PDA

View Full Version : MSEP: Am I The Only One...



Permanecer Sentados
07-05-2001, 12:31 PM
...who isn't as helplessly giddy as everyone with the parade's return?

I mean, I grew up with the parade, I loved the parade, and I cherish all the memories the parade has given me.

BUT, greedy heathen that I am, I wish they hadn't brought it back. I was in the park at the "last" MSEP. I was at the Small World end, and was singing "Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey Goodbye" while holding up a lighter and sharing memories with all those present. More than a few tears were shed as well.

Now I feel like my memories are sullied by MSEP's return. I can no longer say I was at the "last" run. My commemorative limited edition cards and my other final season MSEP memorabilia are now rendered worthless. They may as well be Light Magic items.

Gemini Cricket
07-05-2001, 12:58 PM
I think it is thrilling to see the MSEP return. It will be odd seeing it anywhere else but Main Street however...

Kevin Yee
07-05-2001, 01:10 PM
Light Magic items will someday be quite valuable on the collector's market - hold on to them.

I for one hate the MSEP, but that's probably because I saw the parade too many times. A decade of that music will beat the child out of anyone :)

Permanecer Sentados
07-05-2001, 01:19 PM
Originally posted by Kevin Yee
Light Magic items will someday be quite valuable on the collector's market - hold on to them.

Are you being facetious?

To me, that sounds something along the lines of, "Hold on to that Milli Vanilli LP. It might fetch a pretty penny someday."

BTW, I enjoy your columns immensely.

Disneyfreak500
07-05-2001, 01:40 PM
Too bad I didn't buy an item, but i only buy items for things I like.

Ralph Wiggum
07-05-2001, 02:32 PM
Whats with Disneyfreak500's info(the post above this one)? It says he registered in december of 1969 and he has no post count...am i the only one who see's this?

Permanecer Sentados
07-05-2001, 02:47 PM
he is l33t haXOr

Kevin Yee
07-05-2001, 02:54 PM
Nope, wasn't being facetious. I challenge you to show me the collectables from the Art Corner, Space Station X-1, Bathroom of the Future, the Mickey Mouse Club Circus (I think it was called that), or Phantom Boats.

These were all considered failures in their day. Note, however, that any of us would love to get any of said merchandise. Nobody buys the losers at the time, that's why the merchandise for it (eventually) becomes expensive.

Granted, LM was a special case - there was a LOT of merch that went unsold and ended up at the discount places.

Still, the same could be said for Nightmare before Xmas, and look at how expensive that stuff is. It's about to get MORE expensive due to the HM facelift, too.

And yes, for what it's worth, I think a Milli Vanilli album on vinyl might actually be worth money by 2050. No one will own vinyl anyway, let alone one from a band that created a stir, was exposed as a fraud and created an even bigger stir, then was forgotten and made the butt of jokes. Historians and cultural critics collect *everything*, not just the Lincoln American flags (sorry, current events reference)

Permanecer Sentados
07-05-2001, 03:33 PM
Interesting points you raise. (Did that sound a little Yoda-esque?) I contend that the examples you provided did not fail anywhere near as badly as LM. LM was so shamelessly plugged as the next big thing, and so incessantly promoted through merchandise, media events, and advertising, that expectations were unattainably high. It was destined to fail from the start. And fail it did.

IMHO, the failures of DL's early years are forgivable to the extent that it was still somewhat of a novelty. Management was still tinkering with how to market DL, media exposure was nowhere near as pervasive as it is today, guest expectations were nowhere near as high as today. There was no real reference point to compare these "failures" to. However, through years of trial and error, DL became the standard for all theme parks to follow. LM destroyed this standard and became a microcosm of DL's recent (and numerous) failings.

What does all this have to do with LM merchandise? I don't see the demand for LM memorabilia being very high. Demand for items from the failed attractions/shows you mentioned is probably high because they come from DL's golden age. People want stuff that Walt was "responsible" for. I don't think the same can be said of Herr Eisner.

Incidentally, the reason I brought up the Milli Vanilli LP was that I had a copy of it my senior year in High School and I volunteered it to be buried in our class time capsule to be opened in the year 2091. Did I throw away $$$?

Did that make any sense at all?

Kevin Yee
07-05-2001, 04:29 PM
I don't think there is any such thing as a "Golden Age" of anything. I can guarantee you that those at DL's opening were basically the same people as us, with the same range of purists, devotees, critics, detrators, and hopeless romantics. No one realizes they are in a so-called golden age until years later.

LM was a failure, and a spectacular one. So was the Phantom Boats. It's for this reason I'm so adamant about getting pictures and collectables from Superstar Limo. It won't be there forever, at least not in this current state.

Did you throw away money? Probably not a lot. But a vinyl album in 2091 probably will be worth more, by then. Mind you, humans have become better at archiving their past in the last 100 years or so, and arguably we get better all the time, at least as far as information goes (the invention of the database will go down as the true lasting legacy of the Computer Age, in terms of altering mankind and how we deal with the world around us). OK this is getting far off topic.

Down with the DEP! :)

cstephens
07-06-2001, 09:20 AM
Originally posted by Permanecer Sentados
Now I feel like my memories are sullied by MSEP's return. I can no longer say I was at the "last" run. My commemorative limited edition cards and my other final season MSEP memorabilia are now rendered worthless.

People in other forums have made this similar comment, and I must say it puzzles me to no end. I don't understand how your memories can be sullied by the existence of a different thing. You *were* there on the last run, at least unless and until they bring MSEP back to DL. Even if (and when) they bring DEP to DL, it won't be the same. It's not going to change what happened before, and I would think that the MSEP merchandise would be worth more now because it's very obvious that such merchandise was from during the parade's original run. Nothing like second and third editions to make the first edition more valuable.

amynicole22
07-06-2001, 09:42 AM
Originally posted by cstephens


I don't understand how your memories can be sullied by the existence of a different thing. You *were* there on the last run, at least unless and until they bring MSEP back to DL.

I, for one, just feel like a rube. I actually believed them when they said the MSEP was "glowing away forever." Apparently, forever now means, "until we need to use it to make money." My family went and stood with the insane crowds the last month it was there, believing that we would never see it again. They made such a BIG deal about it, with all this merchandise, and selling off the light bulbs, etc., etc. They made you believe that you were part of a very special event, just by being there - the final run of a classic parade.

And now it's back, not on Main Street, but it's still back - which, marketing-wise, was a stroke of genius. Now they can not only pack bodies into DCA, they can sell all new kinds of merchandise - because it's a "very special event." I just feel stupid for buying into their marketing schtick 5 years ago. Kind of dirty, you know, like I've been used. Sullied, perhaps? ;) Shame on me for being so gullible.

And definitely hang on to the "first edition" merchandise. Kevin's right - items like that are way more valuable when the new stuff comes out. The "original" always seems to fetch a better price. Might as well make some money off of them - they made plenty off of you.

cstephens
07-06-2001, 01:19 PM
Originally posted by amynicole22
I actually believed them when they said the MSEP was "glowing away forever." Apparently, forever now means, "until we need to use it to make money." My family went and stood with the insane crowds the last month it was there, believing that we would never see it again. They made such a BIG deal about it, with all this merchandise, and selling off the light bulbs, etc., etc. They made you believe that you were part of a very special event, just by being there - the final run of a classic parade.

And now it's back, not on Main Street, but it's still back - which, marketing-wise, was a stroke of genius. Now they can not only pack bodies into DCA, they can sell all new kinds of merchandise - because it's a "very special event." I just feel stupid for buying into their marketing schtick 5 years ago.

Did you have these feelings when the parade showed up at WDW or overseas?

amynicole22
07-06-2001, 01:47 PM
Originally posted by cstephens


Did you have these feelings when the parade showed up at WDW or overseas?

I thought about this very issue after I posted, and I honestly, I can't say that I had hard feelings when the parade appeared in other parks. My main loyalty is to Disneyland itself, as opposed to the rest of the company. In my mind, the Disney company could do whatever it wanted, I was (and still am) only emotionally invested in Disneyland. My understanding, even at the time, was that they were retiring it permanently from Disneyland specifically (which I suppose is technically still true), not from rotation in the rest of the parks. Since I rarely visit any park other than DL, it didn't really bother me that they were showcasing the parade at WDW, etc. I was actually kind of glad that folks who frequent the other parks had a chance to see it, since it had run its course over here. MSEP had a great 24 year run at DL, and honestly, I was ready for something new.

I'm upset because I believed the spin doctors when they said "forever." To me, "forever" doesn't mean 5 years - it's a heavier word with a heavier meaning. I mean, really - they sold the lightbulbs! You can't get any more final than that. And now, to bring it back to the same audience under the guise of nostalgia, i.e. "A California Original," is just insulting. It may be a different park, but it's not entirely a different group of people. I'm upset more at myself than at Disney. I'm upset that I bought into their hype.

Napsto
07-06-2001, 03:31 PM
ralph i saw it too