We knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Album producer Randy Thornton posted today that the 5-disc compilation Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair is officially targeted for release on March 24th. Previous release dates had been missed due to production errors, but the current batch checks out and will be in our hot little hands by the end of the month. Press release follows!
Walt Disney Records Releases
Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair
5-Disc Box Set on March 24
Burbank, CA – On March 24, 2009, Walt Disney Records releases Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair, a rare behind the scenes look at Walt Disney’s contribution to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. It was here where Walt unveiled several unique attractions and exhibits that would forever change not only Disneyland, but greatly influence the future of Disney Theme Parks yet to be imagined. This 5-CD set includes more than three hours of recordings from the four Pavilions (Progressland, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, “it’s a small world,” and The Magic Skyway) Walt Disney and his team of artists created for the Fair, plus a 24-page full color booklet written by Stacia Martin. Each disc is outlined below:
(Disc 1) – Progressland
Behind-the-scenes recordings and original music from the Progressland Exhibit, featuring a never-before released original World’s Fair production of “Carousel of Progress.” The disc includes the many variations of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman’s “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”
(Disc 2) – Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Experience the sounds of the original “Illinois Pavilion” from the Illinois Story to an audience with President Lincoln. Also included are the original recording sessions of the man who gave Mr. Lincoln his voice (Royal Dano) and the lavish original score by Disney Legend Buddy Baker, also presented as individual tracks.
(Disc 3) – “it’s a small world” – A Salute to UNICEF and all the World’s Children
Includes the original demo recording of the legendary song written by the Sherman Brothers, as well as isolated vocals and a grand master mix of the varied international interpretations of the famous tune directly from the attraction soundtrack. Also included is a tour of this ‘little boat ride’ with Walt Disney as your guide.
(Disc 4) – The Magic Skyway
This recording takes the listener on a time-traveling ‘road trip’ with Walt Disney as he personally escorts you through the age of dinosaurs, the assent of man, and to the distant future. The disc also includes “Auto Parts Harmonic,” which features music from a 13-piece orchestra with instruments made entirely from car parts.
(Disc 5 – Bonus) – “Carousel of Progress”
As a special bonus, the set also includes “Carousel of Progress – Alternate Universe Version.” Fully recorded and scored, this complete production is an early ‘work-in-progress’ version of this timeless classic.
Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair was digitally restored and mastered by Grammy-winning producer Randy Thornton and Jeff Sheridan. Thornton says, “This historical collection has been ‘in the works’ for over seven years. To finally have all these great recordings of Walt’s legendary contributions to the 1964 New York World’s Fair is beyond thrilling, and a wonderful tribute to Imagineer Bruce Gordon (1951 – 2007) who dreamed up this set so many years ago.”
The next item in our (seemingly never-endless) list of what I’d like to see taken care of this year at WDW? Survey says…
#7 – Finish the Animal Kingdom!
The image that launched a thousand blog posts – the original conceptual rendering for Animal Kingdom
Again, I know. Putting something like this on a list has a depth of insight akin to saying that I should probably eat some lunch tomorrow. Still, it’s my list so this is how we’re going to roll.
The Animal Kingdom is a very strange creature, so to speak. It’s different from the other Disney parks in many ways, some of which are confusing and occasionally off-putting to fans. Yet most of these differences exist by choice, as the park was intentionally designed to embrace a somewhat different ideology than its predecessors. For some, it’s their favorite park. Others find it a disappointment. But both sides can agree on one thing – it’s definitely unfinished.
The problem with analyzing Animal Kingdom is that one must realize which flaws stem from its design (these are few) and which resulted from the constant budget cuts that plagued its creation (these are many). The first Disney park built after Eisner’s creative breakdown, the park that opened in 1998 was significantly pared down from what had been originally announced. After all the ballyhoo and hype, guests found a large and beautiful park with precious little to do – only two actual ride-based attractions were ready on opening day. This disappointment made a strong negative impression on many fans – myself included – and the bad buzz helped contribute to years of severe attendance problems. The perception of the Animal Kingdom as a half-day park (if that) has changed over the years, especially with the addition of Expedition Everest in 2006, and the park’s popularity has grown. It also doesn’t hurt that several other projects have debuted since that make Animal Kingdom look much better in comparison.
The Tree of Life – always impressive
But it’s not just the epic failure of California Adventure and Disney Studios Paris that have rehabilitated the image of Animal Kingdom; there’s a lot to admire about the fourth Orlando park. As in most cases, the park’s shortcomings rest on the shoulders of the accountants in Burbank rather than the talented creative staff responsible for its design. If received wisdom is to be believed, the park’s greatest blemishes – the underwhelming Camp Minnie-Mickey and the horrific carnyfest that was added on to Dinoland – were mandated by corporate against the wishes of the park’s creative team. What funding WDI managed to obtain for the park was well spent; the facilities that do exist, aside from those mentioned above, are extremely scenic and full of minute detail. Most importantly, thanks to Imagineer Joe Rohde, who served as the park’s creative guru, the park has a unified and clear vision and purpose for being. That’s something that’s missing from many of the more recent parks, and something that I’ve hoped to see more of in the other three Florida parks at least. Unlike the lesser parks mentioned before, what’s been built at Animal Kingdom is actually worthy of the Disney name; once they fill in the blanks, the current disjointed layout will be resolved and the park will be more than a half-day experience.
The obvious place to start, and certain to be the locus of any fan discussion of Animal Kingdom expansion, is the site formerly intended for the “Beastly Kingdom”.
The Beastly Kingdom
I won’t bother rehashing the entire story here, as it’s been told often elsewhere, but we need to bring it up because the Beastly Kingdom is bound to be the most pined-for yet unbuilt park area since Tony Baxter’s Discovery Bay. Intended to complete the park’s conceptual trinity of animals living, extinct and mythical, the often-delayed land would have featured an inverted rollercoaster through a burned-out castle where guests would encounter a life-sized animatronic dragon. Visitors would find their way through a hedgerow maze to meet a unicorn, and there would be a family-friendly boat ride through scenes from the film Fantasia.
Fantasia Gardens
Instead, Eisner diverted the funding for the area and had the parks’ entertainment division quickly slap together Camp Minnie-Mickey to fill the space with some zero-budget character greeting areas and the Festival of the Lion King show, which consisted of repurposed parade floats from Disneyland. Fans have spent the years since looking for any hopeful sign of the concept’s re-emergence, with rumors waxing and waning leaving only disappointment in their wake. In the meantime, Universal’s Islands of Adventures opened, featuring a coaster that eerily resembled design concepts for the Dragon’s Tower. It seems that now, even if the Beastly concept returns at some future date, it will be far different from the plans announced in the 1990s.
So what form will this expansion take? Rumors within the last year insist that once again the wheels of progress are turning and that something is in the works for the former Beastly site. Some point to the closure last October of the Pocahontas and her Forest Friends show as evidence that Disney is starting to clear the way for construction. Reliable sources reported late last year that site prep would indeed begin in 2009, but recent economic events make this possibility frustratingly speculative.
A possible alternative?
The latest and more frequently reported gossip is that the new expansion will, in some form, involve a take on Tokyo DisneySea’s Mysterious Island area. This will most likely result in some variation of that park’s Journey to the Center of the Earth attraction, with that ride’s giant lava monster animatronic possibly replaced by another creature. Other rumors add some version of DisneySea’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea dark ride to the mix. Whether this area will actually be called “Mysterious Island”, whether it will retain the full Vernian theming of that area, and whether Animal Kingdom will sprout a second mountain with a recreation of Tokyo’s Mount Prometheus – these aspects are all unknown. But one would hope that the great success that Expedition Everest brought the park has shown the executives that new attractions actually attract people – so that’s why they call them that! – and that maybe there’s something behind the idea that visitors aren’t going to show up unless you actually have something for them to do when they arrive. So let’s look where these hoped-for attractions will go:
The Beastly Kingdom expansion area. Camp Minnie-Mickey occupies the blue highlighted area, and the rest of the land once intended for Beastly Kingdom is in green. For orientation purposes, the yellow area is the Tree of Life and the orange area is the entrance plaza.
In the image above, we see the area once intended for Beastly Kingdom, and now partially occupied by Camp Minnie-Mickey. One can easily see the amount of empty space available for expansion, and how small the current character-themed area is. The small Pocahontas theater is now empty, and the prevailing assumption is if expansion should occur in this area, the Festival of the Lion King would be moved to Africa where it is thematically more appropriate. Whether the expansion here should prove Beastly or Mysterious, it needs to be done well and as soon as possible. Only when the realm of fantastical creatures is added to the park will its original vision be complete. But after that, what’s next?
Eisner’s disappointing legacy – the original Tiger Rapids Run site, with the smaller Kali River Rapids attraction in green. Everest is in the lower right-hand corner.
Another likely area of expansion will be this plot, shaded in blue, that was to be the original footprint of Asia’s rapids ride. The original concept for Tiger Rapids Run was that aside from being merely a thrill ride, the twelve-person rafts would take guests down a winding Asian river past live tigers and other creatures. It would be an aquatic version of the Kilimajaro Safari, with exciting show scenes and a whitewater finale. The ever-present budget cuts of the era pared the ride down to its current size, shaded in green, and the resulting Kali River Rapids is the short and unimpressive result.
Before the budget cuts: Double-raft vehicles drift through the elaborate wildlife areas of Asia
The upside is that much of this area is clear and available for expansion, and it’s railroad-adjacent site would give that seemingly random attraction some added purpose. The land would also link up with the Conservation Station site, incorporating that area more sensibly with the park’s layout. It would also soak up more of the park’s crowds, and additional routes to Africa and other areas of the park would alleviate some of the brutal congestion that affects the park’s main pedestrian corridor.
More room for expansion – Dinoland in yellow and Everest in blue, with the expansion site in green
The final likely area for future expansion is shown above, adjacent to Expedition Everest and north of Dinoland. I’ve no idea what is intended for this spot, but it has a prime location along the Asia-Dinoland corridor.
So, there are many possible sites for expansion – what should Disney build? Fans might immediately reel off the list of already-conceived but unbuilt attractions, like the Excavator wooden coaster intended for Dinoland. If Mysterious Island does indeed replace Beastly Kingdom, I think that the original myth-derived concept could easily be expanded to serve as the creative basis for an entirely separate gate for the future, perhaps combined with ideas from Rohde’s proposed “Mythia” expansion for Disneyland. Disney has expressed at least vague interest in the past of adding areas themed to Australia, South America and North America, so one assumes that they at least have an idea of where they’d like to install these new lands. Sadly, management jumped the gun and already imported Soarin’ Over California to Florida; I always thought the attraction would, with a new ride film, work nicely as part of an Australian area where the enormous and unsightly show building could conveniently be cloaked to look like Ayers Rock.
The fabled Excavator sits in the rear of this Dinoland rendering
What this park needs most immediately is capacity; new rides to soak up guests and keep them in the park for longer than a few hours. It also needs indoor attractions because Animal Kingdom, whether by design or necessity, can be miserably, oppressively hot. Yet the balmiest of Disney’s parks also features the least opportunities to be inside – only one of its seven rides take place indoors. Aside from the list of E-tickets fans could reel off, the park really needs some solid C- and D-ticket attractions. These are the rides that complete the unique fabric of the “old growth” Disney parks – it’s attractions like the Peoplemover, Peter Pan’s Flight or The Enchanted Tiki Room that make Disney special. Animal Kingdom also needs at least a couple of the epic E-tickets like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spaceship Earth or Journey into Imagination that people expect at a Disney park.
None of this should obstruct the main goals of the Animal Kingdom, or remove its focus from live animals. But there does need to be a mix of attractions, so guests have something to do on those days when the animals are feeling sleepy or it’s just too rainy or hot to enjoy the outdoor elements of the park. Areas of the park devoted to fantasy and prehistoric creatures should provide plenty of opportunities for these more traditional attractions – I recall rumors once for a more family-friendly dinosaur-themed dark ride that, while probably purely speculative, would in fact be a great idea for a starting place.
I’ve no doubt that the Imagineers are more than up to the task, or that Rohde and company don’t already have a backlog of ideas they’d like to work on. So it’s up to our friends in Burbank to provide a little stimulus of their own and release some funds for expansion. The park is more than ten years old now, so it’s time to at least fill in the empty spaces that should have been complete on opening day.
Final Note: Alain Littaye’s excellent Disney and More blog has recently posted a great assemblage of concept art from Animal Kingdom here and here. Check it out!
In honor of that old Highlights magazine standby, take a look at this lovely rendering of EPCOT’s Italy pavilion and see if you can tell me what’s wrong with this picture:
Do you see it? Have a look at this Imagineering model for the pavilion:
For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, let me make it clear by comparing these circa-1982 pavilion designs with a picture of the modern day Italian showcase:
Kind of hard to miss it now, isn’t it? It appears that somewhere between concept and execution, some of our pavilion went missing. And indeed it did – that Renaissance style facade you see looming in the rear of the pavilion would have served as gateway to the second phase of the Italian pavilion. A phase that was designed, announced… and never built.
It’s often observed in Disney fan circles that the Italian pavilion is the weakest of World Showcase’s offerings. While many of the other pavilions also lack attractions, they make up for that somewhat with other points of interest. Even the underdeveloped United Kingdom pavilion has its winding streets and gardens (and pub), and attractionless Morocco has its elaborate theming and sprawling layout. Italy has a shop, a nice but undistinguished restaurant, and… a shop. It’s a bit of a letdown, considering Italy’s thousands of years of rich heritage, art and history, so one can understand why guests might be perplexed to enter the pavilion only to find its central plaza lined on two sides by nothing but plain walls and hedgerows. Answers, but not solace, might be found in this passage from Richard Beard’s 1982 book about the creation of EPCOT Center:
Few buildings remain perfectly preserved as they were when new. Over the centuries, landlords change; one year they are prosperous, and they build on additions. The next year they’re a little short of funds, so they tear down part of the structure and sell the stones.
In a sense, the Italy pavilion itself is a victim of this cycle of fortune; the area which was to represent Southern Italy – not to mention a splendid replica of Roman ruins – may not be completed until 1983.
– Walt Disney’s EPCOT: Creating the New World of Tomorrow, 1982
Beard wasn’t kidding about the reason for the delay in the pavilion’s expansion; as EPCOT was nearing the end of its three-year construction period, time and money were running short. The park was greatly over-budget, and its massive scope and groundbreaking technology made the October 1st, 1982 opening date seem highly optimistic. Strapped for cash and manpower, Disney management canceled the construction of four attractions in World Showcase, reserving them for the park’s intended second phase. Only when they realized that these changes had dangerously reduced opening-day ride capacity did they fast-track the construction of a single high-capacity attraction, Mexico’s El Rio Del Tiempo, to open with the rest of the park.
Another conceptual rendering of the pavilion; note that the Campanile di San Marco was still depicted in its original site on the opposite side of the plaza
After the park opened, the money earmarked for expansion was focused on opening Horizons, the ride portion of Journey into Imagination, construction of the Moroccan pavilion and preparation for The Living Seas. Before management could return their attentions to World Showcase’s Phase II attractions, the sweeping changes of 1984 arrived and Eisner’s agenda took precedence. Aside from Norway’s opening in 1988, World Showcase was never heard from again.
The Italy pavilion as it was to be, 1982
Details about what was intended for the Italy expansion are scarce. Beard mentions the walk-through of Roman ruins, but more interesting though equally obscure was the planned centerpiece of the expansion. This little-known attraction was to be a dark ride, wherein guests would board gondolas for a boat ride through various Italian scenes. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Guests would enter the attraction through an arch on the west side of the plaza. After the ride, they would exit towards the rear of the pavilion where they’d emerge in the midst of the aforementioned Roman ruins.
This wasn’t the extent of the additions, though. Disney documentarian Martin Smith has done a yeoman’s job of tracking down information about the expansion, and created some fantastic visualizations of what could have been.
Footprint of the Italy expansion, by Martin Smith
In the image above, we see the two sections of expansion. The area surrounded by white would contain the ride show building and its Roman facade. The green outline would be a two-story structure, with the ride’s entrance and queue on the ground floor and a second restaurant upstairs. The blue line is an arched overlook which would connect the new restaurant building with Alfredo’s.
Overhead view of the Italy pavilion, facing east
Italy pavilion with restaurant building overlay, by Martin Smith
This area where the second restaurant was to be built is currently occupied by only a hedgerow and a single gate, as can be seen in the below image which was taken in Google Earth. Once one knows what was intended for this space, its absence seems glaring:
The area in question, looking northwest
The expansion was intended to connect with the extant construction shown above, as can be seen in this Imagineering model:
Imagineering model of the Italy pavilion, under construction. Note the funky circular feature in front of the American Adventure
The model above suggests that the restaurant building was intended to be built first, as the Roman section does not appear (there seem to be a few crumbled columns on the western facade, though, so perhaps that section was Roman as well). One can see from even the partial model that the expansion would have really drawn the pavilion together, and made it a much more interesting space than it currently is.
Will the expansion ever come to light? There’s no telling if Disney is even trying to recruit sponsors for this sort of thing anymore, and relaxing, scenic dark rides without franchiseable tie-ins aren’t exactly en vogue in Burbank. Even if Team Disney’s attentions were to return to World Showcase, the empty yet completed show building behind Japan will likely receive the first attention, followed probably by the partially-completed ride space in the German pavilion. But if there’s some Italian corporation out there looking for some good exposure to millions of guests each year, pick up your phone and call WDI. Wouldn’t this look nice in World Showcase?
Composite image of known and rumored additions to the Italy pavilion, by Martin Smith
Thanks to Martin Smith for the excellent renders of the Italy expansion, and if anyone has information about this obscure piece of EPCOT history please let me know.
This has to be one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen on the internet:
Seriously, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see the old in-room Disney resort TV from the 1980s. This is instant flashback material. To give an idea of how evocative this is, despite the fact that I haven’t seen this video in over 20 years I had instant recall as soon as Jiminy Cricket came on the screen. This despite the fact that I had forgotten that his little prologue was part of the video.
What a wonderful video, and so different from the current manic and abrasive in-room feed. The focus is on the parks and resort itself, not some speed-addled ingenue rabbiting on about whatever the marketing department has decided are the “top” attractions of the day. The parks sell themselves in these videos, without some ridiculously scripted demographically-targeted “guest” telling us what fun they’re having. We know it’s fun, that’s why we’re there. Just show us the freakin’ park, already.
You also get a sense from these videos of the resort as a whole – a fully integrated vacation experience, not just a collection of four theme parks. There was a little something for everyone, and it could all be accessed by touching ’11’ on your room telephone. Take special notice of the footage from the Disney Village Marketplace – what a relaxing, laid-back environment.
These videos make me think of sitting in the floor of a Vacation Villa next to Lake Buena Vista, watching these videos over and over again until my brother and I were forced to go to bed (but then only after arguing over who had to have their bath first so the other could stay up watching the video longer). That was a few years prior to this 1987 video, but it’s not far off. In those olden days, the television feed must have come off an actual videotape player, because after it had played through the TV would go black for a while so that the tape could rewind. Those few minutes of blackness were the longest in the world – it seemed like a triumph of human ingenuity when they eventually upgraded so that the video would loop continuously without pause.
Good times. Thanks to EPCOT Central for posting this.
Previously, on Progress City, U.S.A.: For the start of the new year, I had hoped to do one of those “top ten” lists of things I’d like to see happen in the Disney parks – and especially Walt Disney World – in 2009. Not that I would deem any of my wishes likely to be fulfilled, but as a fan of lists and unsolicited criticism I can’t help myself.
Here’s the next item on my agenda for the Disney parks in 2009:
#8 – Overhaul Park Merchandise
Antique shopping in the Magic Kingdom, 1984
“Shopping and browsing in the fascinating and unique shops of the Walt Disney World Vacation Kingdom will always lead to the discovery of many surprising gifts. The most special are the ones that have some personal value, reminding you of a memorable experience… or those that have a wonderful story relating to their discovery. It may be a rare, handcrafted item acquired from an artisan in a far-away land; or it may be a simple, colorful vacation souvenir that sparks memories of a wonderful trip. Often the most treasured gifts are found when you aren’t searching for anything in particular. Throughout Walt Disney World, finding these previous things for special people is a serendipitous experience.”
– Disney News, Summer 1985
To someone unfamiliar with the situation, it might seem strange. With the image that’s been created over the years of the Disney corporation as avaricious and grasping, one might not expect a problem that’s constantly bemoaned in fan circles – there’s nothing in the parks on which to spend our money. Check any Disney discussion group and you’re likely to find the complaint somewhere; the fact is that we want to spend money but Disney refuses to sell things to us. Thus this entry on the list: Disney should completely rethink their in-park merchandising strategy and offerings.
Of course there are things to buy in the parks; former parks head Paul Pressler came from the world of retail and it showed. The problem is that while retail square footage exploded under his reign, the stores themselves became as homogenized as your local chain store. Pressler did this so well that he left Disney to run, of all things, the Gap stores, which he promptly ran into the ground as well.
The end result of these years of product line consolidation, and of Pressler successor Jay Rasulo’s alarming “One Disney” policy, is that while there are more places to buy things in Disney parks, there are less actual things to buy. If you’re a fan of a specific park or attraction you’re mostly out of luck, as aside from a few major E-ticket rides most merchandise is of a most generic nature.
The t-shirt only an MBA could love – “I went to ‘Disney Parks’ and all I got was ‘generic t-shirt'” (MousePlanet photo)
This wasn’t always the case. Disney parks used to feature a array of merchandise targeted at a wide variety of potential customers. Forget about park-specific merchandise – in the early days of Walt Disney World you could get land-specific merchandise. A visit to eBay unearths a slew of vintage park-related items – trinkets far more evocative than merchandise branded generically to “Walt Disney World” or – shudder – “Disney Parks”. Sponsorship deals led to merchandise featuring even the most wonderfully obscure features of the Magic Kingdom, such as the much-missed Little Orange Bird.
The Little Orange Bird album. My secret #1 wish for 2009? Bring back the Orange Bird!
The range of options available to past Disney guests wasn’t limited to merchandise selections. The stores themselves were once quite different from each other. Where now you can walk from one end of Main Street to another without leaving sight of a mountain of plush, and a store in Tomorrowland features the exact same selections as a store at Downtown Disney (or even your local mall), Disney stores used to offer unique experiences specially themed to their surroundings.
Looking for something exotic in Adventureland, 1973
It’s almost shocking to look back and realized the variety once offered to guests – one can imagine some family in the 1970’s returning home with a carload of new décor for their homes. Putting aside the number of now-unthinkable shops in Disneyland’s history, visitors to Magic Kingdom could stop in at the Liberty Square Silversmith, shop for antiques, mix their own perfume, or head down Main Street to the beloved Magic Shop. In EPCOT Center, guests to Future World could shop at the Centorium for gifts that were – brace yourself – futuristic! This seemed to be a point of great pride, as illustrated by this article in the Fall 1985 issue of Disney News (click to enlarge):
Even the Disney-MGM Studios, which came late to the game, at one point had some stores that actually offered period-themed or classic film memorabilia. Today the only park that maintains an overall unique merchandising identity is, perhaps not surprisingly, Animal Kingdom. In the marketplace of Harambe one can find something to take home that’s not emblazoned with Mickey or Pooh, something I wish I could say the same of for Future World or Frontierland.
The fact is, one person only needs so many stuffed Tweedles or generic Walt Disney World t-shirts. While WDW, unlike Disneyland, makes its bank by drawing on a large pool of first time visitors, the way the merchandise is structured now there’s precious little of interest to buy on a second trip, much less the twentieth. What’s worse is that many of the items on sale in the parks can also be bought at the local mall, making a visit to an in-park retail location doubly redundant.
You can’t do this back home in Kokomo: Blending custom perfumes in the Magic Kingdom, 1984
The side effect of a merchandising overhaul would be that stores would once again match their surroundings, offering a more immersive themed experience and not drawing guests out of the illusion. The clash of themes that’s apparent when modern marketing creeps into carefully designed and themed areas is obvious even to the layperson’s eye. Blatant cash-grabs like pirate merchandise in Future World (and Crocs, and rubber balls, &c. &c.), or High School Musical detritus taking over Tomorrowland, simply show that Disney isn’t even trying anymore to create a themed space and can no longer distinguish their own parks from a local carnival midway.
Creating a sense of place: The Liberty Square Silversmith, 1984. One expects to find Johnny Tremain or Paul Revere right around the corner.
The Disney parks need unique, specific and creative merchandise that appeals to a wide audience. Walt intended the parks to appeal to adults as well as children, and the merchandise should too. Fan-targeted merchandise for adults shouldn’t be limited to jarringly high-dollar special merchandising “events”, either. I should be able to walk into a Disney park and find something appealing to buy with all that money burning a hole in my pocket. And if there’s not something I want in one store, that’s OK. Something for everyone, right? But if I walk in the store next door it ought not to have the exact same selection as everywhere I’ve already been. Homogenization might make it easy to run that centralized, bi-coastal “One Disney” experience from a single office in Burbank, but it sure doesn’t make me take out my wallet.
Fashion!
UPDATE: Another post, another thoughtful response from the Web Gangsta. The piece does a better job than I did at expressing the sheer frustration of actively looking for something to spend your money on in the parks, only to find that there’s absolutely nothing of interest or targeted to adults. If you’re not interested in the handful of characters that marketing has decided appeal to your demographic, or – imagine – you want something character-free, you’re out of luck.
It also contains the all-time classic question, “how many Duck Butt hats does one family need?”
This goes beyond whether I can find something interesting to bring back from vacation, or whether all Disney marketing thinks people want are “bratty” Tinkerbell t-shirts for the ladies and “I’m a Grumpy jerk” t-shirts for dads. The fact is, what’s embarrassing about the west side of Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, with the destruction of Center Street’s ambiance and the creation of, essentially, one long mall, is that it causes Disney to become what people who don’t know anything about Disney think Disney to be. There’s a long history of backlash against Disney, whether it be intellectual or anti-corporatist in nature. Often this sprang from misunderstanding or unfamiliarity with the actual product Disney was providing its guests. But those mountains of plush point to the fact that for a few years, Disney came perilously close to becoming what many incorrectly have always assumed it to be.
One last thing: although this issue is something that’s bothered me for a while, it really crystallized for me at one event, and I’m shocked I forgot to include it with the original story. In October of 2007 (was it really that long ago?), I went to EPCOT for its ad-hoc 25th anniversary celebration. In that crowd of guests, all obviously committed fans who had a great deal of time and money sunk into their Disney-related habits, there was naturally a lot of merchandise and Disney clothing on display. But what stood out to me was that I saw many, many people that day wearing EPCOT and Disney themed clothing that they had actually made themselves.
Think about that – these people, obviously willing to throw loads of money at Disney for any form of ephemera, had been so unable to find something in the stores to their liking that they actually went to the time and expense of making their own merchandise. What’s more, I would wager that current Disney park merchandise ran a distant third that day behind homemade items and vintage EPCOT items from before 1990. That event, more than any, made me realize how out of step Disney has become with their most devoted customers. I’m grateful to see that I’m not the only one who has noticed this, and maybe the excitement that crops up online whenever some nifty retro merchandise randomly pops up in the parks holds some hope for the future.
From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats.
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