A Spirited Valentine ...

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Mission:BREAKOUT impressions from @imaginat1on on Twitter.

No surprises here, but glad to hear a nice AA made the cut.

 

[TalkingHead]

I think it more has to do with a deep, widespread insecurity. As I previously stated, this type of attitude is not limited to just Disney park fans but fans of the wider amusements industry. There is a social acceptability in being a film nerd that does not exist when it comes to amusements. You can be a cool Star Wars nerd but you can't be a cool roller coaster nerd. We see aspects of the lack of social acceptance repeatedly on these very forums with threads where people ask if they tell others how often they visit, or people seeking advice on how to handle people who mock visiting Walt Disney World, and so forth.

The origins of such social lowliness are also not new. Marx was quite influential on sociology and architectural theory (and architects seem to be lousy sociologists and historians). To the intelligentsia, the spectacle of the amusement park was long ago cast as not just mere popular entertainment, but a sinister new form of "bread and circuses," the superstructure in a mesmerizing built form. Themed entertainment is also superficially in visual contrast to Modernism, which remains the dominant architectural philosophy of the day. Even Postmodernism, which is no longer in favor, never truly shook off the biases of such Modernism.

Amusements are not proper, sophisticated entertainments; they are not venues of "high" culture. The natural result of such conditions is Disney's own executive leadership being people who do not understand or appreciate theme entertainment. Even to Michael Eisner, who clearly enjoys himself at theme parks, they are silly amusements and thus his complete befuddlement regarding EPCOT Center.

This deep insecurity is also referenced in the notion of espacism. The theme parks are reframed as a place of comfort and a place to hide. Attachment to the amusement aspect would only further the social divide that create the need for such escape whereas attachment to the films provides its own reassurance of social acceptance.

Interesting post. I've been toying with the idea of writing on this subject. But I'm curious about a couple of things in your post.

For both modernism and most versions of postmodernism, the text's willingness to critique is a crucial element. There's no reason that theme parks as texts couldn't perform that work, but to this point they typically haven't. I'm not even sure that EPCOT, which was certainly the most ambitious concept in park design, did that effectively. It tended to voice a pro-corporate agenda that seems opposed to the kind of critique valued by modernism and postmodernism.

Doesn't that lack of critique have a bearing on how these places are viewed by the critical establishment? Without critique, these places do struggle to move beyond echoing nostalgic and romantic attitudes, which can be comfortable but also shallow.

 

[ford91exploder]

Mission:BREAKOUT impressions from @imaginat1on on Twitter.

Wow, Sounds sucktastic and even worse than we feared... especially the 100% screenz part.

 

[asianway]

No surprises here, but glad to hear a nice AA made the cut.

At least there's an excuse to sell Figment merch in CA now

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

At least there's an excuse to sell Figment merch in CA now

I realize this is a joke but I would not put it past them

 

[Mike S]

Mission:BREAKOUT impressions from @imaginat1on on Twitter.

I wouldn't be surprised if sets like the hallway and mirror are still there but behind the screens. This screams cheap.

 

[Goob]

I, along with all of us, would love to find out Disney's end game with this ToT/ Mission Breakout fiasco. I'm sure it's for the upcoming Marvel land, but It's very interesting to me why they did it so hastily and just threw it up. Why? They haven't announced anything yet. I'm betting they spill the beans at D23 this year to settle everyone down. If they don't, that makes this even more strange.

 

[FigmentJedi]

At least there's an excuse to sell Figment merch in CA now

I realize this is a joke but I would not put it past them

Remember when Westcot was supposed to be a thing and Journey into Imagination was part of it?

 

[RSoxNo1]

That joke was forced as heck but damn was it funny

Not really forced, but most people in the theater were probably thinking it before the line was delivered.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Mission:BREAKOUT impressions from @imaginat1on on Twitter.

This is playing out well for us, now let's hope the general public has the same reactions. That should cement our tower's safety.

 

[HMF]

I wouldn't be surprised if sets like the hallway and mirror are still there but behind the screens. This screams cheap.

Is it so hard to believe that someone in WDI deliberately designed it to make the switchback to Tower relatively easy.

 

[BrianLo]

No surprises here, but glad to hear a nice AA made the cut.

Kind of an interesting platform about a paucity of AA's in a rides, than lament one that previously had even fewer. I truly expected surround sound effects and an appearance from the grates on the re-used television. So that's a positive surprise on this project, for once.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Is it so hard to believe that someone in WDI deliberately designed it to make the switchback to Tower relatively easy.

The ride will not ever switch back to TOT, but it could very well be changed out for another IP down the line.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The ride will not ever switch back to TOT, but it could very well be changed out for another IP down the line.

Bedknobs and Broomstick: Mission Bed-jump!

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Bedknobs and Broomstick: Mission Bed-jump!

I'd buy an AP for that!

 

[Cesar R M]

Mission:BREAKOUT impressions from @imaginat1on on Twitter.

so, THERE IS a rocket AA..

And Its sad to read that twitter post about the Disney trend of ONLY one single AA per attraction.

Christ.. didn't they learn from Harry Potter at UNI?

 

[Absimilliard]

Is it so hard to believe that someone in WDI deliberately designed it to make the switchback to Tower relatively easy.

When they modified Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris to turn it into Mission 2, only one prop was removed: the moon sweeper. The rest was either upgraded or for the physical sets not needed, covered up in black tarps. When they did the huge refurb in 2016 on it, they uncovered all the hidden props and effects, fixed them up and then recovered them... I wonder what for now?

 

[Herbie]

I wouldn't be surprised if sets like the hallway and mirror are still there but behind the screens. This screams cheap.

Here's to hoping, just in case reviews are bad enough to warrant a change.. RIP to the exterior though.

 

[ford91exploder]

so, THERE IS a rocket AA..

And Its sad to read that twitter post about the Disney trend of ONLY one single AA per attraction.

Christ.. didn't they learn from Harry Potter at UNI?

Nope the thought is "We are DISNEY the guests will always come", till they don't of course.

 

[ford91exploder]

Is it so hard to believe that someone in WDI deliberately designed it to make the switchback to Tower relatively easy.

Like most executive ego driven things I'm sure much money was spent to ensure that a switch back was not possible as if it was switched back it means executive was wrong. And that can never happen.

This was not a WDI driven let's try something new project.