It's sad when something so fun and innocent has to be bruised and battered down by those so self proclaiming to be the biggest fans. Yes, I'm talking to you, MiceChat, VisionsFantastic, MouseWait, and so many more.
Look, I get it that you love the parks. I love them too. I grew up with Disneyland just like any other kid in SoCal. But there's a line that I realized needs to be drawn to loving it and being obsessed about it. Many have crossed this line and are hopelessly lost in their pie-eyed dreams of what they think the park needs to be, and get mad when theres too much "princess" or Marvel's "invading", or Walt-Forbid, the paint on Main Street isn't historically right to the time period (my personal favorite).
I've grown up loving Disney. Goodness, the first movie I watched was Aladdin, and I can still remember the Electrical Parade on Main Street. But as I grew up from just Disney movies and park visits, I started to look deeper into what the parks were, are, and will be. Yes, I searched the internet, and stumbled down the proverbial rabbit hole of fandom.
First it was Theme Park Review, then it was MiceChat. TPR was cool, but over time I got tired of the language and crude jokes. It's still a good site, and Mr. Alvey has done a GREAT job at maintaining it and building it to what it is today, but overall it's just not my style to be with. With MiceChat though, I thought I'd hit a jackpot with the cool fan community of Disney. Originally I thought it was great, because at the time people were nice and willing to chat nicely about what the parks were, discuss history and future rumors. But over time it fell to pieces. I started to make friends with people off the site, and some were cool. Others I questioned their motives, and later understood why I questioned it to begin with, but as time drew on, it got hostile.
Fans slamming each other over an idea that was just an afternoon commute's day dream.
Ripping apart young teen's logic on why Disney was redesigning something.
Shredding old folks for reminiscing on the Days of Old.
It was messy, and I wanted out.
The entire site now is a twisted web of Vinylmation wielding and oversized logo'd shirt wearing, cliques, with only the 'best' being in them. If you disagree, you're outcasted and de-repped. The thing is, even the mods are in on it too, especially when you get sarcastic and witty with your comebacks to things, because they see it as an "attack". If you stay under the wings of mods, you're safe to jab out at others. If you're outside the reach of wings, look out for the attack if you speak your mind too loudly.
And it's not just MiceChat. It's in general. I only used MiceChat because that's the only example of site hostility I had. All in all, I really don't see how people cannot just enjoy what Disney makes for the parks and resorts. They're obviously doing something right to be buying out companies for $4 billion, or working hand in hand with others that have more money than the government does...but the fans don't see it as that. They see it as removing what they love for something new. It's "invasive". The "sight lines are wrong, and intrusive to other lands." It's all stupid and insane in the membrane that people think this.
This all over the past while has actually burned me out on knowing what Disney's up to. I don't even care to go to the parks for now because I need a break from all of this. I need to not only focus on my own life and other things going on with that, but I need to step away from being a big fan, and let this storm spin itself out before I try to step on the beach again.
Look, I get it that you love the parks. I love them too. I grew up with Disneyland just like any other kid in SoCal. But there's a line that I realized needs to be drawn to loving it and being obsessed about it. Many have crossed this line and are hopelessly lost in their pie-eyed dreams of what they think the park needs to be, and get mad when theres too much "princess" or Marvel's "invading", or Walt-Forbid, the paint on Main Street isn't historically right to the time period (my personal favorite).
I've grown up loving Disney. Goodness, the first movie I watched was Aladdin, and I can still remember the Electrical Parade on Main Street. But as I grew up from just Disney movies and park visits, I started to look deeper into what the parks were, are, and will be. Yes, I searched the internet, and stumbled down the proverbial rabbit hole of fandom.
First it was Theme Park Review, then it was MiceChat. TPR was cool, but over time I got tired of the language and crude jokes. It's still a good site, and Mr. Alvey has done a GREAT job at maintaining it and building it to what it is today, but overall it's just not my style to be with. With MiceChat though, I thought I'd hit a jackpot with the cool fan community of Disney. Originally I thought it was great, because at the time people were nice and willing to chat nicely about what the parks were, discuss history and future rumors. But over time it fell to pieces. I started to make friends with people off the site, and some were cool. Others I questioned their motives, and later understood why I questioned it to begin with, but as time drew on, it got hostile.
Fans slamming each other over an idea that was just an afternoon commute's day dream.
Ripping apart young teen's logic on why Disney was redesigning something.
Shredding old folks for reminiscing on the Days of Old.
It was messy, and I wanted out.
The entire site now is a twisted web of Vinylmation wielding and oversized logo'd shirt wearing, cliques, with only the 'best' being in them. If you disagree, you're outcasted and de-repped. The thing is, even the mods are in on it too, especially when you get sarcastic and witty with your comebacks to things, because they see it as an "attack". If you stay under the wings of mods, you're safe to jab out at others. If you're outside the reach of wings, look out for the attack if you speak your mind too loudly.
And it's not just MiceChat. It's in general. I only used MiceChat because that's the only example of site hostility I had. All in all, I really don't see how people cannot just enjoy what Disney makes for the parks and resorts. They're obviously doing something right to be buying out companies for $4 billion, or working hand in hand with others that have more money than the government does...but the fans don't see it as that. They see it as removing what they love for something new. It's "invasive". The "sight lines are wrong, and intrusive to other lands." It's all stupid and insane in the membrane that people think this.
This all over the past while has actually burned me out on knowing what Disney's up to. I don't even care to go to the parks for now because I need a break from all of this. I need to not only focus on my own life and other things going on with that, but I need to step away from being a big fan, and let this storm spin itself out before I try to step on the beach again.
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2 comments:
I can definitely understand what you're saying, and have been in similar situations before. Hopefully the break is exactly what you need, and your love of what Disney really is can stay untarnished.
Like you I joined Micechat hoping to share my love of Disney. At first it was o.k., but then I started noticing that there always had to be a "discussion" (really an argument) about every little thing. I stopped asking questions because a fight had to erupt always and I got tired of it. What I didn't understand is how some people got away with bashing and others were given warnings within the threads when they did it. A couple of people were clear racists (they would straight say they hated when foreigners... and then proceed to say negative things, but their comments were not deleted nor were warnings given, but mods would post warning comments for much less offensive posts. There was even a thread complaining about why disabled people got to stand in a different line and that they shouldn't be allowed this privilege. Then many started replying that most of the guests in wheelchairs were faking being disabled. I also noticed that there were cliques in some Micechat sections. When certain members posted threads there were tons of replies while other people's threads went ignored. I've taken breaks before and every time I went back I found that Micechat became worse. The general consensus that people in wheelchairs were fakers was the last straw for me and I won't be going back for good.
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