Height restrictions do not automatically ensure it's ok for kids. And no, he didn't mean everything needed to be dumbed down to the least objectionable limit. There are rides for kids, rides for teens, and rides for older. AE would have been a hit at DL. It's our MK that has that image problem. Even locally I hear people say they'd rather go to the Studios because MK is just for kids.
???
That was entirely my point. Alien encounter had a height restriction. This was a design choice to prevent taking your 5-year-old on it, regardless if you wanted to.
My point, was that the height restriction didn’t prevent children from being traumatized.
What ride at early Disneyland couldn’t have been enjoyed by a whole family? Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland was a family ride, not the big Thunder experience it is today (also hilariously long title that mirrors the current ride-naming scheme that people groan about).
But in the first decade of Disneyland operation, Matterhorn is the only standout as not being fit for the whole family.
Having rides fit for kids, doesn’t dumb down the ride to the lowest common denominator, different age groups will experience various rides differently. It’s like watching Ratatouille, a 5-year-old can watch it, but it won’t have the effect as when a 30-year-old watches it.
You’re arguing that for entertainment to be suitable for kids, it has to be coco melon garbage. But Pixar and other studios, have shown content can be enjoyed by everyone.
It wasn’t until the Eisner years that he specifically made attractions less family friendly and geared towards teenage interests (like splash mountain and alien encounter).
TWDC has long abandoned the “I want families to have fun together” mantra. I ride far less rides with my elderly parents today than I did 10 years ago. They still ride the same rides they did a decade ago, but they aren’t riding Guardians when they would ride Energy, for example.
I see no reason why the issue of traumatizing kids wouldn’t be an issue at Disneyland.
The issue was that people were taking kids to the experience. There are kids at Disneyland. There may be a more general understanding that not
everything is for kids, but that doesn’t stop the issue. It wouldn’t stop the issue at Hollywood Studios or EPCOT either. If a parent wants to experience AE without dumping off their kids, they can’t regardless of which park it’s at. So they bring their kid and ensure them it’s not that scary (maybe selfishly, maybe wrongly because they don’t think it’s going to be that scary). The only thing that stops that is an age requirement, which would allow AE to function anywhere. Selling alcohol at Disney World isn’t an issue because there are kids that could buy it illegally, because there’s an age requirement to sell it.
Since I’ve gone on a bit of a ramble to your silly response, let me summarize.
The parks were originally family fun together. They’ve evolved into a separate but equal fun scenario. The concept that experiences can be enjoyed by a plethora of audiences isn’t dead, as displayed by Pixar. AE’s primary issue isn’t the placement (may lead to slightly more or less traumatized children) but moving it without instituting some other child traumatization preventative measure. The Disney brand as a whole has been very concerned about breaking its family image. We’ve recently ventured into new territory where R-rated content isn’t buried in shadow studies and will be integrated with the main content and sports betting will be pushed by its primary sports platform. Walt’s philosophy, which has mostly been abandoned, absolutely was about family-fun
together.