Originally Posted By DlandDug >>That was way back in 1988, when Disneyland (and corporate America in general) still had the cojones to actually call their specific Christmas events "Christmas".<< Um, we still get "Christmas" events (called CHRISTMAS events) at Disneyland, and WDW. Here are a few examples... The CHRISTMAS Fantasy Parade at Disneyland (2005 edition): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-171.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/L...-171.asp</a> Mickey's Once Upon a CHRISTMAS Parade at WDW (2009): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Videos-View-1228.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/V...1228.asp</a> Mickey's "Twas the Night Before CHRISTMAS SHow (2008): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Videos-View-778.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/V...-778.asp</a> A Totally Tomorrowland CHRISTMAS (from Mickey's Very Merry CHRISTMAS Party) at WDW (2009): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-984.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/L...-984.asp</a> And, of course, the Candlelight ceremony, still presenting the original Christmas story through scripture and song at Disneyland (2005 edition): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-176.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/L...-176.asp</a> ...and Walt Disney World (2008 edition): <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Videos-View-826.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/V...-826.asp</a>
Originally Posted By DlandDug This is funny. A Hong Kong Disneyland ad for the holiday. Tag line: A Sparkling Christmas... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjXTDXh_rk4&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...rk4&NR=1</a>
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I've never seen characters literally shouting "Buy me!!!" from the parade floats*** Gotta admit that would be perfect for the next Simpsons or South Park Disney parody, though.
Originally Posted By TP2000 Dug, that's just it. You walk in the park and it's Christmas everywhere. That's the reason for the decorations and Santa and the parades and the big sales tallies at the end of the night. But on TV commercials, or in any signage or printed advertising, they don't dare say or print the word Christmas. You get commercials like this rather meaningless "holiday" blather from last Christmas season... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SUI_ahHQGw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...I_ahHQGw</a> Heck, I haven't been to church in decades. But if you are going to decorate your entire park for Christmas and spend millions on the thing each year, it would seem to me you should have the guts and the cojones to call it what it is. There are no Ramadan hats for sale, no Kwanzaa parade, and no Hanukah overlay for any attraction. This isn't just a Disneyland thing though, and it is changing back in recent years. But Disneyland still clings to a 1990's sense of Political Correctness in shying away from admitting the park is decorated and has special offerings for... say it with me... Christmas. Oddly, this is only for the two American properties. They go all out in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris and those cultures still have the guts to call the Christmas season "Christmas". <a href="http://www16.plala.or.jp/christmas1956/11ch-othe02/2007-Tokyo-Disneyland-Electrical-Parade.jpg" target="_blank">http://www16.plala.or.jp/chris...rade.jpg</a> It's simply a lack of corporate backbone, plain and simple. I would hope Disneyland of all places, with it's massive decoration and entertainment campaign in December, could be more honest and admit it is celebrating Christmas. And again, it's not a religious thing, simply a wish for them to have some guts about what their product is.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 As dug pointed out, they call all those components of the Christmas offerings "Christmas" so this just seems like much ado about nothing to me (or worse, buying into the whole bogus "there's a war on Christmas!" hysteria, which is nothing but political correctness from the other direction.)
Originally Posted By believe They should have a proposition on the meaning of Christmas. Prop 8.2 - Traditional Christmas is between Christians only. No more commercialization of Christmas. That way, they can sue Disney for using the word Christmas.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "Actually, Disney Bear is proportional when at the correct size. Duffy is smaller than Disney Bear. One reason the Disney Bear became a big hit on eBay is because it is large enough to wear the full line of Build-a-Bear clothing and accessories. Duffy is too small, so owners must wait for new items to be made available exclusively through Disney. I would also guess that Disney Bear will be phased out in favor of Duffy. Whether Duffy catches on in the States is another matter entirely..." Actually, you've got that backwards. The US version of "Disney Bear" is the smaller one and does not fit Build-a-Bear clothes...probably on purpose. Duffy, the Japanese Disney Bear is basically the same size as any Build-a-Bear animal and can wear the clothes interchangeably. And, the reason the Disney Bear versions have become a "big hit" on Ebay, is because they are something different. Duffy is only sold in one color. The pastel Disney Bears are fetching insane amounts of money, because, well, they're not for sale in Japan. It makes me wish I bought up all the ones I saw at the Disney outlets years ago...
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Oh, and to clarify. The original version of the Disney Bear they introduced in 2002 was pretty much the same as Duffy. Same size, same basic quality. In the past few years, Disney has gotten "cheap" with it in the US and the size shrunk, and the quality of fabric declined. So, even though it's the same concept, the execution in the American parks, as usual, took a hit... So, when you compare the early Disney Bear to Duffy, it's very hard to tell the difference...well, unless you're comparing a pastel pink one or something. The later ones are more strikingly different when compared side by side.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "But Disneyland still clings to a 1990's sense of Political Correctness in shying away from admitting the park is decorated and has special offerings for... say it with me... Christmas." They read the Christmas story every year. You can even get dinner reservations for it. Some attack on Christmas... *rolls eyes* If anything, their desire to call their holiday offerings... say it with me... "holidays" is probably entirely motivated by economic reasons. They want as broad of an audience as possible, even if this country is 76% Christian.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones For an entire month, they retell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ at Epcot! An entire month! Disney is very politically correct these days! They just have no backbone!
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones Kirk Cameron of all people was the narrator one year! Disney sure is bowing down to the loony left on this one!
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "I can only imagine the howls of protest now from people with hurt feelings who would insist on telling us how different they are from others if Disneyland dared mention the word Christmas in their commercials for... Christmas." Bull. No one protests this. Possibly Disney has decided that "holiday" is more inclusive and better for business. Or maybe they use "holiday" because that's a word that's been in common use for decades and decades.
Originally Posted By DlandDug You will also see a menorah in one of the windows on Main Street. It's above the jewelry shop-- not far from the door where Dr. Silverstein keeps a mezzuzah on the jamb.
Originally Posted By TP2000 I guess I just think it's silly that they don't have the guts, the corporate backbone, to say the word "Christmas" in their TV or print commercials, like they did as recently in the late 1980's as Dlanddug linked us to. They've got all this overt Christian themed stuff in the parks in December; the Christmas Fantasy Parade, Santa Claus everywhere, a billion watts of Christmas decorations in the parks, Christmas trees in every hotel lobby, even the traditional telling of the biblical story of baby Jesus. Baby Jesus for chrissakes! ;-) And yet they edited all of their commercials and print advertising material from calling this event "Christmas", or even using that word at all. It's disingenous at best, and spineless at worst. I'm thinking it has more to do with lacking a spine for the past 15 years. ;-)
Originally Posted By Dabob2 OMG!!! They're attacking Christmas!! Even though they have all these components that are specific to Christmas, and even labeled as such, they don't use the word in advertisements!! That's not good enough!! It's a conspiracy!! I insist that they use the word in the advertisements and point out to all those other religions that we are still number one!! We're number one! We're number one!! (Everybody...)
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>They read the Christmas story every year. You can even get dinner reservations for it.<< While I agree that most of Corporate America has jumped on the PC "Holiday Season vs. Christmas" bandwagon Disney has not, at least not at the parks. The fact that they still have the Candlelight Procession is remarkable to say the least. They actually read passages from the Bible at that event.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Here's a TV commercial for the 1988 edition of Disneyland's Christmas Parade: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...qu1weqEI<<" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...<<</a> LOL! I remember that commercial well!
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>"He's big in Japan, and Al links to a YouTube video showing long lines of patient Japanese folks waiting to see Duffy."<< Maybe they should should have InuYasha walk around the park as well.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "The fact that they still have the Candlelight Procession is remarkable to say the least. They actually read passages from the Bible at that event." I believe it's a wonderful event and I'm not even a believer. If there was an uproar against this tradition I would defend it. Now if only we could be a little more open minded about another religious issue playing out at the resort...
Originally Posted By xrayvision >><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...qu1weqEI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...qu1weqEI</a> Note that Roger Rabbit is prominently featured at 00:22. Freeze frame at 00:16, 00:19, 00:21 as well, and you can see the float he is riding. It's the Pinocchio "Christmas Workshop" float, with Geppetto. It is covered with plush bears, no Roger toys in sight.<< While I don't remember the year, that's the float alright. While I was admittedly surprised about being contested for regurgitating a Roger Rabbit "Buy Me" comment from a recorded DL parade spiel I remember from 20 years ago (because it rubbed people the wrong way), yet the comment wasn't out of character for that character, I was pleasantly tickled with many of the LP posts about it. I saw the parade several times where the float was completely filled with Roger Rabbit plush toys for the parade. And, among other things R. Rabbit said in his taped spiel, while the costumed float character flopped around in that faux wooden chair, he did also said "You can buy me for Christmas," in reference to all the Roger Rabbit plush toys that were attached to the float. While, the float soundtrack could have later been amended and R. Rabbit might have appeared on that same float for more than one Christmas season, hence why there's stuffed bears vs roger rabbit plush toys in that year's commercial (keeping in mind the commercials are taped before the parade premieres on Main Street for that season), I remember his original "Buy Me" comment clearly and the guests negative reaction to it, even decades later. The message was that distasteful in an otherwise REALLY GREAT holiday parade. And, it truly was a really good parade. Too bad I don't have video of it.
