Hollywood Studios Sorcerer Hat

[_Scar]

I was at MGM the year it opened. I say keep the hat, lose TGMR. The Hat is not the Wand.

No, TGMR seems like a major waste. Never cared for it. Doesn't seem up to Disney level.

Oh, my... :brick:


I don't necesarily attack opinions, but this opinion is just wrong.

:lol:

 

[erasure fan1]

I liked the Hat as a 100 Years of Magic "gimmick", similar to how I was kinda-OK with the Wand when it was just for the Millennium Celebration. Both outlived their welcomes long ago, and thankfully one of them is gone, with the other hopefully right behind it.

-Rob

YES! My thoughts exactly. Im fine when they want to do these type of things for a short term celebration. I thought the castle birthday cake was cool but Im glad it was gone by my next trip. I like the hat better than the wand but thats not saying a whole lot. I say good riddance and the faster the exit the better.

 

[KevinFlynn]

Is Pooh an E-ticket too? They're almost on par.

:brick:

GMR: 22 minute duration, 59 AAs, live cast members acting out scenes, explosion and fire effects.

Pooh: about 3 minutes, 0 true AAs

Does the Castle not fit MK's theming as it is at the end of Main Street USA?

Completely, completely different. MK is comprised of different themes/lands, and the castle is the magic gateway to all of them.

DHS is themed to the Hollywood that never was but will always be. Hollywood Boulevard(where the hat is located) is supposed to be like the real Hollywood Boulevard of the 1940s/50s. The hat destroys that illusion completely.

 

[mastif]

C'mon guys! it's a big silly hat with a friggin pin station under it. You can find your pins at in pretty much every store on property, they're all the same. The hat's lame and the pin station in it is just an insult IMO.

 

[steener618]

No, TGMR seems like a major waste. Never cared for it. Doesn't seem up to Disney level.

Please tell me thats a joke.:brick:

 

[Pusta100]

:brick:

GMR: 22 minute duration, 59 AAs, live cast members acting out scenes, explosion and fire effects.

Pooh: about 3 minutes, 0 true AAs



Completely, completely different. MK is comprised of different themes/lands, and the castle is the magic gateway to all of them.

DHS is themed to the Hollywood that never was but will always be. Hollywood Boulevard(where the hat is located) is supposed to be like the real Hollywood Boulevard of the 1940s/50s. The hat destroys that illusion completely.

I have to agree. The Great Movie Ride is a classic Disney ride. Maybe it could use a little updating but its a classic and fits the theme of the park perfectly. It brings you right into the magic of the movie.

The Hat does not fit the theme of the park, and should have never been permanent structure in the park.

 

[Studios Fan]

I have to agree. The Great Movie Ride is a classic Disney ride. Maybe it could use a little updating but its a classic and fits the theme of the park perfectly. It brings you right into the magic of the movie.

The Hat does not fit the theme of the park, and should have never been permanent structure in the park.

I agree on both points.

 

[imagineer boy]

Is Pooh an E-ticket too? They're almost on par.

Heck no, not even close.

Does the Castle not fit MK's theming as it is at the end of Main Street USA?

There's a big difference between the castle and the hat. The castle stands at where main street ends and FL begins. The hat is smack in the middle of all the hollywood themeing around it. Thus, making it out of place.

 

[hokielutz]

And that harkens back to the exact same arguements that cropped up about The Wand.

The majority of people who liked/loved the Wand seemed to be people who never knew Epcot pre-Wand. Just as I'll bet that most of the people on these boards who say they love the Hat never visited (or were too young to remember clearly) the Studios pre-Hat.

There are those of us who remember the Epcot entrance pre-Wand and pre-LaL...
There are those of us who remember the Studios pre-Hat.
And while I'm all for progress in almost all areas of WDW, the original designs of these plazas is still far superior to what we have now.

I liked the Hat as a 100 Years of Magic "gimmick", similar to how I was kinda-OK with the Wand when it was just for the Millemmium Celebration. Both outlived their welcomes long ago, and thankfully one of them is gone, with the other hopefully right behind it.

-Rob

Well the one thing that the Studios (pre-Hat) does not have, that the other three parks did have from the very beginning... was a center landmark that could be seen from most everywhere within the park. The Chinese theater does not have that grandiose design, like the Cindy's Castle, SSE, and Tree of Life. The hat grabs your attention when entering the park. The theater.... not so much (in my opinion). I've taken a number of photos taken back in the 1990's when I visited this park, so I have seen both versions.

The main detractor of the Hat, is its a patch / band-aid to give the park a centering PoR and it covers up the theater from some viewing angles. Me thinks they rushed the design of the park through so it could get built, while skipping some steps. eek: surprise, surprise from Eisner ) If they took some more time and care with it like they did with the AK design... then I'm sure we would have some other anchor for the park that is not currently there today. And everyone would be happy!!

note - the earful water tower is a nice gimmick while driving into the park... but the design is not in the same class as the other three park anchors around wdw.

 

[hokielutz]

I have to agree. The Great Movie Ride is a classic Disney ride. Maybe it could use a little updating but its a classic and fits the theme of the park perfectly. It brings you right into the magic of the movie.

The Hat does not fit the theme of the park, and should have never been permanent structure in the park.

The GMR really does need some new scenes/replacement scenes thrown into it. Going on 20 years... it is long over-due to inject some renewed interest in the ride.

 

[sorcerergoofy]

The GMR really does need some new scenes/replacement scenes thrown into it. Going on 20 years... it is long over-due to inject some renewed interest in the ride.

I agree, but what movies would you say should be added?

 

[Uncle Lupe]

That would take care of the hat, not to mention the entire park.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Well the one thing that the Studios (pre-Hat) does not have, that the other three parks did have from the very beginning... was a center landmark that could be seen from most everywhere within the park. The Chinese theater does not have that grandiose design, like the Cindy's Castle, SSE, and Tree of Life. The hat grabs your attention when entering the park. The theater.... not so much (in my opinion). I've taken a number of photos taken back in the 1990's when I visited this park, so I have seen both versions.

If the Chinese Theatre was more visible from other areas of the park it would have intruded into the then larger backlot.

 

[marni1971]

The Chinese Theatre not grand??

 

[GrumpyFan]

If the Chinese Theatre was more visible from other areas of the park it would have intruded into the then larger backlot.

Agreed, the park icon doesn't necessarily need to be visible across the entire park, making it so, can be distracting in other areas of the park. In most of the park's, the main icon serves as the "weenie" as Walt called it, and it's primary task is to draw people toward it. Both the Chinese theater (facade) and Mickey's Sorcerer Hat did a pretty good job of this, whether you liked it or not. If the hat is indeed going away, the question remains of what will replace it, or will they just revert back to the Chinese theater without anything blocking it?

Personally, I think DHS is in need of a mountain for the park. More specifically, I think the studios needs to build a replica of Mount Lee, the hill/mountain that overlooks Hollywood and has the famous HOLLYWOOD letters. I worked up a concept for this last month, here. I think they could easily do this and make it a facade for the Great Movie Ride like the one for NY Street or San Francisco. Or, they could go all out and build a real-looking mountain to replace Catastrophe Canyon and then put a ride in it.

 

[djkidkaz]

The problem with the Chinese Theater being the main icon is that its not a Disney original. The Tree of Life, the Castle and SSE are all Disney creations and truly stand for Disney because you won't see them anywhere outside of a Disney theme park. The Chinese Theater is an actual building in the "real world" which I think is what makes it hard for people to accept as the icon. We're used to Disney designing their own, not stealing one.

 

[imagineer boy]

The problem with the Chinese Theater being the main icon is that its not a Disney original. The Tree of Life, the Castle and SSE are all Disney creations and truly stand for Disney because you won't see them anywhere outside of a Disney theme park. The Chinese Theater is an actual building in the "real world" which I think is what makes it hard for people to accept as the icon. We're used to Disney designing their own, not stealing one.

Agreed. Personally, I think the icon should simply be the earful tower. Except moved to the entrance so its more recognized.

 

[Studios Fan]

^ Good idea.

 

[disneysroyal411]

Agreed, the park icon doesn't necessarily need to be visible across the entire park, making it so, can be distracting in other areas of the park. In most of the park's, the main icon serves as the "weenie" as Walt called it, and it's primary task is to draw people toward it. Both the Chinese theater (facade) and Mickey's Sorcerer Hat did a pretty good job of this, whether you liked it or not. If the hat is indeed going away, the question remains of what will replace it, or will they just revert back to the Chinese theater without anything blocking it?

Personally, I think DHS is in need of a mountain for the park. More specifically, I think the studios needs to build a replica of Mount Lee, the hill/mountain that overlooks Hollywood and has the famous HOLLYWOOD letters. I worked up a concept for this last month, here. I think they could easily do this and make it a facade for the Great Movie Ride like the one for NY Street or San Francisco. Or, they could go all out and build a real-looking mountain to replace Catastrophe Canyon and then put a ride in it.

I think it should go nostalgic and say "Hollywoodland"

 

[lazyboy97o]

Agreed, the park icon doesn't necessarily need to be visible across the entire park, making it so, can be distracting in other areas of the park.

When the park opened, the Chinese Theatre was visible from most of the park. The problem is that the park has expanded into areas where having the Chinese Theatre visible would have been problematic if these areas had continued to function as a studio.

The problem with the Chinese Theater being the main icon is that its not a Disney original. The Tree of Life, the Castle and SSE are all Disney creations and truly stand for Disney because you won't see them anywhere outside of a Disney theme park. The Chinese Theater is an actual building in the "real world" which I think is what makes it hard for people to accept as the icon. We're used to Disney designing their own, not stealing one.

But it is definitely Hollywood. The Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, Future World and Disney's Animal Kingdom are not representing broader, more general ideas. World Showcase and Hollywood Boulevard represent more specific locations. The World Showcase pavilions are not generally dismissed for using replicas of existing landmarks. Hollywood Boulevard similarly represents a romantic ideal of a specific place, Hollywood. Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard are both comprised of real landmarks, that themselves are often celebrated and enjoyed.