Howie's Angels: Part III
Tensions boil over, Disney changes policy
Friday, June 4, 2004
by Mike Scopa, staff writer
[Mike finishes up his three-part series about Howie's
Angels, whose well-intentioned voluntary efforts to secure highly coveted
Priority Seating requests for others at the Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast
at Florida's Magic Kingdom created a storm of controvery. Read part
I and part II.]
How many times have you said to yourself, “This has really gotten
out of hand,” or thought, “It should have never come to this”?
These and other thoughts crossed my mind as I dove more and more into
the saga of Howie's Angels.
In this, the final part of our series on Howie's Angels, let's look at
the height of this controversy, the alleged actions on the part of both
sides, the change in the Cinderella's Round Table Priority Seating policy,
and where the Angels are today.
Turning Up the Heat
Although it would be easy to point to Robert Johnson's Orlando Sentinel
article and say that it was his words that really turned up the heat,
the fuel to this fire had been building long before Johnson's article
was published.
The Disney Internet community was the battleground for this controversy.
If you go to the rec.arts.disney.parks Usenet newsgroup and do a seach
on “Howie,” you will find plenty of reading material on the
subject.
A lot of the focus, however, was on the Reader's Clubhouse discussion
board, where Howie's Angels provided their services in the Breakfast Club
forum.
How did the war of words really heat up? I got quite a few messages since
the time we ran my first installment in this series. Here is a comment
I received in my inbox last week:
“Howie was just the front man for the most visible forum in the
Reader's Clubhouse, but his friends pulled some stunts during the 'Breakfast
Wars' that didn't quite meet 'Disney Spirit' criteria, as in rewriting
posts on the Reader's Clubhouse forums by those who dared disagree with
the BC, hacking into others computers, trashing hard drives, and threatening
all who dared oppose them with the loss of their freedom and wealth.”
Now, it's easy to look at this message and say it's just someone angry
at the Angels who was trying to fabricate some accusations against those
who ran Reader's Clubhouse.
Don't you think it's a bit much when you read “…hacking into
others computers, trashing hard drives, and threatening all who dared
oppose them with the loss of their freedom and wealth?”
If that were a lone voice in the wilderness, you would have doubts. However,
here is another e-mail from someone who also alleges threats:
“I got so sick of being harassed that I went to the local FBI
office with copies of all the emails and posts that saying that I was
being investigated and offered to turn myself in and face lethal injection
or my life sentence for 'hacktivism.' When they (FBI) stopped laughing,
they said it wasn't necessary, that they were in fact not investigating
me.”
Also, in this e-mail from an Angel's detractor:
“There sure was some funny stuff going on. Two of our (site) members
work at Tier 1 research universities, both subject to biannual FBI audits
of their computer security. From the stories that I heard from the sources
firsthand, both of them were pinged by [the Reader's Clubhouse Webmaster].
One of the folks sent me screen dumps and security summaries of the
hack attempts showing the IP addresses and 'Whois' resolutions. It led
back to [the Reader's Clubhouse webmaster's] consulting firm in California.
“At the other school, the pings were registered while the FBI
was actually at the campus auditing the system. I've been led to understand
that [the Reader's Clubhouse Webmaster] received a visit from the FBI
over that incident. We found that to be absolutely hilarious after all
of the threats and posturing regarding 'FBI Investigations' and the impending
arrests of my friends and me.”
There's more, as this e-mail went on to say:
“After I logged onto Reader's Clubhouse and went to The Dungeon
forum, I wrote an angry post about how one of my previous posts had
been rewritten to make me look foolish. When I entered it, instead of
'The Dungeon,' I was looking at a screen filled with all of my RADP
(rec.arts.disney.parks) and DIS (“The DIS” boards) posts regarding
Reader's Clubhouse, then was directed to the FBI's Web site. [The Reader's
Clubhouse Webmaster] was waiting for me. It also goes without saying
that I was never able to log on to Reader's Clubhouse from my home or
work IP's again. Say what you will about the guy, he was very good!”
There certainly were shots “fired across the bow,” so to speak,
but Howie had some strong supporters who may have, in their manner of
supporting him, unwittingly caused more problems.
Some well-known individuals in the Disney Internet community became targets
because it appeared that they were looked upon as enemies simply for not
subscribing to the practice of Howie's Angels.
One such target was our very own Brian Bennett, who recalls:
“My side of the story is simply that I was asked by a reader about
the practice and where they could sign up for the service. In my response
I said that I disagreed with the program and declined to give directions
to the web site where they could get the help that was being sought.
As far as I was concerned, that was the end of it… Until the hate-mongering
started on Rita's (Aero) boards and I was mentioned, along with many
others, as being culprits in some plot against the Reader's Clubhouse.
I know that at least one prominent Disney Internet personality spent
considerable money on legal preparation just in case. Of course, nothing
ever came of the (what turned out to be idle) threats.”
Brian doesn't have any hard feelings towards Howie. “I don't think
that the history of what happened has to be a personal thing. I don't
personally have any animosity towards Dr. Ditchek,” Brian said. “Frankly,
he and I have never had any personal conversations nor have we corresponded
about this whole episode. I hope he doesn't really think that I hold any
grudges, either.”
As I did more research into this whole matter, the same theme kept popping
up: Anyone who in any way publicly expressed any disfavor with the practice
of Howie's Angels soon became a target… not by Howie himself, but
by those who saw fit to protect him by going beyond mere defense to offense.
One person was totally convinced of this, and mentioned how he and several
people well known in the Disney Internet community were threatened “…with
legal action because of our lack of support for Dr. Ditchek's system.”
As for those individuals making threats, Howie said, “[They] only
got involved to protect their Web site and members; they didn't even know
what was going on about Cindy's [Cinderella's Royal Table]…”
and “…when they saw a bunch of people coming on to their site
and posting not-so-nice things from the beginning, they went on the defensive
and then probably on the offensive as well.”
While all this was going on, those observing formed many opinions. One
e-mail I received recalls:
“…the most bizarre part of the episode, from my perspective,
was how the Readers Clubhouse Web site became filled with all sorts
of threats of lawsuits and federal hate crime prosecutions, and such,
with allegations of cookies being sent to certain individuals' computers
that made them unworkable.”
Of course, there were also observations made by members of Reader's Clubhouse.
One former member of the Reader's Clubhouse sent me a message to say:
“My personal feelings are very strongly in favor of Howie and
the Angels, although I remember quite a lot of mudslinging and incendiary
behavior on both sides when the detractors began disrupting the Reader's
Clubhouse.”
The incendiary behavior, as this one former Reader's Clubhouse member
mentions, has been brought to my attention in countless e-mail messages
with offers of proof, such as copies of e-mail and screen captures that
show just how far each side went in making their feelings known.
Change in Policy
The Cinderella's Round Table Priority Seating policy now requires that
guests provide a credit card number to secure a reservation, whereas no
such requirement is necessary for any other Priority Seating request in
the resort. Could this policy change by the Walt Disney World Resort been
due to the complaints it received about Howie's Angels?
What about the Storybook Princess Breakfast at Akershus in Epcot's Norway
Pavilion, which was introduced a few years back? Offered as an alternative
for the many guests frustrated by the difficulty in securing Priority
Seating for the Cinderella's Round Table, could Disney have established
that as a result of the furor caused by Howie's Angels?
Maybe the change in the Cinderella's Round Table Priority Seating policy
and the introduction of the Storybook Princess Breakfast would have come
about regardless of Howie's Angels. However, many feel that they were,
in fact, Disney's answer to Howie's Angels, and a sign of its disapproval
of the practice.
Ditchek says that people calling for the Cinderella's Round Table in
groups is nothing new. He said, “It was always done before I started,
in the sense that when someone called and couldn't get a Priority Seating,
the Disney cast members told you to get everyone you know to help: sisters,
brothers, friends, etc; this was a common practice and well known by allÉ
so my point always was that why can't Internet friends and family help?”
On how things operated with the Angels, he said, “I will admit that
it wasn't a perfect system, but I tried to do it as fairly as I could.
I only called when someone asked for helpÉ when others joined to help,
sometimes they called and got one when one wasn't asked for, but that
was the exception.”
At times, the Angels would end up with duplicate or extra Priority Seating
requests that ended up being unnecessary. “I spent 4 to 6 hours a
day in its heyday trying to keep things organized and fair as to not hold
on to any unneeded PSs and get them back into the system as quickly as
possible,” he said.
Howie's Angels today
Reader's Clubhouse eventually shut down and reemerged as Magic Alley.
After a short period of time, the site became one of the first Internet
Disney fan sites to restrict access to its discussion boards exclusively
to paid members, who are screened before being allowed to register. Registration
information at the site explains that this ensures safety—for example,
anonymous individuals cannot learn private vacation plans of members or
hide behind a mask. Conveniently, it also keeps out those detractors who
would not want to pay its $39 sign-up fee and a monthly subscription fee.
And yes, one of the forums is The Breakfast Club, where Howie and his
Angels continue to operate. But how do the Angels handle the processing
of the new Cinderella's Round Table Priority Seating policy requiring
a credit card number? This really hasn't slowed down the Angels. Amazingly,
those who submit their requests are not deterred by this new policy. Desperate
for a Cinderella's Round Table Priority Seating, they are quick to trust
Howie and the Angels, and willingly give their credit card information.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I would like to think that healing is taking place in some circles, and
this healing is in the form of many putting this whole episode behind
them.
For others, the issue will never die… or die very slowly.
Walt Disney's dream was to build an amusement-type park where friends
and family could enjoy each others' company—the park would simply
be the vehicle to help bring them together.
So how would he feel about something in his parks indirectly causing
many of his most devoted fans to become so polarized, in a way so opposite
of what he was striving to accomplish? If Walt were with us today, he
would have turned to his brother Roy and said, “All this because
of breakfast?”
Regarding Howie Ditchek, there seems to be many who feel very much like
this former member of Reader's Clubhouse, who says:
“I actually didn't totally agree with some of the things that
Howie did back then, I never told him though, but that doesn't change
my opinion of him as a person. He is a good-hearted person who just
wants to help others. I wish others would just see that, and get over
themselves.”
Next Time
Phew… enough of this heavy stuff. Next time, I'll see you right
here and I'll give you my thoughts on how to approach a day at Walt Disney
World when the day is the Fourth of July.
My appreciation goes out to all who spent the time and effort to share
their feelings on this matter with me, including those who I need to treat
to a Dole Whip. I truly hope this has gave you with an outlet to express
your opinions, and that this will finally provide some closure… and
peace of mind.
Thoughts, questions, or comments? Contact Mike here.
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