Please reconsider the policy of locking down Characters to PhotoPass locations in order to simply maximize PhotoPass profits. The loss of more spontaneous experiences, like riding an attraction with a Character, is detrimental to Magic in the Parks. Admittedly, these experiences are like winning the lottery - not many get to experience them, and luck plays a chief role in whether or not they happen to us, but it must be pointed out that marketing materials (videos, photographs) used to promote the Parks still trade heavily on the idea of children being surprised and hugged by their favorite characters. If this "PhotoPass locations only" policy persists, these clips and photos will be a flat lie.
Disney has always flirted with the edge, balancing delightful, surprising, no-extra-charge magic for Guests and gate-keeping/stage-managing/extra-costing everything to death for maximum profit-per-square-millimeter in the Parks. This policy crosses the line, and please don't insult us by giving us some scripted line about the fact that PhotoPass photographers are able to use _our_ cameras to "make magical moments for free" or that it isn't necessary to pay anything just to meet the characters - this isn't a misunderstanding over what costs and what doesn't, it's about an erosion of Show quality; spontaneous Character interactions, while rare, are especially memorable and irreplaceable with stage-managed "celebrity appearances" at designated locations where we line up like cattle for meanlingless, magic-lite moments with characters. A PhotoPass meet-and-greet sets up the expectation that meeting the Characters is just for photos and autographs. There's not much Magic in that. Real celebrities are often (necessarily) aloof, rushing through fan interactions and being dismissive, albeit in a reasonably gracious way. Why being this intrusive, disappointing reality into our interactions with Disney Characters? The idea that my little girls will _never_ get to ride the Carousel with Mary Poppins or the Teacups with Alice makes me very sad indeed, particularly in light of the fact that Disney promotional materials will surely continue to depict chance encounters of this type, therefore "promising" them. Remember what constitutes a promise to a child. Point at legal disclaimers all you want; they'll be no less heartbroken when Cinderella doesn't even have time to make proper eye contact. Just another sham. Is that the lesson the Walt Disney Co. wants its "future brand-loyalists" to learn at age 3-7?
My wife and I were in California Adventure a few years ago, and I was clowning around with a door graphic on a construction wall in front of the Monsters, Inc. attraction, pretending to try and open the "door" for my wife's camera. Nearby, Frozone was out walking the Park. Apparently he spotted us from a couple dozen yards away, and ran over to us, even leaving his "assistant" behind for a moment. We had a completely spontaneous, unscripted, un-stage-managed interaction with this excellent Cast Member all to ourselves, and it was a lot of fun. We snapped a photo, of course, but it wasn't about the photo. I'll go to my grave remembering that Frozone (who isn't even among my _most_ favorite characters) spotted us and came to make a moment with us. I'm a rational adult who is fully aware that the person inside the Frozone costume was just a teen/twentysomething individual working for a few dollars an hour, but he threw himself into that low-paying position with alacrity that would have pleased Walt Disney. That's the kind of magic only Disney has ever bothered to try and create. Don't destroy it by confining characters to designated meet-and-greet locations where the quality of interaction moves from truly magical to mundane. Disney characters are not merely "properties." They belong to the world because the world has embraced them. Don't make meeting them as un-special as meeting "Santa Claus" at every local mall in the country.
On the other hand, if you were to invest in and implement "interactive Mickey" on a permanent basis and expand that technology to all the other "rubberhead" Characters at designated locations, you'd have immensely improved the experience of meeting those Characters. Here's the only instance where a locked-down interaction would actually be a MAJOR bonus rather than a bummer. That technology more than lives up to the high standard of magic for which Disney is justifiably renowned. Adults and children alike are completely drawn in and awestruck by that excellent idea. (Then, let the face characters continue to roam and interact freely.)
Sincerely,
Ken Hughes
DVC member since 2001
DIS shareholder
D23 Charter Member
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