Interview with D23’s Jeffrey Epstein – What’s In Store for 2013 (Membership Makes a Great Gift!)

We had the opportunity to sit down with D23’s Jeffrey Epstein for a one-on-one interview about the official Disney fan community, which will begin it’s 5th year in 2013!

D23 2013 Expo tickets have an early bird discount through December 31, 2012

 

It’s hard to believe that nearly 4 years have gone by since we first joined! We discuss with Jeffrey the D23 Expo, the D23 Fanniversary events that were so popular that they’ll be back again this year, and about discounts available for D23 members! For us, just the magazine and extra offerings enclosed (patches, postcards, etc.) are worth the membership fee.

MS: Can you tell our readers what your current role in D23 is?

JE: I oversee the marketing for D23.

MS: D23 is going to be turning 4 years old – that is hard to believe, because we did the Tony Orlando event in 2009 (and now we are heading into 2013!) Was that the first D23 event?

JE: The very first was when we opened and Dave Pacheco came (Saturday, March 14, 2009 in Disneyland), and signed lithos that had been produced down at Disneyana to celebrate the launch. The first member event was when we did “Up All Night”, in May. It was the night before Up! opened. That was amazing. We’d always intended to do some events, but that’s really when Steven and the team realized that this is a great opportunity we have to reach out to the fans in a way that is very meaningful.

MS: Is D23 where you expected it to be by now, or has it evolved into something more?

JE: I feel that D23 has evolved, and is always evolving. That’s what the great thing about D23 is, the team that Steven (Clark) is leading a team that is passionate  about Disney, but also understand that we need to be flexible in these times as things change. With technology, and new announcements, new movies and products and all sorts of things coming out all the time from Disney, you’ve got to be able to adapt quickly. That’s one of the things I feel that D23 has been really terrific about. To your point, we continue to evolve and it’s been an incredible journey…from launching and just doing a few events to really finding that those are things (member events) that have great meaning for our members around the country…and working with our partners across the company to come up with ways to reach those fans who maybe aren’t able to go to a park once every year, so that they have some Disney in their hometown.

MS: Like the Fanniversary, we hear that is coming back again this year.

JE: The Fanniversary is a great example, because that is something that we – the Archives and D23 – create together. We had such a groundswell of positive feedback in all the cities that we visited, (saying) how terrific it was that Disney was coming and bringing all these things…all these milestones that people cared so much about. Letting them (the members) know that we not only don’t forget about these things, but we celebrate them. That was a really terrific opportunity to go to cities that we don’t go to a lot. We are really excited to do it again, there are obviously some terrific things to be celebrating in 2013…everything from something as recent as the 10th anniversary of the first Pirates movie to the fact that it’s the 90th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. Much like Snow White was a big anchor for this past year’s Fanniversary, the 90th anniversary of the company is certainly big, and attractions like Horizons will be celebrating it’s anniversary. We definitely know what are fan favorite are!

MS: Have you expanded the dates, or are they the same cities as last year?

JE: We’re changing up some of the cities, because we want to hit some new ones…but we are definitely heading to some of the same places where we know we have large cores of Disney fans. We’re going to go to Newark this time, Phoenix is also new this year.

MS: We have friends who went to multiple cities because they enjoyed Fanniversary very much. It’s nice that D23 members can feel that they can be a closer part of D23 even if they are not in California or Florida.

JE: Certainly with the events. This past year we’ve been included in screenings that the Walt Disney Studios has offered. With Wreck-It Ralph, we had seats in 46 different cities. While those aren’t (lifting fingers to make quotes) D23 events per se, it’s wonderful that D23 members have access to these movies before they come out. It’s great that our friends at the (Walt Disney) Studios see the value in the D23 members. And we’re going to be working more this year with Disney Store, because we know that there are Disney Stores all over the country. One of our challenges as D23 is that sometimes it’s hard for us to go to every city where we would like to be. But when there is already a Disney infrastructure in place, it makes it easier to at least bring a taste of D23 to local cities.

MS: Can you buy a subscription to D23 now in a Disney Store?

JE: Not in a Disney Store. Subscriptions are available to purchase in Disney park locations, and Disney Store online. We’re very much an online based program. We’re very active on social (media), which is very important to ourselves and our members, and we do a lot of things virtually – which is great.

MS: D23 Magazine offers a mix of parks, movies, and other areas of the Walt Disney Company. How do you find the right balance?

JE: I give a lot of credit to Carmen Capone, the Editor-and-Chief, as well as Steven (Clark). They work together to find a terrific balance of what we think is going to resonate with the fans. Obviously, it’s not just parks and movies and television…it’s also about finding a perfect balance of things that are archival and classic in nature, and things that are present and things that are future. We really, I think, come up with a great blend. It comes from that place of sitting down…people who are passionate about Disney and care about Disney, thinking about…what would people who are about Disney as much as we do want to see in a magazine? The Wreck-It Ralph cover is such a fun cover, and that movie was just so terrific…it was a great opportunity. Sometimes we do a cover far in advance – we did our Tangled cover months before the movie opened, and we got a great response from the fans because it was a terrific opportunity for a real first look. We’ve got a great New Fantasyland story in the current issue. We’re always looking ahead and looking back.

MS: The D23 Magazine is our favorite part of our membership. It’s really well done, and we always look forward to it!

JE: Thank you! We love it. It really does feel to us like a coffee table book. We always have it on my table at home. It’s oversized, it has no ads…I realize that we make it, but I’m so proud of it. It’s such a beautiful piece that Carmen and her team put together..and Jared our art director is so phenomenally talented. To me, everything else that comes with the membership is icing. And the Gold members get the gifts, fun things like the Wreck-It Ralph clings, things that no one else is going to get. The patches have been so successful. Our first year we did a vintage Christmas card, and last year we took several postcards and made them into a set.

MS: D23 put on a terrific event for Epcot’s 30th, what did it take to pull that off?

JE: We have a small but mighty team, I really have to give incredible credit to Becky Cline, the director of the Archives, and Steven Vagnini, who works in the Archives, he’s just brilliant. They really put together a fantastic show, along with some really terrific partners, people like Tim O’Day. It takes months of planning to put together an event like that, certainly of that scope. It was something that the team was really passionate about. We know our D23 members are huge fans of Epcot, and that was something really important for us to celebrate. Full credit to the Archives team really putting together some incredibly compelling content about this phenomenal park we’re sitting on the shores of (the interview was conducted outside of Disney’s Beach Club Resort).

MS: We feel that Steven Vagnini has such an obvious love for Walt Disney World – that has shown in the last few major events you’ve put on here (including the 30th anniversary of Epcot, and the 40th of Walt Disney World/Magic Kingdom). It’s nice that not only Disneyland gets attention for their history, but that D23 also recognizes Walt Disney World. We have a lot of history here!

JE: Absolutely. What I think is fascinating is how over the last….even 10 years, that sort of history of Walt Disney World has evolved. At Fanniversary, we’ll definitely be looking at the fact that Animal Kingdom turns 15. And this is the new park! The whole area has changed – there is such a rich history. Walt Disney World was always sort of the new kid, and now…there is a lot of history here. I think it should absolutely be celebrated, and I think that’s one of the things the Archives and D23 does really well is really celebrate that.

MS: Are there any surprises for D23 members in store for 2013?

JE: There are always surprises! There are events we have yet to announce, there will absolutely be more events (than what is on the current slate). We wanted to make sure that D23 members have key dates on their calendars. There are some surprises that we think D23 members will be excited about.

MS: It looks like the Christmas event will be changing somewhat for next year.

JE: It’s still in the planning stages, we wanted to see what would happen when we switched things up a little bit like we did this past year. We turned Sip ‘n Stroll into Sip ‘n Scream for a year – it was fun, it was a really great event, our members responded well to it. Next year we are going back to Sip ‘n Stroll. I think that is one of the ways that Steven and the team have really been is how responsive they’ve been to the members. I feel like we do a really great job of listening when we hear feedback. Sometimes there are things that we can do, sometimes there are things we can’t, but we always listen. People were surprised at the Fanniversary events when we’d say (to an individual person), “hey, we saw your tweet”. People were surprised that we were following them on social (media). To us, that’s natural. Of course we’ll be following, we want to know what people are saying.  We encourage that feedback. It creates great opportunities for us to grow.

MS: That leads us into another question, about the D23 Expo. There were some issues with capacity during the last Expo, it sounds like that will be addressed this year?

JE: We were, as you can imagine, thrilled at how the D23 Expo grew from the first to the second Expo. We definitely heard the feedback on crowding and the need for larger event space. We are working to address that. The arena, as we announced earlier this year, will have a 2000 seat overflow theater so that if a guest doesn’t get in, that doesn’t mean you miss seeing those announcements or being part of that experience. It will live stream into there. Stage 23 we are looking at doubling in capacity, and even Stage 28 we’re planning to add some seats to. And we’re growing the show floor, we’re expanding it out. We’re growing the Collector’s Forum, we knew that was an incredibly popular area for our members who love to be able to buy, sell and trade some of their favorite Disney collectables, or find some new piece of Disneyana to own. Of course, some of the favorites are going to be back, like Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. That’s another really awesome event. Treasures was a great opportunity to grow something that we know people really love and really look at – the past, present and future of Disney. Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives will be back at the D23 Expo with an all-new exhibit, which is going to be very exciting. The fan art gallery will be once again where that is, which is dedicated to Mary Poppins for the upcoming 50th anniversary. The fan art contest is currently going on, so our members have an opportunity to contribute art. Last Expo there was a 101 Dalmations art gallery – and I knew our fans were talented, but I don’t think we knew just how phenomenally talented. It was really incredible to see some of that artwork, and looking forward to what people create in honor of Mary Poppins for this coming D23 Expo.

MS – Even though we didn’t get into many presentations at the D23 Expo, we really enjoyed the floor exhibits (we spent most of our time around the Disney Animation booth, including meeting Dorothy McKim, who produces Prep & Landing).

JE: The show floor in itself is like a presentation every minute. There is so much to see and so much to take in, and even if you did see everything – they’re bringing back new things every day. For the 2011 D23 Expo, there were different celebrities, different speakers, just on the show floor – let alone on the presentation rooms. There was a Disney store with new product releases every day, which was fun. There was a great energy about that show floor, and we are looking forward to it growing this year.

MS: Did it exceed your expectations how many D23 members turned up for the second Expo?

JE: Oh, absolutely. The fact that we sold out on Saturday to us, was just so fantastic. To have your second Expo have a sell-out day was wonderful – beyond any expectations.

One of the other things I do love talking about, particularly because it’s the holiday season and about gift giving – we have so many terrific member discounts, I think right now we have almost 3 dozen.

MS: What’s your favorite discount?

That’s a good question. I love our Disney on Broadway, Disney theatrical discounts. I’ve seen Mary Poppins multiple times, I got to see Newsies this year, and they are so great – and the savings is terrific. If you buy a few tickets, it immediately pays for your membership. Our Disney Store partners have been wonderful. One of the nice things is that we offer a discount at Ghiardelli – we offer it at both park locations, but we also offer it online. Many of our discounts are like that. Our Mandara Spa discount can be used here at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin, and at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort, but also at all Mandara Spas nationwide. Those are great opportunities. We have discounts at both House of Blues locations here and in Anaheim, and I love Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, we are doing a lot of great things with them – gingerbread house building this month, we did a haunted gingerbread house (event) for Halloween, which is an example of another really fun partnership. They are really great people, and our members not only get a discount there, but also at other Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group restaurants in New Orleans. So all of our members in Louisiana, or those who head into the Big Easy can enjoy some delicious New Orleans cuisine and use the D23 savings. Brookstone online offers a discount…and the ABC TV store. There are a lot of great discount opportunities online or even Super Shuttle – when you are on your way to your next Disney vacation.

Our new annual gift (for joining or renewing) was recently announced, a lovely silver-plated pen that has engraved in it Walt Disney’s personal signature. Included in the box is a replica of his signature and Roy’s signature from the contract that represented the founding of what became the Walt Disney Company. It’s really a beautiful, beautiful piece. It’s perfect for celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the company.

MS: And D23 makes a nice gift, you can even buy it on Christmas Eve (or Christmas Day)!

JE: It makes the perfect last-minute Christmas gift! Print out the confirmation, stick it in a stocking. It makes the perfect gift for the Disney fan in your life, even if that Disney fan is you. We are so happy to be part of the Disney fan community, and we love the feedback that we get. Hopefully we are able to continue delivering the Disney experience that our D23 members look forward to.