Cowboy shoot out stunt show in Frontierland .. waaaay back

[Magpie]

Yes, I do think they should do it.

Granted, cowboy movies aren't as popular as they used to be but they still release at least one a year and everyone is familiar, even kids, with what a cowboy is - they are still part of the school curriculum.

American school curriculums, maybe? Up North here my kids got Voyageurs and Indians. I don't recall Cowboys ever being mentioned.

Disney is always trying to attract more international visitors, and that may have been a factor in the decision to eliminate the shows (in addition to cost-cutting, and post-Columbine worries).

Whether kids play cowboys or not, Frontierland is still popular and a shoot-out fits so well. Parents haven't stopped buying their kids guns, every boy I know owns a nerf gun.

Most likely, a cost measure.

Actually, in my neighbourhood, kids simply don't own guns. It's not that anyone's making a big deal about it, it's just not something anyone seems interested in. Water pistols are shaped like spitting animals. Nerf gun ads only show on American TV. Even the toy stores don't stock them, because they just don't sell.

I grew up in the US with a pacifist mum and desperately wanted to play with guns, so I was all prepared to buy some toy guns for my Canadian kids. Their reaction? No thanks. Swords are way cooler. You can hit things with them.

The only time I saw even a flicker of interest in guns from them was after making them watch a bunch of old 70's era Battlestar Galactica episodes. But that didn't last long, and then they were right back to hitting each other with sticks.

they could do lazers and aliens in tomorrowland, without the gun concern

I think that's a great idea! I'd love to see an alien invasion in Tomorrowland!

 

[Magpie]

My hubby and his brother would stab each other with a fork - he still has the scars Would you believe that now they sell 'crash helmets' for tots - its for their safety when they are learning to walk. I kid you not!

I would have happily bought a crash helmet for my daughter when she was 6 months old!

She learned to pull up to stand before she learned to sit. So she would pull herself up to hang onto the furniture, and then when she wanted to get down she'd topple straight over backward, like a tree, and smack the back of her head!

We tried throwing pillows behind her, but it seemed like she'd always find a patch of bare floor. We did have carpets, but they were the thin cheap kind, laid right over concrete (we lived in a highrise).

I hated that hollow melon sound her head would make when it hit the floor! Fortunately, this stage only lasted a couple months, and by 8 months she was walking. And it doesn't seem to have done any lasting damage to her IQ.

 

[chartle]

Would you believe that now they sell 'crash helmets' for tots - its for their safety when they are learning to walk. I kid you not!

My younger sister could have used one most her childhood. Walls and coffee tables seemed to be attracted to her head with alarming frequency.

 

[Phatoomch]

American school curriculums, maybe? Up North here my kids got Voyageurs and Indians. I don't recall Cowboys ever being mentioned.

yes, sorry! Live in the US, Disney is in the US so I was talking about kids here - my daughter had to do a huge project about them in 2nd & 5th grade.

Disney is always trying to attract more international visitors, and that may have been a factor in the decision to eliminate the shows (in addition to cost-cutting, and post-Columbine worries).

Actually, in my neighbourhood, kids simply don't own guns. It's not that anyone's making a big deal about it, it's just not something anyone seems interested in. Water pistols are shaped like spitting animals. Nerf gun ads only show on American TV. Even the toy stores don't stock them, because they just don't sell.

I'm originally from the UK and our major toy shops stock plastic figures of cowboys & indians and old-fashioned cap guns.

I think that's a great idea! I'd love to see an alien invasion in Tomorrowland!

I don't see how a laser shoot em up is any different Its something you point & shoot and potentially do harm with.

 

[Phatoomch]

I would have happily bought a crash helmet for my daughter when she was 6 months old!

She learned to pull up to stand before she learned to sit. So she would pull herself up to hang onto the furniture, and then when she wanted to get down she'd topple straight over backward, like a tree, and smack the back of her head!

We tried throwing pillows behind her, but it seemed like she'd always find a patch of bare floor. We did have carpets, but they were the thin cheap kind, laid right over concrete (we lived in a highrise).

I hated that hollow melon sound her head would make when it hit the floor! Fortunately, this stage only lasted a couple months, and by 8 months she was walking. And it doesn't seem to have done any lasting damage to her IQ.

It's like I am quoting myself - I remember those days all too well!

But, without crash helmets, our girls did just fine

 

[Magpie]

I'm originally from the UK and our major toy shops stock plastic figures of cowboys & indians and old-fashioned cap guns.

Well, I live down the street from a toy store chain, and while there's an enormous bucket of swords by the front door, I've never noticed any guns.

When I was visiting my father in the US, however, I stopped in at a toy store and the toy rifles were front and centre. Not only that but the WWII museum we visited had a bucket of very realistic looking metal grenades in addition to all the firearms. My kids make jokes about all the American toys they can't bring back on the plane.

Probably a cultural difference.

I don't see how a laser shoot em up is any different Its something you point & shoot and potentially do harm with.

It's a matter of context. If there's people in alien costumes running around, wielding cartoonish looking vacuum cleaner hoses attached to backpacks, it's unlikely to trigger trauma.

Cowboys look relatively "normal" - plaid shirts, jeans. And they wield realistic weapons - rifles, handguns. Imagine surviving a theatre or mall shooting, then taking your family to Disney for some R&R, and suddenly hearing angry shouting. When you turn around there's a man with a handgun in the middle of the crowd! Or imagine being a soldier on furlough with your family, for that matter, just back from service overseas.

Sure you might figure out in a moment or two that it's not real, but the shock wouldn't be pleasant, that's for sure. And in today's mass media culture, many more people "experience" traumas vicariously, and are sensitive to surprise recreations of them, than ever before.

There's less guarantee these days that people will see the fun in a shootout in a crowded public venue.

 

[Phatoomch]

Probably a cultural difference.

I agree

It's a matter of context. If there's people in alien costumes running around, wielding cartoonish looking vacuum cleaner hoses attached to backpacks, it's unlikely to trigger trauma.

Cowboys look relatively "normal" - plaid shirts, jeans. And they wield realistic weapons - rifles, handguns.

Only to foreigners Before I lived here I put Americans in two groups - loud shirts & bum bags or plaid shirts & cowboy hats Now I know different and to my fellow Americans - love you guys A cowboy, by today's standards, does not look normal.

Imagine surviving a theatre or mall shooting, then taking your family to Disney for some R&R, and suddenly hearing angry shouting. When you turn around there's a man with a handgun in the middle of the crowd! Or imagine being a soldier on furlough with your family, for that matter, just back from service overseas.

Granted, that would be a 'trigger' for a survivor but then where do we stop? When I watch Illuminations, my heart pounds in my chest and I have a small panic attack when I feel the heat from the fire - thats because I survived a house fire, started on purpose with intent to kill .... however, I do not expect anyone to understand that nor do I expect Disney to withdraw the fire bit just incase it upsets a few who survived a fire. I am not in any way trying to take away from the trauma of being involved in a real life shooting.

There's less guarantee these days that people will see the fun in a shootout in a crowded public venue.

I disagree, I think the public would love it! Hmmmm, maybe a poll is in order

 

[Magpie]

I disagree, I think the public would love it! Hmmmm, maybe a poll is in order

Oh, go for it! I love polls!

 

[Phatoomch]

Oh, go for it! I love polls!

Done.

My first poll!

 

[chartle]

Done.

My first poll!

Be very careful on how you word it as to not inject bias.

 

[Micca]

Just to continue the conversation (not an argument)

1. But today's Cowboy movies are not the shoot em ups of years ago. Its all about "feelings" and other really non cowboy stuff.

Brainstorm: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain...Brokeback Mountain