D23 announces 2010 special events schedule

[MrScroogeMcDuck]

Hmm, no D23 Candlelight this year? Are they going back to the old way?

[SnorkletsMom]

Ah...more overpriced events. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure some of them will be terrific. But I'm still disappointed.

Dear Disney, don't 'thank' me for buying a D23 membership by 'allowing' me to pay through the nose for events, including some that were free last year. Really, don't do me any favors. The studio tour is now $50 per person? Imagine how much the night at Disneyland is going to cost.

This isn't covering expenses or keeping out returnees (it's already one per year, right?) it's greed. They will jack up prices, because they can.

[Monorail Man]

Already booked for the Mary Poppins event, and can't wait for the 1 year anniversary parties (maybe I can swing both?).

[Kuzcochik]

Upset by the lack of expo (the smart thing would be to do one this year and then do them every other year after that... it's going to lose the hype it had built up after last year, but I digress)
The Disneyland/fantasyland event looks amazing to me. I hope the price tag isn't too high, but I might be able to justify it (since I won't be spending money on expo tix). Interesting array of events here. Interested to see how they pan out

[mcow1]

The Fantasyland event looks wonderful. The only thing that worries me about it is the number of tickets that are going to be available if each member can bring 3 guests.

[ryanvalle]

The Fantasyland event looks wonderful. The only thing that worries me about it is the number of tickets that are going to be available if each member can bring 3 guests.

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Fantasyland is HUGE and I'm sure that they'll be able to let a lot of members go. On top of that, it won't be a free event, so the number of people who RSVP will be cut down. In addition, tie in the fact that it falls on a weeknight where people have work and kids have school the next day, attendance may be low, so having 3 guests would allow for more people to attend to bring the cost for D23 making the event possible more of a reality.

[EC82]

I thought it was free too, but it's typical disney to start over charging for stuff.

Well, normally I might agree with your cynical assessment, but think about the fact that they've got to open the studio, pay for security, pay for refreshments (assuming there are some? I haven't been on one of these), pay the staff involved, open the studio store, etc. I doubt $50 per person even begins to cover the costs for 10 hours of studio operations.

[DOOM BGI]

Dear Disney, don't 'thank' me for buying a D23 membership by 'allowing' me to pay through the nose for events, including some that were free last year. Really, don't do me any favors. The studio tour is now $50 per person? Imagine how much the night at Disneyland is going to cost.

This doesn't bother me one bit. In fact I'm glad they made this change. I'm hoping that charging $50 will mean that I might actually be able to get tix this time! My advice to you: just don't go. More space for others.

[Dustysage]

I'm glad they are charging for the Studio event as well. There was SO much demand for it that a price tag will help limit interest to just the folks who really want to go.

I didn't get to go last year (I tried but missed out each time), but it was free, so I just had to try for a ticket. At $50 I really have to give it a second thought. Not sure if it is worth $50 to me yet or not. Which is the whole point of the price tag. If you have thousands of members who all want the same 50 tickets, you've got to charge something!

I'm sure there will be other free events to fill the void. But if D23 is going to be a success in the eyes of the powerful mouse, then they are going to need to cover their expenses. That doesn't bother me a bit. We have to do the same exact thing here at MiceChat.

[SnorkletsMom]

I see your point, Dusty, and if the price were more reasonable, I'd agree. This isn't 'limiting interest', it's limiting availability. Not through a random selection or drawing, but through the member's personal finances. A studio tour adds very little extra to the studio's daily operating budget. Yes, it will keep people out, but really...is a snobbish exclusivity part of the deal now? There will still be a mad rush for tickets, people will still get locked out, but how fair is it to charge people $75 for a membership, then charge them $50 for a studio tour? In our case, we bought 2 memberships because all 3 of us wanted to take the studio tours when they opened up. We didn't get in, like many others. We've just figured we'd keep trying. But now on top of $150 for two memberships (you can only bring one guest) we now are expected to shell out $150 more?

This isn't about covering expenses, it's about making money, plain and simple. And I don't object to Disney making money, I object to them opening up an exclusive club with an exhorbitant membership fee, promising members-only great events and then price gouging on those events.

[GhostHost]

D23 made me laugh with the "50 and Fabulous" screening series.

Cost: FREE (There will be a $5 ticket processing fee.)

A FREE event that costs $5.

This way they can still say they are hosting free event but yet still charging. The screenings can hold 400 people which means they are collecting $2000 for a FREE event!

[Monorail Man]

This way they can still say they are hosting free event but yet still charging. The screenings can hold 400 people which means they are collecting $2000 for a FREE event!

While true, the cost of the ticketing surcharge might includes the processing and ordering of the tickets themselves. Remember that Disney has contacts for all these things, and while they would like to give it away free, these contacted companies don't care what D23 is charging.

[BC_DisneyGeek]

Didn't they reduce the D23 fee if you don't want the magazine? So it's basically a nominal fee to get access to paid events.

It would be nice if all the events were free, but D23 would then be way underpriced, and I agree with everyone who has said they need to do this to ensure that events are attended by people who are truly interested, not just grabbing everything they can because it's free.

I also agree that the processing fees they charge for "free" stuff can be extreme. I've gotten a few of the "free" plush toys and whatnot from Disney Movie Rewards, and paid $5 or more in shipping for the privilege.

There needs to be a balance. $50 for the studio tour definately makes it a profitable event. The point of D23 was not to rake in money, or was it?

[goofystitch]

I'm so excited about all of the events announced and I hope to attend both WDW ones (especially the anniversary event if I can get a ticket and get the day off work). I'm also ecstatic to see that the 50 and Fabulous Film Festival is continuing outside of the Expo because that was one of my favorite parts. Toby Tyler, Pollyanna, and Swiss Family Robinson are 3 of my all time favorite films. If I lived in SoCal, I would attend each one.

I think that charging for the studio tours this year is a really good idea and will hopefully make it easier to get in. If I'm not mistaken, it costs $45 to take the WB Studio Tour and to do Universal's, you have to pay to get into the park which is around $60 and if you want a real tour (not just a tram) you have to pay more. So $50 is a great deal for a studio that doesn't offer routine tours to the general public. We shouldn't be looking at this as "people got to go for free last year" because last year was a learning experience. It seems like the number 1 complaint from Mice Chatters about D23 is that they couldn't get into a studio tour.

D23 has done a great job with this preliminary schedule of events. I'm really excited to attend as many as I can, which will be hard since I just started an internship that has no vacation days. Its nice that they have announced certain events far in advance and I look forward to seeing what other events are added to the schedule as the year goes on.

[Coheteboy]

I hope the gifts with the $50 studio tour are worth it. I also wish there was a way they could allow older members to have some sort of priority to attend?