Comments on: Chattin’ With Nunis, May 1982

By: regis

regis — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:38:55 +0000

While I enjoyed the interview, this guy is a total traitor for this comment: “I don’t think Walt ever intended [EPCOT] to have a permanent resident population.”

They had plans for residential housing, apartments, schools, real city planning improvements. Walt’s final dream was to improve the standard of living for the WORLD, not boost the entertainment industry.

Foxx – We have Celebration because of men in suits, not because of public taste. We are still stuck in car-centric neighborhoods because businessmen copy what works, they don’t like taking risks. Walt took risks, and invented the theme park. Just think what else he could have accomplished if the people in charge of his legacy had believed in him.

By: Foxx

Foxx — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:32:07 +0000

I oftentimes wonder how the course of WDW history would have been altered had things like the Asian, Persian, Venetian been built. Would those hotels have killed WDW’s economic feasibility had they been there on opening day as Paris’ hotel surplus did? If Western River Expedition been built instead of Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, would the tide of Disney thrill rides been pushed back in favor of complex dark rides? If the Village’s New Orleans section been built would that have precluded Pleasure Island and the Village would still exist today in something near its’ original form? If Africa had been built at EPCOT does that mean we could have been spared Animal Kingdom?

It’s pure fan speculation, of course, and I’m fairly sure, for example, that the EPCOT City would have probably destroyed the company had it been built in the late 70′s according to Walt Disney’s plans due to the fact that the public taste had by then turned away from futurism and towards nostalgia, which is why we have Celebration instead. Of course I won’t refute the very real possibility that EPCOT could have swayed public interest back towards futurism had it been built…

By: Tangaroa

Tangaroa — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:36:24 +0000

On the topic of screaming about benches, ironically I had an opportunity to do so last night – in the little biographical film before Obama gave his acceptance speech, there was a montage of pics from his childhood. One of them was of him, his mom, and his sister sitting on what was clearly a Disney bench. And yes, I yelled “That’s at Disney!”

I too had forgotten about the New Orleans Street being adjacent to the village when I started copying the article. That fact never ceases to amaze me. It also make me very sad, as how awesome would that have been? No PI, no West Side, but a highly themed New Orleans area right next to the Empress Lilly. I wonder how it wound up working its way up the Sassagoula to where it is now…

By: Foxx

Foxx — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:12:38 +0000

Now THAT was awesome. ^^ You may never top me screaming about a bench in Liberty Square, but don’t worry – I’m not sure I ever will, either. I totally forgot about that part about the New Orleans street by the Empress Lilly so now I need to go back and revise my WDW Village article for Widen Your World AGAIN… lol.