The Disney Twitterverse

For many years Disney fans on Spaceship Earth have gathered on the Internet. Fans most commonly gather at Disney vacation planning sites and associated message boards. In 2004, I ventured onto my first discussion board at at site called INTERCOT. Billed as the "Internet Community of Tomorrow", fans discuss the Disney theme parks, restaurants, resorts and other topics. I stayed only on INTERCOT until about a year ago; I was searching Google for Disney photography tips since I had just purchased a new digital SLR camera. In my search I came across the DISBoards and its associated planning site wdwinfo.com, better known as The DIS. Searching for photography information opened my eyes to a whole new world of Disney fandom. INTERCOT doesn't allow any pictures or external links on their forums, so DISBoards was a Disney message board that looked more like forums for other topics I enjoy. At first I stayed in the Photography Board since it was the whole reason for being on DISBoards, but soon I was all over the entire forum. From here, I learned of the large Disney photography community on Flickr and The Magic in Pixels (TMiP). I also started listening to some podcasts including The DIS Unplugged and Lou Mongello's WDW Radio.

Leading up to last year's trip to Walt Disney World, I started dabbling in Twitter. For a while, I didn't quite get it. Why do I want to send 140 character messages to people? What good is this? Why should I use this instead of Facebook? The realization didn't come for a while, even after I set up scottinwdw originally for the purposes of live-tweeting from Disney World (the easiest way to see these early tweets is to read my trip report on DISBoards because I put them all into my report and Twitter doesn't make it easy to go back and read them).

I started noticing my Twitter followers as well as the people I follow came weren't all from the same discussion board. The group that started appearing on Twitter was more diverse than any one forum. Quick opinions from people on a hot topic as the news came out. Links to all sorts of websites, blogs and podcasts could be found. Disney fans who will talk about anything, including technology, the latest Disney home video release, or Disney Parks confessions (search #confessfriday on Twitter to read some of those). Twitter, it turns out, is poised to be the great Disney fan uniter that brings the fans out of the message board "silos" and onto one huge network.

Has The Walt Disney Company noticed? Among others, @DisneyParks, @WaltDisneyWorld, @Disneyland, and @DisneyD23 are all official Disney Twitter accounts. Many times, these accounts link back to official blog entries with company news, information, or something just for fun. They also poll the Twitter population and sometimes re-tweet the best answers. These official Twitter accounts show that someone is listening at Disney. Whether or not the opinions sent to these Twitter accounts reach someone of influence is unknown, but it's a step in the right direction for customer relations.

A Twitter post just wouldn't be complete without mentioning a few of my favorites on Twitter. @kidanikatie's (Katie Siloac) thedvclife featured my Premier Passport article recently and has become one of my favorite blogs even though I'm not a DVC member (but I have thought about it). @zannaland (Suzannah DiMarzio) and her site Zanna Land always have interesting things to read about Disney Parks. @cosmicreid (Chris Reid) hosts Cosmic Reid's Starlight Café on @beourguestmike's (Mike Rahlmann of the Be Our Guest Podcast) Magical Mouse Radio. Even though he's only had two shows so far, it's a great thing to listen to on a Monday around lunchtime. Last but not least, @progresscityusa (Michael Crawford) can be found thanking the Phonecians on Twitter and at Progress City, USA.

The Vault: Why Does it Exist?

You've seen the commercials: "Buy (insert movie) on DVD before it goes back into the vault!" But what exactly is the Vault? Why does it exist?

The Vault has its origins from the days before home video. Originally, Disney would re-release its animated films into theaters every seven years. Even Song of the South was available in theaters every seven years until 1986. As VHS players became popular, the company started releasing these films on the seven year schedule for home video. With the switch to DVD and later Blu-Ray, the time between releases has varied, but Disney continues to use the Vault.

Once the day the movie is set to go back into the Vault passes, home video production of that movie stops and the movie soon disappears off store shelves. Disney claims the Vault keeps its movies new for each generation, but the Vault is really all about market control. The company enjoyed getting a fresh infusion of money from each of its animated films for each re-release, so they found a way to recreate this cash flow for the modern home video market. Home video format changes have assisted this process; people wanting to upgrade to DVD from VHS or now Blu-Ray from DVD will buy the new version. Disney also adds new bonus features to each release, encouraging a new purchase. As consumers age and new parents purchase movies for their children, they buy the new version of the film. The buzz surrounding a release and the limited opportunity to buy a film also encourages consumers to purchase.

The price of home video releases tends to decrease over time. By releasing a movie for a limited time, Disney takes advantage of being able to sell the film for the full price, then pulls the movie off the market. Unfortunately, consumers suffer because the only way to purchase a movie in the Vault outside of the release windows is through the secondary market. This increases the price of the film on the secondary markets such as eBay as compared to DVDs that can be purchased in stores.

The Disney Vault is certainly good for Disney, but not as good for consumers. Considering the response whenever a Vault movie is released, I don't see Disney moving away from this practice anytime in the near future.

What's your opinion of the Disney Vault? Let me know in the comments or @scottinwdw on Twitter.

Source for historical information: Disney Vault on Wikipedia

Arabian Nights are Soon Ending in Disneyland

On August 15, 2010 the long-running Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular show at Disney's California Adventure will close, seemingly for good. I had the privilege of seeing this show a few years ago, and it truly is a spectacular show. Before Animal Kingdom had its Broadway quality show, Finding Nemo - The Musical, the guests in California were watching this amazing show.

When I read the closing date, I thought of an idea: why not bring Aladdin to Walt Disney World for a run? It makes sense; the script is written, the sets created, all the costumes sewn. The show would have to be recast in Florida unless Disney offered some sort of relocation package to the California actors, but that seems doubtful. It's very similar to replicating a ride in another park: all the parts are ready, it just needs to be assembled and run. The costs to do this are fairly low, so why not?

Sounds something like a bean-counter MBA would say, right? Well I'm saying it not for the low cost, but because it's a magnificent show!

So where in Walt Disney World could Aladdin go? I propose adding it to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The California Adventure version is located in the Hollywood Backlot section of the park, and the building it resides in is the Hyperion Theater, but looks more like a soundstage with a theater sign put on it. The inside is similarly dressed up as a theater, but still feels like a converted soundstage. So it's simple; take one of the unused soundstages at Hollywood Studios and convert it into a theater for Aladdin, or cut the Backlot Tour some more and build a theater. Even though Hollywood Studios is already packed with shows, Aladdin would bring in the crowds. None of the shows in the Studios in Florida can hold a candle to Aladdin.

Disney, this makes sense and will add value to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Bring Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular to Florida!

Visit the Inaugural Disney Blog Carnival for more great Disney articles!

How to Push Blu-Ray Sales

Disney has been a supporter of the Blu-Ray format since it was first introduced. From the beginning, Disney announced its high definition format of choice would be Blu-Ray instead of the now-defunct HD-DVD.

Today, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were released on Blu-Ray for the first time. Originally, I wasn't interested because I already own both films on DVD. If I entered the UPCs from the DVDs on the Disney Movie Rewards site, I got a $10 coupon for each film on Blu-Ray. Also, inside the Blu-Ray for each film is a code (it's the normal Disney Movie Rewards code) redeemable for up to $8.50 off a ticket to see Toy Story 3 when it releases in June.

Even the promotions above weren't enough to sway me to purchase these Blu-Rays. However, on Twitter I learned Target sweetened the deal. Target decided to sell each Blu-Ray for $22.99, but with the purchase of both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Target took $10 off. Along with the $10 coupons from Disney, the math looks like this:

$22.99 each * 2 = $45.99 - $10 Target discount = $35.99 - $10 Toy Story discount coupon = $25.99 - $10 Toy Story 2 coupon = $15.99 for both Toy Story and Toy Story 2

But wait, there's more!

Since each Blu-Ray includes the mentioned code for a free movie ticket to Toy Story 3 worth $8.50, together they're worth $17. In my view, I just spent $15.99 to preorder two tickets for Toy Story 3 and got Toy Story and Toy Story 2 on Blu-Ray for free!

This is the latest and greatest in Disney Blu-Ray deals. The Princess and the Frog had a $10 coupon. In many places including Amazon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be found for $10 total when it first came out.

I expect the Blu-Ray deals to continue, especially in the current economic climate. Between Disney's discounts and stores competing for sales. I may be buying more Blu-Ray discs than I ever intended.

Are you being swayed by Disney's home video discounts? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@scottinwdw).

Epcot - Squandering Brand Identity Since 1994

In 1994, the first Disney theme park name change took place. EPCOT Center, the second Walt Disney World gate changed its name to Epcot '94. The name changed a second time in 1995 to Epcot '95. Fortunately, Disney decided to at least forego the annual change in 1996 and simply call the park Epcot. However, the change from EPCOT Center to Epcot represented a significant switch in the park's identity, especially in Future World.

When EPCOT Center opened, Future World had a cohesive vision: to look at life in the 21st century. Each monolithic pavilion had its own circular logo and examined one segment of life in the future. When Horizons opened one year after the rest of the park, it became the embodiment of Future World's theme. Horizons took the themes of all the Future World pavilions and combined them into a possible future. However, as the future began to catch up with EPCOT Center's early 1980s view, Disney and the pavilion sponsors were not as interested in updating the pavilions to adapt to the changing times.

Instead, we began to see the original EPCOT Center pavilions close down. Horizons was the first to close in 1993 after General Electric dropped its sponsorship, although it reopened while Test Track was under construction and Universe of Energy was undergoing refurbishment. CommuniCore was stripped bare and reopened as Innoventions when the name changing began in 1994. The closures, replacements, and pavilion refurbishments have continued all the way through the recent Spaceship Earth refurbishment.

While the animatronic portions of Spaceship Earth have arguably never looked better, the narration has been dumbed down. The interactive portion, seemingly a way to bring the idea of Horizons back, seems to be more of a Jetsons vision of the future than a realistic one. Thrill rides now dominate Future World East between Test Track and Mission: SPACE. The most popular attraction in Future World West is in The Land pavilion: Soarin', a Disney's California Adventure transplant, is a hang glider simulator. The educational attraction Living With the Land is much less attended. Journey Into Imagination with Figment is a shell of its former self, and the accompanying Honey I Shrunk the Audience isn't helping the pavilion.

World Showcase for the most part remains untouched except for the princesses taking over Norway for a character breakfast. Guests can still experience many different cultures throughout the World Showcase pavilions. The biggest new attraction in World Showcase is the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. The cell phones beeping are a little annoying, but it's getting kids more interested in the pavilions.

Let's imagine for a moment that Disney chose to update the Future World pavilions to coincide with the original park's mission instead of replacing and dumbing them down. Instead of making "Epcot" a meaningless word, the park is still EPCOT Center and the acronym still has meaning. The public still recognizes the park's mission of looking to humanity's future. EPCOT could be spun off into other media. Instead of the Discovery Channel, Disney could have created the EPCOT Channel. I think the content would be similar to the Discovery Channel or possibly the Science Channel. The channel then creates more interest in EPCOT Center. The new Disneynature series could be tied to EPCOT, The Land pavilion, and The Living Seas pavilion. For a company that looks for synergy and marketing strategy at every turn, I wonder why something like this has never materialized and instead "Epcot" is left to struggle on its own.

How do you feel about Epcot's current situation? Is the park today the direction you wanted? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@scottinwdw).

Premier Passport: When is it Worth $700?

Last week, Disney announced the Premier Passport, an annual pass that includes year-round admission to both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts. At $700, the pass seems to come in at a fairly reasonable price since it includes Park Hopper for both resorts, Water Parks & More for Walt Disney World, free parking for both resorts and other bonuses. Let's examine how many days you need to spend at Disney theme parks to make the Premier Passport worth your while.

Walt Disney World sells at most 10 days on a single ticket. A 10 day Magic Your Way adult ticket with Park Hopper and Water Parks & More added on costs $347.00. After 10 days, buying a second ticket increases the price dramatically. An extra two days for an adult costs another $260.00. At $607.00, 12 days of Disney World with Park Hopper and Water Parks and More approaches the Premium Annual Pass price of $619.00.

Disneyland sells at most six days on a single ticket. Excluding online discounts and other promotions, a six day Park Hopper costs $254.00. An extra two days with Park Hopping costs another $151.00, bringing the total to $405.00. The Premium Annual Passport at Disneyland costs $439.00 and includes admission for all 365 days as well as Park Hopping.

If both Premium passes are purchased separately, it costs $1,058.00 to be a Premium passholder at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. At $700.00, the Premier Passport certainly appears to be a value judging from the price of the annual passes sold separately. However, if a guest is planning to purchase the maximum number of days on a ticket at both Walt Disney World (10) and Disneyland (6) with Park Hopper and Water Parks & More (for Disney World) at a cost of $601, the guest should consider purchasing a Premier Passport instead. The Premier Passport includes parking at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, which will run $14 a day at both resorts. The parking for 10 days at Walt Disney World alone will overrun the $99 difference between buying regular tickets as opposed to the Premier Passport. In addition, the Premium Passport includes other discounts and perks that may save you even more money.

If planning for extended stays at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 365 days, the Premier Passport may save you some money. This article could go on forever discussing all the different options that could add up to saving money with the Premier Passport, but I believe the example above shows the Premier Passport is a viable option for those looking for a year full of Disney Parks.

Big Update: What if you have an Annual Pass and are visiting the other park this year? It's my understanding a current Annual Pass can be upgraded to a Premier Passport for the remainder of its term. (All calculations below exclude any discounts that may be available at the time.)

If you have a Premium Annual Pass for Walt Disney World ($619) and are visiting Disneyland before the AP's expiration, it absolutely makes sense to upgrade to the Premier Passport. A one day Park Hopper costs more ($97) than the difference between the Premium Annual Pass and the Premier Passport ($81).

If you have a standard Annual Pass for Walt Disney World ($489) and are visiting Disneyland before it expires, a three-day Park Hopper ($204) comes close to the difference between the standard Annual Pass and the Premier Passport ($211). AP discounts or parking at Disneyland would make up for the $7 premium over the three-day Park Hopper.

Disneyland has five annual pass options, but for this example I'll use the Premium Annual Passport ($439). Including Park Hopping and Water Parks & More because those are features are included in the Premier Passport, a Premium Annual Passport holder would only need to purchase a two-day ticket ($260) at Walt Disney World to match the Premier Passport's upgrade cost ($261). If a Disneyland visitor chooses to forego the Park Hopping and Water Parks & More features, a 10 day base ticket ($240) still doesn't match the price of an upgrade to the Premier Passport. However, if you include parking, a three day base ticket ($219) plus three days of parking ($42) matches the cost of an upgrade to the Premier Passport ($261).

From all the math above, it seems to me that upgrading to the Premier Passport if you already hold an Annual Pass makes sense. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Expanding the Fantasy Starts Today

The word spread like wildfire that groundbreaking for the Fantasyland expansion started today at the Magic Kingdom. Hype surrounds this expansion, but I think the results are going to live up to the hype. The Fantasyland expansion is a wonderful project from both the fan perspective and the business perspective.

This project is going to get people to come to the Magic Kingdom. People will want to see the results of all this labor. Whether it's the revamped Dumbo ride, the princess interactive areas, or the new Voyage of the Little Mermaid E-Ticket, there are many new things to experience in this Fantasyland. By adding a variety of new attractions all at once, Disney is hoping to pull lots of people in, whether it's to meet Belle at her castle or to have a pint of apple juice (remember, it's a dry kingdom) at Gaston's Tavern.

The people who come to see and are impressed with the new Fantasyland will be more likely to purchase souveniers of their favorite parts. I'm hoping Disney will take the time to create some unique merchandise for the various parts of new Fantasyland in addition to the usual Princess t-shirts and dolls. Give the guests something they can take home that they can connect with instead of the ordinary. To be honest, I'm not even sure what these items would be, but I'm sure Disney can come up with something special.

Unfortunately, expansion takes time. We will not be seeing anything new until 2012, and construction will continue until 2013. Ideally, I believe this should have been completed in time to compete with the Harry Potter opening at Universal. However, the fruits of such a long construction period will come. Fantasyland's expansion is truly adding value to the Magic Kingdom, and that will serve Walt Disney World well for years to come.