Main Street Bakery to Serve Starbucks Coffee

[GoofGoof]

Excuse me? I'm exploring the example that you provided.

Are outside franchises fine so long as their signature character does not do meet and greets outside? Your question, not mine!

I personally find Ronald a little creepy. What's the guy always smiling about...it's like he knows something that the rest of us haven't realized. If they added the hamburglar and Grimace I would be pretty excited. DHS is already a mess why not add this too:

url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/meredithmgrant/3487131653/]

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hamburglar, grimace by meredith / / olivetti studio, on Flickr

 

[englanddg]

I personally find Ronald a little creepy. What's the guy always smiling about...it's like he knows something that the rest of us haven't realized. If they added the hamburglar and Grimace I would be pretty excited. DHS is already a mess why not add this too:

url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/meredithmgrant/3487131653/]

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hamburglar, grimace by meredith / / olivetti studio, on Flickr

Chester, Chester, Child mo-Hester.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/meredithmgrant/3487131653/]

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hamburglar, grimace by meredith / / olivetti studio, on Flickr

Hey, I'm pretty sure that's exactly the cast I saw on Playhouse Disney Live on stage!!

And clowns are freaky proto-pedo's by default. Scary.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Consider some of MSUSA's previous sponsors:

Dole - Founded in 1851
Coke - Founded in 1886
Kodak - Founded in 1889
Edy's - Founded in 1928
Starbucks - Founded in 1971

Theoretically, Walt could have enjoyed Dole, Coke, Kodak , or Edy's when he was young. The first 4 companies are "old" and feel like they belong in a mythical place like Main Street USA.

Walt was dead before Starbucks ever existed. Starbucks feels "new". Thematically, it doesn't belong in turn-of-the-century America.

When it comes to theme parks, MSUSA and Cinderella's Castle are sacred ground. Pretty much anyplace else and no one would care. If, for example, Starbuck's opened at the Tomorrowland Terrace, the reaction would have been a collective yawn. No one even talks about the Starbuck's opening at Epcot.

MSUSA sold its soul years ago but that doesn't make this time feel any more right than the last time.

 

[Californian Elitist]

If people are that serious regarding era and making a fuss because Starbucks doesn't fit the time period, then all the stores on Main Street need to get rid of all the merchandise currently being sold, and replace everything with period appropriate clothing and knick-knacks.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

If people are that serious regarding era and making a fuss because Starbucks doesn't fit the time period, then all the stores on Main Street need to get rid of all the merchandise currently being sold, and replace everything with period appropriate clothing and knick-knacks.

"The sporting goods store doesn't sell period-appropriate antique sporting goods! My vacation is ruined!"

 

[englanddg]

"The sporting goods store doesn't sell period-appropriate antique sporting goods! My vacation is ruined!"

There's a sporting goods store? I thought the whole thing had been turned into a miniature World of Disney (something else that Disneyland has over WDW, holding on to theme in the shops)

 

[Californian Elitist]

"The sporting goods store doesn't sell period-appropriate antique sporting goods! My vacation is ruined!"

"I don't think Mickey ears existed in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I need a refund on my park ticket."

Hahaha.

 

[Black Pearl]

I don't have an issue with the product, but the Starbucks signs I saw outside the bakery a couple of days ago really don't belong on MSUSA. Not into the idea of the emporium putting up a Target sign or the sporting store throwing up a Sport's Authority or Moe's sign either. Just doesn't fit.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

If people are that serious regarding era and making a fuss because Starbucks doesn't fit the time period, then all the stores on Main Street need to get rid of all the merchandise currently being sold, and replace everything with period appropriate clothing and knick-knacks.

A swell point! However...on a deeper layer there is more truth to it than you may have initially hoped for!

Not every item sold on MS needs to be period specific. But every shop does! For example, would this shop line-up still work as a MS: Apple Store, iHop, Radio Shack, 'Charlie's Cell Phones', 'Sally's Soviet Memorabilia'?

It wouldn't, would it! Thematic minutiae are important, even if they look unbelievably petty at first sight.

There are rules to which a period theme environment needs to abide. Even a Disney one, which is very different from a historical museum. To speak with our dear Kevin Yee (whatever happened to him?), you can have a few transgressions. A few relaxations, a few declines. But eventually it all adds up, and at some point, you walk down Main Street and you no longer feel totally engrossed, no longer dragged into a different world. You feel like you are walking on an elaborate movie set, instead of being truly immersed. The magic is not really there anymore.
One Starbucks will not destroy MS. But ten, twenty, thirty declines, eventually, yes they will.

 

[GoofGoof]

Consider some of MSUSA's previous sponsors:

Dole - Founded in 1851
Coke - Founded in 1886
Kodak - Founded in 1889
Edy's - Founded in 1928
Starbucks - Founded in 1971

Theoretically, Walt could have enjoyed Dole, Coke, Kodak , or Edy's when he was young. The first 4 companies are "old" and feel like they belong in a mythical place like Main Street USA.

Walt was dead before Starbucks ever existed. Starbucks feels "new". Thematically, it doesn't belong in turn-of-the-century America.

When it comes to theme parks, MSUSA and Cinderella's Castle are sacred ground. Pretty much anyplace else and no one would care. If, for example, Starbuck's opened at the Tomorrowland Terrace, the reaction would have been a collective yawn. No one even talks about the Starbuck's opening at Epcot.

MSUSA sold its soul years ago but that doesn't make this time feel any more right than the last time.

I see your point to some extent, but if Starbucks was founded in 1950 or 1960 instead of 1971 would that really make any difference? People would still be upset because its Starbucks.

 

[englanddg]

A swell point! However...on a deeper layer there is more truth to it than you may have initially hoped for!

Not every item sold on MS needs to be period specific. But every shop does! For example, would this shop line-up still work as a MS: Apple Store, iHop, Radio Shack, 'Charlie's Cell Phones', 'Sally's Soviet Memorabilia'?

It wouldn't, would it! Thematic minutiae are important, even if they look unbelievably petty at first sight.

Don't tempt WDI...

 

[GoofGoof]

A swell point! However...on a deeper layer there is more truth to it than you may have initially hoped for!

Not every item sold on MS needs to be period specific. But every shop does! For example, would this shop line-up still work as a MS: Apple Store, iHop, Radio Shack, 'Charlie's Cell Phones', 'Sally's Soviet Memorabilia'?

It wouldn't, would it! Thematic minutiae are important, even if they look unbelievably petty at first sight.

I agree with this. I think where we disagree is that I don't think the Starbucks sign is intrusive. If they turned Main St Bakery into a regular Starbucks with a big green sign hanging out of Main St I would grab a pitch fork and join you storming guest services. To me the bakery looks exactly the same from the outside except for the small Starbucks sign. It still fits in perfectly.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I see your point to some extent, but if Starbucks was founded in 1950 or 1960 instead of 1971 would that really make any difference? People would still be upset because its Starbucks.

Well, if Starbucks was a common venue in 1905 small town midwest America, then I'd say that by default it would fit right it. Just as much as a horse carriage or barber shop.

I might still have an issue with it if Starbucks were also a modern 25,000 locations franchise. Because, why would I want to visit one in WDW when I come across fifteen Starbuckses on my way there, four of which on my airport alone?

 

[Californian Elitist]

A swell point! However...on a deeper layer there is more truth to it than you may have initially hoped for!

Not every item sold on MS needs to be period specific. But every shop does! For example, would this shop line-up still work as a MS: Apple Store, iHop, Radio Shack, 'Charlie's Cell Phones', 'Sally's Soviet Memorabilia'?

It wouldn't, would it! Thematic minutiae are important, even if they look unbelievably petty at first sight.

There are rules to which a period theme environment needs to abide. Even a Disney one, which is very different from a historical museum. To speak with our dear Kevin Yee (whatever happened to him?), you can have a few transgressions. A few relaxations, a few declines. But eventually it all adds up, and at some point, you walk down Main Street and you no longer feel totally engrossed, no longer dragged into a different world. You feel like you are walking on an elaborate movie set, instead of being truly immersed. The magic is not really there anymore.
One Starbucks will not destroy MS. But ten, twenty, thirty declines, eventually, yes they will.

I absolutely cannot see Disney putting an Apple Store or an IHOP on Main Street. That seems very far-fetched, in my opinion. A Radio Shack? No.

I just don't see anything wrong with Starbucks going on Main Street. Actually, I wish it could have been Coffee Bean (California establsihment), but oh well. The Starbucks is not in your face about it. The sign is small and everything blends in. The establishments from Walt's era were way more out there. I still feel immersed when I see Starbucks, just like I still feel immersed when I see Coke products and Dreyer's ice cream, two things I can buy outside of Disney.

The good thing is, all you'll have to do is walk past it.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I agree with this. I think where we disagree is that I don't think the Starbucks sign is intrusive. If they turned Main St Bakery into a regular Starbucks with a big green sign hanging out of Main St I would grab a pitch fork and join you storming guest services. To me the bakery looks exactly the same from the outside except for the small Starbucks sign. It still fits in perfectly.

Oi, it is a to a large extent simply a matter of personal taste. I also find Splash very intrusive in the MK, and perfectly located in DL. Others may think otherwise. It's all not an exact science, but a matter of personal experience, fantasy and projection on the themed environment. Your MS is very different from mine, even if physically it is the same!

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

Well, if Starbucks was a common venue in 1905 small town midwest America, then I'd say that by default it would fit right it. Just as much as a horse carriage or barber shop.

That's totally arbitrary. There were plenty of bakeries and cafes in 1905. Just because none of them were probably named Starbucks doesn't mean it's "out of place." There probably wasn't a "Casey's Corner," either. Alert the press, we've got to shut down Casey's!

I might still have an issue with it if Starbucks were also a modern 25,000 locations franchise. Because, why would I want to visit one in WDW when I come across fifteen Starbuckses on my way there, four of which on my airport alone?

Because there is food and drink there that you might want to consume, and in the case of the coffee, it will almost certainly be better (at the very least, more consistent) than what was there before. It's not like they're selling Vampire Weekend CDs and playing Erykah Badu.

 

[flynnibus]

by responding you all just keep enabling...

 

[The Empress Lilly]

by responding you all just keep enabling...

That is not appropriate, and frankly a bit insulting to all participants. We are having a pleasant discussion about Main Street and thematic design here.

 

[Tigger1988]

Why would I want to eat at Casey's? I can make hot dogs at home. Why would I want ice cream on Main Street? I have the same brand in my freezer. Why would I want to shop in any store on property? I have a Disney store at my mall. Why would I want to ride Space Mountain? There's wild mouse coasters at the local amusement park.

We could go all day with this.

And no, these are not real questions.