What's the biggest design "mistake" at WDW?

[schoen]

I really don't mind the leave a legacy granite blocks at Epcot. I don't think they are an eyesore at all. I think they are tasteful, and I really appreciate their purpose. I thought that was a really cool program.

I actually find them somewhat impressive looking, and I appreciate their straight lines in contrast with the sphere of Spaceship Earth. I also appreciate the visual experience that they provide, somewhat hiding Spaceship Earth until you get past them, and it just seems to make Spaceship Earth even more impressive.

One design element that irritates me at Epcot is all of the mature trees that block the view of Illuminations. I understand their purpose, and during the day I find them beautiful, but they ruin the view for illuminations in so many areas.

 

[SmilingGrump]

1. The Yeti
2. The Yeti
3. Not smoothing out Space Mountain during refurbishment


Personally, I quite like Dinoland at AK. The only reason why it doesn't really "fit" into AK is because Beastland (or whatever it was going to be called) was cancelled and Camp Minnie-Mickey was "temporarily" thrown in there. There's a LOT of really awesome hidden magic in Dinoland. I could spend hours just at Restaurantosaurus looking at all the hidden stuff, and the wonderful part is that much of it changes so there's always something new to read or find

 

[JERME81]

The biggest mistake they made was not adding more Monorail track to some of the other resorts and/or parks, and yes I am aware how many millions of dollars they cost per mile to construct them.

 

[aurorae]

Putting FOLTK in Camp Minnie Mickey in AK, where there is not enough room for people to get in and out.

 

[Euphscott]

The Granite in EPCOT

Journey Into Your Imagionation - really? The original was far superior to any damage they have done over the years

The now since remedied Tiki Room Under New Management

 

[dalt01]

putting splash and thunder........and.........ToT and RRC side by side.

 

[fall08CP]

Without a doubt, the biggest design flaw in my opinion is not putting the Soarin' FP machines outside of the land building!

 

[DCTooTall]

OK, So we all know that the Imagineers are infallible. Everything in the parks is carefully thought out, modeled, etc. But somehow, there are things that just don't "work" - at least from my perspective. For example:

• The Swan/Dolphin are very out of place around Cresent Lake and they visually intrude on World Showcase. They either should have located them elsewhere or visually similar to the rest of the area.
• The BAH at the studio doesn't belong in front of the theater. (Not that I don't like the hat - its just the location I dislike.
• The Leave a Legacy structures (OK, tombstones) in the Epcot entrance plaza just impede traffic flows.

So the question is;
What do the rest of our DIS Amateur Imagineers (DAI) think are the big design mistakes?

I'll excuse the Swan/Dolphin some of their issues since they actually predate the rest of the hotels around Crescent Lake. In Fact, if i recall correctly, They were 2 of the first hotels built during Eisner's hotel build-out phase.... which i'm wondering if that's also why they are the only 2 "on-site" hotels that aren't actually owned/run by Disney. (That lack of Disney ownership/management also severely impacted their ability to fix the look/theming when they designed the rest of the Epcot resort area (and decided to putin the international gateway) )

There's just no excuse though for the MGM Hat or Epcot tombstones. The hat completely ruins the view down to the theater, and the tombstones just don't quite fit.... and i'll agree... hurt traffic flow and also the nice open plaza feeling the EPCOT Center entrance used to have.

People in wheelchairs will probably not appreciate this idea.

I'm also betting the Parades, with both some of the floats and dancers, could have issues with the bricks.

Those bricks on Cinderella Castle aren't really bricks. You could paint main street to look like bricks. I don't know how the wear and tear would be on a daily basis.

The poster mentioning DHS layout was correct. This is not a large park, but I still can't find my way to specific areas. The layout could have been better.

With the amount of foot traffic main Street gets, it wouldn't take long before the paint would get worn down. and it'd start to look incredibly ugly. (Think about the painted walkways in locker rooms or stadiums). I'm betting it could also cause issues with getting incredibly slick after a rainstorm.



The problem with DHS's layout is the haphazard way they expanded the park to try and add capacity as they shut down more and more of the old studio. If you look at the "original" layout, it didn't require much backtracking.... but as they opened up old backstage areas and starting messing with the backstage tour, it just got worse and worse.

Without a doubt, the biggest design flaw in my opinion is not putting the Soarin' FP machines outside of the land building!

I can definately agree with this. Or at the very least, maybe upstairs. The traffic flow because of the escalators is horrible.






Now... my thought on the biggest design "mistakes"?? i think it's letting the money people (sales, marketing, dvc, etc) make the imagineering decisions. The Walk Around the World pavers? Not a bad idea and they look good. Leave a Legacy? UGLY! The Hat (Pin store)... Horrible. If you look at many of the most divisive things around the parks, how many of them can you trace back to someone saying "Hey! We have this prime piece of real estate! How can we make some money from it?"

 

[simonkodousek]

""""

 

[DCTooTall]

I can't stand the design of Hollywood Studios. It is my least favorite park, especially during summer because of small walkways, huge crowds, and that darn hat doesn't help much either...

Also, Dinoland USA. It looks so tacky in the middle of Animal Kingdom. I've bypassed it for the last 6 or so years I've been in AK, but it is just SO ugly... SO ugly...

I don't have any issues with Dinoland USA. Chester/Hester's however.... it needs to die.

 

[Cap.Steamboat Willie]

The biggest mistake they made was not adding more Monorail track to some of the other resorts and/or parks, and yes I am aware how many millions of dollars they cost per mile to construct them.

I'm so glad you mentioned this shortcoming.

I would love it if there was a stop to the far off resorts i.e. AKL.

While we are sparing no expense in our little trip down fantasy lane, how about reworking all the tunnel systems under Pirates in order to make it like the original one in Disneyland?

 

[ougrad86]

Putting FOLTK in Camp Minnie Mickey in AK, where there is not enough room for people to get in and out.

Camp Minnie Mickey itself, when the original plan was some kind of mythical land with unicorns and dragons - if they would have had that is place, they probably would've been able to land Harry Potter - they would have had more to offer than just a ride.

I agree with the PP who mentioned that the money people are interfering with the Imagineers. That is taking away alot from it. How many wonderful plans have been scrapped that we haven't even heard of?

And although this doesn't upset a lot of people, it does me. Innoventions started with such good intentions - but my DS, who is very into science and technology, finds it a waste of time. There is very little to do there. Along with the Body Wars area closing down, although I understand that there wasn't alot of traffic.

Although I guess this is more of a rant of the attractions themselves then the layout...I agree with most of what has been pointed out.

 

[DisMyke]

There's just no excuse though for the MGM Hat or Epcot tombstones. The hat completely ruins the view down to the theater

It was designed that way. It helped put the lawsuit to rest over the rights to the building design.

What was on my wish list would be the monorail extended, but now I just want the monorail to be operational in the future.

Poor design........I'm all in on the Soarin fastpass machine placement

 

[kbelle8995]

I think that expanding the monorail came down to cost. I could be wrong and it could have been because of the difficulty of putting it in Florida soil, I can't remember

 

[DCTooTall]

I think that expanding the monorail came down to cost. I could be wrong and it could have been because of the difficulty of putting it in Florida soil, I can't remember

I'm going to say it was a combination of cost (which was increased because of the Florida soil), and also efficiency. If you looked at some of the original plans/models of the Disney Village area which included the monorail tracks, it's obvious that many switches were involved in the plan. The problem is that Monorail switching is a very slow and complicated process.

 

[NancyIL]

I'll excuse the Swan/Dolphin some of their issues since they actually predate the rest of the hotels around Crescent Lake. In Fact, if i recall correctly, They were 2 of the first hotels built during Eisner's hotel build-out phase.... which i'm wondering if that's also why they are the only 2 "on-site" hotels that aren't actually owned/run by Disney. (That lack of Disney ownership/management also severely impacted their ability to fix the look/theming when they designed the rest of the Epcot resort area (and decided to putin the international gateway) )

There's just no excuse though for the MGM Hat or Epcot tombstones. The hat completely ruins the view down to the theater, and the tombstones just don't quite fit.... and i'll agree... hurt traffic flow and also the nice open plaza feeling the EPCOT Center entrance used to have.

I was going to post the same thing about the Swan and Dolphin...they were there before the other Epcot resorts. I love staying there, and I'm glad they are so close to Epcot. While you can see them from World Showcase, they do turn off some of their exterior lights during Illuminations.

I absolutely agree with you about the hat at the Studios and the Epcot tombstones!

 

[tnccon]

Well, isn't it obvious? The biggest design flaw was not extending the monorail line to my front door!

 

[safetymom]

They need to bring Journey into Imagination back to the original version!

 

[k5jm]

They need to bring Journey into Imagination back to the original version!

Including the rainbow tunnel and the complete imageworks. I would like to have communicore back also!

And when are they going to re-purpose Wonders of Life?

 

[Rob R]

This is a great thread.

The "hat" at the Studios is there because Disney hasn't extended the contract on the Chinese Theater likeness to continue to use that vista in the parks. (or some such thing)

The Swan and Dolphin are intentionally made to be eyesores/standouts (depending on your appreciation level) because originally the sites were set aside for private hotels, then Disney changed their mind and didn't want outside owned/run hotels there and tried to stop the development. After their day in court, we have the Swan Dolphin. So next time you look at them you can be reminded of what outsourcing the Disney Parks does long term and how it can have shadows on the parks for decades into the future. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

I might have my facts a little switched around, but you get the idea. If the topic interests you, have at it. There is plenty of information out there about it.

PS: I have nothing bad to say about the Swan Dolphin, my wife and I stayed concierge at the Dolphin on our honeymoon in 2001!! I love that place!