Why does nobody like the hat??

[sephorachick]

I really like the hat BUT Sorcerer MM is my favorite. When I got to meet Fantasia MM last trip I was jumping up & down because I was so excited yeah i'm 33...... LOL

 

[Planogirl]

I believe that much of what makes the Disney parks special is the theming. To me the hat does not fit the theming. It's a nice hat but would look even nicer somewhere else.

I don't feel that way about the inclusion of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates because he doesn't affect the theming. It's all still very much intact IMO.

 

[ttintagel]

The Aladdin spinner in Adventureland is another one for me - I like the ride, but really wish they had found a better place for it. That plaza was very well-designed both for views and for traffic, and plopping a slow-loading ride in the middle of it mucks up both of them.

 

[DCTooTall]

The Aladdin spinner in Adventureland is another one for me - I like the ride, but really wish they had found a better place for it. That plaza was very well-designed both for views and for traffic, and plopping a slow-loading ride in the middle of it mucks up both of them.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Does anybody know a concrete reason why it was actually built?

 

[jvptravels]

Does anybody know a concrete reason why it was actually built?

If you're asking about the hat, please read my earlier post.

 

[DCTooTall]

Does anybody know a concrete reason why it was actually built?

Based off Disney's history of not really providing concrete reasons for some of their decisions thru official channels, I'm going to say, No.

The 3 primary reasons I've heard, which I could see as potentially valid reasons within the company, are:

1. something Special within the park to commemorate the 100th celebration.

2. with the Studio itself being shuttered, and the fact most guests didn't even realize where it was or it's significance, They wanted a "park icon" a bit more prominent than the Earful Tower

3. Due to the park's crazy layout as a result of it's odd evolution from a working studio into a self-contained themepark, They wanted to build something large enough to be seen in many areas of the park which people could use to help gain their bearings.

 

[goofyernmost]

Based off Disney's history of not really providing concrete reasons for some of their decisions thru official channels, I'm going to say, No.

The 3 primary reasons I've heard, which I could see as potentially valid reasons within the company, are:

1. something Special within the park to commemorate the 100th celebration.

2. with the Studio itself being shuttered, and the fact most guests didn't even realize where it was or it's significance, They wanted a "park icon" a bit more prominent than the Earful Tower

3. Due to the park's crazy layout as a result of it's odd evolution from a working studio into a self-contained themepark, They wanted to build something large enough to be seen in many areas of the park which people could use to help gain their bearings.

The other, less traveled, reason was that the theater had accidentally become the Icon and it was never intended too be that. If you look at the other Icons they are strictly Disney. Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth and the Tree of life or not modeled after already existing non-Disney things. The actual theater is located in Hollywood and not associated with Disney at all. If you were to show a picture of yourself in front of it to your friends, would the first thing they would think about be Disney? No, they would think of Hollywood and then be told it was Disney. Not something that was what Disney was looking to do.

However, everyone, and I mean everyone, was taking pictures of the theater and ignoring the Earful Tower, so they decided that the Hat would represent something that was exclusively Disney and placed where it is to block the photo-op of the theater. Actually, it is the only explanation that makes sense to me.

Other than that...it's anybodies guess!

 

[DCTooTall]

The other, less traveled, reason was that the theater had accidentally become the Icon and it was never intended too be that. If you look at the other Icons they are strictly Disney. Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth and the Tree of life or not modeled after already existing non-Disney things. The actual theater is located in Hollywood and not associated with Disney at all. If you were to show a picture of yourself in front of it to your friends, would the first thing they would think about be Disney? No, they would think of Hollywood and then be told it was Disney. Not something that was what Disney was looking to do.

However, everyone, and I mean everyone, was taking pictures of the theater and ignoring the Earful Tower, so they decided that the Hat would represent something that was exclusively Disney and placed where it is to block the photo-op of the theater. Actually, it is the only explanation that makes sense to me.

Other than that...it's anybodies guess!

I'd heard that one too.... but I figure i'd try and limit my answers to the "constructive" reasons I've heard under the (possibly misguided) hope that Disney's complete incompetence around that era was just stupidity/laziness, and not vindictive. (Remember, they ruined Figment during the same time period as we got the BAH and wand...etc)

 

[jvptravels]

The Disney/MGM Studios was the focal point for the 100 Years of Magic celebration honoring Walt Disney's birthday. That's why the hat was built. There's really need for any further Disney conspiracy theories or speculation. Here's a link.

http://http://themeparks.about.com/library/weekly/aa041802a.htm

 

[goofyernmost]

The Disney/MGM Studios was the focal point for the 100 Years of Magic celebration honoring Walt Disney's birthday. That's why the hat was built. There's really need for any further Disney conspiracy theories or speculation. Here's a link.

http://http://themeparks.about.com/library/weekly/aa041802a.htm

I can certainly accept that it was built for that reason, but that doesn't explain the location of it. That had some other more "hidden" reason, IMHO! I wouldn't call it a conspiracy, it was more of a marketing decision. All companies have those.

 

[DVC-Don]

I like the hat. In fact I like the shad it provides.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I believe that much of what makes the Disney parks special is the theming. To me the hat does not fit the theming. It's a nice hat but would look even nicer somewhere else.

I don't feel that way about the inclusion of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates because he doesn't affect the theming. It's all still very much intact IMO.

Not much more needs to be said as to why people shouldn't like the hat, but I'll elaborate anyway....and then I'll rant.

First let me ask, who wouldn't like a Sorcerer Mickey hat? A classic from an incredible piece of Disney animation. What is not to like is the placement, the purpose, and what it does to the Studios experience. Bottom line is that the hat has very little to do with Hollywood, the focus of the park.

Harken back to a day before 2001, if you will. You enter the Studios (I don't care if you call it MGM or Disney's Hollywood), and you are drawn down Hollywood Boulevard, past the buidlings and billboards appropriate to the time and theme (50's Hollywood), all the while beckoned by Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the distance. Enter the couryard in front of that wonderful re-creation of that historic Hollywood icon and your ears are filled with the sounds of classic Hollywood movie music. All of that helps to take you out of the central Florida swamp and put you squarely in the middle of 50's Hollywood. It was such a pleasant experience, and exactly the experience that Walt Disney himself would have wanted for the Studios. Post Walt managment actually got this aspect of the Studios very much right. Grauman's Theatre is to the Studios what Cindarella Castle is to the MK. Hollywood Boulevard is the equivalent of Main Street USA. It was all done the way it was for a reason, reason born from Walt Disney himself.

Then comes the hat. Again, I like hat's, just not this one, in this location. Tell me how it improved on the pre-hat experience you just had. Gone is the central theming, the weenie that completes the atmosphere. Not only is the Theatre gone (blocked), but so is much of the music, and with it the mood.

That is reason enough not to like the hat.

Now let me rail.......about what the hat represents to me. The hat replaced (blocked) one of the best things in the park. It ruined the theme and atmosphere. And for what? To celebrate 100 years? If that is what they wanted they could have put it somewhere else, or gotten rid of it after the celebration. No, the hat has become a nothing more than in icon to trinket sales and cross promotion. The wonderful atmosphere that once existed was replaced by a gaudy hat that does nothing more than sell merchandise, and provide a back drop for whatever the latest Disney Channel show or movie is that they can blare music at you from.

So I say.....Booo to the Big Ugly Hat!

 

[ErinsMommy]

FWIW, we love the hat.

 

[DisneyFive]

One problem I have with the theater being the main focus of Hollywood Studios is that the ride contained within it is very mediocre. The Great Movie ride really needs some help. Whether it's a refurb, replacement, or something else entirely. If the hat wasn't there I think there would be a bigger expectations of The Great Movie ride, and a lot of let down visitors IMO.

I like the hat, but as I've said before, I don't know any different so I can't compare it to the days without it.

Dan

 

[mickeyspal07]

It might be a stupid idea but I was thinking and I thought maybe they could move the hat to the front of the park where that crossroads of the world thing is. Then once you walked by the hat it would look like it used to
It probably wouldn't work though considering how close it would be to the entrance, but they could always move the turnstiles back a bit

 

[jvptravels]

It might be a stupid idea but I was thinking and I thought maybe they could move the hat to the front of the park where that crossroads of the world thing is. Then once you walked by the hat it would look like it used to
It probably wouldn't work though considering how close it would be to the entrance, but they could always move the turnstiles back a bit

Yeah. That's not gonna happen. The hat's been in place for 11 years. I don't think the ramblings from a bunch of DISsers is gonna get Disney to move it.

But maybe they will tear down the Chinese theater facade and replace it with a broom. This would make the theming more appropriate.

 

[KellyNY]

I can certainly accept that it was built for that reason, but that doesn't explain the location of it. That had some other more "hidden" reason, IMHO! I wouldn't call it a conspiracy, it was more of a marketing decision. All companies have those.

I read somewhere that hat was placed there to block theater, they did not have rights to have open view.

 

[jvptravels]

I read somewhere that hat was placed there to block theater, they did not have rights to have open view.

I would imagine if they did not have rights for an open view of (I'm assuming) the theater, this would have been addressed before the park opened in 1989. Not more than a decade after the park was opened. Unless of course, Disney lost such rights. But we'd all be well aware of that today.

 

[Fantasmiss]

YES! And I know it's off topic, but HS needs more non-thrill rides! With a baby, "That Movie Ride" as we call it, is the only ride people can go on.

Great Movie ride really needs some help. Whether it's a refurb, replacement, or something else entirely.

Dan