On our show this week we interview Dave Smith, Steven Clark an dBecky Cline about D23 and the Walt Disney Archives. I believe they shed some light on many issues the online Disney community are confused/troubled about.

Interesting debate here. I was a day one member, and have no regrets. I think with the support D23 has throughout the Disney company, the best is yet to come.

Some of the major factors that exist here for me are:

Positives:
a.) Disney Community Events – I envision a ComicCon-style event a la Disney. I’ve always wanted to see something of a larger scale than NFFC.
b.) Focus placed on Disney history or “roots”, it’s a very specific topic but caters to a large fan base and I’m a trivia nut. The tie-in to the archives is awesome!
c.) The magazine is amazing, extremely high quality. It’s almost like giving Disney a quarterly “DVD Features”. It will also be a great forum for Imagineers to showcase upcoming attractions and plans.

Negatives:
a.) It commercializes the online community, although I can’t fault Disney for wanting to own it; especially in the current economy.
b.) The price is high and the magazine distribution is low.
c.) Small benefit to non-collectors

I won’t be signing up, not now anyways. I don’t have the expendable income to “try” the membership to see if it’s worth it. I will however keep a close eye on it, get feedback through my fellow Travelears and the online community and hopefully make a decision on it by year end.

I can’t wait to hear what comes in the package!

-Ryan

I know that many of the Travelears Crew have signed up today a founding members and this will allow us to give our listeners a real review of he program, as it unfolds.

Thanks again for the feedback. And be sure to listen to this weeks show to hear more about this topic.

Aj

I thought of that when I was typing my post. I tried to check for info on the Mousefest site, but it’s been locked down. Even the stuff for the old meets is not accessible.

AJ,

I believe that, as it was presented today, D23 isn’t much of a value. I will be keeping eyes and ears open throughout the year to see what else they throw into the mix. I already saw on the site that they’re trying to get D23-exclusive showings of UP. Good if its nationwide, worthless to most of us if it’s merely a private showing at the El Capitan.

I don’t believe that this is strictly a money grab. I guess I kind of came off that way in my earlier comment as I’ve been a tad disappointed today. I guess my expectations didn’t coincide with Disney’s plans for D23.

Like I said, I’ll be watching it to see how it forms. We have until the end of the year to become “Charter” members, so I’m not rushing.

Cheers,
Spence

The cost for the unofficial fan communities to have a presence at MouseFest and MagicMeets isn’t cheap either.

I’ve been saying for a couple years now that I felt that Disney was eventually going to try and step in and reign in some control over the fan communities. After MouseFest 2007, the number of blogs, podcasts, and websites just exploded. I started to really believe they were going to do something after they worked with WDWCelebrations to help put together the EPCOT celebration.

Let’s face it, there is as much of a market to be tapped of uber Disney fans as there is for Pop Warner Football, Cheerleading championships, and Brazilian Tour Groups.

I joined D23 today as well and already heard that we cannot judge the entire D23 offering based on what was available on launch day and to wait to see what announcements come in the future

Thanks for the passionate feedback. I agree that $16 is a very expensive magazine, but I believe that we need to see the first packages that are delivered before we make up our minds.

I had confidence today that Disney had faith that their members would get value foe money and I hope that they deliver on those promises.

I do believe however that D23 is a lot more than Disney cashing just cashing in on the community, and its more about having more control of the online and fan community.

Listen to tonight’s travelears podcast, as we openly discuss our thoughts on today’s announcement.

Aj

Thanks for the feedback and I am sure that a number of people will share your feelings. I personally feel that we will never see Mousefest again, but that is only my personal thoughts. Aj

“Marty Sklar stated, “This is not meant to be another means for Disney to sell merchandise. It is intended for Disney fans to feel connected to the company and each other.””

I’m sorry, but I’m calling bulls**t with this one. If there wasn’t a way to milk money from its fans, do you really think Disney would be putting the time and effort into this? Just look at the D23 items that premiered on DisneyShopping.com today: 25 shirts, 10 fashion accessories, and 7 club-related collectibles available for purchase by members only. Also in “Boutique 23″: 13 art pieces, 20 tableware pieces and 11 stationary pieces (including an $850 pen), available for members and non-members alike. That doesn’t even include the memberships themselves or individual issues of the magazine! Now tell me again that they’re not using this to shake down their fans for even more money.

I’d also bet, dollars to donuts, that *IF* unofficial Disney online communities are allowed to participate in Expo, they will have to pay a hefty fee to participate or have a booth.

My dad once said, “Disney doesn’t want *SOME* of your money, they want *ALL* of your money.” Disney saw the buildup of fans on the internet and are now attempting to “cash-in” on us.