The Offical D23 Thread

[Disneyhead]

I love Disney Corporat Culture stuff. I just wish Iger did. I NEVER thought I would say this, but I miss Eisner.

Now I have to go wash my mouth out with soap.

 

[Beachgurl]

This whole D23 thing is really pissing me off. Disney just did this in an attempt to get the diehards to shut up about only catering to casual guests. I don't care how fancy-schmancy the magazine looks I'm not paying $75 to get 4 issues. I feel like that's really the only thing you're paying for to be in this club. Membership card and certificate? Please. I can MAKE that. As for the discounts, I already have access to a couple different types of discounts. Why would I pay for more of the same?

The ONLY thing about it that interests me is the Expo. We're already pointed out that you can go to that without being a member of the club though. But its like, if you can afford to fly out to California for that then it shouldn't be a problem to pay for a full price ticket to the Expo. :shrug:

 

[DisneyFanKevin]

I also think that the whole thing is way ridiculous. Charging the same amount as a 1-day, 1-park ticket gives you basically squat? I don't think I'll give them my $75 unless they offer something better. And $849 for a pen? A PEN? Yeah. That's just wrong.

 

[Brian G.]

I also think that the whole thing is way ridiculous. Charging the same amount as a 1-day, 1-park ticket gives you basically squat? I don't think I'll give them my $75 unless they offer something better. And $849 for a pen? A PEN? Yeah. That's just wrong.

Agreed. Its like "Hey pay us $75, and you can pay us again for this pen."

 

[peaches magee]

That pen price is just ridiculous!
I like the Disney & Oswald figurine, but a pen for almost a grand!!??

 

[Beachgurl]

I just read somewhere that the discount for D23 members to the Expo is $6.00 off.

WHOA BUDDY.

 

[peaches magee]

I just read somewhere that the discount for D23 members to the Expo is $6.00 off.

WHOA BUDDY.

Anyone even know the price of admission to said Expo?

 

[Beachgurl]

Anyone even know the price of admission to said Expo?

General Admission:
Adult 1-day $37
Child 1-day $27
Child 4-day $81 (4th day free)

D23 Member Admission (D23 members may purchase up to four discounted tickets per membership):
Adult 1-day $30
Adult 4-day $90 (4th day free)
Child 1-day $22
Child 4-day $66 (4th day free)

 

[peaches magee]

Not as bad as I thought actually.

 

[disneyfan168]

Am i the only one who bought the pen? I would pay to see the idiot how paid 850 dollars for a freakin pen.

 

[peaches magee]

Read another good article on this matter... sooo true.
When I first saw "Online Community" I thought it was gonna be Disney's very own fan forum site. But no, of course not... too free. :shrug:

That's Just Dumb, Disney
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz

I'm a huge fan of all things Disney, but I find myself shaking my head at the family entertainment giant's launch of D23 yesterday.

Billed as the "first official community of Disney fans," D23 will offer members a quarterly publication, a Disney collectable gift, and discounts on special events, including the D23 Expo coming to Anaheim this September. One of the perks -- access to the D23 site, which features daily news and merchandise offers -- is available to non-members.

The catch, of course, is that the annual membership is priced at an economically insensitive $74.99. Unless that includes massive Disney Store and in-park deals, even die-hard, pin-trading Disney junkies are likely to balk at shelling out such a big a chunk of change for a "suitable for framing" certificate, a membership card, a tchotchke, and a glossy newsletter.

A bibbity bobbity blooper
Disney fans are so passionate about the company that they've already created free, lively online outlets such as Disboards, Mouse Planet, and AllEars.net. Even on Facebook, nearly 1.7 million fans congregate on the Disney fan page.

D23 should have probably been launched as an ambitious -- and free -- social networking site for Disneyphiles. That would have been a marketer's dream audience. Since it seems D23 members will be hit with a lot of opportunities to buy Disney merchandise, why not aim at as large an audience as possible? Instead, in this hard-knocks economy, Disney is asking folks to pay to receive glorified marketing material. Fat chance.

When CEO Bob Iger proposed a DVD rental club with an online streaming component earlier this month, the plan seemed plausible enough, given the premium competition in video services. But what's the competition for the $75 that Disney wants from D23 members?

Amazon.com charges $79 for Prime, giving members a year's worth of free two-day shipping on all Amazon-stocked merchandise.

Microsoft's Xbox Live offers a free Silver subscription, but diehard gamers pay $50 for a year of Gold, offering a year's worth of interactive gaming and streaming media goodies.

Netflix charges $8.99 a month -- or $107.88 a year -- for its cheapest DVD rental program, which offers unlimited online streaming.

Sirius XM Radio offers a family-filtered XM satellite radio subscription for just $11.99 a month, or $143.88 a year.

Six Flags will set you back just $59.99 for an annual pass, good at all of the chain's amusement parks.

Disney won't concede any of this, naturally. It would likely argue that its diehard fans will have no problem paying up for exclusive membership.

I think otherwise. By this time next year, I'd be shocked if the club is around in its present form. It'll be either dramatically enhanced to give Disney fanatics more bang for their Goofy bucks, or it will morph into either a much cheaper -- if not free -- program.

Fool.com (The Motley Fool)

 

[Brian G.]

Hey, they forgot Orlando United!

Great read though. Seems a majority of people aren't happy with D23.

 

[peaches magee]

Hey, they forgot Orlando United!

Great read though. Seems a majority of people aren't happy with D23.

I was thinking the same thing, where is OU? hehe
Well the die-hards that cant see paying that much for some love think so for sure.

 

[Sledge]

Where the video/computer game display used to be...

 

[WvuGrrrl]

Wow. Really? In One Man's Dream? They really are putting away the pretenses and just coming out with Walt's true vision - to fleece his fans. Way to go. :happy: mad

 

[kirby_is_kyaan]

I know, that's going a bit far. I know that with D23 they seem to be focusing on the past, but advertising like that.... not really liking it. If they'll advetise D23, do what is done in the parks with the Vacation Club-it's easy to ignore and pass by if you want, and it even fits with the theme of the park area, like this little bit of scenery on Sunset Bouleveard:

 

[YETI PINTRADER]

At least DVC is not getting put in a museum about Walt. Also the people at the DVC kiosk’s always have good pins to trade. :look:

 

[Brian G.]

Just wondering if anyone has joined the club?

 

[Brian G.]

D23 now offers tiered membership levels.

D23, which celebrates its first anniversary in March, has grown to encompass tens of thousands of members from more than 30 countries around the world. To mark the occasion, the only official Disney fan community introduced two tiers of membership, Gold and Silver, for the 2010 calendar year.

"D23 Members are the most passionate, excited — and exciting — Disney fans in the world, and D23 wants to constantly change, grow and expand to meet their needs," said Steven Clark, head of D23.

D23 Members in both the new Gold and Silver tiers will receive a membership card; a suitable-for-framing member certificate (for new members); opportunities to attend special D23 Member events throughout the year; access to exclusive, limited-edition merchandise and collectibles; and 2010 gift of "Disney Undiscovered: A 23-Month Calendar of Disney's Unrealized Masterpieces."

"Disney Undiscovered" presents rare and never-before seen images from Disney theme-park, live-action and animation projects that were not completed, many of which have achieved legendary status among Disney fans. The calendar features art from never-built project like the Mineral King ski resort and Walt Disney's St. Louis Project, theme park lands such as Discovery Bay at Disneyland and the Switzerland pavilion at Epcot, and unproduced films, including a watercolor from the original Little Mermaid that Walt had in early preproduction in the late 1930s.

In addition to all of these benefits of D23 Membership, Gold members will receive a one-year subscription to Disney twenty-three, a stunning, oversized collectible quarterly publication that brings new perspective and insight into Disney's past, present and future.

New in 2010, D23 Members will enjoy new discounts and offers. Members who show their valid D23 Membership card (with a photo ID) will receive discounts at many locations in the Downtown Disney® District at Disneyland and at ESPN Zone locations across the country.

Gold membership is $74.99 a year, and Silver membership is $34.99 a year.

 

[rewster]

I wonder how come the D23 membership offers discounts at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, but nothing here in Orlando?

The "Disney Undiscovered" does sound really interesting...... I would consider a membership, but I'm not really feeling like there's much benefit to it. :shrug: