News Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Historical Construction/Impressions

[Disney Irish]

It shouldn't be totally bound to it. But if the balance shifts too far away from Walt Disney's original input... well, it just won't really be Disneyland anymore.
(I'm certain the best Imagineers have that in mind constantly, and the Management couldn't care less.)

The question though is shouldn't it change with the times? DL isn't and shouldn't be a museum, things have to change otherwise its stagnant. DL seems to be stuck in this battle between 1966 and current time. Each side pulling harder and harder. One is going to win out eventually. There is only so much space at the DLR.

I know how some of the fandom feels, especially on this and other fan boards. But if its stays stuck in the past too much, you risk stagnation. And while its nice to visit a museum if nothing new is offered then guests get bored and don't come back. Now I know its nice to hear that with current crowd level, but it risks being just a handful of nostalgic guests and results in the park closing.

 

[smile]

I wonder if there would be a Frontierland. Westerns were pretty dead back in the 70s & 80s.

i dunno, man... you see the size of that chicken?!

 

[Disney Irish]

I am absolutely certain Walt Disney would have embraced every single technological change (when AA technology became possible, he pretty much lost interest in film animation). up to the point where it negatively impacts the original vision of a park for the whole family to enjoy together.

He would've hated Fastpass, though. He would have wanted everyone to wait in the same line together. He would have wanted an affordable option for people to enter the parks without paying for things they won't take part in. He would have charged significantly less for everything overall.

And he wouldn't have had to purchase Star Wars because he would have probably liked Lucas's story pitch and produced Star Wars himself. And he would have hired Lasseter the moment he saw Tin Toy.

I don't think he would have been interested in superheroes beyond parodying them.

Frontierland was so dear to Walt Disney (and most guests) that it would be the second-last thing he'd part with (after Main Street). The American Wild West is such a powerful theme (and not just for Americans) that it transcends movie trends. I tell you one thing, though, I'm certain he'd have made sure Big Thunder incorporated a little more of Nature's Wonderland into the experience. Maybe. (He was, after all, perfectly fine with leaving the Matterhorn's interior structure exposed to riders).

Since the man didn't live beyond 1966 we'll never know. But one thing is clear, he wouldn't have wanted the park to stay stagnant. He'd want change, he'd rip out the old and put in the new. He wouldn't have fallen prey to this "untouchable" sense of the parks.

 

[Phroobar]

Frontierland was so dear to Walt Disney (and most guests) that it would be the second-last thing he'd part with (after Main Street). The American Wild West is such a powerful theme (and not just for Americans) that it transcends movie trends. I tell you one thing, though, I'm certain he'd have made sure Big Thunder incorporated a little more of Nature's Wonderland into the experience. Maybe. (He was, after all, perfectly fine with leaving the Matterhorn's interior structure exposed to riders).

That may be so but do those generations see it the same as the 50s did? Would we still have the Tiki Room and it's Polynesian culture in the 80s? Disneyland just wasn't very hip in the 70's to the 90's. It took geeks on the internet to make it popular again. Now they are rooted there as museum relics of a time no one remembers.

 

[Rich T]

The question though is shouldn't it change with the times? DL isn't and shouldn't be a museum, things have to change otherwise its stagnant. DL seems to be stuck in this battle between 1966 and current time. Each side pulling harder and harder. One is going to win out eventually. There is only so much space at the DLR.

I know how some of the fandom feels, especially on this and other fan boards. But if its stays stuck in the past too much, you risk stagnation. And while its nice to visit a museum if nothing new is offered then guests get bored and don't come back. Now I know its nice to hear that with current crowd level, but it risks being just a handful of nostalgic guests and results in the park closing.

It's about balance and it keeping what still works. It shouldn't ever be about destroying something much-beloved for a more current property that might--in the short term--bring in more profit.
I keep saying this, but it's true: Don't kill the Golden Goose. When Disneyland reaches the point where it loses the (here it comes) "magic" that brings people back time and time again, it'll just be another theme park that people have no emotional attachment to. And normal hard-working people don't pay a fortune to visit a place they have no emotional attachment to.

 

[Rich T]

Since the man didn't live beyond 1966 we'll never know. But one thing is clear, he wouldn't have wanted the park to stay stagnant. He'd want change, he'd rip out the old and put in the new. He wouldn't have fallen prey to this "untouchable" sense of the parks.

A few things would remain untouchable. The park was his personal toy train layout, after all.

 

[Disney Irish]

It's about balance and it keeping what still works. It shouldn't ever be about destroying something much-beloved for a more current property that might--in the short term--bring in more profit.
I keep saying this, but it's true: Don't kill the Golden Goose. When Disneyland reaches the point where it loses the (here it comes) "magic" that brings people back time and time again, it'll just be another theme park that people have no emotional attachment to. And normal hard-working people don't pay a fortune to visit a place they have no emotional attachment to.

While I agree, is it specific attractions or is it the overall experience that is magical. I tend to think its the overall experience.

At some point (in the very near future) they are going to run out of space. And then a decision will have to be made, basically have DL as a permanent museum or move away from 1966.

 

[Disney Irish]

A few things would remain untouchable. The park was his personal toy train layout, after all.

Even then it would be only a very few number of things, such as only the train.

 

[Rich T]

While I agree, is it specific attractions or is it the overall experience that is magical. I tend to think its the overall experience.

At some point (in the very near future) they are going to run out of space. And then a decision will have to be made, basically have DL as a permanent museum or move away from 1966.

It's different for everyone, but for me it'll stop being Disneyland when these things are gone:
*Main Street
*The Railroad
*Pirates in some recognizable form
*HM
*The Frontierland River
*Most of the current Fantasyland attractions.
Those are my personal last-straw untouchables

 

[TROR]

It's different for everyone, but for me it'll stop being Disneyland when these things are gone:
*Main Street
*The Railroad
*Pirates in some recognizable form
*HM
*The Frontierland River
*Most of the current Fantasyland attractions.
Those are my personal last-straw untouchables

Guessing you're not too interested in visiting Shanghai Disneyland either, then, huh?

 

[Disney Irish]

It's different for everyone, but for me it'll stop being Disneyland when these things are gone:
*Main Street
*The Railroad
*Pirates in some recognizable form
*HM
*The Frontierland River
*Most of the current Fantasyland attractions.
Those are my personal last-straw untouchables

I have a feeling, and I know it'll be hard for the fandom, but at some point even those will be changed.

That is the thing though, change is inevitable. As new generations come to the parks and older generations fade, the hold on those nostalgic things becomes less and less. So the amount of uproar for say changes to PotC will be less.

 

[Rich T]

Guessing you're not too interested in visiting Shanghai Disneyland either, then, huh?

Seriously, I'm curious about it, sure, but it's not *my* Disneyland. Pooh's Hunny Pots instead of Teacups? No thank you. Tron's coming to Florida. We've got Soarin'. I'm "meh" on rapids rides. Tim Burton Alice maze...barf.

And Pirates... It looks spectacular, and I'd love to try it, but it's not Pirates of the Caribbean at all to me. It's a dark fantasy adventure full of monsters and the undead, but Jack Sparrow's the only "living" human pirate in the entire attraction. It's its own thing.

I'm more interested in seeing how the technology at Shanghai is used in Star Wars and future DLR attractions.

Their version of Peter Pan rocks, though.

 

[Rich T]

I have a feeling, and I know it'll be hard for the fandom, but at some point even those will be changed.

That is the thing though, change is inevitable. As new generations come to the parks and older generations fade, the hold on those nostalgic things becomes less and less. So the amount of uproar for say changes to PotC will be less.

Agree, unless the park is declared a National Landmark and it's cared for by Disney Historians. You'd need reservations five years in advance. (And you know what? That would rock! ) There are plenty of other theme parks to dazzle with non-Disney fun.

For all we know physical DL won't exist in thirty years. No one'll go out anymore. Everyone will be in the Oasis visiting the VR DL of their choice.

 

[Stevek]

I have a feeling, and I know it'll be hard for the fandom, but at some point even those will be changed.

That is the thing though, change is inevitable. As new generations come to the parks and older generations fade, the hold on those nostalgic things becomes less and less. So the amount of uproar for say changes to PotC will be less.

I think most of those will stay but undoubtedly will change...really, they already all have changed compared to when they opened. Some to a lesser degree than others.

 

[Disney Irish]

Agree, unless the park is declared a National Landmark and it's cared for by Disney Historians. You'd need reservations five years in advance. (And you know what? That would rock! ) There are plenty of other theme parks to dazzle with non-Disney fun.

For all we know physical DL won't exist in thirty years. No one'll go out anymore. Everyone will be in the Oasis visiting the VR DL of their choice.

My bet is that by the 100th anniversary DL (if still around and not in the Oasis) will look different than it is today. Some of those things that some hold as untouchable will be gone due to lack of land.

 

[Phroobar]

My bet is that by the 100th anniversary DL (if still around and not in the Oasis) will look different than it is today. Some of those things that some hold has untouchable will be gone due to lack of land.

I'm hoping for Mars Disneyland myself.

 

[Disney Irish]

I think most of those will stay but undoubtedly will change...really, they already all have changed compared to when they opened. Some to a lesser degree than others.

We'll see, but like I said at some point some real tough and touchy decisions are going to have to be made. Land is at a premium at DLR, you can't have certain parts of the park stuck in 1966.

 

[Rich T]

Paris is short on space, but I think they'll keep the Eiffel Tower.

 

[Rich T]

And I do hope the Oasis version of DL isn't clogged with simulated AP holders.

 

[Rich T]

We'll see, but like I said at some point some real tough and touchy decisions are going to have to be made. Land is at a premium at DLR, you can't have certain parts of the park stuck in 1966.

I think you can have *certain* parts remain in whatever year they were created. History and Legacy are important. Otherwise you end up with no substance, no roots... and no emotional attachment.