SSE & Palm Trees

[PlaneJane]

here you go my favorite personal shot of SSE

 

[Mr_Tom_Morrow]

here you go my favorite personal shot of SSE

very cool pic!!!!

 

[colliera]

Stay

I think the palms should stay. It helps to visually ground SSE and transition the coolness of the metal to it's landscaping elements.

 

[Biff215]

I was wondering about the date, too. My family and I didn't start going until 1992, and I would've remembered that cake thing if it had been there in 1997. Besides, like you said, those clothes are quite dated. More dated than 1997.

I have a similar picture of myself in front of that same cake at Epcot. It's definitely the resort's 15th, and not Epcot's, since I was definitely around 5 in the picture and certainly not 15!

As far as the palm trees go, I think they add somewhat to SSE's size. Those look like some fairly large trees, yet they are still dwarfed by SSE. To my wife and I, there's nothing quite like a WDW picture with a palm tree in it.

 

[Monty]

It frightens me that the suggestion of cutting down perfectly healthy trees and replacing them with smaller ones for aesthetic purposes hasn't gotten one comment about the ecological impact.

Maybe we deserve global warming...

 

[NASAMan]

Back On-Topic. I once read that those trees were planted to make SSE look bigger. Sort-of like forced perspective, the reason I hated the wand. I actually thought the wand looked nice though.:shrug:

We just went through a house design and some of these same issues came up and provide some analogies that might prove insightful.

Our house came with a specific design and landscaping plan that were complimentary to each other. The plants were placed for their appearance as they matured and reached full size. Things look a little bare now but in a couple years the green will fill in. Although all this was done by professional designers, when Christmas came I strung up my lights, placed my decorations, and thoroughly enjoyed my holiday overlay.

I also worked at Great America in Gurnee IL the year it opened (1976) - all fresh landscaping - and remember how expansive it seemed. Two years ago when I took my kids there it seemed much more intimate that the trees were full grown.

I'm sure Disney designers were at least as competent as those who did GA. Though there are times when it is prudent to remove full grown trees, as they did on Main Street to increase viewing capacity for the fireworks, or those trees that risk falling or provide other concern, it is best to plan for the appearance when the landscaping has reached full maturity.

Now, I love holidays. The gold bling on the castle was great. I even thought that big cake was cool! Because, like my Christmas lights, I knew it was a temporary overlay for the cause of celebration. But do you have someone in the neighborhood who leaves their decorations up into February, March, or eve June? That is how I feel about the wand. As part of the Millennium celebration it was fun to watch it change from 1999 to 2000 (or was it 2000 to 2001, OMG I can't remember! Arrgh!). Anyway, as a temporary decoration it was an enjoyable sight to see, but when the word 'Epcot' replaced the numerals it had outlived its usefulness. It changed from kitschy cool to unnecessarily gaudy.

Maybe the future will some new overlays to celebrate certain events. As temporary decorations I will welcome them in the spirit in which they are offered. But as for outliving their welcome? Well, don't. The best decoration for Epcot's 25th Anniversary is the 'Original Appearance' overlay we see being (d)erected right now!

 

[Craig & Lisa]

I've always liked the palms there. They seem to me at least like a part of the entrance personna, and would look so different if they were smaller.

 

[DisneyCane]

It frightens me that the suggestion of cutting down perfectly healthy trees and replacing them with smaller ones for aesthetic purposes hasn't gotten one comment about the ecological impact.

Maybe we deserve global warming...

:hammer:

The ecological impact of a few trees put in for landscaping and it's relation to Global Warming??????????? Puleezzeee..........

All of the trees planted for landscaping at all of the parks would maybe create a forest of couple of acres at most if you put them all together. That will have exactly 0 impact on "Global Warming" even if you just killed them all.

Not to mention the fact that these trees were grown for landscaping in the first place so if it wasn't for that they wouldn't even exist. And the new tree that is put in it's place will absorb far more CO2 because it is growing. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. The faster the growth the more CO2 will be absorbed.

 

[Monty]

:hammer:

The ecological impact of a few trees put in for landscaping and it's relation to Global Warming??????????? Puleezzeee..........

All of the trees planted for landscaping at all of the parks would maybe create a forest of couple of acres at most if you put them all together. That will have exactly 0 impact on "Global Warming" even if you just killed them all.

Not to mention the fact that these trees were grown for landscaping in the first place so if it wasn't for that they wouldn't even exist. And the new tree that is put in it's place will absorb far more CO2 because it is growing. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. The faster the growth the more CO2 will be absorbed.

And every individual tree that is destroyed contributes... Rationalize all you will, the companies destroying swathes of rain forest do. :wave:

 

[brkgnews]

That cake looks like a sweet, creamy Horizons. :lookaroun

 

[jt04]

:hammer:

The ecological impact of a few trees put in for landscaping and it's relation to Global Warming??????????? Puleezzeee..........

All of the trees planted for landscaping at all of the parks would maybe create a forest of couple of acres at most if you put them all together. That will have exactly 0 impact on "Global Warming" even if you just killed them all.

Not to mention the fact that these trees were grown for landscaping in the first place so if it wasn't for that they wouldn't even exist. And the new tree that is put in it's place will absorb far more CO2 because it is growing. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. The faster the growth the more CO2 will be absorbed.

Plus when you make a product from a tree the CO2 stays locked in the product. Furniture, decor etc. I sometimes think it is not worth trying to reason with the "Warmies". They are well meaning but hopelessly mal-educated. I just made that word up.:lookaroun

 

[cb3k]

Oy, every detail I read these days about the design of EPCOT's entrance just makes me even more shocked at how much of it was carelessly tossed aside at the turn of the millennium. All the meticulous planning...all the effort that went into perfecting that first majestic sight of the park...everything placed just so, everything done for a reason, and more often than not done excellently...

And all that gets thrown out the window for what--an attendance-boosting celebration with the party decorations from hell?? It seems like such a waste.

Even if you happen to like the changes that were made, there is nothing to support the notion that they were anything but marketing gimmicks. The 1999 changes were given, at most, a fraction of the foresight and care put into the entrance plaza in 1982. I try not to be a "freeze EPCOT in the Reagan Era" kind of guy, but it just bothers me how much disregard there was in 1999 for the brilliant simplicity of the original layout...and how we've had to be stuck with it ever since.

Oh well, wand and kiosk...two down, at least.

Very well said...With enough public outcry I think the landscaping will find its way back to the entrance with the tombstones being scattered about (or if I had my way I would group all of them in the world showcase pavillion and set up some kiosks/areas for the smaller un-represented countries). Would anyone happen to have a link on the planning and meticulous details that went into the original landscaping layout in order to optimize SSE's size as well as create that "Grand Entryway"???

 

[WDWRLD]

I kinda like em just the way they are...

 

[raven]

First the wand, then the LaL stones, now the palm trees?!!! What are we coming to?

Everyone knows how tall palm trees can get to be. So I think with them being next to SSE it shows in pictures the scale of the building to people who may have not been there yet. When they see the palms next to SSE they can get a sense of how big it really is. I love them! :wave:

 

[brkgnews]

... LaL stones ...

The little-known third cousin of LoLCatz?:lookaroun

 

[montyz81]

Sheesh, that's nothing. I thought you were referring to the palm trees that used to be in front of SSE's legs--they were quite a bit taller and, IMO at least, didn't detract from SSE's scale at all. They were pretty impressive and looked nice all in a row--they kind of led you right into the entrance. Without them, the sphere almost looks too huge, like it's been randomly plopped into a plaza with no symmetry or order or anything to relate to it (the distracting tombstones don't help, but that's another thread, isn't it? ).

I love this pic too. And there are the prisms. I want them back! I think those really made the sphere look awesome. Just my opinion.

 

[montyz81]

I was wondering about the date, too. My family and I didn't start going until 1992, and I would've remembered that cake thing if it had been there in 1997. Besides, like you said, those clothes are quite dated. More dated than 1997.
And I agree with you about the palm trees...I think they make SSE look bigger, too.

So...I've seen on tv before how Disney rips up perfectly healthy flowers to redo flower beds. Of course, flowers tend to be cheaper and grow more quickly than trees...so I assume they just throw the flowers away (which I don't think I could bring myself to do). What do they do with the trees? I hope they replant them some where or sell them instead of just throwing them away. Does anyone know what they do?

The cake says 15 on it and there is a wall up. I think it is 1997 as the wall may indicate that they are getting ready for the Millennium celebration.

 

[raven]

The cake says 15 on it and there is a wall up. I think it is 1997 as the wall may indicate that they are getting ready for the Millennium celebration.

The Millennium Celebration began in October of 1999. If this picture was taken in 1997 I don't think it was the Millennium Celebration they were working on behind that wall. It didn' take 2 years to pull out that fountain and put in a planter. Entire attractions are built in less time. They were probably just painting.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

The palm trees on the wandless side of SSE, are not really a problem, maybe only because they are all that is really untouched from the mellenium entrance redo.

The wand side, has small newly planted palm trees, that may have to be taken out if they take out the wand's foundation.

The palm trees used are called washington palms, and they are one of the cheapest trees to buy in terms of landscaping.

All of the 4 planters for the palm trees (two in the front, and one on each side of SSE) are still there. If Disney were to add 5-7 brand new washingtpn palm trees in different heights for each one, it would make the entrance look quite nice.

The small, odd little trees they have there right now, don't do the entrance justice as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Imaginationeer]

Hello, can anyone see this???