And how was your weekend?
Mine contrasted sharply with last weekend. Instead of being
inside of the brightly-lit Anaheim Convention Center surrounded by thousands of
Disney fans, I was sitting in the dark here at home with Nancy, Alice and the
cats. What with all the wind & wet weather associated with Hurricane /
Tropical Storm Irene, it took Public Service of New Hampshire upwards of 15
hours to finally get the electricity flowing again in our neck of the woods.
Which – I know – sounds like it could have been kind of
miserable. It actually wasn’t. Even though we were without power for the better
part of a day, the six of us were all inside – safe & dry. More to the
point, we had plenty of food, water, candles & flashlights on hand. Not to
mention the terrific view of this storm that we had through the big picture
window which we have at our place.
So – because we’d done a little advance planning AND had
realistic expectations (i.e. we live way the hell out in the woods. There’s a
hurricane headed our way. Which means that we’re probably going to be without power
for a couple of hours) – Alice, Nancy and I had a pretty enjoyable time
yesterday.
The line outside of Anaheim Convention Center on Friday morning just before the D23
EXPO opened its doors. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
I bring this issue up because … Well, over the past week, I’ve
been reading the comments that some people have posted in the wake of the D23
EXPO. Where they then vented their frustration about the lines that these
folks encountered and/or groused about the panels & presentations that
these people couldn’t get into.
And what’s kind of interesting about these complaints is
that there’s a constant refrain that runs through many of these comments. To wit:
“Disney has had years & years of experience of dealing
with large crowds thanks to its theme parks. Which is why I’m surprised that they
didn’t do a better job of managing the lines at the D23 EXPO.”
The only problem with that premise is that the D23 EXPO wasn’t
/ isn’t a theme park. It’s a convention much along the lines of Comic-Con
International.
This is just a portion of the line for Hall H at Comic-Con International. The rest of the line
(which typically includes an additional 2,000 – 3,000 people) winds back-and-forth
along the waterfront behind the San Diego Convention Center.
And as anyone who’s ever been down to the San Diego
Convention Center during the third week of July will tell you, lines are just an
unavoidable part of life – at least as far as Comic-Con is concerned. Like it
or not, you’re going to spend much of your time at this 4 ½ day-long pop
culture event standing in a queue. Waiting in line for hours at a time, hoping
that you can then actually get into a particular panel or presentation.
Which then bring me to another comment that kept popping up
in people’s complaints about the D23 EXPO
“Why don’t they just schedule multiple presentations of
these panels? Or at least stage them in bigger venues?”
Well, not to be blunt here … But you do realize that the
people who were hosting / moderating these various panels & presentations actually
do have lives & responsibilities outside of entertaining & informing
members of the Official Disney Fan Club?
A sleep-deprived Joe Lanzisero (left) soldiers on through Sunday’s Disney Cruise Line,
as he and WDI’s Bob Zalk describe the amenities that will be found on the Disney
Fantasy. Photo by Angela Ragno
Take – for example – Joe Lanzisero, senior vice president of
Walt Disney Imagineering. In the days prior to his appearance at this year’s
D23 EXPO, Joe had been at Hong Kong Disneyland consulting on the three new
lands that are being built at that theme park. Lanzisero then flew back to the
States just so he could then co-host Sunday morning’s “Imagineering the Dream
and the Fantasy: Designing for Disney Cruise Line” panel. Which is why Joe kept
apologizing from the stage about continually having to consult his script for
this presentation, because ” … I’m a little jet-lagged up here.”
You get what I’m saying? That the actual people who worked / are working on
these new movies, TV shows & theme park attractions for The Walt Disney
Company took time out from their busy schedules to come on down to the Anaheim Convention
Center and then talk about what they’re working on. And since these films /
television series / rides & shows are dynamic, on-going entities … Well,
that’s why these folks then weren’t available to present their panels over
& over again at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. each day. They had to get
back to their actual jobs.
More to the point, the people who run D23 recognize that not
every member of the Official Disney Fan Club is a theme park fan. That there
are those who are just animation enthusiasts. Or those who watch the Disney
Channel & Disney XD religiously. Or maybe they’re a comic book collector
who wants to learn more about what Marvel & the Mouse have in the works for
2012 & beyond. Which is why creating an event that services all of these
needs / addresses all of these interests can be something of a challenge.
Look, as someone who was a moderator at this year’s EXPO as
well as being someone who attended this event as a member of the media, I’m not
going to pretend that my D23 EXPO experience was typical. But that said, I
spent an awful lot of time on the show floor on Saturday & Sunday. And
judging by the huge screaming crowds in front of the Disney Channel / Disney XD
/ Disney Junior stage, the long lines for autographs & giveaways at the
Walt Disney Animation Studios booth, not to mention how crowded Mickey’s of
Glendale and the on-site Disney Store were, there were clearly a lot of people
who had a perfectly fine time at this year’s D23 EXPO.
“Good Luck Charlie” fans line up to get the autographs of the cast of this Disney Channel
series. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
What’s that you say? Your chief complaint about the 2011
edition of the D23 EXPO is that Friday’s Disney Parks & Resorts presentation
was underwhelming? This is honestly one of the more ridiculous comments that I
have ever heard coming from Disneyana fans.
I mean, think about it. The Walt Disney Company just spent
upwards of $1.2 billion (or $1.7 billion, depending on who you talk to) on
reinventing Disney California Adventure. Not to mention the $350 million (or is
it $500 million?) that the Imagineers are now spending on expanding &
enhancing Fantasyland at WDW‘s Magic Kingdom. That’s roughly $2 billion that
the Company has recently invested in its stateside resorts. And let’s not forget about the
work that’s being done on the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Art of Animation
Resort, Aulani, as well as the soon-to-begin-construction Disney Vacation Club
at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
So given the enormous amount of money that the Mouse has just
plowed into the Disneyland & Walt Disney World Resorts (more importantly,
given what’s going on with the economy right now. With consumer confidence back
at November 2008 levels as everyone worries about whether we’re now headed into
a double-dip recession), is it realistic to then expect that Mickey would now be
announcing yet another billion expansion of its stateside properties? I’m
thinking that someone who’s actually been paying attention to what’s been going
on in financial circles lately would likely say “No.”
Which brings me to the part of today’s JHM article that I’m
sure will get me the most hate mail. Which is the unrealistically high
expectations of some Disneyana fans. Who seem to insist that every new
attraction that’s being added to the theme parks has to be this state-of-the-art
E Ticket. Or that an event like this year’s D23 EXPO be completely glitch-free.
Concept art for Disneyland’s new Fantasy Fair area. Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Look, I know that the PR department at Disney regularly
tosses around terms like “magic,” “wonder,” “dreams,” “wishes” and “pixie dust”
just so we’ll then get all warm-and-fuzzy whenever we think about the Mouse’s
latest project. But I myself, I don’t
live in Fantasyland. I live in the real world. Where life is full of small setbacks,
tiny hiccups and little disappointments.
So when I found myself unable to get into Stage 23 for
Friday night’s Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix concert, did I pitch a fit? Did
I immediately get on Twitter and then complain about this year’s D23 EXPO was ineptly
run & how everyone associated with this event should be fired? Nope. Because
I’m an adult who can actually handle disappointment, I got on the escalator and
then headed back downstairs. With my only thought being that I wish that I’d been smart enough to get on
line earlier. That way … Well, maybe I could have actually scored a seat to
this supposedly extraordinary show.
What’s that you say? D23 could have easily avoided this
problem if they’d just had Dick perform in the D23 Arena (which had seats for
4000) rather than Stage 23 (which only had seats for 750 – 1000)? Sorry, but
that wasn’t D23’s call. It was Van Dyke himself who supposedly insisted that the
Vantastix perform in a more intimate venue. With his main concern being that –
what with the acoustics of the cavernous Anaheim Arena – that oversized venue just
wouldn’t lend itself to the sort of close harmony that Dick’s group does.
“Well, D23 should have just insisted that Dick Van Dyke and
the Vantastix perform in the Anaheim Arena,” you say. Look, the Official Disney
Fan Club knows that it was damned lucky to land this 86-year-old Disney Legend
for this year’s EXPO. You see, Dick turns down hundreds of requests each year
when it comes to interviews, appearances and performances. So whatever it took
to keep Van Dyke happy (i.e. have the Vantastix perform in an intimate space
versus an enormous arena), that was what they were going to do.
Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix perform at the 2011 D23 EXPO. Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Anyway … You wanna know why I had a great time at this year’s
D23 EXPO? It wasn’t because I was the moderator of the Pixar Shorts panel. Nor
was it because I attended the event as a member of the media.
No, I had a great time at this year’s D23 EXPO because –
just like with this past weekend’s hurricane / tropical storm – I went into
this event with realistic expectations. I knew that there was just no way that
I’d be able to see each & every panel and presentation. Which is why I then
carefully chose those events that I really wanted to attend.
More to the point, because I anticipated that there’d be
lines & crowds for the D23 EXPO’s more popular panels, I did some advance
planning. I found out where I needed to go. More importantly, when I needed to
get on line. And as a direct result, I wound up being able to see about 75% of the
presentations that I really wanted to attend at this year’s event.
Which – I know – if you’re going by Disney theme park
standards, only getting to experience 3 out of 4 of the rides, shows and attractions
that you came out to the park to see … That’s somewhat disappointing. But if
you’re going by Comic-Con standards, getting into 3 out of every 4 panels &
presentations that you really wanted to attend … That’s huge. That’s the pop
culture equivalent of winning the lottery.
Some of the Disneyana enthusiasts who chose to dress as their favorite characters for
this year’s D23 EXPO. Photo by Florence Doyle
So I guess what I’m saying is – if you’ve been reading some
of the negative post-D23-EXPO comments that are out there and are now thinking that you
may take a pass on attending the Official Disney Fan Club’s 2013 convention
… Don’t be a chump. You’ll just be letting those people who are already predisposed
to complaining when it comes to whatever it is that The Walt Disney Company does rob
you of the opportunity to experience something pretty extraordinary.
Which – provided that you do a little advance planning &
walk into the Anaheim Convention Center with realistic expectations – can be a
very entertaining and informative way to spend three days.
Your thoughts?