willtravel
Well-Known Member
I have often wondered what the original Imagineers who built WDW would think of the changes in WDW now and the changes coming in the future for all the WDW parks?
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WED's Wonderful Kingdom
- Thread starter Animaniac93-98
- Start date
I took a bunch of random pictures last week of things that other guests may not find interesting, but I think help to make MK what it is. I'm going to start posting them on the weekend.
One thing I couldn't get a good picture of, but wanted to mention specifically was the Peter Pan load/unload mural. A WED original and still standing today. Toad and Snow White had marvelous looking load areas (Tokyo still has the original Snow White one!), but we're lucky to still have Pan. I even love the painted tree flats in front and the kinetics of the boats going by...
One thing I couldn't get a good picture of, but wanted to mention specifically was the Peter Pan load/unload mural. A WED original and still standing today. Toad and Snow White had marvelous looking load areas (Tokyo still has the original Snow White one!), but we're lucky to still have Pan. I even love the painted tree flats in front and the kinetics of the boats going by...
Snapped this picture at just the right time.
These Tiki Room windows were a wonderful addition to the show in 1971.
I never noticed before, but the light effect on the "water" changes color to match the sky above. Blue or red when the volcano is erupting. I counted 5 different effects in this one little tableau! Keep in mind they're 4 identical windows like this total.
- rolling clouds
- glowing ripples on water
- erupting volcano
- rain water
- lighting flash
Pretty impressive for such a minor scene. A true "Disney difference".
Finest Keelboat dock on the river!
Course, it's just about the only Keelboat dock on the river, but even if there were a dozen it'd still be in the top 10 or 12!
Read about this marker in Boundless Realm, made a point of spotting it this time.
I thought I got a picture of smuggler's cove up river, but I didn't. That's another great detail too.
This is new for the 50th, right? A nice touch to include the original attraction poster, even if the track is much shorter now.
They're still advertising Aunt Polly's?
Tom Sawyer Island is a masterpiece. It still captivates kids (and adults!), even if they've never read the book(s) it's based on.
When walking through the caves, this kid comes up to me and says "I thought you were a ghost!"
Sadly the northern half of the island, and the barrel bridge, were closed during my visit.
I will forever love King Stefan's Banquet Hall. I'm still willing to splurge and put up with the hassle of getting an ADR to eat there.
Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom?
When I was touring the treehouse I heard one child exclaim "people lived here?!" he almost believed it!
Like TSI, this attraction still engages children who have never read the book or seen the movie.
The appeal of a massive tropical treehouse in WDW has never diminished. Good design is timeless.
I didn't take any pictures of it, but I want to comment on the Florida Pirates. I went on the Disneyland version 4x in September and the WDW ride twice this month.
First, the staging and pacing of the town segment is absolutely better in Florida. It's easier to "read" the action of the scenes and there's more time to absorb each tableaux after going through them.
Also, Hurricane Cove in the caverns is better too. You get much closer to it in Florida and the way it builds up tension before the drop is genius. That and the drop being in total darkness makes it feel much more intense than it is. In other versions of the ride, Hurricane Cove is just a set piece that while looking neat doesn't really say much. In Paris it comes after the 2nd drop where the crash of the boats hitting the bottom of the flume leads to the sounds of the hurricane in the distance. It's good, but not as effective as having it happen before.
First, the staging and pacing of the town segment is absolutely better in Florida. It's easier to "read" the action of the scenes and there's more time to absorb each tableaux after going through them.
Also, Hurricane Cove in the caverns is better too. You get much closer to it in Florida and the way it builds up tension before the drop is genius. That and the drop being in total darkness makes it feel much more intense than it is. In other versions of the ride, Hurricane Cove is just a set piece that while looking neat doesn't really say much. In Paris it comes after the 2nd drop where the crash of the boats hitting the bottom of the flume leads to the sounds of the hurricane in the distance. It's good, but not as effective as having it happen before.
I was also surprised to hear this playing in the Pirates queue. I thought they got rid of it years ago, but it's there if you know where to listen:
I know this is a bump of your old post, but tempted to frame this. Well said.
What a great thread that shows just how much Magic Kingdom quality is shining through.
Quality will out.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
Such a gem of thread. Reread it all. Thanks Animaniac and keep it coming! Your love and understanding of the MK is palpable.
Credit in part should go to people like Mike Lee and Foxx Nolte who helped me to appreciate MK better. Years of reading books and blogs has further shaped my love for it (or least the good stuff that's still there).
It's also why Tokyo Disneyland is my favorite castle park. Imagine if MK had better show quality, entertainment, food and customer service (and at a lower price!).
But it was good to go back to Florida and see the place with eager eyes.
When was this sign added? I don't remember seeing it before.
The highest compliment I can give to Liberty Square is that it feels much older than the rest of the park. Liberty Tree Tavern in particular, with its creaky wooden floors and furniture, narrow staircases and warped glass windows does indeed feel like an 18th century inn. It would never be built like that today for a number of reasons, but that's even more of an excuse to go inside and have some ooey gooey toffee cake.
For once I got lucky and heard the whole opening narration from start to finish!
Great points on Liberty Square. The land was designed as if Liberty Square was as specific as Colonial Williamsburg and only as romanticized at the time as it needed to be and luckily, perhaps because of its size much of that charm still exists where as Mainstreet seems to waver more. I know some things for sure have changed but as a whole, I think it was done so well, that is what made Disney's America Park concept redundant more than anything else, the love letter of Liberty Square covered the large parts of that and more.
Your notes on Tokyo gives me confidence that saving for Tokyo is still the right thing for me. I want to visit and feel the full MK spark I used to feel in the Disney Decade of the 90s.
Your notes on Tokyo gives me confidence that saving for Tokyo is still the right thing for me. I want to visit and feel the full MK spark I used to feel in the Disney Decade of the 90s.
I have more thoughts on Liberty Square that I think are deserving of their own thread. Will post on that soon.
Just some more pics, not land or attraction specific this time:
^ this poster is now at the park entrance two. Outside the train tunnel, right side.
^ this was taken from the PeopleMover. Car stopped in just the right place.
^ this poster is now at the park entrance two. Outside the train tunnel, right side.
^ this was taken from the PeopleMover. Car stopped in just the right place.
I was just thinking about the tents in Fantasyland.
When you walk through the castle, what's the first thing you see? The Carousel. A ride under a large canopy. This is the visual clue for guests entering the land. If they see a brightly colored tent, or canopy, it means there's an attraction inside.
The other buildings in the land are in darker and/or softer colours. Browns, beige, white, grey and muddy reds. These signify the non-attractions such as shopping, dining and restrooms.
Tom Morris said in a podcast that in the MK's early days the Skyway would have a huge line, but other rides would not. That's because you could see the Skyway overhead and know its there. Long before the internet, when WDW was brand new, people may not have known where to find things in the parks. Maps were offered, but you can't assume people will take them. WED had to invent another way to guide people's attention.
Disneyland's Fantasyland had tent exteriors for the rides for budget reasons, but did not have elaborate buildings like WDW's Fantasyland West did on opening day prior to 1983. WED could have made all the buildings just as detailed, but I think they decided not too, and not just because of cost.
The tents let you see past the queues and into the load areas for Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr Toad and Small World. The kinetics draw your eye to what's inside, and give the land more life than an ordinary flat exterior would. They bring a consistent design logic to an area who's rides have many different tones and stylistic approaches. They also come from a long tradition of fairs and circuses which would have been familiar to anyone visiting WDW. The Magic Kingdom is cleaner and softer in its hard sell (remember, these were rides you had to pay for), but knows people expect a show under the big top(s).
Of course we're used to the quality of various "new" Fantasylands now, but the old one in Florida still works in its own way.
When you walk through the castle, what's the first thing you see? The Carousel. A ride under a large canopy. This is the visual clue for guests entering the land. If they see a brightly colored tent, or canopy, it means there's an attraction inside.
The other buildings in the land are in darker and/or softer colours. Browns, beige, white, grey and muddy reds. These signify the non-attractions such as shopping, dining and restrooms.
Tom Morris said in a podcast that in the MK's early days the Skyway would have a huge line, but other rides would not. That's because you could see the Skyway overhead and know its there. Long before the internet, when WDW was brand new, people may not have known where to find things in the parks. Maps were offered, but you can't assume people will take them. WED had to invent another way to guide people's attention.
Disneyland's Fantasyland had tent exteriors for the rides for budget reasons, but did not have elaborate buildings like WDW's Fantasyland West did on opening day prior to 1983. WED could have made all the buildings just as detailed, but I think they decided not too, and not just because of cost.
The tents let you see past the queues and into the load areas for Peter Pan, Snow White, Mr Toad and Small World. The kinetics draw your eye to what's inside, and give the land more life than an ordinary flat exterior would. They bring a consistent design logic to an area who's rides have many different tones and stylistic approaches. They also come from a long tradition of fairs and circuses which would have been familiar to anyone visiting WDW. The Magic Kingdom is cleaner and softer in its hard sell (remember, these were rides you had to pay for), but knows people expect a show under the big top(s).
Of course we're used to the quality of various "new" Fantasylands now, but the old one in Florida still works in its own way.
Club Cooloholic
Well-Known Member
You are absolutely right, it used to be waiting in line to ride and the walk out when finished were an experience in themselves.
With MK once again decorated for the holidays, I was wondering, does the Swiss Family Treehouse still get its minor Christmas overlay? The video and pictures I found online are of the Tokyo Disneyland version. Here's the seasonal organ loop used (with some ambient noise mixed in by the uploader):
I always thought this was a nice touch, especially since in the movie there's the scene at Christmas when the two older sons return home.
I always thought this was a nice touch, especially since in the movie there's the scene at Christmas when the two older sons return home.