Originally Posted By leemac <<And I don't know if I was just the right age or what, but I really didn't think it was nearly as ugly as everybody seems to believe. It's a really original idea that was pretty well executed (considering its short run) that was just kind of fun. I really enjoyed watching the inflatable parts sway a little bit in the breeze. No, it wouldn't make a very good permanent icon for a park, but it worked really well for a special celebration and really made the otherwise-forgettable event memorable.>> I can totally understand that. At the time I thought it was quite a cool transformation - it just added to the festive atmosphere for the 25th. WDW spent nearly $30m on that transformation which would be unheard of these days. It was temporary and came down right on schedule. Sure in retrospective it looks pretty ugly but I think it needs to be considered in the context of the time. The 25th Anniversary was executed to perfection IMHO - the whole Remember The Magic concept was the right mix of celebration and nostalgia. The only fault I could mention was the handling of October 1 itself - MK didn't cover themselves in glory that day.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper It's one of my first memories of the castle. I had been to WDW a few times before the 25th, but this is the first time I really remember the castle. And it was ugly as sin.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I think "Ugly" is a bit of an exaggeration. It was bright, attention getting and without a doubt, completely different. I also think that I don't overestimate the power of this group of people, which when you take the entire fan base into consideration, is anything but small. I do think that the observation that the numbers of people making their first trip (and possibly only) to WDW were devastated by the loss of the castle. Since the castle has no other function really then to just stand there...I doubt that many were shaken to the ground by its absence. I would bet that the majority of comments received by Disney were from those that couldn't stand to see their precious ICON decimated. I spoke earlier of my disappointment with the HM overlay, but it didn't ruin my trip, it was just a minor setback in plans. I still maintain that the castle cake was original, colorful, cheerful and completely appropriate for a celebration of this sort. It's just my opinion, of course, but that's how I feel about it.
Originally Posted By Disneydanny < I have to wonder what rocket scientist thought that incredibly ugly and tacky overlay was a good idea> maybe the same one weho thought Iago annoying the Tiki Gods was a good idea?
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I'd like to forget it. There are ways to celebrate, and among them, are not bright, garish, and ugly.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I remember 15 in particular; I visited WDW for the first time that year.
Originally Posted By Dreamerica The birthday cake castle was just one of many tacky things done at WDW. The giant Mickey wand at Epcot, the giant hat at the studios, the sports resort, e.t.c...It's shocking how much money they spent on this stuff. Think about that the next time your'e on BTMRR and you see a cheap plastic tarp thrown over a broken special effect for weeks.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 Yeah Eisner seemed to have a real fetish for the oversized tacky crap, didn't he? You can imagine little Mikey going on cross-country road trips as a boy, seeing things like the world's biggest ball of yarn and the world's biggest toothpick. Years later, he's head of the WDC......
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Oh, good grief. WDW was never meant to be a shrine. It's a theme park. Everything is meant to be bigger than life and fun. The castle cake, for one year, was terrific, I didn't even mind the wand...it was the stars on SE that bothered me. Other than that it was a fine way to connect Epcot with Walt Disney to those that didn't know the history or lived during Walt's time. It was big and fun. I like the way it looks without it but I was fine with it as well. The hat...it's not that it exists that bothers me. It is two things really. The first is location and the second is that it is just a pin trading location. It would have been fine in the animation plaza. It would have fit there perfectly. I guess we will never get an official answer as to why they placed it in front of the Great Movie Ride...but it looks like it is there to stay for whatever reason.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Other than that it was a fine way to connect Epcot with Walt Disney to those that didn't know the history or lived during Walt's time.>> Please, how does a giant Mickey hand/wand connect EPCOT to Walt anymore than the park being in freaking WALT DISNEY World?
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost ^^^^Because, in case you haven't been paying attention, many people do not think of Epcot as part of Walt Disney World in the sense that there is any real connection. Hence the oft muttered phrase..."I'm in Epcot today, but tomorrow I'm going to Disney World." And just as a side note...The hand was much preferable to that god awful graveyard just in front of SSE, IMHO!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Just to clarify...I am in no way upset because it is gone...I just didn't think it was terrible or out of place. And in connection with my last post, it took attention away from that granite mausoleum in front of it.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>this was the "jump the shark" moment for me with WDW...in general '94-'96 is when a lot of change (mostly not for the better) happened...from the change in resort logo/font, closing/conversion of the Empress Lilly, 20,000 Leagues gone, shops began to disappear and merchandise began to become all generic Disney stuff, Epcot pavilions were "updated," etc.<< Very well put! I think for the company overall, this period was the Jump the Shark moment. Coming off of EuroDisney and Lion King, it seemed that animation, live action, parks/resorts, overgrowth of DisneyStores, purchase of ABC, all led to a perfect storm of wrong decision after wrong decision. You summed up the parks portion quite nicely! I would only again add my continual postulation that WDI has never really improved off of MGM's ToT and DL's Indy from 1994/95. Too bad those were their pinnacle projects for the current generation.
Originally Posted By tonyanton Thank you...and believe me, I'm not one to think that nothing should be changed or that some additions since that time have not been good to great (IMO, Soarin', Animal Kingdom, the West Side expansion, even TSMM), but I'm not sure why other things had to change...for me the state of the former Empress Lilly is really the worst, along with the general elimination of water across the resort...i.e. Caribbean Plaza fountains, Innoventions reflecting pools, ponds at the Marketplace, etc.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>^^^^Because, in case you haven't been paying attention, many people do not think of Epcot as part of Walt Disney World in the sense that there is any real connection. Hence the oft muttered phrase..."I'm in Epcot today, but tomorrow I'm going to Disney World."<<< So, Disney should pander to people's ignorance and stupidity? I don't think so...
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>>So, Disney should pander to people's ignorance and stupidity? I don't think so...<<<< Due to the fact that Disney is, above all, a business then, yes they do need to pander to ignorance and stupidity. Their money is as good as anyone's and that, when all the pixie dust settles is what it is all about. When the phrase "one mans dream" is uttered no truer words were spoken. All we see is Walt Disney's emotional dream. Walt has been dead since 1966, his creations have survived but the world has changed and Disney is a "for profit" company. Burying our collective heads in the sand will not change that. In business, you do what it takes to survive. If it means pandering to a large group of people who weren't born until after Walt died, then that is what you do. Does it contain the ideals that Walt himself had..of course not. However, it is all they have now and it isn't going to change anytime soon. Remember it was HIS dream and no one has come along since then that shares any of it.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<In business, you do what it takes to survive. If it means pandering to a large group of people who weren't born until after Walt died, then that is what you do.>> You say it like millions upon millions weren't coming to Epcot before the wand because they didn't think it was part of Disney World, when the exact opposite is obviously true. I think you're trying way too hard to justify something that every Imagineer I've talked to has said was a mistake that should have never happened.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I'm not trying to justify anything. I am just telling my opinion. I wasn't that upset about it and I, repeat I, thought that it was a good idea to link it with the rest of WDW more clearly because of the reason I outlined. It's gone, I'm not unhappy or happy about that...it is what it is. With or without the wand it was still Spaceship Earth, my personal favorite attraction. I couldn't see the hand from inside the attraction so it had no affect on the ride at all.
