Created by Larry Shepherd
Looking for an idea to help increase participation in your Disney cruise group?
Let me share a pre-cruise activity that worked so well I’ve now done it in each of my last 3 groups. I have found this to be a great way to increase conversation and interaction within the group.
I did this first several years ago when I was a member (not admin) of a cruise group. Despite the efforts of the group admin, this group felt rather quiet to me, so I created a little daily contest to get people engaged. I was amazed at how well it worked.
With the blessing of the admin, each day for 41 days, starting about 50 days before the cruise, I posted a “Question of the Day.” Each reply to the daily question earned one entry into a drawing for a Disney Gift Card. For each question, I accepted replies for 24 hours after the question was posted. The questions are generally Disney related and occasionally asked for photos (very helpful in getting people to recognize each other onboard). Any reply posted was accepted as a correct answer and earned an entry in the drawing.
In that smaller cruise group (under 200 people) I averaged over 50 responses daily. Nearly 90 people participated over the course of the game. And more than just participating in the contest, group members were interacting with each other on Facebook daily, drawn by the opportunity for a monetary prize but also getting involved and joining other conversations. In a larger recent group, I had close to 250 people participating in the contest with an average of over 100 responses to each question.
Initially I had advertised that the drawing was for a $25 Disney Gift Card. Halfway through the contest, when I ordered the gift card online, I felt generous and bought two $25 cards and announced that there would be two winners.
The contest was initially announced with colorful graphics and the daily questions also had an accompanying graphic that was themed to the question. Question of the Day images zip file. Question of the Week images zip file.
The drawing for the gift cards was held nine days before the cruise on a Saturday morning, using Facebook Live, so group members could watch and so there wouldn’t be questions about the random nature of the drawing.
I found a tool online that uses an Excel spreadsheet to randomly select a winner based on weighted responses. After each day’s question, I marked those who had responded, and the spreadsheet totaled the responses for each participant and then did the random selection from all entries. Spreadsheet for tracking responses. (You may get a warning message about this file because it contains macros that perform the random selection. It is safe)
Variation: Each subsequent time I have done this I run it as a "Question of the Week." I still do around 40 questions and hold the drawing several weeks before we sail.
Some thoughts about this contest:
Including a prize that can be won is a great motivator to get people to participate in daily/weekly. It easily triples or quadruples the number of responses to the questions and keeps people playing along.
The cost. When I have done this activity, I have personally paid for the prizes. For me, the cost of a couple of gift cards is well worth the results I get from the involvement. I learn a lot about those in my group. If the cost is prohibitive you might look at other items for prizes. In a large, very active group I administered, two prizes didn't seem enough for the 200 people who were answering the questions. After I gave away the two gift cards, I gave away a couple of dozen door magnets that I had made. People love free things, even if they are not expensive. You might also find there are others in the group who would be willing to sponsor a prize or two. I keep my groups free of solicitations and sales, but I would be willing to let a travel agent sponsor a prize and give them a mention during the giveaway.
The effort. It does take some time to post the questions regularly, but you can schedule the posts in advance and queue up a number of them at a time. The process of logging responses is tedious, there's no way around it. It will take 10-15 minutes after each question to log the responses. If you get behind, it can feel like it takes forever to catch up (I know from experience). It will require a commitment on your part to keep the spreadsheet updated. The weekly contest is less burdensome in that way than the daily one, but know if you can handle it before you start.
If you don't have the time to track responses, the questions could, of course, be used without a drawing or a prize.
Finally, make this your own. Change the questions. Create better graphics. Customize everything to your group.
Here are the questions I used. Most of them were made up on the day I posted them. Some were more successful than others.
With each question posted I usually included the following to remind everyone of the rules: “Your response earns another entry in our drawing. Remember only responses posted in the first 24 hours after the question is posted will earn an entry.”
#1 – When and why did you first decide to try a Disney Cruise?
#2 - What is one food item they will serve on the ship that you WILL NOT eat and one that you may ask for a second helping of?
#3 – Reply with a photo of yourself on a Disney cruise ship, at a Disney park, or wearing or doing something Disney AND a brief description of the photo.
#4 – Where have you have visited that you wish Disney would cruise to?
#5 – If you were single and he/she was available, which Disney character would you like to date and why?
#6 – Name the last Disney song you sang out loud:
#7 – Describe yourself using a Disney word or phrase:
#8 – What is your favorite thing about cruising? If this is your first cruise, what are you most looking forward to?
#9 – Name a Disney movie that you have never seen and tell us why not.
#10 – If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
#11 – Share a fear related to traveling, cruising, or being in or on the ocean:
#12 – Of those not accompanying you on this cruise, who do you wish was traveling with you?
#13 – Share a cute photo of a furry, four-legged family member who won't be cruising with you.
#14 – What is your favorite thing about fellow Disney cruisers? Perhaps you can share a nice thing a fellow cruiser did for you.
#15 – I hate to ruin the good feeling after yesterday’s responses on how wonderful Disney cruisers are, but today we’ll go in the opposite direction. So, name a pet peeve while cruising or with fellow cruisers:
#16 – I think something many of us enjoy about Disney is the opportunity it gives us as adults to embrace our inner child. In what way are you still a kid at heart?
#17 – What are you most likely to become famous for? We will be cruising with many famous Disney personalities and princesses. What will be your claim to fame? "Nothing" is not an acceptable answer to this question. Be creative with your response.
#18 – Post a photo from your most recent vacation (holiday) and tell us a little about it. We are all looking forward to our upcoming cruise but let’s share a look back at a recent trip.
#19 – How do you countdown? I know we all keep an eye on the calendar to watch how much time is left until this cruise. Do you do something special to track the days remaining? And what is your exact countdown? Does you trip start prior to our sail away date of XXXXXXXX?
#20 – If you took a job as a cruise ship employee, what would your job be?
#21 – Name a fictional Disney realm, place, kingdom, or universe that you would like to visit and tell us why.
#22 – Post a selfie. Even better if it’s Disney related.
#23 – If you were an Avenger, what would your superpower be? Or what would you want it to be?
#24 – Besides Disney cruises, name another of your addictions:
#25 – Please share a photo of your favorite Disney-related item of jewelry, accessory, collector pin, watch, etc.
#26 – How far will you travel to join this cruise in (DEPARTURE PORT)? One easy way to determine this is to Google: "distance between (your home city) and (DEPARTURE PORT)."
#27 – What is your favorite amusement/theme park ride, Disney or otherwise? A picture will make your response even better.
#28 – What did you think you would grow out of but haven’t? If your response is Disney related (which it may be for many in this group) please be very specific so our answers aren’t repetitive. Or think of something in your life apart from Disney that you haven’t grown out of.
#29 – Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? Share a photo.
#30 – Of all the great Disney sidekicks, which one would you choose as your pal and confidant?
#31 – Let’s pay homage to Disney’s baddies. Who is your favorite Disney villain?
#32 – Who is your favorite actor from a Disney movie, and what makes him or her your favorite?
#33 – What type of activity would you like to participate in during this cruise that won’t be offered? This could be an onboard activity or a shore excursion.
#34 – When do your suitcases appear and what at stage are you currently in the packing process? If you have already started packing for the trip, share a photo!
#35 – If you wanted to get away for a few days, but couldn’t travel more than a 3 hour drive from your home, where would you go and what would you do? Share a photo if you can.
#36 – If you could live the life of a Disney character for a day, who would it be and why?
#37 – Which fictional Disney character would be the most boring to meet in real life?
#38 – What is something you have done that you would try to dissuade anyone else from doing?
#39 – If Genie granted you three wishes right now, what would you wish for?
#40 – Who or where would you haunt if you were a ghost?
#41 – If you were the eighth dwarf, what would your name be?
And here are the weekly questions. Many are the same. Honestly, I change the questions on the fly according to what I think will work well in the current group.
Questions for weekly contest.
#1 – When and why did you first decide to try a Disney Cruise?
#2 - Share a fear related to traveling, cruising, or being in or on the ocean:
#3 – Reply with a photo of yourself on a Disney cruise ship, at a Disney park, or wearing or doing something Disney AND a brief description of the photo.
#4 – Where do you wish Disney would cruise to?
#5 – If you were single and he/she was available, which Disney character would you like to date and why?
#6 – Name the last Disney song you sang out loud:
#7 – What is one food item they will serve on the ship that you WILL NOT eat and one that you may ask for a second helping of?
#8 – Describe yourself using a Disney word, phrase, or movie quote:
#9 – Name a Disney movie that you have never seen and tell us why not.
#10 – If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
#11 – What is your favorite thing about cruising? If this is your first cruise, what are you most looking forward to?
#12 – Share a cute photo of a furry, four-legged family member who won't be cruising with you.
#13 – Of those not accompanying you on this cruise, who do you wish was traveling with you?
#14 – What is your favorite thing about fellow Disney cruisers? Perhaps you can share a nice thing a fellow cruiser did for you.
#15 – Last week we commented glowingly about how wonderful Disney cruisers are. Now we’ll go in the opposite direction. What annoys you with fellow cruisers?
#16 – I think something many of us enjoy about Disney is the opportunity it gives us as adults to embrace our inner child. In what way are you still a kid at heart?
#17 – What are you most likely to become famous for? "Nothing" is not an acceptable answer to this question. Be creative with your response.
#18 – Post a favorite photo from a previous Disney cruise and tell us something about it. If this is your first Disney cruise (you lucky, lucky people) then please share another vacation photo.
#19 – If you took a job as a cruise ship employee, what would your job be?
#20 – Who or where would you haunt if you were a ghost?
#21 – Name a fictional Disney realm, place, kingdom, or universe that you would like to visit and tell us why.
#22 – If you were an Avenger, what would your superpower be? Or what would you want it to be?
#23 – Post a selfie. Even better if it’s Disney related.
#24 – Besides Disney cruises, name another of your addictions:
#25 – Please share a photo of your favorite Disney-related item of jewelry, accessory, collector pin, watch, etc.
#26 – How far will you travel to join this cruise in DEPARTURE PORT? One easy way to determine this is to Google: "distance between (your home city) and DEPARTURE PORT."
#27 – What is your favorite amusement/theme park ride, Disney or otherwise? A picture will make your response even better.
#28 – What undesirable (for you) activity will you participate in during this cruise simply because your partner or another member of your traveling party wants to do it?
#29 – Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? Share a photo.
#30 – Of all the great Disney sidekicks, which one would you choose as your pal and confidant?
#31 – Let’s pay homage to Disney’s baddies. Who is your favorite Disney villain and why?
#32 – Who is your favorite actor from a Disney movie, and what makes him or her your favorite?
#33 – What is the dumbest way you have been injured?
#34 – What food or food combination do you eat (or have eaten in the past) that others would find strange?
#35 – If instead of a cruise, we were all planning a visit near your home, what should we see? Share a photo if you can.
#36 – If you could live the life of a Disney character for a day, who would it be and why?
#37 – Which fictional Disney character would be the most boring to meet in real life?
#38 – If Genie granted you three wishes right now, what would you wish for?
#39 – What is something you have done that you would try to dissuade anyone else from doing?
#40 – If you were the eighth dwarf, what would your name be?
#41 – When do your suitcases appear and at what stage are you currently in the packing process? If you have already started packing for the trip, share a photo!
#42 – What did you want to be when you were small? Did you achieve that dream, or trade it for something different/better?