Last fall the announcement of the Give a Day, Get a Day promotion was met with much excitement. The idea of helping the community and then getting to celebrate in a Disney park was appealing to many people, but I am not sure that Disney estimated how many people would be interested in this so quickly. After months of promos, along with the millions of dollars spent on media releases and commercials, it all ends after a record-breaking 10 weeks.
Disney announced last week that they had reached their millionth person in the promotion and instead of extending the program as many thought they would, they shut it down with a small “Thank You” note. Needless to say, many were shocked and even angered by this. Those who were currently setting up to volunteer, thinking they had plenty of time still, could not believe the announcement.
The big question on everyone’s mind is “What Now?” Great promotion after great promotion is what Disney has had for years, but now, it looks as though they may have run dry. Nothing has been announced for the next few months, so it looks like promotion lovers will have to wait until June 6th for the Summer Nightastic to begin. But after that ends on August 14th, what will come next?
I know many people will love to see Year of a Million Dreams come back, but I can guess that is not an option. Many have talked about the 40th birthday celebration for Walt Disney World. That is a big possibility, but still no word on anything from the Disney Company. It looks like we will just have to wait it out and wonder.
Contributed by: Jessica C. (NDI#21). Jessica is our resident “Gossip Girl” and creator of The True Disney Fan Blog.
Living in Delaware her whole life, Jessica did not know much about Walt Disney World until she went at 13 years old. That initial trip, though, got her hooked on the magic. As the years went on, she did everything she could to learn more about Disney (including watching documentaries and reading books). She did not know many people that shared her passion until she discovered the wonders of the internet and the Disney community found on it. She has gotten involved with as many Disney projects as she can, including writing the weekly news articles for The Disney Driven Life and writing for her own blog, The True Disney Fan. Jessica has also taken on a position with Celebrations Magazine, working the social media aspects of the publication. Through all these platforms, Jessica strives to bring as much Disney magic as possible into her everyday life, and she works to share it with everyone she meets!