The Castle is a Weenie

[DizneyPryncess]

I had heard that he called them weenies, but I had no idea why! That story is funny, I'm glad now I can place some logic behind it, haha. Thanks for sharing.

 

[marni1971]

Weenies lead to weenies. Castle, the Mountains, Caribbean Plaza, even Mermaids castle. All draw you from one to the next.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

My only complaint is that the park seems to be filled with too many weenies and nothing more.[/quote

Well of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion, I don't happen the agree!


AKK

 

[Spikerdink]

Get busy readin' some Disney biogrhaphies, books on Imagineering, Park history, etc. I have, and you'll be both surprised and delighted with all the cool Disney stuff you'll learn!

Do you have any reccomendations on what the best books are?

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's a concept that's been known since well before Walt.

What is the reference to "the weatherman"? Ive seen it a few times in threads but dont know what/who it is.

The Weatherman is Bob Iger, who started his career in television as a weatherman.

 

[luv]

Do you have any reccomendations on what the best books are?

I think it's a good idea for fans to start with the official biography on Walt, the one Disney put out. Then, if you haven't had enough, there is oh, so much more to read.

I'm patiently waiting for Marty Sklar's book!!!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Do you have any reccomendations on what the best books are?

Where would you like to start? Do you want pretty pictures or an academic discourse or the Disney approved narrative?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Makes sense.
Now you've got me obsessing over something. I know I've heard the term "weenie" used the same way in a movie. I just can't for the life of me remember which.

That's because it is a movie making/theatrical term. Walt just transferred it to his park that to him, was a movie production. That's why there are Cast Members, references to being "on stage". It's why the railroad station at the front of the park is known as a curtain. The windows along main street are the "credits". And so on.

 

[mrdisman]

And the ball at EPCOT, the tree at AK, and the hat at DHS....all weinies

 

[mrdisman]

MK has the castle
Epcot has the golf ball
AK has the tree
HS has a hat
Every park has a weenie, so are they really going to get rid of the hat are they going to replace it with something? Without a weenie no one will no where to go at HS (except to get in line at TSM)

Ha...just saw this...that wil teach me to read the thread before responding

 

[MarkTwain]

Don't forget that in the highest form of Disney design, it's not as simple as 1 weenie:1 park. Ideally there should pretty much always be a weenie that draws you from your current location. It's a psychological form of distraction that Disney uses to keep you entertained and keep you moving from one place to the next, without letting you stop to think about tiredness, the heat, money spent, and other negative feelings.

Spaceship Earth may be the "main" weenie for Epcot, but the American pavilion is the the weenie that draws you across the bridge and into World Showcase. While heading over to the American pavilion, The Eiffel tower is the weenie that distracts you from the long walk and draws you into France instead. The Astro Orbiter tower, Liberty Belle riverboat, and Splash Mountain all function as weenies in their own separate lands. Sometimes weenies might get really small, like the Mad Tea Party placed at the end of the hub bridge and the intersection of Fantasyland/Tomorrowland, the balloons that draw you into the Land pavilion lobby, or the knarled tree in the back of Harambe that acts as the entrance to the safaris.

 

[rsoxguy]

Little-known fact: the moat around the castle was originally intended to be filled with ketchup, mustard, and relish; all for the sake of complimenting the weenie.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Little-known fact: the moat around the castle was originally intended to be filled with ketchup, mustard, and relish; all for the sake of complimenting the weenie.

Wouldn't that be "condimenting" the weenie?

 

[rsoxguy]

Wouldn't that be "condimenting" the weenie?

Bing!

 

[Alley7728]

Ready for lunch....

 

[bethymouse]

Neat! I never knew it! I was thinking in a dirty way at first!

 

[JIMINYCR]

According to Disney Imagineers, a weenie is big enough to be seen from a distance and interesting enough to make you want to take a closer look.
The concept of the “weenie” comes from a classic sight gag from the earliest days of entertainment. A long stick would be tied to a dog’s head and a hot dog, or weenie, would dangle from the end, prompting the dog to keep moving forward. Walt loved the metaphor and referred to it often, understanding that people will move happily forward if they feel like they have something rewarding that they are moving towards. He didn’t want people in his park to have “museum feet,” trudging forward with no real sense of where they are going but only going to get it over with, so the Imagineers began to add large interesting objects, like a castle, at the ends of long walks to draw a guest forward. When a guest sets out across a Disney theme park, they can see something, a very specific promise, waiting for them at the other end and they are confident they will be rewarded for their effort.

 

[luv]

I'd just like to say that because of this thread, I ate a weenie. Fat-free turkey weenie, but still...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'd just like to say that because of this thread, I ate a weenie. Fat-free turkey weenie, but still...

Thank you for reminding me that I bought some of those this past weekend. I got so distracted by cake stuff that I forgot that I had weenies hiding in my fridge.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Future World is having a problem with weenies, expecially The Living Seas. But according to the diehard Epcot fans the weenies arrant all that great.