Should the Castle Forecourt Stage be removed?

DisneyManOne

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was recently perusing the Passport to Dreams blog, when I noticed a post regarding what the author believed were the Top 10 Biggest Design Blunders at the Magic Kingdom.

But however, out of all ten, one in particular stood out to me: the Castle Forecourt Stage. Here's what the author had to say about it:

This is one that seemed harmless at the time, but has grown and grown to the point where it's done real damage to the park it once enhanced.

The castle forecourt has always been used as a
stage in one way or another. Originally the area between the forward sweep of the ramps into the castle was a mildly raised platform used for band performances. In the mid-70s, a small stage went up in that space, used for Kids of the Kingdom performances and marching band shows. Sometimes, it was used for a bit more. By the 1990s it would host the occasional special event show for the Christmas parties.

The first real change came in 2001, an elaborate stage show called "Cinderella's Surprise Celebration", which ran five times daily and featured permanently parked bright cartoon gifts on the stage. For a show introduced to celebrate the birth of Walt Disney, Surprise Celebration was a poorly written embarrassment. This was the one where Peter Pan defeats Captain Hook by dropping him through a hidden trap door on the castle parapet - and if that sounds intriguing to you, it was accomplished by having the Hook actor duck out of sight.

The show pointedly departed from its predecessors on the point of being loud. It could be heard from everywhere the the hub area and in most of the entrance areas of the various lands. For better or worse, this is the show which killed off the Main Street vehicles - guests were allowed to congregate on the road in front of the castle, and operations responded by simply deciding to stop using the vehicles instead of going up against the heavy-hitting Entertainment department for use of the tarmac.

The next show, Cinderellabration, raised the stakes by adding a taller, more elaborate stage, daytime fireworks, and annexing the entire Hub as the viewing area. This show was billed as a "gift" from Tokyo Disneyland to Magic Kingdom to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland (no, Disney couldn't explain this logic either) and Entertainment decreed that those huge trees in the middle of the hub must go because they interfered with sight lines for the stage. And so the beautiful original hub was paved.

Cinderellabration was mostly a crashing bore, frequently putting the tiara-ed kids it was directed at to sleep, and so was retired quickly. Dream Along With Mickey, the show which replaced it, returned to the basic format of Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, featuring an appearance by Captain Hook and Smee and having Maleficent crash the party. Mickey and friends originally wore blue and silver outfits appropriate to the Year of a Million Dreams sweepstakes promotion which coincided with its opening, and since Disney's newest hard ticket event was the Pirate and Princess Parties, the show dutifully broke down into Pirate and Princess sections. And it ran seven times a day, meaning the interior of the castle was inaccessible from 9:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. There's people who have been to Walt Disney World multiple times and don't know you're even allowed to walk through the castle.

A show which has the audience shouting marketing slogans to defeat the forces of evil, Dream Along With Mickey is a show that could only be loved by a Marketing executive, but it's become a Magic Kingdom stalwart. It if makes it to Spring 2016, it will have been running for ten years, and of course the Hub being emptied of all features except standing room for the castle stage paved the way for such questionable features as the similarly disruptive Move It, Shake It dance parade.

This means that maybe the most important land in the Magic Kingdom - the first one - has been subjugated to a supporting role as the host for a variety of inappropriate parades and shows. No other Disneyland-style park has thrown the period atmosphere of their Main Street under a bus so thoroughly. Walking onto Main Street at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris is a joy because it looks and feels like what it's supposed to be - horse drawn carriages, the rattle of a vintage car, the calming music all contributes to the sense of this being a real city. Without the grace touches, including Center Street mentioned above, Magic Kingdom's street sometimes feels like a funnel towards a castle where Mickey Mouse is screaming at you through a bullhorn.

Now that the Hub is finally being rebuilt into something which better balances atmosphere and traffic, Magic Kingdom really needs to start assessing the appropriateness of what they're subjecting their paying customers to. Main Street doesn't need a blaring dance party, three parades, and an endless character breakdown, it needs to be allowed to be itself. Character shows can happen in other places, too.

The introduction of the stage to the castle in the mid-70s began a slow degradation and increasing disregard for the thematic authority of one of the few Magic Kingdom areas to have a valid claim to a connection with Walt Disney. If I could go back in time and prevent one thing from happening at Magic Kingdom, it would be this. A beautiful Main Street, twinkle lights in the trees, that view of the turning carousel through the arch of Cinderella Castle, and the ability to walk up to and walk through a fairy tale castle is a right you should have by paying your ticket to walk into this place. It's so important and I don't think most people know what they're missing by trading it for a poorly written character show or a better view of some fireworks.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with him or do you think he's just overreacting? Should the Castle Forecourt Stage be destroyed?

If possible, they'd have to find a new place to hold the shows at the holiday parties (besides, that new Hocus Pocus thing is freakin' awesome).

I don't think it'd be feasible for them to create a theater nearby the castle (a la Paris' Theatre du Chateau)...
Castle-Stage-01.jpg
...but would it be worth it to lose a soon-to-be 10-year-old stage show?
 

Timon

Well-Known Member
I can't stand the Castle being closed for what seems all the time. Then there's the Hub with it being blocked by the show crowds, stopping the Main St vehicles. Trying to take a family Castle picture anywhere near the Castle during a show just looks like a mob scene.

Moving the stage to the same place Disneyland Paris has their stage would solve all of this. Castle - open all the time. Main St clear for all vehicles. Spreading out the crowds.
Castle%252520Stage.jpg
 

ODF4eva

New Member
Not going to happen though right..... The Hub redevelopment has also brought permanent lighting rigs and such to the 'Castle Stage'?
 

NemoRocks78

Seized
I can't stand the Castle being closed for what seems all the time. Then there's the Hub with it being blocked by the show crowds, stopping the Main St vehicles. Trying to take a family Castle picture anywhere near the Castle during a show just looks like a mob scene.

Moving the stage to the same place Disneyland Paris has their stage would solve all of this. Castle - open all the time. Main St clear for all vehicles. Spreading out the crowds.
Castle%252520Stage.jpg
Half of the hub is a sea of people when a show is happening in front of the castle. How are they going to deal with all of the people that would want to see the show in such a small space?
 

Timon

Well-Known Member
That depends on how it's designed. The walkway could be shielded by a hedge to block views and encourage crowds to move along. It could be a bowl design with the Stage jutting out into the water. The shows could feature boats, fountains, fire etc. It would also be right under Tinkerbell.
 

ToyStoryMiss

Well-Known Member
I think the author is overreacting, really. But I agree, they should move the stage over like DLP has it (not gonna happen, I know)
I'd never want it to be destroyed completely, though. I'd be devastated if they removed Dream Along With Mickey.
 

asianway

Well-Known Member
I think the author is overreacting, really. But I agree, they should move the stage over like DLP has it (not gonna happen, I know)
I'd never want it to be destroyed completely, though. I'd be devastated if they removed Dream Along With Mickey.
You do realize shows like DAWM were never intended to run forever right? The show should have been changed out at least 3x by now
 

ToyStoryMiss

Well-Known Member
You do realize shows like DAWM were never intended to run forever right? The show should have been changed out at least 3x by now

Yes, I do realize that. I only said that because DAWM means a lot to me (however cheesy that may sound).
I'm actually surprised that they haven't changed it out by now.
 

Timon

Well-Known Member
Also, without shows in front the Castle the inside of the castle could be restored. For those of you who have never seen the double wide interior which includes a false staircase and landing, several doors the inside was much more impressive.
 

kap91

Well-Known Member
It's a hard one because while the design of the park doesn't really support it castle stage shows have become part of the DNA of the Orlando park - they've been going on forever and are part of the WDW atmosphere. Not having them would almost be sacrificing part of the parks identity.

My vote would be to keep it but return to an older design that is much more unobtrusive with enough space underneath or elsewhere to allow for a backstage area to allow the castle to be walked through all the time.

Additionally put large trees back in the center of the hub to act as a natural blocker (to concentrate audiences in the front half of the hub). Also make the content of the shows a little ambitious - 1. They wouldn't seem so cheesy with such epic plots with no supporting scenery and effects 2. They could return to being more area entertainment instead of something that encompasses all of Main Street.

Every day's a holiday was a superb example of what I'm talking about. Or even surprise celebration - I loved the trap door effect and taking advantage of the whole castle as a stage.

Idk I think there's a lot that could be done without getting rid of it or moving.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
It's a hard one because while the design of the park doesn't really support it castle stage shows have become part of the DNA of the Orlando park - they've been going on forever and are part of the WDW atmosphere. Not having them would almost be sacrificing part of the parks identity.
It has only been 15 years and it is an identity (expanding beyond just the shows) Walt Disney World would benefit to shed.
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Also, without shows in front the Castle the inside of the castle could be restored. For those of you who have never seen the double wide interior which includes a false staircase and landing, several doors the inside was much more impressive.
I really miss walking from the castle to enter Fantasyland. I love checking out the scenery and details inside the castle.
 

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