10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

[Al Lutz]

Walt Disney World's Stealth 35th, Epcot's Food & Wine Festival Begins, Million Dreams Kicks In, More... Discuss it all here!

[TarzanRocked99-06]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

I agree that it is sad that the 35th was all but forgotten, so was the 30th for that matter. It was not always this way though. WDW's 25 anniversary was huge and the 20th was a decent celebration as well. Hopefully once this global kick that upper management is currently on dies down a bit we will see some more WDW specific celebrations.

Hopefully!

[ni_teach]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

For a company that would normally market the smallest event it seems odd that they would pass on pushing this one. You would have thought that they would have rolled the 50th party into the 35..... I would have gone with a "coast to coast birthday celebration"

[SpectroMan]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Interesting the mention of pre-packaged desserts at Liberty Inn. Just returned from a 10 day trip and was blown away that ALL counter service desserts were pre packaged and, doubtfully made by Disney. Was extremely disappointed in that. Total loss of individuality and presentation.

[cellarhound]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Hey, Keven... Wine parring is EASY... Getting people to stop buying White Zin is hard...

[Herc]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

HI Kevin,

There are plenty of pins for the 35th anniversary. I left on Sept. 30 and bought the pins on Sept. 29. I too was surprised at the non anniversary of the 35th, especially after the really nice one they had in Disneyland.

[KevinYee]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

There were pins for the 35th? I would have bought one had I seen it. Maybe they sold out of them? Or were they only at Downtown Disney? I wish the Magic Kingdom had had them (or, at least had them until the end of the night). Such a missed opportunity!

[barfownz]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Awesome column, Kevin!

[TarzanRocked99-]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Kevin, go to www.dizpins.com there were over 50 pins released for the 35th anniversary, including a set that commemorates every year since WDW opened in 1971. You can get all of those pins in Frontierland.

Have you heard anything if they will celebrate Epcot's 25th next year or not?

[jmelrose]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

I just can't get excited for a 35th anniversay. After 25, it just seems like unless it's a number ending in "0" it's not all that big a deal. I mean, I don't expect a "105 years of Magic" celebration. It sounds kinda dopey. No pun intended.

The Dream Squad gets a printout from Dream To Dream. It would say something like, "The 3rd person through the turnstile at Mickey's Philharmagic at 4:03pm" Once they give it out they go to get the next one. It IS very regulated, as it has to be very random. I'm not sure if the black bag has a Palm or some such technology in it to facilitate the printout, but it's one dream at a time... Just like life.

Make sure to get the Pita Pocket in Morocco's F&W booth. Truly outstanding...

[JiminyCricketFan]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

I fear that the bigger picture is if a celebration does not effect all the resorts in the world, Disney is not going to celebrate them. Jay Rasulo is not interested in park specific promotions, only ones that go across all parks.

I personally think this is a mistake. In fact, promoting the individuality of park only increases attendance since people feel that going to each Disney park gives something special. "Seen one, seen them all" seems to be the message from the Dreams Come True campaign. MK is special enough to warrant a celebration only for it, as well as Epcot, and all the other parks.

I know that Disney is going to do nothing for Epcot's 25th. I sincerely hope that Rauslo is gone soon or there will be no individual park promotions in the future.

[SGT623]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Not only are there a TON of pins for the 35th...and they've been avalible for some time, but the button release is NOT just a Disneyland thing. It has been done every year since WDW opened. I'm sure you can find some of them on ebay. I have the 23rd anniversary button right here.

BTW, I was VERY upset that WDW did not get a 30th party, and even more that it wasn't corrected for the 35th. I really miss the park anniversary TV specials and the fact that there wasn't one for DL's 50th is horrible.

[KevinYee]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

I've gone to look at the pins in Frontierland and this isn't what I mean. I don't mean special pins with the green 35 splashed on them, I mean something ONLY sold on the day of the anniversary. That's what Disneyland has done for a long time, and WDW missed the boat on. To have it available on days other than the real anniversary is to celebrate the year, not the date itself.

[SGT623]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Don't take this as an attack. I just wanted to clear this up.
I was just responding to what I read:
"It's not as though Disney World is immune to the idea of celebrating milestones. After all, they make pins (the pin-trading variety) for other, much smaller things. They can make a pin for a land's 10-year anniversary, but the park's 35th warrants nothing? They missed an opportunity here."

Those "other much smaller things" had pins available on days other than their anniversaries only, so I just assumed that you were under the impression there was no 35th merchandise in general as you sighted it for comparison.

Here is a link to the large 35th set with 37 different Anniversary Pins for those that want to look at them:

http://www.dizpins.com/pinventory/wdw_35_years.htm#924

There are also an additional 10 different 35th pins that are not apart to the above set that were released, or are scheduled to be, for October. One was even released on the day. They can be found here:

http://www.dizpins.com/monthly_releases/2006/wdw_october2006.htm

So when you asked "how about selling special merchandise?" There are currently 47 pins to pick from (Of course a few have sold out already).

Also, in response to Everest on the button, many of the past anniversary buttons show the newest attraction that opened on property since the anniversary encompasses the entire WDW Resort not just the Magic Kingdom. (My 23rd button has the Tower Of Terror on it for example.) No WDW anniversary celebration has been confined to the Magic Kingdom only since it became a multi-park resort.

I completly agree that it is horrible there have been no large celebrations around the anniversaries in WDW for the last 9 years. I have been known to be wrong before so it could just be me but I think that many would take your information, as it is currently worded, to mean there are no 35th pins available and that WDW only did a castmember anniversary button for the 35th.

Other than that, keep up the good work!

[KevinYee]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Oh, no attack perceived. You're right, what I wrote in the update was in fact meant at the time to say there were no pins for the anniversary year. I found out about the pin sets in this thread! But having gone to see the pin sets, I realized that what I really wanted was something sold on the day of the anniversary, and THAT'S what I should have said in the post just above yours.

All that aside, pins are one thing that addresses the needs of a very specialized, but why not a button sold in EVERY merchandise location on October 1? No need to make a killing on the profits - just excite all the visitors that they were there on a special day? (heck, by selling the buttons, they wouldn't have to eat the cost of giving out free buttons). The problem with a pin is that is just gets lost amid the thousands for sale. The opportunity to make a splash is what they missed on October 1.

[danyoung]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Thanks for the update, Kevin. I noticed the new "stuff bags" on Space Mtn. and Everest, too. I like the concept, but I hope they hold up better than the one on Everest. It already had a big hole in the bottom, and I spent the entire ride trying to keep a foot on a part of my sunglasses after they fell through!

[Angus McGonnigle]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

Re: the glass Castle parade float...

Half a decade??? Holy crapping crap, that float's been around since "Tencennial," the Magic Kingdom's 10th anniversary celebration. That was always a running joke with my family after we noticed how it returned to every parade sure as love bugs in May, to guess how it would be redressed and shoehorned into the theme of the current parade. Bonus points to whomever spotted that float first.

I'd love to take a 20-pound sledge to the thing myself, even if it meant spending a night in the can.

[KevinYee]

Re: 10/5: Happy Un-Birthday

I thought I remembered that float from my first visit in the 80s, but didn't want to make a wild assertion in the update that would be wrong. Whew. That means the float is now 25 years old and deserving of its own anniversary pin