Negativity toward Disney

[WrongWay]

it seems to me,that all this "magic,googly ga ga" stuff came about in the last decade or so,

No. It is the "magic, googly, ga ga" stuff that was always set Disney apart from the others.

The magic of putting cartoons to sound... not just making the cartoons talk, but the magic of working sound effects into the story, working the music into the story.

The magic of color. The magic of the multi-plain camera that allowed cartoons to come off the flat page and magically feel like a 3-d word.

The magic of not just doing the rubber-arm sketches and slap-stick comedy common to cartoons, but elevating the cartoon to the full length animated feature in an artistic way that seemed to bring the quality of the Renasance artist to animation.

Then the magic of bringing the settings of the most popular fictional themes, to life. The magic of letting you enter a fairytale, the Old West, a deep and untamed jungle, a land of the future.

Magic is what has ALWAYS seperated Disney products from the rest. It is why Disney doesn't have to let people it for half price if they bring a coke can to the ticket booth. Magic is why they sell an AP for more that the cost of one-day admission. Magic, the ability to engage the imagination, is why despite being the most expensive, Disney parks (except DCA) beat all other parks for attendance.


You hear about it now, because DCA is the first Disney park to not have it.

[cinder]

Am I dreaming?! Are we actually having a well thought out discussion right now?! I love it, I think that all points being brought to the table are amazing and true.

[disneyfreak62]

Magic is what has ALWAYS seperated Disney products from the rest.... Magic, the ability to engage the imagination, is why despite being the most expensive, Disney parks (except DCA) beat all other parks for attendance.

I agree with that thought, WW. I have always likned Disney with the magical, the fantasy, the dreams. Even when they were dealing with "real" subjects. The "Magic" is NOT a new concept.

[jonvn]

The magic of putting cartoons to sound...

That's not magic, that's technology. The hallmark of Disney through the decades was advancing technology to make the inanimate animate and truly real. Disney was a technology driven person, and his products showed this as their hallmark.

That was the specific and oft-mentioned goal of Walt Disney. For example, he was always most impressed when his cartoon characters exhibited a "real" personality.

There really is no such thing as magic, and Disney never engaged in it, the use of it, or the name. He engaged in artificial reality. The fictitious creation of places under one banner that appeared to be far off places. That was what the goal of Disneyland was for many years, and the main comment of those impressed by the park upon their visits.

[Mortimer]

That's not magic, that's technology. The hallmark of Disney through the decades was advancing technology to make the inanimate animate and truly real. Disney was a technology driven person, and his products showed this as their hallmark.

That was the specific and oft-mentioned goal of Walt Disney. For example, he was always most impressed when his cartoon characters exhibited a "real" personality.

There really is no such thing as magic, and Disney never engaged in it, the use of it, or the name. He engaged in artificial reality. The fictitious creation of places under one banner that appeared to be far off places. That was what the goal of Disneyland was for many years, and the main comment of those impressed by the park upon their visits.

But isn't magic supposed to be "artificial reality"? I mean think about magicians, what they are doing is nothing more than an illusion, an artificial reality.

Yes Walt did use technology to create magic and even if it was artificial, he paid attention to detail and made sure each paying guest was given a very special experience. Magic.

[WorldEpcot]

Sure, there are other negative things Disney has done, but DCA is the most obvious target of negativity.

EVERYONE seems to be forgetting about DLRP's second park, Walt Disney Studios. *Gags* I want a cookie now, after all this talk about food for thought.

[WrongWay]

Sure, there are other negative things Disney has done, but DCA is the most obvious target of negativity.

EVERYONE seems to be forgetting about DLRP's second park, Walt Disney Studios. *Gags* I want a cookie now, after all this talk about food for thought.

Haven't been there myself, but yeah, the talk on that park is even worse than DCA.

[YellowMan]

I know I came in late in the game on this thread, but I'll chime in.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think DCA is definitely a Disney park, just with some of the least "oomph" put into it of any of the others (save for Disney Studios Paris, which people keep forgetting sucks way more than DCA). The problem with each of these parks, in my mind, is that Disney is afraid to invest in them to the full extent. People come to Disney parks for realistic (yes, I said it) and fully immersive experiences, with some feeling of story and theming to them. Now, while I contest that Disney Studios Paris and the rest of that resort will never succeed based on it's poor location (sticking a big American theme park in the middle of a place where the general populace hates big American anything seemed obviously flawed to me), DCA on the other hand has a prime location to thrive. Disney needs to invest fully in good ideas for the park. DCA will never get better with a bandaid here and a bandaid there. TOT was a good idea, and it was invested fully in (even though I think the changes made from the original are a bit "meh", but that's my opinion). Hopefully we'll see some updates to the current attractions there to push them to where they should have been at opening (animatronics on GRR, etc.) and that in the future development DCA will get the budgets it deserves.

In conclusion, my opinion is that DCA is a good theme park (it's leaps and bounds above anything put out by Six Flags) and that the theme isn't flawed, they just didn't fully invest in it the way they should have. Let's not forget that at opening there were already plans for different "phases" of DCA's development that included things like TOT, and that leads me to believe that Disney isn't running away from the theme by adding such things now. I just thing some of these later phases should have been implemented a little quicker and before Disney was afraid to go ahead with additions to their "failing" park.

Edit: How in the world could nobody mention Disney Studios Paris for 15 pages, but in the 10 minutes I'm writing my post 2 people mention it?!

[jonvn]

But isn't magic supposed to be "artificial reality"?

Perhaps you could say that, but Walt Disney used technology to create a reality where it did not previously exist. That was the fun of going to the park. It wasn't about seeing cartoon characters everywhere. That's why the Sub Voyage was about a real submarine, and news items of the day (the Nautilus had just recently sailed under the polar ice cap at the time).

That's why you have the Sailing Ship Columbia sailing around the river, instead of Captain Hook's pirate ship.

That's what it was. Still mostly is, too. I think this is probably the more endearing and popular aspect of Disneyland still. If it were just another fairlyand type placed based solely on the fantasy aspects of Disney characters, it would not have been as popular as it was.

Instead, it not only talked about Disney and Disney characters, it also talked about the people who visited the park. It talked about their history, their youth, and their future. In speaking to the public about the public, it was a much more personalized experience. Now, Disney chiefly talks to the public about Disney and Disney offerings.

It's a lessened experience, and has caused Disney to lose the understanding of what made their parks.

[WorldEpcot]

Haven't been there myself, but yeah, the talk on that park is even worse than DCA.

Honey, it makes DCA look like Disneyland.