Why no real celebration for Walt's 100th birthday???

[Bob O]

On another thread about the upcoming celebration about Walt's birthday Another Voice commented that its not a celebration but a marketing campaign and i agree totally with him. Its not a real celebration of Walt but a somewhat cheap attempt to boost attendance. My question is why didnt disney properly set up a celebration at its theme parks to honor their founder?? Its something that should have been done,especially at disneyland where it all started. They talk alot about walt but dont really honor him in any significant manner and this would have been the perfect time to do so. What do you think??

 

[toefungus]

I think this is somting to boost attendance, and to celebrate walt Disneyls life. This is a big milestone - Walt Disney's 100th Birtday. They're having in at Disney World because it's name is Walt Disney World. Plus with the success of the Millennium Celebration, this would be a good move on Disney's Park. Disney-MGM Studios will be the center of the celebration, and they are doing a lot there. There will be a new show, and a new icon for the park and the celebration. I don't care if you look at this is a marketing ploy or a celebration of Walt's life. All I know is that I'm looking at it as Walt Disney's 100th birthday celebration, and it's goign to be a lot of fun.

 

[donald@home]

Bob O, I agree (for the most part).

And may I ask, what do those parades have to do with Walt Disney THE MAN? It seems that many of the characters featured were created after Disney died. It looks to me like they are celebrating Walt Disney THE COMPANY. That's fine, but that is not what they are advertising.

Remember when parades used to be true spectacles and shows, not just another way to see the characters. Remember "America on Parade" and the "Tencennial" parade.

Wouldn't it be great if one of the parades were actually a history of Walt Disneys life? It could start with a float and dance unit paying tribute to his small town roots. This would be followed by a tribute to his earlier works (Alice Comedies, Flowers and Trees, The Old Mill, the creation of Mickey). This would be followed by a series of floats and dancers paying tribute to the early full length animated movies (Snow white, Pinochio, Fantasia, etc) followed by some of the live action movies he is famous for (Song of the South, 20,000 Leagues, Mary Poppins, etc). Then we would pay tribute to his television contributions (Zorro, Mickey Mouse Club) with the finale being the creation of his Theme Parks, perhaps a float with all of the castles from the different parks around the world.

Something along those lines would be a true celebration of Walt THE MAN, but I guess it wouldn't translate as well into snow globe sales. I will of course hold off judging the parades until I see them, and I am sure I will enjoy them for what they are, but I will certainly keep in mind what they could have been.

 

[CapHook]

Originally posted by Bob O
On another thread about the upcoming celebration about Walt's birthday Another Voice commented that its not a celebration but a marketing campaign and i agree totally with him. Its not a real celebration of Walt but a somewhat cheap attempt to boost attendance. My question is why didnt disney properly set up a celebration at its theme parks to honor their founder??

What is it that you want them to do exactly? If anything I think the problem is too much hoopla that turns it into a marketing campaign.

 

[gary]

I agree that the hype gets the marketing machine going, which then takes on a life of its own. For some "quiet respect" of Walt Disney, his life, and his accomplishments, I like "The Walt Disney Story" at Disneyland. Not a lot of hoopla, just a fairly quiet, respectful display. Besides the Lincoln animatronic stuff (Lincoln was one of Disney's heroes), there is some wonderful history. Pictures, awards, and a recreation of Walt's "official" office. Videos of Walt discussing certain things, and, of course, the speech at Disneyland's opening. I was also in Club 33 once (wish I could get in again!) and there is still some Walt Disney memorabilia remaining there.

 

[nats]

The best thing they could for Walt's 100th is to show some attractions the way Walt would have wanted them to be like. Make the parks more family oriented than they are now.
They could be titled MEMORIES .inkbounc
If this could happen then he could rest in peace knowing that WDW would always be the place he wanted.

 

[Bob O]

I would want them to do something that would be permanet and built as a honor to his legacy. Some type of exhibit/film that would honor what he did/accomplished and done because IT IS the right thing to do, not something made up like this is just to pry money from people without really honoring him. Now its just atypical 18 month pr/marketing campaign replacing dated parades rather then doing something innovative to properly honor him. A couple parades to sell snowglobes/pins isnt honoring IMHO. They just needed some type of marketing campaign now to replace a old one and arent honroing Walt because they felt it was the right thing to do. Some things should be done because it should be done without always looking for a way to make money out of it and if disney cant do that for their founder who would they ever do it for. And by the way if they did it the right way and actually did something innovative they would probably profit from it besides doing something that is right.