More Mouse: The Vacation Kingdom of the World: The Place Will Get More Beautiful Each

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The Vacation Kingdom of the World: The Place Will Get More Beautiful Each Year by Tom Richards

Tom Richards makes an argument for the preserving and restoring the sublime beauty of the Walt Disney World Theme Parks.

Read it here!

[tloach]

Would you like some bread with your whine?

You point out the magician's hat is out of place in Hollywood, but are perfectly happy with a fairy-tale castle at the end of a small-town American main street? Like it or not the hat has become the symbol of the Studios, it is far more interesting and attractive than the theatre that they initially tried to make the icon.

You refer a lot to Designing Disney, but ignore that John Hench worked in high positions at Disney right up till his death in 2004, the hat went in in 2001, the book came out in 2003. He is never really negative about the theme parks in the book, the quotes you use are their guidelines. Also there are still lots of hubs in Magic Kingdom, including the one in front of the castle and the one around the Partner's statue, either of which could be referred to as the hub at the end of main street.

[stan4d_steph]

You point out the magician's hat is out of place in Hollywood, but are perfectly happy with a fairy-tale castle at the end of a small-town American main street? Like it or not the hat has become the symbol of the Studios, it is far more interesting and attractive than the theatre that they initially tried to make the icon.

I beg to differ. The hat is not the symbol of the Studios, although they certainly are trying to force it into that box. They've tried several icons over the years, and the hat is merely the latest one.

I loathe that hat. It completely ruins the effect of Hollywood Boulevard, and is just as vile as the wand was. The hat must go.

[arnoldvb]

Tom, I agree with you 100%. I've been lucky enough to have visited the WDW theme parks at least every 3-4 years since 1972, and I've seen the changes that you discuss in your article. I remember when there were lush trees at the hub, with Cinderella Castle mysteriously picking out behind them. I remember when Spaceship Earth wasn't hidden by the "tombstones" in front and all of the hanging "drapery" (and now a stage) on the Showcase Lagoon side. I remember when there was no Sorcerer's Hat (and now often another stage) in front of the beautiful Grumann's Chinese Theater. I would love for those great park icons to again be presented the way the Imagineers intended.

[DwarfPlanet]

I beg to differ. The hat is not the symbol of the Studios, although they certainly are trying to force it into that box. They've tried several icons over the years, and the hat is merely the latest one.

I loathe that hat. It completely ruins the effect of Hollywood Boulevard, and is just as vile as the wand was. The hat must go.

I totally agree, that hat just ruins the whole look of the square.

[spectromen]

Tom, all of your complaints are valid. The loss of the hub is the biggest offender of all, followed closely by the Epcot Mausoleum and the Studios Hat. Looking at the Castle from Town Square and seeing how nothing whatsoever surrounds it anymore is just horrible for the MK aesthetics.

[carolinakid]

I can understand why they added the cemetery in front of Spaceship Earth ($$$$) and the Sorcerer's Hat souvenir stand in front of Graumann's ($$$$) but what was the purpose of getting rid of the Magic Kingdom's hub???? Was it to make Cinderella Castle stand out all the more prominently seeing as it's now used more and more as a part of the "entertainment" with all the projections and lighting and transformations as at Christmastime? Just curious why they would destroy that lovely hub...

[DisneyGator]

Much to the dismay of some posters, The Hat IS the symbol of the studios. All the merchandise for all 4 parks now carry the Hat instead of the tower (which has always been hidden from over half the park). I personally love the Hat. It screams Disney to me, which the Mann did not. The real theatre area in Hollywood is actually a pretty dirty place, so if the Imagineers wanted to make it authentic, they'd need to add some drunks sleeping near the doorway. Keep The Hat. I love it - and I don't even feel like I've been to WDW until I've seen it. It's so awesome! It personifies the film-nature of Mickey, which is a credit to Imagineering.

Now for the rest of the complaints. Epcot looks really cool with the tile monoliths. You're supposed to be "transported" into Future World, right? The monoliths look very futuristic and compliment SSE, so I'd say the Imagineers actually got this one right. Not to mention that me and my wife will be pictured in my favorite park for as long as Disney ignores all the whiners and keeps them there (whiners-probably because they didn't spend the money to get their own picture on them). I hope that in 25 years I can bring my grandkids there and see the picture of how me and the wife looked when we were young.

As far as the hub in MK goes, I really did like the giant oak trees there. But I also like the look of it without them. Sure that natural feel is gone, but there are still some beautiful flower beds there. Plus the castle becomes so much more visible from Main Street, so the pictures are really great. Another plus is that you can watch Wishes and the new Magic,Memories, &You show from the hub and not have anything obscuring the view. One of the things that I didn't appreaciate about the trees was that they had the section directly beneath them fenced off. In the middle of the summer, shade is needed in that Florida heat, and all that shade did was taunt you with coolness and not provide any. And I can't remember once walking through Liberty Square and thinking, "Oh, this is terrible - I can see Tomorrowland."

I can really say that I'm on board with how the Park icons look these days. I wonder if some of you pay thousands to get into WDW and then say, "Man this place is so ugly. Just embarassing to be here." Can't wait to be there this winter and see all my favorite picture spots!

[Rich T]

Good article! Regarding the hat: I believe Disney no longer has the legal right to use Mann's Chinese Theater as a park icon. The hat was placed there to deliberately prevent the theater front from being used as a prominent photo op to avoid legal problems. So, the Chinese Theater can never return as an icon at the end of Hollywood Blvd. It would be nice if WDW would re-do the ride facade and come up with an exciting new icon for the site, but the hat's a less expensive solution, and it seems to have its own fans.

[danyoung]

The Chinese Theater legal thing has been talked about on other threads, and has been mostly debunked. I don't so much mind the hat, but I do wish it was somewhere else. There was a beauty in Hollywood Blvd. that has been cartoonized by the hat.

[arnoldvb]

The Chinese Theater legal thing has been talked about on other threads, and has been mostly debunked. I don't so much mind the hat, but I do wish it was somewhere else. There was a beauty in Hollywood Blvd. that has been cartoonized by the hat.

I agree with you completely, Dan. I don't hate the Hat, just where it's located. This park is supposed to evoke the image of Hollywood's golden age. It's now actually called "Hollywood Studios." Well, to me the Chinese Theater evoked that image of Hollywood, especially when you first entered the park and started making your way up Hollywood Boulevard. The Hat screams Disney animation. I think it would be better placed in the area just outside the entrance turnstiles.