Originally Posted By monorailblue OK, OK, Dr. R. I'm just saying I see upgraded food differently then new fireworks spectaculars, new Attractions, additional live entertainment, special events, etc. I don't discount that some people might an upgraded hamburger bun as much as Party Gras! or Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.
Originally Posted By smd4 >>>My first impression was that the new First Aid station had an almost "Frontiersy" look to it with darker colors, and the thick window frames. The unpainted fiber-glass reinforced cement cornices also don't match with the rest of Main Street. For the average guest it won't matter, and the dark tones means that few guests will even notice this area of the park when walking down Main Street.<<< Exactly. The early imagineers, trained as set designers, had an innate understanding of the play of light on surfaces. The buildings they designed for Main Street were so much more dimensional and interesting looking than the flat buildings facades of the new First Aid Station. Perhaps you are right, and the design choice was made to make the buildings stand out less. Personally, I believe the designers just have no idea what they're doing.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 But this overlooks the fact that the old First Aid building didn't look like the rest of Main Street either. Yes, designed by those vaunted early imagineers. Occam's Razor is in play here. The simplest explanation is probably the right one. No matter what year we're talking about, the powers that be decided that the First Aid station didn't need to be up to the standards of the rest of Main Street. Perhaps originally that was due to budget, but it sure did stand there an awful long time looking unlike Main Street when it could have been changed - and it wasn't. Would it be great and peachy if it did look like the rest of Main Street? Of course. But is this some sort of new development? Hardly.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Here's a pretty good comparison: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-first-aids-new-look-has-emerged.891353/">http://forums.wdwmagic.com/thr....891353/</a> (It's about DL despite the "wdwmagic.com" domain). There's a discussion about it, and while there's some carping about flatness etc., our own TP2000 puts things in the proper perspective: "I went to the park this afternoon and saw this building for myself. It's already changed from the photos above, with different "FIRST AID" stained glass light fixtures now on each side of the door instead of the generic lamps. There's also some holes and things in the buildings that are obviously for signage yet to arrive, and the interior lobby hasn't received any of its props and pictures yet. It's just a blank room, but it already looks way more period-appropriate than the 1980's "country casual" vibe the old First Aid had. The lighted pediment on the top of the new brick building says "MEDICAL BUILDING", which is clever. But it all looks a bit different in person, especially because you almost always view this new building at an angle as you approach it or look at it from the corn dog cart or beyond. It sits on an angle that's quite different from the nearby buildings, and it's also much closer in than the old 1960's dressed-up trailers used to be. Over all, it looks like a HUGE improvement over what was there before. I also thought it looked especially good while standing on the Main Street USA sidewalk or in the street itself, because it's a real building at a slight angle to the Camera Shop/Baby Care Center near it, and it gives Main Street a real depth and visual interest that was lacking. Before, when you'd look at the corn dog cart from the sidewalk, you just saw a walkway and railing surrounding a manicured lawn with high blank walls. Now you see these new buildings behind the landscaping, and it gives that corner of the park much more depth and visual interest." Now, since they went to the trouble to change it, do I wish they'd made it nicer still, and more like Main Street? Of course. But only on Disney boards will you get people looking at an obvious improvement and still complaining about it and insisting that anyone who isn't as bitter about it as they are "don't understand" or some such nonsense.
Originally Posted By berol ...which was exhausted. Topics often change midstream when a thread goes long enough.
Originally Posted By smd4 >>>Over all, it looks like a HUGE improvement over what was there before.<<< I agree, and said so in my first post on the subject: "While the new first aid building is a great improvement, it still looks like major shortcuts were taken in design, detail and window treatment." How that got twisted into being "bitter" is beyond me.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Maybe it's because the phrase "major shortcuts were taken in design, detail and window treatment" could be interpreted as snide. Only you know if that negative tone was intentional or not, but in the context of your overreaction to the new Castle railings earlier in this thread, it's hard to tell. Regardless, it's a first aid building, not a front and center feature of DL. Your description applies more to the first building, not the current facility.
Originally Posted By monorailblue Re topics: posts is posts, I say. This ain't your grandma's Laughingplace.com.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <How that got twisted into being "bitter" is beyond me.> See #188 (and the general tone of your posts in the thread.)
Originally Posted By smd4 >>>Maybe it's because the phrase "major shortcuts were taken in design, detail and window treatment" could be interpreted as snide.<<< Huh?? How is that snide? Anyone with two eyes and a brain can see the difference between the rest of Main Street and these buildings. Cleary shortcuts were taken--either on purpose, or out of ignorance--you decide. And again, we give Disney a pass by stating these buildings aren't "front and center." Hogwash. At one time, that didn't matter.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt The imagineers who designed the original building would disagree.
Originally Posted By monorailblue Whatever the reason, I agree that they are a little subpar--but a vast and welcome improvement (except for the resulting enormous wall on the back of the camera shop, which I don't like at all). I'm guessing that Imagineering was limited by budget and schedule constraints. It takes a lot longer to build intricacy.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I agree with mono that they look fine for what they are, but could have been better. That area has always been an awkward spot, with a huge gate on either side of the building, so there's no real way to integrate it with the rest of Main Street. Anything they did would need to stand by itself, with is pretty tough to do while still looking good. It's somewhat disappointing that they didn't take it all the way to the highest level, but it's a heck of a lot better than what was there before. Clearly it's easy to completely ignore that corner of the park from the main guest areas, so it's nice that they put the effort in to really spruce it up
Originally Posted By perlster There's something called creating a topic, which some are too lazy and/or dumb to do.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <<At one time, that didn't matter. >> <The imagineers who designed the original building would disagree.> Exactly, Hans. "At one time," the vaunted original imagineers designed a building clearly inferior to the new one, and even Walt (who signed off on everything) found it acceptable, presumably because they balanced the desire to make everything look perfect with the realities of budget and the fact that it, you know, actually isn't front and center. The idea that this is a modern phenomenon that never ever took place back in the day is the actual hogwash.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "The idea that this is a modern phenomenon that never ever took place back in the day is the actual hogwash." That's true, Dabob. In addition to that, it's also true that the actual Hogwash drink you can buy in stores is pretty gross.
Originally Posted By berol "There's something called creating a topic, which some are too lazy and/or dumb to do." Or the conversation progresses, a tangent takes over naturally. It has nothing to do with being lazy or dumb and the boards don't have a rule against it.
Originally Posted By smd4 >>>I agree with mono that they look fine for what they are, but could have been better. <<< I guess you also agree with me--but are afraid to say it.
Originally Posted By smd4 >>>There's something called creating a topic, which some are too lazy and/or dumb to do.<<< About as dumb (and ironic) as posting a complaint to a topic that is also not on topic. If you want to complain about posts keeping (or not) on topic, please post such a topic. So we can keep on topic on your initial post about keeping on topic. So...What's your opinion about the drawbridge? You know, just to keep you on topic...
