epcot wand....

[EPCOT Explorer]

Festival of the Lion King doesn't fit the theme of Camp Minnie Mickey at all. How did an African talking lion and folk singers end up in a summer camp in the Adarondak (oh I mangled that)?

At least it fits the theme of the park...The Wand didn't even fit in with EPCOT.Futurism and Global Cultures do not equal wands and fantasy.

yeah imagine if Times Square left the ball up year round instead of just dropping it at New Years. It kind of loses its magic.

Better analogy....please don't flame me...what if the birthday castle stayed that way for years and years???

I was indifferent about the wand, if it stayed then so be it, but now that it came down I do think it looks much better.

Exactly!Hence the gaudy and over the top stigma.

AT&T was in the tail end of its sponsorship term and probably had little intention of renewing when the wand went up. Furthermore, since nothing had really been done with the Spaceship Earth attraction itself, AT&T probably didn't see the removal of the wand as cost effective.

Siemens possibly did, especially when you consider the licensing fees that would be necessitated had it been seen in Siemens promotional material. The sphere can be anywhere... a sphere with a giant Mickey hand can be found in only one place. Licensing conflict arises because of that.

The guests would have had nothing to do with it.

You just said it yourself!...The Wand did not fit the theme.


And why are we STILL arguing this?The Wand has been gone for a year!The Fanboys already won here.

 

[cymbaldiva]

well, i went back in 2006 and it was still up and i didn't understand why it said 2000....and i didn't know what the whole thing was about. and i didn't and don't go all the time...........

I'm not sure that I'm understanding your post ... after 2000 the wand said Epcot, not 2000...

 

[Fun2BFree]

You may think it is randomly placed sculpture, but if you look at an birds eye view picture of the park i came across on the picture of the day thread, you can see it is part of a huge hidden mickey.

Yes, but the Hat only served to distort the Mickey. In days gone by, there was a small green where the hat was, forming Mickey's nose. Being that the Hat is quite a bit bigger than the green was, it encroaches upon Mickey's "eyes".

 

[Legacy]

You just said it yourself!...The Wand did not fit the theme.


And why are we STILL arguing this?The Wand has been gone for a year!The Fanboys already won here.

Where did I say the wand didn't fit the theme? I never stated that.

And if the fanboys "won" the wand debate, reality "won" against Mr. Toad.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

See,now that's something I didn't know...Why was Toad removed?

And you said that the Wand would look out of place next to a sphere...giving me the impression that it's unthemed.

 

[Timmay]

...why did everyone dislike it so much?????

Not every single person disliked it. There was only a few very vocal people right here on this board that disliked it because it didn't fit into the nice little mold they thought Epcot should be.

 

[Testtrack321]

Not every single person disliked it. There was only a few very vocal people right here on this board that disliked it because it didn't fit into the nice little mold they thought Epcot should be.

Only a few people on this board hated it and caused Disney to remove it? Damn we're good!


Or it could be the fact there were more people, including those high up who have standards, who also didn't like it.

 

[Legacy]

See,now that's something I didn't know...Why was Toad removed?

And you said that the Wand would look out of place next to a sphere...giving me the impression that it's unthemed.

No, I said that a sphere with a giant Mickey hand could be found in one place, meaning that it is completely unique to Disney.

Spheres made out of triangles can be seen in a lot of places on a smaller scale. The uniqueness of Spaceship Earth's architecture (from an outside perspective) comes strictly from its size (that's not getting into the actual fact that a ride is what holds it up). The Wand, much to a fan boy's chagrin, actually made the golf ball "Disney."

It's the same reason why the hat was built as a new "icon". Grahm's Chinese Theater isn't "Disney;" A hat with mouse-ears is.

 

[jakeman]

At least it fits the theme of the park...The Wand didn't even fit in with EPCOT.Futurism and Global Cultures do not equal wands and fantasy.

If that is the logic of the arguement then there should be no complaining about Laugh Floor. It fits the theme of the park therefore it gets the same pass Lion King does. Rule and arguements can't be twisted to apply just to a certain park or attraction.

Only a few people on this board hated it and caused Disney to remove it? Damn we're good!

Or it could be the fact there were more people, including those high up who have standards, who also didn't like it.

Or it could be the simple licensing issue that was discussed earlier in the thread. You know I'm seeing a pattern here, of us not knowing the reason. Fan boys will claim it was the result of their grand crusade and the more logic minded will point out that there is no evidence to that effect, while the 99% of average guest at Epcot won't really care.

 

[Legacy]

Only a few people on this board hated it and caused Disney to remove it? Damn we're good!


Or it could be the fact there were more people, including those high up who have standards, who also didn't like it.

Standards?

You're going to start implying that those who did like the wand don't have standards? Frankly, the reason for it's removal that had nothing to do with personal preference was discussed ad nauseum already. Siemens didn't want to pay Disney licensing fees on promotional material when a giant wand that screamed "Epcot" was going to be on it.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

why are we still talking about this :lookaroun

 

[wannab@dis]

Or it could be the fact there were more people, including those high up who have standards, who also didn't like it.

Of course... anyone that didn't hate the wand didn't have any standards, huh?

So, that's fanboy logic? :brick:

 

[Legacy]

why are we still talking about this :lookaroun

Because it's actually a pretty enjoyable discussion.

For me at least...

 

[wannab@dis]

why are we still talking about this :lookaroun

Interesting, whenever logic fails to back up the claims of the few, they seem to want the thread to die. :veryconfu

:lookaroun

 

[krankenstein]

It's the same reason why the hat was built as a new "icon". Grahm's Chinese Theater isn't "Disney;" A hat with mouse-ears is.

Just to clarify, the BAH was originally added as part of Walt's 100th birthday celebration. In keeping with the wand they removed the 100 Year's of Magic logo and left it sitting there to become the DHS's new "icon". The original "icon" was the Earful Tower not the Theater.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

no, its just that with the endless arguments made about the wand when it was up and now it is gone, there is still major discussion over it

grant it its like the people who probably place flowers infront of mission space for a horizons funeral, but even I can look back at horizons fondly, would love to ride M:S but can't

 

[Legacy]

Just to clarify, the BAH was originally added as part of Walt's 100th birthday celebration. In keeping with the wand they removed the 100 Year's of Magic logo and left it sitting there to become the DHS's new "icon". The original "icon" was the Earful Tower not the Theater.

Touche'

"Weenie" would be a better term for it.

The Earful Tower, though unique and cool, was positioned terribly to be an effective "icon."

 

[krankenstein]

grant it its like the people who probably place flowers infront of mission space for a horizons funeral, but even I can look back at horizons fondly, would love to ride M:S but can't

Why can't you? Green has absolutely no spinning and will not make anyone sick. True, you won't get the full experience (which is what makes the ride), but you could at least experience it.

 

[krankenstein]

Touche'

"Weenie" would be a better term for it.

The Earful Tower, though unique and cool, was positioned terribly to be an effective "icon."

Yep, from what I have read on the net, that is one of the reasons the BAH has remained. I don't like the placement for my own personal reasons, but it takes care of that "weenie/icon" problem.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

I'm not going to contribute to any wandness of the discussion, but legacy does make a good point about "Disney". For me, my little humble opinion as a fanboy, waltie, humble peoplemover person, "Disney" had more room for a brand and identity when walt was alive and through the card walker era, even though card walker didn't know what the hell EPCOT Center was going to be IMHO.

"Disney" back then was about providing new and unique experiences for all, yes a giant wand next to a big golfball is pretty new and unique, however Walt Disney still saught to try and find new things to make, new goals, dreams, rides, and shows. Of course there were the characters and the princesses, but it never was overdone.

Heck, he was more concerned with building EPCOT the city than he was with the Magic Kingdom.

It seems that making "Disney" more "Disney" could be dangerous in the end when people begin to think that the only thing Disney can offer is pirates and princesses and pixar. "Oh why do you still go there, it's just the same stuff repeated differently"

Joe Rhode to me isn't current "Disney", he's the part of Disney that the public isn't familiar with due to current branding and image, he's the part of Disney that creates new and unique expereinces like E:E and the yak and yeti that do not rely on movie characters and same old same old disney magic, he creates new magic that is still popular. :wave: