A Mickey Mouse Club at a D-luxe Price
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For weeks, the Mouse's mysterious "Are you 23" tagline has been popping up on posters at the Disney parks, on buttons handed out to guests, on a dedicated Web site, and elsewhere. So, what the heck does it mean? The company filled in the blanks of its viral campaign today by rolling out D23, an official fan community.
Capitalizing on its fiercely loyal legions of devotees, Disney promises D23 (the "D" stands for Disney, the 23 for the year the company was founded, 1923) will deliver the ultimate insider experience with backstage peeks into all corners of the company's rich past, its current offerings, and its future plans, including the theme parks. Presented as a way of saying thanks and celebrating its fans, the new initiative will also offer new ways to pump up Disney's coffers. D23 will include a new collectibles line, an annual D23 Expo (the first of which will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center from September 10 to 13, 2009), and a hefty membership fee.
Access to the new D23 Web site, which is loaded with news, features, and other content, is free. But members will have to pay $74.99--yikes--each year to get the full D23 experience. So, what does all that cheddar get you in this new-age Mickey Mouse Club? Four issues of Disney twenty-three, a new 64-page, advertisement-free, ultra-glossy magazine, a membership card and certificate (whoopee!), a "surprise" collectible gift, and invitations and discounts to events such as the D23 Expo. According to Steven Clark, head of Disney's new fan community, D23 is planning special member events, including exclusive attraction previews, at the theme parks.
Unless that collectible gift is surprisingly valuable, the fee sounds quite high. Wouldn't you think that D23 might attract more members with a more reasonable price of, um, I don't know, $23? Then again, Disney does have loads of uber-fans who drop incredible amounts of money on annual park passes, the Disney Vacation Club, animation art, and other Disneyana tchotchkes.
So, what do you think? Are you a major Disney fan? Would you join D23? Take the poll, and get in on the discussion by clicking "Comments" below.
Photo: The cover of the premier issue of Disney twenty-three, the D23 magazine. Disney, 2009. Used with permission.
Comments
Wow!! What a disappointment!! My heart sank when I saw a fee for ‘joining’ D23 (I’m not impressed with the name). We are asked to pay $75 to subject ourselves to more of Disney’s relentless advertisements. WHAT?! I LOVE DISNEY, so this hurts, it really saddens me to see this; it really seems over the top to me. We buy their park tickets, dining plans, show tickets, movies, cd’s, toys, jewelry, shoes, clothing, and accessories from their clubs and off the shelf with Disney cards and temporarily own Disney property. It just floors me that they want us to pay to see what else we can give them money for. Come on Disney, we love ya, why are you treatin’ us this way?! Please say it isn’t so.
Thanks for writing Connie. I hear ya. You couldn’t expect Disney to give stuff away (the magazine, the “surprise” gift) for nothing, right? And non-members can purchase the magazines (which are available at the Disney parks and Barnes & Noble locations), attend the Expo (for a higher fee), as well as peruse a lot of content on the D23 Web site for free. But it does seem excessive to fork over $74.99 so that Disney can say thanks and celebrate its fans.
-Arthur