Originally Posted By ChiMike ^ Again, nonsense. What a straw man arguement. It's not property owned by an individual or a small company. And, This isn't October 1971. This a large multi-national conglomerate that has a long standing track record incorporating large landscaping components into public spaces. Futhermore, they have insurance up the wazoo where issues such as landscape damage is a pinprick in the grand scheme of risk and exposure. The fact is the greenery has not been removed because of hurricane risk. It was removed because of artistic decisions, an importance put on castle shows/fireworks, and of course because of $$$$. Too much of a price to pay in my book. And certainly way too much of a price to pay to mitigate hurricane risk.
Originally Posted By ChiMike Hopefully, they can keep bulldozing all the green areas of AK before the next hurricane. I know if it was my wallet on the line I would.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << and of course because of $$$$. >> Of course. That's what it always comes down to when people don't agree with outcomes at WDW. It must be a money decision. Give me a break.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> If it was your property, you might not underemphasize that risk. << I don't think we should sacrafice the beauty of trees because we might fear the threat of a storm. I have three very large oak trees in my front yard, and I just road out hurricane ike. Sure I was worried about the trees falling in on my house, but certainly not enough to cut them down.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> The fact is the greenery has not been removed because of hurricane risk. It was removed because of artistic decisions, an importance put on castle shows/fireworks, and of course because of $$$$. << I totally agree with that. Some absolutely beautiful trees were removed at Epcot to afford better views of ROE on the lagoon.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>Of course. That's what it always comes down to when people don't agree with outcomes at WDW. It must be a money decision. Give me a break.<< No that's not what I said. You cut off the items I put first; of greater influence. A lot of the greenery was removed or did not come back because of the faulty tastes and preferences of WDP&R decision makers. The town square trees were removed for artistic reasons as where the Liberty Square trees. The Communicore Plaza trees also. The Plaza's trees were removed in service of Wishes and the over-marketed 'gift' given to the MK for DL's 50th Birthday which was slightly more enjoyable then a root canal. But, hey, they promoted it, so it must be SuPeR, right? So, no, I am negative and not blaming it because of Di$ney. As I am constantly critical of WDI rather than those sharp penciled boys in Burbank. As someone who knows a former Burbank based sharp-pencil boy, I can tell you I've heard enough in my lifetime of adequate funding only to be blown on bad decisions, poor taste, miserable judgement, and excessive greed and waste in Glendale and Team Disney Orlando.
Originally Posted By jmuboy What libery square trees were removed? Its the lack of trees behind Fantasyland and in The Plaza that bother me most.
Originally Posted By DisWorldly Spirit of 74, Have you heard anything about Beastly Kingdom being redeveloped? There have been rumors on other sites about this.
Originally Posted By ChiMike ^ Where? Everything I have read has directly pointed to the Mysterious Island complex from Tokyo Disneysea.
Originally Posted By ChiMike I'm not quite sure how I feel about it either. The train of thought on it is that the beastly/mythical animals found in JTTCOE and 20K could be tied into a beastly kingdom type new area. That does not mean Beastly Kingdom as we knew it is what is planned. I would guess that some components not used at IOA might be recycled as that's the precedent.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 There is no good reason for the wholesale slaughter of trees in an effort to improve sightlines for a few castle projections and the like. Main Street in the 1980s and 90s was lush. There was real shade in Town Square and, of course, plenty in the Hub (with wonderful twinkling fire-fly like lights at night). There was even fully mature trees lining Main Street and the Hub waterways. All of them were butchered in the 2002-05 period. Like many departments at WDW, horticulture has been WalMarted and this is what you get. No shade in the world's No. 1 theme park that operates in a subtropical climate with brutal heat and humidity for much of the year. What's sad is that the removal of mature trees has spread to places like EPCOT too. I must be old because I remember when WDW was an oasis of greenery in Central Florida ... but it actually wasn't that long ago.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Spirit of 74, Have you heard anything about Beastly Kingdom being redeveloped? There have been rumors on other sites about this.>> <<^ Where? Everything I have read has directly pointed to the Mysterious Island complex from Tokyo Disneysea.>> All I can say is that Joe Rohde himself told me that BK was never going to happen. This was a few years ago now, but the gist of his comments were that imaginary creatures would be celebrated at DAK, but not in the form of BK. Everest and the yeti certainly fit that bill. I also know that at one point during Everest's development that a model of TDS's volcano was placed right about where the character meet, greet and grope land is now ... and JTTCOTE does feature the lava creature after all. Now don't read more into it than what is written because I really don't know anything beyond what I have written ... but a big volcano would balance the park out with the Tree of Life in the middle and Forbidden Mountain (it isn't Everest, really!) on the right.
Originally Posted By mstaft I did some artwork a couple of months ago with this very addition in mind: <a href="http://insightsandsounds.blogspot.com/2008/07/hoax-and-hope.html" target="_blank">http://insightsandsounds.blogs...ope.html</a>
Originally Posted By Britain They could also take a cue from the 50's Ray Harryhausen pic, Mysterious Island, where Vulcania is not only Captain Nemo's secret base, but also a "lost world" of sorts, with gigantic honey bees, and huge crabs. It could be a gateway to all sorts of mythical creatures.
Originally Posted By danyoung >There is no good reason for the wholesale slaughter of trees...All of them were butchered in the 2002-05 period.< Wow - never let it be said that the Spirit goes in for the drama! They're trees, just trees. I liked the lush look as well, but I also like seeing the fireworks show that I've been waiting all day for. Take out the trees and you upset a few tree huggers. Leave 'em in and you upset thousands every night who have a bad view of the show.
Originally Posted By ChiMike ^ The trees weren't an issue for the fireworks up until Wishes. 30+ years of fireworks with trees. Wishes, with its assortment of low level effects did play a part in the decision. What was MORE influential was the castle stage show. That is the larger reason; one in which I personally disagree. I simply don't think a temporary stage show should be the reason the park's design is so radically changed. Not just the trees but the Hub itself. The brick and gardens all ripped-out. I also don't remember anyone on a normal day waiting more than 30+ minutes for a fireworks show at the MK. Trees or no trees.
Originally Posted By jmuboy Hit send too quick. The new HUB at WDW is long on red concrete, short or shade, short on charm, etc. The only benefit (in my eyes) is the lowering of the curb so that everything is at street level. I do like that design aspect. The rest, total waste (like the total waste of space that is the 20k site). I really do love WDW, Disney, etc. But the MK just leaves me feel very "blah"
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>I really do love WDW, Disney, etc. But the MK just leaves me feel very "blah"<<< Agreed. But to me the MK should be the heart of WDW. DL is why I fell in love with Disney after all. So to see the MK in such a state just drags the rest of the resort down for me.
