News Disney's own survey is a list of Walt Disney World's 50-anniversary shortcomings

[Sir_Cliff]

Goodness, even reading the lyrics is making me tear up. You don't see modern Disney making an Anniversary Song (or any special campaign) that beautiful and memorable nowadays. That song is right up there with "Celebration the Future Hand in Hand" and "Share A Dream Come True" in terms of memorability and emotion.

The 50th Anniversary Theme is mostly just repeating the word "The Magic is calling, calling, calling" and "The most magical place on earth" and sounds way to pop-ish for me. I honestly prefer the Beacons of Magic variations since those versions are shorter and I can tolerate.


Heck, "Forever Young" and "Live the Magic" (two songs for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary) are the most recent example that I personally love.




Meanwhile, the other two anniversary songs for WDW's 50th, I completely forgot about until now.

Not to be a broken record, but, again, Disneyland Paris has done this better with one key, catchy song they've used for everything... including Mickey illuminating the Eiffel Tower!

 

[cookiee_munster]

I swear the owners of an iridescent shop are somewhere in the world just rolling in money thanks to these celebrations...

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about The Magic Is Calling that just doesn't click compared to Remember The Magic and even "Share A Dream Come True". Can somebody in this thread give me a better explanation on why WDW's 50th Anniversary Theme can't click compared WDW's 25th Anniversary? Same with the ads I posted in this comment.

The simple answer is that "Remember The Magic" was completely backed by a committed, exciting event, while "The Magic Is Calling" is tied to a celebration that is disappointing in real-time. The 25th Anniversary did the work to get people in the mood to let a song adhere itself to their hearts, and the 50th isn't doing that.


The more complex answer is that the lyrics of "Remember the Magic" speak with a level of poetry, truth, and authenticity to both the moment guests were in - It acknowledged the value of a milestone anniversary by reminding guests of what they always loved about this place. Using lyrics that relate to the heart and mind, it let you personalize the song by filling in the blanks with your own specific emotions. It asked you to evaluate your memories and then encouraged you to keep holding onto them at a moment that celebrated significant passage of time. It pointed guests towards their nostalgia, which is a core tenant of celebrating an Anniversary, essentially reminding you that "Things here were always great", while you looked around and saw how great they were in that moment, which led you to believe they would continue to be great. It holds up well because it not only spoke to the moment it was written for, but its message still applies - the great memories you've made at Disney since the 25th get slotted in when you hear the song again. It gets richer with age.

"The Magic is Calling" is much more basic and instructional - the lyrics act less as an appeal to your emotions and more as a directive to your actions, using overly-trite phrases to try to tell you how you should be feeling, rather than painting any sort of picture that might conjur those feelings organically within you. The chorus itself is repetitive but empty - instead of feeling like a celebration of what we love about this place, it scans more as a manipulation. How exactly would one "answer the call", anyway? By plopping down thousands of dollars . . . that's true regardless of the song, but never has an "anthem" for Walt Disney World focused so little on the value for the guest that the company's deeper aims feel so thinly veiled. Not to mention how short the song is - there's no room to lose yourself in the lyrics or a memory, its over as quickly as it begins. The goal is to get stuck in your head more than to cling to your heart. It's not a theme song, it's a jingle.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

WDW's 50th Anniversary Celebration is a complete joke compared to their 25th Anniversary Celebration. Advertisements and commercials promoting it's 25th Anniversary between 1996-1997 all felt genuine, emotional, and cared about longtime visitors. Some used actual home video recordings from their first visit (1970s and 1980s at the time) from people.









Hell, "The Magic Is Calling" while catchy, barely holds a candle to "Remember The Magic" since that song was longer and focused on people's memories of WDW (and other things).


I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about The Magic Is Calling that just doesn't click compared to Remember The Magic and even "Share A Dream Come True". Can somebody in this thread give me a better explanation on why WDW's 50th Anniversary Theme can't click compared WDW's 25th Anniversary? Same with the ads I posted in this comment.

Listen to how passionate the composition is for Remember the Magic. Also, 90's Electric Piano (and they went for ULTIMATE cheese here with DX7, Crystal Rhodes and a layered Grand) = nostalgic.

They actually cared: this song stands alone from the 25th Anniversary. You are the Magic does not for the 50th.

 

[GladToBeHear]

"The Magic is Calling" is much more basic and instructional - the lyrics act less as an appeal to your emotions and more as a directive to your actions, using overly-trite phrases to try to tell you how you should be feeling, rather than painting any sort of picture that might conjur those feelings organically within you.

This statement pretty much encompasses the current era we live in.

 

[MrPromey]

The "feel the magic reawakening" line in The Magic Is Calling hits me in the feels post-COVID.

At my son's school, they refer to that area as the "no-no square" in P.E.

 

[brb1006]

I actually remember the 15th song as well

Fifthteen years….we’re having a party
Disney World….the party’s all year long!

For those that never heard WDW's 15th Anniversary Song.


Don't forget the famous "Disney World Is Your World" (aka "Disneyland Is Your Land" and "Tokyo Disneyland Is Your Land") which debuted for WDW's 10th Anniversary in 1981 (1980 for Disneyland's 25th Anniversary).



Fun Fact: Tokyo Disneyland is the only Disney Park that still uses this song (known as "Tokyo Disneyland Is Your Land") for their anniversaries (such as the show stop section of their "Happiness Is Here Parade" and "Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland".)



Man, Disney sure did put a lot of effort into their anniversary themes back in the 80s and 90s.

 

[brb1006]

The simple answer is that "Remember The Magic" was completely backed by a committed, exciting event, while "The Magic Is Calling" is tied to a celebration that is disappointing in real-time. The 25th Anniversary did the work to get people in the mood to let a song adhere itself to their hearts, and the 50th isn't doing that.


The more complex answer is that the lyrics of "Remember the Magic" speak with a level of poetry, truth, and authenticity to both the moment guests were in - It acknowledged the value of a milestone anniversary by reminding guests of what they always loved about this place. Using lyrics that relate to the heart and mind, it let you personalize the song by filling in the blanks with your own specific emotions. It asked you to evaluate your memories and then encouraged you to keep holding onto them at a moment that celebrated significant passage of time. It pointed guests towards their nostalgia, which is a core tenant of celebrating an Anniversary, essentially reminding you that "Things here were always great", while you looked around and saw how great they were in that moment, which led you to believe they would continue to be great. It holds up well because it not only spoke to the moment it was written for, but its message still applies - the great memories you've made at Disney since the 25th get slotted in when you hear the song again. It gets richer with age.

"The Magic is Calling" is much more basic and instructional - the lyrics act less as an appeal to your emotions and more as a directive to your actions, using overly-trite phrases to try to tell you how you should be feeling, rather than painting any sort of picture that might conjur those feelings organically within you. The chorus itself is repetitive but empty - instead of feeling like a celebration of what we love about this place, it scans more as a manipulation. How exactly would one "answer the call", anyway? By plopping down thousands of dollars . . . that's true regardless of the song, but never has an "anthem" for Walt Disney World focused so little on the value for the guest that the company's deeper aims feel so thinly veiled. Not to mention how short the song is - there's no room to lose yourself in the lyrics or a memory, its over as quickly as it begins. The goal is to get stuck in your head more than to cling to your heart. It's not a theme song, it's a jingle.

This comment has finally solved my decade long question why Disney World's 25th Anniversary Song was so beautiful.

 

[themerebear6453]

I went to the 25th anniversary when I was a kid, and I have been singing Remember the Magic ever since. It was a perfect song. I don't have it on tape or listen to it ever, but I think I know all of the words just because it was such a happy fun memory.

 

[Joel]

The real problem with "The Magic Is Calling" is that it should be called "The Magic Is Being Sent Directly to Voicemail".

 

[Casper Gutman]

I think TDO intentions were good, the follow through not so much. It seems the decorations, statues, and beacons of lights were early in the planning stage. They also had 3 major attractions planned to open during the 50th, which 2 have and there is still hope for the 3rd. Now those openings were obviously pushed back due to covid shutdowns, but still shouldn't have taken that long. The new technology with the interactive statues, new magic bands, and even Genie+ are all signs of foward thinking for a company trying new things and taking risk. We visit once a year so even Genie+ and Lightning Lane are time savers and worth the cost to me, for a local with annual passes I can see where they are a neusance. I live near Cleveland and visit Cedar Point regularly, average wait time for a large coaster averages an hour, add the fast lane and the hour becomes 2 hours, and at a $100 a peice for a day it's not worth it to me. Merchandise is not why I go to the parks, same with food options, although it's nice to try different things I could take them or leave them, doesn't matter to me. Entertainment is where they failed in the worst way. I will cut them some slack though, with all the covid distancing restrictions that were in place we were lucky to shows at all. Harmonious started out awesome. You can tell this was to be the big evening show for the celebration. What it lacks is the story and the emotion that we are use to with Wishes, HEA, and Illuminations. Can Harmonious be saved, YES, but it will take a great director to make it happen. Enchantment on the other hand fell flat on it's face. Disney would have been better taking the Memories and You show and adding photos of families from all 50 years of the parks. HEA was a great masterpiece to replace Wishes. Disney has a mountain to climb to top HEA. Hopefully this survey is a tool to make Epcots 40th and the parks 60th much better.

Those three rides were supposed to open well BEFORE the 50th. They were pushed back initially (pre-pandemic) so that Disney didn’t have to announce any more new rides for the 50th, which had been the plan.

Oh, and the fact that nothing beyond Tron has been announced means this is likely it for at least five years.

Man, I hope EU kicks WDW in the pants as hard as possible.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I swear the owners of an iridescent shop are somewhere in the world just rolling in money thanks to these celebrations...

Yeah, the EARidescent nonsense is one of the most baffling decisions in an event packed to the brim with them.

“So, what should be the aesthetic for the 50th anniversary of the worlds premiere theme park resort? How do we drum up excitement?”
“I’m thinking pale… washed-out… something that makes as little impression as possible… and then let’s make sure to choose some really ugly combinations of colors and make the banners unreadable.”
“Brilliant! Do it! Now who are you and why are you in my office?”

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Those three rides were supposed to open well BEFORE the 50th. They were pushed back initially (pre-pandemic) so that Disney didn’t have to announce any more new rides for the 50th, which had been the plan.

Oh, and the fact that nothing beyond Tron has been announced means this is likely it for at least five years.

Man, I hope EU kicks WDW in the pants as hard as possible.

My only concern there is that Disney has a bad habit of learning the wrong lessons from its competition. The success of the Wizarding World is what got us in this "Single-IP Themed Land" situation we're in now. There's been good that's come out of that, but it's a worrying trend. Not to mention somewhat unsustainable.

Disney does its best when they're playing their own game, rather than trying to show the competition they can beat them at theirs.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Yeah, the EARidescent nonsense is one of the most baffling decisions in an event packed to the brim with them.

“So, what should be the aesthetic for the 50th anniversary of the worlds premiere theme park resort? How do we drum up excitement?”
“I’m thinking pale… washed-out… something that makes as little impression as possible… and then let’s make sure to choose some really ugly combinations of colors and make the banners unreadable.”
“Brilliant! Do it! Now who are you and why are you in my office?”

I still don't understand how someone looked at the Golden Anniversary and said "I know JUST the color scheme for this!" and gave us "EARidescence".

Admittedly, some of the applications look nice - the Beacons of Magic come to mind - but it surprises me they didn't save it for the Diamond Anniversary in a decade. Not sure how they plan to make that look different.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

All this nostalgia aside…the pinnacle of wdw was from the pink castle to the 2000 thing…

And it all boils back to the management philosophy at that time was to get you back. #1 priority and it showed. They let the stock handle itself based on results.

And Bob the rat dumped all that. Don’t let his minions know

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

This comment has finally solved my decade long question why Disney World's 25th Anniversary Song was so beautiful.

I can break it down to something even simpler - "Remembering the magic" is an aspirational idea. "Answering the call" sounds perfunctory. They might as well have said "Book a Trip".

 

[GCTales]

The real problem with "The Magic Is Calling" is that it should be called "The Magic Is Being Sent Directly to Voicemail".

More like:

• Press 1 to wait in the queue with everyone else to hear the call. Wait time is currently 120 minutes.
• Press 2 to pay 19.95 to get a chance to not have to wait in the queue, plus have us call you back at 2am to tell you if you got in the Lightning Queue.
• Press 3 to pay 119.99 for the special `Magic is Calling` desert party, with a virtual cupcake and a pre-designated spot at the front of the queue.

 

[Randall1028]

I can break it down to something even simpler - "Remembering the magic" is an aspirational idea. "Answering the call" sounds perfunctory. They might as well have said "Book a Trip".

Exactly. I'm actually relived others have picked up on this. I was starting to think it was just me.

When I first heard "the magic is calling", I was immediately annoyed that this "celebration song" was basically commanding me to go to one of the most expensive vacation destinations. Worse yet, a destination that is adopting increasingly poor and restrictive customer service policies.

Like we somehow "owed it" to them to go just because the park has been around for 50 years.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Exactly. I'm actually relived others have picked up on this. I was starting to think it was just me.

When I first heard "the magic is calling", I was immediately annoyed that this "celebration song" was basically commanding me to go to one of the most expensive vacation destinations. Worse yet, a destination that is adopting increasingly poor and restrictive customer service policies.

Like we somehow "owed it" to them to go just because the park has been around for 50 years.

It's so telling the way the 50th Celebration lacks any real reverence for Walt Disney World . . . what it is, what it does, why its guests love it, and what their relationship with it is. The song is a clear, if accidental, encapsulation of that.

They're telegraphing loud and clear that they believe it's a given that people are so possessed to come that they need only be reminded that it's here. And to some extent, for a short while, they may be right. But, Disney, I have to tell you, anyone who's stopped coming isn't doing so because they forgot, and will likely need more than mere reminding before they come back.

The Magic is Calling . . . please leave a message after the beep.

 

[Disorbust]

With all this Nostalgia in this thread I thought I would add that Tapestry of Nations was playing at Confections Cafe last weekend. Now to find Illuminations.....