Are You 23? (Disney's D23 Fan Club Discussion)

[goofystitch]

Well, it works now. I paid for my charter membership. The magazine is $15 per issue, so the fee to join is only slightly more than buying all 4, which is nice. I like a lot of the exclusive merchandise, but its expensive, so I don't know if/when I'll be able to get any of it.

[Neal]

WTF!? $75.00!!! I didn't think it'd be cheap to join an official community but $75 seems pretty hefty to me. What do these kinds of clubs usually cost? I've never heard of such an official community before, so I don't know. But...wow...$75?!

I know this isn't for the minivan moms who buy Disney films to shut their kids up on weekends... but I'm an avid Disney fan and would love to join this club, but at 18, I don't know how to afford it.

[mrfivefingers]

Ive also just got the membershop, carn't wait for the first edition of the magazine as the content already avaiable throught the website is great.

There is some really nice merchhandise avaiable, though as goofystitch says some of the price tags are incredibly steep .

WTF!? $75.00!!! I didn't think it'd be cheap to join an official community but $75 seems pretty hefty to me. What do these kinds of clubs usually cost? I've never heard of such an official community before, so I don't know. But...wow...$75?!

$60 of that is for the four issues of the magazine, the membership without that techinally is $15 (shame you carn't get membership without the magazine)

One little annoying thing is that we cannot buy the individual issues (without membership) oversees without buying a membership, for me that isn't a trouble as i wouldn't mind being a member. Also a quick word of warning to any international buyers, postage for the D23 Membership can be anything to $60.

[miklc]

I'm still confused about this magazine/fan club. Will someone please explain exactly what it is, also is this availble in the UK?

[Voiceroy]

From The Disney Store email blast:

http://disneyshopping.go.com/disney/sto ... D=12224132

[SpringHeelJack]

Mmmmyeahhh, no, I won't be paying for this.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I'm still confused about this magazine/fan club. Will someone please explain exactly what it is, also is this availble in the UK?

Yes, but there's $60 extra for shipping.

Let's see $75 US + $50 for shipping? No. WDCC costs me $75 CND and that gives me a porcelain sculpture plus magazines, a pin, card, etc.

A lousy deal for a lousy product.

[Disneykid]

I registered and find that $75 really isn't that bad at all. Like goofystitch said, if you buy each issue separately as they come out, you're spending $60 a year. The extra $15 gets you the card, certificate, gift (a pin, probably), and access to members-only merchandise. There's not a whole lot to choose from, and some of the prices are insane ($300 for a pen?!Really?), but I'm sure the selections (and prices...) will vary as this club goes on. If I'm not happy with what's offered the rest of this year, I just won't renew my membership for 2010 and will buy the magazines from retailers. Either way, I don't feel like I've been jipped. Yet.

I do, however, feel bad for international members. That shipping cost is absolutely ridiculous.

[slave2moonlight]

Argh! I was psyched about this, but now I'm not. I didn't know this was going to be another "Give us a ton of money for 4 issues of a magazine and a chance to buy pricey collectibles" club. Raw deal. I was thinking more along the lines of an official webboard when I first heard it was a "community for Disney fans", which I'm always looking for because I'm still trying to find a single, cute female Disney fanatic, ha. I would love some of the collectibles, but I still am not in a situation to afford them or have room for them. I would love the magazine, but I'm not paying 15 bucks for 1 issue of a magazine! That's insane. Granted, I'd join if I had a ton of money to throw around, because then I could buy some of the collectibles and stuff too, and actually attent the expo and all that.

This reminds me of the Walt Disney Classics collection. I was a teenager when it came out and I forked over the 60 bucks or whatever it was to be a charter member, only to find I couldn't afford any of the statues and they never even sent me my fourth issue of the magazine, even though I called and told them I didn't get it! I still would like to get a lot of the classic collection statues, but they come up on Ebay all the time anyway. This stuff might too. Anyway, at least I got a charter member Jiminy Cricket statue for joining WDCC for one year.

Maybe someday I'll join this group for the community aspect/meet ups and the shot at the collectibles, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

[SpaceAce]

I havnt joined yet, but I will soon. I want that Walt Disney statue. I already have a figure of one of my heroes(Jim Henson) so I need the other.

[slave2moonlight]

I havnt joined yet, but I will soon. I want that Walt Disney statue. I already have a figure of one of my heroes(Jim Henson) so I need the other.

Do you mean the action figure of him as a Muppet? Or is there a statuette of him available somewhere? Because a statuette of Jim next to one of Walt would be awesome! Then, if I got those two, I'd just need one of George Lucas! Ha. Better if they matched though.

[SpaceAce]

It's the Muppet version of him made by Palisades. I would like a realistic figure of him, but the closest i've seen is model kit of a bust.

[slave2moonlight]

It's the Muppet version of him made by Palisades. I would like a realistic figure of him, but the closest i've seen is model kit of a bust.

I collect the Palisades Muppet figs, but there are still a lot I need, and that's one of them. Yeah, they really should come out with a nice sculpture of him with Kermit on his lap. Maybe some company could do a line of Pop Culture Icons or something, and have one of him and another of Walt with Mickey, and maybe even having other characters with them too.

[goofystitch]

That is unfortunate about the shipping price for other countries. In the US, shipping is free. One thing I read on the site was that your $75 membership actually makes the magazine subscription "free." Apparently, the gift they are going to be sending is really nice. I haven't heard what it is, but I heard it described as "something you would want to display in your house forever." So that is where most of your membership fee goes.

I personally am benefiting from this because I am going to be in Disneyland on Saturday during the D23 art signing and will be at the Disney Expo in September, so the discount on admission is also nice. There will supposedly be some members only events at the expo as well.

I have the first issue of Disney Twenty Three (bought it at Barnes & Noble because I couldn't wait) and it has amazing quality. Its way larger than I thought it would be. But to anyone who doesn't think membership to D23 is worth the price but wants the magazine, you can always just buy it every 3 months. The next issue comes out in May.

I don't think the club was intended to make anybody feel ripped off. 75% of the content is on the website, which is free for everybody. And anybody can attend the Disney Expo and purchase the magazine in stores. The only thing you miss by not joining is the opportunity to buy the D23 merchandise and attend exclusive theme park events that are going to be announced.

[gardener14]

I read about the magazine, and I was excited to join until I realized that membership cost a whopping $75. That's outrageous. I consider myself a huge Disney fan and Disney film buff. I collect every animated and live action movie I can, and I have many books that I enjoy, but there's no way that I'm paying $75 for a quarterly magazine no matter how much of a high quality publication it is, and the "opportunity" to buy exclusive merchandise is not something I will pay for. There are plenty of other outlets to receive Disney information and obtain merchandise without having to pay such an inflated fee.

To Disney I say thanks, but no thanks. I appreciate the effort, but you've excluded me and many long time fans based on an unrealisticly high price point.

[a-net-fan]

Hmmmm well $15 x 4 = $60. I say if you plan on buying the magazines anyway....you may as well pay the extra $10 and rake in all the other benefits of a membership. If your not interested in the magazine (or high quality quarterly publiction/ coffee table book ....as its been called) then I see no reason to even consider this offering.

As far as merchandise goes....I didnt see anything I would want.

Did anyone watch THE VIEW. Inger was on there promoting this. Everyone in the audience got a free years membership! haha I was excited to see the tour they gave of the Disney Archives. They showed a number of very cool things like the prop storybooks that are shown at the beginning of Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.....Mary Poppins hat......walt disneys phone, and my fave...Annette Funicellos Mouseketeer outfit!

[Flanger-Hanger]

What bothers me most about this is that this is the kind foo stuff I've wanted Disney to be selling forever now, but the fact that I have to pay alot to have the "privilege" to buy stuff in the first place is annoying and disrespectful beyond belief.

This should just be a product line for the Disney Store. That way they could actually get people to buy stuff from it while increasing the stores prestige beyond a cheap Walmart imitation.

Also that magazine is going to be pretty beat up by the time you get it in the mail as someone else pointed out. You're better just buying it at B a N.

[geniuswalt]

I would love to have the magazine but I cannot afford it, since I live outside the US.

Although it would be cool if someone would take the time to scan it and post it as a PDF file somewhere on the Internet (wink, wink)

[jediliz]

$75 a year? In the state of our Economy? Come on Disney!

I got a better idea.........make it a free community for fans and run special contests for Disney collectibles, chances to change the Disney Channel lineup, and for once in a lifetime VIP Tour trips to Disney World or DisneyLand.

[goofystitch]

I think you guys are getting a little bit ridiculous about this. I keep hearing the same complaint about the price and how "unfair" you feel this is. But here is the deal. Most of the content is FREE!!!!! There are no members only areas of the website. You can check http://www.disney.com/d23 any time as a non-member and get the exact same amount of information as members. I would say based on the number of articles that were on the site at launch, this is going to be about 75% of the written content. The other 25% is the magazine. Its $15 an issue and if all you want is the magazine, then Disney has set it up in a way where you have access to getting it. But if you plan on buying all 4 issues this year, it really is to your advantage to just join the club.

$15 X 4 = $60. For an extra $15, you are getting a sculpture from the new Disney Archives Collection, which appears to be a branch of the Walt Disney Collector's Society and a bi-weekly email.

Beyond that there will be events for members throughout the year. If you live near a Disney park or plan to visit one this year, than maybe membership is worth it for you. I am going to be in Disneyland this weekend and through serendipitous circumstances, Saturday is the first event. Or if you are going to the Disney Expo in September, you will save $21 per person on the 3 day pass (the 4th day is free) and there will be a members only area at the event, however, everybody is allowed to purchase tickets. If you were going, the money you save on the ticket price is more than the extra $15 beyond the magazine price.

In addition, there will be more member benefits throughout the year. The first one that has been announced is an advance screening of Up. I'm assuming this will be held in large metropolitan areas, so if you don't live near one and this was your main draw to the club, it may not benefit you.

Honestly, I don't see why so many of you think $75 is an outrageous price to pay. I think Disney will actually be losing money on the membership fee. If you are unable to benefit from the cost of membership, its as simple as just not joining.