New Orleans Square is getting Flattened

[Centauri Space Station]

Agreed. By the time EPCOT Center opened and I first visited in '84, I'd already been to a few World's Fairs in my life. EPCOT was similar to a World's Fair, and yet different and with that Disney touch. As the 80's clipped along I went to the 1986 World's Fair up in Vancouver, and it was wonderful. And yet it was still noticeably inferior to my recent visits to EPCOT Center. By the time I'd visited EPCOT a few more times in the later 1980's, I was hooked.

I think the last time I really enjoyed my EPCOT visit was during the Millennium Celebration when I went in 1999, even though the park had changed noticeably since the 80's by then.

But to see what it had already devolved into by the 2010's, and then what they're doing to it now in the 20's, well...

I just can't look. I've got a lot on my plate right now in my personal life with a big move, and the world went crazy in the last two years, and then got even crazier in the last three weeks. So, I just can't look. I just don't have the emotions left to spare it.

I admit I was pretty young when I visited Epcot in 1995 and it was already starting to change from OG EC, but I think some of the changes are good. Ratatouille is a nice compliment to France and gives WS a much needed additional ride. Space 220 is fantastic and very EC in concept but it is expensive so the lounge is probably the way to go. Harmonious as a show is good, and more up to date then the turn of the millennium Illuminations, but the barges in the center of the lagoon are an eyesore. Points of light on SSE are fantastic and the restored entrance without the tomb stones are great. A few other additions that are recent that are good are films Canada Far and Wide and Awesome Planet. More EC in presentation than their predecessors, and Regal Eagle BBQ is way better than the glorified McDonalds America used to have.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

When you left at the end of the day, you were excited by what you had just eperienced or saw and you were highly motivated to carry those inspirations home with you.

Sometimes with the Epcot discourse, the people who don’t get Epcot will be like “you’re just nostalgic”, but that core of the park, an identity distinct from the other parks, is what I miss most.

I’m sad that kids today won’t get to have the experiences I had when I went there as a kid. We don’t need Epcot to be a IP/Franchise park for it to be successful.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I admit I was pretty young when I visited Epcot in 1995 and it was already starting to change from OG EC, but I think some of the changes are good.

I’m sad that kids today won’t get to have the experiences I had when I went there as a kid.

Nothing paints a good golden age fallacy like a Disney parks discussion.

Today's kids love what Disney is doing today just as much as we loved it when we were kids. It's still just as "magical" to them - even with all the changes - as it was to us. I know this because I've got a small pack of them.

No need to feel sorry for them. They're fine. They just roll their eyes when an old person starts waxxing on about "the way Disney was back in my day..."

But, in another decade or three it will be their turn to tell the kids about how much better Disney was in the 2020s before the new management ruined it.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Today's kids love what Disney is doing today just as much as we loved it when we were kids. It's still just as "magical" to them - even with all the changes - as it was to us. I know this because I've got a small pack of them.

We’ll see if they’ll want to pay the crazy prices their parents pay when they’re adults.

 

[drizgirl]

Nothing paints a good golden age fallacy like a Disney parks discussion.

Today's kids love what Disney is doing today just as much as we loved it when we were kids. It's still just as "magical" to them - even with all the changes - as it was to us. I know this because I've got a small pack of them.

No need to feel sorry for them. They're fine. They just roll their eyes when an old person starts waxxing on about "the way Disney was back in my day..."

But, in another decade or three it will be their turn to tell the kids about how much better Disney was in the 2020s before the new management ruined it.

Eh. I guess we'll see. Despite my best efforts, my kids are more nostalgic about Nintendo, Sponge Bob and Harry Potter than they are about Disney. And that was with yearly trips to Disney most of their childhoods, and no Universal trips during most of that time. I really don't think Disney is as universally "it" for kids as it used to be. Highly loved, but not to the degree it was for us parents.

 

[mickEblu]

Eh. I guess we'll see. Despite my best efforts, my kids are more nostalgic about Nintendo, Sponge Bob and Harry Potter than they are about Disney. And that was with yearly trips to Disney most of their childhoods, and no Universal trips during most of that time. I really don't think Disney is as universally "it" for kids as it used to be. Highly loved, but not to the degree it was for us parents.

Makes sense. What real competition did Disney have when we were kids?

 

[flynnibus]

From The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 1998. Stars are out of 5.

1998...

when many of its show elements and uniqueness were already dated. Remember, by the late 1990s Disney was already fully buying into the 'thrills' argument and many guests were pushing for that too. I bet that mom gave a thrilling review of living with the land too

 

[drizgirl]

Makes sense. What real competition did Disney have when we were kids?

When I was a kid, we all pretty much gathered around the TV on Sunday nights for the "Wonderful World of Disney". That nostalgia is deeply planted into our brains and hearts. Today's kids like Disney. Some of them love it a lot. But I don't think Disney can replicate that shared childhood nostalgia many of us had.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Makes sense. What real competition did Disney have when we were kids?

Plenty, you just don’t remember it. We remember the stuff that we connected with.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Fyi lots of photos from yesterdays update:

Disneyland Update: Springtime Magic, Construction & Concerns

It's a season of change at Disneyland. Spring floral is in full bloom in the theme parks as demolition, refurbishments, and construction are underway throughout the Disneyland Resort. In Disneyland, New Orleans Square's waterfront has

www.micechat.com

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Eh. I guess we'll see. Despite my best efforts, my kids are more nostalgic about Nintendo, Sponge Bob and Harry Potter than they are about Disney. And that was with yearly trips to Disney most of their childhoods, and no Universal trips during most of that time. I really don't think Disney is as universally "it" for kids as it used to be. Highly loved, but not to the degree it was for us parents.

Makes sense. What real competition did Disney have when we were kids?

When I was a kid, we all pretty much gathered around the TV on Sunday nights for the "Wonderful World of Disney". That nostalgia is deeply planted into our brains and hearts. Today's kids like Disney. Some of them love it a lot. But I don't think Disney can replicate that shared childhood nostalgia many of us had.

Plenty, you just don’t remember it. We remember the stuff that we connected with.

For the longest time, when it came to family entertainment and American animation, there was Disney and then there was...everyone else.

This was made all the more obvious during that initial wave of VHS releases. TV animation was growing exponentially, and Disney was involved with DuckTales etc, but they couldn't compare to the likes of Pinocchio, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp. Adults of the time were nostalgic for those movies, and their quality dazzled a new generation used to seeing glorified toy commercials.

But starting in the 90s entertainment geared towards children exploded, and some of the adults making those shows and movies really tried to make them as good as possible. That's why there's such a nostalgia today for shows like Batman TAS.

And then the big studios started competing with Disney and after a few fits and starts, started finding their niche and chipping away at Disney's market share (duds like Home on the Range didn't help).

Now it seems like every week there's a new show or movie for kids, to say nothing of what pops up on social media. It's harder for Disney to get attention when they're just one of many.

I'd also argue that Disney intentionally ignoring or throwing their own older movies under the bus and diluting their brand with acquisitions means the name Disney-itself has less certainty or meaning to general audiences. Do kids like Disney proper, or do they just like Star Wars and Marvel?

 

[mickEblu]

Plenty, you just don’t remember it. We remember the stuff that we connected with.

So you are honestly saying that Disney had the same level of competition in the 80s and early 90s as they do today. If you are older id imagine their was even less competition.

 

[mickEblu]

When I was a kid, we all pretty much gathered around the TV on Sunday nights for the "Wonderful World of Disney". That nostalgia is deeply planted into our brains and hearts. Today's kids like Disney. Some of them love it a lot. But I don't think Disney can replicate that shared childhood nostalgia many of us had.

Right. I’m an early 80s baby so not quite the generation you re describing but probably the last of that breed. What’s interesting though is that the Golden era animated movies hold such a special place in my heart even though i was watching them on VHS 30-50 years after they were released. You didn’t have 15 different streaming platforms with 1000s of movies or cable TV with 100s or channels. I had whatever cartoons were playing on regular TV and whatever VHS’s I owned. This allowed me to be impacted by those early films almost as much as the generations that came before me.

On a semi related note, I remember as a kid thinking Jungle Book was released in the late 80s because I saw it in theaters shortly before Little Mermaid. They were still bringing the old classics back to theaters every few years back then.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Fyi lots of photos from yesterdays update:

Disneyland Update: Springtime Magic, Construction & Concerns

It's a season of change at Disneyland. Spring floral is in full bloom in the theme parks as demolition, refurbishments, and construction are underway throughout the Disneyland Resort. In Disneyland, New Orleans Square's waterfront has

www.micechat.com

Must protecc the trees at all costs!

 

[TP2000]

Must protecc the trees at all costs!

I know! It's kind of scary. I want to trust them to do the right thing, but...

On the other hand, this photo shows them focusing on those upper platforms in front of Cafe Orleans. We talked about this earlier, but those need to go. They just created a brick bunker that walled off New Orleans Square from the riverbanks, and opening up the view again of the architecture there could also be good.

Also, the food court manager at the Fullerton Flea Market called and he wants his patio tables back!

 

[WDWJoeG]

I know! It's kind of scary. I want to trust them to do the right thing, but...

On the other hand, this photo shows them focusing on those upper platforms in front of Cafe Orleans. We talked about this earlier, but those need to go. They just created a brick bunker that walled off New Orleans Square from the riverbanks, and opening up the view again of the architecture there could also be good.

Also, the food court manager at the Fullerton Flea Market called and he wants his patio tables back!

No remember, those were because of Covid, or Sacramento, or something! Which is why they are still there!

The round next to the square just sends me into a spin. Why, Disney, why?!

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Nothing paints a good golden age fallacy like a Disney parks discussion.

Today's kids love what Disney is doing today just as much as we loved it when we were kids. It's still just as "magical" to them - even with all the changes - as it was to us. I know this because I've got a small pack of them.

No need to feel sorry for them. They're fine. They just roll their eyes when an old person starts waxxing on about "the way Disney was back in my day..."

But, in another decade or three it will be their turn to tell the kids about how much better Disney was in the 2020s before the new management ruined it.

Maybe not. When we visited Epcot, the real magic to the kids came with International Cast Member interaction, not the characters or the IP infused rides. It was the learning and technology and the other items associated to the original premise of the park that got the wow factor. But each kid is different.-- And btw, these are elementary school aged kids.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Can't wait to see what cute lil baby trees they plant:

 

[mickEblu]

Can't wait to see what cute lil baby trees they plant:

Honestly doesn’t look bad from that angle. They will be missed the most when standing inside the courtyard. Hopefully the replant two small -medium sized trees.

 

[TP2000]

Can't wait to see what cute lil baby trees they plant:

Oh my gosh! There's actually a building back there.

And look, they even themed it to something! It looks like old-timey New Orleans, Louisiana.

Who knew they were so clever back in 1966?