News Disney Not Renewing Great Movie Ride Sponsorship Deal with TCM ; Attraction to Close

EPCOTCenterLover

EPCOTCenterLover

Well-Known Member
TROR said:
It really is a pointless debate when the creator of these parks said what they are. Amazing that people feel the need to challenge it, honestly.


How so? Let's just look at the opening day lands.

Main Street USA? Undeniably Americana.
Frontierland? Undeniably Americana.
Tomorrowland (in 1955)? Undeniably Americana.
Fantasyland? Debatable.
Adventureland? Debatable.

That's 3/5 lands that are undeniably focusing on Americana. Now let's look at the two new lands that were planned but never added.

Edison Square? Undeniably Americana.
Liberty Street? Undeniably Americana.

So now we're at 5/7 lands that focus on Americana without a doubt.

Let's add the next two lands to be added.

New Orleans Square? Undeniably Americana.
Bear Country (and eventually Critter Country)? Undeniably Americana.

We're at 7/9 lands that have been planned/existed at Disneyland through the 1980's that were undeniably Americana. Not until Toon Town do we get another land that's debatable, and because it is debatable, I'll argue that Mickey Mouse is an American staple. I don't think anyone can disagree on that.

So are we really going to say that Disneyland is not centered around Americana when nine out of the eleven lands that have been planned/built are undeniably Americana? When you have that much of overwhelming evidence, it is more logical to look at these two lands you don't believe are Americana and figure out how they are than to discredit the theme as a whole.
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And Star Wars Land fits in with these why?
 
TROR

TROR

Well-Known Member
mandstaft said:
And Star Wars Land fits in with these why?
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I'm glad you asked!

The answer is rather obvious, actually: It doesn't fit. Galaxy's Edge does not belong in Disneyland park, or even in DCA, but should have been put in a third gate with Marvel.

If you look at my list of lands, all but Toon Town were done prior to Eisner. This was back when the park had a much clearer cut look in its identity. Just look at Tomorrowland now. Would you ever think that's Americana? No way! But if you look at in 1955 and then 1967 remodel, you can definitely tell it's about American innovation and advancements in science and technology. The park has shifted over time, most notably during the Eisner era, away from Americana and towards a generic collection of IP's and themes.

Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong all take inspiration from that initial theme of Americana, but even Tokyo lacks a Main Street, Paris has a French take on the future, and Hong Kong had no Frontierland on opening day. Then comes Shanghai which isn't American in the slightest but "distinctly Chinese."

End of the day, though, Disneyland and Magic Kingdom WERE both built with a core theme of Americana, but that theme has shifted away over time and, in my opinion, it hasn't been for the better.
 
DisneyDodo

DisneyDodo

Well-Known Member
I don't deny that Disneyland/MK were built for an American audience (as that is primarily who visits them). However, that does not constitute a theme. There were plans for Disney to build an Americana-themed park in Virginia, which was to be called Disney's America - which would have been an appropriate name for a park of that theme. In fact, the name of every Disney non-castle park alludes to its theme in its title. Yet, none of the castle parks do so, as there is no real theme to them. If you want to say these parks were inspired by American culture, that's fine and would be quite accurate. However, if you want to know what something America-themed would look like, just visit the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot :D
 
EPICOT

EPICOT

Well-Known Member
dodolitsky said:
I don't deny that Disneyland/MK were built for an American audience (as that is primarily who visits them). However, that does not constitute a theme. There were plans for Disney to build an Americana-themed park in Virginia, which was to be called Disney's America - which would have been an appropriate name for a park of that theme. In fact, the name of every Disney non-castle park alludes to its theme in its title. Yet, none of the castle parks do so, as there is no real theme to them. If you want to say these parks were inspired by American culture, that's fine and would be quite accurate. However, if you want to know what something America-themed would look like, just visit the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot :D
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I think that's what the previous posters were saying. Not that DL/MK are themed to America in the sense of America's history, but rather they are themed to the American pop culture (Americana) prevalent in the mid 20th century. Many of the popular movie genres at the time align with the original lands of the park which gives strong credence to this viewpoint.
 
D

DisneyCane

Well-Known Member
Wasn't part of Walt's initial concept for Disneyland to cross promote IPs between the studio and theme park?

Maybe it was a little more subtle but I'm pretty sure that was part of his plan.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
DisneyCane said:
Wasn't part of Walt's initial concept for Disneyland to cross promote IPs between the studio and theme park?

Maybe it was a little more subtle but I'm pretty sure that was part of his plan.
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The original plan was that the park would be next to the studio until it got too grand in scope to fit there.
 
NeXuS1000

NeXuS1000

Well-Known Member
DisneyCane said:
Wasn't part of Walt's initial concept for Disneyland to cross promote IPs between the studio and theme park?

Maybe it was a little more subtle but I'm pretty sure that was part of his plan.
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Of course it was. Adventureland came from the Tru-Life Adventure TV series, Frontierland from Davy Crockett, etc. A lot of these lands appear today not to be based on IP, because those never became long-term, evergreen franchises, but IIRC most of the park was based on IP in one way or another day 1.
 
TROR

TROR

Well-Known Member
NeXuS1000 said:
Of course it was. Adventureland came from the Tru-Life Adventure TV series, Frontierland from Davy Crockett, etc. A lot of these lands appear today not to be based on IP, because those never became long-term, evergreen franchises, but IIRC most of the park was based on IP in one way or another day 1.
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I hardly would say Frontierland was based off Davy Crockett. Was Frontierland a place to harbor Davy Crockett? Absolutely. But it also harbored Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and True-Life Adventure TV series as well as the Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer's Island, and the Golden Horseshoe Revue. While you can say it took inspiration from Davy Crockett, it's very different from something like say Cars Land. Cars will be dated within 25 years, but car culture, the theme of the movie, never will be. Davy Crockett was dated before 25 years, but the themes of that series never will be.

This is why I think a Marvel land is so dumb but I could completely get behind a superhero land. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will be dead in 10 years, but superheroes have been popular for generations. Why limit yourself to just Marvel when you can have a generic superhero themed land with Marvel, The Incredibles, Darkwing Duck, and original content on top?
 

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