-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
The Miscellaneous Thought Thread
- Thread starter mickEblu
- Start date
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
If we're being honest, the aquasphere isn't that iconic. It's not even Chinese Theatre iconic (well, maybe it is to Japanese Disney fans; not to me, however). But the weenie of all weenies in that park is most definitely Mount Prometheus.
I mean, compare:
vs.
They're not even playing the same sport.
But yeah, Disneyland is very obviously based on other amusement parks, and incorporating ideas, attractions, operational philosophies, etc based on other operators has never really stopped. There may or may not have been *feelings* about ferris wheels from certain corners of WED, but they incorporated carousels, dark rides (one of which was very obviously Disney's spin on a haunted house/spookhouse ride that was garden variety at the time), and, not long afterwards, roller coasters. They visited other parks and attempted to incorporate elements, designs, or operational policies they liked that they saw elsewhere. This is all fairly well documented.
And it never 100% stopped either. Why were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain built? The park felt they had build some more roller coasters in order to stay competitive in the market. Splash? The log flume had been around for around 20 years, so of course there's that, but it doesn't stop there. Go ten minutes down the road to Knott's and ride Timber Mountain Log Ride-Disney pretty much copied that ride's basic layout for Splash Mountain and just added Zip a Dee Doo Dah at the end of it. It's fine.
I cannot understand preferring a bog standard Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel you'd see at any fair anywhere vs. one that's at least semi-unique and based on the one and only Wonder Wheel, which is an awesome one of a kind ride. But I guess you just can't please everybody.
I think the wheel is a better icon than a water tower with ears on it, which was the icon of two Disney parks around the globe (and still is for one) until very, very recently (the other alternative at said park being a badly placed hat that sold pins). The Earful Tower was logical with the theme of the park but never particularly appealing, at least to me. TOT being the current DHS icon makes some sense but it's a fairly recent phenomenon.
And the wheel makes sense as an icon in the context of the park. If they're not super interested in making Grizzly Peak visible (which appears to be the case), there are only so many other options that are big, visible, and clearly reflect DCA. It may not be everyone's favorite, but there's some logic behind it becoming the icon.
I mean, compare:
vs.
They're not even playing the same sport.
But yeah, Disneyland is very obviously based on other amusement parks, and incorporating ideas, attractions, operational philosophies, etc based on other operators has never really stopped. There may or may not have been *feelings* about ferris wheels from certain corners of WED, but they incorporated carousels, dark rides (one of which was very obviously Disney's spin on a haunted house/spookhouse ride that was garden variety at the time), and, not long afterwards, roller coasters. They visited other parks and attempted to incorporate elements, designs, or operational policies they liked that they saw elsewhere. This is all fairly well documented.
And it never 100% stopped either. Why were Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain built? The park felt they had build some more roller coasters in order to stay competitive in the market. Splash? The log flume had been around for around 20 years, so of course there's that, but it doesn't stop there. Go ten minutes down the road to Knott's and ride Timber Mountain Log Ride-Disney pretty much copied that ride's basic layout for Splash Mountain and just added Zip a Dee Doo Dah at the end of it. It's fine.
I cannot understand preferring a bog standard Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel you'd see at any fair anywhere vs. one that's at least semi-unique and based on the one and only Wonder Wheel, which is an awesome one of a kind ride. But I guess you just can't please everybody.
I think the wheel is a better icon than a water tower with ears on it, which was the icon of two Disney parks around the globe (and still is for one) until very, very recently (the other alternative at said park being a badly placed hat that sold pins). The Earful Tower was logical with the theme of the park but never particularly appealing, at least to me. TOT being the current DHS icon makes some sense but it's a fairly recent phenomenon.
And the wheel makes sense as an icon in the context of the park. If they're not super interested in making Grizzly Peak visible (which appears to be the case), there are only so many other options that are big, visible, and clearly reflect DCA. It may not be everyone's favorite, but there's some logic behind it becoming the icon.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
What and where is this?
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
That's the aquasphere. It is located just inside the park gates of Tokyo DisneySea.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Thanks! This doesn’t look iconic at all.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
It's really not, haha. It's all about Mount Prometheus!
The aquasphere is one of those things that marks the person as definitely being at DisneySea but it's certainly not an icon. Kind of like a more visible (and less historically interesting) 'Walt's Petrified Tree' in scope.
Dear Prudence
Well-Known Member
MINE, TOO
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
Mickey's Fun Wheel has unquestionably become iconic, but it's not even in the same universe as the jaw-dropping Tree of Life or Spaceship Earth, IMO. Then again, I've never found the pier particularly compelling or magical. I'm not losing sleep over it but I understand the anti-Fun Wheel perspective.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
DLR92
Well-Known Member
That and Grizzly Peak.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
The aquasphere is hilarious considering its immediate resemblance to the Universal globe, and that USJ opened the same year as DisneySea.
In fact my first immediate impression upon visiting DisneySea for the first time was "this entrance looks like Islands of Adventure"
In fact my first immediate impression upon visiting DisneySea for the first time was "this entrance looks like Islands of Adventure"
Consumer
Well-Known Member
Grizzly Peak represents the old DCA (California iconography, leaning hard into cliches about the state), whereas Carthage Circle leans into the new DCA (Walt Disney’s California and what life was like in the state when he lived here). That’s just my way of seeing it, although those themes have obviously changed since 2012; now DCA is themed to the opening of Temple of Doom: “Anything Goes”.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
Pixar Pal Around Starring Mickey Mouse is iconic because it sums up in one image everything that’s wrong with current Disney: Cheapness, lack of creativity, cheapness, shoehorned IPs, cheapness, shoulder-shrugging apathy, cheapness and space wasting, Walt-spinning-in-his-grave-level tackiness. And cheapness.
The only postive is that they aren’t charging a fee for the onboard vomit bags...yet.
mlayton144
Well-Known Member
Don’t forget laziness -
Disney exec design team: “we really don’t have any ideas for next level theming or innovation , what could we put there that wouldn’t require any imagination or innovation whatsoever” ?
D.Silentu
Well-Known Member
Learning this I can hardly believe there wasn't an effort to make Disney's globe more abstract, unless it was included as a subtle challenge to Universal's new park.
DLR92
Well-Known Member
The old logo had character but the park had no adventure what so ever.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! earned me a free drink! 
Funny thing happened today that made me think of the gang here... This evening I'm driving in to the beach n' tennis club here that my family has belonged to for three generations. You can already tell the Arizonans are all leaving town for the summer, and it's reverting back to purely locals. I had a surprisingly good match this morning, and I was headed back to the club to meet three very fun friends for dinner in the surfside Marine Room. Heaven!
As I'm driving down Dorado nearing the club gate, the San Diego oldies station crashes into "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, my second-favorite song played on Mission Breakout. So, of course, because I'm a dorky and rapidly aging white man in an open convertible, I blast it. Loud. Top is down, I won my match that morning, it's almost the cocktail hour, and Pat Benatar is blasting out of the stereo. It reminds me of all the fun I've had at Disneyland in the past. I'm waved through the club gate, and as I'm driving slowly round the lawn with the cheesy water feature to pull into the parking lot a newer and young bartender that I recognize is heading into the crosswalk so I slow to a stop and give him a nod. Remember, Pat Benatar is blasting with the top down and I'm looking good! He just sort of looks at me and grins and keeps walking into the employee entrance area.
I pull into a spot, finish the song, and arrive in the bar to await friends just as that same bartender begins his shift. I order my usual, he prepares a very fine dry martini, and then says "This one is on the house." Again, my family have been dues paying drama-free members of this club for decades and I tip well, and I can't remember the last time the club comped me a drink. I ask why, and he says "I haven't been here long, but I've seen a lot of members try and pull off cool, and many fail, but you my man are cool. Pat Benatar for goddsakes!" And we both crack up laughing.
Moral Of Story: If it's summer and you are looking good and your song comes on the radio, don't be afraid to blast it for the kids to hear! Enjoy life! And you might get a free drink out of the deal!
Funny thing happened today that made me think of the gang here... This evening I'm driving in to the beach n' tennis club here that my family has belonged to for three generations. You can already tell the Arizonans are all leaving town for the summer, and it's reverting back to purely locals. I had a surprisingly good match this morning, and I was headed back to the club to meet three very fun friends for dinner in the surfside Marine Room. Heaven!
As I'm driving down Dorado nearing the club gate, the San Diego oldies station crashes into "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, my second-favorite song played on Mission Breakout. So, of course, because I'm a dorky and rapidly aging white man in an open convertible, I blast it. Loud. Top is down, I won my match that morning, it's almost the cocktail hour, and Pat Benatar is blasting out of the stereo. It reminds me of all the fun I've had at Disneyland in the past. I'm waved through the club gate, and as I'm driving slowly round the lawn with the cheesy water feature to pull into the parking lot a newer and young bartender that I recognize is heading into the crosswalk so I slow to a stop and give him a nod. Remember, Pat Benatar is blasting with the top down and I'm looking good! He just sort of looks at me and grins and keeps walking into the employee entrance area.
I pull into a spot, finish the song, and arrive in the bar to await friends just as that same bartender begins his shift. I order my usual, he prepares a very fine dry martini, and then says "This one is on the house." Again, my family have been dues paying drama-free members of this club for decades and I tip well, and I can't remember the last time the club comped me a drink. I ask why, and he says "I haven't been here long, but I've seen a lot of members try and pull off cool, and many fail, but you my man are cool. Pat Benatar for goddsakes!" And we both crack up laughing.
Moral Of Story: If it's summer and you are looking good and your song comes on the radio, don't be afraid to blast it for the kids to hear! Enjoy life! And you might get a free drink out of the deal!
Last edited:
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! earned me a free drink!
Funny thing happened today that made me think of the gang here... This evening I'm driving in to the beach n' tennis club here that my family has belonged to for three generations. You can already tell the Arizonans are all leaving town for the summer, and it's reverting back to purely locals. I had a surprisingly good match this morning, and I was headed back to the club to meet three very fun friends for dinner in the surfside Marine Room. Heaven!
As I'm driving down Dorado nearing the club gate, the San Diego oldies station crashes into "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, my second-favorite song played on Mission Breakout. So, of course, because I'm a dorky and rapidly aging white man in an open convertible, I blast it. Loud. Top is down, I won my match that morning, it's almost the cocktail hour, and Pat Benatar is blasting out of the stereo. It reminds me of all the fun I've had at Disneyland in the past. I'm waved through the club gate, and as I'm driving slowly round the lawn with the cheesy water feature to pull into the parking lot a newer and young bartender that I recognize is heading into the crosswalk so I slow to a stop and give him a nod. Remember, Pat Benatar is blasting with the top down and I'm looking good! He just sort of looks at me and grins and keeps walking into the employee entrance area.
I pull into a spot, finish the song, and arrive in the bar to await friends just as that same bartender begins his shift. I order my usual, he prepares a very fine dry martini, and then says "This one is on the house." Again, my family have been dues paying drama-free members of this club for decades and I tip well, and I can't remember the last time the club comped me a drink. I ask why, and he says "I haven't been here long, but I've seen a lot of members try and pull off cool, and many fail, but you my man are cool. Pat Benatar for goddsakes!" And we both crack up laughing.
Moral Of Story: If it's summer and you are looking good and your song comes on the radio, don't be afraid to blast it for the kids to hear! Enjoy life! And you might get a free drink out of the deal!
Too cool! I've only gotten smiles and some waves when I go top down and oldies blasting. No freebies. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my singing voice. Or that I don't belong to a beach 'n' tennis club.
P.S. There was a segment on Pat Benatar on today's CBS Sunday Morning. Synchronicity.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Was there really? I must admit that I'm not a huge fan and don't know too much about her, but I've always loved a few of her songs. I remember her as a great way to start the 1980's and put Disco quickly out to pasture.
Also, it absolutely cracks me up that WDI got that song into a ride at Disneyland! I mean, my God, the whole song is so trampy. And yet fabulous. Plus you can dance to it.
Disney has now got humorless nitwits in HR worrying about the Tiki Room and singing chickens on a log ride, while over in DCA these lyrics are blasting into ride vehicles every couple of minutes...
Before I put another notch in my lipstick case
You better make sure you put me in my place!
Hit me with your best shot...
C'mon!
Hit me with your best shot...