Iconic Purple Directional Signs Being Replaced

[BoarderPhreak]

It's the end of an era... Called "the 90s." LOL

A whole lot more bland (pedestrian, even) but at least it fits their retheming - and doesn't scream "dated!"

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I wonder if it was intentionally made to look like a bus/motorhome or if it was accidental… I can’t unsee it now.

 

[FigmentForever96]

I wonder if it was intentionally made to look like a bus/motorhome or if it was accidental… I can’t unsee it now.

View attachment 616951

Well now that you mention it…neither can I lol
People need to get a grip lol. It’s road signs and change is good, especially when it’s something so minuscule.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Count me among the minority who likes the update and felt the old signs screamed 1990s. The new signs are attractive, sleeker, and still look different from road signs outside of WDW.

People are asking why they're spending money on this, but I think the whole reason the purple signs seemed iconic is because WDW so rarely bothers to freshen up the resort outside of major new projects. While they have finally disappeared, I think those 1990s-era buses with "Disney Transport" on the side also hung around way too long. Personally I wish they would continually freshen up these kinds of details to prevent the resort feeling stale.

 

[IMDREW]

Im not necessarily against blue. But my country uses blue roadsigns, and our blue is much more happy and bright than this. Also, Universal does blue roadsigns much better than these. Forget Universal upping Disney, Disney is just handing it to them now.

 

[UNCgolf]

Count me among the minority who likes the update and felt the old signs screamed 1990s. The new signs are attractive, sleeker, and still look different from road signs outside of WDW.

People are asking why they're spending money on this, but I think the whole reason the purple signs seemed iconic is because WDW so rarely bothers to freshen up the resort outside of major new projects. While they have finally disappeared, I think those 1990s-era buses with "Disney Transport" on the side also hung around way too long. Personally I wish they would continually freshen up these kinds of details to prevent the resort feeling stale.

I think it's a tough line to walk, as evidenced by this thread.

When they don't update something for a long time (as with these road signs) it stops being 90s and starts just being Disney for a lot of people. I've seen people who only went to Disney for the first time in the past few years upset about the change because they associated that specific look with Disney instead of a design era.

Disney parks do trade on nostalgia pretty heavily, so there's a risk involved in doing anything that upsets that nostalgia. That's not to suggest they should just leave everything exactly the same forever (and we're talking about road signs here, not something fundamental to WDW), but compete overhauls rather than iterative changes are probably a mistake in many instances.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

It’s road signs and change is good, especially when it’s something so minuscule.

Is it minuscule though? People definitely notice details like this, helping to enhance the perception that what made Disney unique was how they took even the most mundane of elements and plussed them "the Disney way". The new signs solidify the new era of leadership, treating Disney consumers as morons and insisting that people will come regardless of what quality they leave the parks in.

Forget Universal upping Disney, Disney is just handing it to them now.

Seems to be a recent trend. As Pete from The DIS stated: "They're just rolling out the red carpet".

 

[Casper Gutman]

Im not necessarily against blue. But my country uses blue roadsigns, and our blue is much more happy and bright than this. Also, Universal does blue roadsigns much better than these. Forget Universal upping Disney, Disney is just handing it to them now.

This is a great point. Unis blue signs are SO vastly superior to these - more readable, unique, fun…

 

[James Alucobond]

First thought upon seeing these: They are really difficult to read, and will be even more difficult in certain weather and lighting situations. Easy readability really seems like the first consideration when designing road signs and these fail.

On what basis do you make this claim? The family from which this font comes was specifically created for use on highway signage and was designed for legibility even when traveling at high speeds. There is also literally nothing wrong with the contrast ratio (it's actually higher than normal, relatively speaking). Additionally, I doubt you've done any testing in adverse weather conditions.

It's cool not to like them, but this just seems a ludicrous, baseless supposition.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I think it's a tough line to walk, as evidenced by this thread.

When they don't update something for a long time (as with these road signs) it stops being 90s and starts just being Disney for a lot of people. I've seen people who only went to Disney for the first time in the past few years upset about the change because they associated that specific look with Disney instead of a design era.

Disney parks do trade on nostalgia pretty heavily, so there's a risk involved in doing anything that upsets that nostalgia. That's not to suggest they should just everything exactly the same forever (and we're talking about road signs here, not something fundamental to WDW), but compete overhauls rather than iterative changes are probably a mistake in many instances.

I agree it is a balancing act and it is interesting to see things come back around, such as the Disneyland Hotel embracing it's mid-century roots in a way the Contemporary Resort would have been wise to have done in place of the Incredibles overlay.

Maybe my view on this is tainted by the fact that I had a long gap between visits from 1999 to 2013 and I was very struck by how much the resort looked like it had been frozen in time from my visits during the 1990s. Little by little things have been updated since, but it seems a lot still limps on and these road signs were one of the things on subsequent visits I've always been surprised they never updated. I'm pretty sure Disneyland Paris long abandoned the similar "wayfinding" aesthetics developed for the resort at the same time.

 

[Casper Gutman]

On what basis do you make this claim? The family from which this font comes was specifically created for use on highway signage and was designed for legibility even when traveling at high speeds. There is also literally nothing wrong with the contrast ratio (it's actually higher than normal, relatively speaking). Additionally, I doubt you've done any testing in adverse weather conditions.

It's cool not to like them, but this just seems a ludicrous, baseless supposition.

Because I looked at them? And peruse this thread… it’s not just my weird eyes.

 

[Mac Tonight]

90's WDW > 2022 WDW.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Reedy Creek Improvement District

…it allows for a lot of “negotiation” and grandfathering in the hood

If anything the law was written to protect Disney and essentially give them exclusive use of purple signage.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

90's WDW > 2022 WDW.

Yes…not even close

 

[James Alucobond]

Because I looked at them? And peruse this thread… it’s not just my weird eyes.

There is a literal science to color contrast, and there is a reason this font (which is meant to be viewed in constant motion, not from behind your keyboard) was designed this way by the Federal Highway Administration after a great deal of research. That people who dislike the change would try to support their position with claims that it is "more difficult to read" doesn't surprise me, but it has no basis in reality. There are plenty of valid positions you can take for disliking this change (including ones you mentioned in the second half of your post), but this isn't it.

 

[CastAStone]

90's WDW > 2022 WDW.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I'm not at all a fan of these new signs, but perhaps that's just nostalgia talking. I figured they would eventually change to match the new paint scheme for the arches, but I'm not particularly a fan of those either. Again, I could be blinded by nostalgia, but these new color schemes appear to follow in Disney's most recent trend of trying to make itself as "generic" as possible.

Not crazy about the paint job on the arches, but it’s far from awful. At least it has retained some degree of its personality, unlike these signs.

 

[UNCgolf]

I agree it is a balancing act and it is interesting to see things come back around, such as the Disneyland Hotel embracing it's mid-century roots in a way the Contemporary Resort would have been wise to have done in place of the Incredibles overlay.

Maybe my view on this is tainted by the fact that I had a long gap between visits from 1999 to 2013 and I was very struck by how much the resort looked like it had been frozen in time from my visits during the 1990s. Little by little things have been updated since, but it seems a lot still limps on and these road signs were one of the things on subsequent visits I've always been surprised they never updated. I'm pretty sure Disneyland Paris long abandoned the similar "wayfinding" aesthetics developed for the resort at the same time.

Right. And my comments weren't really about the road signs, because I don't really care about them. I do think the purple ones were unique in a way the new ones aren't, but it's so minor it's almost irrelevant.

It was more of an observation of the value of nostalgia to Disney parks and their ability to keep bringing people back as repeat visitors.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Good Riddance purple, still prefer the brown signs

 

[Casper Gutman]

There is a literal science to color contrast, and there is a reason this font (which is meant to be viewed in constant motion, not from behind your keyboard) was designed this way by the Federal Highway Administration after a great deal of research. That people who dislike the change would try to support their position with claims that it is "more difficult to read" doesn't surprise me, but it has no basis in reality. There are plenty of valid positions you can take for disliking this change (including ones you mentioned in the second half of your post), but this isn't it.

I'm sorry that my eyes (and those of many in this thread) don't align with the research on this topic.

From whence comes your very specific knowledge of the font and contrast used here?