LostPrincessKarleigh
Well-Known Member
I wonder if that is why Mickey and the Magical map hasn't been replicated at WDW. Maybe TDO doesn't see their value and thinks it would be a waste.
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Anna and Elsa Moving to Fairy Tale Hall
- Thread starter RandomPrincess
- Start date
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
I wonder if that is why Mickey and the Magical map hasn't been replicated at WDW. Maybe TDO doesn't see their value and thinks it would be a waste.
Mickey and the Magical Map hasn't been replicated at WDW because it was never supposed to be. TDO is perfectly happy to run 20+ year old stage shows in its theaters with no replacements. Replacement shows cost money.
Mulan and Pocahontas don't get a big push because they don't sell merch. They didn't sell merch when their movies were released, and they're not going to sell merch now.
Matt_Black
Well-Known Member
I think it's because they'd try to sell the wrong kind of merch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if Disney got Bioware to make a Mulan game in the style of their Jade Empire RPG, that would sell like hot cakes.
Communicore
Well-Known Member
Aka Epcot theme park lol
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but that's not the target demo. Disney wants little girls, who definitely won't be playing a Bioware title, they want sparkly things. Disney wants to sell $70 dresses that they can make in China for $6.50. Mulan and Pocahontas just don't cut it in that area.
Matt_Black
Well-Known Member
Exactly. The people who would buy Mulan merch aren't little girls.
Pixie VaVoom
Well-Known Member
maybe the dwarves would take her back in ???
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
*sigh* Remember when Fantasyland was set in fantasy and the other lands were set in (non-cartoon) idealized versions of real places? It's a shame we now have princesses wandering through the tropics and colonial America, especially when neither of their films have anything to do with either of those locations.
The only non-Fantasyland location that really seems like a good match is Pocahontas in DAK, and I'm not even sure how common she is there, now that Camp Minnie-Mickey is closed
Matt_Black
Well-Known Member
She was meeting there today, according to the MDE app. Her current spot is on the Discovery Island Trail.
As far as the non-Fantasyland location that's a good match, do you honestly mean to tell me that Mulan doesn't fit in China, even though her film is specifically set in China?
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
Within the scheme of characters meeting in World Showcase, it's one of the better fits (certainly better than Jose Carioca in Mexico or Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco)
However, I'm a bit old fashioned and believe that Wolrd Showcase should be a place to showcase the cultures, architecture, and traditions of the world, not a place to visit cartoon characters from an American film studio. I realize that this viewpoint is in a huge minority these days, and is probably unrealistic with what WDW has become (40 square miles of non-stop meet & greets), but it would be nice if the fantasy/cartoon/synergy elements didn't take over everything.
The Disney Difference used to be high quality experiences; now it's just cramming Disney characters in wherever you can
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
This
Communicore
Well-Known Member
That's what happens when a park changes from a "Center" to a "theme park."
Timothy_Q
Well-Known Member
I agree 150% with you. But we have to be realistic. There has to be a place for characters that don't fit in Fantasyland to meet (Epcot isn't that place). Having the Incredibles, Monsters Inc and Buzz in Fantasyland would be even worse than Jasmine in Adventureland
Agreed. It is "Walt Disney World". If you don't want Disney characters in world showcase, go to the actual country, not Disney World.
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
It just depends what you expect from WDW. If you expect corporate branding and character tie-ins around every corner, what they have now is great. If you expect them to create a new and unique experience (like it was when 3 of the 4 parks were originally built), then there's no reason for characters in World Showcase, even if it is part of Walt Disney World. It's just a difference of perspective, and I realize that I'm in a small minority these days
I mean I just don't know why it bothers people so much. It's still Walt Disney World as whole. Its not like Cinderella is walking around Hershey Park. I agree that putting Frozen in Norway along with the character princess dining is a bit much with the lines and such but its not out of the ordinary to see a character out and about in "Walt Disney World."
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
When Epcot (and even MGM) first opened, you would hear a lot of people say "We're going to Epcot today, and Disney World tomorrow". It wasn't because they didn't know they were connected (they had to buy tickets, after all), but because they felt so completely different. Epcot was a place to learn about science and the world. MGM was a peek behind the curtain of movie magic (in the days before DVD bonus features). The Magic Kingdom was the place where fantasy reigned and anything was possible. All of the parks combined had such a wide scope that it seemed like WDW truly was a whole world of its own
Today, it seems that the distinction between the parks has been blurred to the point of nearly not existing. DAK is where you find outdoorsy characters, Epcot has international and vaguely science-ey characters, MK has the 'traditional' characters, and the Studios has the characters they couldn't fit anywhere else. While none of the individual parks make for a bad standalone park these days, the similarities between them all makes the whole multi-day experience seem less vast and less grand. Instead of needing to see everything at every park, because it's all so different, you end up with a lot of skippable experiences because they're similar to things in other parks.
To me, it doesn't mean that any one park is a 'bad' park. It's just that when you combine it all together, you see that it's just missing the grand vastness, since there are so many pervasive similarities. On my last trip, I only spent 2 days in the parks, and I felt like I accomplished everything because there are so many similarities between the parks, despite seeing a small portion of what WDW actually has to offer
Hyperspace Hoopla
Well-Known Member
I think there was MORE corporate branding 30 years ago than there is today. Back then each ride had a corporate sponsor, and many attrations felt more like a commercial than anything else.
(Now I have Eastern Airlines "If you had wings" stuck in my head....)
Also, M&G's in EPCOT used to be a double decker bus that would randomly stop and unload a dozen characters in the middle of a mob that had been waiting for them. People would push and shove to try and meet as many as they could in the 10 or 15 minutes they were allotted before everyone got back on the bus and drove away. It's a lot safer now.
asianway
Well-Known Member
You can create a safe environment for meet n greets without permanent locations