Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> It seems like it would be easier, and look more interesting and realistic, to have real flags up there << That's the one weak point in the rebuilt entrance. The version in Florida uses fabric pennants instead of metal (or whatever it is) banners. I'm guessing the choice of one versus the other was to eliminate the cost of having to regularly replace fabric flags? However, the original gateway was so tacky and uninspiring, that anything instead of that is a thousand times better. The next major improvement I anxiously look forward to and that took far too long to implement: the dismantling of the clunky looking Golden Gate Bridge. Slowly but surely, the nightmare of DCA 2001 is coming to an end.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Did you like the previous entrance better?<< Hard to say. I liked the murals and the giant letters. I'll admit that the new gates are a slight improvement over the old ones, but it's such a small improvement for such a huge amount of effort and fuss. I don't really understand why people are so excited about them.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I'm guessing the choice of one versus the other was to eliminate the cost of having to regularly replace fabric flags?" I always figured that whenever Disney used stagnate pennants it was because they look better in pictures. In any case, since everything at Disneyland is fake anyway, I'm kind of perplexed as to why this detail bothers so many.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Hard to say. I liked the murals and the giant letters." Gotcha. I liked those two details as well.
Originally Posted By ChiMike I didn't like anything about the old entrance. So I think that affects my judgment on the new one. I really think it is out of place, especially during the day. It is an improvement.
Originally Posted By inlandemporer <I'm kind of perplexed as to why this detail bothers so many.> It doesn't really bother me, but the movement of real flags flapping in the breeze looks nice. On the other hand, these will never be limp. Six of one, really.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Slowly but surely, the nightmare of DCA 2001 is coming to an end." Nightmare? Really? I was slightly disappointed with the new entrance. I think it's the color. But I haven't seen it at night yet. Nor is everything finished, so it's not really fair to judge it yet. But it is an improvement (despite losing the letters and the mural).
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I honestly don't think the entrance is much better than the old one. It's just a lazy copy of Disney-MGM's entry and not surprised since Bob Weis was the lead designer on that park. Not that it's bad, just that it sure doesn't say 'worlds better' to me. As an aside, I think WDI really needs to get over the whole 'everything has to be either Victorian or Art Deco' mindset. I get that they do those styles well, but they have completely gone overboard with them ... again, says lazy to me. I certainly was no fan of the original entryway. It felt cold (odd when you think of California and the sun imagery and warmth etc) BUT ... I did think the entry murals were beautiful and should have been preserved. They would have made a great lobby for a REAL attraction about the state if Disney ever gets away from its love for toons. But it was cheaper to just destroy them and use them as part of the new DLH's flooring. ~GFC~
Originally Posted By inlandemporer I liked the murals too. But the bridge always looked so strange in its proportions it threw the whole thing off.
Originally Posted By crapshoot << I think WDI really needs to get over the whole 'everything has to be either Victorian or Art Deco' mindset.>> This is an odd statement. Especially when they are developing an area themed in the 1920's which was during the height of the Art Deco period. You may not care for the change in theme to Hollywood Blvd, but to say that the Pan Pacific recreated entryway is a "lazy" solution is really not the case in this particular instance.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Actually the design style of the entrance isn't deco. The style is called streamline moderne, and was very popular during the 1930s.
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<The style is called streamline moderne, and was very popular during the 1930s.>> "Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s."
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Not really. Art Moderne or Streamline Moderne was a reflection of the economic depression that began during the 1930s. Art Deco is notable for its ornate design, thus the clean aerodynamic style of Streamline Moderne was a reaction to Art Deco, not a version of it.
Originally Posted By tashajilek "I guess I'm in the minority on this one. Went to DCA yesterday and was thoroughly underwhelmed by the new entrance." Im not crazy about it either. Disneyland's entrance feels warm and inviting, while this one seems a bit cold. Im sure once all the construction is over everything will blend together better.
Originally Posted By crapshoot <<Not really.>> Well it's listed in my Art Deco Architectural book as late from the Art Deco period and other places as well. Understand, I am not dismissing the Streamline Moderne as its own style, but it really is tied in to Art Deco by most historians.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt It's cold looking because it's basically a construction site right now, without any landscaping showcasing the exposed backsides of the buildings just inside the gates. Strip DL's entrance of the train station, the facades on Town Square and all the landscaping and it would look pretty bleak from the Esplanade too. I'm confident that in the end DCA's entrance will be fine.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I disagree, but I'm not going to get into a debate about this. All one has to do is look at examples of the two styles and it's clear that they are distinctly different.
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Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Understand, I am not dismissing the Streamline Moderne as its own style, but it really is tied in to Art Deco by most historians.>> I think that's being a bit picky ... I'm not gonna argue the point, though. I'll just say living in Miami, a city whose beach was revived because of a sudden late 80s interest in the look of the old places that I've never heard anyone refer to the structures as anything but Art Deco (whether they were built in 1922 or 1938 or 1944). My larger point, which I'll stand on, is that WDI loves these two styles and repeats them over and over and over ... ~GFC~
