News Main Street Photo Supply Co. Being Replaced By Plaza Point Holiday Shoppe

[DavidDL]

This is an Eisnerism. Apparently he attended some storytelling course in the 90s and mandated everything have a back story. This even applied to his nightclub area in Disney World where each club had a placard explaining its back story.

I think it's stupid. I go to themeparks for experiences, not stories.

Make no mistake, Walt never did this silly backstory thing for his shops and stores.

Obviously thinking it's stupid is your perfectly valid opinion. That said, is the supposed, hidden backstory for something like Redd Rocket's Pizza Port or Plaza Point really going to affect your enjoyment (or lack thereof) of either one in any serious way? Either you'll like the restaurant/shop or you won't, whether they tossed a silly backstory in there or not.

I do admittedly agree that plenty of Disney's marketing can be pretty over the top or cringe-worthy, though, when it comes to these sorts of things. Do most of the CMs who are going to be staffing this shop actually believe they are living some sort of story while being swarmed with Guests on their way out of the park just after fireworks? Probably not. Do most Guests care what the backstory of the shop they're trying to find a cheap ornament in, is? Again, likely no. But their inclusion only requires the minimal amount of effort and can be a fun little thing for those who are interested or actively seek those sorts of things out. In short, the only people who are going to actually be affected by this sort of decision making, are those who actually decide to seek this information.

To everyone else, it will just be the Main Street Christmas shop. If one thinks the idea of these little stories is stupid, they can totally ignore them or choose to not seek them out. It won't change anything, ..other than having to deal with some of the cringe that comes with some of these marketing videos. They could tone it down a bit and just show the general public what will be replacing what was there before and get us excited with some concept art or props without going too far into detail but they sort of already do that with the original Disney blog post. Backstories and videos could be seen as intended and included simply for those who are asking, "show/tell me more".

So, maybe Disney infers that those who care enough to sit through a video detailing how they plan to change something as minor as the photo shop into a holiday one, rather than just take the initial announcement and images and be done with it, are one in the same audience?

 

[DrAlice]

Making a place feel like a nostalgic version of a time and place is not the same as a back story. What's annoying about the marketing is that they will oversell the idea of a story even on attractions/shops/shows that were budget-cut to have minimal place making. Case in point: Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. The marketing for that had so much of Disney falling all over themselves trying to tell you about story, when what we got was purple concrete and the bare minimum of theming.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that their claim of story is often used to oversell things that don't even meet Disney-caliber theming. That gets old. But, someone must be eating up this marketing, or they'd quit doing it. I think. Unless they are totally out of touch...

I just hope the holiday shop fits Main Street theming and has cool stuff to sell in it. I don't care if it has a "back story".

 

[DavidDL]

Making a place feel like a nostalgic version of a time and place is not the same as a back story. ...

I would tend to agree. Is that what is happening in the video? I haven't actually brought myself to watch it yet due in part to a combination of only being on the forums while at work and taking a handful of comments from folks on here at face value (while also wanting to avoid any cringe-inducing testimonials).

My understanding is simply that they were replacing the photo shop with a holiday one and including some design elements that could be conceived by those looking hard enough at them to allude to a slightly larger story. For example, if the designers filled the store with hand-made-looking holiday figures and tossed some vintage ads on table tops and beneath books that said something akin to "Mr. Milton brings hand-made Christmas cheer to kids", etc., that could rightly lead those interested to figure that perhaps there is a bit of backstory to the shop that they could ask about or look into, if they really wanted. For everyone else, it's just general shop decor and need not be anything else.

Edit: Which, to @CaptinEO 's point; doesn't necessarily need to be heavily flaunted. Heck, one could argue that pointing these sorts of things out too much could reduce their charm. Having backstories and decor that plays into it in these locales is fine by me. I think it's fun. It exists for those who are interested in it and is harmless enough for those who don't care. But I can see why to someone like @CaptinEO or others that it could come off eye-roll inducing if they try to play too hard into just how awesome they are for it having it via marketing.

 

[KeithVH]

Off-Topic Rant Warning, because it's not about this specific media statement about this specific amazing store that will immerse us, they are doing this lazy writing more and more about everything...

"Careful observers will notice displays that reflect seasonal holidays around the world and our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion." -Kelsey Lynch, Public Relations Director, Disneyland Resort

Do these PR people not read the words they type? Do they not have a good grasp on the English language? Did Ms. Lynch really mean to say that only "careful observers" will be able to pick out the displays and merchandise not related to Christmas? That the designers will purposely obscure those types of displays from the merely casual shoppers who aren't paying close attention? And that making the non-Christmas merchandise harder to notice actually supports an "ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion"???

Surely that's not what she meant with that sentence. But those are the words she used to convey her thoughts as a Public Relations Director, so maybe that's really what she meant?

We have an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, so we're making the non-Christmas stuff harder to find than the Christmas stuff! Good luck!

Plaza Point, an All-New Holiday Store, Coming Soon to Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland Park

A very special new shop is opening soon at Disneyland park! It’s an all-new holiday store called Plaza Point, coming to the corner of Main Street, U.S.A., and East Plaza Street.

disneyparks.disney.go.com

Trick question - what do "displays that reflect seasonal holidays around the world" have to do with "our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion"? The first talks about physical objects, the latter about an aspect of a belief system. Are we being told that TDO considers these things equivalent and that each influences the other?

Just asking for a friend.

 

[DrAlice]

I would tend to agree. Is that what is happening in the video? I haven't actually brought myself to watch it yet due in part to a combination of only being on the forums while at work and taking a handful of comments from folks on here at face value (while also wanting to avoid any cringe-inducing testimonials).

My understanding is simply that they were replacing the photo shop with a holiday one and including some design elements that could be conceived by those looking hard enough at them to allude to a slightly larger story. For example, if the designers filled the store with hand-made-looking holiday figures and tossed some vintage ads on table tops and beneath books that said something akin to "Mr. Milton brings hand-made Christmas cheer to kids", etc., that could rightly lead those interested to figure that perhaps there is a bit of backstory to the shop that they could ask about or look into, if they really wanted. For everyone else, it's just general shop decor and need not be anything else.

Edit: Which, to @CaptinEO 's point; doesn't necessarily need to be heavily flaunted. Heck, one could argue that pointing these sorts of things out too much could reduce their charm. Having backstories and decor that plays into it in these locales is fine by me. I think it's fun. It exists for those who are interested in it and is harmless enough for those who don't care. But I can see why to someone like @CaptinEO or others that it could come off eye-roll inducing if they try to play too hard into just how awesome they are for it having it via marketing.

Here's the transcript. It's a super short video where they show us a holiday shop. Fine. Cool. They talk about the elements that will be in it. Cool. Fine. But she makes a point to use the word "story" several times, when there is no story. I think this discussion has gone larger than this video and the real point from those of us complaining is that we are sick of Disney marketing yelling the words "story" and "immersive" and "magic" when they don't fit, and when those things aren't necessary. They've become cringey, meaningless, marketing buzzwords. That's all. At least, that's where I'm coming from. I have no issue with the shop itself. And I'm not that upset. I'm just an old lady yelling at a cloud.

00:00 - We are really excited to be bringing you some

00:02 of the elements that are going to be going

00:04 into the new Plaza Point holiday shop on Main street USA.

00:08 So it'll be holiday all year round, but it will transition.

00:10 So we are planning to have a Lunar new year overlay.

00:14 We are planning to have a Halloween overlay

00:16 and then the special piece just for Christmas,

00:19 but all year round, it will be a holiday shop.

00:21 And what really makes us special is the focus on diversity.

00:25 So my team is doing everything that it possibly can to bring

00:29 all these great different traditions from around the world.

00:33 - I'm decorating this garland with some original artwork

00:37 of children as cherubs that are done in the style

00:40 that we would have seen in the Victorian era.

00:44 - Today, we're still doing a lot of work.

00:46 We have our painter painting some of the nutcrackers.

00:49 We have someone that's still putting ornaments and finishing

00:51 touches on the tree.

00:53 We have our graphic artists working hard to create custom

00:56 graphic pieces, to tell the story.

00:58 And we have our painters that are painting the window

01:00 displays.

01:02 - I designed one of the two brand new window displays.

01:05 Very excited about it to do original art for new environment

01:09 in the original Disney Main street is, is a real honor.

01:13 - It makes me feel like I'm creating

01:16 and being a part of the magic.

01:19 - Decorating is fun because it just brings

01:21 such joy to other people.

01:22 - I am so excited to be working on this project

01:25 with our Walt Disney Imagineering partners

01:27 and our visual presentation partners.

01:29 And we are so thankful for them to have given us the space

01:32 to tell this amazing story.

 

[DavidDL]

Here's the transcript. It's a super short video where they show us a holiday shop. Fine. Cool. They talk about the elements that will be in it. Cool. Fine. But she makes a point to use the word "story" several times, when there is no story. I think this discussion has gone larger than this video and the real point from those of us complaining is that we are sick of Disney marketing yelling the words "story" and "immersive" and "magic" when they don't fit, and when those things aren't necessary. They've become cringey, meaningless, marketing buzzwords. That's all. At least, that's where I'm coming from. I have no issue with the shop itself. And I'm not that upset. I'm just an old lady yelling at a cloud.

00:00 - We are really excited to be bringing you some

00:02 of the elements that are going to be going

00:04 into the new Plaza Point holiday shop on Main street USA.

00:08 So it'll be holiday all year round, but it will transition.

00:10 So we are planning to have a Lunar new year overlay.

00:14 We are planning to have a Halloween overlay

00:16 and then the special piece just for Christmas,

00:19 but all year round, it will be a holiday shop.

00:21 And what really makes us special is the focus on diversity.

00:25 So my team is doing everything that it possibly can to bring

00:29 all these great different traditions from around the world.

00:33 - I'm decorating this garland with some original artwork

00:37 of children as cherubs that are done in the style

00:40 that we would have seen in the Victorian era.

00:44 - Today, we're still doing a lot of work.

00:46 We have our painter painting some of the nutcrackers.

00:49 We have someone that's still putting ornaments and finishing

00:51 touches on the tree.

00:53 We have our graphic artists working hard to create custom

00:56 graphic pieces, to tell the story.

00:58 And we have our painters that are painting the window

01:00 displays.

01:02 - I designed one of the two brand new window displays.

01:05 Very excited about it to do original art for new environment

01:09 in the original Disney Main street is, is a real honor.

01:13 - It makes me feel like I'm creating

01:16 and being a part of the magic.

01:19 - Decorating is fun because it just brings

01:21 such joy to other people.

01:22 - I am so excited to be working on this project

01:25 with our Walt Disney Imagineering partners

01:27 and our visual presentation partners.

01:29 And we are so thankful for them to have given us the space

01:32 to tell this amazing story.

Thanks so much for the transcript. I finally had a chance to sneak a peek at the video on my lunch and it almost feels like the first mention of "story" is incomplete. Like they wanted to say "story of Christmas" or referring to how some Main Street windows have their own stories (kind of like at the Emporium). I guess time will tell.

But yeah, that last line definitely stuck out to me, haha. Seems like they just kind of interchanged "work on this amazing project" with "tell this amazing story" because it sounded better to them or something. The new space will likely be a work of art in it's own right and what they were working on looked really nice but I see what others were talking about now. It didn't feel like any kind of storytelling was actually being designed for the space itself. Rather, I got the vibe that they were just referring to the "story" of whatever holiday they were zoomed in on at the moment.

Still fine with them using backstories in shops and the like and honestly, aside from that ending line, the video wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. But yeah, the end there felt like they definitely had a "buzz word quota" to meet or something so they had to toss the term out at least one more time, or something.

Thank you again for posting the transcript!

 

[waltography]

Here's the transcript. It's a super short video where they show us a holiday shop. Fine. Cool. They talk about the elements that will be in it. Cool. Fine. But she makes a point to use the word "story" several times, when there is no story. I think this discussion has gone larger than this video and the real point from those of us complaining is that we are sick of Disney marketing yelling the words "story" and "immersive" and "magic" when they don't fit, and when those things aren't necessary. They've become cringey, meaningless, marketing buzzwords. That's all. At least, that's where I'm coming from. I have no issue with the shop itself. And I'm not that upset. I'm just an old lady yelling at a cloud.

00:00 - We are really excited to be bringing you some

00:02 of the elements that are going to be going

00:04 into the new Plaza Point holiday shop on Main street USA.

00:08 So it'll be holiday all year round, but it will transition.

00:10 So we are planning to have a Lunar new year overlay.

00:14 We are planning to have a Halloween overlay

00:16 and then the special piece just for Christmas,

00:19 but all year round, it will be a holiday shop.

00:21 And what really makes us special is the focus on diversity.

00:25 So my team is doing everything that it possibly can to bring

00:29 all these great different traditions from around the world.

00:33 - I'm decorating this garland with some original artwork

00:37 of children as cherubs that are done in the style

00:40 that we would have seen in the Victorian era.

00:44 - Today, we're still doing a lot of work.

00:46 We have our painter painting some of the nutcrackers.

00:49 We have someone that's still putting ornaments and finishing

00:51 touches on the tree.

00:53 We have our graphic artists working hard to create custom

00:56 graphic pieces, to tell the story.

00:58 And we have our painters that are painting the window

01:00 displays.

01:02 - I designed one of the two brand new window displays.

01:05 Very excited about it to do original art for new environment

01:09 in the original Disney Main street is, is a real honor.

01:13 - It makes me feel like I'm creating

01:16 and being a part of the magic.

01:19 - Decorating is fun because it just brings

01:21 such joy to other people.

01:22 - I am so excited to be working on this project

01:25 with our Walt Disney Imagineering partners

01:27 and our visual presentation partners.

01:29 And we are so thankful for them to have given us the space

01:32 to tell this amazing story.

Surely they're talking about the story of Mr. Nicholas Plaza (who's secretly Santa in disguise) taking up a vacation residence in a turn of the century American town, using it to learn about other holidays like Lunar New Year and Halloween. It's a super obvious story! Can't believe you missed it from the wildly informative video.

 

[VJ]

Surely they're talking about the story of Mr. Nicholas Plaza (who's secretly Santa in disguise) taking up a vacation residence in a turn of the century American town, using it to learn about other holidays like Lunar New Year and Halloween. It's a super obvious story! Can't believe you missed it from the wildly informative video.

The store's theme should be Disney's 1985 hit film One Magic Christmas. Nothing like your entire family dying horrible deaths to put you in the Christmas spirit!

 

[TP2000]

I'm just thrilled that I'm not the only one who thinks their messaging and their vocabulary is getting increasingly pukey and inane! I thought it was me just being a grumpy gus still trying to obey basic societal norms and simple English language skills.

"And we're so thankful to them for having given us the space to tell this amazing story."

Just let the enormity of that sentence sink in. The story this gift shop somehow tells will amaze you.

Amaze - verb. To surprise greatly; fill with astonishment. "she amazed doctors by fighting back when her deteriorating condition caused her to suffer heart failure"

And then realize they are decorating a lovely little shop at a theme park that will sell cutesy Christmas decorations made in Communist China. That's all.

But the same designer also says that what makes this store special is the "focus on diversity", which is a message then muddled by the Public Relations Director who claims that only "careful observers" will be able to spot their "ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion".

So much of this makes no sense. And yet it's got this thick coating ladled over it of painfully forced "inclusion!" phrasing, as if someone from HR had a gun to their head while they said it.

It's a little gift shop at a theme park selling Christmas ornaments, in a new space you get to redecorate because no one buys Kodak film any more. Just make it look nice. Thanks in advance.

 

[TP2000]

Speaking of Kodak and this store space, it's a great example of how much Imagineering has progressed.

I know we like to think everything was perfect and highly themed in Walt's day, but that's not true. The stores on Main Street USA were some of the most glaring examples. You had this gorgeously Imagineered exterior streetscape, but once you entered into the stores themselves they often reverted to a very lightly themed version of a circa 1960 store in an American town.

Here's the interior of the Kodak Camera Center on Main Street USA in 1964. Can you even tell this is Disneyland?!? It is. But if it weren't for the little Mickey Mouse display at left and slide sets of the various lands for sale, it could also be the Kodak store in Boise, Idaho or Birmingham, Alabama in 1964.

And this was 9 years after Disneyland opened and was a roaring success, in a store hosted by one of America's most succesful companies at the time (Kodak Eastman). But Walt and WED allowed the lessees to run their shops as they saw fit, with their usual corporate displays and equipment.

I think the kids in today's Disneyland Public Relations department would have a fit trying to write up a fake story about what this store's "amazing" backstory was.

 

[TP2000]

To celebrate a Friday and the quickly approaching cocktail hour, I'm going to play Paul Simon's wonderful song "Kodachrome" once I've poured myself a little something.

Here's a toast to smart people who can still spot corporate drivel, to genuine and kind human inclusion not the fake HR kind, and to all those little yellow boxes of film we had in our lives for so long! Cheers!

 

[Disney Analyst]

Speaking of Kodak and this store space, it's a great example of how much Imagineering has progressed.

I know we like to think everything was perfect and highly themed in Walt's day, but that's not true. The stores on Main Street USA were some of the most glaring examples. You had this gorgeously Imagineered exterior streetscape, but once you entered into the stores themselves they often reverted to a very lightly themed version of a circa 1960 store in an American town.

Here's the interior of the Kodak Camera Center on Main Street USA in 1964. Can you even tell this is Disneyland?!? It is. But if it weren't for the little Mickey Mouse display at left and slide sets of the various lands for sale, it could also be the Kodak store in Boise, Idaho or Birmingham, Alabama in 1964.

And this was 9 years after Disneyland opened and was a roaring success, in a store hosted by one of America's most succesful companies at the time (Kodak Eastman). But Walt and WED allowed the lessees to run their shops as they saw fit, with their usual corporate displays and equipment.

I think the kids in today's Disneyland Public Relations department would have a fit trying to write up a fake story about what this store's "amazing" backstory was.

I appreciate you sharing this. Disney has its faults even now, but they aren’t producing this on Main Street…

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Speaking of Kodak and this store space, it's a great example of how much Imagineering has progressed.

I know we like to think everything was perfect and highly themed in Walt's day, but that's not true. The stores on Main Street USA were some of the most glaring examples. You had this gorgeously Imagineered exterior streetscape, but once you entered into the stores themselves they often reverted to a very lightly themed version of a circa 1960 store in an American town.

Here's the interior of the Kodak Camera Center on Main Street USA in 1964. Can you even tell this is Disneyland?!? It is. But if it weren't for the little Mickey Mouse display at left and slide sets of the various lands for sale, it could also be the Kodak store in Boise, Idaho or Birmingham, Alabama in 1964.

And this was 9 years after Disneyland opened and was a roaring success, in a store hosted by one of America's most succesful companies at the time (Kodak Eastman). But Walt and WED allowed the lessees to run their shops as they saw fit, with their usual corporate displays and equipment.

I think the kids in today's Disneyland Public Relations department would have a fit trying to write up a fake story about what this store's "amazing" backstory was.

Judging by this photo looks like it got a heavy remodel inside by 1966 which for anyone who doesn't know was after Walt brought all the stores and restaurants in Disneyland fully under Disney's control after previously leasing them out to help fund Disneyland:

 

[TP2000]

I appreciate you sharing this. Disney has its faults even now, but they aren’t producing this on Main Street…

No, they certainly aren't. And they haven't since about 1985. Things are highly themed and elaborately decorated now.

But in Walt's day? Not so much, especially if it was a big corporate sponsor paying for the lease.

 

[D.Silentu]

one could argue that pointing these sorts of things out too much could reduce their charm.

I also believe this. I imagine the point of giving a fictional history to every bit of the property is to create a sense of cohesive surface logic that can be casually absorbed. It need not go any further than that.

 

[celluloid]

No, they certainly aren't. And they haven't since about 1985. Things are highly themed and elaborately decorated now.

But in Walt's day? Not so much, especially if it was a big corporate sponsor paying for the lease.

It still happens today. I don't think Club Cool, as great and clean as free soda is, is all that immersive. It is free soda fountains with Coke branding everywhere It serves its purpose.
The final area of Test Track's Post show is still a sponsored new car sales lot. I would rate it somewhere between a nice show floor and a Carvanna ATM.

Of course sensibilities and teams have grown with the teams in the last 60 plus years. As they should because you pay a 100 percent increase in price to have that fun too.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

If anyone is interested, here is the concept art for the original Kodak store at Disneyland.

 

[Stevek]

Looks good, happy to have a full time holiday shop that's hopefully nicer than the shop in Fantasyland. We always enjoyed the Christmas shop in Liberty Square (WDW).

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

I like to see that it doesn't seem to just be the kind of shop that would just have Mickey in a Santa Hat plushies and the same kind of character ornaments you could get at Hallmark or Walmart.

I particularly liked the candle carousels in the background that always give off an old world vibe and are seen in more collectible shops.

But I also don't like how this concept is sill dominated by Christmas, when many holidays are now represented in our society and the inclusion of those is still often miniscule compared to Santa, Baby Jesus, Charles Dickens, etc.

 

[UNCgolf]

But I also don't like how this concept is sill dominated by Christmas, when many holidays are now represented in our society and the inclusion of those is still often miniscule compared to Santa, Baby Jesus, Charles Dickens, etc.

There aren't really any other holidays that have the cultural impact of Christmas. Halloween is probably the closest, although it's arguable whether that counts as a holiday.

Although it's nominally a Christian holiday (albeit one arguably repurposed from ancient Roman celebrations), it's almost two separate holidays at this point -- the actual Christian religious version and a secular, non-religious version. I know Jewish people who celebrate secular Christmas with Santa, Christmas trees, etc. while obviously ignoring the religious aspect. I also know plenty of agnostics and atheists (I'm one of them) who happily celebrate a secular version of Christmas.

I think if it was still strongly tied to Christianity it would be a different story, but it's not like they're selling nativity scenes.