Just some random thoughts

KDM31091

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm new here and have a lot of random WDW thoughts I didn't want to make 10 threads about. Just some general thoughts and comments intended to provoke a good discussion! :)

*My name's Kevin, I'm about 16 years old and when I'm 18 I'm planning (with a roomate) to move near Disney, near Orlando. The parks are just THAT cool to me - I wanna be near them, and since I like hairstyling and cooking as possible careers (going to trade school not college), Orlando seems like a good area for that. I'm gay, and I hope they're gay friendly. Any comments?

*In the parks I'm noticing the steady stream of movie-related character attractions and whatnot. That's fine but doesn't anyone think they're overdoing it a bit, particularly in the MK's Tomorrowland? The place has about 5 non-cartoony attractions: The TTA, Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbitor, Space Mountain and the Speedway. I REALLY don't want them to mess with the TTA and make it the "Incredibles TTA" or some crap. Leave Tomorrowland alone!

*As for lost attractions, in no way do I understand why they took out the 20K Lagoon. They claimed it was a waste of space but isn't a huge, ugly dirt pile and trees a waste of space too? Pooh takes up only about 5% of the area and sorry, doesn't cut it for me. Even when abandoned, the lagoon was pretty and Fantasyland looks very cramped now. They could've just cleared the lagoon of track and scenery and put in a fountain or something.

*Once again, about lost stuff, I miss the darn Skyway. It added a lot of motion, and Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are really still now. Due to the TTA being covered, the cars moving doesn't create too much kineticity (not a word) because they blend in too well. I really want the Skyway back, but what's even MORE ridiculous, is that I don't want a ride in the Tomorrowland station. I want them to leave it empty. You know why? It's peaceful. You can walk behind there and relax as long as it's not too creepy. There's virtually nobody around and it's just still, almost eerily so. I just like it. The Fantasyland station is just basically a shell so that should definetly be torn down, and a new building suitable for a ride should be made. Not a "big" ride, just something to fill up the space. Or bring back the Skyway w/ new tech. Don't give me the usual "people spit" and those kinds of arguments. I really don't think it was a huge issue and people just say it was now because the ride is gone and they want to stick up for Disney's reasons. Fine, but they should bring it back or do something with the (Fantasyland)_ station. Leave the Tomorrowland one alone, lol. Does either of them still light up at night or anything, or do they look dark and still?

*About the 20K Lagoon, in the past few years, like 2003-2004, when it was there but empty, did it light up at all at night? Was the old queue lit up? Was the water lit up at all? Or was it pitch black?

Sorry for the weird comments and questions, but I hope to get some answers/replies/comments!
 

chappy

New Member
*My name's Kevin, I'm about 16 years old and when I'm 18 I'm planning (with a roomate) to move near Disney, near Orlando. The parks are just THAT cool to me - I wanna be near them, and since I like hairstyling and cooking as possible careers (going to trade school not college), Orlando seems like a good area for that. I'm gay, and I hope they're gay friendly. Any comments?

This is pure speculation, but my guess is that Orlando would be a good place for someone pursuing a career in cooking. Tourist locations like Orlando and Vegas have lots of variety in restaraunts and I would think those would be areas where they'd always be looking for people with that skill. Good luck to you!

*In the parks I'm noticing the steady stream of movie-related character attractions and whatnot. That's fine but doesn't anyone think they're overdoing it a bit, particularly in the MK's Tomorrowland? The place has about 5 non-cartoony attractions: The TTA, Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbitor, Space Mountain and the Speedway. I REALLY don't want them to mess with the TTA and make it the "Incredibles TTA" or some crap. Leave Tomorrowland alone!

I couldn't agree more. I still remember when Michael Eisner first came to the company and they started building more movie-related attractions. What was weird was that I remember reading in various places that Eisner was returning the company to Walt's "tradition of building attractions based on Disney movies". I remember thinking, "huh?" In Walt's time (and really throughout the company's history prior to Eisner), attractions based on movies were an absolute rarity. Eisner is the one who really started going overboard with that, and now it seems like they think every attraction they build has to be based on a movie.

*As for lost attractions, in no way do I understand why they took out the 20K Lagoon. They claimed it was a waste of space but isn't a huge, ugly dirt pile and trees a waste of space too? Pooh takes up only about 5% of the area and sorry, doesn't cut it for me. Even when abandoned, the lagoon was pretty and Fantasyland looks very cramped now. They could've just cleared the lagoon of track and scenery and put in a fountain or something.

The only thing I can think of is that since you can't walk in a lagoon, that was space that they decided to use to create more space for guests to walk. Maybe they thought that would help thin out the crowds or something. But I agree with you that it doesn't really add that much extra space and it was pretty seeing the lagoon.

*Once again, about lost stuff, I miss the darn Skyway. It added a lot of motion, and Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are really still now. Due to the TTA being covered, the cars moving doesn't create too much kineticity (not a word) because they blend in too well. I really want the Skyway back, but what's even MORE ridiculous, is that I don't want a ride in the Tomorrowland station. I want them to leave it empty. You know why? It's peaceful. You can walk behind there and relax as long as it's not too creepy. There's virtually nobody around and it's just still, almost eerily so. I just like it. The Fantasyland station is just basically a shell so that should definetly be torn down, and a new building suitable for a ride should be made. Not a "big" ride, just something to fill up the space. Or bring back the Skyway w/ new tech. Don't give me the usual "people spit" and those kinds of arguments. I really don't think it was a huge issue and people just say it was now because the ride is gone and they want to stick up for Disney's reasons. Fine, but they should bring it back or do something with the (Fantasyland)_ station. Leave the Tomorrowland one alone, lol. Does either of them still light up at night or anything, or do they look dark and still?

The thing about Tomorrowland is that it's theme and purpose have evolved over the years, just as was Walt's original intention. Originally Tomorrowland was billed as a "world on the move" or something to that effect. It was a showcase for many different types of futuristic transportation systems. Then it evolved to capitalize on the public's fascination with space travel. Now it's meant to be a "planetary world's fair" of sorts. Unfortunately, I think the next incarnation of Tomorrowland is going to be more focused on more Disney and Pixar movies made into rides. We're already starting to see it and I think it strays too far from the intended theme. Case in point, what does Buzz Lightyear have to do with the future? Fantasyland would have been the more appropriate location for this attraction. It is sad to see logistics becoming a greater driving force than the land's theme when they choose where to place an attraction these days.

*About the 20K Lagoon, in the past few years, like 2003-2004, when it was there but empty, did it light up at all at night? Was the old queue lit up? Was the water lit up at all? Or was it pitch black?

I can't recall, but I would be curious as to the answer to this as well.
 

nibblesandbits

Well-Known Member
First of all, welcome!!!

1. quite a few people believe that Disney is overdoing it with the characters...especially in Tomorrowland. I am not one of them. I believe that the characters are fine, as long as they spread them between parks. It's a common debate on this site, so if you're really interested in seeing some heated debates, search for it. You'll find it.

2. About the 20K spot, the Pooh thing is just a filler. Disney does have plans for that spot...it just might be a little while before they come to light. But Pooh is not the only thing that will be done with that spot.
 
Hi and welcome Kevin!

First off, everyone here pretty much loves provoked discussions, so you are definitely in the right place.
Second, from my understanding Disney is pretty gay friendly (they have a week in February (I think) that is Gay Week or something like that), so again probably moving to the right place.

Now, for comments:

I've only been going to WDW since about '99. I think that was somewhere recently after they removed 20k and Mr. Toad's. So, I can't really speak about something that I don't know a whole hill about-but I will say this; as a parent, my daughter loves the pooh ride, it's short and holds her attention. As for what is now in the space that was 20k-the pooh playscape thingy-again, as a parent it is something that gives me a minute to take a load off.
If there is a reoccuring theme in these message boards it's that there are a lot of disney purists out there. many people do not want to see the disney of their childhoods destroyed. i myself, don't necessarily mind the changes but i do understand the perspective. i do not care for SGE, I don't hate it, but i preferred AE better. However, i always like to quote Bob Dylan by saying that "times they are a'changin". the dynamic of theme parks is drastically different then what it was even 10 years ago. And disney itself is a brand and a business formost, and as a dvc member who has trouble booking rooms 11 months in advance, can tell you that business is booming. i'm sure that the bigwigs probably attribute at least some of the success to redesign and pixar movies. i think if we are honest about it, if disney wasn't able to reach an agreement with steve jobs, they might have been in serious trouble.
Anyhoo, I was told while trying to book a room that there really is no value-regular-magic-holiday seasons anymore except for pricing. i was there during a traditionally slow period-the week after thanksgiving-and the place was hopping. this just reinforces the idea to the company that integrating newer characters, be they pixar or traditional disney, newer rides, or newer attractions means more attendance. this increases their profits at least to some degree.

all of this is not to say that some of it doesn't bother me. i took art for years in school, and really appreciate old school hand drawn animation. so it makes me sad to see so few real artists being used anymore.

tv, movies, internet, have all changed everything so much. if you can imagine it, peopel automatically think it can-nay should be done. Bigger, better, faster is the lingo of our times, and a while some would say a retro theme park could still work, there are poeple who would call the "retro park" an un-updated and behind the times theme park. more often than not, it's the people with the latter opinion who have the dollars. And it's money that makes today's world go round.

I like to think that many of us Disney enthusists don't hold these same beliefs. So, if you and 10 of your other Disney fans can send me $10, i will send you my how to change the world kit!:goodnevil

Just kidding! Sorry for the long post, but perhaps we will stimulate more dialoge! Welcome again!
 

chappy

New Member
Definitely a good title for this thread, I must say.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Perhaps a good alternate title for this thread could be, "Random responses that have little or nothing to do with the OP's remarks".

Case in point:

Hi and welcome Kevin!

First off, everyone here pretty much loves provoked discussions, so you are definitely in the right place.
Second, from my understanding Disney is pretty gay friendly (they have a week in February (I think) that is Gay Week or something like that), so again probably moving to the right place.

Now, for comments:

I've only been going to WDW since about '99. I think that was somewhere recently after they removed 20k and Mr. Toad's. So, I can't really speak about something that I don't know a whole hill about-but I will say this; as a parent, my daughter loves the pooh ride, it's short and holds her attention. As for what is now in the space that was 20k-the pooh playscape thingy-again, as a parent it is something that gives me a minute to take a load off.
If there is a reoccuring theme in these message boards it's that there are a lot of disney purists out there. many people do not want to see the disney of their childhoods destroyed. i myself, don't necessarily mind the changes but i do understand the perspective. i do not care for SGE, I don't hate it, but i preferred AE better. However, i always like to quote Bob Dylan by saying that "times they are a'changin". the dynamic of theme parks is drastically different then what it was even 10 years ago. And disney itself is a brand and a business formost, and as a dvc member who has trouble booking rooms 11 months in advance, can tell you that business is booming. i'm sure that the bigwigs probably attribute at least some of the success to redesign and pixar movies. i think if we are honest about it, if disney wasn't able to reach an agreement with steve jobs, they might have been in serious trouble.
Anyhoo, I was told while trying to book a room that there really is no value-regular-magic-holiday seasons anymore except for pricing. i was there during a traditionally slow period-the week after thanksgiving-and the place was hopping. this just reinforces the idea to the company that integrating newer characters, be they pixar or traditional disney, newer rides, or newer attractions means more attendance. this increases their profits at least to some degree.

all of this is not to say that some of it doesn't bother me. i took art for years in school, and really appreciate old school hand drawn animation. so it makes me sad to see so few real artists being used anymore.

tv, movies, internet, have all changed everything so much. if you can imagine it, peopel automatically think it can-nay should be done. Bigger, better, faster is the lingo of our times, and a while some would say a retro theme park could still work, there are poeple who would call the "retro park" an un-updated and behind the times theme park. more often than not, it's the people with the latter opinion who have the dollars. And it's money that makes today's world go round.

I like to think that many of us Disney enthusists don't hold these same beliefs. So, if you and 10 of your other Disney fans can send me $10, i will send you my how to change the world kit!:goodnevil

Just kidding! Sorry for the long post, but perhaps we will stimulate more dialoge! Welcome again!
 

Jerm

Well-Known Member
You hit on a few topics that have been discussed to death on many different threads. Take a while to look back and see some of the things that have been covered, it will help a lot in the long run. This board has been around for 10 years so odds are high something has been talked about, suggested, fought over, or guessed upon somewhere.

Welcome have fun.......oh and read the FAQ that can really help out a lot.

J
 

smk

Well-Known Member
Hi and Welcome! No random thoughts but, "gay days" are in June I believe, around the first of the month.
 

KDM31091

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hey, I just thought of something. The Skyway buildings obviously were left behind, but did they remove the green "turning" station near the Speedway? I've never seen it, but then again I never saw it when the SKyway was open either - was it hidden in trees? Is it still there? Could it be seen from the Speedway?
 

MillenniumForce

New Member
Not to "interrupt" this thread....but WDW has "gay days"? Seriously? Do they have brown hair days, and green eyes days too? :lookaroun Wow...honestly, no offense meant to anyone at all, but "gay days/week"?? That has to be one of the dumbest and unnecessary things I've heard. But hey, it's simply my opinion - some may think it's good....

Anyway, KDM, if you do move to the Orlando area - have fun!! I live there...in my dreams. :p
 

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
Not to "interrupt" this thread....but WDW has "gay days"? Seriously? Do they have brown hair days, and green eyes days too? :lookaroun Wow...honestly, no offense meant to anyone at all, but "gay days/week"?? That has to be one of the dumbest and unnecessary things I've heard. But hey, it's simply my opinion - some may think it's good....

Anyway, KDM, if you do move to the Orlando area - have fun!! I live there...in my dreams. :p


I'm not sure it's any "dumber" or "unnecessary' than special nights for groups of Christians or high school graduates.
 

KDM31091

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nothing wrong with having Gay Days.

So is the Skyway "turn" still there? If so, where? Hidden in trees? Very interested in this, LOL.
 

mickster

New Member
Not to "interrupt" this thread....but WDW has "gay days"? Seriously? Do they have brown hair days, and green eyes days too? :lookaroun Wow...honestly, no offense meant to anyone at all, but "gay days/week"?? That has to be one of the dumbest and unnecessary things I've heard. But hey, it's simply my opinion - some may think it's good....

Anyway, KDM, if you do move to the Orlando area - have fun!! I live there...in my dreams. :p

It's not an official WDW sanctioned event.
 

jasonchas

Member
Nothing wrong with having Gay Days.

So is the Skyway "turn" still there? If so, where? Hidden in trees? Very interested in this, LOL.


Gay days are fun. Last year was the first for my better half (24 y/o) and I. It was his first trip to WDW and he loved it.

As for the skyway.. Both of the load/unload stations are still in place the one in FL is now a parking lot for strollers for ITASW.
 
Hey, Kevin! Welcome to the boards! :)

Well..Disney changes some of the classic rides to something movie or character-related now because they want more park attendance. I'll give you some examples:

**They changed Alien Encounters because it was to scary for the little kids and none of the kids knew what it had to do with Disney. So, instead of having a scary alien breathing down your neck, they now have Stitch burping on your neck. :)

**The real reason they got rid of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was because no kid on the entire face of the planet knew who the heck he was. So, they changed it into something more recognizable..Winnie the Pooh.

I really wouldn't have any idea what you're talking about, because I don't recall remembering the 20K Lagoon..oh..that might've just answered your question. XD

I believe they dismantled the Skyway because someone fell out of it or someone was killed on it (please, lets not get into that discussion).

Again, wouldn't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about. ^^;

Well, that's my two cents. Enjoy your stay here at the boards!
 

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
Hey, Kevin! Welcome to the boards! :)

Well..Disney changes some of the classic rides to something movie or character-related now because they want more park attendance. I'll give you some examples:

**They changed Alien Encounters because it was to scary for the little kids and none of the kids knew what it had to do with Disney. So, instead of having a scary alien breathing down your neck, they now have Stitch burping on your neck. :)
No they changed it because too many parents were too stupid to read the warning signs.
**The real reason they got rid of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was because no kid on the entire face of the planet knew who the heck he was. So, they changed it into something more recognizable..Winnie the Pooh.
I believe that says something about our educational system, that children haven't read it because it is over 20 pages long!
I really wouldn't have any idea what you're talking about, because I don't recall remembering the 20K Lagoon..oh..that might've just answered your question. XD

I believe they dismantled the Skyway because someone fell out of it or someone was killed on it (please, lets not get into that discussion).
Wrong, and I won't.... do a search!
Again, wouldn't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about. ^^;

Well, that's my two cents. Enjoy your stay here at the boards!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom