Disney

FIRST General Forum
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Posted by colleen.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Other on team #246, a FIRST-aholic, from John D. O’Byrant High School and Boston University/MassPEP.

Posted on 10/11/99 1:22 PM MST

I was just wondering- what does everyone think of having the Nationals at Disney? Do teams think it’s too much of a distraction from the competition? What would you think of FIRST moving it from Disney to somewhere else in the country? Where do you think they could move it to??

Personally, sure I like going to disney cause it’s disney…and i’ve been able to keep it from being a distraction for me cause 1) i’m addicted to FIRST and 2.) on my old team we were never allowed to leave during the day to go on rides (perfectly reasonable i really think). but, i wouldn’t mind or be terribly disappointed if it was moved elsewhere (somehwere warm is nice to get out of the NE cold) or if the site was even changed each year; if it was moved to a different region each year, each year different teams would save money (ex. now the teams from places like Cali and way up north dish out a lot of cash to go to FL. while teams in state are always saving the cash from flying and stuff) i think anywhere that there’s a big center that holds some sort of sports games would be cool, and would bring back that feeling that a lot of us talk about missing from the NH regional. Hey, they’ve got the Astrodome hosting a regional, why couldn’t the national be there… then next year up here in Boston at the Fleet Center…then to maybe somewhere in Michigan…then out west… what do you guys think?

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Posted by Austin Martus.

Other on team #47 from son of pchs coach.

Posted on 10/11/99 2:20 PM MST

In Reply to: Disney posted by colleen on 10/11/99 1:22 PM MST:

yea its a distraction but for the new teams its a draw to goto the nationals that are at disney world–if you had it in say the middle of the prarie in kansas (first state to pop into head) there wouldnt be as much excitement to go to the nationals-from my viewpoint-

on the point of moving it each year–it could be like the nba allstar events dont they play that at a differnt place each year i.e. professional sports stadiums that are enclosed like the silver dome or those baseball places that are indoor like the astros i think or in hockey arenas(dont know where they would put pits)

austin martus

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Posted by Joe Johnson.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 10/11/99 3:03 PM MST

In Reply to: Re: Disney posted by Austin Martus on 10/11/99 2:20 PM MST:

To be honest, I could care less where the Nationals are held.

My vision is that in order to Make It, FIRST needs to get on TV – Live.

The question I have then is ‘Does having the Nationals at WDW help or hurt the eventual goal of having the FIRST Nationals covered live on Big TV?’

Phrased this way, I say that Disney is necessary, FOR NOW.

One more or perhaps 2 more years and I believe that the competition will have matured enough to draw the attention of Big TV. When that happens, I think that TV will be the draw, but until then, Disney is playing that role.

My two cents anyway.

Joe J.

P.S. Did anyone see the Gravity Games on Sunday? If we can’t make a sport that is as interesting and compelling as these games, we should give up.

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Posted by Dan.

Student on team #10, BSM, from Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Banner Engineering.

Posted on 10/11/99 6:02 PM MST

In Reply to: TV is the key… posted by Joe Johnson on 10/11/99 3:03 PM MST:

Our team was lucky enough to attend the Kennedy Space Center regional last year, it was the best FIRST competition I’ve ever been to. When your little robot, which you’re so proud of, is literally in the shadow of some monstrous rocket (we competed in the rocket garden) you can’t help but appreciate the magnitude of such an accomplishment. NASA should be very happy too, they made a very good impression on the engineers of the future. Of course logistically fitting thousands of people in any NASA facility and providing all that other stuff that Disney already does is a nightmare. :-Dan

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Posted by colleen.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Other on team #246, a FIRST-aholic, from John D. O’Byrant High School and Boston University/MassPEP.

Posted on 10/11/99 10:04 PM MST

In Reply to: Re: Disney good, NASA better posted by Dan on 10/11/99 6:02 PM MST:

i see your point, but i think i agree with drj’s more… to make big FIRST kinda needs to stick with a big advertising name…NASA is big, but not necessary made for TV and hitting all audiences like Disney is…

as for the regional in Texas, I was there too, scouting for my past team… personally, i can see what your talking about with the rockets overshadowing the robots, etc… but i really thought it was a bad place for the regional just because it was so cramped, it was literally impossible to watch the regionals because there was really no kinds of seating… and it looked more like a demo than a competition…i love NASA’s support… but I think moving the comp to the astrodome is definitely a step up, imho

colleen

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Posted by Dan.

Student on team #10, BSM, from Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Banner Engineering.

Posted on 10/11/99 10:49 PM MST

In Reply to: Disney good, NASA better- not quite posted by colleen on 10/11/99 10:04 PM MST:

      • -NASA is big, but not necessary made for TV and hitting all audiences like Disney is… - - - -

Of course; I was just trying to point out that any locale with a scientific ‘motif’ serves the purposes of FIRST much better than a theme park. When students can draw relations between their robot and that spaceship overhead it hits home. Mass marketing FIRST doesn’t require dumbing it down or making it less effective for its participants. But from the standpoint of logistics and ease, Disney’s tough to beat. :-Dan

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Posted by Andy Grady.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Coach on team #42, P.A.R.T.S, from Alvirne High School and Daniel Webster College.

Posted on 10/12/99 8:22 AM MST

In Reply to: Disney good, NASA better- not quite posted by colleen on 10/11/99 10:04 PM MST:

I can see why Disney would be considered a distraction and all to the competition, however they are important to the program because of everything they do for us. So I say, how about splitting it down the middle. How about something like this. Disney still hosts the competition and is basically the sponsor. They could let teams stay there in the same way that they have in the past. Instead of holding the competition at epcot, why not the Orlando Arena or some similar venue off of Disney grounds. Disney could still play a huge part in this competition. Of course this is one of those perfect world senarios and is definately easier said than done, but its an idea.
later all,
Andy Grady, team 42 DWC/Alvirne HS

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Posted by Nate Smith.

Other on team #66, GM Powertrain/Ypsilanti HS/Willow Run HS, from Eastern Michigan University and GM Powertrain.

Posted on 10/13/99 7:32 AM MST

In Reply to: National Ideas posted by Andy Grady on 10/12/99 8:22 AM MST:

One thing you have to consider about having disney be only our accomodations for the National competition is the exposure that the Competition itself gets by being in Epcot’s parking lot…during the little bit of time that I wasn’t at the arenas this past year, as I was wandering around WDW in full team gear(t-shirt loaded with pins, hat, etc), I had quite a few people ask me what all the pins represented, which allowed me to get into a discussion with them about the Competition itself…a few of them even said that they would stop by and take a look for themselves…

So, while Disney may be great as a recreational escape during down time, having everything on-site also helps to promote the competition in general…just imagine how many people saw the event taking place, especially from the monorail. How would we get even close to that much publicity as a Competition having the event at a ‘less-travelled’ site?

: I can see why Disney would be considered a distraction and all to the competition, however they are important to the program because of everything they do for us. So I say, how about splitting it down the middle. How about something like this. Disney still hosts the competition and is basically the sponsor. They could let teams stay there in the same way that they have in the past. Instead of holding the competition at epcot, why not the Orlando Arena or some similar venue off of Disney grounds. Disney could still play a huge part in this competition. Of course this is one of those perfect world senarios and is definately easier said than done, but its an idea.
: later all,
: Andy Grady, team 42 DWC/Alvirne HS

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Posted by Dodd Stacy.

Engineer on team #95, Lebanon Robotics Team, from Lebanon High School and CRREL/CREARE.

Posted on 10/15/99 3:10 PM MST

In Reply to: TV is the key… posted by Joe Johnson on 10/11/99 3:03 PM MST:

Joe,

Presuming that coverage on Big TV is the key to FIRST Making It, what about a major sponsor - Disney - providing some of that sponsorship by screening FIRST on the Disney Channel? Waiting for the sportscasters to slip us in as a 5 minute curiosity clip during some ‘real’ network sports coverage could involve a lot of breath holding. Kids watch the Disney Channel. It’s on most of the day every day. What am I missing here?

With all the video talent and energy of the FIRST youngsters, Disney could send out story boards and the teams could create many hours worth of great action and interest segments for them to edit and screen.

Other big sponsors, NASA, J&J, Kodak, Xerox, etc, etc could run ads promoting the engineering work their companies do and talking about the REAL NEED for young people to prepare to carry us into the future.

I also wonder about FIRST Making It, what exactly that means and how it happens. The goal is to encourage bright young people to pursue higher education and careers in engineering, science, and technology fields. The initial vehicle to achieve that goal is through the excitement of participating in the competitions. That vehicle is beginning to look like a fraternity Volkswagen stuffing contest, and we’ve spent endless hours talking about how FIRST will manage exponential growth of that vehicle. I see the system as stressed, to put it mildly. So, what is wrong with young people getting turned on to the goal by watching the games on the tube? Some, as many as possible and the more the merrier, can play and MANY can watch. (Sort of like ‘real’ sports?)

Dodd

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Posted by Joe Johnson.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 10/15/99 6:47 PM MST

In Reply to: Mickeyvision posted by Dodd Stacy on 10/15/99 3:10 PM MST:

Dodd,

I think the goal is not necessarily to have many watch the few, but to have many watch the (relatively) few College and Pro teams while also playing a similar sport in their own neighborhoods and schools.

The correspondence between the vision I have for FIRST and the reality of little league, the NCAA and Major League Baseball is not exact, but close.

I think that FIRST will develop into a ‘sport’ in the sense that there will be a stratification of teams based on talent and resource levels.

Most elementary and junior high school will have a team playing a game appropriate for their level.

Most high schools will have teams and will play a more challenging game.

Big Time Colleges will have teams that are the pride of their entire school playing a game that only the very best of the best could even hope to compete in.

From this elite group a truly miniscule group of extremely talented college FIRST athletes will make it to the FIRST Pro League (the FPL), where big bucks, professional prowess, and corporate pride are put to the test in front of huge TV crowds with all the associated celebrities.

This is the world that I think FIRST is trying to make a reality. I want to live in a world that worries about kids skipping gym in order to sneak out and solve some nagging engineering problem that is dogging their FIRST robot.

It is this vision that has made me the FIRST fanatic that I am.

Join the cause.

Joe J.

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Posted by Kate.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Engineer on team #190, Gompei, from Mass Academy of Math and Science and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Posted on 10/16/99 10:23 PM MST

In Reply to: Many will play and Many will watch… posted by Joe Johnson on 10/15/99 6:47 PM MST:

I remember many times in the past 4 years where I have gotten out of classes where nothing productive was happening to go work on my robots… Whether I was getting out of classes for FIRST related stuff or theatre stuff… I was good at getting out of them… There were a couple few days where I only went to half a class period out of the 8 class periods in a day… Those days were cool… :slight_smile: Laterz…

-KATE-