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

[slave2moonlight]

So, I went to a different Barnes and Noble today and I FINALLY found the Disney 23 magazine. It was hard to catch because I was looking for 23 to be written as a number form. I was really expecting to see a mag titled "D23", not "Disney (rather small, above) "Twenty Three" (much bigger. Anyway, I didn't get to flip through it, as it was sealed in plastic, so that didn't help me consider purchasing it (though plastic wrap is great when you KNOW you are going to purchase something). However, I couldn't believe how thin it was! Everyone was saying it was so big, but I was thinking they meant thick. It looked like a calendar, really. I truly can't see this mag as worth 15 dollars, and I was actually halfway hoping it would be so impressive I'd finally decide to join the D23 thing, but actually I think it convinced me not to as a final answer.

[SpaceAce]

I guess the WDCC Walt and Oswald Sculpture isn't exclusive to the club. I seen that Sideshow Collectibles has put it up for pre-order tonight.

[slave2moonlight]

I guess the WDCC Walt and Oswald Sculpture isn't exclusive to the club. I seen that Sideshow Collectibles has put it up for pre-order tonight.

I'm a little umcomfortable with the "Walt with Oswald" and other overly praising Oswald merchandise, ha, because it seems weird to see Oswald buddying up with Walt instead of Mickey. I am glad they have made some of the Oswald merchandise though, and I did get the Oswald canvas art from the Disney Store some time back (once it was on clearance). I'll probably stay content with that. If I get anything else, it will be the big figurine of just Oswald that they also sold at the Disney Store at the time. I do like the retro aspect of the character.

[goofystitch]

The WDCC piece is limited to 1,500 and while it is available to members of both the WDCC and D23, as a D23 member you had the opportunity to purchase it in advance of WDCC members and the first 400 purchased by D23 members have a special back stamp, which will presumably make the piece worth more in years to come.

[SpaceAce]

Thanks for the info goofystitch!

[schoollover]

I went online to disney 23.com and it was so cool. It gave you information about movies, and the archives gave you information about vintage stuff. It was like a disney magazine. This is going to sound like a far fetched idea, though maybe if a lot of kids go to d23.com and know about vintage disney, they night want to see more of it. Wishful thinking king of.

[goofystitch]

I thought you all should know that the second issue of Disney Twenty-Three was has been sent out to members, but it won't be available in stores until May 5th.

All D23 members will receive a special collectible in the form of a rare fan that was sold at Disneyland in 1955. Its really unique because it uses concept art and because it was made before the park opened, the Jungle Cruise shown on one of the folds has a different name.

23 lucky members were sent a photo of Tony Anselmo, the current voice of Donald Duck, pictured with his animated counterpart. Each photo is hand signed and numbered. I was thrilled to find that I was number 19 of the lucky few to receive one.

Donald Duck is on the cover of the magazine celebrating his 75th anniversary. Within the second issue are articles about the new Monster's Inc. attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, The Disney Gallery reopening on Main Street in Disneyland, an interview with the directors of Rapunzel, an article about Jerry Bruckheimer and his future Disney projects, the Sherman Brothers, information about the changes being made at DCA, two articles about Donald Duck, an article about animals through the years at the Disney Studios, and a "walk with Walt" from 1924-1928 leading up to the creation of Mickey Mouse. In addition to the usual extras such as D-Society and Where in Disney?, there is an interesting page where the cast of Broadway's Mary Poppins not only teaches you how to fly a kite, but also how to make a kite.

[Linguini]

thanks for the infos, i guess i have to wait a little bit longer before the new magazine is shipped to me to europe, but really looking forward to it. ALso the idea with the fan is great.

[Pluto Region1]

This club is quite the controversy, not just here, but in other online communities. I am a frequent listener to "The Dis" podcast and the whole issue of the affordability and the fact that their community is really themepark-centered and the club does not offer discounts or seem to recognize theme park fans, has really rubbed a lot of people there the wrong way.

$75 is a lot of money, in good or bad times, to be paying to join a club, but what has sold me is the Expo. Disney is pulling out all the stops for this thing and if you're a geek of the business-side of Disney, this is your chance to see what the various business segments do and interact with castmembers from those segments. Not to mention, all the planning that is going into this, the expense to pull people from every business segment and have them working on developing new content for the magazine for each issue, working on their presentations for the Expo, etc. And you're going to see all Disney's big guns giving presentations there (Iger, Lasseter, etc.), an opportunity the average person just would never be able to take advantage of.

I admit I'm not a business major nor understand the possible economies of scale that can be achieved by a large Corp. such as Disney, it would appear that this Club (the Expo specifically) is costing Disney a lot of money. In light of that and the retail price of the zine (as many have pointed out, your street retail price is $15 x 4 = $60, leaving just $15 extra towards the membership), the access to the Expo, to me, is worth the price of joining. However, it doesn't appear that members will get in to the Expo for free. To me, that is a bit disappointing. Have D23 members been told what the Expo entrance fee will cost them? Goofystitch seemed to think whatever the cost, there would be a $21/per person discount? Any info on this would be appreciated.

(No I have not joined yet- was hoping to get a gift membership for my upcoming birthday - hints have been dropped!)

[ChrisLyne]

Well I received my special gift (so framing it when my fiancee and I get our house) a few weeks ago and today I received the membership card which says in the next 1-2 weeks I'll get my welcome pack.

Can't believe people are getting issue 2 already! That's a really good gift for the 23 lucky people who get it. I just hope I get issue 1 with the welcome pack!!

Can't wait to read about Rapunzel and hopefully the JB article will have something on Prince of Persia (*please have pictures!*)

[goofystitch]

Pluto Region1, I agree with you about the benefits of joining the club. If you want the magazine AND are planning on attending the Expo, it really is worth it.

I am a current business major and it really seems to me that overall, Disney doesn't make money on membership for the club. Where it seems they will make their money is on people who buy the exclusive merchandise. And the cost of attending the Expo is very cheap compared to other conventions.

Here is information about the cost of the Expo direct from the official website:

Admission to the D23 Expo will be $37 per person for a one-day ticket; $111 for a four-day pass (4th day free). Admission for D23 members will be $30 per person for a one-day ticket; $90 for a four-day pass (4th day free). Tickets will be available at Disney.com/D23. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the entrance to the D23 Expo. Tickets will go on sale this spring.

ChrisLyne wrote:

I just hope I get issue 1 with the welcome pack!!

I'm not saying that you won't get issue 1 with your welcome pack, but when you sign up for the club, you are supposed to get the most recent issue of the magazine with your welcome pack. I don't know if they base this on when you sign up versus when they actually send out the kit, as this is only the second issue and members started receiving it yesterday. However, if you do get the second issue, members are allowed to purchase past issues through the Boutique if you can't fine copies of the first issue at Barnes & Noble or The Disney Store.

[ChrisLyne]

If it's from sign up I'm fine, I signed up within a week.

But if it's from when they send it out I could be in trouble. Not so bother about paying for the magazine as a back issue, it's the postage to the UK that hurts!

[rspezzano]

Goofystitch, congratulations on the photo!

I received my issue in the mail last week, and not only was I surprised to see the fan, I am very impressed with how they ship the magazine. The hard box is a blessing for me, since I have a mail carrier that likes to fold EVERYTHING into my mailbox!

[goofystitch]

I agree. Earlier in this forum when the specifics of the club were announced, some people said they wouldn't join and would just buy the magazine because they didn't want it getting folded, bent, and crushed in the mail. This method of folding it in cardboard really was a great idea and it makes the magazine feel more like a collector's item.

[CampbellzSoup]

I actually offically am 23 now

[goofystitch]

I'm 23 and I'm 23, meaning that I am 23 years old and I belong to D23.

[goofystitch]

Wow! The specifics of many of the summer events have been announced and most of them are FREE!!!!!

I'm going to the FREE advance screening of Up at the El Capitan Theater. There will be a pin trading event, free popcorn and soda, the brand new live stage show and then the film. There will also be "special D23 touches," which I'm hoping means that maybe somebody from the film will talk before and introduce it.

There is also a FREE "Flowers and Fireworks Celebration" at Epcot on May 31st with reserved seats to see Tony Orlando at the American Gardens Theater and VIP fireworks viewing area with FREE coffee and desert.

Two FREE tours of the Walt Disney Studios and Disney Archives in Burbank. One on June 27 and the other on August 15.

A FREE showing of Disneyland U.S.A. at Team Disney on July 17th, Disneyland's birthday, with a panel discussion by Imagineer Tony Baxter, Disney Legend and Chief Archivist Dave Smith and Disney Studios Film Archivist Ed Hobelman. There will also be a reception after the film.

In September, there will be a FREE advance preview of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

There are three other events that have been announced that do cost money, but it is understandable why. On June 24 in both New York and Chicago, you get premium seats to see Mary Poppins with a backstage tour after the show, a discount on merchandise, a free program and a free copy of the 1964 film on DVD. On July 27 in Las Vegas only, you get premium seating for The Lion King, a backstage tour after the show, and access to the founder's room inside of Mandalay Bay.

So to all you naysayers who claimed the club was only about the merchandise, look at all of the stuff you can do for free across the country, as well as the three amazing Broadway opportunities.

In addition to the screening of Up, I'm planning on going to Flowers and Fireworks and hopefully the Walt Disney Family Museum.

[CampbellzSoup]

Now THAT is what I call cool!

That's really great, I wonder if the program thus far has been a success for Disney? I know not too many of our fourm members are Disney 23 members, and perhaps news like this could change thier mind! If you don't mind me asking, what is pin trading? Do a lot of people collect Disney pins?

[ajmrowland]

I wonder if the advance screening(minus the total AWESOMENESS!) will play in other theaters. Regal seems to do that often.

[slave2moonlight]

So to all you naysayers who claimed the club was only about the merchandise, look at all of the stuff you can do for free across the country, as well as the three amazing Broadway opportunities.

Assuming you live near any of these places and have a huge travel fund. Still cuts most of us out. These are better offerings than most of us probably expected, but they don't change the main problem at all. I'm sure I said before that I would have joined from the get-go if I lived near where the events are taking place.