Re-Imagineering

[Swimace]

It's a company, not a massive memorial to Walt Disney.

 

In many ways the Magic Kingdom is a tribute to Walt Disney. I think Disney is doing a good job in all of its parks except Magic Kingdom because they've departed too far from the classic feeling. Adventureland and Fronteirland still remain intact, but one has to wonder for how long. I visited Magic Kingdom in January and many places were downright dirty and unkept, the Disney touch erased from many areas. However, I loved my recent visits to MGM and EPCOT, and although I've only been to AK once I really liked that park too. I don't think Disney is doing as bad of a job as they make it seem, but I can certainly agree with the departure from Walt inside the Magic Kingdom.

[Jew]

Walt always said that if you take out an attraction, you need to replace it with something even better. Does Pooh's playground look better than the Submarines? It's not. Is Pooh better than Mr. Toad? No. Is Stitch a discrace to Tommorrowland? Most would say so.

 

Walt also said "I don't care what the critics think, I'll take my chances with the public." Pooh and Stitch, as crappy as they might be, seem to be pretty popular with guests. There's also a large segment of the public that will actually appreciate a playground (families with kids that need to be kept busy, but do not want to go on rides or see shows).

 

The point is...Anyone can take something Walt said, intepret it their own way, and call it "Walt's vision." Are they right? Nobody knows for sure since Walt is kind of dead.

[Swimace]

You have a point with the crowd pleasing aspect of Pooh, but as the newest attraction in the park, Stitch constantly has one of the shortest lines in the park. Pooh always has a long line because it's so popular with the little kids, but after being open for not that long of a time Stitch will be only 15 minutes when Buzz is 90 minutes right across the walkway. For the record I'm not against all character rides, I like Buzz, I just don't think Pooh lives up to Mr. Toad.

[peteb]

I agree with the author's feelings on preservation on restoration; the fact that Tommorowland and attractions such as Carrousel of Progress became somewhat dated is what makes them interesting. It's fascinating to see past predictions of the future; what came to pass and what was way off the mark; that's the wild imagination that created Disney in the first place. I always appreciated what engineers of these attractions were able to create with a with what technology was available at the time.

I think Disney needs to think about preserving their history while still advancing ride technology. You can't just change or get rid of things just because they're old (like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride).

[s2pids2]

I love it, great link!

 

' The WDI Art Morgue' - classic!

[maliboomer]

like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

 

 

They got rid of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride because it was fudging disturbing!

'And now, Mr. Toad takes a vacation... IN HELL!'.

[ChrisFL]

disturbing is what made it awesome. Think about it, if it was built brand new today, there'd probably be protests or something...