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

[Admiral01]

Reading a great post like AdmiralO1*s above reminds me how much i want that *bleeping* hat gone.

I have waited 12 years to get that view back at the end of Hollywood Blvd.

Time needs to speed by faster....

Time...or a Duraflame log...either one.

Seriously, though, the old Hollywood feel you used to get in DHS is one of the reasons I love old Hollywood. The hat cheapens the whole experience. The feeling of old Hollywood in the new plaza at DCA is neat, but isn't anywhere close to as immersive as DHS once was. Again, it just worked. I know you know what I am talking about. You've been there too, in the old MGM, where the view down Hollywood Blvd was incredible.

Some of the things I complain about, like Imagination (and the rest of Future World) are hard to fix. They take lots of time and lots of money. Fixing the aesthetics of DHS are not hard to fix, nor would they be time consuming or expensive. Just tear that dumb hat down. That's all it takes.

 

[Figments Friend]

Time...or a Duraflame log...either one.

Seriously, though, the old Hollywood feel you used to get in DHS is one of the reasons I love old Hollywood. The hat cheapens the whole experience. The feeling of old Hollywood in the new plaza at DCA is neat, but isn't anywhere close to as immersive as DHS once was. Again, it just worked. I know you know what I am talking about. You've been there too, in the old MGM, where the view down Hollywood Blvd was incredible.

Try about 500 Duraflame logs...and then you are talking major removal.


I say, bring it on.

Yes, i know exactly what you are talking about in regards to old MGM and that fabulous old-school * Hollywood vibe* that used to be present pre-BAH.
I really miss that.


My dislike for the Hat is not just for scenery intruding reasons....it symbolizes to me a sad downturn at that Park.
When MGM/DHS lost the actual film/tv production aspect of the Park experience it hurt.
Part of the excitement of visiting was getting to see or experience actual productions taking place. When that aspect ended, it seemed a small hole was present in the tapestry painting that was *Hollywood*.
The BAH showing up was a novelty at first...but it dramatically has overstayed it*s welcome.
It is a black burn hold on said tapestry...blocking out a previous piece of beauty...the Chinese Theatre at the end of Hollywood Blvd.
The last straw for me was the closing of WDFA Orlando.
That was the end of a era there for me, and a personal blow.
Since that point, DHS has really kind of lost me.

Now the Park seems just a shell of it*s former self...which is somewhat surprising in some respects considering it has greatly expanded since Opening Day, and will do so again soon.

The Theatre and Tower will always be the symbols of that Park to me.



I suspect part of the reason i am not a big fan of DCA is that both incarnations just seem to come off as downgraded knockoffs of the *original* in FL. That might sound crazy to some, but i can already tell by your words above that you can also see and feel the difference.
Even *new DCA* , while definitely a step up from it*s first incarnation, is still not quite the same as pre-Hat MGM. It gives off this DHS wanna-be feel...but has none of the depth required to capture or match FL cousins vibe.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Apparently the hat will go before thanksgiving, (according to Orlando theme park news). This would give 2014 a fresh start without the hat, giving the park time to adapt to a new icon.

Rumours are Rumours though

If that be true, it's going to be fun trying to get that demolition gear and equipment nestled in there...anyone know how long it takes to de-construct the hat? Like how fast did it go up?

And more importantly...is it going to be like when you move a couch? Will there be a big clean spot on the concrete?

 

[Bairstow]

If that be true, it's going to be fun trying to get that demolition gear and equipment nestled in there...anyone know how long it takes to de-construct the hat? Like how fast did it go up?

And more importantly...is it going to be like when you move a couch? Will there be a big clean spot on the concrete?

There will probably be thousands of those little pin backs.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

It's almost like they are trying to ask us what we'd like as the park icon. 2014 t-shirts will use the AT-AT. 2015 will try the spinning Miss Piggy fountain. And 2016--Dinosaur Gertie.

I'd buy a 2014 shirt.

 

[draybook]

Well..."You gotta work on 'em Psychologically!"

I know what you mean Verne.

 

[Kman101]

I prefer the view without the hat. The theater is so much better and the hat sucks up a lot of space right there.

I take it nothing has changed on this though .... any updates or is DHS still just that much of a mess behind the scenes that they still don't have a plan on what to do. This company ....

 

[Empress Room]

For all of these rumors concerning the Hat's demise, I note that, this past weekend at WDW, I noticed the customization area for Magic Bands in the various stores. One of the extra "bling" packages that you can purchase for your Magic Band are icons for each park: the Castle for MK, Spaceship Earth for Epcot, the Tree of Life for AK and (you guessed it) the Hat for DHS. Hard to believe that they would be selling this brand new bling for a brand new product if the Hat was going to be removed.

Which got me thinking - maybe it's just going to get moved. I suppose that a compromise would be to remove it from its current place to restore the original look of DHS and perhaps move it to the esplanade just outside of the park's entrance, perhaps where the Monsters University photo op now sits, just to the left of the Friendship boat dock. Thoughts?

 

[Kman101]

There's been merch with the hat ... without the hat ... haha. They probably could/should just move it ...

 

[cheezbat]

For all of these rumors concerning the Hat's demise, I note that, this past weekend at WDW, I noticed the customization area for Magic Bands in the various stores. One of the extra "bling" packages that you can purchase for your Magic Band are icons for each park: the Castle for MK, Spaceship Earth for Epcot, the Tree of Life for AK and (you guessed it) the Hat for DHS. Hard to believe that they would be selling this brand new bling for a brand new product if the Hat was going to be removed.

Which got me thinking - maybe it's just going to get moved. I suppose that a compromise would be to remove it from its current place to restore the original look of DHS and perhaps move it to the esplanade just outside of the park's entrance, perhaps where the Monsters University photo op now sits, just to the left of the Friendship boat dock. Thoughts?

So what if the bands and merch has the hat. If they tear it down then they'll just sell the merch as "limited time special edition merch!"

 

[Bairstow]

So what if the bands and merch has the hat. If they tear it down then they'll just sell the merch as "limited time special edition merch!"

Is there any merch in the hat that isn't sold at either five and dime or Mickey's of Hollywood?

 

[Matt_Black]

I don't mind the hat. Since DHS is about movies, it kinda makes sense. Fantasia was Walt's most ambitious and innovative film project, and it was very influential, arguably being the most critically acclaimed animated film of all time. It's basically the Citizen Kane of animated features, and the Sorcerer's Apprentice might be the most famous segment from the film.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Okay...just gonna say this again...and it is only an opinion...but I think it is pretty universal...

It's not the hat.
It's not that it is a hat.
It's not that the hat lacks pizazz or that it's ugly.
It certainly isn't because the hat makes zero sense...it does...sorta...at least more sense than a giant yard gnome...

It isn't because it is not a big enough hat or that it's too big...
It's not the color...

It has EVERYTHING to do with the location...it's like buying a house...location, location, location. To make use of a childhood phrase from memory I'd often hear while blocking the view of a TV...

"You make a better door than a window."

Boom. Nutshell. We can ALL agree (whether you detest the hat or have it tattooed on your wazoo...) that it is just kinda in a bad spot...It had makes no sense as to where it is...if they had dropped the thing in front of Cinderella castle, everyone would hate it...but this is what we have...this is the issue. And it isn't like the wand at Epcot. That was an add-on. The only way this is an add-on is if you figure they added it onto the concrete. It's going to take some more doing to remove it...I'm sure they get complaints as much if not moreso than they did with the wand...

Maybe they'll just move the big lug to a better spot...

I'd like to suggest to the spot where the Christmas tree goes every year...

 

[Bairstow]

Watch them pick it up by helicopter one night and drop it right on top of the "partners" statute in the hub.

 

[Kman101]

I just don't see why they didn't build it BEFORE you enter the park. I would have been much more impressed by that. It's not that I hate the hat itself, but it really is just the location.

I know we've had it myth-busted that it was built to 'cover' the Chinese theater but why else place that albatross there? It would have fit much better in front of the park. A great photo op before entering. Boom. And why build something like that if it was "temporary" at the time? None of it made any sense and still doesn't. I'm sorry if I missed any explanations regarding this ....

 

[Clever Name]

The big problem with the BAH is not the location so much as its size. It stands 121 feet tall which for a Disney icon is pretty small. I suggest that they enlarge the hat to 199 feet tall and that would make the icon beloved by all true Disney fans. They could shoot fireworks out the top at night too.

 

[Unplugged]

Funny how after so many months our posts make the rounds once again. "It's a circle of life kind of thing."

I thought that there was a contract with the Chinese Theater folks that ended as well and that was why the hat was used to block the view. As Matt_Black said,

...DHS is about movies, it kinda makes sense. Fantasia was Walt's most ambitious and innovative film project, and it was very influential, arguably being the most critically acclaimed animated film of all time.

I thought the old Hollywood view was, in a classic Disney sense, romantic of those days. The Chinese Theater, while cool for old Hollywood, does not make me think Disney, nor does it create a real park icon, and it certainly legally cannot be used as such. Thus, IMHO, I find the hat colorful, sized reasonably, and think the location is central to the park blocking views of the not so interesting Chinese Theater. For those that "gotta have the Hollywood view" and Disney, perhaps the hat should go along with the Chinese Theater facade and it can be re-done as the Disney Theater in LA? All the stars may align on that. ;-)

It's too bad we already have a huge geodesic sphere in Epcot. I mean to put one up at DHS that looks like the Death Star might address the need for a Disney owned icon, extending the new brand, and answer the need for another dark ride. (Not that it eludes to anything about the dark side of TDO's decision making process or anything.)

 

[lazyboy97o]

The Chinese Theater, while cool for old Hollywood, does not make me think Disney

You're supposed to be thinking old Hollywood and not Disney...

For those that "gotta have the Hollywood view" and Disney, perhaps the hat should go along with the Chinese Theater facade and it can be re-done as the Disney Theater in LA? All the stars may align on that. ;-)

The El Capitan is not much more than a marquee on what otherwise looks like an old office building.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

You're supposed to be thinking old Hollywood and not Disney...

(T)hat's right! All the buildings in the front area are Disneyfied copies of Hollywood originals.

'Disney' does not mean 'something from a cartoon franchise'. No, Disney means quality, placemaking, re-creating places in a reassuring setting. The Hollywood in DHS very much is Disney, every bit as much as the recreated New Orleans of DL is Disney, and World Showcase, and a 1900's Main Street.

Main Street does not get 'more Disney' by replacing the Emporium with a statue of Stitch and adding Donald's boat in Town Square. It would become less Disney. And more second-rate theme park.


Even though based on a real existing structure, the Disneyfied Chinese Theater is just as much a Disney icon as the Disneyfied Matterhorn is.

 

[Admiral01]

I don't mind the hat. Since DHS is about movies, it kinda makes sense. Fantasia was Walt's most ambitious and innovative film project, and it was very influential, arguably being the most critically acclaimed animated film of all time. It's basically the Citizen Kane of animated features, and the Sorcerer's Apprentice might be the most famous segment from the film.

Yeah, but The Chinese Theater was the location for the premier of Mary Poppins. It was a film that solidified Disney's place in history, and solidified the Walt Disney Company back in the 60s into the company that we know today. One cannot discount the impact that Mary Poppins had on the WDC, it's profits, and Hollywood in general. It was groundbreaking, and it premiered at the Chinese Theater (the real one). What more fitting icon for a theme park about movies than the location of the premier of arguable Disney's most famous movie? DCA got the Carthay Circle Theater (premier of Snow White), DHS has the Chinese Theater (premier of Mary Poppins). It is perfect...at least, until the hat showed up and ruined the theming and cheapened the place.

At the very least, move the dumb hat.