It's at times like this when, despite all the wonderful personal friends I've made through being an online Spirit and all of the people at Disney I've ed off, I just wonder if 90% of fans are dumb schmucks who really have no idea what it is that they're fans of.
No, I'm not back in this thread to talk specifics beyond the basic truth that GotG IP does indeed appear heading for EPCOT after TDO balked at the ToT plans from Anaheim, not over any intrinsic feeling that what was being proposed was inherently wrong as it was of course, but simply that they can't keep their laughable Studios park open minus another major attraction.
No, I'm more interested with the psyches of fans who say ''this is super awesome kewl'' because they are why we get what we do.
How can anyone be a fan of everything EPCOT is supposed to be about and think that making it simply MK 2.0 with three annual food and booze festivals is the correct move and should be lauded by fans from Sanford to Windermere?
That's what most fans want. They want every Disney park to be the Magic Kingdom (and not the one that existed in the 70s-90s, either).
I am of the firm belief that for most fans, 'Disney' is the theme. Always and everywhere.
It isn't about history, about what came before, about basic tenets of themed development at all.
It's about the BRAND.
It's about Star Lord and Groot, Buzz and Woody, Han and Kylo, Thor and Hulk, Rapunzel and Flynn, Ariel and Eric, Pooh and Tigger etc etc all the way to Mickey and Minnie.
Nothing else matters.
Sure, add IP everywhere because it's hot now .. some of it may even be hot for decades.
This is what is driving today's Disney and it's because the fans are too stupid to know any better or care. And before someone says ''well, GotG is better than what's there now'' I'll say there are more choices than regular or decaf, Coke or Pepsi, second amen... nah, let's stop there.
Future World is truly a timeless concept. A decade from now people might not care about GotG, but they will care about the future. They will care about the land ... about the seas ... about energy ... about transportation ... about imagination. Those concepts don't get old.
EPCOT's core concepts were picked precisely because of their importance to mankind (not the ego of an IP obsessed CEO). The idea that they have somehow grown tired because Disney basically decided late in the 20th century that spending money by reinvesting in the park wasn't good short term business is as crazy as removing gator toys from the shelves of WDW retail outlets because some oversensitive crackpot might have an issue with them.
We could talk about real stuff, like how WDW staffing levels for the July 4th weekend will be woefully insufficient even if it is slow based on SDL caused cutbacks. And how Disney is trying to get another 1,000 folks working this weekend and has accomplished 28% of that. But who cares, right? Those bathrooms were sparkling before and those trashcans and walkways were clean, right?
I like to trash Millennials from time to time and then say ''but some of my best friends are ...'' but this isn't just a young person issue. This is a fan issue. It really goes back to whether you were a Disney parks fan between the 1950s and the 1990s or simply in the last 15 years or so. Disney loves you newbs. Such low expectations. Such misguided views on Walt Disney, WDW and themed entertainment as a whole. And so, so easy to get in your pants ... for your wallets, of course.
Y'all want those Horizons tees, Orange Bird pillows, and LE Walt pins. You have no clue as to why beyond they're what all your cool fanboi friends have bought. Oh, let's not forget tiki mugs or even other mugs because you can't empty those jugs without multiple mugs.
Told y'all how I had drinks with a Celebrity Imagineer back 5-6 years ago now at DL. We talked about WDW's past and then current state and future. And he said mournfully, ''WDW fans get what they deserve.''
I know he wasn't talking about me, but I am really tired of getting stuck with what you like, what you think is right and quality, what you want. But it is a losing battle because what you want is so much cheaper and easier to create and install, so you win.
Congrats! It might make you happy for a while, but you get bored very quickly (that's why you've already had eight iPhones).
Great. Now you can go back to playing with your Groot toy. My Spirited Sabbatical is officially on. Enjoy the summer. And watch out for Ginger ... she snaps!
