New Faces on Disneyland Monorail Get Unofficial @Twitter Accounts
Posted: May 21, 2012 Filed under: Twitter Leave a comment »This week, Gavin from Disneydose.com writes about the new faces on the monorail at Disneyland and their Twitter accounts.
The Disneyland Resort has recently wrapped all three of the monorails in
it’s fleet. This new move to wrap the fleet was made to advertise the upcoming opening of Carsland in the new California Adventure. The Monorails have been wrapped to look like monorails from the movie ‘Cars’ so they have faces, eyes, mouth, and a nose.
Disney has also given each monorail a personality, and even named them. Mandy Monorail, Manny Monorail, and Mona Monorail are the names of all three monorails. Also, Disney has also changed the narration to say things like,”Keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside of me.”
A Disney fan immediately made Twitter accounts for each of these monorails:
@mandymonorail
@monamonorail
@mannymonorail
What do you think of these changes? Do you like it when Disney wraps the
monorails?
Disney Parks Blog: New Fantasyland Time-lapse
Posted: April 11, 2012 Filed under: Disney Official, Inside the parks Leave a comment »The Disney Parks Blog team has posted frequent updates on the Fantasyland expansion over the past few months. One of my favorite things to see is time-lapse videos of the Fantasyland progress.
This video posted on Wednesday gives you a birds-eye view of the progress so far:
Some people (including myself) will critique the Disney Parks Blog for not always being the first place to break Disney-related news. However, you have to commend the DPB team for cranking out quality Fantasyland content on a consistent basis.
Comments: How often do you check the Disney Parks Blog? What would you like to see more of from the DPB team?
Photo: Why I Don’t Like Six Flags
Posted: April 9, 2012 Filed under: Photo Posts 1 Comment »I normally stay on topic, but I have a photo I recently discovered I want to share.
I’m not a big fan of most other theme parks. I will go… but it’s just not the same. My least favorite theme park? Six Flags. The reason? Well here you go. That’s me in the blue. I was 5-years-old.
Daffy Duck Diss
Disney, DeNA to develop social games
Posted: April 6, 2012 Filed under: Facebook 1 Comment »Disney and DeNA Co. announced last week the two companies would jointly develop mobile social games.
DeNA is a provider of mobile portal and e-commerce website based in Japan. It owns the Mobage platform, which is a popular cell phone gaming platform in Japan, as well as operating many other e-commerce based services.
DeNA and Disney said they will launch two games in Japan based on Disney characters and one on characters from Disney’s Marvel Comics unit, according to media reports.
The two companies may develop additional titles and also plan to work together beyond the social gaming sphere. This month, Disney launched the Facebook game “Marvel: Avengers Alliance,” involving characters from the superhero movie due for release in May.
DeNA, a startup company that launched in 1999, has grown to over 35 million users on its platform in Japan.
New Facebook Game Inspired by Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Posted: April 3, 2012 Filed under: Disney Official, Facebook Leave a comment »
The first-ever social game inspired by Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park is coming to Facebook.
The social game Disney Animal Kingdom Explorers includes “The Tree of Life,” and during game play, players will have a chance to create and nurture wildlife, according to the Disney Parks Blog.
Players will search for hidden objects in natural settings, from the Rocky Mountains to the Amazon rainforest to the Australian outback. The game, developed by Playdom, features scenes directly inspired by the park. This is the first time Playdom has worked with an official Disney-branded IP.
The game is another example of Disney connecting social/game experiences to the theme parks, a big part of the company’s social media strategy.
In a game review on gamezebo.com, Playdom developers said the preserve-building elements of the game won’t mimic the style of gameplay you’d see in a typical social zoo game. It’s not about building concession stands and attracting tourists, but rather creating as authentic a habitat as possible for the animals.
After playing the game, you quickly see how the game works. While I was able to quickly find some of the easier animals, rare animals like the “Caecilias” will certainly expand your knowledge of the animal kingdom.
Want to play the game too? Check out the demo here.
Inside Disney’s Social Media Strategy
Posted: April 2, 2012 Filed under: Disney Official, Facebook, Twitter 3 Comments »Last month, Digiday highlighted Disney in an article about social media strategies. The article featured Amanda Grant, director of distribution for Disney Interactive, who shared details of the company’s social media strategy.
The article takes an in depth look at how the company approaches each social media outlet differently.
“Heavy engagement happens with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, while we test strategies with emerging platforms like location-based services, Google Plus and social deals platforms,” Grant said in the article.
When asked specifically about their Facebook strategy, Grant said they use Facebook to listen to the community.
“At the heart of every social strategy, we seek to succinctly define the objective, fundamentally understand how people use the platform, observe and listen to the community and create the types of tactics that we think will produce optimal results. Facebook is about content sharing among our 13-and-older audience, making connections and sparking conversation.”
Grant also went into detail about how Disney engages audiences on Facebook and Twitter.
“Simply put, our engagement on the platforms is centered on two main principles: reach families and Disney enthusiasts and share content that our guests are compelled to talk about and share,” said Grant. ” The Muppets is a good example of a Facebook page that is in an active campaign window for the studio.”
Grant also mentioned the @DisneyMemories Twitter account, which we explained in a previous article.
Great view from the top! RT @marissahu On top of the Ferris Wheel! @ Disney California Adventure instagr.am/p/I484BcoiaZ/—
Disney Memories (@DisneyMemories) April 02, 2012
“We started with the grounding idea, “If the Parks could speak, what would they say?” When we launched, the other handles that Disney Parks used were very news driven. We wanted to test something different to see if we could create more engagement and inject a little Disney magic into a channel built around conversational broadcasting. We started by giving each of the Parks a personality and also creating a family tree to identify how each of them related to each other. In about a month, @DisneyMemories became the second largest Parks-related Twitter handle behind @WaltDisneyWorld.”
In the article, I was most intrigued by Disney’s continued willingness to discuss it’s social media strategy. In several articles, Disney has been open about their digital strategy. The one constant is Disney’s primary goal of connecting with it’s passionate fan base – even more proof that when it comes to social media, Disney “gets it.”
@24HoursinDisney: Touring via Twitter
Posted: February 6, 2012 Filed under: Inside the parks, Twitter 1 Comment »Disney announced on New Year’s Eve that both Magic Kingdoms (Walt Disney World and Disneyland) will be staying open 24 hours on Leap Day (February 29th). While immediately I thought to myself “I must go!” – I quickly realized that a trip in late February and mid-March was not going to work. However, a friend of mine will basically let me attend the big day via Twitter.
John Cataldo (@OldRock935DJ) decided the opportunity to spend 24 hours in Magic Kingdom was too awesome of an opportunity to pass up.
“I’m always looking for a reason to make the trip south. This time, the reason smacked me right in my brain – “DUDE, YOU. MUST. DO. THIS,” John said in an e-mail to The Social Mouse. “My mind started swimming with the possibilities of what exactly I would do on a day where the park isn’t going to close – and on January 3rd, two days after Disney announced “One More Day In Disney,” my trip was booked.”
John said he has pretty big plans for his 24 hour Magic Kingdom experience.
“I’m going to ride every single attraction that is open. And then do it again. I’m going to sit at the end of that little alley just off Main Street U.S.A. down past the caricature guy and simply “soak it all in,” John said in a post at WDWDads.com. John added he plans to eat chocolate-covered frozen bananas for breakfast and Dole Whips until he can eat no more, shop at every store, watch every parade, see every character possible and ride TTA “endlessly.”
The decision to attend Leap day at Disney has a special meaning for John. In March 2007, he shattered his left leg in a horrific accident. The doctors told him they would have to amputate his leg, but John was able to convince them against it. After several surgeries and multiple rods, pins and screws, the doctors told him “that’s as good as it gets.”
“The real reason I’m going is to test myself. No, not to see how “hardcore” a Disney fan I am, but to literally test my body. I need to know if I’m back to being me. I need to know just how good is ‘as good as I’m going to get?’ and what more perfect place, than The Happiest Place On Earth?” said John.
Now, John has decided he will document every moment of his 24 hour experience. After getting his trip booked, he quickly set up the Twitter account @24HoursinDisney.
Thanks everybody for following along, my new Disney pals! Here's my @WDWDads post that started it all – thewdwdads.com/?p=668—
A Day In Disney (@24HoursInDisney) January 28, 2012
There, John plans to share pictures and tweets detailing his big day at the Magic Kingdom. He has also set up a 407 area code phone number that he will use as a “hotline” for people to call in tips – or to ring him at 2 a.m. just to make sure he’s awake! The hotline number will be tweeted from @24HoursinDisney at a later date.
Closer to Leap Day, we will post an update from John. We’ll also be following all the fun on February 29th. You can follow all of the fun at www.24hoursinDisney.com.
Are you going to be at Walt Disney World or Disneyland on February 29th? Do you have any special plans for the big night?
@WaltDisneyWorld Interacting with Followers
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Twitter 2 Comments »In the past, we have discussed how Disney has interacted with a few followers on Twitter and used Direct Messages to respond to questions, but this week we’ve seen @WaltDisneyWorld interacting more than ever.
The responses I saw from Disney today showed a good bit of personality from @WaltDisneyWorld. One tweet included a response to a great point made by @AllDayAllMicah:
@AllDayAllMicah They're SO GOOD, aren't they?—
Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) January 24, 2012
Some of the other responses included Disney telling a few followers “they” are excited to see them and even an answer to a question from a follower:
@MalindaAnnHill The resort opens in phases beginning May 31.—
Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) January 24, 2012
Now, this type interaction from Disney on Twitter is what most Disney fans have been yearning for over the past several months. I have been told that Disney “lawyers” most of the tweets sent out to the public. Whatever changes were made to the policy to allow this interaction was necessary and a great move by Disney.
What I would love to see is consistency from Disney. It seems like the interaction has been a bit sporadic. I would love to see Disney commit to communicating with followers on Twitter. I will keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.
With all that said, this certainly is a huge step in the right direction.
President Obama’s Visit to WDW
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: Twitter Leave a comment »President Obama will be visiting the Magic Kingdom on January 19th to make an announcement about travel and tourism. Today, TouringPlans posted an FAQ provided to Cast Members related to the event. After reading through the FAQ, I couldn’t help but think about how Thursday will be a nightmare for Guest Relations.
Hall of Presidents/ Making of President Obama Audio-Animatronic
With so many people already at Disney World and likely “unplugged,” many will be surprised when they show up on Thursday and Main Street is closed. While I’m sure Disney is doing a good job of making resort guests aware of the changes for the Thursday, I can’t help but notice the lack of information about Thursday’s visit via Disney’s official Twitter accounts. I found more information about Thursday from TouringPlans.com and WDWMagic.com than anywhere else. I have not seen a single tweet about the President’s visit from @DisneyWorld or @DisneyParks.
Now, I do understand it’s likely that Disney has been told to keep its mouth shut about the upcoming event. However, I would hope that Disney has argued their guests are a priority and properly disseminating information is important to keep those guests happy.
This type of event is the perfect use for the underused @TodayatWDW account from Disney World. Disney could easily tweet information about Thursday’s schedule throughout the day and any changes to the posted schedule (we all know that the closing/opening times for Main Street and other sections of the park are likely to change).
I will be watching closely on Thursday to see how Disney handles this large event.
Disney Aquires Mommy Blogging Site Babble
Posted: November 14, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Walt Disney Co. announced Monday it has acquired New York-based Babble Media Inc., a parenting blogging site that features advice about pregnancy, child development and related topics from over 200 mommy bloggers.
The site, which was spun off from Nerve, is the latest of several family-focused websites purchased by Disney Interactive Media Group over the past few years. According to BusinessInsider.com, the deal is worth $40 million.
Since the site launched in 2006, it has become one of the best known parenting sites on the web. It was named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Websites of 2010 and by Forbes as one of the Top 100 Websites for Women.
