Why does nobody like the hat??

[ssleblanc]

Not sure wether the poster you was quoting liked it but i LOVED it!!!!!!

...
I do wonder wether the hat was added to make the place seem more child friendly as a child MGM"the studios" didnt seem the most child like place considering it was at Disney but when the Hat was added i remember being much more excited abot what i was seeing when walking up that street.

I was the opposite .. I didn't know to expect the cake and I walked up thinking 'what did they do'??? Wasn't my style at all.

I think you bring up a good point. Maybe the hat was to make it feel more kid friendly. I could see that.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

I love the Sorceror's Hat!!!

 

[POOHsie]

I don't mind the Sorcerer's Hat, just its placement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. And, no, MGM never owned that theatre (for whoever posted that).

At least at MK, you can walk through the Castle. At Epcot you can walk underneath SSE. Neither icon is obstructing. But the Sorcerer's Hat, it looks like it fell out of the sky (like Dorothy's house) and landed in front of the Chinese Theatre for no particular reason. On more than one occasion, I looked for Peg-Leg Pete's feet sticking out from it.

My suggestion on another thread was to move the Sorcerer's Hat to the Studio Backlot Tour. Preferably, close to the burning tanker truck.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~I love the hat!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

Those of us who remember DHS pre-hat (and pre-DHS) are pretty much just recalling how much prettier the view down Hollywood Boulevard was before they parked that hat in front of the Chinese theater.

No, there was nothing about it that said "Disney" (which is why we have a big-a hat in front of it now) but it was prettier.

 

[hakepb]

I was the opposite .. I didn't know to expect the cake and I walked up thinking 'what did they do'??? Wasn't my style at all.

I think you bring up a good point. Maybe the hat was to make it feel more kid friendly. I could see that.

Well, I thought the cake castle was better than the gaudy bling castle that followed...although either messed up family photos for guests :/

Thankfully the imagineers now have projection technology to have a little fun without impacting all day.

 

[GraceMonica]

What about that stage in front of the hat? It seems like they keep wanting to block one of their big structures with another big structure.

I think its time for the hat to go...be moved or something...I want to see the chinese theatre. They made it very accurate, only for it to be shaded by a big blue hat.

I like the hat, but its been there for too long. They need to switch things up a bit!

 

[DCTooTall]

I like everyone else mentioned, Much preferred the original sight line down "main street" in MGM when you entered the park w/ the Theater in the background. It was a nice touch and helped put you into the mood at the park. That hat to me, not only ruins the original sight lines as designed, but it also just helps feed the park's completely disjointed feel it has now that the working studio has been shuttered and everything has been opened up to pedestrian traffic.

I'll also say that in the Pre-Hat days, You also had the huge hidden Mickey in the park center (partially disjointed when Sunset was added, but it was still able to be seen)... But the BAH totally destroyed the mickey.

OH! And how can I forget the holidays at the park? The large center planter which acted as the hidden Mickey's nose was the old Park Christmas Tree location, and it looked AMAZING seeing the tree at the end of the street in front of the Theater. Now of course, they have to stick the tree outside the park gates. (Which IMHO, might actually be a better place for the hat. Then you'd also have some pretty cool photo ops with the hat lit up at night reflecting off the water)

(Heh... I still remember watching the fireworks on Hollywood Blvd at MGM as a kid when the large inflatable mickey appeared on top of the theater and shot sparks out of his finger)

 

[miami305]

I think they should put a huge hat in front of the Hollywood sign.

The theater was not designed as a focal point of the city. It is best viewed close up, not from a distance. To support your logic, a replica of the Hollywood sign would be the best replacement for the hat.

 

[Luv2CtheMouse]

I like the hat!!

 

[Micca]

The hat is cool, but I wish there was something more interesting inside the hat. I even love Disney merch, but don't think it needs to be in the hat.

 

[goofyernmost]

I also liked the wand in Epcot. I think the reason it never bothered me is because my first visit was in 2000. It's interesting how ones perception of things in the parks can vary greatly depending on what their personal experiences have been. )

I like it but I also liked the wand on Spaceship Earth (... ducks for cover).

I went to EPCOT Ctr. just a few months after it opened. (no wand) and I went to DHS (at that time Disney MGM Studios) long before the Hat. To be honest I kinda liked the wand with the Mickey hand holding it because it tied it in with the rest of WDW. Remember how upset people get when they hear about someone saying "I'm going to Epcot today, but it's Walt Disney World tomorrow". I didn't like the sparkly things that they scattered on top of SSE. It made it look gaudy and unnecessary. To me the wand kind of transmitted excitement that the plain SSE doesn't. The sparkly things were to represent the magic from the wand, but it wasn't necessary.

Did you like the pink birthday cake on the castle too?

I did like the pink birthday cake but that was because I knew it was only for that one anniversary year (25th). We all knew it was just temporary and while it was there it was imaginative, bright colors, festive and, I'm sure, expensive.

The hat is cool, but I wish there was something more interesting inside the hat. I even love Disney merch, but don't think it needs to be in the hat.

That is kind of my feeling. Make it an attraction...OK! Have it mess up the street scene just for that...don't think so. Want something to compare? Think about the upset generated by the scrim in front of the bakery on Main St. blocking the view of the Castle. Same thing really. They had plenty of room to put that in the open square by the animation building and it would have fit, theme wise, in there perfectly.

 

[Mickeyrella]

I'm new to the boards but i have been a lurker for a while and i see posts about the hat. Posts saying how it's ''Pathetic'' and ''Pointless''. Now i know it isn't as big as the others but it is still a great structure. If someone showed me that hat i would imeidiatly think of DHS. Just like evertime i see a golf ball i think ''EPCOT''

I love the hat! We take a picture every year and every time we go to DHS!

 

[englanddg]

I don't like the hat simply because it doesn't "fit" with the theming of the area.

You used to be able to walk into the park and "imagine" that you were walking into classic hollywood. Now, you can't. There's a gaudy blue hat staring at you.

I like the idea posted before, where it could be moved to the Animation area. I LOVE that idea. It would fit, and would make for a great landmark for that area.

 

[Katie In Wonderland]

I have mixed feelings about the hat. It appeared there in 2001, I believe (don't quote me). I turned 10 that year. I barely remember the "main street" without it. I slightly do. I think it's beautiful when I see it in pictures and fits the park beautifully. But when I think of "MGM" (aka DHM), I don't think of the hat or the Earful tower. I actually think of the arch between Hollywood Blvd. and the Animation courtyard. I remember that with the Disney-MGM Studios logo and that's what I think of when I think of the park. While, I don't like it. It actually helps when I get turned around in the park, I can always find my way back to the hat. Kinda lame but that's the only reason I like it. I know it stands for Fantasia and the achievements and such but eh, I don't personally like it for anything except the fact it helps me find my way back to the "main street".

 

[lauran cameron]

As ghtx alluded to in his post, it's not the hat per se as much as where it is located. When Disney MGM Studios first opened there was pretty much a clear view all the way down Hollywood Blvd to the Chinese Theatre that houses the Great Movie Ride. This gave the entire "main street" the cohesive theming to the heyday of 20's and 30's Hollywood. With the introduction of the BAH, this site line was interrupted, and to many of us, destroyed the whole art deco feel of the park. And in fact, when the park first opened, it was not the hat that was the park icon (since it didn't exist). It was the earful tower- the water tower that you see off to the side of the park.

We don't really hate the hat. We just hate where the hat is at.

 

[Fantasmiss]

I love the hat! But then I loved the Spaceship Earth wand to.

 

[EmmyL258]

Well, I thought the cake castle was better than the gaudy bling castle that followed...although either messed up family photos for guests :/

Thankfully the imagineers now have projection technology to have a little fun without impacting all day.

Bling castle? What was that?

 

[lindsmom]

The theater was not designed as a focal point of the city. It is best viewed close up, not from a distance. To support your logic, a replica of the Hollywood sign would be the best replacement for the hat.

Haha.... your comment (based on the eye wink) was probably supposed to be a joke, but for me that would be a better replacement. At least a Hollywood sign would fit in with the theme of DHS, rather than the hat.

I felt very disjointed when I saw the hat that some 300 foot tall Sorcerer Mickey must have dropped while he was passing by Florida. I like someone else's comment that they look for Pete's feet sticking out - now THAT would be funny. I keep hoping the 300 foot Mickey comes back to claim his hat.

Then you can put up a hollywood sign if you'd like - that would be cool. It would be appropriate, to me.

 

[englanddg]

Bling castle? What was that?

Pretty sure the "bling" refers to when they decorated the castle for the 50 year celebration. They added a bunch of stuff to the castle, including a giant "picture", as well as spirals to the towers.

To me, it made the WDW castle look very similar to the DLP castle. Outside of the giant picture, I actually liked them.

The reference could also be for the winter decorations they did where they strung the castle with a million plus lights, but I'm pretty sure it's the 50th anniversary castle that the post was talking about.

Here's a pic:

http://www.wolfstad.com/photoalbum/05_wdw/large/006.jpg