain doesn't do anything for them. Marty has given that Epcot talk a lot recently as part of his Imagineering Ambassador role (his pillars seminar is very popular indeed) and although there isn't really any new material in it (all of the images have been used before - it was put together very last minute) I'm glad if people enjoyed it. I have a lot of time for Marty and he deserves the recognition with John Hench for creating a truly wonderful theme park.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^Well, while I agree in general that all anniveraries shouldn't be a big deal, I very much disagree about EPCOT Center's 25th. It should have been huge and instead was just a huge missed opportunity. I'll repeat what I've said in another thread. If Disney Marketing/Michael Mendenhall/Jay Rasulo had been smart (a big if) they would have tied EPCOT's 25th right into the huge national YoaMD ... it would have been easy, it would haven't of been very costly, it would have made the fans happy (because they could have played off nostalgia like DL did) ... but instead they keep pushing YoaMD ... not because it is driving attendance but because they simply have run out of ideas. That's why you replace the people making the decisions ... oh wait, Mendenhall already jumped ship ... I wonder when Jay will suddenly either change positions with the company or just find another 'opportunity.'
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ I think we will have to agree to disagree there - I don't ever see an Epcot 25th having commerciality. The most telling comment from your post for me is: "it would have made the fans happy" Disney are smart enough to realize that the fans will always keep coming - it is the irregular visitor and the new guests that should be the target. Love it or hate it - YOMD seems to have had an impact on the numbers. Not the promotional giveaways but aligning your vacation experience to something as inspirational and aspiring as fulfilling your dreams - that is the true genius of that campaign. You can be cynical about it and talk about overnight stays in the Castle etc. but it is the little things that make a difference - a little girl being given the opportunity to meet Cinderella in her own replica dress etc. That is the real emotional litmus test of the YOMD.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I think we will have to agree to disagree there - I don't ever see an Epcot 25th having commerciality.>> Well, it is easy to say that now ... we'll never know. But DL's 50th was much more about the past than new things ... and was huge. And on a miniscule scale, that's what EPCOT Center's one day deal was ... Anyway, how's Hawaii?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<YOMD seems to have had an impact on the numbers.>> Not really. But as a numbers guy, you should know you can skew them to say whatever tale you want to tell. What's had the most impact on WDW's numbers are the return of the international guests in levels not seen since 2000 ... Hell, WDW is practically an all UK crowd right now ... you'd fit right in! <<Not the promotional giveaways but aligning your vacation experience to something as inspirational and aspiring as fulfilling your dreams - that is the true genius of that campaign.>> Well, the true genius of the campaign just left the company to join HP. You gotta wonder why. <<You can be cynical about it and talk about overnight stays in the Castle etc. but it is the little things that make a difference - a little girl being given the opportunity to meet Cinderella in her own replica dress etc. That is the real emotional litmus test of the YOMD.>> With all due respect Lee, that sounds like a press release. You don't need to spend millions on a campaign like YoaMD to see a kid dressed as a princess meet her namesake. It's been happening for years. Again, I'd like to see Disney return to creating magic instead of shoving 'Disney magic!' down my throat.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Well, it is easy to say that now ... we'll never know. But DL's 50th was much more about the past than new things ... and was huge. And on a miniscule scale, that's what EPCOT Center's one day deal was ... Anyway, how's Hawaii?>> There was a nostalgic emotional tug for DL's 50th and with a park that is driven by the Greater LA area it was the right choice. WDW tried a similar approach for the 25th of WDW (albeit it was really only the MK) and that worked to a degree. I just don't think the vast majority of guests would have the same tug for Epcot (and appreciate that this is coming from a Epcot fan). You would also have had mixed marketing messages which is never good. I'm glad they did something for the fanbase but considering how light the attendance was (despite the online campaigning) they seem to have made the right choice. I'm not sure what they could have done differently. No comment on the last question.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Well, the true genius of the campaign just left the company to join HP. You gotta wonder why.>> It was Michael's choice entirely. It was an opportunity he couldn't realistically refuse and a huge step-up for him. I wish him well as he is a talented guy. Personally I was shocked as he lived and breathed the parks. He genuinely loved the product and has ever since he helped opened DLP. It is a big loss in my mind. He was able to create stuff out of nothing.
Originally Posted By leemac <<<<You can be cynical about it and talk about overnight stays in the Castle etc. but it is the little things that make a difference - a little girl being given the opportunity to meet Cinderella in her own replica dress etc. That is the real emotional litmus test of the YOMD.>> With all due respect Lee, that sounds like a press release. You don't need to spend millions on a campaign like YoaMD to see a kid dressed as a princess meet her namesake. It's been happening for years.>> I know that - but the vast majority of guests don't or it doesn't cross their mind. The sheer genius of YOMD campaign is that it (potentially) personalizes the experience for every guest. Honestly I was a cynical as anyone about the whole concept but having seen it in action for the past year I'm totally convinced. It was all about empowerment of the guest and to a large degree it has done that. It showed that the parks are more than just rides and shows. You don't need to spend millions on a campaign but you do to communicate with guests. You need to give them a reason to visit - YOMD is really the first out-of-the-ballpark success not built on an anniversary. That is the clever concept. I'm totally won over. It isn't about free nights or Dream FastPasses. It is about giving people the opportunity to create their own personalized experiences.
