Originally Posted By dshyates It seems really obvious that an edict came down from on high that marketable Disney characters be included into any of the classic attrctions they can. I believe this trend started with the Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. Then on to the seasonal HMH w/ Jack Skellington. Then on to Stitch Encounter. Stitch's Tiki Room in TDL. They have even added the mice from Cinderella to the wait time sign at King Arthur's. And we all know about the IASW debate mentioned in the "mainstream media". So my question is what ther changes of classic attractions will we see because of a character tie-in? Are we gonna see a Goofy AA barker in a space suit where the dog and victrola used to be in Space Mountain? Timon and Pumbaa's Safari Cruise? Lightening McQueen's Driving Scool (indy speedway). Mike's Monster Mansion And my favorite: Chip and Dale's Review and the Golden Horseshoe Saloon featuring Pip.
Originally Posted By christiemarsh88 I think the Hall of Presidents is seriously lacking in the character tie-in department. And it would be so easy! Who's one of the number one write-in ballot contenders? You guessed it, Mickey Mouse! Everyone always sleeps through Lincoln's speech anyway. Just have ol' Abe remain seated while President Mickey reminded us about his unique economic plan: buy lots of President Mickey plushes at the gift shop!
Originally Posted By mickey_ring The key word is in the first sentence of post 1. Marketable. Jump-start the old rides with popular, current characters. If you are a kid, would you rather see Stitch's Great Escape or Mission to the Moon? (way too nostalgic there)? On a positive note, it would be kinda cool to see a Steamboat Willie Mickey on the river cruise.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I'm still puzzled over what an "inusion" is. Invasion? Infusion? Confusion? Inquiring minds want to know!
Originally Posted By dshyates It was supposed to be infusion. But inclusion would work. The batteries are dieing in my wireless keyboard and its dropping letters. And being dyslexic makes proofing hit or miss. But I'll have to admit I didn't proof that posting.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <It was supposed to be infusion. But inclusion would work.> In some people's opinion, intrusion would work even better.
Originally Posted By Socrates RE: Hall of Presidents Didn't Winnie the Pooh run for President once? (Now there was a creative idea!) Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Originally Posted By knoxvelour That's just ridiculous. Pooh can't be president. He wasn't born in the United States
Originally Posted By plpeters70 "If you are a kid, would you rather see Stitch's Great Escape or Mission to the Moon? (way too nostalgic there)?" Well, when *I* was a kid, I prefered Mission to Mars and Carousel of Progress over any of the character stuff. And since Disney theme parks were quite successful for over 40 years before characters started intruding everywhere, I guess I wasn't the only one who liked these things...
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>And since Disney theme parks were quite successful for over 40 years before characters started intruding everywhere, I guess I wasn't the only one who liked these things...<< Disney characters have been in the Parks and attractions since day one. Indeed, the decision to keep characters out of EPCOT center and DCA has been cited as a mistake. (EPCOT originally had no character appearances, prompting the creation of Figment for the Imagination pavilion. The first few months at DCA, the Disney characters merely "vacationed" there during extremely limited meet 'n greets. This was quickly remedied in both cases after guests complained they were being cheated of their opportunity to meet the true "stars" of Disney.)
Originally Posted By plpeters70 "Disney characters have been in the Parks and attractions since day one." That's true, but they were only in Fantasyland and walk-around characters for the majority of the 50 years Disney has been operating theme parks. It is only within the last 10 years that they started creeping into every section of every Disney park. And Figment was planned for Imagination from Day One - he wasn't added because guests complained that there were no characters in EPCOT.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 And for what it's worth - I have absolutely no problem with having walk-around characters everywhere - or even stage shows with the characters. But can't we just leave it there and have the attractions be about something original? Does EVERYTHING have to be character-based?
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Maybe they'll give the yeti guy a yellow snow cone (and a makeover) inside of the Matterhorn...Mike and Sully in lederhosen and Roz yodeling off in the distance.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo lol So this Is The Love, Yep, sorry dug, Im with P70 here. Walk arounds are fine (though not at the xpense of live music). Maybe I was a weird kid. FOr me Dl was always about the train, the AA rides and shows (and while CBJ and America Sings were cartoon like, they were totally original character!), the MArk Twain, the Jungle Cruise, the Tahitian Terrace, the Golden Horseshoe Review, Mission to Mars, America the Beautiful, peoplemovers and monorails, ATIS. In short, I love DL because it took me to another place and time, a safe adventure, not cartoons. FL bored me as a kid (except IASW, the teacups and carousel) and if my wife and kids did not love it so, it would bore me now. For me the toons were not that great, they were a part of the experience, but not the focus. I fell in love with DL because of what it did, and the fact it tried to teach in a fun way. In fact as a kid, I preferred Loony Toons. I developed an interest in disney animation because of my love of the parks and a quest to learn more about its design decisions. Not the other way around. I loved our trip to DL recently, and there is no doubt the magic is still there. But there is no doubt that toons are taking it over, and that's robbing the place of it's heart and soul little by little. I know I am not alone when we see the outcry for IASW. And lok at DCA, the only new attractions not toon related ( for a budget reportedly the same as DCA's inception budget), are the entrance plaza, and 2 edutainment attractions are being lost in the process (yes I know they could have been better - but nothing that we know of are set to replace them). It's even worse in WDW and DLP to my mind. If any park shows it can do well without too many characters, it's TDS where the audience are mad for characters.
Originally Posted By brotherdave I'm not upset with the costumed characters making appearances just about anywhere in the parks. However, now 'permanantly' infusing and retheming attractions with the characters is basically a pure marketing strategy and somewhat 'insulting' to our intelligence. Of course, the masses of people who come to the parks seem to love the characters everywhere, so perhaps "we" are the minority now. I personally know some people who LOVE the new Tiki Room and Stitch attractions simply BECAUSE they have characters in them now. I'm sure that a good deal of other guests feel the same way. In fact, I'm not so sure that Walt himself might not have done the same thing with some of the older attractions to 'spice' them up. Still, it's discouraging to see almost every new attraction have some sort of character tie-in. Was Expedition Everest the last major attraction added to WDW without one?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo brotherdave, I am with you. But it seems like if it is not toons, it's thrills. I would love a family friendly attraction without a height restriction. No many of those have been made in the last 10 years :-(
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 brotherdave, I am with you. But it seems like if it is not toons, it's thrills. I would love a family friendly attraction without a height restriction. No many of those have been made in the last 10 years :-(<< Buzz Lightyear? Toy Story Mania? At DLP we have Cinemagique and the new rides at Disney studios...
