Introducing: Disney Tourist Blog Forums!
Tired of constantly refreshing the home page in the hopes of new content, re-reading old posts, or stalking us relentlessly on social media to get your Disney Tourist Blog fix? Well, we have good news for you, as today we are proud to unveil the Disney Tourist Blog Discussion Forums!
You might be thinking, “but Tom, forums are soooo 2007. Why would I post on them instead of on social media?” First of all, as with fashion, I assume technology is cyclical, and like the Sega Dreamcast, forums are poised to make a big comeback. Even if not, the fact is that the Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and even popular public darling MySpace all have their limitations.
Unlike social media, on our forums you won’t be limited to 140 characters. You won’t have to sift through baby photos from high school acquaintances you haven’t talked to in years, but who you still don’t want to de-friend. You won’t be inundated with recipes, memes, or political cartoons.
You will have the opportunity to ask & answer Disney trip planning questions, engage in thoughtful conversations about the Disney Parks, and participate in a high level of discourse among like-minded individuals. Most importantly, these forums will likely become a popular gathering-place of dignitaries, professional athletes, and celebrities. (I don’t want to name names, but someone whose name rhymes with Mistopher Gawkens might have already joined!)
All of this might sound like ridiculously lofty aspirations for Disney forums, but I’m optimistic that these forums can build upon the dynamic of the comments on blog posts here (which are generally of a much higher quality than comments on most websites–although I might be a bit biased). Of course, you will also have to deal with more of me…so I guess these forums have their own drawback, too.
Note that these forums are a work-in-progress. When it comes to backend interneting (databases, ftp, etc.), my skills are extremely limited to the point that it’s a small miracle this site is even still on the internet. I’ve spent the better part of 2 days installing, configuring, and tweaking the forums, and am now hoping that everything works as it should. If there’s a problem, please let me know by commenting in the Tech Support Thread or leaving a comment below.
As for the structure of the forums, I deliberately kept the number of sub-forums small. In addition to forums for each worldwide Disney Parks destination, there’s also a News & Rumors forum, plus Chit Chat and Photography forums. My rationale for the limited number of sub-forums is wanting to avoid dilution, and also not wanting a bunch of sub-forums that sit idle most of the time. As I notice trends and if certain popular topics present themselves, I might create additional sub-forums for the sake of organization.
Other than that, I think the forums pretty much speak for themselves. We encourage you to read the forum rules, register, and spend 6.5 hours of each workday posting on them!
Let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, concerns, etc.
The Sega Dreamcast is awesome. I still play on mine.
C’mon Tom, all the kewl kidz post on Twitter (where they garner 15,000 followers, most who aren’t actually …. well, real people) and FB and Instagram etc. Discussion forums might as well be having a flip phone in 2015 and not have your 11th (because they are so great and reliable) iPhone.
I admit to being surprised by your move (perhaps that’s why you owe me email!) here. As you know, I’m taking a sabbatical from posting on WDWMAGIC.com, which I feel is the best site out there. But even there …well, you start realizing that all fans and all opinions are not created equally. And that people live to troll, some who might actually get paid by affiliates of The Walt Disney Company. I guess what I am saying is that while I wish you well, history has shown that you’ll need to be on here 24/7 (or actually hire some moderators) or things will get ugly. You won’t have people all thrilled about the newest treat you got to try in Tokyo while they’re stuck with stale. tired and neglected WDW, which of course you still have to play up in order to not drive away a large chunk of your base.
If I had your talents as a photographer, I’d be getting galleries in the O.C. to showcase your amazing nature photography and not try to be the everything for Disney P&R fans. I firmly believe there is far more money to be made in the former … and that’s even after looking at a top blogger/Lifestyler’s recent divorce filings!
Again, I do wish you well!
I am super excited your doing a forum! I may possibly be this websites biggest fan in Ireland! I find your posts brilliant and super helpful! Best wishes with the forum!
Fantastic idea Tom! Really looking forward to being an active member of the forum, although I am also having trouble registering with a Hotmail.com address….
Wow! You HAVE been busy! Great looking addition to your blog. I predict you will overtake Mouse planet, Mice age, Mouse info and all of the other rodent related boards in the very near future. Looking forward to loitering around here from time to time. Let me know if things get too quiet just in case you want me to be the honorary troll from time to time. (Suggested topics to get people ranting….strollers, iPad photography, leashes, kids on shoulders…I got plenty more!)
Oh sure, what’s one more forum to check constantly. Seriously, I have a problem here! I do agree that forums are going to make a comeback. I spend way more time in interest-based forums than I do on social media because of all the things you mentioned (recipes, babies, political rants, etc.)
As the signal to noise ratio drops on a lot of forms of social media (and as sites like FB, Twitter, etc. all try to finally monetize and increase branded content & ads in the process), I actually do think people will look elsewhere for engagement within niches that interest them. Whether that means a return to forums or some new type of social media is anyone’s guess, but I certainly don’t think forums are “dead” or anywhere close to it (or I wouldn’t be doing this).
This is exciting indeed! I find myself coming here almost daily. Now that there are forums, I doubt I will have to go anywhere else.
Just signed up!
Just joined-love the idea of a Disney photography forum run by a photographer!
That’s the subforum that interests me the most on a personal level–I hope other aspiring and accomplished photographers join! 🙂
Ooh I’m excited! I just signed up. I think this is a great idea to continue discussion and make it easier than just leaving comments on your posts. Thanks Tom!
Thanks! I think it’ll definitely be more conducive to back and forth dialogue. After a few replies in the comments here, things really get jumbled.
After just 15 minutes of browsing the forums I can tell this is going to be one of my go-to sources for Disney info and nerddom. I’ve already texted my wife three nuggets that I haven’t found anywhere else in weeks of reading and researching for our tip to the World next year. Love it, Tom!
Awesome! Hopefully things only snowball from here. There are a lot of knowledgeable people who post regularly in the comments on posts…hopefully they will do the same in the forums! 🙂
I have to say that for me, forums lose more in variety than they gain in depth, and quickly become boring cul-de-sacs.
If I want some particular, older, post, I use Google.
This is great! I can’t wait. I have so many questions and hopefully can answer some also. Between this forum and the car forum- my wife will be thrilled. Nothing is ever going get done at home.
Also how about a base forum for food and eating at Disney?
A subforum for dining is a possibility, but I want to see how many threads there are on the topic before expanding.
took the plunge I see Tom. Hope the forums do great.
Nice to have met you in person.
Nice to meet you, too, Steve!
Hi Tom,
I just tried to register and I have also been unsuccessful.
I have not been sent the confirmation email.
I have checked the junk box.
I have an MSN account, could that be the problem?
Thanks
Yay! Just signed up.
Can we possibly get a RunDisney section added?
I’d love a RunDisney board where I can read people’s race reports.
Disboards, wdwmagic, intercot, micechat, passporter’s, and easywdw are all fine, but I have a feeling this is going to be my go-to forum! This is a genius idea and I have a feeling the photography forum will be especially strong. Now just bring back ISO5571 or host your own podcast and Disney Tourist Blog can truly become the all consuming Disney fan media juggernaut it was always destined to be. Also, hire me as a staff member because I am really good at the Internet and sarcasm.
A podcast is the next frontier. Stay tuned. 🙂
We have a few internships available. The only requirement is that you be or closely resemble Christopher Walken. Apply within.
A Pod Cast would be awesome! Do it!
Love your new discussion forum. Your blog has been my favorite since I discovered it, and I’m looking forward to using the new forum!!!
Tom –
A great idea to get stickiness to your site, especially by regulars as well as to get more SEO to attract newcomers.
1) Please change the background colours on the forum from the pink / red to something that doesn’t irritate the eyes.
2) You need a link on your top menu to the forum, not just in this post and other hidden spots.
3) You might want to add a Disney Cruise forum since it is a destination for many.
1) Any color suggestions?
2) Done.
3) Working on that, thanks!
I read Disboards.com and intercot.com. The Disboards forum uses the same forum software as you.
1) For the forum section headers (Water Cooler Chit Chat, Disney Parks), I would suggest a white font against a dark background (black, dark blue etc). You need good contrasting colours, not a dark font against a dark background.
2) For the footer, I would suggest the same colour scheme as the forum section headers.
3) For the page header, I suggest a light colour or gray (perhaps a gradient or something with a partial screen or opacity). I don’t want to identify a particular colour since it is your website but the red is somewhat jarring. Disboards has a nice colour example at the top at http://disboards.com/forums/welcome-to-the-dis.83/
4) At the top of each forum page, you have DisneyTouristBlog in a white font against the red background. Unfortunately, when you print or print preview (many people may print various forum pages) and the browser has been set to “do not print backgrounds” the white DIsneyTouristBlog does not appear. I suggest you use a different font colour (say, black or another dark colour) so the printing will work or do a font outline. Disboards uses both in their logo. You could even use your red font with the seals logo that you currently use in your blogging portions of your website and use white or a light colour as a background.
Hope this helps.
Thanks–all of this is really helpful (especially #4, which I had not even considered). I’m still thinking about what changes to make, but I don’t want to emulate any other established Disney forums for fear of being accused of “copying” them. I do like the color schemes on a few of them, but want to find my own style that is both unique and pleasing to the eye.
What I have thus far definitely doesn’t fit the bill, but it’s a work in progress. Thank you for the feedback!
I love the idea of a forum! I still love message boards. I just tried signing up, but for some reason I’m not getting the email to verify my account. I’ve checked junk mail and everything. Not sure if it’s because I’m using an iPad,though I tried going through the actual hotmail website also. Hope I can figure it out, I already have a photography gear question to get opinions on
Hmm…I don’t know what the problem could be. I don’t see any “pending” members, so maybe (hopefully) it was a one-time glitch. Let me know if you can’t figure it out and I’ll contact the forum software’s support.
I also am not getting the confirmation email (also with a hotmail email address …). I can see (and edit) my forums account, so I know at least that part was successful but did not get the email to confirm the account. I checked my spam folder too, but no luck (yet).
There was an issue with MSN.com and Hotmail.com email addresses. I contacted Outlook support, and they indicated that they have resolved the problem on their end, but it might take up to 48 hours to totally “go away.”