I thought I would use this week to give a synopsis of the highly anticipated yet anticlimactic press conference that Disney gave recently. Rumors were flying left and right about this conference before it began, especially on social media like Facebook and Twitter, but none of these were true. When I found out it was an announcement for the new celebration for the parks, I was not surprised in the least; I had been waiting for weeks for that announcement and knew it had to be coming any day.
The press conference dragged on longer than most anticipated and had a few not so pleasant surprises, including many annoying outbursts by the host Tom Bergeron, some of which were inappropriate and completely uncalled for. It was just over halfway through the conference when they finally stated what the purpose of it was.
The big announcement was the celebration for 2011, called “Let the Memories Begin.” Disney did a lot of research and found out how many of us use social media to connect and interact while we we’re in the parks. They are taking our new found obsession and encouraging it; they want us to upload and share our memories. When you upload your pictures and video to http://memories.disneyparks.disney.go.com/ Disney has access to them and you have the opportunity to have your memories on commercials shown throughout the year. Within the parks, pictures from Photopass photographers and ones added online will be projected at night for all to see; in Disneyland, it will be on the outside of “it’s a small world” and in Walt Disney World, on the spires of Cinderella’s Castle. There is also a new song called “Let the Memories Begin” that debuted.
There were some negative thoughts about this when it first came out, talks of outrage, people saying that Disney is just trying to get free material for their publicity. There was also anger by adults with no children about how this celebration was targeting strictly families. I will admit, I did see it this way as well, but as I let it sink in and listened to the song again, I really think this is an opportunity for us. We love our social media and love sharing memories with everyone we know and love; Disney is just helping us to spread our memories. Through social media, we have so many friends, and this may just give us the opportunity to meet more! Also, for you who have children, imagine your child’s face when they see themselves on the castle or on a television commercial and what a memory that will create for them!
While I can see the negative and positive sides of this, I know I will be going into 2011 and the “Let the Memories Begin” celebration with an open mind. After all, this is Disney!
Oh, and a quick update on the Fantasyland Refurbishment, there have surfaced some pictures of beams going up behind the construction walls! It seems as though the construction of Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is underway, to the excitement of many!
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!