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

[buffalobill]

It would be great if the EL Capitan wasn't 3,000 miles away & everything else you've mentioned might as well be. I have no reason to join since nothing is remotely close to me. I am in complete agreement with slave2moonlight.

[goofystitch]

CampbellzSoup wrote:

If you don't mind me asking, what is pin trading? Do a lot of people collect Disney pins?

Disney pin trading really took off back in 1999 when Disney started making pins to countdown to the new Millennium and it is a craze that has yet to slow down. Its HUGE in the parks, but you don't really hear about it outside. Disney Store has their own line as well, mostly through their online store.

A lot of people do collect Disney pins. The marketing for pin trading in the parks is excellent. No guest can avoid it. Cast Members wear lanyards that guests can trade with. On a normal day in the park, you will see people wearing a lanyard with a few pins who are just starting their collection and then you will sometimes find people with whole vests full of pins, or multiple lanyards on, or even books of pins that they bring with the intention of finding other people with pins to trade with.

Disney hosts pin trading events at both U.S. resorts almost monthly, with annual big pin events as well. There are so many websites devoted to Disney pins and it really does get mind boggling if you let it consume your life. I consider myself an average pin collector. I collect pins of Goofy and Walt Disney, but my collection has grown so huge that I am now very selective of what I buy. I also like to buy pins that commemorate the release of new animated films.

I hope that summed it up for you. If you do an eBay search for Disney, more than half of the items up for auction will be Disney pins.

[slave2moonlight]

Today, I got the premiere issue of D23 magazine from Disney Movie Rewards. Yep, it's a great mag. Room for improvement (the comics page at the end could be better and maybe 2 pages at least? Ha), but overall a great mag. I'd say it should be priced at 10 rather than 15 though. For any magazine, that just seems a bit much.

Anyway, just wanted to say that I wasn't thrilled about the fact that the copy I got for my 650 points or so was beat to heck. That may have been more the mail people's fault than DMR's, but then they did just send it in a padded envelope. The mag had obviously been bent the wrong way and had a cracked/ripped spine in a couple of places, a gouge that ruined the center of every page of the mag, and probably other issues I could bring up. So, I can't really recommend getting it through DMR. As a collector's item, it is totally useless now, and only worth getting to have a spare copy for reading without worrying about damaging it. This is why I never subscribe to magazines and comics after the first few times when I learned my lesson. They never arrived in very good shape. At least the mag was still in its plastic sleeve.

[goofystitch]

The comics section is only 1 page because the comics section of the website is updated every weekday, 5 days a week. And that is unfortunate that DMR would mail it like that. When you get it through the club, it comes in a box and is treated like a collector's item.

[Neal]

Mine came in the envelope from DMR and was flawless.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I am unsure whether or not to get this from DMR. Is it really worth $16? I couldn't find any place to actually purchase this without having to join that club thing. I would like to get it, but that would slow down my process of getting the Lenox Poppins sculpture. I know that quanitites are limited, but I still don't know what to do. Any help would be nice.

[SpaceAce]

Today, I got the premiere issue of D23 magazine from Disney Movie Rewards. Yep, it's a great mag. Room for improvement (the comics page at the end could be better and maybe 2 pages at least? Ha), but overall a great mag. I'd say it should be priced at 10 rather than 15 though. For any magazine, that just seems a bit much.

Anyway, just wanted to say that I wasn't thrilled about the fact that the copy I got for my 650 points or so was beat to heck. That may have been more the mail people's fault than DMR's, but then they did just send it in a padded envelope. The mag had obviously been bent the wrong way and had a cracked/ripped spine in a couple of places, a gouge that ruined the center of every page of the mag, and probably other issues I could bring up. So, I can't really recommend getting it through DMR. As a collector's item, it is totally useless now, and only worth getting to have a spare copy for reading without worrying about damaging it. This is why I never subscribe to magazines and comics after the first few times when I learned my lesson. They never arrived in very good shape. At least the mag was still in its plastic sleeve.

I got my shipping notice monday and still havnt gotten my magazine yet. This is the longest it has taken for me to get a reward after it has been shipped out.

[PixarFan2006]

I am still waiting on the shipping confirmation of my copy.

[slave2moonlight]

I am unsure whether or not to get this from DMR. Is it really worth $16? I couldn't find any place to actually purchase this without having to join that club thing. I would like to get it, but that would slow down my process of getting the Lenox Poppins sculpture. I know that quanitites are limited, but I still don't know what to do. Any help would be nice.

If you are going after a sculpture, you should probably skip this. The condition mine came in made me sort of regret ordering it when I could have gotten a DMC DVD instead.

[goofystitch]

I was fortunate enough to be at the two most recent D23 events.

The first was on May 28th in Hollywood at the historic El Capitan Theater for "Up All Night." The festivities began at 7:00 when a D23 member pin trading event took place in the lobby. Lots of the D23 staff were on hand to meet the members, including the head of the club, Steven Clark. All members participating in the event received a free golden pin of bandleader Mickey. It's the same one that was given away at this years shareholder meeting... the same one that was selling on eBay for $200.

The pin traders were escorted into the theater first at 9:00 followed by the rest of the members who had lined up outside. The theater's organist played songs from most Disney films starting with Snow White and ending with The Lion King. That lasted an hour, but it went by so fast. Then Steven Clark came out to welcome us to the event and introduced a surprise guest... John Ratzenberger!!!! He talked to us for 10 minutes about how great it is to do Pixar films, his role in Up, and about D23. After that, 3D trailers for G-Force, the X-Games Movie, and Toy Story 3 played, followed by the 2D trailer for The Princess and the Frog. After the trailers, the special latin-infused show, Lighten Up, began. It was a fun show with two singers, 4 dancers, as well as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Chip, Dale, and Goofy. After which the film started.

After the movie as we all exited, we were surprised to find the theater lobby full of bright D23 balloons. As we walked out, we were each handed a balloon with a commemorative pin (limited to 1,500). It was an amazing experience.

The second event happened last night here in Orlando at Epcot called Flowers and Fireworks. It was the last night of the Flower and Garden Festival. When we checked in, we were given lanyards, celebration buttons, a welcome letter, and anytime fastpasses to Soarin'. The 200 D23 members who got to attend the event were given special reserved seating to the final Flower Power concert of the year, featuring Tony Orlando. Just for us, he came out in Mickey Mouse gloves and lead the audience in a chorus of the Mickey Mouse Club March. Later in the show, he gave us lots of shout outs and at one point, made us all stand up and sing the chorus of "Hey Jude" by ourselves. It was a lot of fun.

After the show, we were escorted to France, where we had a VIP viewing area for Illuminations. Included were a selection of Walt Disney's favorite deserts, including Cold Chris Pie, Fantasia Cheesecake, and Coke Floats, as well as coffee and water (Dasani). Two of the D23 staff were there to oversee the event and they recognized me from the Up event. After the fireworks, we were all given goodie bags filled with a complete set of D23 promo buttons. Complete sets were selling on eBay for $75-$100.

[blackcauldron85]

Those sound like a lot of fun, Alex!!! I think that for people who are able to attend the events, the $75 would be worth it, so it sounds like you're getting your money's worth!

[ChrisLyne]

Well I've finally received my first 2 issues and my welcome letter and membership certificate.

Issue 2 actually arrived first!

Really high quality! I just wish I was in the US and could enjoy the events! I'll have to save for the convention one year!

With The Princess and the Frog not until February in the UK I'd love for them to do a D23 premiere in December closer to the US release date. That would be a great treat for fans!

[goofystitch]

ChrisLyne, the D23Expo will be held in Anaheim for the next 3 years, but after that, they plan to hold it somewhere else and they are looking at international destinations, so it is possible that the Expo will be held in the UK or in a nearby country at some point. The rumors are that they will try to have them near a Disney park, so perhaps near Disneyland Paris?

[ChrisLyne]

Sounds good to me

Thanks goofystitch! Disneyland Paris would be great, or the place in London where they held the Star Wars Celebration (I guess that should be big enough) would be even closer.

My fiancee and I are planning to honeymoon in WDW at the time of their 40th (though I think she's starting to get a bit annoyed that I don't want to set a date until the park plans are revealed, and she's probably right that it will take too long for them to do that) so hopefully D23 will have something there as well.

[Arielle]

For the people that have the membership, do you think it's worth it? I'm getting such mixed opinions here! I live in Los Angeles, which I think would be a definite plus for joining since it seems like a lot of the events are around here.

I'm thinking of getting one because I'm planning on going to the expo. I can't go for the full 4 days, but I definitely want to go the Saturday and Sunday. I would save a total of $14 if I got the membership, which isn't that that much (compared to the $75 for membership). I'm just wondering people think there would be a lot of exclusives for 23 members only.

I'm also sad that I missed the opportunity for the "Up" screening at the El Capitan, and wonder if they might have anything like that in the future. The only thing that I can think of is "Toy Story 3," but that doesn't come out for a full year, so my membership might expire by then.

The tour of the studios in Burbank, CA also sound really cool. You can get them on June 15th (which is a few days away) and I was worried about signing up now and not getting a membership number for a few weeks and have the tickets sold out. Does the membership card come quickly?

I also wish the exclusive pins weren't $20 a pop. I think that's a little ridiculous.

Do people think a charter membership would come in handy in the future? You know, beside just pins that say "charter year" on them.

[goofystitch]

Hey Arielle. Since you do live in L.A, I can't fathom why you haven't already joined. It's a shame that you missed the Up event. My guess is that they will do one event like that a year, so you've already missed out on that one. But as you know, there are the 2 studio/archives tours this summer, plus the Disneyland U.S.A. screening on July 17th, all of which are free and nearby. You would also be receiving 3 of the 4 issues of Disney Twenty-Three, which are valued at $15 each, so that's like taking $45 off the $75 to join. Membership also seems like a no-brainer for you since you are attending the D23 Expo. Not only do you get a discount on the tickets, but D23 members also get to enter 1 hour earlier than everybody else. There will be D23 exclusive merchandise there as well.

Also, the pins are $20 because they are gold plated with real gold. If you are interested in collecting them, they will only be available for the first year.

D23 has been so worthwhile for me. Not only have I gotten the normal member perks, but I was selected as 1 of 23 members who received an autograph from Tony Anselmo, the current voice of Donald Duck. In addition, I have been fortunate enough to attend three events: the autograph signing by Dave Pacheco at Disneyland, Up All Night at the El Capitan, and Flowers & Fireworks at Epcot. On June 24th I am going to D23 Night at Mary Poppins in Chicago, on July 17th I am going to Disneyland U.S.A., and on August 15th, I might get to go to the studio/archive tour.

I think that joining now and becoming a charter member will have a lot of benefits down the line if you plan on renewing your membership. I just received a special pin for joining on the first day, but I'm assuming that next year, there will be a free gift for members who joined in the first year and renewed their membership. It takes about 10 days to get your membership card, so it will come later than when registration opens for some of the summer events, but hopefully they won't sell out so you can still go.

[Arielle]

Thanks so much, goofystitch! After reading your reply I decided to go ahead with it!! It's going to be a long 10 days! I REALLY want to go on the studio tour, so I think I'll try calling customer support and see if I can order tickets anyway even though my membership card hasn't come yet. I'm going to be so disappointed if it sells out before I can get tickets.

That's great how much you've been able to take advantage of your membership! I wish I had the money and time to travel to see everything.

Again, thanks for all your help!

[The_Iceflash]

I'd love to go to these events but none of them are remotely close to me.

[Arielle]

Well, I'm dumb

The email that I got for the receipt of the membership includes my membership number! So I'll be able to get tickets for the tour of the studios!

I'm going to enter the contest for the Lion King tickets and start debating which pin I want

[goofystitch]

That's awesome! I signed up the first day, so I had to wait 10 days, but luckily I had no use for my membership number at that time.

And welcome to the club!