Disney blocked CM and AP's so much because they thought the General Population would show up in droves to see the all new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. It hasn't happened. And the reason isn't because nobody wants to see it. 

​The reason is because of the AP Monster Disney has created. 

Imagine you are a family of 4. You make a once yearly trip to Disneyland, maybe once every two years. In the 00's you could get a room, get a 2-3 day park hopper and enjoy your time in the park. It may be busy, but chances are 1 out of those 3 days you are going to get moderate crowds. If you go in the offseason, even a better chance you are going to be able to enjoy the parks at a leisurely pace and see everything you want to see. Multiple times. 

Let's imagine you were that same family that could get moderate crowds in the 00's going to the park in the 2010's after the Annual Pass numbers have skyrocketed at Disneyland. 

You are now spending MORE for your hotel. MORE for your parkhopper tickets. And instead of a slow/moderate crowd at Disneyland you are finding the park filled with 50,000 to 60,000 Annual Passholders EVERY DAY. 

Where is your incentive to repeat that vacation in subsequent years? 

Disney has created this AP monster, and there is no going back. And now that low to moderate crowds are here, Disney is freaking out (even though guest spending is up, WAY up). 

Disney has gotten so used to long queues and crowds that they no longer remember what it was like to have an off-season. Sure, an off-season in June/July is kind of weird. 

Here's the thing, we are a family of those infrequent visitors. We had AP's for 14 years. And we used them. And used them well. 

But since 2012 we've been to the park 3 times. And each time the parks were busier than the last time. 

After hearing how low the crowds have been we were actually thinking of going to the park during the Galaxy's Edge Reservation period. That's right, we were totally willing to go to Disneyland, knowing we couldn't see Galaxy's Edge JUST so we could enjoy the rest of the park with no crowds. 

​(Due to work and other things we didn't end up going)

But now Disney is freaking out. Lifting CM blackout dates. Cutting CM's hours (because they can really afford to get LESS money). 

Disney knows the one thing that would fix this, and that's lifting AP blockout days. Something they've been unwilling to do, yet. 

Why? Because that would be admitting that Disneyland isn't the "resort" they've been trying to tell us it is since 2001. It would be admitting that Disneyland is an Annual Passholder "Locals" park. 

​Because that's what it is. And it's Disney that made it that way. 

​There's no turning back now ... 

To hope to start spreading some positive vibes among #ThemeParkTwitter and #DisTwitter again, instead of just doing a "Follow Friday" or similar type post, going to post some of our favorite accounts, and WHY we love them so much. Had originally started doing this on Twitter, but it was going to be WAY too long, so here you go. - Gregg

• @theseasonpass - One of the original, if not THE original Theme Park Podcast. At the very least, Doug's is probably the most respected in the industry. ​
• @westcoasternet enjoy some snark along with some amazing pics and theme park stuff? Jim is for you. One of my oldest and dearest friends.
• @CoasterForce just pure coaster enthusiast fun
• @BehindThrills great coverage of FL and CA parks with some beautiful pics
• @DLthings one of the most honest Disney accounts around, mad respect for Matt
• @CACoasterKings how many accounts do you guys even have now? Great coverage of parks all around the world, not just CA
• @mousesteps - Denise's blog is amazing, great coverage of Disney in both FL and CA, one of the nicest people to boot
• @knotts_network - Fantastic coverage of Knott's Berry Farm, and good people
• @isitoctoberyet - Not Hockey related (although they are huge Vegas Golden Knight's fans now), but all about the amazingness that is the Halloween Season. And some dear friends.
• @coaster101 - Another great coaster account, great pics and updates from parks all across the country
• @mouseinfo - Easily one of the most respected Disney sites around
• @SkwalkingPod - A great Disney/Star Wars podcast and site, one of the nicest theme park couples around
• @milestomemories - Travel tips beyond theme parks? You won't find any site better than this one.
• @thrillgeek - Just fantastic updates from Disney, Universal and everything else
• @coasterstudios - Honestly, a bit jealous of Taylor, he came on huge and has deservedly grown into one of the biggest and best coaster YouTube channels around.
• @ThemeParks - Dwayne has all of our dream jobs, but he doesn't let that get in the way of having some great content and fun
• @thecoasterguy - Kurt isn't as active these days as he once was, but any list of our follows would be incomplete without one of our earliest supporters and greatest friends
• @musetv - We first met Mike at our first media event at Universal Hollywood (HHN 2015 I think). His site has grown but he's still just an awesome guy and friend.
• @CPFoodBlog - Are ya hungry? You will be after giving them a follow. Great coverage of all of the different Cedar Fair parks, focusing mostly on food.
• @GamingShogun - Theme Parks and Video games = awesome. Another group of good friends.
• @socialhorrornet - A great resource for the Halloween scene in SoCal and beyond.
• @schmoofy - The self-described middle ground between blogger and troll. And he means it. A fun follow that always tells it like it is.
• @ParksAndCons - the ultimate resource for Cons. Seriously, don't go to SDCC without giving them a follow. And their theme park coverage is pretty amazing too. =)
• @MACC_Coasters - Great theme park page focusing mainly on parks in Georgia and the South.
• @SoCal360 - Hands down some of the most amazing theme park videos around.
• @TheCoasterCrew - Another great coaster page, along with some great events held in parks across the country. And just generally nice folks.
• @Horror_Buzz - Amazing coverage of all things horror, from theme parks to film.
• @OrlParkPass - Great coverage of all of Orlando, even beyond Theme Parks.
• @thechrisglass - Chris is definitely one of our favorite follows for his opinions on parks and other things
• @TPTravels - No, not that TP. Theme parks silly. And they travel to them. And do an amazing job of it.
• @WildGravityTravels - Great theme park coverage concentrating mostly on Ohio Parks, namely King's Island
• @Kevidently - Another great fun follow for theme park related stuff
• @DisneyCoastToCoast - A great Disney Podcast focusing on the parks and everything else related to the WDC
• @CoasterInsanity - Travels to theme parks around the world, based in the south, a great resource for traveling to that area
• @DisneyRunr24 - Justin is a great encouraging person when it comes to running that first or 50th Disney race
• @thisfloridalife - A great Disney follow, not because she's promoting stuff, just because she loves Disney
• @OneGoldenSun - A fantastic follow for Florida related theme park and non-theme park stuff.
• @ShowcaseWishes - There are SO many great Disney accounts out there, accounts that so love the WDC and their parks. Great breaking news account.
• @FLCoasterClub - Looking for a new coaster club based in FL? You won't find one better.
• @DeeMagicGurl - One of the nicest people on social media, and a knowledgeable resource for Disney
• @ThemeParkDuo - An amazing theme park podcast and website, have grown into a Trio. Can't wait to see what they do, watch out for them!!
• @Freaks_HHN - An amazing resource for all things Halloween Horror Nights. And super encouraging to other sites that do the same.
• @OrangeGrove55 - Another great Disney YouTuber (I think I'm too old to use that word). Super encouraging to all and a great follow.
• @CreepyKingdom - All of the awesome Creepy Stuff at theme parks and beyond.
• @KrisMeetsWorld - Another great travel resource for theme parks and other travel
• @ThemeParkConnect - Can you follow enough awesome coaster accounts? I certainly don't think so. A great site for Disney and coaster parks.
• @Coaster365 - Honestly, and I don't even think they know this, but one of the highlights of my day is always seeing their "Coaster of the Day" Tweets
• @ParkVault - Do you love theme park history? If you do, give them a follow.
• @BuckeyeCoaster - A great follow for coaster info in Ohio and more
• @VitalVegas - Tremendous resource for all things Las Vegas, they helped us with the Speed: The Ride Rumor
• @westcoasterintern - Last and certainly not least. Don't know why Jim needs an intern, but many times he's better than the actual thing. =)

Note: We did not include any "media" accounts, just site/blog/social media accounts we enjoy.
Note 2.0: There are many, many other accounts we follow and all of them are worth it. We've just included the ones we've had the most interactions with over the years. Hope nobody feels left out by this. =)

If you've been living under a rock maybe you haven't heard about some recent theme park blog drama going around. We aren't going to get into the specifics (because it's quite literally ridiculous) but what we do want to talk about is some of the reasons this may be happening. 

Before I get into the meat of this I just want to preface with this: 
​There are some AMAZING websites/social media accounts that are based in FL. Some I've been following personally for a VERY long time. These are websites that give their opinions in a non-biased way, that play by the rules, don't generally get involved in the drama and do a damn fine job of sharing the joy and love they have for theme parks. This article has NOTHING to do with them. =) 

Drama between theme park websites is nothing new, heck, drama in all of the internet is something that is nothing new. Even though this website is only about 5 1/2 years old right now, I've actually been involved in theme park websites in one way or another since 2001. 

My first Disney message-board was on Laughing Place, and also around the same time WestCoaster (because I actually like more than Disney, go figure). I eventually became a moderator on WestCoaster and on another site I won't name when they started their message-boards. I was also a moderator/admin/writer on MiceChat for quite a few years before starting this site 5 years ago. In fact, you can still see me in a lot of their YouTube videos including the most viewed video on their site ever, media day for Lex Luthor Drop of Doom at SFMM. (Yep, MiceChat's most viewed video has nothing to do with Disney). 

But even with all of that history, for the most part, I get along with everybody that I worked with on those sites, and through them have developed some of my most cherished friendships. 

There was a time however when the different Disney/Theme Park Websites in CA didn't get along. There was a very us vs them mentality that thankfully does not really exist in CA anymore (for the most part), and we are better for it. 

No, it seems most of that drama has now shifted to the websites/blogs that are based in FL. Not ALL mind you, 90% of the websites are amazing and get along great. 

And I think I may know at least part of the reason for this, so bear with me for a minute. 

When we started this website we had some existing connections because I had written for those other sites, so we had kind of an advantage over some other start-up blogs. Heck, our first media day for Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain was actually the reason this site even exists as it didn't exist before that. You can read more of that story here. 

I had PR contacts at Knott's and Universal Studios Hollywood that I reached out to pretty early on. 

For awhile we were not included in media "events", which was totally understandable. We were growing our numbers via park updates and whenever a park would send us a press release we'd get them posted ASAP (something we still strive to do today). Because our thought was if a park was giving us a chance to essentially "prove" ourselves, then we should make sure we were being good stewards of that chance. And again, to this day we feel this way. 

We also had a goal. When we started the site it was just around the time things were starting to move on Wizarding World Hollywood, and our goal was to be invited to that media event. I'm happy to say we met that goal. 

But here is where the difference is between CA and FL. If this site were based in FL, we would have never been given that chance. There seems to be a disconnect in how parks handle media requests, even among the same park chain (this also happens with Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks, you'll see no media/press releases from Cedar Point and Six Flags New England on this site as an example, not by our choosing but because of the media standards those parks utilize). 

In CA, due to the sheer number of theme parks and seasonal (Halloween) events, it seems that it's easier for a newer site to be included. Sure, we still have to prove ourselves, but it seems that parks/events are more willing to give a site a chance vs just relying on "numbers". (Disney is the exception here)

However, in FL, it's ALL about the numbers. We were probably 2 1/2 to 3 years old before we reached out to any of the FL parks, because we knew it was this way. And still, to this day, we've only been invited to media events at one park in FL (Busch Gardens). We have however been on the "press release" list for many of the parks. 

And I think this is where the current issues are coming from. 

In FL there is a "competition" factor at play. Everybody is trying to be "first". First to break a story, first to confirm a rumor, first to post that POV. 

In CA, when we're all at media events, there seems to be a general camaraderie. Sure, we're all there to do the best job in promoting whatever park/event we're at and do the best for our followers, but we all kind of get along. I'm FB friends with people from a variety of websites. If another site has a great story/scoop, we'll share it. And people have shared ours as well. 

I'm not going to sit here and say that the drama is 100% because of the spirit of competition that is seemingly happening in FL (and also, remember, I'm 2,500 miles away, so I'm only seeing the online component of this). You also have very strong personalities at play here. 

But I think when you couple the strong personalities and the competition factor that seems to be at play then you get drama and not the "love and joy" of theme parks that I mentioned at the top. 

And that's really the greatest issue at play here. Due to all of this drama that even Disney has had to address this week, we're losing the joy and love for theme parks. That's certainly why we do this.