Is the "Earful Tower" returning as the DHS icon? See 2013 merchandise for clues

[Patricia Melton]

I think part of why the sorcerer's hat has always bothered me is that when it was first installed it was presented as a temporary thing that was part of the anniversary "celebration" of the time. So, that made it in my mind akin to the arm and wand attached to Spaceship Earth for a "celebration" at EPCOT and the monstrous birthday cake decorations added to Cinderella's Castle for a "celebration" in MK.

The hat was not presented to us as a permanent addition...just as a "celebration" that would end and be gone forever at some point.

But, here it ended up being a permanent thing.

So I realize today that a big part of why this hat bothers me so much is that I feel like we fans of the park were tricked when it appeared...and since it was supposed to be "temporary", 12 years later I'm still waiting for it to go away. I'd have a different emotional reaction to the thing if from the beginning I was told that that it was there to stay forever.

 

[HMF]

I think part of why the sorcerer's hat has always bothered me is that when it was first installed it was presented as a temporary thing that was part of the anniversary "celebration" of the time. So, that made it in my mind akin to the arm and wand attached to Spaceship Earth for a "celebration" at EPCOT and the monstrous birthday cake decorations added to Cinderella's Castle for a "celebration" in MK.

The hat was not presented to us as a permanent addition...just as a "celebration" that would end and be gone forever at some point.

But, here it ended up being a permanent thing.

So I realize today that a big part of why this hat bothers me so much is that I feel like we fans of the park were tricked when it appeared...and since it was supposed to be "temporary", 12 years later I'm still waiting for it to go away. I'd have a different emotional reaction to the thing if from the beginning I was told that that it was there to stay forever.

Once the wand was changed to say Epcot instead of 2000, The hat staying past 100 Years of Magic was less surprising than it would have been otherwise and also somewhat expected.

 

[Britt]

I actually don't mind the hat at all

The "earful tower" is much cuter though!!

 

[Patricia Melton]

I actually don't mind the hat at all

The "earful tower" is much cuter though!!

I really wish the hat didn't bother me. I wish I could like it or that it wouldn't bother me.

My brain is just stuck on this thing supposed to be temporary and yet here it still is sitting there. I can't move past that.

 

[SpectroMagicMan]

The hat has started popping up in other places as well. In one of the latest updates to the Mobile Magic app the icon for DHS changed from the hat to Earful and has also started appearing on some of the 2013 dated park merch.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't really hate the hat, I hate the location of the hat. It fit the movie theme, especially the Disney connection to it, but to just block that view for a bunch of pins, well that was something I couldn't accept, not were it was anyway.

I didn't the like the hand and wand when it said "2000" on it. The 2000 was out of proportion or something, it just looked weird. I actually thought the hand and wand looked like it belonged after they changed it to Epcot. It tied everything in and identified it as a WDW park, instead of a stand alone park that confused the hell out of a lot of people. As spectacular as SSE is as a structure, it doesn't "pop" like it did with the wand. To me it pumped life into what had been a stuffy place. Not that I think Epcot itself is stuffy, it just didn't portray that something that creates excitement until the wand. Having that graveyard in front of it doesn't help either. It's time to get rid of that and put those gardens back in place. If Disney is attempting to have a modern day Stonehedge there, they have failed epically.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I don't really hate the hat, I hate the location of the hat. It fit the movie theme, especially the Disney connection to it, but to just block that view for a bunch of pins, well that was something I couldn't accept, not were it was anyway.

I didn't the like the hand and wand when it said "2000" on it. The 2000 was out of proportion or something, it just looked weird. I actually thought the hand and wand looked like it belonged after they changed it to Epcot. It tied everything in and identified it as a WDW park, instead of a stand alone park that confused the hell out of a lot of people. As spectacular as SSE is as a structure, it doesn't "pop" like it did with the wand. To me it pumped life into what had been a stuffy place. Not that I think Epcot itself is stuffy, it just didn't portray that something that creates excitement until the wand. Having that graveyard in front of it doesn't help either. It's time to get rid of that and put those gardens back in place. If Disney is attempting to have a modern day Stonehedge there, they have failed epically.

This comment really made me think. You make some really good points.

EPCOT is the least-favorite park for a lot of people I know. I enjoy going to the different countries' pavilions but I don't care for a lot of the other stuff. To me, EPCOT is not future-focused but is nostalgic...because I remember the time period in which it was built and I remember people who used to think this is how the future would be.

It's like a time capsule for me...to revisit a past vision of the future that never came to be.

My kids can't relate to EPCOT at all (they are in their 30s). My niece and nephew would actually rather stay at the hotel and play in the pool on the day we go to EPCOT. When they are old enough in a few years, I bet they will opt to stay at the hotel and just relax while the rest of us go to EPCOT.

 

[flavious27]

Yes -- that is the poster I saw.

From a branding standpoint, it's just bizarre that TDO would allow this official poster to be made with the Earful Tower if they had no intention of getting rid of the Sorcerer's Hat at some point in the near future. They could have easily made the poster with the hat in place of the Earful Tower if they really were determined to keep this as the "icon" of DHS.

My family was in the restaurant business as franchise owners for many years. The reason this poster really jumps out at me is because back when we were franchise owners the companies we dealt with were very intense about the branding materials. I think during the time we were owners we went through two or three logo upgrades...and it was serious business to get rid of everything that had the "old" logo when the new ones were rolled out. That meant menus had to be thrown away, letterhead and envelopes needed to be trashed, tee shirts and uniforms had to go...it was a big waste of materials, to be honest. All this perfectly good stuff that we paid good money for had to go to the trash because corporate tweaked the logo font a little. As a franchise owner, we ate the costs of all this...but would have been penalized for using any of the "old logo" materials if corporate audited us with secret shoppers or a visit from the district office for an inspection.

I tell you this because corporations do not mess around with the branding and the logo stuff. Seeing this "Earful Tower" on the poster gave me a heart attack (in a good way!) because never, ever would the corporations we dealt with have allowed this to be printed if they didn't intend to go back to the "Earful Tower" as the DHS official logo at some point near term.

This tells me that no one in the branding/marketing office is fighting to keep the Sorcerer's Hat...so no one is zealously guarding that thing as the "official icon for DHS". This means the hat is, at very least, vulnerable.

Too bad someone can't come up with a structural study that shows the hat is dangerous in some way or was made with some materials that are toxic...if that was true, then you'd not only have no one protecting the hat but you'd also get the legal department pushing to have it removed so that no one sued over it in the future...which would be a perfect storm that would see that hat demolished.

I don't see how they could use the sorcerer's hat twice in that poster.

 

[Disneygal24]

thumbs up if it is true!

 

[alissafalco]

I thought I had a photo. This is one of the moving light units inside the hat. It's about 3ft long. The mess along the inside of the window is where the bird muck has collected. That's straw from a nest sticking out of the right side. Not only are these units long redundant, they've been left in place above guests heads to literally rot. And they all look like this.

View attachment 28364

Thats really gross! I would love to see the hat go.

 

[Mike K]

I honestly have never minded the hat as the icon of the park. It just kills me that it blocks the beautiful exterior of The Great Movie Ride. That's really it.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

This one?

Sorry for being off topic, but I really ADORE this print! Does anyone know where/if it can be purchased?
The only information I was able to find on it is that it's part of a poster calendar. Would something like that only be available in the parks? We will be there in late September, but I'd love to have one before that. I'm not necessarily looking for a calendar, but if that's the only way I can get it, I'll take it. Could anyone point me in the right direction for getting more info on this print?

 

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Limited Time Magic: the Earful Tower comes back as the park's icon for 2013. BOOM! Thread: closed. I solved the mystery and we can all go back to complaining about wardrobes not working and Saturday Night Yeti. Y'all are welcome.

 

[westcot1982]

Speaking of 2013 merchandise, I can't believe no one has mentioned how all of the 2013-branded merchandise features the old 1971 WDW logo with the "Mickey globe" replaced with a sorcerer Mickey.
I took these photos at the beginning of this month:

 

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Speaking of 2013 merchandise, I can't believe no one has mentioned how all of the 2013-branded merchandise features the old 1971 WDW logo with the "Mickey globe" replaced with a sorcerer Mickey.
I took these photos at the beginning of this month:

Actually is was in another thread, but yes a lot of us are happy about the new "old" logo.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Are the lights that outline the Earful Tower new??? I have been so many times and never remember seeing them until my visit on the 14th. I never remember the white lights outlining the top before...

 

[bigeternity]

The Hat needs to be part of Limited Time Magic....

 

[marni1971]

Are the lights that outline the Earful Tower new??? I have been so many times and never remember seeing them until my visit on the 14th. I never remember the white lights outlining the top before...

Not new, but IIRC they were recently updated / repaired.

 

[mickey2008.1]

The earful tower is in the back of the park, and from what I remember, was only seen when I was on blt. It's a great icon, but it is hidden, where as the hat is not, reason for it staying. I have the Disney experience app on my tablet, new app, and the BAH is the icon, so for it leaving in 2013, who knows. But in the poster, it looks like 2013 being flushed down a toilet. Ironic?

 

[EOD K9]

I actually don't mind the hat at all

The "earful tower" is much cuter though!!

You're much cuter!