Is the clock ticking on the Sorcerer Mickey Hat icon at the Studios? YES!

[Cesar R M]

I hope this doesnt degrade into an insult contest between members who are debating which one is the best and correct icon for DHS.

So many people got together to hate the hat.. then chaos when its gone!

 

[Andrew C]

I think the new Starbucks location in DHS would be the best icon!

 

[erwinalber4]

Right now, I think most fans would settle for 1 new E ticket. I kind of agree with what you're saying, but there really isn't any excuse for the stagnation of top rides.

It's been 9 years since the last E ticket opened (EE) and with no current construction on anything resembling a new E ticket (although the Avatar Soarin clone could potentially come close...we wait to see), I think it's safe to say there will be a whole decade without a new top tier attraction in the whole of WDW.

I get that sometimes you only need to flesh out the existing parks, but you do need headliners to pull in the crowds. I guess the major problem is that the crowds just keep on coming.

The management of WDW should be ashamed just how much they have let Universal Orlando catch-up in the last decade.

I understand where you're coming from also. Yes I'd love a new E ticket for sure, I'd be crazy not to. I'm pointing out that WDW has been so far ahead that they haven't had to from a business point of view. They've instead invested in FLE which added capacity to the MK included 2 brand new rides, a new restaurant that has been extremely popular, a place to keep the princesses, and I'm not exactly sure how to classify Enchanted Tales with Belle. While it may not be what we've wanted it served it's purpose on getting more guests into the park with something "new". I do 100% agree that WDW should have done better at keeping the gap between them and UNI bigger but to be fair they've got a long way to go before ever truly catching up to WDW in terms of revenue and attendance. For the record, I think UNI has done fantastic things lately and is definitely going to catch WDW's attention and I believe that is happening right now and in the end we're all going to win as a theme park war is about to break out and we'll be seeing a lot of new additions at both Resorts.

 

[NoChesterHester]

The Mickey Topped version of Crossroads of the World would look great as a silhouette icon.

 

[Victor Kelly]

Why not? It's a popular and recognizable attraction (for good reason) that's clearly visible throughout WDW.

Does it really matter what the icon is if it doesn't affect the park's thematic design?

Correct. ToT is a hugely recognized building the world over. You can see it from most of the surrounding areas and roads. You can see it perfectly from Fantasia Gardens. But, if they use it as an Icon, Disney needs to add the signage to the back of the building and paint windows on the building so it does look more like a hotel. Total 360 theming.

 

[Arthur Wellesley]

I hope this doesnt degrade into an insult contest between members who are debating which one is the best and correct icon for DHS.

Oh great. You say this after I've already been wearing this thing for a week, and even keyed a guy's car who had a #TeamEarfulTower bumper sticker.

 

[Admiral01]

No, Echo Lake is being transformed into Dagobah. From Wookiepedia:

"Dagobah was a harsh, humid, swampy planet, mostly covered in shallow marshland, interspersed with stifling forests and at least one cave. There were very few truly open bodies of water on the planet: the water supply was thinly invested throughout the planet's main habitat, swampland, although there were vast expanses of mud fields. Dagobah was home to many creatures, such as bogwings, dragonsnakes, nudj, sleens, vine snakes, and swamp slugs. Examples of flora included the Adder moss, the Hassling, Gnarltree and Meat flower. The planet was devoid of any advanced civilization."

Doesn't this just scream "Florida theme park"?

So, Walt Disney World circa 1962 was already in good Dagobah form?

 

[DisneyGentleman]

So, Walt Disney World circa 1962 was already in good Dagobah form?

Returning to the good old days.

 

[Timothy_Q]

I think DHS will join DCA as a park without just one centralized icon.
Seems like they might keep using both the Earful Tower and ToT, depending on the occasion

 

[unkadug]

Returning to the good old days.

Yeah, 1962 was the heyday of Walt Disney World. There was none of this overcrowding. No Fast Pass plus. And admission was free.

 

[Victor Kelly]

But still loaded with skeeters!

 

[Cesar R M]

I live about 10 miles away and I can see it from my house... However, I can also see Expedition Everest, Spaceship Earth, the Contemporary, and Cirque Du Soleil and the balloon at Downtown.

but can you see Russia from your backyard?
CHECK MATE!

Oh great. You say this after I've already been wearing this thing for a week, and even keyed a guy's car who had a #TeamEarfulTower bumper sticker.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Returning to the good old days.

That was also a time in which they made almost no mistakes and stupid decisions concerning WDW. Yes, indeed, the good old days. From then to now they have screwed everything up. Until just a little past that year, it was a perfectly themed swamp. And the magic was that it needed no maintenance at all. Everything went down hill after that.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Isn't the Florida tower the first rendition of this ride? For that matter, are any of the other ToTs built like this one? It's unique to DHS right?

 

[erwinalber4]

Isn't the Florida tower the first rendition of this ride? For that matter, are any of the other ToTs built like this one? It's unique to DHS right?

Yes and yes.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Yes and yes.

Guess that weakens the argument that several other parks have the attraction so far as an icon argument goes...

I do agree with some thoughts about how the park never will really have a central icon...seems like ToT for the web, the water tower for merchandise, and the Chinese theater for some video and pictorial promotions...

I guess we'll see...we're most likely a LONG way out from the finished product that this park is supposed to become here soon...

 

[erwinalber4]

Guess that weakens the argument that several other parks have the attraction so far as an icon argument goes...

I do agree with some thoughts about how the park never will really have a central icon...seems like ToT for the web, the water tower for merchandise, and the Chinese theater for some video and pictorial promotions...

I guess we'll see...we're most likely a LONG way out from the finished product that this park is supposed to become here soon...

Yeah I never quite understood the TOT not being able to be the icon argument because the structure itself is indeed unique to DHS. I agree with there possibly never being a traditional single icon similar to DCA as someone stated earlier. Of course this could change as work is completed on the upgrades.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Guess that weakens the argument that several other parks have the attraction so far as an icon argument goes...

I do agree with some thoughts about how the park never will really have a central icon...seems like ToT for the web, the water tower for merchandise, and the Chinese theater for some video and pictorial promotions...

I guess we'll see...we're most likely a LONG way out from the finished product that this park is supposed to become here soon...

Why does this matter? How is being in the park changed by what is on a t-shirt or commercial? Would the lack of over-focus be good so that when the park is advertised the same few things are not shown over and over, and instead some diversity is shown?

 

[jrhwdw]

I live about 10 miles away and I can see it from my house... However, I can also see Expedition Everest, Spaceship Earth, the Contemporary, and Cirque Du Soleil and the balloon at Downtown.

Oh to live in that neighborhood! You must not have a lot of trees around. I'm guessing you see ROE and maybe wishes?

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Why does this matter? How is being in the park changed by what is on a t-shirt or commercial? Would the lack of over-focus be good so that when the park is advertised the same few things are not shown over and over, and instead some diversity is shown?

I don't know that being in the park is changed by these things...my questions and commentary are directed towards the sudden slight displeasure or surprise that some forum folk feel due to the use of the tower as an icon in graphic use on websites and in certain forms of media. I think that a lot of folks expected the theatre. And for that matter...this may not even be the final thing here at all...it's just raised some questions...

The issue is more that since the original castle dropped in Disneyland in '55 as a focal point and then became the centerpiece, people in this "Disney Parks culture" thing we have going here have come to expect some large piece of crazy elegant architecture to symbolize each flavor of Disney park...hungry for Epcot? Try a serving of Spaceship Earth. Craving nostalgic fantasy? Grab a dish of Cinderella Castle! And up until recently... Want to sample some disregard for appropriate scale, imagineering savvy, and theme park design? Try two scoops of our "finest" aged Michael Eisner-cheesy-promotion in a large blue cone!!! High in FIBER! (glass)

My point was only that at the moment folks are searching for something identifiable as the symbol of the park or whatever the park may be becoming...a tree to cling to as the wildebeest stampede comes to run over the blue Mufasa...as it were...

And...also as I mentioned...we're most likely FAR OUT from what may be coming...a new icon could even show up... As for me, the icon doesn't matter...but it's what's become the norm to a lot of people... it's almost like a rule of the game...if you will...