ALL Disney fans MUST read this!!!


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SharonKurland

Active Member
I've actually known one of the people who were showcased in the article for a good 6 years now. Not FRIENDS or anything...just someone who I have crossed cyberspace paths with, on more than on occasion.

-Sharon-
 
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Disney Bean Counte

Member
That was so sad...

If I ever start feeling self pity I will just return to this article to be reminded that I do actually have a life.


"I'm not gay" What an odd thing to say to someone you have just met.
 
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xfkirsten

Member
Aie!! As a former CM, these are the kind of people who really weirded me out. I consider myself very into Disney. Big time. Maybe even obsessed. But these people scare ME.

Reminds me, too, of a series of incidents with someone at SeaWorld of California...

-Kirsten
 
Gurgitoy2

Gurgitoy2

Active Member
Wow...

Why do something if you don't know why you're doing it in the first place?

The "I'm not gay" comment seems a little suspect to me...maybe denial?
 
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dtats

Member
Originally posted by Dr. Know:

"Hmmm, What would Walt think of these guys, that's what I want to know... "



It's probably best that Walt doesn't find out they're loose in his park.

I'm not gonna tell him.
 
X-S Tech

X-S Tech

Active Member
While these two guys may be MORE fanatical than the rest of us, I'm sure that an outsider would have a hard time telling us apart. Those of us here may not be that obsessive but I would bet that there's a very fine line seperating us from them.
 
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CPNHOOK15

Member
I actually gave this link to a friend of mine. He always playfully (hopefully) teases me about being a Disney Freak. Just this morning he came into work and apologized. Thankfully I am now just slightly off of normal. I owe those weirdos a big thanks!

Tim
 
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Michael Zielski

Member
X-S, you beat me to it--just what I was going to say! We'd all certainly register somewhere on the "whacko meter," it's just that these folks would definitely come out with just a little higher reading! One thing that we all equally share is, as the end of the article mentions, that continuous quest for just a little magic, to help us along in a world too often filled with tragedy.....thank you Walt and friends, and here's praying for some global magic on the eve of the second anniversary of 9-11.......

Mike
 
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Michael Zielski

Member
I think we're getting into semantics here, Bill. The so-called "magic," at least for me, refers to the realms of imagination created by those countless artists you refer to, whose wondrous visions result in that creative sparkle which attracts us all--it certainly IS their artistry which we refer to as "magic".......and I'm always careful to add a heartfelt "thank you" to Walt and all his "friends" as recognition of their efforts.

Mike
 
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JeffNOrangeCounty

Member
It does make me feel a bit better that I let my AP lapse for the last 3 months (not that I enjoy the summer crowds). It IS like a religion for a very few. And just like a creepy feeling you may get when attempting a reasonable conversation about religion with a glazed eyed zealot, so the same is for these guys. (my question is: Who is paying for their life?)

I am a WASP from the eastern midwest. There is no question for me why I am a "Disney enthusiast" (actually Trekkies prefer Trekkers). I was hooked at 3 yrs old by my first exposure to Disneyland plus countless Sunday nights of the wonderful world. When Walt died I was 7. But I remembered feeling bad and even Dick Van Dyke on that Sunday letting the world know. I strayed for years but always the Disney moniker drew me back. When I was married in 84, guess where we honeymooned..WDW! But I digress.... My point is that Disney has always been a part of my life ,, a part. These guys give most of us a bad name. Those of us who are hard-working-loyal-to-a-persistence-of-vision fans that enjoy the artistry as a garnish, a healthy complement to our lives. I have a religion and it is deeper and more meaningful than anything that Walt or even (God forbid) that Eisner could "create". End of sermon.

Jeff in Orange County

PS The LA Weekly is a ...trying to think of a gentle term here.. very different paper..and is trying to deliver a young, punk and hip slant to its readers.Maybe its best just to say.. My dog would rather use the LA Times.(grin)
 
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JoeInJpn

Member
Not much different than some of the Disney Maniacs over here in the Land of the Rising Sun. Many of the diehard fans here eat, live and breathe Disney. Some folks have been know to camp out weeks near the Tokyo Disney Resort property entrance right before a special event, similar to what happened in movie theater neighborhoods before "SW: Episode I" was released. And so many CM's themselves have AP's! Within the Tokyo fans, the guys mentioned in that LA Weekly piece would be "average hardcore". Not quite "absolute obsessive". Hahahaha.

JoeInJpn
http://www.jtcent.com
 
X-S Tech

X-S Tech

Active Member
I think my point should have been: we don't know how much these guys are really into Disney. The reporter followed them around the park, listened to their trivia, looked at their clothing and presented the observations. Yes the guys mentioned that they come every day, and proclaimed themselves Disney Freaks, but this doesn't preclude them having families, friends, and outside interests. The article was not about these things. The reporter did very little to appear unbiased and basically wrote an embarrassing article (can you imagine how excited these guys must have been beforehand for the publicity?). I know I'm probably just playing Devil's Advocate and the article may in fact be a very accurate picture of these two but until I know that, I'm reserving judgement.
 
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xfkirsten

Member
Y'know, I went to Fantasmic last night, and when I went in for the second show right as the first was letting out, they were all there. They'd taped their tarps down way early and gotten the spot right along the river in front of the sound booth, and stayed for both shows. They seemed pretty normal to me, if very "groupie"... except for one guy who was standing between shows to stretch his legs. It was like 2 minutes before the show and the Cast Member asked everyone in the area to sit and he practically ripped her a new one cause he was gonna "stand until the show starts." Very, very rude, IMHO.

-Kirsten
 
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Dznygrl

New Member
I have to agree with X-S Tech on this one. Yes, these people DO seem obsessed with DL to a very high degree, but I didn't really appreciate the writer's tone. Any article about Disney where the author states something to the effect of, "I never really cared too much for Disney..." or "I don't believe in the 'forced-fun environment' of a theme park" is going to portray a very biased view of the fans he's interviewing that will only serve to mock the obsessors. Yes, I did get a laugh or two out of the article (especially the thing about the peach tree. LOL), but the point is, that author probably could have made any of us look just as bad if he wanted to, regardless of how obsessed (or not) we think we are.
 
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Tim Hollis

Member
"Dznygrl" has a very good point there, in that reporters are ALWAYS looking for the oddball angle in anything they do. I have learned that from being interviewed about my books... the reporters seem to constantly assume that just because I wrote a book about a particular topic, that subject consumes my life. I try to convince them that I can have MANY different interests, and what they are seeing is only one facet. When DIXIE BEFORE DISNEY came out in 1999, a newspaper reporter wrote about me and made me sound like a giggling idiot. What nonsense... I'm just a plain idiot!!

On a similar note, my publisher has always been pleased with the fact that my books have gotten 98% rave reviews, but they have warned me that will change when the Disneyland Records one appears. As we know, there are dozens of reviewers who keep a special set of knives sharpened for ANYTHING that portrays Disney in a positive light instead of digging up dirt, so Greg Ehrbar and I know this new book will come in for its share of criticism.. and we may end up looking like dummies at the end. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the looming battle!
 
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Disney Bean Counte

Member
I just have one more comment...

that I would like to add to this thread.


I'M NOT GAY!!!!!

I know that you folks (or some of you folks)were thinking that I am gay....

I hear your thoughts at night while I'm trying to sleep.

I just wanted to clear up this misconception. ;)
 
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JeffNOrangeCounty

Member
Re:My one last thing to your one last thing..

Stop reading my mind Bean!!!!! (to many !'s?)

We all knows which way the Wisconsin wind blows.
...(heh) and you just thought everyone wouldnt notice that you are into fine food, like V&A's. I could tell by the loving way you had typed Albert that the pendulum was swinging left.
 
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radioandy

New Member
The saddest part of the article - besides the "I'm not gay" comment (not that there's anything wrong with that ;) ) - is the guy could not give an answer to why his entire life was a Disney obsession.

Pitiful.
 
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