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Zorro appeared at Disneyland?

TP2000

Well-Known Member
I found this interesting
http://davelandweb.com/frontierland/zorro.html
I think this officially proves that Walt Disney would not have minded Jack Sparrow appearing at POTC today. It feels like practically the same thing to me

It feels that way because it is the same thing. They didn't have a made up word like "synergy" back in the 1950's, but that's exactly what it was.

Walt was a master at synergy, and he did it all the time at Disneyland. The synergy back then often wasn't as slick and polished and mega-hyped as it is today, which is often what turns folks off to it, but Walt knew Disneyland could be a synergy machine and he often took advantage of it at the park.

They made a killing in Frontierland off the sale of Davy Crockett coonskin caps in the 1950's, after the Davy Crockett craze took off, as another example.
 

Dragonrider1227

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You know what? I can buy that. Walt knew how to milk a cash cow but be a little more subtle about it. Frontierland definitely made a killing on Davy Crockett but didn't have him plastered on everything or showing up ever 15 minutes teaching kids how to be Pioneers. (thought that probably would've been pretty awesome)
I just find it funny how people will complain when they use a land to promote a popular character despite the fact that Walt did the same thing. Granted, he did it BETTER with a little more subtly and class but he still did it.
And Davy Crockett was pretty much the Jack Sparrow of the 50s, wasn't he? As was Zorro for the 60s. So it seems Disney always had someone.
---
On another note, I find it pretty cool how they got the actual actor of Zorro to come in and do this. the article's right. you couldn't do that today. Though I get the feeling if you let him, Johnny Depp would be perfectly willing to sneak into Disneyland in full Jack Sparrow attire and do the typical meet and greets without even letting anyone know it was actually him. Just to see if anyone would notice XD
 

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