First Aladdin - Now this...

[WEDWAY100]

I was afraid of this...whoever is in charge of MK upgrades right now has no sense of what it means to "theme" something.

Aladdin introduced bright fantasy colors into Adventureland where the original tone was much more muted. I just saw pictures of new Splash Mountain FP signs on wdwmagic here:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/magic.htm

Go down to the 12/23 update and check it out. I didn't know that people in the west of the 1800's had bright purple, yellow and green paint. It certainly does not look like I envision a frontier. And I really liked that area with the new (1992) train depot, etc. It was very well done.

I know this is a small thing, but it is an example of a new philosphy that has been applied to the MK. The entire park is now being apporached under the "Fantasy" umbrella. Management is demonstrating to me that they feel that this park is for kids. In fact, it's just for kids. Want something for adults? Go to one of the other parks.

It's a shame, because the MK was my favorite park.

Can I get some opinions on this? Am I over-reacting, or is this another example of management that "doesn't get it"?

 

[roymccoy]

I don't think you're over-reacting at all. I think you're seeing an example of what has been going on and IS going on at Disney. It's a new direction for them, a direction away from uniqueness and to more of a cookie-cutter approach to the parks. A perfect example is AV's post about the costumes at the parks. They are going to go to much simpler, cost effective costumes with only four main "themes" and no frills such as hats, belt buckles, scarfs, etc. Also, I think that the employees have lost some of their morale and their "drive to excel"...know what I mean? In the old days, someone would have put in extra hours and researched what an old west sign should look like and make it art instead of just a sign. I could have painted that sign, and I am not creative at all, but I can draw.

The paint scheme is just an example of Disney not wanting to put the time, energy and money into theming the sign to fit the land, in this case, an old west theme. I think we're going to see more of this generic approach to things from Disney. I know their excuse is "times are tough and we have to cutback" but in the process they are turning Disney parks into something not very Disney. If they lose that, maybe this is all for naught.

Here are a couple of other thoughts:

1. Disney' cost cutting is understandable in this current economic climate but why were they cost-cutting during the boom years of the late 90's too?

2. When Disney originally started cost-cutting at the "Walt designed" parks it was not as noticeable as I think the cutting is for the "Eisner-Pressler" parks. The Walt parks had a solid base with a lot going into the theming and infrastructure. In a way, there was a lot more room to cut at the Walt parks because they were built to such a high quality and standard. Now for the Eisner/Pressler parks it's a different story. They were built so cheap and so "barely close to acceptable" that there is no room to cut anything. Even the slightest cut stands out like a sore-thumb because there was very little there to begin with.

3. My wife and I were driving and listening to the kids CD that has the DL ride themes (Haunted Manision, POTC, Tiki Room, Casey Jr, Small World, etc) and it struck me that none of the "new" Disney attractions could be put out on a CD. Can you imagine the "Heimlichs Chew-chew Train" CD? or the Superstar Limo CD? or the DinoLand CD?
Neither could we.

I think all of these little details are adding up to really hurt Disney in the long run. You know what they say, "the devil is in the details" and attention to detail is a BIG part of Disney's success.

Roy

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

The one trick pony chimes in (and it should surprise no one)...


Roy:

DITTO!!

 

[Testtrack321]

Seems like they know and they'll fix it after the holidays.

Hurah!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17875

 

[space42]

Originally posted by Testtrack321
Seems like they know and they'll fix it after the holidays.

Hurah!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17875

I didn't see anything on that thread about fixing the Splash Mountain sign.

 

[Testtrack321]

Oops, miss read it.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

I also dont think the people of the Frontier had a hill with a briarpatch at the bottom that was home to a talking cartoon rabbit, bear, fox, frog and assorted other critters but I dont hear you complaining about that. Or for that matter an airconditioned theater home to singing dancing bears.

 

[Panthius]

OnWithTheShow definitely said what I was thinking when I saw the pictures. Part of me wanted to upset, but I really could not for the exact reason OWTS stated.

Panthius

 

[hallie]

I also dont think the people of the Frontier had a hill with a briarpatch at the bottom that was home to a talking cartoon rabbit, bear, fox, frog and assorted other critters but I dont hear you complaining about that. Or for that matter an airconditioned theater home to singing dancing bears.

Ha!

 

[space42]

Originally posted by OnWithTheShow
I also dont think the people of the Frontier had a hill with a briarpatch at the bottom that was home to a talking cartoon rabbit, bear, fox, frog and assorted other critters but I dont hear you complaining about that. Or for that matter an airconditioned theater home to singing dancing bears.

But for whatever reason the hill and the theater do not look out of place in their areas. The same cannot be said about the barney colored sign.

 

[toefungus]

Before all of you go off bashing Disney for making the signs purple, maybe you should actually get a clue as to why they are purple. Many guest comapined that the whole area around Splash Mountain was confusing as to where the entrance to the railroad, fastpass, and the actual entrance to SM are. They made the signs purple to stand out for now so people will have an easier time finding their way around. In the future that whole area around SM is going to be re-done to make it easier to navigate.

 

[April76]

Do they really think that purple signs will help folks who can't figure out how to get to a huge briar patch, or mountain???? I was in MGM once and overheard two ladies looking at a park map ; they were wondering where the big Sorceror hat was...... they were standing across the street from it!!

This would also be for those folks who want to know if the can use their 10:00 fastpass at 9:45!!

 

[pheneix]

>>>They made the signs purple to stand out for now so people will have an easier time finding their way around.<<<

I don't know about confusion, but that sign makes my eyes bleed so much that I have no idea where in the hell I am headed when I walk near that thing anymore...

 

[Bob O]

Ditto's to Roy!!!! Also Toefungus!!!
I guess some will always aplogoize for whatever disney does!!!

 

[space42]

I suppose if this were just an isolated incident you wouldn't see as much complaining. However this sign is part of a trend that includes the Big *** Hat, Giant Mickey Wand, Pop Century, Diorama, Aladdin, and the mess that is now Journey into Imagination with Figment. Tacky was never an adjective that I would have used when describing anything regarding WDW in the past. Why must I use that word now?

 

[Planogirl]

I have to agree with those who consider the signs tacky. These signs are just so....well, PURPLE. Maybe the frontier never had singing animals that lived near a briar patch but Disney does have singing animals and Disney used to build good themes around them. As our good friend, the driver of car #3 is so fond of pointing out, it's all about the Show. I couldn't agree more.

 

[airlarry!]

All right, this is not a huge issue, M. Show, I agree.

But seriously, Purple Signs in Splash's front yard? There must be a part of you that says "What maroon thought this up?"

*Some* people may have complained about getting lost, but I'll bet you a Disney Dollar that 99% of the people find this place without any trouble.

You know, there are many areas of the parks that are nearly impossible to find, and these 'hdden' areas are part of the charm of the parks.

Admittedly, Splash Mountain shouldn't be one, but I have never, never, never, never heard a single person complain that they could not find the entrance to Splash Mountain. The FP area is confusing--but purple signs are unneccessary, and just plain bad show. The same sign in the Splash style would suffice.

 

[WEDWAY100]

Thanks to everyone who responded… I guess I’m not the only one who feels that those signs are very out of place.

One of the things that bothers me about this is that the original idea for DL (and the MK) was that all things in a “land” should blend in to tell a single, cohesive story. The shops, attractions and all other parts of the environment were supposed to fit well together, not to compete for your attention. I read that Walt didn’t like that about World’s fairs. The attractions and shops competed against each other instead of complementing each other. These new signs scream, “Look at me!! I am Splash Mountain, and this is where you need to go to get in line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do agree with those who think that the colors will make it easier for people to find. But I think that if they would have put more than two seconds of thought into it, the entrance could be located just as easily, but without all the tacky junk.

And by itself, this is no big deal. But when you combine it with other things, and those things add up to a trend, you realize that most of the people managing the place don’t have a clue about its' history.

I was at the MK yesterday and saw the signs in person. They are even brighter in person than they are in those pictures.

 

[raidermatt]

All right, this is not a huge issue, M. Show, I agree.

But seriously, Purple Signs in Splash's front yard? There must be a part of you that says "What maroon thought this up?"

Thanks, Sir Airness, my thoughts exactly!

Its true that the western frontier didn't have cartoon rabbits who live in briar patches. However, the mountain was not painted bright purple. Tremendous effort was taken to make it fit the overall theme of the area, yet still stand out as something wonderful to behold.

 

[All Aboard]

I saw the signs in person a couple of weeks ago and they truly are ugly and out of place in Frontierland.

But I do believe that it has everything to do with directing confused guests and nothing to do with trying to make all of MK suited only for kids.

Not sure where I read it, but some Splash CMs were discussing this and told of how often guests are absolutely confused as to where the 1) standby entrance is, 2) the fastpass entrance is and 3) where the fastpass machines are. They told of having to leave their positions to direct guests quite frequently.

WDW attempted to rectify a situation, unfortunately they went about it the wrong way.