Originally Posted By cstephens To get out of the heat for a while on Sunday, we decided to spend some time in the Animation Building in DCA. We've always enjoyed spending time in there relaxing and listening to and watching the loop of animated features in the lobby. It's been quite a while since we've been in there, but it's not nearly the relaxing place we used to remember. We had sat down in the middle near where some of the comfy sofas are and were enjoying being in the lobby. On a much too frequent basis, there were fairly loud pre-recorded announcements telling people to go into either Turtle Talk with Crush or into the Animation Academy. Previously, these announcements were made by the CMs at the entrance to each location, and they were usually made only about 5 minutes prior to the next showtime. The CMs' voices were also usually fairly gentle and soothing. Not so much with the recorded announcements. Both were fairly loud and obnoxious and the Turtle Talk announcement was accompanied by "Crush" talking (not a very good soundness to boot) and the Animation Academy announcement was accompanied by Mickey talking. Each announcement was played multiple times prior to each showtime, and each time the announcement was played, the soundtrack to the lobby was interrupted. I might be misremembering but previously, when the CMs made the announcements, the lobby soundtrack wasn't turned off during their announcements. Now, the whole flow of the lobby atmosphere is completed destroyed because of the out-of-place announcements. And now that the Animation Building has been open for more than 5 years, I would think it's time to either replace or add to the loop of films in there. There were many films previously left out, and many more films have been made since then. It can't be that hard to either replace to add to the existing material. They don't need to create anything. Sure, some of the concept drawings are pretty cool, but some just have static pictures and video, and those work just fine. /cs
Originally Posted By SFH Ick. Thanks for the report, Cindy. It has been one of my favorite places in DCA, so if they've ruined it, that will be sad. How about they have a tasteful electronic or projected text display (multilingual) that announces and points to the various shows? SFH
Originally Posted By SteamboatPhillie Less than an hour ago I was just thinking that they needed to add more movies to the video loop. I've always wondered why Dumbo was never featured in it, and Lilo and Stitch would be an obvious inclusion. Plus I'd like to see stuff for Finding Nemo or the Incredibles.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA This is the problem with attractions that are 'easy to update' -- they don't seem to get updated. [see Star Tours for details]
Originally Posted By cstephens The Animation Lobby loop is WAY easier to change than Star Tours, and it doesn't require permission from any other company or person since they own all of those properties. /cs
Originally Posted By cstephens I can see how too many couches would obstruct the flow of traffic. We just sit on the carpeted floor. Obviously, not nearly as comfy as the sofas, but still pretty comfy. /cs
Originally Posted By cheesybaby Those louder announcements have been there for several months. I also despise the lighted "directory" sign in the center of the floor pointing to all the different areas. This blocks views of many screens. But I guess they tried "subtle" in 2001 and they felt it wasn't enough... As far as updating the loop, as far back as 2003 I have imagined how awesome they could do a "Finding Nemo" portion: a giant 360 degree aquarium, peaceful, all around us, with music. Then, after a moment, Nemo emerges on a screen over here, Dory on a screen over there... talk about immersion.
Originally Posted By Dznygrl The new announcements are certainly obnoxious. Cutting out the music for Crush's annoying voice every two minutes has sucked the peaceful magic out of the area. The Animation Lobby was always my favorite place in DCA. I remember the first time I ever walked in there, my eyes just lit up. If I recall, they also had more couches throughout the lobby back in the day where you could get a really good view of all the screens. Now they have what, only two way off to the side? As for changing some of the movies represented, I really don't think there are any NEW Disney movies that I would even want to see represented beyond what is already there. Bring on some more classics!
