What would Walt have liked/disliked?

M

Merlin

Account Suspended
Original Poster
What do you think Walt would have thought if he could see Disneyland today? What would have impressed him? What would make him turn over in his grave?

Most of you know how I feel about DCA, so no point in my going there.

But as far as the rest of the Disneyland Resort, here are my thoughts:

Main Street USA - I think he'd be a little disappointed that it has been turned into essentially a string of Disney merchandise shops. I think Walt enjoyed the nostalgia that Main Street represented.

Tomorrowland - I think he'd be impressed with the show quality and technology of Star Tours, Space Mountain and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I think he would like the concept of Innoventions and, considering he died in the sixties, would be impressed with the technology of it, but would consider the show quality lacking. I think he would consider the themeing of Autopia cute enough that he probably would overlook the fact it has absolutely nothing to do with the future. All in all, I think he'd be appalled by all the empty buildings and wasted space in Tomorrowland (i.e. Rocket Rods/CircleVision building, Submarine lagoon, etc.)

Fantasyland - I think he would be extremely pleased at the themeing and attention to detail of virtually all the attractions in Fantasyland.

Toontown - Ditto for Toontown (except Gadget's Go Coaster... I think he'd wonder why Disney put in an off-the-shelf coaster even if it was aimed at kids...Walt never believed in talking down to kids).

Frontierland - With the exception of Big Thunder (which I think he would have absolutely loved), Mark Twain, Columbia and Tom Sawyer's Island, I think he would feel they'd sort of lost sight of what the Frontierland themeing was all about (i.e. I love Fantasmic!, but what the heck is it doing in Frontierland??).

Critter Country - I think he'd love it.

New Orleans Square - I think it is tragic he never got to see this section of the park. It is the best and he would have loved it I think.

Adventureland - I think he'd be impressed by the technology of Indy, but not by the storyline (too simple for such an elaborate attraction). And I think he'd wonder why the Jungle Cruise still had the same lame jokes after all these years. He'd probably also wonder why they bothered to keep the Tiki Room around (surely we wouldn't STILL be impressed by that technology in the 21st century!!).

Hotels - I think he'd love the Grand Californian, but would pretty much consider the others to just be like any other hotel.

Downtown Disney - I think he'd wonder why they didn't do something more creative with the space.


What are YOUR thoughts?
 
hockeymom

hockeymom

Member
Originally posted by Merlin
Main Street USA - I think he'd be a little disappointed that it has been turned into essentially a string of Disney merchandise shops. I think Walt enjoyed the nostalgia that Main Street represented.


I agree with you Merlin, I think he'd be really disappointed that Main Street USA is kind of like a strip mall. Some of the details he loved aren't there anymore.

I think that he would have preferred to see something like "Autopia" modified to be more futuristic somehow to make it a better fit in Tomorrowland.

Fantasyland I think he would be happy with, same with Critter Country. and I think he would love Splash Mountain.
:)
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J

JLW11Hi

Well-Known Member
It would be hard to say. You cant be all that sure that Walt would be such a stickler for "theme". He was more concerned about making people believe they were in a different world, and not so much about if this or that "fits in with the theming." When Autopia originally opened in Tomorrowland in 1955, it had pretty much the same idea of the future as it does now.

He probably would have liked Downtown as a nice little thing to fit in there. As for Indyana Jones and the storyline, you might find it interesting that Walt often didn't want his rides to contain a consistent storyline, but rather a seires of "experiences", just as the ride does. Look at HM, Pirates, IASW. These are all examples of how rides focus more on specific experienxces, rather than having a "plot".
 
Talsonic

Talsonic

Account Suspended
DL was EPAPOT (Experimental Prototype Amusement Park Of Tomorrow).

Walt saw the mistakes he made at DL in his lifetime and that is why he created WDW. Walt witnessed the decline as DL fell victim to sleazy encroachments just outside the boundary. That is why he purchased such a huge plot of land in Florida. Sure, we all know of the "tourist traps" on Rt. 192 but WDW is very well insulated against outside problems. DL on the other hand has to deal with the Anaheim slime every day.
 
M

Merlin

Account Suspended
Original Poster
Originally posted by JLW11Hi
As for Indyana Jones and the storyline, you might find it interesting that Walt often didn't want his rides to contain a consistent storyline, but rather a seires of "experiences", just as the ride does. Look at HM, Pirates, IASW. These are all examples of how rides focus more on specific experienxces, rather than having a "plot".
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Justin, you're absolutely right! I stand corrected on my "lack of storyline" remark.
 
J

JLW11Hi

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by Merlin


Justin, you're absolutely right! I stand corrected on my "lack of storyline" remark.
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But still, rides with real plots work also! (Tower of Terror) Kinda like the Fantasyland rides of Walt's day. I guess it just depended on the idea of the ride how they should tell the story.

I always thought that Walt really gave each land a different variety of attractions. I don't think he was expecting each area to depend mostly on the usual themed rides. Fantasyland was given most of this, but Tomorrowland of his day was really an early version of Epcot, trying to educate the people with real ideas for the future, including the space program and the House of Tomorrow. These 2 attractions can actually be linked to today's Epcot attractions, Mission:Space, and House of Innoventions.

Adventureland was the Animal Kingdom of its day. It provided guests with a sence of danger, and attempted to educate people about our world of nature, like the True Life Adventure movie series. Back in the day, it seems that the Jungle Cruise was a bit more serious. People were more excited when they saw Hippos and natives "attacking" their boat, giving them a true sence of adventure, sort of like Indy does today. Now, the Jungle Cruise is a bit more toned down to guests, and the fun relies mostly on the humor of the boat captain and the scenery (I still love going under the waterfall!) . They kinda gave the more "seriousness" of the attraction to the AK, specifically the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Frontierland was absent of "themed rides" also. Walt wanted the experience of Frontierland to be very realistic. If Im not mistaken, the streets were actually covered in dirt. The rides were on actual horses. There were "recreations" of Indian tribes and shootouts. The diamond horseshoe was very much like the one today, and also helped give the idea that guests were in a populated western town. Guests could go boating in the river, or hop on the Mark Twain.

Nowadays, each land pretty much relies on its own "E-Ticket" attraction. Id say the seriousness of the lands has toned down a bit, but thre is nothing wrong with that. As I said, much of the meaning of the lands has been given to different theme parks, including AK and Epcot. Since DL doesnt have these, though, you can still see a hint of the original heart of the lands apparent. Tomorrowland has Innoventions, like Epcot, and the theme of the place is a bit different than MK's "Buck Rodgers" comical look at the future.

Well, thats what I think, anyway! :)
 
DCA Fan

DCA Fan

New Member
Originally posted by Merlin


In what way(s)?
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Well, the fact that there's only one attraction there and Pooh just doesn't seem to fit in (for me at least).

Also, the state of Tom Sawyer's Island would DEFINITELY make him roll in the grave.
 
3IAlienKid

3IAlienKid

Member
I'll tell you one thing he would be steamed about. The fact you can see the new Tower of Terror from inside Tomorrowland (when you stand near the lagoon).

Also, you can see one of the DCA buildings from Town Square (actually, I can't recall if it was Soarin' or the Hollywood buildings).

Sorry Merlin, I just had to bring up DCA.
 

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