I just noticed in the photos posted today and from September, that they removed a very large tree to reroute the track. Was surprised we did not hear much from the environmentalists on that...???
In my experience & opinion, the presences of big, old trees, whether in your yard, a city park or a Disney theme park is a good, and increasingly rare, thing. Big trees add shade, beauty and a unspoken sense of class & wisdom that comes with age. They legitimize a landscape.
Which of the following city parks is more appealing to you, the top one, with all newly-planted, young trees or the bottom examples, with their big mature trees that have been living for many decades:
Please don't misunderstand me... I totally agree that cutting down a tree or two or hundred or thousand is not that big a deal... It just seems like anytime Disney does ANYTHING that the nut jobs come out against it.
In my experience & opinion, the presences of big, old trees, whether in your yard, a city park or a Disney theme park is a good, and increasingly rare, thing. Big trees add shade, beauty and a unspoken sense of class & wisdom that comes with age. They legitimize a landscape.
Which of the following city parks is more appealing to you, the top one, with all newly-planted, young trees or the bottom examples, with their big mature trees that have been living for many decades:
Mature tree removal at the MK is a bit of sore subject for me. Like others have said, I don't think this case shown in post 1 is that egregious (although, being a tree-lover, I would have liked to see it stay), but the changeover of the Hub (and Town Square) really got me sad and angry. After three decades of growth, it had become a shady and park-like oasis but then, in the 2002-2005 period, and for reasons discussed throughout these boards, most of the sizable trees in the Hub were removed. The area became (and remains) a hot, sun-scorched, tree-less plaza with open visual intrusions from Liberty Square through Tomorrowland to the Contemporary (and looming Bay Lake Tower).
When Disney removes the big, mature shade trees from its parks & property, it diminishes the environment - not in a broad ecological sense, but more in an aesthetic, place-making & design sense... at least until newly-planted ones grow up (if they are allowed to), but then we are talking a 20-40 year wait to re-establish that beatific presence.
Couldn't agree more, Randy.
It's funny (well, not really) that MK appears vastly less greener and lush in 2011 than it did in 1991. You just notice vast concrete swaths (better for the double-wide stroller and ECV brigade, I guess) that absorb the FLA sun and make it very unpleasant.
DL ... DLP ... TDL ... even HKDL are much greener and park-like ... and that does make for a more magical experience.
'Course, you also have the vast tracts of trees cut for projects that may never be (like Flamingo Crossings) or shouldn't be (Rotting Oaks).
In my experience & opinion, the presences of big, old trees, whether in your yard, a city park or a Disney theme park is a good, and increasingly rare, thing. Big trees add shade, beauty and a unspoken sense of class & wisdom that comes with age. They legitimize a landscape.
Which of the following city parks is more appealing to you, the top one, with all newly-planted, young trees or the bottom examples, with their big mature trees that have been living for many decades:
Mature tree removal at the MK is a bit of sore subject for me. Like others have said, I don't think this case shown in post 1 is that egregious (although, being a tree-lover, I would have liked to see it stay), but the changeover of the Hub (and Town Square) really got me sad and angry. After three decades of growth, it had become a shady and park-like oasis but then, in the 2002-2005 period, and for reasons discussed throughout these boards, most of the sizable trees in the Hub were removed. The area became (and remains) a hot, sun-scorched, tree-less plaza with open visual intrusions from Liberty Square through Tomorrowland to the Contemporary (and looming Bay Lake Tower).
When Disney removes the big, mature shade trees from its parks & property, it diminishes the environment - not in a broad ecological sense, but more in an aesthetic, place-making & design sense... at least until newly-planted ones grow up (if they are allowed to), but then we are talking a 20-40 year wait to re-establish that beatific presence.
Very depressing pictures, Randy.
Concrete isn't magical ... nor is seeing the Contemporary hulking (that's for all the Marvel fanbois) above Liberty Square.
Note how before the trees were removed they partially obscured the castle, making it look more distant, mysterious, romantic, real. Now that the trees are gone, there is no more stage by stage reveal: from the moment you get past Main St. Station, the castle has a zoomed-in effect, making it more in-your-face, kitschy, plastic-y and toy-like in its unobstructed enormity.
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