Not Trying To Be A Grammar Nazi, But...

B

Bob Saget

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
...this sorta bugs me a little. Lately I've been noticing an odd slogan at the end of Disney Parks TV advertisements:

"Disney Parks: The Place Where Dreams Come True!"

Okay, Disney Parks, the Place where dreams come true? Shouldn't it instead be: Disney Parks: The Places Where Dreams Come True"?

I'm nowhere near perfect with my grammar skills, so maybe I'm just reading too much into this. But for some reason the way the slogan is worded sounds like fingernails on the chalkboard. Sure, you could say: "Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True". But a plural noun like Disney Parks? They obviously know what they're doing, so maybe I'm just off base. But this just sounds awkward (imo). What's next? "Police Officers: The Person Who Upholds The Law." o_O
 
G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
Bob Saget said:
...this sorta bugs me a little. Lately I've been noticing an odd slogan at the end of Disney Parks TV advertisements:

"Disney Parks: The Place Where Dreams Come True!"

Okay, Disney Parks, the Place where dreams come true? Shouldn't it instead be: Disney Parks: The Places Where Dreams Come True"?

I'm nowhere near perfect with my grammar skills, so maybe I'm just reading too much into this. But for some reason the way the slogan is worded sounds like fingernails on the chalkboard. Sure, you could say: "Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True". But a plural noun like Disney Parks? They obviously know what they're doing, so maybe I'm just off base. But this just sounds awkward (imo). What's next? "Police Officers: The Person Who Upholds The Law." o_O
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I see your point, but I think that that are referring to the Disney Parks as a singular entity. That was the purpose behind the whole generic branding thing. They wanted people to think of all of the parks as one big unit. At least, that was one of the reasons behind this disaster of Disney Parks branding. However, as the parks are considered a singular entity as Disney Parks, the phrasing "The Place Where Dreams Come True" still works, sort of. Even using "Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True." doesn't really work by your reasoning since it is still a group of four parks and two water parks.
 
B

Bob Saget

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
G00fyDad said:
I see your point, but I think that that are referring to the Disney Parks as a singular entity. That was the purpose behind the whole generic branding thing. They wanted people to think of all of the parks as one big unit. At least, that was one of the reasons behind this disaster of Disney Parks branding. However, as the parks are considered a singular entity as Disney Parks, the phrasing "The Place Where Dreams Come True" still works, sort of.Even using "Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True." doesn't really work by your reasoning since it is still a group of four parks and two water parks.
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Good points. Maybe it just sounds stupid even though it's still grammatically correct.
(I was never a big fan of the whole "Disney Parks" thing to begin with).
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Maybe they are using it as a collective noun. In that case it would grammatically be correct. Kind of like you wouldn't say "Everybody are nice." Instead you'd say "Everybody is nice," or "Everybody's nice" if you're using a contraction.

Either way "Disney Parks: The Place Where Dreams Come True" sounds better than "Disney Parks: The Places Where Dreams Come True." On the other hand they could've just shortened it to "Disney Parks: Where Dreams Come True" and then this whole issue wouldn't be an issue.
 
B

Bob Saget

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
G00fyDad said:
Even using "Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True." doesn't really work by your reasoning since it is still a group of four parks and two water parks.
Click to expand...
Actually, this I must argue. *Puts on Grammar Nazi hat...strolls over to chalkboard.*

You see, when someone says: Walt Disney World: The Place Where Dreams Come True, that is just as correct as saying: "The world is a very big place." A singular referencing another singular.
Other correct examples:
"The world is constantly evolving."
"Walt Disney World is my favorite place to take my family."

Whereas with a plural, such as when you're watching sci-fi and they say: There are many worlds out there! etc

Those are all correct and sound quite normal when hearing them spoken. (You wouldn't say: "Walt Disney World are my happy places!" even though Walt Disney World includes multiple parks, resorts, etc. That would just sound ridiculous.)

I guess that's what threw me off with the whole Disney Parks thing.
 

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