Backstage Visibility Issues - Will they be addressed?

RandySavage

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Like everyone else, I am excitedly taking in all the terrific updates - aerial and terrestrial - and am impressed by most of what I'm seeing of the FLE.

But there are a few major sightline questions I have, and I'm wondering if any of those here with inside connections know if/how they are going to be addressed. Considering Disney is going to the extent of creating the "rock arch" to hide the Mermaid showbuilding from the Circus area, I'd hope WDI/MK management are also thinking about these things.

The most egregious sightline issues:
1. The rear of the beauty & beast showbuildings that are easily visible from the dead center of old Fantasyland:
http://damouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC02410.jpg

2. The backside of Fantasyland which is now easily visible from the Railroad due to the extensive forest cleared for the new (fireworks?) pond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMcdNwcEZLM&feature=related
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6810385519_0fdee109b2_b.jpg

3. (Already discussed elsewhere). The Dumbo HVAC equipment.

***

Does anyone know if/how these will be addressed?
 

Mike730

Well-Known Member
I agree. I sincerely hope there is something being considered because it's the small details like this that make me want to keep coming back. The immersion is incredible.
The most egregious sightline issues:
1. The rear of the beauty & beast showbuildings that are easily visible from the dead center of old Fantasyland:
http://damouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC02410.jpg
This bothers me greatly. It honestly doesn't seem like a difficult fix at all. On another thread it was brought up that even gray paint on the buildings would make things 100 times better, and adding a bit more rockwork doesn't seem like it would take up too many resources

2. The backside of Fantasyland which is now easily visible from the Railroad due to the extensive forest cleared for the new (fireworks?) pond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMcdNwcEZLM&feature=related
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6810385519_0fdee109b2_b.jpg
This one I wasn't even aware of. To be honest from the video it doesnt seem that bad but I do see where it kinda ruins things. It stick outs especially because there is nothing else to look at at that moment. I feel like I did see some (what appeared to be) newly planted shrubs closer to the retention pond side of the wooded area so hopefully they will continue to grow.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
The most egregious sightline issues:
1. The rear of the beauty & beast showbuildings that are easily visible from the dead center of old Fantasyland:
http://damouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC02410.jpg

Looking WAY back to the original leaked blueprints, there is a large, meandering dark area covering the space from where the Castle Wall meets the Village Haus bathrooms, up to the corner of the Belle show building. This same dark color is used elsewhere in the blueprint to indicate groups of trees.

So my guess it that eventually there will be foliage, either real or fake, in this area, but it'll be one of the last things to go in. This area is also at least partially on top of the Utilidors, so it also may be that any live trees that go here will be placed in planters hidden from view behind the wall. So those would most definitely not go in until the bulk of the construction is done in the area.

It actually continues into the space shown on the blueprint for the Belle attraction, so I'm thinking it means the line of trees will extend up on top of the building somehow.

-Rob
 

RandySavage

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
^ I'm looking at that blueprint and I'm pretty sure the dark area your referring to demarks character rockwork (which is already in place), as all the stream rocks have the same cross-hatching as does the Mermaid Queue, the rockwork around the Tremain Chateau, etc.. Trees are indicated on the plan by the light circles (which you can see on an underlayer on the right side of the plan).
 

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
I will not be concerned until the project is complete and we still have a long way before that happens. EE was a similar project that was bashed for not closing in the back of the structure and a lot of complaining was heard during it's build. Of course the front of the structure and ride mechanics took presidence and the final part of the project was to close in the back.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
I will not be concerned until the project is complete and we still have a long way before that happens. EE was a similar project that was bashed for not closing in the back of the structure and a lot of complaining was heard during it's build. Of course the front of the structure and ride mechanics took presidence and the final part of the project was to close in the back.

Same thing happened with Cars Land at DCA. All the rockwork facing into the land was pretty much complete, but the back side was still open steal. They have only just recently started to close in the back. It's still possible that additional rockwork could be added to parts of Fantasyland, for example the part of the BatB building that is still showing.
 

ADP2

Member
I wouldn't worry too much about sight line problems. You can bet Disney is very careful about stuff like that. If a sight line problem were to be revealed after construction (unlikely) they would correct it very quickly by adding on, removing, or merging construction pieces. they are experts at sight lines and visuals being appealing to guests.
 

jayhawkmickey

Well-Known Member
I had noticed on some of the early artwork that the Beast's castle will have different hights of forced perspective trees around the base of the castle (which after all is smaller than it appears from the ground). In some of the latest hi res photos there are armatures sticking up from the rock work around the castle so I'm assuming they will be for small artificial trees to be placed later in construction. The poles seem to match the artwork locations and would frame the castle nicely along with hiding any backstage work. With Fla. weather I would guess that Disney wouldn't want them exposed and weathering any more than they had to. Besides nothing looks worse than an uncompleted jobsite. I'm sure when its done it will be amazing.
 

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't worry too much about sight line problems. You can bet Disney is very careful about stuff like that. If a sight line problem were to be revealed after construction (unlikely) they would correct it very quickly by adding on, removing, or merging construction pieces. they are experts at sight lines and visuals being appealing to guests.

Have you seen the backstage visibility to the left of the Plaza restaurant? That's been like that for 40 years.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
You wouldn't happen to have a photo of this would you? I live about a thousand miles away...

I presume they're talking about this:

SANY0108.JPG

(not my pic)

-Rob
 
Once foliage grows in, most of these problems will be solved. I still think the Speedway is going to be mercifully put down at some point, so the Dumbo hvac won't matter. There are already a lot of terrible views from the Railroad, so it's really no big deal. And they'll find some way to fix the views over by the Village Haus.

I've always wished that they could better theme the main Fantasyland buildings, especially the Pooh show building. There's some turrets and towers, but they're still clearly warehouse-style buildings. Just like the Plaza Inn, 40 years and counting on these.
 

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
:eek: Oh my lanta that's terrible. How have I missed that all these years? And how haven't they at least dressed it up a bit???

It's even worse. That picture only shows about a fourth of the backstage visibility. What I thought was hilarious one time. I overheard a keys to the kingdom tour guide talking right in that area in front of the restrooms about how attention to detail is so important to the Disney theme parks and how the smallest detail being out of place can ruin the fantasy. I had to chuckle at that one knowing how much of the backstage you can see if any of the customers would have just glanced upward.
 

Daannzzz

Well-Known Member
I presume they're talking about this:

SANY0108.JPG

(not my pic)

-Rob

It is funny. My first trip to WDW was in 1996. I was 40 and had been to Disneyland many, many times already. I saw this and for some reasone this has bothered me more than most everything else. I am unsure what it says to me. It couldn't be that they don't care. How much would it cost to put up some vinyl siding that looks like Board and Batten? I always imagined that if I suddenly woke up one morning in charge of the Walt Disney Company, this is the FIRST thing I would demand be fixed!!! Perhaps not logical but it would make me feel better.
 

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
Here is a shot of the entire angle of the backstage visibility. It's really quite hideous.
 

Attachments

  • 2-29-12 002.jpg
    2-29-12 002.jpg
    292.9 KB · Views: 139
  • 2-29-12 003.jpg
    2-29-12 003.jpg
    218.3 KB · Views: 135

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
What I find odd about that wall is that its always been there, and was designed that way by the same people who built the now Town Square Theater big enough to hide the Contemporary. :confused: Maybe it was for cost reasons that were never addressed afterwards? Or they thought a big, flat wall fit well with the original Tomorrowland look?

Old pictures of Haunted Mansion also show how badly visisble that attraction's show building was, but I guess they thought trees would eventually hide it.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom