Are Mickey and the gang no longer relevant to Disneyland?

[mharrington]

Between the rumors of the Frozen project taking over Toontown, at least in part (I hope), and a new rumor of a Mickey dark ride being added at the CA Adventure, I have to ask: are Mickey Mouse and his friends no longer relevant to Disneyland, the original park? I thought it was said that Disneyland was their home, but now it looks like Mickey and the gang are relegated to a secondary status, which I consider the CA Adventure to be. In fact, since this same kind of ride is also rumored to go to the Studios in Florida, it could also be argued that Mickey and the gang are irrelevant to the Magic Kingdom, too. Again, I consider the Studios be of secondary status to the Magic Kingdom and even Epcot. Does this mean that Mickey and the gang are basically of secondary and irrelevant to the castle parks now (at least in the States)?

Please explain, but just remember: no jokes or sarcasm, please.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I tend to think they're actually expanding their presence in the parks. MK has a strong Mickey presence and you can meet him, along with Pluto, Minnie, Daisy, etc. all around the park. To be fair, you can also meet Mickey at AK, Epcot and HS, but giving him a specific attraction in another park other than MK/DL is expanding and making them more relevant.

 

[mharrington]

I tend to think they're actually expanding their presence in the parks. MK has a strong Mickey presence and you can meet him, along with Pluto, Minnie, Daisy, etc. all around the park. To be fair, you can also meet Mickey at AK, Epcot and HS, but giving him a specific attraction in another park other than MK/DL is expanding and making them more relevant.

Well, meet-n-greets are a given; they don't really count. Yes, Mickey's house in Disneyland is essentially a meet-n-greet, but one that is elaborate and one where you don't have to do the meet-n-greet if you don't want to.

Now look at the CA Adventure: it has an entrance land themed to 1920s/'30s L.A. when Walt came and was just starting out, a roller coaster themed to Goofy, a swing ride themed to "The Band Concert", and a ferris wheel with Mickey's gangs smiling faces on the gondolas and the wheel itself. It would seem to me that the CA Adventure is where Mickey and the gang really belong, since Disneyland is basically being given over to the feature film characters (and Star Wars).

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Mickey's Toontown opened in 1993. This whole "character's houses where they live" concept is a new one and not one that Disneyland needs to survive. Every spare square inch resort wide is stamped with a Mickey head. When Toontown is finally removed, Mickey and friends will still be omnipresent for meet-n-greets and appearing in shows and parades resort wide, like they do now.

Disneyland got along fine for 38 years without Toontown, and it will get along fine without it.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

I feel that Mickey is well represented in Disneyland. The Mickey Floral is one of the first things that you see. The Partner Statue is Mickey and Walt pointing the way down Main Street. Mickey is always present in the parades of Disneyland, and there's usually a hidden Mickey lighting up the sky in the nightly fireworks. I don't think Mickey is going anywhere. He will be back when Fantasmic comes back to the Rivers of America.

 

[westie]

Remember,"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it all started with a mouse." Walt Disney Oct. 27, 1954.

 

[Rich T]

Toontown didn't open until 1988, and that only happened because of the success of Roger Rabbit. The park existed for 33 years (and the entirety of Walt's time in charge of things) without any dedicated Mickey-themed attractions beyond short film screenings in Fantasyland Theater and Main St. Cinema. Mickey is as relevant as ever, with or without toontown.

 

[Stevek]

Who are Mickey and gang? Were they in frozen? If not, I got no clue.




But seriously, I think they are absolutely 100% relevant today.

 

[Phroobar]

But seriously, I think they are absolutely 100% relevant today.

It's pretty incredible when you think about it. Here is a character created more than 100 years ago and kids still know who Mickey Mouse is.

However I wonder how many visitors (non-disney fans) to Disneyland know who this is:

or who this guy is if they are at the Magic Kingdom:

 

[Rich T]

It's pretty incredible when you think about it. Here is a character created more than 100 years ago and kids still know who Mickey Mouse is.

However I wonder how many visitors (non-disney fans) to Disneyland know who this is:

Anyone who can't answer correctly should be ejected from the grounds by Mickey himself. ("Thanks for comin' folks! No refunds! Haha!")

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

Anyone who can't answer correctly should be ejected from the grounds by Mickey himself. ("Thanks for comin' folks! No refunds! Haha!")

Why? There's zero reason for anyone to know.

 

[deix15x8]

It's hard to compare Mickey and his friends to the characters from the movies. The movie characters have a set plot that they can recreate in a ride. Mickey and the rest are more generic characters that can be applied to any purpose including as part of other franchises. The way that Disney uses them seems to fit more as the hosts of the park. They are present every where, usually leading guests on an adventure involving the other franchises. Without them I think the park would feel a bit disjointed. They are kind of like the physical embodiment of Walt Disney and his company. With the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney JR I think their as known to the youngest of kids as any other generation, but even on their they play all sorts of roles from farmer to astronaut. If they weren't leading or closing the parades and hosting the shows I would think they are losing relevance, but at the moment they still seem as in the spot light as ever even if they didn't have a dedicated area. They just do it through their physical presence there rather than a ride for people to go to.

 

[yookeroo]

but just remember: no jokes or sarcasm, please.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

They are secondary to the Frozen, Star Wars and Marvel funny book characters.

 

[Phroobar]

They are secondary to the Frozen, Star Wars and Marvel funny book characters.

No. Not really. Looking at the merchandise in the World of Disney store, the Fab Five are still on top followed closely by the Princesses. They are all over the park and generate huge lines. They are the hosts and guides of the parks. SW and Marvel are still small parts of the show.

 

[Phroobar]

I would say that SW and Marvel are a little more popular than POTC and HM as far as merchandise is concerned.

 

[Rich T]

Why? There's zero reason for anyone to know.

I was joking, but now... "Zero" reason to know who created Disneyland? That makes me sad. Folks could also say there's zero reason to know who their ancestors were, how far away the sun is, or who painted the Mona Lisa. They should know who created Disneyland simply because knowing "more" gives people more perspective and chances to grow than knowing "less" does. Ouch...I fell off my soapbox!

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was joking, but now... "Zero" reason to know who created Disneyland? That makes me sad. Folks could also say there's zero reason to know who their ancestors were, how far away the sun is, or who painted the Mona Lisa. They should know who created Disneyland simply because knowing "more" gives people more perspective and chances to grow than knowing "less" does. Ouch...I fell off my soapbox!

This is why Disney hasn't been caring about history and tradition at Disneyland...we've got people who couldn't care less.

 

[Phroobar]

I was joking, but now... "Zero" reason to know who created Disneyland? That makes me sad. Folks could also say there's zero reason to know who their ancestors were, how far away the sun is, or who painted the Mona Lisa. They should know who created Disneyland simply because knowing "more" gives people more perspective and chances to grow than knowing "less" does. Ouch...I fell off my soapbox!

I guess we are saying there is some kinds of trivia that everyone should know. Unfortunately, people live in bubble and only those things that get into the bubble are things they know about. It's impossible to know everything that every group thinks is important. We have access to the sum of human knowledge yet most people couldn't tell you the names of the last ten American Presidents yet some people can name every football or baseball statistic from the last hundred years. Just because you go to Disneyland doesn't make you a geek about all things Disney. It's just a place you and family went for the day.

 

[Rich T]

I guess we are saying there is some kinds of trivia that everyone should know. Unfortunately, people live in bubble and only those things that get into the bubble are things they know about. It's impossible to know everything that every group thinks is important. We have access to the sum of human knowledge yet most people couldn't tell you the names of the last ten American Presidents yet some people can name every football or baseball statistic from the last hundred years. Just because you go to Disneyland doesn't make you a geek about all things Disney. It's just a place you and family went for the day.

People can't know everything, but the more you know the more you can appreciate everything around you. You can certainly have a blast and a family bonding experience at DL without knowing a thing about the place, but if you also happen to know a bit about where it came from--even the first couple of sentences of a Google search--it can at the very least provide additional depth--and a connection to other things you know about--to the experience. You can enjoy a classic painting in a museum just for the beautiful image, but when you take a moment to learn just a bit about the artist, the country, and the time period it was created in, then your perception of the universe around you grows a bit more. Any DL trip is better than no DL trip, but knowledge makes everything better, except when it comes to celebrities' personal lives on Twitter.