Originally Posted By leemac <<Characters still roam around Tokyo Disneyland just fine.>> Really? Where have you seen them "roam"? I thought that OLC had mandated that characters be limited to the entrance complex, ToonTown and a few other spots - but always with a handler. I don't recall seeing characters "roam" the park for years.
Originally Posted By Mr X If you mean limited to the entrance complex, ToonTown, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Westernland, and Tomorrowland, then I guess you're right about that, Lee. Yes, there's always a handler around. That was true in Anaheim and Florida for the longest time going back too. Was it not? What are you trying to prove? If by "roam" you mean Mickey mouse doesn't skip around the park then you are correct. But as far back as *I* can remember (that'd be 1975, by the way), they have always "roamed" around particular areas, within spitting distance of their backstage exit doors in case some little type decides to rip Goofy's nose off his face suddenly, and they go on to interact from there. Please, Lee. On this, I know better than you.
Originally Posted By Mr X For the record, I saw with my own eyes characters ROAMING around World Bazaar, the main entrance, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland (various locations), Westerland (various locations), and Adventureland, two months ago (including a fun time with Pinocchio skipping around and into World Bazaar with Little X in hand, she was laughing like crazy!) Didn't happen to encounter any in Toontown though, guess the timing wasn't right or something. In any case, at no time did we have to line up and wait for ANY of them, they just happened to be around.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Then, again, it's the Disney characters that give Disney theme parks their mythology. Without the characters, the parks would be deadly dull to us. It would be like going to Six Flags. Even Universal Studios relies heavily on their arsenal of characters to base most of their attractions upon. ORWEN: I think it's a matter of taste, really. There's absolutely nothing wrong with your liking what you like for the reasons you've given, davewasbaloo, duckling. We may like Disney theme parks for different reasons but that's okay. The one thing I think we DO still agree upon is that quality is suffering within the Disney theme parks and that's just awful. There's no real excuse for that.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Oh! Our response from post #44 was meant for davewasbaloo!
Originally Posted By HauntedMansionFan I agree it should be a family attraction, but why scale it down from Big Thunder-style thrills? Isn't that 'family' enough?
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I think the characters are an important part of the Disney theme park experience. I do miss the idea that you used to be able to just stumble upon the characters throughout the park. It made the experience all the more fun. The characters have become one more thing that you can now schedule your day to see. I understand there are good reasons for that but it takes away some of the charm. Having said that...I do think the parks in general have gotten too character based.
Originally Posted By Britain The gentlest ride that Disney ever made that still could be considered a coaster is the Casey Jr in Paris. Barnstormer is more thrilling than that, and I was half expecting the Seven Dwarves Mine coaster to sort of be Florida's Casey Jr. If it's somewhere in between Barnstormer and Big Thunder it will be fun.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 <<I think the characters are an important part of the Disney theme park experience. I do miss the idea that you used to be able to just stumble upon the characters throughout the park.>> That was one of the things I thought was so cool the first time I went to DL. We were just walking thru Small World plaza and there was Mary Poppins and Bert. We would stumble across other characters like the mice from Cinderella and the fairies from Sleeping Beauty. That was really cool and we didn't have to wait in line to get a picture.
