Theme Park Headlines - Volunteer Victory

Image copyright Disney.

The "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program comes to a close as one million people sign up to volunteer.

By Blake

Originally posted March 9, 2010.


   Today Disney Parks announced that their "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" initiative is officially concluded.  The initial goal was to inspire one million people to volunteer for one day through a select organization in exchange for a free one-day ticket to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park.  After announcing the promotion in late September, 600,000 people signed up to participate by mid-February and now Disney has impressively reached its target in a mere ten weeks.

You may read more after the jump.


   At first I was a bit skeptical about the reception of the program overall . . . then I was expecting Disney to reach their goal, but perhaps not until towards the end of the year . . . now, though, I am completely (and pleasantly) surprised at the overwhelming response from the public to "Give a Day."  So I first offer my apologies, and then my congratulations to Disney Parks for a job well done.  Many people now have had the wonderful experience of either helping others, or being helped by someone kind.

Goofy volunteers in Atlanta, Georgia on September 29.  Image copyright Disney.

   The inevitable question now, though, is whether or not Disney will stick with the one-million mark or continue on with the program, as it was originally announced to be a year-long celebration.  Personally I think that if the company were to extend the promotion, they would have already informed us about it.  As evidenced with Disney's recent repretoire of yearly "themes," they tend to announce that a celebration is extending before its initial closing date arrives.  For instance, the Year of a Million Dreams was first supposed to take place from October 2006 through December 2007, though was announced to continue through the duration of 2008 before December 2007 came around.  Similarly, the "What Will You Celebrate" theme was initially announced to be a one-year celebration for 2009, though was revealed to extend through 2010 with the "Give a Day" promotion before 2009 concluded.  So, in essence, I think if Disney were planning to continue "Give a Day," they would have announced the extension before the program reached one million participants.

   Of course, I could be wrong, but it seems very un-Disney to announce the closure of something great in the first place, much less if they were going to turn around and contradict that previous announcement.  But I suppose anything's possible, and I would love to see "Give a Day" stretch through the end of the year.  Not only would it inspire more feel-good volunteer buzz, it would additionally provide continuous publicity for the Muppets, who have played a big part in advertising the program via television commercials and online videos.  On top of that, it's not as if a new Disney Parks celebration is right around the corner.  They might be planning some new festivities for the parks, but why not just keep going with something that has proved to be a very successfull endeavor?  It would be pushing it to try to squeeze another celebration between now and the kickoff of Walt Disney World's 40th anniversary (if a 40th birthday bash is even planned at all - it still hasn't been officially announced).

   So what goes the conclusion of "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" mean for the attractions that were introduced for the program's inception?  It is assumed that even though signing up to volunteer through Disney has ceased, the "Celebrate Today" motive throughout the parks will continue as it has since the beginning of 2009.  The new entertainment options that debuted for "Celebrate Today" (including Celebrate! A Street Party at Disneyland and both Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade and Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party at Magic Kingdom) show no signs of headed out the door anytime soon.

The "Celebrate Today" entertainment, including Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, pictured here, is expected to remain in place even though "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" has come to a close.  Image copyright Disney.

   However, I wouldn't safely say the same statement about the Honorary VoluntEARS Cavalcade that premiered as a pre-parade segment at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in January 2010 specifically to promote "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day."  There's no need to advertise a program that's no longer in operation.  However, several cars of the pre-parade include park guests who volunteered and are using their free ticket that day.  Even though "Give a Day" has concluded, some participants may not use the free ticket they earned until the end of the year.  So will Disney do away will the VoluntEARS Cavalcade because "Give a Day" is gone, or keep it because volunteers are still visiting the parks?  I suppose we'll have to wait a while to see for sure.

The Honorary VoluntEARS Cavalcade at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom could have the potential to move out, though that's just my personal spectulation.  Image copyright Disney.

   The pre-parade is another great marketing tool for the Muppets, whose main characters Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are included in the procession.  Disney doesn't usually tend to keep pre-parades that long, though, and may want to swap out the VoluntEARS Cavalcade in favor of a new pre-parade to promote a current Blu-ray or DVD release, which is a relatively common practice.  (Princess and the Frog might be a logical choice, especially since Tiana's Showboat Jubilee! has kicked the bucket.  Though I don't know if such a production could be put together so quickly at this point, as the film becomes available March 16.)

   It is now very clear that "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" was a bonafide winner for Disney Parks and will be looked back on as a very clever and intruiging celebration that not only brought more Guests through the gates, but also helped communities around the country.  Volunteering is of course still taking place through the HandsOn Network, which partnered with Disney for "Give a Day," and many, many other organizations.  Although I don't expect any turn-around shocker for the program to keep going, we'll be waiting to hear any exciting news of a continuation and/or replacement for the celebration.


Related BlakeOnline articles:

• Theme Park Headlines - Commuppety Service (posted October 3, 2009)
• Theme Park Headlines - Commuppety Service, Part Two (posted January 20, 2010)
• Theme Park Headlines - New and Next, Green and Great (posted February 13, 2010)

By Blake; posted March 9, 2010.  All images copyright Disney.