Hand and Wand to come down?

[Bratstarman]

It has a lot of different purposes.

First and foremost of which is to signify Epcot as a Disney park. Yes, there were a lot of people that didn't know it was.

Yep, I imagine there were lot's of people who went to Disney World, stayed in a Disney hotel, rode Disney busses, and had no clue they were entering a Disney Park.

I'm so glad we now have that stinkin wand so we have no confusion. And I hear they are planning to add Dumbo ears to the Tree of Life...

As for me, I just would have named the place "Disney's EPCOT", but what do I know?

 

[Champion]

Yep, I imagine there were lot's of people who went to Disney World, stayed in a Disney hotel, rode Disney busses, and had no clue they were entering a Disney Park.

I'm so glad we now have that stinkin wand so we have no confusion. And I hear they are planning to add Dumbo ears to the Tree of Life...

As for me, I just would have named the place "Disney's EPCOT", but what do I know?

You'd be surprised. Some people really don't know, and I'm not talking about 1 in 10,000. More like 5%. You've never heard people say things like "we went to Disney (meaning MK) yesterday, today we are going to the one with the big ball." ?

Why do you think its the *Disney* MGM Studios and *Disney* Animal Kingdom?

 

[JWG]

Why do you think its the *Disney* MGM Studios and *Disney* Animal Kingdom?

Honesly? And I'm not saying this to disagree with you or provoke a words war, but partially because Disney is a marketing and media ________ who loves to get their name on as many things as possible.

I went to a monthly luncheon sponsored by the University of MN business school that features the Sr. or Exec. VP of Acctg/Finance for Disney (thought not the Controller), that was supposed to be about successful branding in the 21st century. Why a Finance guy gave this, I don't know.

Anyway... it was nothing but a 1 hour commercial for Disney. All he did was advertise their products and theme parks.

I guess, in a way, it was a marketing genius, get a bunch of people (I mean a lot) together to hear what they think is a strategy discussion and give them a 1 hour sales pitch. It get Disney in front of a crowd they maybe don't normally get.

Anyway, I think part of the reason for "Disney" in front of everything now is they just like their name everywhere possible. Not saying that's good or bad.

 

[donniedisney]

I love the people on this page who ________ and moan about threads being repeated but it seems like everyday someone has to open this one about the stupid wand..

news flash, loving it or crying about it isnt going to change a damn thing, the wand isnt costing them money and its not going to save them money to take it down.

its not going anywhere anytime soon. GET OVER IT

 

[SirNim]

You'd be surprised. Some people really don't know, and I'm not talking about 1 in 10,000. More like 5%. You've never heard people say things like "we went to Disney (meaning MK) yesterday, today we are going to the one with the big ball." ?

Why do you think its the *Disney* MGM Studios and *Disney* Animal Kingdom?

There's a perfect solution for this, a solution which doesn't require the bastardization of an architectural icon:

Promote Epcot on the Disney Channel.

Promote Epcot on ABC.

Promote Epcot in the media.

Maybe if Disney marketed Epcot as a cool, fun, hip place to be on TV, then maybe they wouldn't feel the need to keep a giant 200-ft disembodied rodent limb up for seven + years to drive home the connection between this theme park and corporation.

 

[ASilmser]

I love the people on this page who ________ and moan about threads being repeated but it seems like everyday someone has to open this one about the stupid wand..

news flash, loving it or crying about it isnt going to change a damn thing, the wand isnt costing them money and its not going to save them money to take it down.

its not going anywhere anytime soon. GET OVER IT

CHILL-- !

This is a DISCUSSION board, which means that as long as the topic remains interesting to people, it will be discussed. The title of the thread has not changed, and there is no invisible force compelling you to view it. If the topic bothers you so much just pass it by.

This is also a RUMOR board, which means that people speculate, hope, or wonder about what may happen at WDW. The recent changes to SE, both the attraction and the post show, are valid reasons to speculate about the future of the wand. My gut says it will stay, but I don't mind people giving reasons why they think (or hope) it might go.

If I ever get sick of reading about the wand, I won't look at the threads about the wand. I suggest you do the same.

 

[CThaddeus]

They already have promoted the heck out of that Park. Since opening day there have been dozens of specials involving it (The EPCOT Center Opening Celebration starring Danny Kaye, for one), it's always a part of the Christmas and the former Easter Parades shown on ABC, and for me, one of the best reminders that Spaceship Earth was a part of the Disney group of Parks was that opening sequence for the Magical World of Disney in the late 80s and early 90s. During it they zoomed in on Spaceship Earth, where Mickey was standing atop it doing his Sorcerer's Apprentice thing (sans wand, as always). Disney is the best at pushing their Parks and their products. Every time a new attraction opened, there was a special for it. So, if people didn't know EPCOT was a Disney Park, then I'm sorry, they were living in a freaking cave. I personally think Spaceship Earth is one of Disney's most famous icons. And if you still don't know you're in a Disney Park and Epcot by the time you reach Spaceship Earth, then truly you've got your head up your rear. I'd like to sugar coat that, but I just don't see how. Like others have mentioned, there are billboards everywhere on the way, the toll booth has a huge Epcot sign on it, the Monorail (another Disney icon) glides right into the Park, and there's at least three other references to the name Epcot before you go through the turnstile. The Wand is just a huge slap in the face to those of us who a) have a clue, b) admire beautiful architecture, and c) understand that Disney is more than just a place to see cartoon characters plastered on everything.
Will the Wand ever come down? I don't know. But it really would be nice to see it disappear forever and give tourists a little credit for having a brain.

 

[marni1971]

There was an earlier statement that the old EPCOT was not very successful...

Indeed there was, and I`ve yet to see substantiated figures showing that. WDWs attendence record was broken in 82-83 in the parks first year; in an age when foreign tourists were still a very small minority. Even before Horizons opened, and with the Imagination ride 5 months late, EPCOT Center was successful beyond Walkers and Millers dreams.

 

[mousermerf]

Epcot existed with MGM in a sort of perilous balance. After MGM opened, Epcot had to deal with not eclipsing MK because attendance was diluted between MGM and Epcot.

Then AK opened. Epcot took a hard hit and MGM dropped as well. Overall attendance for WDW stayed relatively the same though, even slightly higher.

Since then, the 4 parks sort of moved in synch. Epcot was able to garner a focus with some events like the millennium and "grow" back to near its original numbers. MGM and AK both grew as well. Now AK is growing faster then MGM and about the surpass it. MGM is still higher though, and Epcot has also managed to become the "prefered park" of WDW's local fanbase.

So, with Epcot back at the 10-12mil range, overall attendance at WDW is way up. AK has added numerous more people and MGM is holding its own. Serious expansion of the current parks or even a new park would need to be put in place if the parks got much higher attendance then they currently have.

 

[capellt]

I thought it was left up to spawn a new thread at least once a week on internet message boards?

I agree, it must be doing it's job then

 

[donniedisney]

CHILL-- !

This is a DISCUSSION board, which means that as long as the topic remains interesting to people, it will be discussed. The title of the thread has not changed, and there is no invisible force compelling you to view it. If the topic bothers you so much just pass it by.

This is also a RUMOR board, which means that people speculate, hope, or wonder about what may happen at WDW. The recent changes to SE, both the attraction and the post show, are valid reasons to speculate about the future of the wand. My gut says it will stay, but I don't mind people giving reasons why they think (or hope) it might go.

If I ever get sick of reading about the wand, I won't look at the threads about the wand. I suggest you do the same.

than why do people on this board throw fits when people post threads more than once? no matter how many times you discuss it, no executive at disney is going to read this and tear it down.

 

[capellt]

than why do people on this board throw fits when people post threads more than once? no matter how many times you discuss it, no executive at disney is going to read this and tear it down.

helps with self-esteem I guess lol

 

[benji]

I never thought I would hear myself say this but.....I think the wand is starting to grow on me. Last visit to Epcot I got a good look at the wand and it wasn't that bad. I think the thing about the wand that really takes away from Spaceship Earth are all the red stars on it. If it was just the wand and no stars it will look a lot better. On the other hand if they take the wand down with the stars I won't lose sleep over it. The same thing happend with Mickeys hat at MGM. It looked odd at first but know I love the hat. I think we should make peice with the wand because it looks like it will be up forever.

 

[kcnole]

The original concept was fantastic. Nothing else in the history of my life has inspired me as much as my memories of Epcot ala 87 do. I remember back to my visits there and how I was inspired to learn all about the world around me. I was just a child, but I remember thinking how amazing all of these upcoming ideas for the future were and wanting to know how I could be a part of that. It's one of the main reasons I became a college educator. EPCOT Center truly changed and inspired thousands and thousands of people. It's a shame that Disney is willing to throw away that inspiration for a quick and easy sell. Epcot was always different than the MK, it had a completely different purpose, and yes one that would take constant updates and expenditures to make work. It couldn't just be left standing and continue to sell. But when it worked right, boy was it perfect.

My memories of EPCOT Center from a child are full of visions of the future, the beauty of human imagination and innovation, of a world where we were all neighbors no matter what nation we were from. The theme wasn't completely obvious that tied World Showcase and Future World together, but when you looked at it closely it was. Human innovation, invention, communication, etc... were the chords that should be nurtured to tie all of mankind together. That message is one that is needed more than ever in todays turbulent times. I'd love to see it coming from EPCOT.

 

[CThaddeus]

I never thought I would hear myself say this but.....I think the wand is starting to grow on me. Last visit to Epcot I got a good look at the wand and it wasn't that bad. I think the thing about the wand that really takes away from Spaceship Earth are all the red stars on it. If it was just the wand and no stars it will look a lot better. On the other hand if they take the wand down with the stars I won't lose sleep over it. The same thing happend with Mickeys hat at MGM. It looked odd at first but know I love the hat. I think we should make peice with the wand because it looks like it will be up forever.

I'd like to make pieces out of the Wand. Does that count?
It's grown on me too, like a big nasty wart.

 

[Bratstarman]

I'd like to make pieces out of the Wand. Does that count?
It's grown on me too, like a big nasty wart.

I guess it could be worse - they could have turned the sphere into a giant pink cake.

In all seriousness, the entry to EPCOT used to be beautiful, grand, and inspirational. The shaded walkways brought me an inner joy. Somehow a graveyard with a disembodied hand waving a wand just does not inspire me, or inspire me to spend my money there.

The only hope is that the people now making decisions seem to understand the place a bit better and the quality nosedive may have bottomed out.

One can only hope.

 

[CThaddeus]

I guess it could be worse - they could have turned the sphere into a giant pink cake.

Funny you should mention that. I tried to do that with my avatar, but it just became so unrecognizable I had to abandon it. The candles, however, are still on the way...

 

[Bratstarman]

Funny you should mention that. I tried to do that with my avatar, but it just became so unrecognizable I had to abandon it. The candles, however, are still on the way...

Your avatar is pure genius, though I would have guessed they would have the hand holding the wand now tipping the sorcerers hat.

 

[CThaddeus]

Your avatar is pure genius, though I would have guessed they would have the hand holding the wand now tipping the sorcerers hat.

Oh, no. There's something much more evil than that coming. I just have to find the time to do it right...and make sure it's readable in such a tiny form (the center of the Mirror, for example, doesn't read at all in avatar form).
I had also considered making the Hat pink, just to give it that birthday cake look you mentioned. Who knows, though. I still may do it. I'm thinking one new tacky addition per month.
And thank you for the compliment!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Isnt Disney remaking that John Cleese film but setting it in Orlando, " A Sphere called Wanda"?