Enchanted Tiki Room Anniverary Official Press Release - California Events

M ModMana Tiki Socialite San Diego, CA Joined: Sep 05, 2002 Posts: 263	M ModMana Posted posted on Mon, Sep 22, 2003 4:41 PM I can't believe that we were in line at the Disney gates at 5:30 AM and there was already a restless crowd. The time passed quickly though as we exchanged stories with some very enthusiastic Shag/Tiki/Disney fans. By 8:00, when the gates were set to open there was a huge crowd. I thought it was all going to be orderly and everyone was going to play nice. However, when the gates opened, all hell broke loose! People were falling over each other, running like there was no tomorrow, and jockeying for position in the next line. I was 2nd through my turnstile, got there as quickly as possibly and was still about 40th in line at the Disneyana store. Waited about 2 more hours just to get in to buy a print, mugs, and anything else we could get our paws on. Once inside we found out why it was so slow. To me they seemed pretty unprepared for the event. Many things could have been done to move things along faster (I'll spare you those details). I felt very sorry for the people that were 200/300/400+ deep in the line. They probably spent the entire day waiting without knowing if there would even be anything left when they got in. On a positive note, all of the merchandise was incredibly cool! As we waited, I was wondering if it was really worth all this trouble...but now that I can sit back and admire our new treasures...yea, it was worth it. It was an extremely unfair system that they had set up for the event. Disney dropped the ball in regards to organiziation and many people ended up getting screwed over. In the end, the final order of the line was determined by a combination of luck and ruthless behavior. I heard that Disney was used to dealing with fanatical crowds for other events. Apparently they underestimated this time. It would also be nice if Disney might get a clue from this event's popularity and put a little TLC (a major refurbishment) into the Tiki Room itself. Anyway, it was nice spending time with quite a few new Tiki Central friends. Hope to see you all again at the next event! ModMana :drink: [ Edited by: modmana on 2003-09-24 13:21 ]

I can't believe that we were in line at the Disney gates at 5:30 AM and there was already a restless crowd. The time passed quickly though as we exchanged stories with some very enthusiastic Shag/Tiki/Disney fans. By 8:00, when the gates were set to open there was a huge crowd. I thought it was all going to be orderly and everyone was going to play nice. However, when the gates opened, all hell broke loose! People were falling over each other, running like there was no tomorrow, and jockeying for position in the next line. I was 2nd through my turnstile, got there as quickly as possibly and was still about 40th in line at the Disneyana store.

Waited about 2 more hours just to get in to buy a print, mugs, and anything else we could get our paws on. Once inside we found out why it was so slow. To me they seemed pretty unprepared for the event. Many things could have been done to move things along faster (I'll spare you those details). I felt very sorry for the people that were 200/300/400+ deep in the line. They probably spent the entire day waiting without knowing if there would even be anything left when they got in.

On a positive note, all of the merchandise was incredibly cool! As we waited, I was wondering if it was really worth all this trouble...but now that I can sit back and admire our new treasures...yea, it was worth it.

It was an extremely unfair system that they had set up for the event. Disney dropped the ball in regards to organiziation and many people ended up getting screwed over. In the end, the final order of the line was determined by a combination of luck and ruthless behavior. I heard that Disney was used to dealing with fanatical crowds for other events. Apparently they underestimated this time.

It would also be nice if Disney might get a clue from this event's popularity and put a little TLC (a major refurbishment) into the Tiki Room itself. Anyway, it was nice spending time with quite a few new Tiki Central friends. Hope to see you all again at the next event!

ModMana :drink:

[ Edited by: modmana on 2003-09-24 13:21 ]

Post #52159 by ModMana on Mon, Sep 22, 2003 4:41 PM