As Time Marches Forward...

[JimmyV]

As time marches forward can WDW keep up? This is kind of an esoteric topic, but it came up at the dinner table last night, and I thought I would throw it out to all of you. It started with a discussion of the new AoA resort, and the choice of movies around which to build its theming. What a difficult choice it must be for Disney to land on four movies that are so implanted on the resort that they will remain as such for decades. My DD pointed it out first, and questioned whether, thirty years from now, Finding Nemo and Cars will be such iconic movies that they deserve to have resorts built around their stories. How do we know that Cars isn’t going to be the “Pinocchio” of its era. A “major Disney blockbuster” that is relegated to supporting role status in the Parks? See, also, Robin Hood, The Sword and the Stone, Pete’s Dragon, and countless others. A futuristic hotel, or a South Seas hotel can be refreshed without major changes. But are Cars and Finding Nemo really building blocks around which to invest so much lasting energy? (A tough question for this crowd, no doubt, as many Dis hard corps are sitting, reading this while wearing their Lightning McQueen Underoos.) In the end, it is going to be cumbersome and costly to change these over to a different theme in, say, 25 years.

And what about the Star Wars Village and the ride at DHS? It appears to draw from the Return of the Jedi, with Ewoks and the like, but according to my 14 year-old, few of her friends have ever seen the original Star Wars trilogy, an even those that have, have no great love for that particular movie. In 25 years, when she and her friends are 40 and have kids of their own, will any of this be relevant? Probably a lot easier to change over an area of the park than it is an entire resort. But still a major undertaking caused by nothing more than cultural obsolescence.

We then raised the question of 50’s Prime Time Café. When it opened, parents (and grandparents) could clue the younger set in about what they were seeing, and how things were in the “old days”. But now, we have grandparents at the parks who were born in the 60’s and parents who were born in the 80’s and even the 90’s. None of the kids who eat here have any connection to what they see around them, and worse than that, they probably don’t care. Is it time for the Café to become “The 70’s Groove Tube Café”? Would you be upset if Disney pulled the plug on such an iconic feature of a park. And what of Aerosmith’s affiliation with Rockin’ Rollercoaster. Granted, American Idol bought Steven Tyler and Aerosmith a few more years of relevance, but aside from that, how many kids between 5 and 15 know who Aerosmith is, or care? Again, changing over that ride will probably be easy. But other outdated icons are more woven in to the fabric of WDW that it will be hard to change them over.

In the end, my DD made a valuable observation. She pointed out that with very minor exceptions, she has never really seen anything (movie or TV show) that “starred” Mickey Mouse. Yet Mickey is timeless. She observed that when Disneyland was built, Mickey was incorporated because he was a famous character. Now, he is famous because he has been incorporated into the parks. Without WDW and the other parks, little kids would have little exposure to Mickey Mouse. Hard to even find him on the Disney Channel. Will other people and characters fare as well? Will Bill Nye the Science Guy live on forever in Epcot, or will there come a time when he is pushed out to the bone yard?

What do you think? Does Disney move fast enough in updating and changing over “flavors of the month” like Ellen, Drew Carey and “Father Knows Best” film clips? Do you think that Disney has made mistakes in tethering certain resorts and attractions to movies, characters and people who have short shelf lives and are largely unknown to today’s youth? Or, in the end, is it a good (but expensive) thing that Disney boxes itself in, forcing it to do complete makeovers of attractions every 20 years or so, such that Stupid Judy, Alex Trebeck and Ellen are forced to give way to something else?

We found this to be an interesting dinner conversation. Maybe you’re bored and ready to move on. Either way, it’s all good.

 

[amberpi]

I never really saw anything Mickey starred in (until Fanastia was re-released on Laser Disc - god love the early 90s) except for cartoons. I still loved him. Alice in Wonderland was my fave Disney movie although it pre-dated me by 30-40 years. Some movies are classics (like Snow White) and some don't hold on through the years, like the Rescue'ers (is that correct?). You can't expect all Disney movies to become classics but the Lion King and Little Mermaid have shown amazing popularity for 20+ years. I think they are good to go. The Pixar movies are unknown at this point, but it seems like could more easily re-theme a value resort than a whole land in DL, but that's just MHO. I think that by WDW and DL re-enforcing those films it will help them retain some of their timeliness. I know it worked for me with Alice and Snow White and I wouldn't have even heard of Mr. Toad without the ride in CA.

 

[POOHsie]

Some themes have staying power not just because of a Disney movie, but because of the appealing ideas in the movies. Cars - what guy doesn't like cars, or motorized vehicles in general. Star Wars - the idea of life on other planets, and intergalactic encounters, is sci fi at its best. Yes, Alex, Ellen and Bill will be replaced. They weren't original to Universe of Energy in the first place. Spaceship Earth has had numerous narrators and a few overhauls.

One theme that seems anachronistic to me is Mighty Ducks buildings at ASMo. The large icons on the buildings could be replaced, but the pool definitely looks like a hockey rink. That would take some creative fixing. Not unreasonable to change it out if some new blockbuster idea captures young imaginations in the future. My guess would be that Disney carefully tracks where guests make preferences to stay, and what kind of merchandise they buy. They can see winners and losers, fads and long-term trends. I think any of the value themes can be changed, since the buildings themselves are just concrete rectangles. Everything else is paint, plaster, metal, wood and plastic (not meant to last forever).

50's Prime Time Cafe should be good to go for years to come. The simplistic family dinner, home-cooked, with ancient versions of today's appliances and decor, evokes innocence, warmth and love. Definitely strong emotions there. The 1970s -- shag carpeting, malls, food courts, and everyone doing their own thing -- not so much.

 

[conniehar90]

I agree. We just returned and I had several similar thoughts.

On this last trip we brought my DD's friend who had never been. As we worked our way around the parks, I found myself saying - "this is from this old movie/TV show" a million times. She had never heard of Twilight Zone or Aerosmith. She wondered why they were still singing High School Musical songs at DHS and why a Mitchell Musso poster was hanging in the halls of RNR. And these are popular things from just a few years ago!

Most of the movies on the Great Movie Ride are unknowns to kids these days and the montage clip at the end needs to be updated to include more movies relevant to the times.

I keep hearing about Avatarland but really? It was a good movie but you just don't hear much about it anymore. And they are going to make a whole land around it?

I love everything Disney and we go at least annually but I this topic makes total sense. It seems that any refurbishment takes months of time while other attractions are getting seriously outdated. It seems they can't keep up.

 

[JimmyV]

Most of the movies on the Great Movie Ride are unknowns to kids these days and the montage clip at the end needs to be updated to include more movies relevant to the times.

Funny you should mention that. I was going to include that as an example, but I thought I had droned on long enough. My DD mentioned that many of her friends have seen Prometheus, but none of them have seen Alien. And yet Alien is right there, front and center of GMR. And Busby Berkley, Ester Williams and Tarzan? Really?

Anyway, while we got on the topic, my DD suggested that we should put as many of the movies from the closing montage as possible on our "to rent" list because she figures that they must be pretty good. I've seen many of them, and will act as a quality filter to the extent possible. Butch Cassidy and Raider of the Lost Ark, here we come!

 

[JimmyV]

50's Prime Time Cafe should be good to go for years to come. The simplistic family dinner, home-cooked, with ancient versions of today's appliances and decor, evokes innocence, warmth and love. Definitely strong emotions there. The 1970s -- shag carpeting, malls, food courts, and everyone doing their own thing -- not so much.

But something can only "evoke" an emotion if there is a memory there to dredge up. Kids who go to WDW today haven't even seen Sixteen Candles, Ferris Beuhler or the Breakfast Club, let alone Leave It To Beaver and Hazel. What can Hazel possible evoke, other than curious stares? And don't sell mid-century modern "Mad Men" styling short. The shag carpeting of the 60's/70's is more relevant and timeless today than the pipe and slippers in Father Knows Best. Change a few decor items, serve the food in dishes shaped like TV Dinner trays, and BAM!--you have a 70's makeover that parents can talk about with their kids with a sense of evoking relevance.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Funny you should mention that. I was going to include that as an example, but I thought I had droned on long enough. My DD mentioned that many of her friends have seen Prometheus, but none of them have seen Alien. And yet Alien is right there, front and center of GMR. And Busby Berkley, Ester Williams and Tarzan? Really?

Anyway, while we got on the topic, my DD suggested that we should put as many of the movies from the closing montage as possible on our "to rent" list because she figures that they must be pretty good. I've seen many of them, and will act as a quality filter to the extent possible. Butch Cassidy and Raider of the Lost Ark, here we come!

I was thinking the same thing about GMR a couple weeks ago. I still love it but it is outdated a bit. I like the beginning because those are classics, but like you said, Alien???

IMO, there are numerous updates that need to be done. For instance, I love the films at Canada, France, and China but they are a little outdated, although they still give you an overview of the country. Future World needs a lot of updating. I think the "original" Future World was better and more geared to the theme. DHS, could also use a lot of updates.

Sent from my GalaxyS II

 

[conniehar90]

But something can only "evoke" an emotion if there is a memory there to dredge up. Kids who go to WDW today haven't even seen Sixteen Candles, Ferris Beuhler or the Breakfast Club, let alone Leave It To Beaver and Hazel. What can Hazel possible evoke, other than curious stares? And don't sell mid-century modern "Mad Men" styling short. The shag carpeting of the 60's/70's is more relevant and timeless today than the pipe and slippers in Father Knows Best. Change a few decor items, serve the food in dishes shaped like TV Dinner trays, and BAM!--you have a 70's makeover that parents can talk about with their kids with a sense of evoking relevance.

I just had my DD11 watch Ferris Bueller - she loved it!

 

[JimmyV]

I just had my DD11 watch Ferris Bueller - she loved it!

Exactly the point!! You can share a great memory with her and introduce her to something that makes you both feel great. Family movie nights in my house have involved all of the "classics" from the 70's and 80's and my DD14 loves the time together. And it warms my heart when a situation arises where she can pull out a cultural reference such as "Abe Froman the Sausage King of Chicago"....or when she breaks an awkward silence by saying: "Bueller?.....Bueller?.....Anybody?" Or when she shouts out: "No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Stuff like that will never happen with the likes of Hazel, Buzby Berkley, or the like. It may be painful to admit, but "old time nostalgia" no longer means the 30's-50's. It is the 60's-80's.