How Disney Broke The Fan Convention

How much is your dedication as a fan worth? Well, D23 knows, and it’s up to $2,600 apparently. The game has change and D23 has fully genie+ the experience for cash! #disney #expo #iger

Edited by Kenny Johnson

[Courier_]

Disney has always been expensive.

But they used to make the disney difference. Their quality was SO good that the prices were fine They were genuinely pioneering theme parks.

Now they raise the price and lower the value.

[happiestplace]

I completely respect Dan for saying, "NO", to all the price gouging and the ridiculousness that Disney has created in recent years.

[rebeccaperry]

For less than the price of this convention, I was able to book a 7 day trip to Hong Kong. And I finally get to experience Mystic Manor! So that's what I'll be doing instead. :)

[damonderby]

Is sad to see someone like Dan who lives and breathes Disney be so disheartened by their corporate greed. Where will it end?

[RonanBunny]

Here’s a little lesson for Disney,
“Money ain’t got no soul, Money ain’t got no heart.”

[rudetuesday]

The budget creep of all things connected to Disney has made it difficult for new people to find a way in. When I was a kid, our public library hosted free Disney programming on film, and The Wonderful World of Disney and Mickey Mouse Club were on broadcast TV. The parks were once in a lifetime or summer vacation trips, but you could sort of realistically daydream towards them.

I feel really bad for fans paywalled off from the things they love. I knew we were in big trouble when new Sesame Street episodes were headed for premium cable and streaming. A flipping PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) staple.

[raynacarraway]

It feels like Disney's new policy seems to be: take something pre-existing that worked fine, change it for the worse, and charge more so the CEOs who already have a ton of money can get richer. Happened with Fast Passes, Disney+, and D23. I'm so tired of Disney corporate man 😖

[provostparkpass]

Dan, I am having a hard time finding any flaws in your logic. Perfectly said

[aleczanderdean]

As someone who came into the fandom in 2018 and I didn't even know that D23 started as a fan con. I thought it was just their shareholder meeting.

[hollum]

In 2017 the animation panel let in the wrong section of the queue and shut out the people who had waited the longest, over 5 hours. I have never gone back. Someone in the ensuing angry mob shouted “kill the beast” though and that’s a memory I will never forget lmao

(we did eventually receive priority seating wristbands for our choice of parks panel or live action panel, that was after waiting around for the entire day on day one)

[CrazyCartoonCat]

Wish Bob Iger was replaced by someone who actually gives a damn about traditional animation and great story telling like Disney used to be.

[JustDuckDoinStuff]

Signed up for D23 last summer thinking all of the claims of “free member events and more” would materialize. Instead, I get emails touting new events and every single time it’s been HUNDREDS of dollars to just get in the door. It makes my stomach hurt to know that we keep getting promised these grandiose gestures for being fans and instead we just keep forking over cash to people who only care about how much they can bank off of our loyalty.

[WolfMoon]

This is the dumbest thing they’ve ever done.
I always go to D23 Expo and the biggest memory I have when going are the presentations.
2022 was actually, I did not expect to pay extra for just to get a sit…

[j.r.shartzer]

They are frantically removing your image from this year's slide show after seeing this.

[politiekhistorie]

Iger is really parasitic on the fan base. Sure, that will make a lot of people turn away from the fandom but Iger don't mind, the profits and marketshare will only really go down once he's gone and people will blame it on the next guy like a lot of people blame Chapek for Iger's actions.

[moira]

Since the panels are at the Honda Center which is off site from the main convention floor, are they not offering shuttles? That is just messed up especially for ADA attendees.

[Shark-hfpx]

I hate that Disney just keep going up with prices Walt Disney would never want this

[johnshoemakerpbc]

Please let Iger watch this video. Along with all of upper leadership. They need to hear it.

[KevinSmith-wmtd]

I went to the D23 Expo to celebrate the 100th anniversary, found out only privileged enter the panels and the entire thing was a money milking machine and never wanted to go there again.

Worst memory was being trapped in the parking deck waiting HOURS to get into the Disney parks panel just to say I went to ONE stinking panel and wasn’t allowed in when they opened the doors. In the time I wasted, I could have gone to Universal Studios and rode their rides and had fun.

What really sold me on how greedy Disney is was their real estate booth, yes, Disney has planned homes you can buy. Realtor rep said: “would you like to live a Disney experience for $500K?”

If I wasn’t so tired from my legs being stiff waiting, I would have said that unless they used a bio-lab to grow me a Princess Aurora bride or a lifetime supply of Disneyland tickets, I would rather have my money invested in Toho stock than fork over half a million just to have my house look like it is from Tron on the outside with generic interiors on the inside.

[caittails]

Honestly, at this point, the best move might to bring back Michael Eisner. Never thought I’d say it, but at least the man respected creativity.