Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II)

[Eddie Sotto]

Just read that Disneyland will doing a Marc Davis Centennial celebration on March 7th, this year . . . on the "west side" of Disneyland. I think this will be part of the Limited Time Magic thing, and they are hinting at "special attractions", maybe they'll put the Hatbox ghost in the Haunted Mansion for a day!

Or maybe they will put Pirates back to the original "pre feast" chase scene?

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I was once told "If everything is special, nothing is special."

True. I like the minimalism/pure pastels of BVS.

I wonder if this is the final paint job for the bridge? I see that the mottling of the paint was purposefully done, if only because I've seen it on so many strip malls that have gotten a facelift paint job. Seems a little too modern somehow.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

I have not seen the bridge in person with the colorization (as it might look fine in context), but sometimes restraint is a good thing and letting the eye rest on what is the most important element to discover is better than making everything a "10". It's not elaborately detailed as was it's source, so I'm not sure you'd want to call attention to that by painting in the panels. The Glendale/Hyperion bridge is near WDI and where Walt's Hyperion Studio was located. Nice reference!

 

[flynnibus]

I can see where they were trying to go with the new paint job. The older style made the bridge sort of look like a big unwieldy piece of concrete . . . like so much of our interstate system

Because that's what it was modeled after.. and the style comes from the architecture.. not the materials. The new paint job makes it look like brick mixed in.. which in a vacuum gives it more pop - it completely takes away from the inspiration of the piece.

Heck, the stucco CCC looks plain too.. maybe they should spice that up...

Bad choice DCA...

 

[lazyboy97o]

I was once told "If everything is special, nothing is special."

I think this is a big problem with Disney today and the industry as a whole in ways. A lot of the tempo and spacing which made Disneyland so amazing, such as the reveal created by going around Main Street Station, are lost for a constant yelling for attention. Themed spaces are becoming the chaotic urban environments from which John Hench said themed entertainment provides relief.

 

[Darth Sidious]

I would have continued to just dress the bridge up like they did here:

Either that or add a stylized street sign that read 'Buena Vista Street'.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Heck, the stucco CCC looks plain too.. maybe they should spice that up...

Don't give them any ideas.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Nice. Where's the gold?
That paint scheme is actually pretty typical of the period.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

I have always envisioned the old PR films of Walt having fun with Imagineers as being the norm. Instead, it sounds more like a competitive atmosphere in which individuals have to work against a corporate and peer pressure type of atmosphere.

It can be. And as with any big corporation, there are politics that you pretty much cannot escape. But each project is broken down into small teams that do certain aspects of that job. And I think you can have a lot of fun within that team if you have the right individuals and the right attitude. I have always found that the best attitude is one of trying to achieve the best final result. So you don't criticize the individual, you objectively criticize the product with the attitude that everyone just wants that product to be better. Everyone on the team including the leader needs to recognize that they are not there to elevate themselves but to elevate the product. When the product wins, all boats rise on that tide of success. Sometimes the issue becomes the fact that the leader has taken exclusive credit for the work of the entire team and they are not recognized in any way. Like a director on a movie, you can usually name your favorite directors but it's harder to name your favorite writers. Where would the movie of been without the writer? So these collaborative mediums are not always as fair as people would like them to be. I am the figurehead of Main Street for Disneyland Paris, And I did do a tremendous amount of design and direction on that project, but obviously there were many, many talented and hard-working people that made that project a success and no one person can the claim that they did the whole thing themselves.
I try to mention many of those individuals that made such a tremendous difference on this thread from time to time, because those who also enjoy the parks are forever in their debt. The essence of Imagineering is the coming together of almost different skills in the first place. So the success of Imagineering as a process depends upon a team atmosphere.The Show designer or Producer is still responsible to deliver the "big idea" in a cohesive way and serve all those other masters of the schedule and budget. But of course, if there's no big idea it can never pay for itself. It's hard to brag that your flop was delivered on time and on budget.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Here's a brief article about an Imagineer you probably have not heard of, but someone who makes our attractions look incredibly good with his faultless eye for detail. John Patrick Burke. His knowledge of history and especially the American West made him somene I wished I knew when I was back at Knott's. This story is about a trestle.

http://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/wheres-my-trestle.html

 

[Omnispace]

Here's a brief article about an Imagineer you probably have not heard of, but someone who makes our attractions look incredibly good with his faultless eye for detail. John Patrick Burke. His knowledge of history and especially the American West made him somene I wished I knew when I was back at Knott's. This story is about a trestle.

http://davelandblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/wheres-my-trestle.html

Fascinating story. It's unfortunate that they decided to dismantle the scene after the tree fell on it instead of repairing it. It's such carefully crafted vignettes that enrich the experience.

I always wished that they made more of the former mine train area accessible with paths or something. Still, it's a pretty area to look at.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Just back from DLP, Eddie. Your work on Main Street is just terrific. And the park was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Guess the park had to be beautiful- Paris itself is the standard. Trip report starting on Monday on my blog. Shameless plug!

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Fascinating story. It's unfortunate that they decided to dismantle the scene after the tree fell on it instead of repairing it. It's such carefully crafted vignettes that enrich the experience.

I always wished that they made more of the former mine train area accessible with paths or something. Still, it's a pretty area to look at.

We investigated making that part of the BT trail an "Miner's Camp" or tent city of sorts with food and merchandise and some trails. We wanted to incorporate Pat's work.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

We investigated (back in the 1990's) making that part of the BT trail a "Miner's Camp" or tent city of sorts with food and merchandise and some trails. We wanted to incorporate Pat's work.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

No offense meant to anyone here or anyone officially associate with this great site, but a question. Eddie, why did you choose this site to post on? Anybody would be thrilled to have you.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

We investigated making that part of the BT trail an "Miner's Camp" or tent city of sorts with food and merchandise and some trails. We wanted to incorporate Pat's work.

That's interesting, I never really felt a strong connection, thematically, between Big Thunder and the Big Thunder Ranch/Pass area, even though they share a name and some rockwork.

I would hope that eventually Big Thunder Ranch, especially the former Festival of Fools area is gutted and the land is expanded below the train tracks like in Critter Country. It would be neat if there were a couple of meandering scene paths around this area as well. I guess we'll have to see how Oz and Lone Ranger do at the box office.

 

[Omnispace]

We investigated making that part of the BT trail an "Miner's Camp" or tent city of sorts with food and merchandise and some trails. We wanted to incorporate Pat's work.

Sounds nice. Was this before they did the festival area??

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Sounds nice. Was this before they did the festival area??

Yes. it was across from the ride and we wanted to extend the BTM theme of the Miner's "Boom Town" idea with the half tents they used to do back then. I probably have a copy of the sketch I did of the area.

 

[Omnispace]

Yes. it was across from the ride and we wanted to extend the BTM theme of the Miner's "Boom Town" idea with the half tents they used to do back then. I probably have a copy of the sketch I did of the area.

The nice part about it is that it would have extended the reach of the Frontierland "town" area and it makes sense being a more temporary settlement on the edge of town down by the river. I'll have to admit that in their historic context the tent structures may have been a bit too "rough" but I'm sure they could have been made to look like they fit into Disneyland. Was there to be any gold panning for the guests? ...or was that considered to be too "Knott's"??

 

[jt04]

Hi Eddie, been away for a few days and wanted to respond to your comments about 'Independence, USA'. Just thoughts as they occur to me based on my personal assumptions about the project which seems very much 'blue sky' phase.

I think one of the keys is in the title of the park. It is not about recreating an Amish experience as someone sarcastically mentioned. Modern energy technology will be a key aspect. They are hoping to build on concepts Tesla was working on. Further, he intends for the project to be energy independent. He hopes to develop technologies that will allow homes, schools, businesses etc to exist independent of the grid. I think his agricultural facilities will be designed to educate and develop systems for people and communities to have a certain capacity for food independence so as not to be too reliant on a global system that may be subject to disruption through natural or man-made events. Sort of like is featured in the Land pavilion but also Horizons but on a much more accessable level to the average person. These are just two aspects of the project. As you mentioned it will also include movie studios, television production and educational programs. There is a huge underserved market for entertainment and education that is not always skewed towards a profoundly narrow POV. He is attracting major talent with this concept. People in the entertainment industry are already responding to the challange Beck is creating. The tide is turning.

The foundation of the park, in my opinion, will be the revival of American history, so much of which has been erased from history books. I have absolutely no doubt he will educate people about all aspects of the American story including both the good and the bad. I think you could consider the American Adventure at Epcot a sort of "movie trailer" for what he has in mind. It will be a place to educate on that which has been forgotten or erased, a museum for displaying the actual documents etc, and an archive for preservation and scholarly research. People will be stunned by the scope of the project and what has been hidden from them about their history across the political spectrum. I expect it to eventually rival anything at the best museums and archives in the US.

The 4th of July (Independence Day) show he mentions will take place this year I believe. Although I do not think the specifics have been announced. From what I can tell it will be something akin to Illuminations but on a much bigger scale. I then expect it could become part of Independence, USA when it is built.

I found your comments fascinating and the pitfalls you mention are well reasoned. It will be fun to watch the project evolve as they work through the creative process.