Yeah but it's not made of actual logs so it's still not as good but at least it exists
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I want Fort Wilderness back
- Thread starter TROR
- Start date
EricsBiscuit
Well-Known Member
It does have guns though and the escape tunnel.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
The painting on the wall is now in the attic of The Haunted Mansion.
The removal of the cemetery in the back was a massive letdown. Tom Sawyer's island stinks these days.
When it was under refurbishment I honestly thought it'd reopen without the pirate lair theme but then I heard PotC was coming to Fantasmic! and I realized how stupid I was for ever thinking that.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
There's just nothing to do on the island. It seems care went into the viewing areas for the new river scenes in the back, but that's it. It's not even charming anymore. It's like they misread the memo to add the cemetery outside HM as remove the cemetery outside the fort.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Are you talking about Old Town, SD? I was visiting some friends in La Jolla in December and they took me there. It was awesome.
I believe so. I remember there being a dirt road at one part, though, and I'm not sure if that's Old Town or another place I've just meshed together with my memories of Old Town.
Darkbeer1
Well-Known Member
From Buzz Price...
>>
TOM SAWYER'S ISLAND •.. is basically for younger kids, but it .is fun exploring for anyone. .It is, of course, a nice place .for teenage love making ... but I feel we patrol. it almost too closely. After all .. love must find a way. <<
Thinking back on that comment, well, let's just say I got a big smile on my face....
>>
TOM SAWYER'S ISLAND •.. is basically for younger kids, but it .is fun exploring for anyone. .It is, of course, a nice place .for teenage love making ... but I feel we patrol. it almost too closely. After all .. love must find a way. <<
Thinking back on that comment, well, let's just say I got a big smile on my face....
D
Deleted member 107043
Ok as someone who visited Ft Wilderness numerous times as a kid before it's closure I can tell you that you aren't missing much. Would it be nice if it was still functional, sure, but to me it isn't much of a loss. The Ranger Station in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is a much better experience IMO.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
The Disneyland Hotel waterfalls where a great place too...
Rich T
Well-Known Member
Just speaking as one of this forum's fossiliest fossils (I played the Disneyland Hotel Miniature Golf Course! I saw Mother Goose Village!),,,
...It does my heart good to see comments from the younger fans who "get" what old Disneyland was about. They're doing the research. They're keeping the dream alive. They know Fort Wilderness was an important focal point for the island, marking the border between Frontierland's "safe" borders and untamed wilds.
And I can chip in that you could buy delicious brownies inside the fort. And lemonade. Wouldn't have recommended the two together. From experience.
...It does my heart good to see comments from the younger fans who "get" what old Disneyland was about. They're doing the research. They're keeping the dream alive. They know Fort Wilderness was an important focal point for the island, marking the border between Frontierland's "safe" borders and untamed wilds.
And I can chip in that you could buy delicious brownies inside the fort. And lemonade. Wouldn't have recommended the two together. From experience.
D
Deleted member 107043
The dream or nostalgia?
Rich T
Well-Known Member
Well, in this case I'd say "the dream" as in looking at what DL was designed to do and seeing if it's still heading in that direction or dumping important keystones in the name of budget cuts. I know nostalgia can be a fuzzy filter, but sometimes you go back and see something was better seen through childhood's eyes (Slip n' Slides) and some things really were as good as we remember (the best Looney Tunes). I think the best nostalgia is really just appreciation of a good work of art, even if it's pop art.
As far as the younger fans go, I don't think one can be nostalgic for something one wasn't around for, but one can recognize brilliance and compare it to what's around today. I think the fashions of the 1890's absolutely rock, but I can't be nostalgic for them.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
"Ha ha! Those people are shooting at us! Wave, Billy!"
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
For me it's less about nostalgia, because as I've already mentioned, Disneyland holds no childhood nostalgia for me since I didn't go until I was an adult. To me, it's longing for a time when things weren't so commercial and based on profit percentages.
Back in the day, things were done to try and innovate and provide a quality experience, and that drove the business because people like quality, innovative experiences. Now that's not enough, or even preferred since it's more expensive, and they've realized somewhere along the line that people will settle for much less.
So now it's all one big commercial, ride my ride, see the movie it's based off of when you get back home, and buy the toys we made at the shop after your ride is through and once you get back home.
It's less about providing quality and innovation and more about how they can squeeze every last cent out of me while they save every cent they possibly can.
Back in the day, things were done to try and innovate and provide a quality experience, and that drove the business because people like quality, innovative experiences. Now that's not enough, or even preferred since it's more expensive, and they've realized somewhere along the line that people will settle for much less.
So now it's all one big commercial, ride my ride, see the movie it's based off of when you get back home, and buy the toys we made at the shop after your ride is through and once you get back home.
It's less about providing quality and innovation and more about how they can squeeze every last cent out of me while they save every cent they possibly can.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
Let's say they permanently remove the Snow White Wishing Well fountain. People in the future would read about it and say they wish they could have seen it and one could truthfully say that, as an experience in itself, "you aren't missing much." It was just a quiet place that put on a cute, low-tech little show every few minutes. But the park as a whole would be poorer for the loss. Those little things add up.
It's not that the fort was spectacular, but it was the island's castle. It was part of the story. It was home base. And it sold brownies.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
This actually makes me kind of sad. There's a certain magic about the park when you're a kid and don't understand how things work- that being an adult never fully allows.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
This, 100 times this.
Tony Baxter stresses the importance of offering a diverse set of attractions in his interviews about park and attraction design.
Where else can you go through an African Jungle, meet the 16 president of the US, go on a submarine, fly on an elephant, fly out a children's bedroom window on a Pirate's Galleon into the London sky, (as a kid) drive a car, and blast off into space?
Disneyland thrives on it's diversity- it's little forgotten corners like Snow White's Wishing Well- and as the park gets more crowded, I fear we'll continue to see a decline in the unique, low capacity experiences offered in favor of larger, more flashy experiences- that while fun, have to be underscored in order to keep the place special.