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the MGM Hat
- Thread starter JungleJim
- Start date
Pioneer Hall
Well-Known Member
Although I think the hat is very nice (much better thanthat wand), I do agree that it is in a terrible spot. It totally kills the theme that the imagineers created when they opened the park 15 years ago. Unfortunately the hat isn't going anywhere for a while, so the GMR will have to live in its shadow.
My biggest problem with the hat is that it has nothing to it. It is nothing more than a glorified (if that) gift shop. It is kind of interesting that it is the one park icon to not have anything but a shop in it. No attraction, no restaurant, just another pin stand. I think that bothers me more than anything else about the hat, more so that its location or what it is blocking.
My biggest problem with the hat is that it has nothing to it. It is nothing more than a glorified (if that) gift shop. It is kind of interesting that it is the one park icon to not have anything but a shop in it. No attraction, no restaurant, just another pin stand. I think that bothers me more than anything else about the hat, more so that its location or what it is blocking.
longfamily
New Member
Ditto...DisneyInsider said:
I think it's a perfect fit. Looking down the boulevard the first time I saw the hat, I thought it looked great. Even the Epcot arm isn't so bad. You can't ever destroy the integrity of the parks with any of these looks. Sometimes change is good. I will agree that they could do something other then a gift shop. Maybe an display of their latest film or a character greeting area.
v_misses_epcot
Member
SamtheEagle said:
I think the tree of life should have a paid of mickey shorts. Awwww, that would be :hurl:.
v_misses_epcot
Member
That hat is cheerful!! And it's mickey's scorcerer hat, how can it not do anything with mgm? Fantasia was a movie so where else can a movie fall in place? Animal Kingdom? Heh... imo, that GMR was so boring and I personally don't find it as exciting. Who knows, maybe it was waiting in line for an hour watching the same previews on the giant screen or who knows, maybe it was the bi**chy cast member not remembering her lines, but that ride doesn't do it for me. I'm not saying the outside of the building structure is ugly, but the hat is all sparkly and huge and to top it all off, there is fantastic. Mickey's scorcerer hat is fine, imo. The chinese theatre shouldn't be the main eyesore for mgm.MissM said:
MrDisney16
Member
It sounds like a lot of people here just don't like change period! I like the hat and think it should/will stay at least until 2010 - 2015. There is no reason why Disney needs to spend money taking it down at the moment. Spend the money fixing up the park with new rides. Then worry about hat and wand. Just my 0.02 cents.
O'Malley
New Member
I watched the Epcot arm go up for the 2000 celebration, and thought it was temporary. After seeing how it was built like a fortified skyscraper, I realized it was going to stay. I always thought it detracted from the beauty of the Epcot icon.
I agree on the MGM hat. It's cool, but should have been placed in a more appropriate place, such as in front of the Animation Studios. Afterall, it IS Mickey's Sorcerer hat!
Since these are the MGM Studios, how about a big ol' MGM lion, perhaps with a touch of Simba added to make it more Disney-like?
Mickey legs on the AK Tree Of Life? After the Epcot arm and the Sorcerer Hat, I'm waiting for them to put the MGM Hat on top of the Epcot ball.
I actually liked the Birthday Cake MK Castle a few years ago, but they had enough taste to make this temporary. I thought the MGM hat and Epcot arm would be temporary too, but I guess those weren't inflatable. :lol:
I agree on the MGM hat. It's cool, but should have been placed in a more appropriate place, such as in front of the Animation Studios. Afterall, it IS Mickey's Sorcerer hat!
Since these are the MGM Studios, how about a big ol' MGM lion, perhaps with a touch of Simba added to make it more Disney-like?
Mickey legs on the AK Tree Of Life? After the Epcot arm and the Sorcerer Hat, I'm waiting for them to put the MGM Hat on top of the Epcot ball.
I actually liked the Birthday Cake MK Castle a few years ago, but they had enough taste to make this temporary. I thought the MGM hat and Epcot arm would be temporary too, but I guess those weren't inflatable. :lol:
I just got my Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Kit and nowhere in there does it refer to the studios as Disney-MGM Studios. Now it was just called Disney Studios and all the tourist were saying Disney Studios. As far as I know the name hasn't changed yet and the official Disney site still says MGM. What's going on?
I found this on http://www.mickeynews.com:
If MGM does not re-sign with Disney, however, there will need to be some changes inside the park as well. The Great Movie Ride would have to be redone with some scenes, but could quite possibly be completely overhauled with a Disney-movie theme or something else...
It also said the following about possibly adding the Muppets to it.
As far as the actual ride, it is in the same format as the current ride, except that the Muppets would be acting out famous movie scenes themselves, with all of us seeing the backstage as well as onstage antics of things going hysterically awry.
While that ride is/was on the drawing board, we’ll still have to wait and see if a Muppet replacement is headed for the Chinese Theater. If not, there still could be much more Muppet-themed attractions coming our way.
That would be interesting and I KNOW how happy everyone here would be about that. :lol:
I found this on http://www.mickeynews.com:
If MGM does not re-sign with Disney, however, there will need to be some changes inside the park as well. The Great Movie Ride would have to be redone with some scenes, but could quite possibly be completely overhauled with a Disney-movie theme or something else...
It also said the following about possibly adding the Muppets to it.
As far as the actual ride, it is in the same format as the current ride, except that the Muppets would be acting out famous movie scenes themselves, with all of us seeing the backstage as well as onstage antics of things going hysterically awry.
While that ride is/was on the drawing board, we’ll still have to wait and see if a Muppet replacement is headed for the Chinese Theater. If not, there still could be much more Muppet-themed attractions coming our way.
That would be interesting and I KNOW how happy everyone here would be about that. :lol:
AEfx
Well-Known Member
I came to a simmilar feeling on my trip last week. I used to be violently opposed to it, but it's really not as bad as I used to think. MGM is my favorite park, and I used to think it looked horrible, but it really does give a more central feeling to that area. (Although it's a shame that it ruined the biggest hidden mickey of them all.)diz420 said:
Now, that damn wand, it can be blown to Topeka for all I care. It's huge, ugly, cheesy, and ruins what was once a great architectural monument. No matter how you cut it, it's fugly.
Unfortunately, I don't think it will be going away anytime soon. While I was thinking good thoughts about those poor families that had to withstand such an awful Fall hurricane season, I secretly hoped that it would detach and find it's way (without hitting anything in the process) to the bottom of the Atlantic...but then I realized I'm too much of an animal lover to make those poor fish and other sea creatures look at the obscene thing either.
AEfx
v_misses_epcot
Member
"Grauman's Chinese Theater serves as the castle for the Disney MGM Studios."
Quote taken from a book I'm reading titled "Designing Disney Theme Parks."
The hat doesn't bother me as much as how I mentioned it before but what about the theater? It's now hidden behind the hat and that's sad =( heh....
Quote taken from a book I'm reading titled "Designing Disney Theme Parks."
The hat doesn't bother me as much as how I mentioned it before but what about the theater? It's now hidden behind the hat and that's sad =( heh....
PurpleDragon
Well-Known Member
The original design that was created by imagineers back when the park opened, was that when you enter the park you are transported back in time to the Hollywood boulevard of the 1940's, notice the various businesses on each side of the road with the old style signs. The crown jewel to this effect was the grand Chinese Theatre at the end of the street, it really completed the effect and made it feel like you were really there.
Now that the hat is there, the whole effect that those imagineers worked so hard to setup, has been flushed down the toilet in the name of "advertising". The problem with the hat is that it symbolizes the change in Disney thinking, from "make the park a quality experience", to "fill the parks any way possible". I think the hat is beautiful and has a place somewhere, but its current location is not where it needs to be. It has taken the entrance to the park from a beautiful recreation of Hollywood circa 1940, to a mish mash of buildings with a hat in the middle. It can stay in WDW but it must be moved to allow future generations to view the splendor of the architecture that imagineers worked so hard to create.
On my last visit to MGM Studios(2003), there was a team of workers working on the Chinese Theatre exterior (painting, repairing, etc..) I think the chinese theatre is a beautiful building and there is no need to cover it up. I think the water tower is a great park icon. Why should guest have to see the "icon" as soon as they walk in the park ? Its there, just because guests aren't inquisitive enough to look for it and have never seen it doesn't mean that they can't use it as an icon. There are numerous points in the park where the water tower is visible.
Now that the hat is there, the whole effect that those imagineers worked so hard to setup, has been flushed down the toilet in the name of "advertising". The problem with the hat is that it symbolizes the change in Disney thinking, from "make the park a quality experience", to "fill the parks any way possible". I think the hat is beautiful and has a place somewhere, but its current location is not where it needs to be. It has taken the entrance to the park from a beautiful recreation of Hollywood circa 1940, to a mish mash of buildings with a hat in the middle. It can stay in WDW but it must be moved to allow future generations to view the splendor of the architecture that imagineers worked so hard to create.
On my last visit to MGM Studios(2003), there was a team of workers working on the Chinese Theatre exterior (painting, repairing, etc..) I think the chinese theatre is a beautiful building and there is no need to cover it up. I think the water tower is a great park icon. Why should guest have to see the "icon" as soon as they walk in the park ? Its there, just because guests aren't inquisitive enough to look for it and have never seen it doesn't mean that they can't use it as an icon. There are numerous points in the park where the water tower is visible.
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
Hat Entry
Count me in as one who likes the hat but not where it is. I think it should have flanked the opposite side of Hollywood Blvd. Why not replace a gift shop (Crossroads) with another (under the hat). I think it would be cool to have the wow factor ala SSE of walking up to the hat from behind through the turnstiles then underneath (or right next to) it. Then, as you leave the park, the hat, the magic of Disney if you will, is there to say good bye. Also, you now have two photo ops (theater and hat) without blocking one or the other. I also think it could have made a perfect entry to the Animation Tour, and the Watertower could have been moved to sit right near the Chinese Theater so that it is centrally located as well.
As for the wand, I like the image at night, but I hate the fact it is a wand. Had it been simply a futuristic sign, I could have gotten over it (since it looks like that at night), but the fact it is magical in suspended disbelief (a cartoon sorcerer), it has NOTHING to do with Epcot IMHO. If you want a sparkly sign, make it worlds' fair-like and get rid of the Mickey hand reference.
Count me in as one who likes the hat but not where it is. I think it should have flanked the opposite side of Hollywood Blvd. Why not replace a gift shop (Crossroads) with another (under the hat). I think it would be cool to have the wow factor ala SSE of walking up to the hat from behind through the turnstiles then underneath (or right next to) it. Then, as you leave the park, the hat, the magic of Disney if you will, is there to say good bye. Also, you now have two photo ops (theater and hat) without blocking one or the other. I also think it could have made a perfect entry to the Animation Tour, and the Watertower could have been moved to sit right near the Chinese Theater so that it is centrally located as well.
As for the wand, I like the image at night, but I hate the fact it is a wand. Had it been simply a futuristic sign, I could have gotten over it (since it looks like that at night), but the fact it is magical in suspended disbelief (a cartoon sorcerer), it has NOTHING to do with Epcot IMHO. If you want a sparkly sign, make it worlds' fair-like and get rid of the Mickey hand reference.
Main Street USA
Well-Known Member
Well, as stated above, the hat does ruin the theme of the area a bit, and is a change from the initial idea of the entrance and the street as a whole. I've grown to love that hat, though. It looks amazing at night, and if you've ever sat and watched it light up, it's even cooler. It's a gradual process that takes around 30 minutes.
The wand...let's see. When it went up to celebrate the millenium, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. The "2000" looked sweet, especially with the excitement the millenium brought about. When they changed it over to "Epcot" I was a bit surprised, but even so, I still don't think it's bad. You can really get some fantastic pics involving that at night, or even during the day.
The wand...let's see. When it went up to celebrate the millenium, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. The "2000" looked sweet, especially with the excitement the millenium brought about. When they changed it over to "Epcot" I was a bit surprised, but even so, I still don't think it's bad. You can really get some fantastic pics involving that at night, or even during the day.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
I have to agree that the hat is very nice, but the location is'nt really suitable for it.
I miss seeing the Theatre when you walk in, and the nostalgic feel that the Imagineers created was a bit throw out of whack once that hat went up. I say move it to another place in the park, and give us back the Theatre view! It is too nice a building to just cover up.
As for the Epcot Wand, I am not a big fan of it. I thought it a neat novelty for 2000's celebration, but now it just looks tackey to me when compared to what Spaceship Earth originally looked like.
In a nutshell...i like the hat, not it's location
Liked the wand in 2000....not so much now.
I miss seeing the Theatre when you walk in, and the nostalgic feel that the Imagineers created was a bit throw out of whack once that hat went up. I say move it to another place in the park, and give us back the Theatre view! It is too nice a building to just cover up.
As for the Epcot Wand, I am not a big fan of it. I thought it a neat novelty for 2000's celebration, but now it just looks tackey to me when compared to what Spaceship Earth originally looked like.
In a nutshell...i like the hat, not it's location
Liked the wand in 2000....not so much now.
Mom's the word
New Member
I second that. This is the one change I would (almost) pay to see - please, please move the hat. Yes to having it at the main gate, yes to having it almost anywhere else in the park but for me it's blocking a really great view of the theater. Perhaps the Epcot arm can wave the magic wand and they can both disappear to more appealing locations, lol.Figments Friend said: