DEBATE: Just Disney, or something more?

[DisneyKidds]

Quite a lot of chatter and talk lately. Things heating up for ME. The usual complaints, constructive criticisms, and discussions. Some new folks who can't understand the tenet they observe on this board. A fair amount of apparent animostity between some participants. It gets heated and it is fun to be a part of - or at least it is supposed to be.

Everyone here loves Disney. Wouldn't be here if we didn't. The passion most have for Disney is admirable - but passion can also be a dangerous thing.

So, why all the passion? Why the heat? Why should we come to blows?

Is it 'just Disney' that we are talking about? Are we just talking about a company, or a theme park - or are there deeper issues involved?

I tend to think sometimes when I read some discussions - 'this is just Disney folks, lets keep some perspective'. After all, we all love it and have a great time and Disney is not going to go bankrupt and roll up Main St. Yes, some will say 'if things don't change...', but realistically it is not going to happen. Other times I think it is something more. It is about cherished family vacations, memories, society - significant pieces of life that could be seen as being in danger - something to be passionate about.

So which is it? Can we all really get this worked up over just a business, especially if you are not a stockholder? Or does WDW represent something more - an ideal, a way of life, a part of our family.....? What keeps you coming back?

 

[WDWHound]

I think we are discussing dreams here. Walt's dreams and our dreams. Dreams of the future. Dreams of a world that does not exist. Disney, in the end is in the business of delivery dreams, and there is nothing we should be more passionate about than our dreams.

 

[Bstanley]

It's kind of like an explanation I heard of what would be a good 'collectible'.

Something with emotional significance.

The people who 'get' The Magic either catch it as a child, or catch it through their children IMHO and therefore The Magic possesses a substantial emotional significance.

Anything that threatens the memory of The Magic - replacing an older attraction with a newer one, removing an attraction, cutting back on those special remembered items (Mickey butter) - is a direct attack on the memory.

And these days when the decisions are being made by managers who do NOT themselves appear to have ANY emotional attachment to the things that they are affecting it is especially hard to believe that any good future memories will come out of anything they do.

 

[mrtoadslastride]

Originally posted by thedscoop
To me, Walt Disney World is a really fun place to go on vacations. Nothing more, nothing less.

If it were to ever close, I would be disappointed, but certainly not depressed for there are many other really fun places to go on vacation for us.

Maybe that's the difference in some of us around here. To me, it's just a business and certainly not a way of life or anything deeper like that.

If any type of vacation location would ever warrant such an esteemed position, I'd strictly limit that to the beauty of creation and not manmade places of brick, polymers, and wood.

Scoop, I am not trying to be sarcastic here. Reading the above post makes me ask, if Disney is just like any other business to you (or place to visit) then why do you spend so much time digging up rumors and news to share with us here on disboards? Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't want you to stop posting! It seems like you have invested quite a bit of time (inlcuding setting up a new website) for something that is just "a fun place to go on vacation." Am I missing something?

 

[Sandy Fisher]

This is overly simplistic, and would cause serious business types to go into hyperventilation at the very least, but recent years have seen U.S. citizens threatened in a way not seen since World War II.
Not to discount the Korean War or the Vietnam War or the Gulf War, etc. But I mean our soil threatened. Our homes, our businesses, our investments.
To many of us, as posted before, Disney is something good, something right, something safe. Family togetherness, fun, over-the-top expectations, etc.
With the September 11 attacks and the fact that they were a catalyst of sorts causing weakened economies to buckle, anything that appears to threaten that which we hold dear is taken more seriously than perhaps before.
Call it an escape, but to me WDW is more than a business, more than a resort, more than a theme park. It's a symbol of things we enjoy with family and friends -- and any cut or criticism or diminished mass is seen as a threat that might not have been as apparent prior to last September.
September 11 events did not cause all the problems, just exacerbated them.
And "we" don't want any more of what we see as a comfort zone taken away.
Gee, that got way too complicated. Sorry.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Gee, that got way too complicated. Sorry

Hey - turns out it is a complicated question . We probably need a PhD in sociology or human dynamics to figure out the whys and wherefors. I do think most people's penchant for WDW was as strong before 9-11 as it is now, so I don't know that I can attribute it to that threat. Of course, such an event does give us more to escape from when we visit.

 

[space42]

Originally posted by thedscoop
To me, Walt Disney World is a really fun place to go on vacations. Nothing more, nothing less.

If it were to ever close, I would be disappointed, but certainly not depressed for there are many other really fun places to go on vacation for us.

Maybe that's the difference in some of us around here. To me, it's just a business and certainly not a way of life or anything deeper like that.

If any type of vacation location would ever warrant such an esteemed position, I'd strictly limit that to the beauty of creation and not manmade places of brick, polymers, and wood.

I think that is why the "Our Disney History" thread was such a good idea.
For me, Disney is not a place where I "vacation" so to speak. WDW is just a 2 1/2 hour drive north for me. I don't really vacation there. I just go for long weekend trips as I have for so many years. My vacations are spent elsewhere.

Like Bstanley stated

The people who 'get' The Magic either catch it as a child, or catch it through their children IMHO and therefore The Magic possesses a substantial emotional significance.

Anything that threatens the memory of The Magic - replacing an older attraction with a newer one, removing an attraction, cutting back on those special remembered items (Mickey butter) - is a direct attack on the memory.

That is pretty much how I feel. The place holds so many memorys from my childhood and more recent ones, it saddens me to see some of the things that have been happening for the last few years.

 

[mrtoadslastride]

Thanks Scoop, it sounds like you definately have your priorities in order! I think at times all of us might be guilty of spending to much time talking and thinking Disney, but I try to remember that it is only a vacation destination and if it closes up there are plenty of other places to go.