Expo_Seeker40
Well-Known Member
I'm going to finally chime in....
*breathes in and out of a paperbag* :lookaroun
Now, this may have some bias to this, but I want to share an initial experience as far away from my fanboyish self as possible, but rather through my grandparents...not hardcore fangrandparents (new word! :sohappy
at all, and have gone sporatically to WDW since the 1970s and to the present.
They enjoy WDW, but not hardcore, and miss alot of the things I notice at WDW, but they still notice the erosion of Walt, from Walt Disney World.
I am very fortunate to have my grandparents still alive, and we will be going to WDW in January while I am down there for a few days to see them.
My grandfather summed it up all too well when we went to Epcot in 2004....this was nearly 10 years since I first went to WDW in 1996.
"Where's the drama?" he said "There's nothing scientific about it " my grandmother said.
My grandfather was indifferent to the wand and stars on SSE, but my grandmother was disgusted with the entrance.
She thought the idea of leave a legacy was interesting and fun, but executed terribly; sacrificing so much of the entrance plaza, and into the dull color schemes. "It's uninviting", and she says that to this day.
The Animal Kingdom to them is the most Walt Disney park to them, notice how I say Walt Disney Park and not Disney Park, and I think you catch my drift.
MGM is alright with them, and for my grandfather who was indifferent to the wand, hates the placement of the hat, and went to MGM a mere month after it opened and knows and understands full well why there should be no hat in front of MGM, let alone why the earful tower makes perfect sense to be the icon, but, sadly, is in a remote location.
When we to Epcot in 2008, post wand, after I had a mild fanboy seizure, my grandmother stood there in the entance and would not move!, and smiled and said "it's the way it should be" and couldn't get over as to "look how big it looks without it (the wand).
The Magic Kingdom to them has become "more toward kids", "there isn't alot for us (our age) to do here. They find monsters inc interesting but out of place ("They should have put is somewhere else!"), they don't like how Main Street has become a cluster of generic merch.
"there used to be so many little things you could buy here [Main Street] and bring home to all your friends, (referring to the UNIQUE, and RELEVANT, and IMMERSIVE stores on a 1900s main street that sold lanterns, glassware, flowers, etc with that all too recognizable Walt Disney World "D" logo.
and speaking of the "D", my grandfather , who was once the vice president of a large company and a union, knows full well what its like to brand and get one's message across, and he feels that "the "D" made sense" and "the walt disney font is oversaturation... you're no longer offering branches of your product, but rather trying to fit them under one roof (that being the generic walt disney script magic and pixie dust and plush company)
and to drift a little bit, I think I became a fanboy because of what I saw in 2004
I didn't know jack about WDW when I first went in 1996. Hell, I confused most of it in a Disneyland sing-a-long VHS tape I had as a kid, thinking I would find a plantation HM, and yellow subs.
But I knew from going to the......travel agent! (remember those?) , I knew what WDW basically was in a raw sense.
And now I'm an artist and designer, who, I think....thanks to some of the traditional and classic values of Walt Disney showmanship inspired me alot in what I do now......whether it be browsin the unique shops of main street in 1996, or being amazed at SSE, or staring at those rows of palm trees that led up to SSE, or walking down sunset blvd sans hat, or riding on great rides like tower of terror, kilimanjaro safari, etc, I felt INSPIRED!
I think my fanboyishness came about because I am seeing something that brought RELEVANCE, UNIQUENESS, and SENSE, to generations that are finding not only their favorite rides and shows disappearing, but rather the fundamentals of the vacation kingdom of the world, eroding away into a generic world of commercialism.
The magic is destroying the magic.
*breathes in and out of a paperbag* :lookaroun
Now, this may have some bias to this, but I want to share an initial experience as far away from my fanboyish self as possible, but rather through my grandparents...not hardcore fangrandparents (new word! :sohappy
at all, and have gone sporatically to WDW since the 1970s and to the present.They enjoy WDW, but not hardcore, and miss alot of the things I notice at WDW, but they still notice the erosion of Walt, from Walt Disney World.
I am very fortunate to have my grandparents still alive, and we will be going to WDW in January while I am down there for a few days to see them.
My grandfather summed it up all too well when we went to Epcot in 2004....this was nearly 10 years since I first went to WDW in 1996.
"Where's the drama?" he said "There's nothing scientific about it " my grandmother said.
My grandfather was indifferent to the wand and stars on SSE, but my grandmother was disgusted with the entrance.
She thought the idea of leave a legacy was interesting and fun, but executed terribly; sacrificing so much of the entrance plaza, and into the dull color schemes. "It's uninviting", and she says that to this day.
The Animal Kingdom to them is the most Walt Disney park to them, notice how I say Walt Disney Park and not Disney Park, and I think you catch my drift.
MGM is alright with them, and for my grandfather who was indifferent to the wand, hates the placement of the hat, and went to MGM a mere month after it opened and knows and understands full well why there should be no hat in front of MGM, let alone why the earful tower makes perfect sense to be the icon, but, sadly, is in a remote location.
When we to Epcot in 2008, post wand, after I had a mild fanboy seizure, my grandmother stood there in the entance and would not move!, and smiled and said "it's the way it should be" and couldn't get over as to "look how big it looks without it (the wand).
The Magic Kingdom to them has become "more toward kids", "there isn't alot for us (our age) to do here. They find monsters inc interesting but out of place ("They should have put is somewhere else!"), they don't like how Main Street has become a cluster of generic merch.
"there used to be so many little things you could buy here [Main Street] and bring home to all your friends, (referring to the UNIQUE, and RELEVANT, and IMMERSIVE stores on a 1900s main street that sold lanterns, glassware, flowers, etc with that all too recognizable Walt Disney World "D" logo.
and speaking of the "D", my grandfather , who was once the vice president of a large company and a union, knows full well what its like to brand and get one's message across, and he feels that "the "D" made sense" and "the walt disney font is oversaturation... you're no longer offering branches of your product, but rather trying to fit them under one roof (that being the generic walt disney script magic and pixie dust and plush company)
and to drift a little bit, I think I became a fanboy because of what I saw in 2004
I didn't know jack about WDW when I first went in 1996. Hell, I confused most of it in a Disneyland sing-a-long VHS tape I had as a kid, thinking I would find a plantation HM, and yellow subs.
But I knew from going to the......travel agent! (remember those?) , I knew what WDW basically was in a raw sense.
And now I'm an artist and designer, who, I think....thanks to some of the traditional and classic values of Walt Disney showmanship inspired me alot in what I do now......whether it be browsin the unique shops of main street in 1996, or being amazed at SSE, or staring at those rows of palm trees that led up to SSE, or walking down sunset blvd sans hat, or riding on great rides like tower of terror, kilimanjaro safari, etc, I felt INSPIRED!
I think my fanboyishness came about because I am seeing something that brought RELEVANCE, UNIQUENESS, and SENSE, to generations that are finding not only their favorite rides and shows disappearing, but rather the fundamentals of the vacation kingdom of the world, eroding away into a generic world of commercialism.
The magic is destroying the magic.
