Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Well, there's a difference between promoting a water tower as a studio icon versus a theme park icon. The Chinese Theatre was the original icon for Disney M-G-M and it worked perfectly fine before it was replaced by something else that was inferior.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros If the water tower wasn't the park's icon, why was it used alongside the castle and SSE on so many different things around WDW? The wayfinding signage at TTC still shows the water tower to this day <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wdwlive.com/photos/transportation/ticket-and-transportation-center/disney-world-ttc-sign-1-12.jpg">http://www.wdwlive.com/photos/...1-12.jpg</a> <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://inacents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1989-Walt-Disney-World-5-Day-Passport-Ticket-Front.jpg">http://inacents.com/wp-content...ront.jpg</a> <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://micechat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/WDW_Resort_Vacation_Handbook-cover.jpg">http://micechat.com/wp-content...over.jpg</a> <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://florida.asdhollywood.com/Earlier/WDWShopping89.jpg">http://florida.asdhollywood.co...ng89.jpg</a> Although my memories of that era are cloudy, it seems that almost everything leftover from that time shows the water tower. The only place I can think of seeing the Chinese Theater is on the trashcans on Hollywood Blvd and in park-specific advertisements
Originally Posted By magic0214 <<The funny thing about the Warner Bros. water tower is that it's not even owned by them. It's a small plot of government utility land surrounded by their studio property. The utility just let them use it for branding their company.>> So you're telling me the Animaniacs don't truly live on the Warner Brothers lot?! My life is all a lie.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn That napkin image shows both the water tower and the Chinese Theater.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Prior to the BAH arriving on the scene Grauman's was clearly the centerpiece of Hollywood Blvd, but I always saw the Earful Tower as the park icon until ToT was built. Once TOT was there, it became the de facto park icon, although I don't believe it has ever received any formal recognition. The only part of the Studios that resembles a studio at all (that will remain following the re-do) is Mickey Boulevard. I think the Earful Tower should be moved there.
Originally Posted By leemac D/MGM never truly had a wienie. The Chinese Theatre just isn't that iconic for tourists - especially foreign guests to WDW. It is a classic Meyer & Holler design but by choosing an existing known structure for the park icon it immediately struggles to have the impact. All three of the other parks have wienies that are fanciful and entirely fictional. There have been a lot of designs over the years for replacing the Chinese Theatre at D/MGM but nothing has stuck. I always liked the idea of a fake working hot set as the draw to the centre of the park. It would have coupled streetmosphere with large scale sets.
Originally Posted By leemac <<If the water tower wasn't the park's icon, why was it used alongside the castle and SSE on so many different things around WDW? >> Because it is simple to reproduce - and recognisable too. The outline is clearly visible - the Chinese Theatre doesn't have such a recognisable outline.
Originally Posted By hopemax Since leemac mentioned it, reading here and other places it seemed to me that people were confusing "wienie" with "icon." Icon, I think more in terms of logos and merchandising - which was the Earful Tower prior to the Hat. Wienie is the "thing at the end of the street" - which was the Theater prior to the Hat. For most of the parks, they are the same, but the Studios they were different, until the Hat showed up.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^That's also how I think of the park's icons and weenies. Most parks have multiple weenies (castle, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, etc) but there's really only one icon. As we've seen with various merchandise in the last year or two, the Studios has really struggled to define what the modern icon will be post-hat. Some things show the water tower, some show TOT, and a few even show the Chinese Theater; there doesn't seem to be any real consensus (I also hate that DCA's icon has become the ferris wheel, but that's a discussion for another time)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Oh, but what a spectacular 160 ft icon it is! <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.disneytouristblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/world-of-color-winter-dreams-lights-640x427.jpg">http://www.disneytouristblog.c...x427.jpg</a> Easily beats the Earful Tower. And the best part is that it's a ride, not just a static fixture to look at.
