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View Full Version : DCA Super Soap weekend no more - FabDisBabe.com



Darkbeer
02-06-2004, 01:02 AM
Here is the latest Rumor from the FabulousDisneyBabe.com...

http://www.fabulousdisneybabe.com/fab/articles/showArticles.asp?ID=79


Afterward, I met some old friends and made a couple new ones. Mr. Good had some distressing news for me, a hardcore ABC Soapie. It looks like DCA's Super Soaps weekends have been cancelled. Apparently, no one wants to pay for it. This makes absolutely no sense to me - during SSW the park is packed, and ours is WAY better than Florida's, according to those who have been to both (hi Nancy). I don't know the status of SSW Florida; I'm trying to find out. To put this in perspective for me, personally: Super Soap is to me what Golden Week is to the Japanese. The world stands still. First GH kills off Disney Legend Pete Reneday, and now this.

TP2000
02-06-2004, 02:06 AM
Running the risk of upsetting a lot of Soap Opera fans, I have to say....

Good riddance! I never thought the Super Soap weekends were much to get excited about. The Park was busy, but it was full of housewifes and secretaries from the Midwest waiting in line for three hours to get an autograph from some two bit actor named "Stone" or "Lance" or something. It was more than a little creepy.

Plus there's the whole thematic issue of a theme park supposedly themed to "California" celebrating Soap Opera's set in fictitional cities that are filmed in New York City. I didn't get it, and it had nothing to do with DCA's original mission statement. And apparently the new guys in TDA don't get it either. I knew I was gonna like them!

I am not mourning the loss of DCA's Super Soap Weekends. Maybe they could build a new ride for this hurting theme park instead? Tower of Terror isn't going to be DCA's silver bullet, that's all I know.

PsychDoc
02-06-2004, 08:50 AM
Hey, I take offense to the previous post. I'm not some "creepy" hosuewife. I am a doctor. However, my form of escape (from my extremely stressful job) is soaps. Sorry if that's too juvenile for you. Kind of like going to DL, huh? Anyway, I'm glad that I had the opportunity to go last year. I didn't plan my vacation around it. I had already booked my trip and by hapenstance it was during the Soap weekend. No, I didn't stand in the lines to get pics or autographs. I did enjoy bumping into the stars aroud the parks. I also went to a couple of the Coffee Talks. Yes, it doesn't really fit with the DCA theme. But, nothing else in that park really fits, so why should this? Only positive is that the parks will be less crowded.

Darkbeer
02-06-2004, 01:13 PM
Interesting to note, NBC will be holding a "Fan Festival" for its Soap Operas on March 20th and 21st at Universal Studios Hollywood's CityWalk....

MouseWife
02-06-2004, 01:16 PM
Originally posted by PsychDoc
Hey, I take offense to the previous post. I'm not some "creepy" hosuewife. I am a doctor. However, my form of escape (from my extremely stressful job) is soaps. Sorry if that's too juvenile for you. Kind of like going to DL, huh? Anyway, I'm glad that I had the opportunity to go last year. I didn't plan my vacation around it. I had already booked my trip and by hapenstance it was during the Soap weekend. No, I didn't stand in the lines to get pics or autographs. I did enjoy bumping into the stars aroud the parks. I also went to a couple of the Coffee Talks. Yes, it doesn't really fit with the DCA theme. But, nothing else in that park really fits, so why should this? Only positive is that the parks will be less crowded.

I don't think I am a creepy housewife, either.

And, I will miss it. I missed it in '03 and was hoping to catch it in '04 but alas that isn't to be.

Maybe the thing is people don't want to pay ridiculous prices for their packages!!! The closest hotel is the Grand Californian and THAT is a lot of money on a regular basis. Add to that the costs of everything that you want to buy and the special dining options, etc.

AND I am very glad that you posted, PsychDoc. I mean, if you are a psych doc and you realize this to be a form of escape then I feel much better. ALL of my life I have watched AMC. {Current story line with Bianca/Erica/Kendall is heartbreaking when you put the whole puzzle together starting from Ericas' past} and I am not a loon.

And, any comments to the contrary are sincerely NOT appreciated!! :fez:

cstephens
02-06-2004, 01:39 PM
I'm a soap opera fan, particularly of the ABC soaps, but the soaps weekends weren't anything I was particularly interested in. Maybe that's partly because I'm not into the autograph thing (though it was fun to see Catherine Hickland at Napa Rose). However, I always find it odd when people feel the need to bash things that other people like and to indulge in overgeneralizing steretypes.


Originally posted by MouseWife
ALL of my life I have watched AMC. {Current story line with Bianca/Erica/Kendall is heartbreaking when you put the whole puzzle together starting from Ericas' past} and I am not a loon.

Thursday's show was amazing, especially with everything with Kendall and Greenlee and how angry Ryan was. Now, poor Kendall feels that she needs to push Ryan away for his own good. And the final scene with Bianca and Erica was heartbreaking. I can't wait to see today's show when I get home.

3894
02-06-2004, 01:57 PM
Originally posted by TP2000

Good riddance! I never thought the Super Soap weekends were much to get excited about. The Park was busy, but it was full of housewifes and secretaries from the Midwest waiting in line for three hours to get an autograph from some two bit actor named "Stone" or "Lance" or something. It was more than a little creepy.


No need to devalue millions of women and an entire region of the country (which includes small towns, sure, but also Chicago, Minneapolis, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, etc.) simply because you don't share their taste in entertainment, TP2000.

stan4d_steph
02-06-2004, 02:11 PM
I wonder if the Primetime Preview weekend won't be far behind? Like cstephens said, it was always fun to see the celebs roaming around DCA.

TP2000
02-06-2004, 02:23 PM
I apologize for not being politically correct in my initial sweeping response expressing my glee over the cancelling of the Soap Opera Weekends at DCA.

I do stand by my assesment that SOME of the attendees at DCA's Super Soap Weekends took their fandom of particular show's and actor's to creepy lengths. And since this past year I saw several groups of women standing in hour long autograph lines wearing t-shirts and clothing items that identified themselves as fan groups from the states east of the Rocky Mountains, I identified them as being from the "Midwest".

I've lived in a small town in a poor, southern state. I enjoyed it there, and I know all too well the snobbery of SoCal hipsters who look down their nose at anyone who lives east of Yorba Linda.

My horrid insensitivity and political incorrectness aside, (I will henceforth use the terms "Stay-At-Home-Mom" and "Administrative Assistant" and "Nations Heartland" ;-) I'm still not sad to see this event go. It just had absolutely nothing to do with DCA.

With today's additional news that the XGames XPerience has also been cancelled, this signals a giant sea change for TDA. The new boys in the yellow building really seem to be doing things differently than the old group, and that is very good news. They apparently have very different ideas about how to fix a struggling theme park like DCA, and an endless stream of thematically weak special events and temporary entertainment doesn't seem to be the preferred route with the new TDA guys. Bravo!

The Park was busy during Super Soap Weekends, but the rides were all walk-ons. Everyone was waiting in line for an autograph. So how does that benefit DCA? They could have held this event at a shopping mall, which apparently they are this year with the NBC version at CityWalk.

MouseWife
02-06-2004, 04:45 PM
Originally posted by cstephens
I'm a soap opera fan, particularly of the ABC soaps, but the soaps weekends weren't anything I was particularly interested in. Maybe that's partly because I'm not into the autograph thing (though it was fun to see Catherine Hickland at Napa Rose). However, I always find it odd when people feel the need to bash things that other people like and to indulge in overgeneralizing steretypes.



Thursday's show was amazing, especially with everything with Kendall and Greenlee and how angry Ryan was. Now, poor Kendall feels that she needs to push Ryan away for his own good. And the final scene with Bianca and Erica was heartbreaking. I can't wait to see today's show when I get home.

Thank you for that~the thing about people bashing others for what they like. My WHOLE family thinks I am a goon for getting enthusiatic over what I am passionate about. Does my whole life have to be about them??? {please say no!}

This story line really is touching, if you don't look at it like it is just a soap. I mean, this sort of stuff really does happen and it is heartbreaking. I know, derail, but don't you think Greelee and Mia are so out of line?

And, LOL I think the short lines at DCA should be a plus for the hubbies and kids who tag along with the women. I enjoyed it. I love the talk shows and the breakfast.

So it didn't do anything great for DCA. But it didn't hurt, did it? I man, aside from being an annoyance for some?

cstephens
02-06-2004, 05:01 PM
Originally posted by MouseWife
I know, derail, but don't you think Greelee and Mia are so out of line?

Mia and Simone have bugged me for a long time. I usually fast forward through all of their stuff. I can kind of understand some of Greenlee's actions, but she's going to be really sorry. I hope they showed more today. Yesterday, they just showed the reveal of her finding out about Bianca's pregnancy.

TP2000
02-06-2004, 05:05 PM
Originally posted by MouseWife
So it didn't do anything great for DCA. But it didn't hurt, did it? I man, aside from being an annoyance for some?

It had absolutely nothing to do with DCA. Even in it's first year when there was a Soap Opera Bistro in the Park, the connection between Soap Opera's and California was tenuous at best.

If you are trying to build brand equity with a struggling theme park saddled with a troublesome theme like "California", you probably don't want to throw random marketing gimmicks at it like "soap operas" and "skateboard shows" and "old baby boomer pop bands that haven't had a gig since Ed Sullivan in '68". So in that respect, it did actually damage the Park's struggling brand equity and already tarnished reputation.

Super Soap Weekend had nothing to do with DCA's mission statement and supposed reason for being. It sounds like it will be succesfully replaced by the NBC version in a shopping mall next to Universal Studios, so soap fans won't be completely left out in the cold.

PsychDoc
02-07-2004, 07:24 AM
Thanks for the support. Yes, I really am a "psychdoc" (psychologist). I now TVo General Hospital and watch it late into Friday night. I do really enjoy that show, but perhaps I'm trying to justify the purchase of my new toy. It along with going to DL is an excellent escape as long as it doesn't become an unhealthy obsession that takes away from your daily life and obligations. (
However, don't ask my husband about this, because he'll say I'm a Disney freak.) I do agree with some of the other posters. The Soap Weekend had nothing to do with CA or DCA. And while it's true that the rides were walk-ons, I'm sure that several of those "creepy housewives" spend their husband's hard-earned money at the consession stands. I also saw swarms of them at the Paridise Peir, so you know that it also generated a lot of hotel revenues as well. That all being said, if the DL execs choose to use the funds, time, and energy on getting back to the original Walt DL philosophy, then I'm all for it. I'll just have to watch Sonny and Alcazar at home, alone. Oh, well.

MontanaKC
02-07-2004, 10:32 AM
Originally posted by TP2000
The Park was busy during Super Soap Weekends, but the rides were all walk-ons. Everyone was waiting in line for an autograph. So how does that benefit DCA? They could have held this event at a shopping mall, which apparently they are this year with the NBC version at CityWalk.

You answered your own question with your first sentence: "The Park was busy..."

What did Super Soap Weekend do for DCA? It got thousands of paid customers into the park, the hotels, the restaurants, etc., that might not have gone there, without the soap connection.

For the record, I went the last two years and had a great time.

TP2000
02-07-2004, 11:15 AM
Originally posted by MontanaKC
You answered your own question with your first sentence: "The Park was busy..."

What did Super Soap Weekend do for DCA? It got thousands of paid customers into the park, the hotels, the restaurants, etc., that might not have gone there, without the soap connection.

For the record, I went the last two years and had a great time.

But apparently it wasn't busy enough to justify doing it a third year. TDA decided the costs outweighed the benefits, so I guess it wasn't "busy" enough. Why else would a private business stop doing something that alledgedly made them money?

My hunch is the profits were just not there to justify the expense of flying out all of those actors and actresses from New York for the weekend and putting them up in hotels, let alone the immense amount of labor and capital expense that went into preparing the Park for the soap opera events themselves. It must not have been a big money maker after all of the bills were paid and the New York actors ego's were stroked.

AVP
02-07-2004, 12:24 PM
Originally posted by TP2000
Why else would a private business stop doing something that alledgedly made them money? Soap Opera weekend is cancelled, the X Games Xperience is cancelled - hopefully someone decided that it was time to stop whoring out DCA as an event venue, and focus on actually putting something permanent in the park that will draw those types of crowds daily.

Time will tell.

AVP

sambo
02-07-2004, 12:58 PM
Hear Hear!

Why on earth would I go to an event that could just as easily be held in any mall in America? Super Soap Weekend was as lame as lame could be. I don't begrudge the soap fans their addictions. We all have hobbies that really motivate us. Mine is Disneyland. I would no more want the soaps cancelled as I would want Disneyland to close. I just think that the Soaps and Disney are as illogical a match as Michael Jackson and Priscilla Presley.

I am glad it's gone. ...and the stupid X games as well... sad - truly sad...

hbquikcomjamesl
02-07-2004, 06:10 PM
For my own part, I always figured that putting up with the "Super Soap Weekend" was, like the soap-specific theming, part of the price we paid to get the good food and wacky soap-parody entertainment at the SOB. With the latter gone, I don't mind losing the former one bit.

TP2000
02-07-2004, 11:27 PM
Originally posted by AVP
Soap Opera weekend is cancelled, the X Games Xperience is cancelled - hopefully someone decided that it was time to stop whoring out DCA as an event venue, and focus on actually putting something permanent in the park that will draw those types of crowds daily.

Well, an interesting analogy to be sure. But I think that sums it up perfectly.

The future looks brighter with the new TDA guys in town.

tod
02-08-2004, 09:24 PM
Originally posted by sambo
...I just think that the Soaps and Disney are as illogical a match as Michael Jackson and Priscilla Presley.

You do mean Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, I hope....

--T

tod
02-08-2004, 09:28 PM
Where, pray, will I be able to get a look at the lovely Miss Kelly Monaco (http://abc.go.com/daytime/generalhospital/bios/kelly_monaco.html) if DCA dumps the Super Soap Weekends?

--T
irritated

mousey_girl
02-08-2004, 10:17 PM
I pretty much grew up watching AMC. After getting my first non-retail job I stopped. I found I don't need to see it every chance I get. Some of the plot lines became harder to follow.

As for the Soap Weekends, I am not a star junkie. The way I see it they are just people doing a job (their job just pays a lot more than mine). I know a lot of people are going to miss it and for that I am sorry.

luvndisneyland
02-09-2004, 08:31 AM
Ok Now my day is ruined. I have been looking forward to this since last year. Its the only reason I renewed my AP. GRRRRR!!! Where are the pickets lines cuz I'm on my way.. I go to see the hot guy stars and my husband likes to see all the hot girls. How can they do this to me!!!!!!! :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:

MontanaKC
02-09-2004, 03:03 PM
Originally posted by tod
Where, pray, will I be able to get a look at the lovely Miss Kelly Monaco (http://abc.go.com/daytime/generalhospital/bios/kelly_monaco.html) if DCA dumps the Super Soap Weekends?

--T
irritated

Tod -

Drop me a line and I'll e-mail you a terrific picture of the aforementioned Ms. Monaco.

Kim

Germboy
02-11-2004, 02:26 AM
No offense, all you soap people, but IT'S ABOUT TIME! All of the shameless promotion of soap operas at Disney parks, simply because they OWN ABC!!! Come on!

What on earth does ABC (let alone their sappy soaps) have to do with Disney?

WHATEVER