WDW Social 'Media' and Conspiracy

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

>>>^someone there is...or Disney just sends him pics/info directly<<<

Yeah, someone records the vids and such. Probably sends them to the media events, too.

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

I wonder who all is reading this thread.

I have a feeling it would be interesting reading the guest book.

 

Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt

I only read the last post

 

Originally Posted By Scutr

It helps put me to sleep at night.




j/k

Actually I find it kind of interesting.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<Actually I find it kind of interesting.>>

Good ... glad to hear it ... so ...

OK, since it's a holiday weekend and all, I'd like to tell y'all a story.

A story all about a man named Disney ...

OK, it's not 'that' Disney so I won't bother. I will tell you that a family with the surname Disney was sued by TWDC many years ago now because they had incorporated THEIR family name, Disney, into the name of their business.

The business had nothing to do with any line of business TWDC was/is in, yet both in the lower court and on appeal the family lost. That's right, the Disney family was found to not be legally allowed to use their own name. That's how strong the Disney brand was. Iconic and forever associated with one corporate body, TWDC and one MAGICal Mouse filled with endless pixie dust.

Sure, we all know the brand has been diminished, even if some don't want to admit it because they were able to snag a Memorial Day dinner at 'Ohana. We all also have long heard stories about the daycare centers Disney will routinely go after. Is there any connection to the marginalization of Disney as a brand, its lowered value, this Walmarted World of Disney we now experience and the WDW Co's Social Media Department's playing fast and loose with the vaunted name and all that goes with it?

For anyone who may question whether this is a serious matter for their own home-grown Disney business or for Burbank, just search this forum and others. You may want to even wander over to some legal forums where just as the economy was starting to swirl around the bowl in 2007-2008, you see all sorts of folks asking how they can steal Disney's name, association and IP/copyrights without hearing from Legal.

There was a thread right here back in 2007 on this very matter. There are questions by webmasters on using the 'Walt' font, the Disney look, the characters, etc. Really, you put 'Disney' or 'EPCOT' or 'Tinker Bell" in your domain name and you aren't treading on TWDC's property? You aren't trying to take TWDC's audience? You aren't acting as an imposter of sorts?

And the use of Disney's very material for individual commercial gain ... You don't know this is wrong? This is illegal? A crime? No, not making copies of your home movies (like what Martin does) or pictures for others. Making DVDs, broadcasting live from the Parks and Resorts and 'generally' using TWDC's proprietary content for your commercial/personal enrichment. To make money off the Mouse ... yeah, that's not wrong.

Yeah, right. Sell that one. Anyhow, this is supposed to be a holiday weekend, not a work-filled one. But, since it was unexpected and is enriching in the legal way, it's all good in the end.

 

Originally Posted By skinnerbox

<<Is there any connection to the marginalization of Disney as a brand, its lowered value, this Walmarted World of Disney we now experience and the WDW Co's Social Media Department's playing fast and loose with the vaunted name and all that goes with it?>>

Personally, I believe there is. I believe that the left coast does not know what the right coast is doing, and those on the right coast in Social Media are taking full advantage of that fact, in order to prop up their department and subsequently, their careers, by painting these webmasters, bloggers, and tour guides as crucial to Disney's business when in fact, they're not. These non-Disney media types are mostly preaching to the choir. And that choir will still visit WDW on vacation, with or without the cheerleader media input.

Disney has already snagged the choir through D23 and other ventures. Why do they need the non-Disney media types as well? I don't believe they do. The Social Media department is Disney pork on steroids. Time to trim the fat and some of the meat as well.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

>> Imagine if I were still posting on that site and I mentioned the concept of adding an Adventurer's Club type dining concept to the MK is being talked about? <<

<<It won't work there.>>

Actually, in the way it is being considered, it will.

<<I even bet Leewhodesperatelymissestheacandislovedbyalldisneyfanboysandfangirlsalike would say the same thing.>>

Lee will say anything. He is a paid whore of a MAGICal site oth... oops, let's just say it's the fanbois who leave puddles after he posts!

<<The AC was meant strictly to be adult entertainment, in a nightclub like setting. This would be like ordering a Bloody Mary, and being served Tomato juice.>>

You need tomato juice to make a good Bloody Mary. And recall that AC fanbois were afraid to drink (much like many of them were/are afraid of girls!) alcohol.

<<Or was this just a parable.>>

I don't place anything into words without a reason.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<Imagine if I were still posting on that site and I mentioned the concept of adding an Adventurer's Club type dining concept to the MK is being talked about? >>

<<Wait...what?>>

You read that, right?

<<*Wait patiently for Spirit to say more*>>

I have a lot more to say, but wish to focus on the original point of the thread since it IS the one getting looked at by all sorts of important eyes.

And those eyes don't really care about the AC (but that doesn't mean what I wrote is any less true!) ... they do care about what's been going down in O-Town and how many folks at TDO and in Celebration Place have been going rogue in order to justify their own existence to corporate ... and the result is a whorefest of typical ECV-rider proportion.

 

Originally Posted By Lee hisownself

>>Lee will say anything. He is a paid whore of a MAGICal site oth...<<

How dare you, sir!
I receive no compensation whatsoever for my (highly valued) presence at any site!

Thus, you have incorrectly labled (or libeled)me as a whore. Clearly I would be more correctly described as some sort of unpaid harlot.

Still waiting patiently to be "credentialed"...

 

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

>>>Thus, you have incorrectly labled (or libeled)me as a whore. Clearly I would be more correctly described as some sort of unpaid harlot.<<<

How does Mrs. Lee feel about this?

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

"I have to wonder what Tom Staggs thinks ... and what Bob Iger would if he sat through one."

<<They would probably have a hard time keeping down their expensive, company-bought lunch!

My understanding from knowing a couple of people who work/worked in the company is that if you ACTIVLEY LIKE the product, you are considered a little "off".>>

Oh, Bob, I am sooooo glad you brought this point up. It's something I have wanted to write for a long time and somehow either forgot or the context isn't right etc.

But I'll go one further ... or more than one.

For as long as I can recall, and I have been around Disney execs as a fanboi since the 80s and as a media professional since the early 90s, I have seen/heard/witnessed a flat out contempt for the product and consumers of it (be it the parks, films or consumer products) by a great majority of management, publicity hacks and execs.

I recall the look of shock and a 'you actually pay (to get into the parks)?!?' when I told a publicist in the 90s that I had an AP and had had one since EPCOT opened.

I've sat and heard P&R execs mock guests and act as if they are so above the company's creative product.

I see that 'tude today more than ever. If someone is passionate about their job and the company (and I'm not talking about being a 24/7 Disney Lifetstyle wackjob either), then they are often openly mocked and, in some cases, either abused or suffer attempts to force them out of the company.

As amazing as it sounds, Disney doesn't want people who really love the company and the heritage working for it. They want people who can smile and say 'have a MAGICal day' when they mean it in the 'other' way and recite company talking points when say you have the audacity to complain about the absurdity of buying a taco salad that comes with no salad.

If you want to get anywhere in the company, then you can't be passionate about the company or you have to be in the closet about it.

I think this speaks volumes about the Walmarted World of Disney (can I trademark this since it steals from both Disney and Walmart? ).

<<I knew one person who worked at DL when Splash was being built and he would stay back after work and talk with builders and imagineers at the site and his manager and fellow staff started gossiping behind his back and basically started a campaign to get him fired. He made the mistake of having too much passion and being too "into" the company and this threatened other CMs.

You see, you have to have that sleezy career mentality where you say all the right corporate-speak buzz words and schmooze the right a******s but not appear TOO passionate about the actual product. It's a thin line to walk and he couldn't do it to the satisfaction of the people above and around him.>>

I have seen this as recently as this year with friends in front-line cast positions. It is so stupid to be beyond belief, but Disney doesn't just want to pay people $8 an hour. But they want to chase away the best people who are somehow willing to put up with that unliving wage.

They want cripples (no offense to anyone with a disability), not climbers.

<<The second person I know is somebody quite highly placed in the company. His passion for Disney is EXTREMELY evident, especially in his bedroom. Let's just say Sleeping Beauty wakes every morning in that exquisitely designed boudoir! He was marginalized for years because of, what some people believed was his over the top evident love for Disney. He has been the subject of workplace shunning and bullying and at least one high profile hate campaign. He has only survived and thrived because of his sheer talent and seniority. Both experiences(lowly CM and highly placed)show that to actually LOVE the Disney Company(as many of us here do)and to show evidence of that passion causes unrest and discomfort amongst the other ladder-climbing, backstabbing drones. It shows up their own transient, "what's in it for ME?!?" mentality.>>

Sounds very much like someone I know

Actually, it sounds like multiple people really ... Disney has a cancer and its been spreading since the consultants and MBAs came aboard in the 90s. Their current business model has left the company ripe for brand degradation and that has happened.

they are well into their second decade of this ... is their anything more generic than Disney Parks: Where Dreams Come True and MAGIC Lives and You Can Have a MAGICal Gathering and Celebrate The MAGIC, The Memories and YOU?!?!

Disney has become so ordinary ... so pedestrian.

What once was a powerhouse prestige brand across the globe is now shorthand for Generic American-style Children's Entertainment.

Which may partially 'splain why the WDW Social Media Department feels it really needs to kiss up to the 'Mommies' out there with blogs ... or the folks who will take 786 photos of meet-greet-and-gropes that Mommies seem to love.

But again, great point Bob!

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

>> If you want to get anywhere in the company, then you can't be passionate about the company or you have to be in the closet about it. <<

How...ironic!

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<If there is something to be said for Laughing Place it's that on any other Disney forum this thread would have been closed a hundred posts ago for not being another safe hug box.>>

I love nothing more than giving Spirited hugs. But sometimes a good spanking is what's in order.

The fact that REAL ADULT INTELLECTUAL discussions/debates are had here is truly something that Doobie and the gang should take great pride in.

I'm sure it would be a whole lot easier to have a site where you say ... have 36 pages of posts on how Disney is gonna force UNI to hand over Spidey and Hulk, damn the facts to the opposite ... or 19 pages on how Mermaid's FLA showbuilding is gonna be so much prettier than Anaheim's ... or 20 pages on a water ride taking over TSI (oh, not gonna happen but ....)

LP.com can be inane at times. Hey, we're a fan site, what do you expect?

But we have a community here where we can all talk about real issues of substance in Disney's world and themed entertainment and media without posts and threads disappearing in the dead of night ... and, except for the occassional troll, we can argue and fight and still like and respect each other in the morning.

But I also think the proof is in the pudding, as they say (and why do they say that? and I don't really like pudding ... much rather have a peach-blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream melting on top ... oh wait, I just did!)

I don't think anyone in Burbank is ever going to see one post about how TWDC will be forcing UNI to give them back 'their' characters ... I don't know how many times LP threads/subjects get brought up in different areas of the company. Some that I'm not even involved in!

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

>> What once was a powerhouse prestige brand across the globe is now shorthand for Generic American-style Children's Entertainment. <<

Disney's become the Playskool of the theme park industry.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

>>Not 100%, but it would make sense, seeing how he gets what he gets.<<

<<I don't think so. To my knowledge, Magic doesn't send representatives to events and such. I guess they aren't "credentialed".>>

That was always my assumption, although I see no way Disney would ever refuse to credential Steve or anyone from that site (like Frank from New Mexico) if they asked to be included. The site isn't much more than discussion boards, but they do get a lot of traffic, especially in the under-25 demos.

<<Hmmm...I do kind of like that word...I wonder if Disney would give me some "credentials"...>>

What can you offer them? You wanna host a podcast together weekly from WDW? you could play my (kinda) straight man!

>>*Wait patiently for Spirit to say more*<<
>>We took the bait: hook, line, and sinker<<

<<Bah....he's bluffing. He wouldn't sit on gold like that without telling me. The penalty would be severe.>>

If you weren't hiding in the backwoods of Tennessee, eating roasted possum with chitlins and pigeon biscuits, while the wife was passing out moonshine mai tais, then you might have read something in your email.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<Bah....he's bluffing.>>

<<"So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?">>

Oh gawd ... George Lucas just stole Skinner's soul!!!


<<The penalty would be severe.>>

<<Not as severe as not telling me.

8^D>>

Consider yourself told!

 

Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer

No, Playskool probably has better quality. LOL

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<I wonder who all is reading this thread.>>

Me too ... I do know some of the spirits.
I have a feeling some were hoping I accidentally electrocuted myself over the weekend ... sorry, still here.

<<I have a feeling it would be interesting reading the guest book.>>

Damn straight.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<Disney has already snagged the choir through D23 and other ventures. Why do they need the non-Disney media types as well? I don't believe they do. The Social Media department is Disney pork on steroids. Time to trim the fat and some of the meat as well.>>

I think the above is what has so many, so concerned.

I can't add anything, but I did want to repeat it because the longer it goes ...

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

>>Lee will say anything. He is a paid whore of a MAGICal site oth...<<

<<How dare you, sir!>>

Oh, you know me, I dare and then some!

<<I receive no compensation whatsoever for my (highly valued) presence at any site!>>

I tend to think you are overvalued. Much like say a fanboi trying to sell a 1985 EPCOT Center Guidebook on e-Bay for $9.99.

<<Thus, you have incorrectly labled (or libeled)me as a whore. Clearly I would be more correctly described as some sort of unpaid harlot.>>

Unpaid?!?!? Why even bother?!?!?

That's the whole point of the thread.

<<Still waiting patiently to be "credentialed"...>>

I have a few HUGE plastic bins in my garage filled with all sorts of credentials ... would you like me to give you one?