22 January 2003 Site Update: Diamond Horseshoe to close

[Wckd Queen]

Oh, this saddens me. My very first visit to Walt Disney World was in April of 1976. I was like, 11. And I was brought up onto the stage at the Diamond Horseshoe to be part of an act (was it a magic act? I honestly cant remember! :lol In any event, that is one memory that sticks out to me, because it made my trip special. I felt like Queen for a day :king:

As fans, we sometimes forget that Disney is a business. I have been a Disney stockholder for many years now, pre~Eisner. Back when we used to get a special FREE discount card to use...and special trip offers and such. Yes, corporate performance has improved under his leadership. I remember Eisner saying that Disney was in the business of making movies, and out popped The Little Mermaid. Part of the reason for new movies was also to keep the parks fresh with new attractions, which is understandable.

Now, Im all for keeping things new and exciting, but at what cost? I would hate to think that the things that have made WDW and DL so special for so long would be compromised in exchange for a better bottom line. As a businesswoman, I also understand that this is sometimes the case in business.

I guess I will just sit back and wait to see what they decide to put in place of the Diamond Horseshoe before I decide if I like it or not. I thought I would hate the Buzz Lightyear ride, and I wound up loving it

 

[WDWspider]

You make two very good points there.

1) DL and WDW was partly successful cause they came up with new ideas and attractions. (Now there are other parks today with Saloon shows, so I still think this changing is fine)

However

2) Buzz is a big fan favorite, but is by no means innovative. Many other parks already have or will be getting rides just like this. Maybe MiB is a little more unique having no targets, but that's beside the point.

I see no reason that some staples cannot be replaced as long as innovative new ideas come in their place. Whether you like AE or not, it was unique and for that reason fit Disney Design ideals. You are wise in waiting to see what replaces it first. I think many were interested and excited when Imagination Pavilion was going to change (even if it was too soon and figment was a major star). However, the ride replacements there have left bad tastes in everyones mouths. :hurl:

 

[COProgressFan]

Re: Re: Just a little reminiscing here.. : (

Originally posted by spider-man
Just curious, and not to pick on you in particular. But would you rather Disney never change? Would you rather they get old and stale.

I think the problem is that lately when Disney gets rid of a ride or show, they either replace it with something sub-par (Imagination) or don't replace it with something at all (20,000 Leagues). I am guessing that the show that replaces the Diamond Horseshoe will hardly be anything innovative, other than a bunch of foam headed characters dancing around to pre recorded music. The people in the Diamond Horseshoe show had talent, and the show was entertaining to this day. For anyone over the age of 10, a character show will probably not be as enjoyable.

I'm hoping I'm wrong, so I am waiting for Disney to wow me with a new show that's at least as good as the original (or even better), but based on everything they've been doing, I'm not holding out much hope.

CoP

 

[MKCustodial]

Obviously, Spidey is right. Even though we all have our opinons, we should wait to see what the replacement show will be like. But COPFan makes a good point: Diamond Horseshoe had (face) actors who could imrpovise and play with the audience. Shows with regular characters don't tend to do that. Even when they had regular dancers and singers, like Disneymania, all the jokes were pre-recorded. And since we know Woody and Jess have been established as (masked) characters, I don't know...

On a similar note, I remember watching a show at DHS for CMs only, early one day at the parks. It was kinda like CInderella's story, and they had the characters, it was really funny, specially the stepsisters. If Disney could do something like that with whatever characters they wanna use (even though we pretty much know it'll be along the lines of Woody's Round-up), I bet it'd be a huge success.

 

[Tramp]

The closing comes as no surprise to me! Ever since they ended the variety show with the can-can girls, it seems the place is hardly ever crowded. At one time, you couldn't find a place to sit or stand and needed reservations to get in. Do you remember walking by outside and hearing all the clapping, yelling and hee-hawing coming from inside like a genuine saloon? That's been missing for the last couple of years.

 

[goofy47]

Re: Re: Just a little reminiscing here.. : (

Originally posted by spider-man
Just curious, and not to pick on you in particular. But would you rather Disney never change? Would you rather they get old and stale. It was popular back then because it was new and fresh. This is the one change occuring that I really didn't think would turn into a thread like this. The more I see upgrades and improvements in the parks, the more I hear us feel so sad that they are being replaced, the more I start to realize I should be happy they are trying to please the masses in a creative, new and current way. I miss old attractions, that is why I take pictures and record them, but I'm glad Disney is smart enough and sometimes brave enough to keep moving forward in creative new ways. Some attractions I can see arguing about, 20,000 Leagues leaving with no replacement or update comes to mind. But, i even read people being upset when the skyride closed. I don't know, but it's really no big loss in the least IMHO.

<font color=blue>I agree with you 100%... I was just reminiscing a little. The thread just made me think back about how things have changed over the years. You always hate to see fade away. My wife was crushed to see that Carousel of Progress will be closing. I'm all for change, and every year we look forward to new and different things opening at WDW.. Thanks for your input..

Poly, CB, AS 1, 2, 3, PO, DL, WL , CS, GF, S of G, BC, AKL, :wave:

 

[meeko_33785]

Originally posted by Tramp
The closing comes as no surprise to me! Ever since they ended the variety show with the can-can girls, it seems the place is hardly ever crowded. At one time, you couldn't find a place to sit or stand and needed reservations to get in. Do you remember walking by outside and hearing all the clapping, yelling and hee-hawing coming from inside like a genuine saloon? That's been missing for the last couple of years.

Tramp's right. Ever since they axed the dancing girls the show has been pratcically dead in the water. Also, as for attractions for a more adult audience, it's not exactly what MK is all about anymore. That's what EPCOT is for. Mk is geered primarily for families while EPCOT seems to be more for the older crowd. That's the way it is and it's obviously sucessful. MK is the top visited park in the nation. I hardly think losing the DHS is going to make that big of a difference. After all, Disneyland's has been gone for years now and it's still going on strong.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

bump

 

[Erika]

bump

 

[Tramp]

Building my post count and hiding the trash at the same time.


I'm over 2000....ain't I important?