Tigger Punches 14 Year Old Guest?

From the Orlando Sentinel:

A Disney employee playing the famed cartoon character is under investigation after a New Hampshire family accused him of punching their 14-year-old son during a home-video session at Disney-MGM Studios.

Later in that same article, I’m embarassed to tell you this made me laugh:

Friday’s incident is the second in nearly three years involving Tigger-costumed Disney workers.

So, what is it about Tiggers, anyway? Are they just mad they didn’t get in on that Euro Disney scene with Minnie?

John Frost’s post in the Disney Blog has some commentary, and links to a few different versions of the story.

[A late addition: CBS4Boston has a videocast including the alleged punch. Looks to me like Tigger was trying to hug the kid, and perhaps got tripped up by the low visibility in some of those fur costumes. And the best quote?

"The general manager apologized to me everyone came up to apologize but Tigger he won't be a man about it get out of the costume and apologize to my son."

Enough said. Good night.]

Bucky Greenhorn, Celebrity Extraordinaire

If you need a fake celebrity autograph, guaranteed to depreciate in value from the very moment the ink dries, Bucky Greenhorn is your man.

My son and I met Bucky one afternoon last week at Disney MGM Studios, where he had set up shop on a bench near Hollywood Hills theatre. We needed some autographs, and he had the hookup: we walked away with genuine fake signatures of Tallulah Bankhead and Lucas Grabeel.  And since Bucky’s clearly on a path to stardom, we got his autograph as well.

Now, I imagine Bucky’s pretty busy today. I just read in the Orlando Sentinel that both Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom filled to capacity by 3:15, and the Disney MGM Studios parking lot was full, so Bucky’s gotta be doing a brisk business. But next time you’re there, look around for him, he’s a helluva guy.

What’s Your Personal Dream Path for Walt Disney World?

There’s a new feature on the Walt Disney World web site: Custom Disney park maps, which yo can load up with the attractions of your choice, and/or include “Dream Paths.” The maps are then mailed out to you, free of charge.

Or, well. . . I’ve been told they get mailed to you, free of charge. Apparently they’re still working some bugs out of the system, because the web site keeps complaining about my zip code (which I promise you is in fact absolutely valid).

And what, may you ask, are Dream Paths? Part of the Year of a Million Dreams campaign, Dream Paths are suggested agendas (or touring plans) for making your way around the Disney parks, with specific interests in mind. The three I’ve seen so far are Fairy Tale Fantasy, The Call of Adventure, and Little Dreamers/Big Dreams. I’d love to see them offer Dream Paths for the geekier among us. How about . . .

• Campy Retro Favorites, featuring Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land

• Cast Members Do Stand-Up, featuring Jungle Cruise, Great Movie Ride, and Kilamajaro Safaris

• Round and Round, featuring Dumbo, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Triceratops Spin

• Motion Sickness Madness, featuring Mad Tea Party, Star Tours, Body Wars, Mission: Space, and Primeval Whirl

• What Were They Thinking?!?, featuring Stitch’s Great Escape, Stitch’s Great Escape, and Stitch’s Great Escape

• Classic Audio-Animatronics, featuring Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, Pirates of the Carribean, and The Enchanted Tiki Room (yes, even with the new management)

The Hall of Presidents: Clearly No Laughing Matter

Surely you, gentle reader, will have other suggestions, perhaps a bit more subversive even? Let’s offer up a few Dream Paths of our own. The WDW Today podcast show #168 might be good fodder for thought . . . it’s a discussion of the panelists’ least favorite attractions at Walt Disney World.

Year of a Million Dreams: Drinking Deeply of the Kool-Aid

I have tasted the Kool-Aid, and it is sweet. After my trip last week to Walt Disney World, I couldn’t resist taking a few minutes to summarize my thoughts on their new marketing campaign, and my personal experience of it. (My husband, a senior reporter for Brandweek, also interviewed me for this week’s issue, which includes a much-abbreviated version of this article.)

Having just wrapped up Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary Happiest Homecoming on Earth campaign, it was time for Disney to launch the Next Big Thing. The Homecoming had perhaps even outworn its welcome; the 18-month campaign had lasted well past Disneyland’s 51st birthday. So, in the first week of October, Disney Parks launched the new campaign, Year of a Million Dreams.

Year of a Million Dreams display at Epcot
Sure, the Year of a Million Dreams promises some new attractions at Disney parks, including new rides and shows. But that’s pretty much a constant; theme parks generally launch new attractions to keep pace. More to the point, YOMD promises in its major press release:

. . . for the first time, during the “Year of a Million Dreams” celebration, Disney cast members will award a million dreams – both large and small, including many “money-can’t-buy” experiences – to guests selected through a random process as part of a unique “Disney Dreams Giveaway” promotion.

Throughout this incredible celebration, special dreams and unique experiences once thought impossible will be awarded by our cast every day,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Disney parks are always the place where dreams come true – but even more so during the ‘Year of a Million Dreams.’”

The Disney fan community (yours truly included) greeted this new campaign with great skepticism when it was first announced in the spring. Rumors floated on the internet suggested that the campaign had been launched by marketing with little or no input from operations. An overnight stay was promised in Cinderella Castle; had the logistics folks even been consulted? Leaks from within Disney seemed to suggest internal chaos, and the Disney Faithful grew snarkier by the day, as speculations ran rampant about what the actual million prizes would be. Would this be the Year of a Million Churros, as wondered by miceage.com?

The release of the official prize list didn’t help much. The WDW Today podcast dissed almost every prize, especially the economy-class accomodations and airfare for the Grand Marshall World Tour, one of the top prizes. And a lot of the lower-level prizes could hardly be called Dreams. Was anybody out there really dreaming of a free pair of Mouse Ears? An extra hour in Epcot, estimated retail value of $4.76? Yours truly blogged about it with some distaste, dubbing it the Year of 50,000 Photo Vouchers.

Fantasyland on a Saturday . . . Year of a Million Strollers?

But then, I had a taste of the Kool-Aid.

The first sip came one Friday morning at Disney/MGM Studios, where a Cast Member on custodial duty handed me a matching pair of Disney trading pins. One was for me, one I was instructed to give to another guest. My son gave the pin to a bored-looking pre-pubescent boy, who looked happy and puzzled but was speechless (the boy’s mother thanked my son).

But we took a long, deep draught that evening. We’d ordered dinner at a counter service restaurant at Epcot, the Liberty Inn. The food seemed to be taking an unusually long time, at least by Disney’s customer service standards. Then I noticed that the tray with our dinner was covered with confetti, with a few toys scattered about. Next thing we know, a Cast Member is ringing a bell, people are cheering and clapping, and we’re being led to a special, decorated table. We’re given pennies to throw in the wishing well, a signed picture of beloved Disney characters, a note from Mickey himself, and a certificate of our Magical Moment. Our picture is taken. A dessert is brought for my friend Lisa, the birthday girl (her special day bringing its very own set of special Disney privileges). And I am thrilled. We have won one of the million dreams! We had won a prize Disney’s dubbed the American Wishing Tale.

Lisa, Greg, and I (right to left) dreaming a little Dream at the Liberty Inn

Twenty minutes later, I’m laughing at myself. I’d felt like I’d won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, when all I’d really won was a seat at a table with paper tablecloths, a couple pieces of paper, and one shiny red penny (which I’d dutifully thrown into the wishing well, of course). But the Cast Members did a great job of convincing me that this was, in fact, a dream come true. They made us feel like royalty.

Our Magical Moments certificate, plus a few of the million desserts we consumed that weekend. Photo credit: Lisa Farry

And this is where the brilliance of this new campaign lies. A lot of Cast Members appear to truly delight in making guests feel extra-special, granting them small favors and acts of kindness. (They may in fact not delight in this . . . I heard from one Cast Member that “backstage,” everybody’s complaining about this new campaign, and hating the fact that they have new responsibilities to hand out “Dreams.”)

By and large, my experiences at Disney parks have always been enhanced by small favors and special treatment. Just on this latest three-day trip, there were many such moments that did not appear to be officially sanctioned and certified Dreams, and which in fact brought us a deeper satisfaction. The monorail driver who let us sit up front, slowed down the train to show us a particular feature we’d expressed interest in, and gave us co-pilots licenses and a trading card. The Segway-riding Cast Member Chris at Epcot who chatted with us about Disney, about geeky rock music, about our home towns, and then bypassed the lines for us to Spaceship Earth, giving us the VIP treatment. The Cast Member who let my son hang onto his Peter Pan Fast Pass, giving him quick entrance for another spin on the much-loved ride later on. Cast Member Jack at the Crystal Palace, who laughed with us for multiple photo ops on Lisa’s birthday, the Year of a Million Desserts.

Jack singing Happy Birthday to Lisa

The success of the campaign over the long haul may depend in part on how well Disney continues to support its Cast Members in creating the magic, and in managing Guest expectations. Will the Cast Members burn out after month upon month of going beyond even their usual level of consistent cheerfulness? Have the Guests’ expectations been raised to an unreasonable level, and will there be backlash from those whose Dreams don’t come true? Already The Disney Blog has raised the question of whether low-level prizes are being awarded in a manner inconsistent with the rules (and perhaps in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act), and certainly plenty of Guests have been frustrated to be almost in the right place at the right time, as they watch Dreams awarded to others. But the casual, occasional Disney visitor probably isn’t paying enough attention to have their hopes raiesed as high, and it’s hard to imagine the Disney Faithful changing their park attendance patterns just because they didn’t get handed a free pin.

Year of a Million Dreams might well turn out to be a stroke of marketing genius, if Disney can keep it up. But the real heart of the Disney magic is the Cast Members who go above and beyond the call of duty to create those special moments for Guests. Our Segway-riding friend Chris didn’t need any special campaign backing him up to make our evening a little more magic, he just did. Let’s hope that Disney gives Chris and all his colleagues the support they need to keep that magic going.

More Hi-Res Images from Walt Disney World, Plus a Special Thanks

I’ve noticed that my blog posts with images for desktop wallpaper get a decent amount of traffic, so on my trip to WDW last weekend (yay!) I took a few more pictures that might just make good desktop wallpapers. The first one in the list below currently graces my own Thinkpad.

Rock’n’ Roller Coaster:

Magic Kingdom WDW Railroad:

And the Railroad again, for those who prefer the image off to the right:

Bear in the Big Blue House, in the Disney/MGM Studios Stars and Motor Cars parade:

Mickey, Minnie, and Donald, in that same parade:

I also wanted to say a special thanks to a few Cast Members who made our trip last weekend extra-special, as my son and I were visiting with my super-duper old-time best friend Lisa, celebrating her fortieth birthday. CM Chris, riding a Segway near Mission Space on Friday evening, spent some extra time with us and gave us a little VIP treatment. CM Jack laughed with us as we took silly pictures at the Crystal Palace on Saturday. A monorail driver, whose name I have sadly forgotten, gave us inside tips about the Electrical Water Pageant, and made my son very happy with a Monorail Co-Pilot’s license and a trading card. All of these were special, magical moments . . . and each one of them even more special to us than the official Year of a Million Dreams moments we were fortunate enough to have that weekend as well! (More on that later . . . I’m still collecting my thoughts after such a great weekend, and will blog more on it anon!)

Disney Announces Year of 50,000 Photo Vouchers

Well, it’s really called the Year of A Million Dreams, but we’ve all heard it called by many names as we’ve awaited the complete list of prizes. Would this be the Year of a Million Churros, as they handed out free snack food? How about the Year of a Million Headaches, as Disney corporate folks sorted out the details of this promotion that seems to have been thrust upon them?

The Disney web site now hosts the complete list of contest rules and prizes, which includes 50,000 photo vouchers which will be won by guests who have, apparently, dreamed of free photographic services.

Of course you know I’m just being bitter because I’m already envious of the people who’ll win the truly coveted prizes. My dream? My dream would be to win one of the Grand Marshall World Tours, which is described in the Mousesavers’ version of the summary of prizes as:

3 Grand Marshal World Tours (15-day/14-night trip for 4 people, visiting Disneyland® Park, Disney’s California Adventure® Park, Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcot®, Disney-MGM Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, Disneyland® Resort Paris, Walt Disney Studios® Paris, Tokyo Disneyland® Resort, Tokyo Disney Sea® Park, and Hong Kong Disneyland® Resort).

And yes, there are a number of other really cool prizes, like Disney Vacation Club points, trips to Italy and Paris, and special VIP events. I do have to give credit to the folks who developed this list through what must have been a nightmarish decision-making process (just think about your own job, especially if you’re in the public eye . . . how easy is it to come to consensus on anything important?).
But still, those 50,000 photo vouchers and 250,000 pairs of Mickey Mouse ears just don’t quite feel like the stuff that dreams are made of.

Addendum: An interesting comment on the DISboards has spurred conversations about the fact that not all Disney Parks visitors are eliigible for prizes.

I guess when you wish upon a star, it DOES make a difference who you are.