How about next year NO THEME!!!!!

[Imagineer1981]

Not sure how everyone feels, but I would like to go to the parks with no theme like it used to be. All of these themes and celebrations are kinda burning me out and they don't feel special anymore. I remember when the 15th anniversary came around and Disney made a huge deal, and it was awesome to go see, and then it was over and everything went back to normal, making you want to go back for sure for the 20th. Now every year its a new hook and I just don't get excited about them like I did when they were every couple of years. Am I the only one?

[Disney Doll]

Eh, I guess I don't care either way. I remember being in WDW the year Donald turned 50. I was just a kid, but I remember it being a real event. I do like the extra excitement that surrounds a big celebration and you're right that the annual themes are not usually a big deal at least for me.

[cajunprincess]

Well, I was super excited about the "Year of A Million Dreams" but this year for the "What Will You Celebrate" I wasn't thrilled. The decorations are nice and all, but I can understand where your comming from.

[spinnerf]

I agree, I too was at the 15th celebration and I remember really feeling like I had been at Disney at a special time. And now the promotions feel like the next toy in a happy meal. It doesnt enhance my enjoyment of the parks at all, but if it brings more people in and keeps the $$ rolling in, its good.

[Itchy]

When it comes to the celebrations I guess they get old sometimes. There are some such as this year " What will you Celebrate "

There is probably a large number of people that it does not apply to.

I have a birthday in August but will not be able to attend on the day of my birthday. I would think that it is hard to plan to hit it just right.

Why cant they give you the month as a spread for the birthdays, graduations, anniversarys, and the like.

Like the previous poster the year of a million dreams was something that everyone had a chance at.

[MaxPower]

I get tired of it too.

It's simply a way for Disney to pretend they have something "new" to promote without having to spend much money.

How cool would it be to get a true new attraction each year instead?

[KAJUNKING]

i cant remember the last time ive gone and they were not celebrating something, i think it would make the celebrations more special if they werent going on all the time

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

Unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast these days. Going to WDW just because its WDW doesn't seem to cut it anymore from a marketing standpoint.

Does anybody remember the commercials where the little kid is helping is brother pack and telling him all about WDW and then at the end he says "We'll be leaving in about 3 weeks"? Or the one where the parents are still in bed at the resort and the little girl is waiting diligently by the phone for the wake-up call? The ones that didn't have any point other than how magical WDW was?

I guess those don't sell anymore. Nowadays we have to have some kind of gimmick. Some reason to entice guests to come to Disney THIS year rather than when the timing is right. When in actuality, whatever gimmick they're providing really wouldn't make their experience that different than if they had gone to the parks at any old time when there wasn't some "celebration" going on.

I'll admit, YoMD was a nice idea. But think about it, how many guests HONESTLY got some drastically unique experience?

Oh wow you got a pair of Mickey Ears with clouds or a special pin set. THAT sets your vacation apart from what it could have been. Oh boy you got a dream fastpass huh? Too bad the wait time for every attraction on that thing is 15 minutes or less today.

I miss the days when the celebrations were actually something rare and you really had to make it a point to get down there to see it. I hope the 40th brings back those days.

[egospotter]

A agree. It's time for a break. Make it more the big anniversaries, sprinkle in a few individual park and ride anniversaries, and maybe an extra "special" year every once in a while.

The Year of a Million Dreams got way out of hand in my opinion, seeing as how it ended up being 3 years of a million dreams (so was that 3 million dreams?) Everyone expected to go and get something and they left disappointed when they didn't get to spend the night in the castle (there are only so many days in the year, after all.) We went three times during that time frame and it got a little tired - wasn't special anymore. Ironically, it was on our third trip that we got a prize (dream fastpasses) which was awesome, but the whole thing had gotten pretty old by then. We even saw people with big signs saying "pick me, pick me" which was kind of not the point at all.

But I digress... I was at WDW for the 25th and DL for the 40th and to me those times were more special because it was a celebration of the park and everyone could join in with the special shows and such. Except for them turning the castle into a pink nightmare, it was good fun!

[Spartan_Jeff]

While I do get burned out on the new celebration every year, it is important to remember it is always someone elses first time to Disney and they deserve to feel the magic of those celebrations.

[Imagineer1981]

While I do get burned out on the new celebration every year, it is important to remember it is always someone elses first time to Disney and they deserve to feel the magic of those celebrations.

True, but why can't it just be the magic of WDW, why can't that be what brings them here?

[BMan62]

True, but why can't it just be the magic of WDW, why can't that be what brings them here?

If someone else (say US) is having some kind of "theme" to draw in the crowds, Disney must as well. Expect some kind of HP theme for US next year and Disney will have to counter with something to get the "real" magic back.

"You gotta have a gimmick!"

[Lizzie]

I was excited for a year of a million dreams I was hoping to win something.

We went 5 times to both parks and didn't win anything. So each time we were a little bummed.

[jonahbear2006]

I actually really love the celebrations and themes. I think it brings in more business for them and I think it makes it more likely for us to get promotionals and discounts. It also changes it up so you feel like you have to go every year to see whats up inside the parks.

[TheVBs]

It doesn't matter one way or the other to me. I'm happy to go when there's no celebration, and I'm happy to enjoy whatever celebration might be going on. :mickey:

[afowl1017]

I totally get what you mean! I get a little tired of all the different "hooks" too. I will go no matter what, Like I am sure you would too, but I agree...Isn't, just plan ol' WDW enough any more?

[fupresti]

I was good with Year of a Million Dreams until I visited 3 times, a total of approx. 30 days and never received anything.

This "What Will You Celebrate" is a passable theme. I am really holding out hope for a great 40rh Anniversary Celebration to counter the Harry Potter announcements over at IoA.

[Gator]

I remember going in Feb 2004. It was after "100 years of magic" and before "Happiest Celebration on Earth". It was quite ordinary, and I thought it was fine. However, I did love the 100 Years. It was a legit celebration. Not like this other garbage.

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

I did love the 100 Years. It was a legit celebration. Not like this other garbage.

Only legit in the sense that it celebrated the 100th birthday of a man who'd been dead since the 60's. Let's face it, Disney fell far short of hitting 100 (about 35 years short to be exact), and the company itself is even younger than that.

I understood the sentimentality behind it, but how many other companies do you see out there celebrating the posthumous 100th birthday of their founder? If Walt HAD been alive to see it, the likelihood of him being too senile to remember it would have been quite high.

[I LoveJack]

I'm not picky on what the theme is or isn't. I think that it is nice that they are giving away free things like admission, dining, discounts on rooms or tickets. I spend probably 5-6 thousand dollars a yr on trips to Disney and every little bit helps. Now I am not well off by any means, but it means so much to me and my girls to get to go about twice a yr. So I am celebrating that magic that I feel every time I step foot on the property, and the fact that my family & I am alive and healthy and have the resorces to do this. A certain theme has nothing to do with us going or not. And yes, they need to figure out how to sell that magic again, especially now with all the bad news out there. But I think that has more to do with just believing than with marketing skills.:mickey:

[antngoof89]

I'm not picky on what the theme is or isn't. I think that it is nice that they are giving away free things like admission, dining, discounts on rooms or tickets. I spend probably 5-6 thousand dollars a yr on trips to Disney and every little bit helps. Now I am not well off by any means, but it means so much to me and my girls to get to go about twice a yr. So I am celebrating that magic that I feel every time I step foot on the property, and the fact that my family & I am alive and healthy and have the resorces to do this. A certain theme has nothing to do with us going or not. And yes, they need to figure out how to sell that magic again, especially now with all the bad news out there. But I think that has more to do with just believing than with marketing skills.:mickey:


Agreed, selling the magic I don't think will ever be a problem, selling to people that refuse to think there is such a thing as magic is the problem. Anyone that is good hearted and ready to be happy by anything knows that the magic of Disney is something that no one will ever be able to top, it's when you've become too clouded by the terrible times that you realize that this magic is not enough to clear everyone's mind. It's a sad thing, but it's true.

The magic will always affect everyone, but it will only truly affect people the right way if they're willing to experience it.

[coneygoil]

Eh, I guess I don't care either way. I remember being in WDW the year Donald turned 50. I was just a kid, but I remember it being a real event. I do like the extra excitement that surrounds a big celebration and you're right that the annual themes are not usually a big deal at least for me.

I was there too! Only 2 years old but I was there. "Happy birthday! It's Donald's birthday!" Oh, the cheesy goodness of a '80's Disney parade.

[coneygoil]

It will never take a gimmack to get me to go, so I stopped paying attention to the theme of the year. I just go to WDW have a good time as always.

[Imagineer1981]

On the flip side, there are some things I'd like to keep too. Like I really loved the gold statues they had on Cinderella's castle during year of a million dreams. I think they were a nice touch. And I'd like to see them continue to just randomly give out dream fastpasses or free trips, or a free admission, just because those are the things that make Disney magical while you are there. Don't promote it, just do it and they will come

[maxrebo77]

I have made up my own theme for next year.. 55/55. Going back to Disneyland.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) A "nothing" celebration just won't happen.
2) Disney has doe them every year, and can't break the cycle.
3) It would be like stopping Free Dining.
4) People become accustomed to it and feel it is an entitlement.
5) Without a celebration of some kind, attendance will suffer.
6) And, Ogre (I mean Iger) couldn't let that happen or his bonus suffers.

[Greenlawler]

I just wish they would change the castle show more often.

I agree no theme would be refreshing.

[Gator]

[QUOTE=DisneyFanaticDargon;1929125]I understood the sentimentality behind it, but how many other companies do you see out there celebrating the posthumous 100th birthday of their founder? [QUOTE]

How about over 1 billion people celebrating the birth of a Jewish child every year? I do - religioulsy, in fact. There are some people who are long gone that merit a celebration of this sort. Walt is one of them.

[johnO]

I thought HCOE was pretty cool. I felt like DL's 50th was a good reason to have a celebration and I thought the theme was great.

[lightyearfan]

well me and dw really don't care if there is a theme or not, if there is one that's fine and if not that's fine too as long as were at WDW everything is good.

Victor

[LoriMistress]

I can understand not having a "theme" in the parks. For my first trip to WDW I wanted to avoid being in the parks when during the holidays (Christmas/Halloween/Easter/NYE/etc.) We went during the second week of November in 2003, and it was truly nice. The resort was slowly putting up the Christmas decorations (which was nice), but I really wanted to take in the entire park without being overwhelmed with distracting decorations. I wanted to hear the original park music, not themed holiday music. Now, at the end of August is when the parks is covered with holiday decorations. It can be a bit overwhelming.

Though, on special "themed" things, I thought YOMD wasn't too "over the top." I rarely saw any decorations/signs promoting in the parks. But I loved winning some prices from YOMD.

[Imagineer1981]

Maybe I am just bitter because I never won anything :)

[TheRustyScupper]

Maybe I am just bitter because I never won anything

1) Wait a minute!
2) Your luck has just changed!
3) You have won TheRustyScupperHonesty Award !!! *

* No trophy. No Money. No Certificate. Just personal satisfaction of telling the truth.

[Imagineer1981]

1) Wait a minute!
2) Your luck has just changed!
3) You have won TheRustyScupperHonesty Award !!! *

* No trophy. No Money. No Certificate. Just personal satisfaction of telling the truth.

HOORAY!!!! :party:

[jnfr2424]

There is probably a large number of people that it does not apply to.

I have a birthday in August but will not be able to attend on the day of my birthday. I would think that it is hard to plan to hit it just right.

Why cant they give you the month as a spread for the birthdays, graduations, anniversarys, and the like.


I so agree my birthday was in February during the most busiest times of the year. I too miss that excitement from the 15th year which like you stated everyone had a chance to win something and the 25 was exciting with the pink castle but now its like what now? I wish it would go back the way it was - nothing!!!

[buzznwoodysmom]

well me and dw really don't care if there is a theme or not, if there is one that's fine and if not that's fine too as long as were at WDW everything is good.

Victor


This is how I feel. I don't really pay much attention to the theme's so it really doesn't bother me one way or another. We are just happy to be going. We went to WDW three times during YOMD and not only did we not win a single thing at all, we never even saw the dream squad so to us there was no celebration of any kind going on. I just don't think any of the recent celebrations have been so over the top that there is need to complain about it. We barely noticed anything different on our trips. We are having to much fun enjoying our family time.

[CaptSmee]

100 years of magic was my favorite theme...followed by happiest celebration on earth. this celebrate today thing is garbage, except for the free ticket/gift card on your birthday is a good deal.