Gosh...I hope what I am about to say makes sense...
First of all...Kathy - Thank you so much for your offer to everyone to meet us beforehand so that we can all know someone. Statements like that are why I have come back to listening to the podcast.
Second - to Nancy...I will be at DAP this year. And I will be attending as many Disney meets as I can...both the DIS and other podcasts. It will be quite the juggling act. I have talked with you in chat over the past couple of nights and enjoyed talking to you. It is very hard to keep up on Wednesdays...and I am going to try to remember that this week...as I am usually one to add to the banter including unnecessarily saying "hint" 400 times to John.
It is very helpful to be reminded that it is going too fast for everyone to keep up. I hope you will join us next Wed in chat and maybe I will see you before that when I hijack another chat night. And if you are going to DAP...please PM me or something and I will make sure you are introduced to everyone that I know.
I
had given up in trying to fit in with this group. From the outside it seemed like there were too many background stories and it was just too hard to "be one of the cool kids" as someone put it. The podcast cruise came and went and I was sure then that I would never fit in and had decided to stop trying and stick to my wish trippers thread and TR's.
I even stopped listening to the DIS podcast for a while and started listening to some others. I stopped because I felt like I would never fit in. I had my email read on another show, won an auction on another, and have generally had very good "luck" in being easily accepted by those groups. I have found their forums to be very friendly. I don't post to all of them...I could never keep up. But it has been very hard to ignore the overwhelming welcome I have experienced on a few of them. I have met some very nice people on other podcast boards, chats and Facebook with those people. Including the podcasters themselves, who seem very approachable. I have never sent an email to another podcast that was not answered.
I am back now listening to the DIS Unplugged. I really like the banter and am getting to know the podcasters again. I know the DIS show is HUGE and gets many, many emails each week and can't possibly answer them all or acknowledge them all. And that is all fine. I particularly enjoyed last Thursday's show because I feel like I am actually getting to know the team. But I still listen to other shows. And I will definitely to go to some other meets when I am able.
Recently, I took Kevin's advice and just "jumped right in" and joined some of the "big threads" (DAP and Cruise Thread)...and have tried to introduce myself and jump right in the banter. I certainly feel more a part of the group than before! It is still hard to follow some of the private jokes, though...but I am catching on and have found everyone to be very friendly!
I guess I say all of this to say...
- Other podcasters are nice people and those boards have nice people.
- There will be lots of opportunities to meet people - we are all Disney fans - no group is better than another...just different. The DIS is the biggest, so we should be the friendliest, since we have so many nice people!
- It makes me VERY sad when I hear others say that the DIS is not friendly...It is large. And a little intimidating. But for the most part the people here are VERY nice. And I have had an opportunity to set a few people straight over the past few months.
I would certainly consider a cruise from another podcast. I am limited by my vacation time, but if I could go on all of them, I would.
Oh yeah...And I am going to Magic Meets!! So if you are going and see me, please say hello! Hopefully we will all have lime green mickey heads somewhere so we can find each other!