Tickets for poor kids a bad idea?

[SifuJustin]

I friend mentioned something to me yesterday that struck a cord in my memory. About 10 years ago, Disneyland offered so sort of special day, offering discount or free tickets for a large group of "inner city kids " (don't you just love PC code words!). What was supposed to be a great PR move for Disney didn't exactly turn out that way. A huge percentage of these kids ended up getting detained by Disney security for vandalism and shop lifting. And that was the end of Disney's "inner city" reach out program.

Does anyone remember this? Did this really happen? Was it just an "urban" rumor?

[audibleatom]

i guess it is a bad idea...like you could not see that coming!

[VeganPrincess]

I friend mentioned something to me yesterday that struck a cord in my memory. About 10 years ago, Disneyland offered so sort of special day, offering discount or free tickets for a large group of "inner city kids " (don't you just love PC code words!). What was supposed to be a great PR move for Disney didn't exactly turn out that way. A huge percentage of these kids ended up getting detained by Disney security for vandalism and shop lifting. And that was the end of Disney's "inner city" reach out program.

Does anyone remember this? Did this really happen? Was it just an "urban" rumor?

I see foresee this from this post:


But....

Hmmm.....it does kinda seem like asking for trouble. Also, how would Disney decide which ghettos...er...urban areas...to visit?! Sadly, Disneyland just isn't for everyone.

[Eflime]

Yeah it happened, not an urban myth, I was working that day. I guess a lot of them decided that the 'discount' also applied to the merchandise.

[Circarama]

Popcorn and licorice whips at the ready, Sir!

[Disneyland Daddy]

i guess it is a bad idea...like you could not see that coming!

I see foresee this from this post:


But....

Hmmm.....it does kinda seem like asking for trouble. Also, how would Disney decide which ghettos...er...urban areas...to visit?! Sadly, Disneyland just isn't for everyone.

Yeah it happened, not an urban myth, I was working that day. I guess a lot of them decided that the 'discount' also applied to the merchandise.

I bet Disney had the best ideas in mind - and it went sour. I think it was a good gesture

My wife and I did the same thing to some young boys at church - they were underprivileged. It was 2001. There was some promotional that each Premium AP got 2 tickets to DCA. So, we also had a ticket to Disneyland. So, I bought a ticket to Disneyland for one of the boys and then we took them for the day.

They were horrible. I want this - I want that - they broke stuff in the stores after I told them not to touch anything - and they were 9 and 11 years old - so they were understanding of what I was telling them.

Anyway, I could go into it ad nauseum (sp?) but it was sort of the same thing. We had the idea to do something nice - something special for kids that mightn't get this privilege often and it backfired.

[Pirate Lover 68]

This seems like a posting where it would be really really good to actually hear what happened with this trip, if it did happen, or if the details have been exaggerated over time. I am always a little concerned when people hear half a story, take it as fact, and then it confirms notions they already had that may in fact be false. If the trip(s) did happen and they had problems, then it seems unfortunate, if they happened and there weren't any problems, then it seems unfortunate we are drawing the conclusion that "it figures" or "some PEOPLE just don't deserve to go to Disneyland."

(Some folks posted while I was typing... I hope more details are available)

[LuvsLilo]

Popcorn and licorice whips at the ready, Sir!

*pulls up a chair*

I have peanut M&Ms and Dr Pepper.

[ALIASd]

Also, how would Disney decide which ghettos...er...urban areas...to visit?! Sadly, Disneyland just isn't for everyone.

I've seen numerous suburban kids over the years being dealt with and detained by DLR Security as well. Theoretically thousands of groups have probably been able to visit without incident over the fifty plus years of the park's existence. But there are always going to be bad examples of human nature as long as there are humans. Especially in theme parks.

[Nikki Mouse]

Not all kids from the ghetto are destructive and unappreciative. You can find children with money who act the same way. I just depends on how they were raised.

[cpdisneyprincess]

*pulls up a chair*

I have peanut M&Ms and Dr Pepper.

I'll get the popcorn. Butter ok?

[Circarama]

I wouldn't touch this subject with it...

*Circarama shuffles off to The Shed with his 10 Foot Pole *

[Nikki Mouse]

I wouldn't touch this subject with it...

*Circarama shuffles off to The Shed with his 10 Foot Pole *

Cute!

[Malcon10t]

My son attended school at a very small HS. His graduating class was 63 students. It is a rural farming community, and quite poor. It was their first year of sports (2nd year the school existed). The varsity football team consisted of 16 players (almost all had to play both ways, including my son.) Of those, only 5 were seniors. 4 of the 5 had never been to Disneyland. (My son had.) They ended the season 1-9. I had received a small sum of money from a settlement and made a decision to take these boys to Disneyland for Christmas. We stayed at the Hilton, Executive floor. One of the boys had NEVER stayed at a hotel and had to borrow something to pack in. I must say it was one of my most enjoyable experiences. The boys behaved beautifully. They were all 17, and we were there for 7 days. They all still call me mom and they all remember the time we had. Would I do it over again? Absolutely. Don't lump everyone together because of one bad experience.

[JeffYardDog]

I friend mentioned something to me yesterday that struck a cord in my memory. About 10 years ago, Disneyland offered so sort of special day, offering discount or free tickets for a large group of "inner city kids " (don't you just love PC code words!). What was supposed to be a great PR move for Disney didn't exactly turn out that way. A huge percentage of these kids ended up getting detained by Disney security for vandalism and shop lifting. And that was the end of Disney's "inner city" reach out program.

Does anyone remember this? Did this really happen? Was it just an "urban" rumor?

If Disney were to do this sort of thing again I think that they need to do it through outside organizations and involve families, not just the kids themselves.

They need to avoid the absence of adequate parental supervision and responsibility. Third parties just don't have the right amount of control and group supervision gets spread too thin.

Also, it needs to be spread out over a long term, not concentrated into a few special days. That just concentrates the problems for the CM's and park security and makes what negative incidents do occur more subject to bad publicity.