Disenchanted with D23 - Why the D23 Expo 2022 Sucked... Again
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2022
- Hello Friends! A bunch of people requested a vlog on d23 Expo 2022 and also there were requests for my thoughts about it after, so here you go! The first half of the video is a vlog showing you a bunch of the stuff that was at the expo, and then there's a pretty sizable rant about why the expo sucked... again. I think I may just be destined to not like this convention, but here's what i saw and experienced and why I think Disney could do a much better job of getting their convention to be awesome for more people.
If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up!
______________
Links!
★Follow Me!★
My Patreon - / costumingdrama
My Costuming Instagram - / costuming_drama
My Personal Instagram - / lbc42
My Cats' Instagram - / gatosdepaduan
My Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/costumingdrama
All Music can be found at Epidemic Sound! If you are interested in music for your own site, Instagram, RUclips, etc, you can sign up here with my referral link here:
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Anaheim native here. I agree with you that the new leadership at Disney seems to be running the company into the ground. Their new business model appears to be limiting how many people enter the park through the reservations system while jacking up prices and adding fees so only those with mega-bucks can enjoy "The Magic." This way they haul in the same (or more) money, while reducing the crowds we all complain about. Makes sense on paper for a profit and loss sheet, as long as one does not factor in the human experience that has been the bread and butter of Walt's dream from the beginning. They are literally putting money over people. As someone who grew up with Disney in my DNA, using the fireworks as my nightly curfew every summer, my heart is broken.
Anyway, to explain the source of your misery...D23 seems to be a complicated labyrinth of corporate entities, and I don't think they always talk to one another. I believe Disney owns D23 and its licensing, BUT...some portions get "subbed out" to production companies, while some are still under Disney. And line management, etc. is (I believe) under the contract responsibility of the Convention Center (owned by taxpayers against our will and operated by those who love red tape.) I would suggest you express your frustration directly to Le Mouse, and also send specific complaints to the Convention Center exec offices.
Convention Sports and Entertainment Department
ATTN: Tom Morton, Exec Director
800 W Katella Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92802
AND...
Anaheim City Hall
ATTN: City Manager's Office
RE: Convention Center Operations
200 S. Anaheim Blvd Anaheim CA 92805
Nevertheless, I say "thank you" for coming to Anaheim and spending money, as our elected officials have spent us into a massive hole, largely with HUGE subsidies to Resort businesses that fund their campaigns! (don't get me started on how badly the insiders like Disney and Angels interfere in our elections. Google "Anaheim FBI investigation". No, really.) Anyway, money from outside Anaheim helps us pay down that nightmare deficit left by our "leaders" so thanks for coming. I am sorry you had a bad time here, and the weather has indeed sucked and the humidity gets worse each summer. Obviously politicians and/or Disney can't control the weather (despite the mythical "Disney bubble") but they should have anticipated that the predicted heat wave would have impacts to attendees, and pulled you guys out of that heat, or at least provided shade/shelter or something. Not my idea of hospitality. But I am not in charge of anything. Sorry it was disappointment. I quit going years ago.
** If you decide to return, give me a holler, I am 10 minutes away and will gladly bring you a parasol and cold beverage while you wait in line for the chance to meet you in person. I love your videos. Keep up the good work. (If you Cosplay, for future D23, wear the Merida bustle gown. LOVE IT!)
I'm "liking" the video to be supportive
And offering my condolences on your disappointments!
Thank you!! 💖💖
@@Costuming_Drama you are welcome
PS #1
I just listened to hele through a pesky pattern drafting, and I completely agree; that sounds like a spectacularly inefficiently managed & disregarding of paying customers type experience.
Sadly, the place that is supposed to be the happiest on earth runs a con like inexperienced & non-rescourseful ametures might.
PS 2
I have cosplaying friends, they love cosplaying. I bet you might have a *wonderful* experience, just cosplaying Merda, and, maybe handing out little felt bear shapes, maybewith a pin back, or something, to people stuck in line?
Omg no chance on Merida! That’s a FULL wool gown. It was 96° and like 85-90% humidity. I’d die. Literally.
@@Costuming_Drama oh....
Duh...
Absolutely correct!
Idk if I've seen you do any cosplaying type ensembles that are humidity-tolerant.
Maybe some sort of breathable fabric for Ursula bounding? But, that is an entirely new outfit. The tenticles could have fans for cooling, like some fur suits do.
Imagine being able to wield her magic to make the con run pleasantly & smoothly for all the attendees!
I read a thing on tumblr that said that Disney's really been on a binge of buying golden geese and then cutting them apart to get at the golden eggs and then offered those and parts of the goose to the fans and passing it off as the golden eggs....then blaming the fandoms for how things end up....all the while, squeezing as much as they can out of everyone in the process.
Anyways, yes, have your opinion. And, yes, it totally sounds like they failed to do even basic con-education. I've worked a few cons and I had to know where things were (granted, they were smaller cons). I worked con suite, mostly, but I had a schedule and a map and knew the rules and such. I even know how to improvise when I visit friends who are working admission. It's not that hard to get good people and train them for half an hour (also, Disney running a con with volunteers just seems....ick in a way, especially an extremely branded con like this one).
Literally my idea of hell. Within the first 3 minutes of the video my anxiety spiked. I don't mind waiting in line either but that looked like a nightmare.
That sounds super stressful!
Not knowing if you need a wristband while everyone else has one... sounds like one of the more stressful things to do in a line! :(
The 'exclusive' items being sold online anyways... what?!?
Thank you, thank you, thank you! As a veteran of con attendance - You have been 100% open of your experience and that shows how much you care for us. D23 and its clones to come - for me a big NO! And I greatly appreciate this!
I feel like the whole “line” thing is especially disappointing because Disney is usually really great about managing people in lines and making lines interesting and fun. Do better Disney!
Disney Corporate has spent the last two decades sucking the fun out of the Disney experience. I went to Disneyland Park in Anaheim earlier this summer. I upgraded the Genie app to try to avoid the huge lines. But trying to reserve lightning lanes while navigating the huge standby lines was really frustrating. It’s noon, every big ride has an hour+ line, and the next lightning lanes are available after 6pm. I like planning, but I miss the spontaneity of “hey, let’s go wait for that ride.” Even just walking around isn’t much fun because there are SO MANY PEOPLE. Disney could probably halve the maximum admissions for the day and still make millions, and the experience would be “magical” again. But now, magic just equals money. /rant over 😂
I’m with you.
The limited shop access thing sounds pretty manipulative, the scarcity of time/access would probably encourage over buying
THIS EXACTLY. I actually only bought one shirt in all of the stores… I was on to that nonsense.
Your description of the queue management and therefore the management of the convention sounds like a description of my personal hell honestly. My social anxiety is peaking at this description. 😂 it’s a horror show at best a Greek tragedy at its worst.
I'm sorry you were unhappy with your experience. Maybe your giving them too much credit Nicole. You have done a lot of growing over the past year . Press refresh 😀💗👍. I will say I did a suck in of breath when you showed Mary Poppins dress! 😯😊❤ and some other costumes. Also I could hear you fine with the mask on. I'm at the point where I go in a store and then realize I don't have my mask on and pop it on. I still wear on bus and subway. Even if 1/2 don't. Hope you have a better week going forward 🙏 💖🇨🇦
Wow, this D23 Expo 2022 sounds completely terrible. I appreciate your honesty.
A well-run con should never require anyone standing in line and all events should be accessible to its attendees, and counter-programming can force choices which will result in adequate crowd control.
I have been to every D23 since they started. This is the first year we have not gone. Just wasn't excited about anything being promoted. From many of the posts I've seen I think we made a great decision. You make VERY valid points. Every year the line management has been horrible. To the point where situations have become extremely dangerous. Dangerous as in, if you go done, you'll get trampled. Every year our experience has been that many working the event do not know anything helpful. In 2015 we were part of the sleeping in the basement Hall E. Absolute nightmare. Year after year the coordinators of the event don't seem to learn from the previous time. Probably won't go again and honestly, didn't miss the mess.
I’m so sorry you were in that mess!!!
I think the highlight of that would have been the seeing the costumes in person. So many people talk about going to Disneyland & whatnot but I think about the sheer number of lines to wait in & it's a hard pass for me.
Also you know what the capacity of the place is, dont sell more tickets than that, its theft.
I was so disappointed with d23 too. The accessibility was almost nonexistent, it was disorganized, the shopping virtual queue situation was crap and the “friends of Disney” shopping was lackluster including someone who was selling fake pins.
We’re probably not going to go again. My only wish is that they would stream/record all of the other panels too, not just the big ones so that we could see all of the amazing information in them.
It was great meeting you!
I wish they would do that too!! And it was great meeting you too!
WOW. That sounds like an exceptionally poorly-run con. So sorry you had to experience that again :(
Thank you!
It's really refreshing that someone will say when something is not up to scratch or indeed actually bad. Go you for giving an honest opinion. Perhaps if more people told Disney this directly (Do they have a feedback system?) they might make some improvements, or limit the ticket sales to the number the convention center can actually cope with.....
Yes, i was sent a survey about my experience and I absolutely told them my experience what I thought about it! I LOVE an open ended text box in a survey.
Thank you for honestly pointing out the serious flaws in the con. I follow several channels who cover the parks, and more and more are pointing out similar attitude and experiences there as well. It's not about the customers, it's about the money with Disney especially since the pandemic. Not that there hasn't always been that element to it, but giving the visitors an awesome experience used to also be part of the equation. It's very disappointing for fans who know what it once was.
I have realized I have no idea what happens at cons or what people do when they go to them. Seeing the costumes exhibits looked cool. I am glad you at least had fun with your friends.
I have to agree with your assessment, Noelle.
I'm sorry you had a terrible time. At least they didn't kick you out and embarrass you in front of everyone.
Back in 2012 my sister, three of our friends and me, we went to Disney Con for a fun time, we checked our emails, got our luggages, we spend well over two thousand dollars on reserving the event's tickets, flight tickets, hotel rooms, two rooms. One bedroom was for us girls and another bedroom for the men. We spend money on transportation, food, and some shopping.
We went into the line, I showed them my email and according to them our reserved tickets were cancelled but I knew it wasn't because someone withdrew well ahead money out of my account for the reservation. It was sooo hot, it was uncomfortable asking for the manager, other people who did have their wristbands were walking in and without a care almost stepped on my sis's feet. When the manager came over we explained the situation, and instead of finding a solution or seeing if there was a glitch on their side. Or bringing us to his office to see my sister's membership, and give us an apology or a discount for the mishap. Nope, they checked the cancelled tickets, when we pressed on that we had a Disney annual membership and we paid for all exclusives. The manager stepped inside the park and came back with the police. In front of passersby, they threatened to cuff us if we didn't leave. We were exhausted and hungry, we waited in line for over four hours just to be treated like trash. My family and friends absolutely abhor what Disney stands for today. I'm sure if Walter Disney was alive. He would have fired everyone in those offices and all the greedy, stupid investors!
A service person (or other wise working for them) telling a customer "I don't know" (doesn't matter why) AND walking away is a no go in my opinion. Sure it can happen that you don't know something - but then make sure to find them someone who can answer their question. Maybe its not common on cons? I'm not used to cons - don't like crowded places - but I worked in retail and everyone working there did this: If you don't know something ask someone who knows! and if you have to call the Head of department to ask? Do it! Its your fucking job... in our store you could ask someone from the cleaning staff and sure they couldn't answer most things about our items but even them made sure to find someone who can help the customer!
100%! It's really poor H&S too because what you're doing is increasing anxiety and confusion levels exponentially for a significant portion of the crowd you've crammed into that limited space. Chances of people losing their sh*t much higher, risk of triggering anyone with anxiety disorders or marginal claustrophobia, and the destruction of goodwill means if you actually need to provide instructions, half the attendees probably won't even listen because they're so frustrated and worrying...? 🤯
Yes!!!!! Ive had similar experiences and wont go to D23 ever again. I had the same experience at Star Wars Celebration that was held in the same center. The weird thing is that Wondercon which is also held at the same place has always been amazing. So i dont understand how two disney run events can shit the bed so hard, but a separate one can be amazing. Funny enough my favorite part of starwars celebration was just going to disneyland. So crazy how all this is going downhill. Yikes.
So distressing but telling the truth about an experience is the best way to deal! BTW, I loved your music!
Thanks for vlogging this. From the other coverage I've seen, the people who had the best time--at least in terms of getting to panels and merch--were those with press and industry badges. It's another disappointment on top of other Disney stuff happening relatively recently.
I like Disneyland, but it's increasingly difficult to afford and navigate, so even the birthday trip is off. It's too bad, really.
Disney now sounds like a place that Walt himself would be ashamed of!
Indeed
Thanks for being honest. Almost everything you said was true. I wish there was a solution between opening all doors vs walking people line by line. Last D23, it was a mob and people got trampled but then again, same happened this year
That sounds really stressful and frustrating. I'm sorry.
you sounded fine with the mask on though and the sound was great in the hall
This was shocking to me. Disney: famous for it's lines cannot do lines at a con??? Oh, the world is ending... (jk, not sarcasm, over dramatisization... sp?). Oh, dear. I am sad that you didn't have a good time. Friends always make a bad time better, some happy riffting is all I need to get through a bad situation. I will say that showing us the different costumes was cool. Mary Poppins, and...ah, Indiana Jones!!! So cool!!
I am still really nervous about big crowds, and I am probably scarred for life now. I don't think I would have been able to stand standing in those lines with all those people and not have a major panic attack. Ugh, thanks covid.
Thanks for going and sharing the experience for those of us who could not go (and are maybe a little grateful they didn’t!). While SDCC is not perfect the mouse should take some pointers.
I was at this years con too, and I’ve been going since 2015. I was one of the people in one of the multiple basements they had people lining up in, but the earliest I was there was 6:30 or so. My uncle is very big on being early and D23 is his thing so I just follow his lead. It sucks that it was such a bad experience for so many people
Their line management does sound really bad. Thank you for sharing your experience. Yes they should really give more than a 20 minutes notice.
Thanks for the info! I briefly considered going and this makes me very glad I didn't. I hope you share your thoughts with whoever you can find at the company. (Also hope if there are people on here who know the "right" people that they send along your video.) SiliCon was also an organizational mess, but at least it's so small you can still pretty much do, buy, and see whatever you want once you figure out where the heck it is.
The mask was not an issue at all. Love those masks. I'm sorry that you didn't have a great time.
The crowds .. just wow.. I am not sure I could handle that. I know my high anxiety kids would not do well. It also looked so hot even inside.
It was so hot, even inside! 😂
I feel you, I've been to events where they really didn't know what they were doing and it's so frustrating when you've spent the money to go do the thing, I also want to go to a Loungefly store sooooo bad. I make purses and I just want to see on up close to see how they put them together. I don't have a store near me and it's killing me lol
Honestly ALL of that is why I don't go to cons. I definitely don't need more shopping, and the idea of waiting in lines for longer than a talk to hear a talk? Nope.
And you can mostly always watch the unedited version online😅
That thing with the emplyees not knowing anything sounds so stressful, as I have once volunteered at an event where I had to answer "I don't know" to a bunch of visitors questions. The managment was a little bit chaotic there, but no where near this bad. Just the fact that I often would miss changed information if I was in the middle of a shift, because the organisers hadn't a good way for contacting people and they had a weird double ticket system that visitors found very confusing, which made some of them miss stuff as they hadn't the right tickets. At least we could help each other's out as volunteers, but when the organisation is chaos from the beginning, it trickles down all the way and good volunteer work can't compensate for all that.
It feels like people in charge haven't thought through things when it gets chaotic in this way. I hope they learn and change it.
I have always thought the long lines at Disney were a huge wasted opportunity. Now that we can buy things with our phones, it is even worse. They could be fun, interesting places to learn, dream and even shop. (I.E. show me a thing. Offer me the chance to buy the thing with my phone. Ship the thing to my house so I don't have to carry it.) These are vastly creative, capable people who could come up with a million ideas superior to mine if they would just DO it. ( I also have a very non-p.c. view of the whole ride experience. Wait a long, long, long time. Get on the ride. A peak experience is had. The ride is over. You are thrown out into the real world again. What does that remind me of? Most of my dating experience, that's what.)
I can understand your frustration. I could not have stood in the lines in the heat. And I don't like huge crowds so it would have been a big no for me!
Ok, I’m super convinced I met Brittany at the last Dapper Day (dressed in a Captain Britain look then as well). If not, she’s got a doppelgänger out there in Anaheim somewhere.
I’m sure you did too!
Hey Noelle, I do some news I'm currently listening to 2 different series at the same time, The last king of Osten by Tad Williams and the Horus Heresy by various authors. I'm still hunting for yarn for the meadow section of my shawl with no luck yet. And I'll probably be getting a new computer soon, too!
Thanks for being honest
Well that sounds like a total cluster. It’s weird that they wouldn’t be able to figure out crowds when they run the parks that can get very crowded. On a plus note if you ever get to another there’s lots of room to improve! Glad you at least had good friends so that part was fun
After hitting a few big cons I've found I prefer the smaller cons. I just don't enjoy all the line waiting and I'm not interested in meeting celebs so I find I'm paying way too much just to hang out with friends. My favorite has been Geek Girl Con and I'm hoping to go again next year. Fingers crossed Covid is down around that time.
I’ve never been to a Con, but that sounds miserable to deal with. Communication is key to making anything enjoyable
Indeed
Good to know!
I hesitated to watch this video as i'm not at all a disney fan, but WOW! it looked like a cult gathering! Looking at cult relics, standing in line to be blessed with the opportunity to have micky ears (sorry, exclusive d23 expo 2022 mickey ears) enraved on your soul, waiting forever with fellow pillgrims to get acces to the exclusive, preview "next book" in the preachings of Disney. And what caps it all for me is the massive spending of money to buy... endulgences? Sorry, my comment is (a bit) ranty as well... I guess I just don't get it... Looked like hell (as so far as it existes and as portraid in western-christian society...) on earth!
Glad to hear that you were at least able to spend the time with friends, so not all bad! And of course each to his/her/their own!
I went on a Disney cruise in Feb. (my only cruise, pretty fun). The staff was all incredible. The food was great, and the crowds were really really low so I was able to attend everything I wanted to. But yeah, the app (which was the only way to know what is going on on the boat!) was hot garbage.
One thing you could try but would add more to your plate in editing, is to use captions where you find that it may be hard to understand you. I have some hearing loss and do kind of read lips as back up. I could hear you fine in the area you were concerned with (I did turn on Auto Captions), but, just an idea ;-)
Yeah, I do ask google to put captions on all of my videos so that people can watch that way if they want, but it’s an idea to force them
When I have a mask on….
Honestly, the whole model sounds like it's designed to just suck a lot of money out of people, without really giving them any value of experience in return...? 😒 (Not surprising given it's Disney, but sad considering how many people are deeply invested in their media properties). I'm glad that you are being frank about your experience - hope it may be informative for others who might be considering attendance in future years. Hope you'll decide not to support their future events, given the fun is basically happening from your time with your friends, not from the con itself?
I might go next year ...
I liked this review!
Where do you get your super-cute N95 masks from?
The con sounds like the organisers are having an absolutely epic power trip. What an actual con (as opposed to conference).
masklab.us! Enjoy!
Ugh, what a nightmare. And totally inaccessible for folks with chronic pain and/or sensory issues.
Totally
Disney is a big enough company that they should be able to host something like this with ease, this honestly sounds so badly run- it's almost like an evil toddler was in charge
"Sir, shall we let them into the hall before or after their panel's start" "start letting them in *just* before, but make sure it's slow enough that at least half of them miss the start! and make it more random, more confusion is more fun mwahahahaha"
It's so frustrating going to an event and having it marred by poor organization. I've not had the chance to go to any big cons, but I go to a lot of music festivals (in 100 degree weather!) and it's the same deal where sometimes it just seems like nobody thought anything through or considered the large amount of people that would need to be herded properly. Like, it's basics, people! I'm sorry 😔 and it sucks for those who couldn't get into anything. Hardcore. I'd have been livid.
Chapek is a bean counter. I'd like to go to D23 but this was a good realistic look at it.
2022 - 1955 = 67 years experience with queuing people up, and they are worse at it than they used to be? That is really really sad.
I, too, have been to a bunch of different cons both small and large, and to hear you say that the Con management screwed up royally on two separate years makes me not want to go.... ever. I like Disney when it comes to many of the movies, but I can't help thinking that what Disney has turned into is not what Walt envisioned. And looking at that room that reminded me of a parking structure and seeing all the people just standing there made my knees hurt. I would not have been able to stand there for as long as you had to. Mainly because of arthritic knees, but also because it's a soul sucking experience. I also "liked" the video to be supportive. But because of your experience I would give Disney a solid 2 thumbs down. I've never run a Con, but I'm sure I could do it a lot better than that. Oi!
This looks like a cash grab with no real return for the people attending. I haven't been to many cons but the one I used to go to that was local to me (I-CON at Stony Brook University on Long Island in NY) was SO much better run than what you are describing. Yes, they had pay-to-play exclusive type stuff (certain Meet-and-Greets, a VIP dinner, etc) but they also had a ton of stuff included in your ticket price. Also, the Dealer's Room was always a gathering place for people bc it was just open the whole time. They had exhibitions for everyone on both Sat and Sun and had a bunch of panels included with ticket price. Gaming as well. And that was all at a REGIONAL Con. It wasn't even National, let alone International the way Disney can be.
I mean honestly, if you are worried about the number of folks in the booth areas, just have a time slot where people can sign up around their panels. And offer more stuff to do for everyone. This sounds like half a step up from that Tana-Con craps that happened several years back. (And not a very big one.) Definitely not what I would expect from one of the largest and most universally known companies in the world.
Also, completely agree on the guy running Disney. He is sinking that ship. They need to boot his butt before he drags them down past the point of no return.
I’m a huge Disney fan…. And have never wanted to go to D23…. It always looks crazy.
I stopped admiring Disney when the refused to pay royalties to the writers for the companies they bought. It was a big fight by the sci-fi writers.
Yes they should have trained their con workers, it is not like it is the first con around. I was at cons in the 70s and 80s and we got trained.
LLLLLLLLLLong before you got to your comment section of this vid. I was already at the "Aw, HELLL no!" stage of doing anything Disney. I'm from the East Coast, so Disney for us is Walt Disney World/Epcot/Wild Kingdom in Florida. Last time I was there was about 35 years ago and even then, some of those lines were NOT worth the wait. I can't IMAGINE _paying_ to be at a panel/store/show/ride and then STILL having to sleep on the ground or stand around for, heck, even an hour to get in-and then I get to your comments portion of the vid and find out that perhaps even _then_ a person might not get in. INSANE! How can any business think this is the way to treat their consumers?! Ugh...Disney. The name is becoming a joke.
Sadly a lot of the huge cons now have shopping that is a lottery system. I call BS on all that. Personally I would rather be able to buy items online and get them later. That way I also don't have to carry everything out.
Super happy I didn't go. I thought it was going to be bad.
100% agree Bob Chapek is running Disney into the ground! It's like he's determined to kill the magic. I am so disappointed in the continuous money grab! And yet we still love Disney. Maybe it will get to the point that loving Disney will be like loving Harry Potter. The stories are magical, but you get no more of my money. So sad!
Gosh, sorry it was so rubbish. Queing inefficiently is the actual worst X_X, especially in high humidity! I'm glad you had lovely people to hang out with, though, that is at least a good redeeming factor--though it had really nothing to do with the con itself...
Wow, I would have taken one look at those lines and turned around. So sorry you did not enjoy the experience again.
I am not a fan of Disney's CEO either. I gather in his previous job, (in charge of Disney theme parks) he was not exactly "beloved". I have heard others who were at D23 also mention problems regarding communication with attendees and line control. I know that many cons have these complaints, but Disney (the unofficial ruler of line-con 😉) should really have had better prep. Ironic in view of the current Disney CEO's former position.
I have no idea what D23 is? I gathered that it was something to do with Disney….a giant advert for all the Disneylands in the world? Thanks for showing it to us, I live and learn…(Sounds like the seventh circle of Hell to me)
Bernadette Should go there a Model Her Mary Poppins Jolly Holiday Dress...
I feel like you don’t know anything about her 🤣 she wouldn’t touch that kind of situation with a 100 foot pole 😂
Never been to a Comic-con ... not that big in Oz, or I just dont know 🤣🤣 but this just seems like a really poorly run event. My husband was listening and just like WTF? So, no Disney for me.
I'm sorry if you've answered this before, but where did you get your masks you were wearing? I love that style and have them in fabric, but would love a k95 version (which is what that looks like). Thanks!
masklab.us enjoy!
@@Costuming_Drama thank you!! ❤️
Hi, well I've not been to a "con " but it sounds like it was a con ,my daughter has been to several and had a great time, she went to comi-con at the O2 arena and I know she had a good time, I just helped by making her costumes sadly for her I'm not the sewing goddess you are. 🥰
Going to Orlando Disney for Halloween. Not spending $250 for the Nor So Scary Halloween Party. Pass. I heard negative reviews about it, also. I don’t want to spend $250 to find out. I’ll be ok without it.
Did the Not so Scary Halloween in 2008.... it was great with kids, but prices definitely weren't $250
I feel the same thing about Disney... I'm done.
I didn't go, but from what you describe, no one should go! There is no excuse for any of the problems you described for a company like Disney. They own so many things now, that they should have money to burn on making this a wonderful experience. It sounds like they put this together just to make money, w/o any thought given to the customer experience. Simply sounds like they didn't really care about the customer's experience, just get them to buy the tickets and we will figure out the rest sometime later and then decided later didn't need to happen. Sounds like fraud to me. Exclusive to the D23, but I could have bought the stuff online myself? Blatant lying. I'd write a letter to the head of Disney and explain all that went wrong and my feelings about all of that. There is no excuse for such thoughtlessness. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. Luckily, you had friends with you and at least had fun with them. Probably that is the most important part, but that could have been accomplished for much less money and alot less frustration. Lastly, not knowing where the bathrooms are should be a crime! LOL Hugs
The line management seems like an example of a power trip. They just want to show their power over people it's really unnecessary.
🇨🇦😃
We call him Bob Cheapskate. I was never a fan and after working for them, I'm even less of one. I feel you. None of that sounds like fun or worth whatever extortionate money you had to pay. Stop giving them money.
It is shockingly disheartening to hear that Disney of all companies can’t run a con.
It honestly sounds like the “disney magic” is a whole lot like hard, boring work…
You know what? The last week has seen the Brits touted as the Queuers of the World (for The Queen's lying in state), but honestly? I don't think most people would put up with the kind of rubbish line management that you're talking about. At least with the Queen you knew what was what, and you didn't pay for it! but to pay and not get access to anything but a bunch of shops - most of which isn't exclusive... I totally would not do it.
This sounds like such a scam. Especially the stores. Pretending stuff is exclusive to make people buy it. And the paying to stand in line.
Bob is ruining Disney. He’s taken the fun and spontaneity out of it and raised prices so high that many people can’t afford to go. We’re huge Disney fans and we’re planning on going the DW for 2 weeks this year, but we won’t be going until they take the park reservation system away and bring back the dining plan.
I miss that dining plan, it was the best thing about my last Disney World trip. I took my kid who was then around 10, this would have been around 2015-ish (I don't remember the exact year). We ate so good with that plan, I had never eaten that good in a theme park in my entire life (I have been to a lot of theme parks). I don't remember the numbers, but it was definitely less than we would have spent on food otherwise. We'd love to go back, but with current prices it is out of our budget.
I don't get people's obsession with Disney, as far as I can see they throw money at IPs so they can own them, then ruin them. Pixar was WAY better before Disney, I don't and have never enjoyed Star Wars with the exception of Ewoks and the first two episodes of The Mandalorian. Ok, Marvel is good, but where's my Squirrel Girl movie?! And the princess movies?! FULL of terrible messages for young girls, with very few exceptions, the only one I can think of being Moana. They sometimes blunder into making a movie that's genuinely great, but largely they're a soulless money making machine that treats it's employees terribly! /rant 🙃
What a shitty thing to not even get into a panel you’ve payed and planned for because of their bad planning!! Should have gotten you money back for them! Especially if you only made it into one😮😮
To me it feels like Disney is going to nickel and dime the place to death.
Yes
Wow. Eh. That's poor management. Even if I lived close by i don't want to go to that poor behavior place even if it would be free.
It sounds so badly run. I really get the impression they don't actually care about guests having a good time. I don't get what the aim of it is other than getting people to spend money (and even then they make that difficult). I know a lot of cons suffer with increasing commercialism but they usually have an experience to offer above and beyond that. I'm not sure what else D23 offers since actually seeing panels (And getting a good experience from them due to crowd and room sizes) is so difficult to actually do.
They can create all the fun, teary-eyed movies and childlike rides. But their practices and their policies and the way they are running the parks, the shops, the cruises and other branches, it's just not fun or imaginative or creative.
I hope more people can find the young actors who are now adults and see how Disney execs and greedy investors exploit the children, adult actors and even their members who still love the original idea. The birthing idea that Walter Disney had to bring joy, kindness and a community of like-minded people who love movies, storytelling, and 2D art.
Sadly, we want nothing to do with Disney or other of....
Okay before I continue. The only great things their sister channel ABC has created and filmed was Marvel's Agents of Shield and Agent Carter. In both series, you can see how the costuming team stepped it up to 120% of their game.
Other than that, Disney only cares about money and money.
Also, please look into racism and sexism. Yes, they say they are progressive but they are not. One of my friends who used to work at Disney Parks in Florida ended up quitting after six months. She told us in tears how the team members and management treated her as a woman of color. Imagine what that actress dressed like Tiana feels once she gets home. My heart breaks for her. I ope she is okay.
This sounds like the least disability-friendly con ever. Underwhelmed.
I was literally walking down stairs to get to the holding pen room going “what if I were disabled right now? How would this even be possible?” To my friend…
Disney used to care about customer satisfaction, or at least Walt did. I agree that Bob what’s-his-name is running the company into the ground. The magic is sadly lacking at the parks and it sounds like D23 is really not worth going to. I’m sorry you wasted your time and money!
This was a scam. A total scam. No. Boo! 😢
the more i hear about Disney the less I want to go. It sounds like everything has turned into just a ginormous money grab for the worst experience possible. i hear you say "you can do better" - well why should they? people pay insane amounts for THIS so they will get worse as long as they get away with it. wanting to do better would mean they cared in the first place
I'm not a Disney person so this all sounds dreadful. In this day and age when you can buy anything you want online why sell these bullshit 'exclusives' in person? How do less able people queue and mess around for hours? I guess they do not. What a horrible way to market exclusive stuff.
TanaCon + Disney = D23 Disney Expo 🫤. It's too bad. I agree with other commenters, if there's one thing Disney should know it's the difference between what's magical and what sucks. And how to manage a big event for heaven's sake.