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merlinjones
05-29-2002, 07:17 AM
http://www.mouseplanet.com/more/mm020527.htm

I already opened up this topic on another thread... but what is the deal with this photo of new Pooh light posts in Critter Country?

The fixtures on this side of the park have always been period themed. This thing (and I haven't seen it in person) is a generic contemporary DCA/Disney Store level light fixture with Pooh drawings on the glass panes. It's not Song of the South southern... not 100 Acre Wood improvisational... not Northwoods Bear Country.. not anything that fits on the West Side of the park (or even in Fantasyland)... it's like a department store display!

What the hell is going on down there?... Everything that makes Disneyland work is being whittled away by tasteless marketing hacks. You see why Disneyland preservation is a better idea than letting them remake the place in their own image. This lampost in what was once an authentic Frontierland is NOT what Walt meant by Disneyland isn't completed...

Has anyone seen this in person? What do they intend the new "land" to look like... Pooh Store Country?

tabacco
05-29-2002, 11:29 AM
Um... I suspect that the lamppost in question is over at the meet n' greet, not throughout the land. I don't think they'll replace the lanterns anytime soon.

merlinjones
05-29-2002, 12:24 PM
>>Um... I suspect that the lamppost in question is over at the meet n' greet, not throughout the land. I don't think they'll replace the lanterns anytime soon.<<

Design wise, that thing belongs nowhere in DL. The kids can see Pooh and Tigger just fine without a "blue light special" sign.

tabacco
05-29-2002, 01:17 PM
I didn't even think it looked that bad, to be honest.

merlinjones
05-29-2002, 03:36 PM
>>I didn't even think it looked that bad, to be honest.<<

Ugh! It's not period! Disneyland is not Magic Mountain.

Soon the whole park will look like Club Buzz, a junk strewn merchandisekin garage sale. All because marketing hacks don't know the difference - - leave it to real Hollywood art directors and set decorators and artists and craftsmen to design these details, not the consumer products division.

Restore Walt's vision to his historical park!

DisneylandBoy
05-29-2002, 05:16 PM
I agree with tabacco. I thought the light fixture was pretty cool. Merlinjones, you need to stop the bitterness. The light fixtures aren't that big of a deal - especially since they are pretty. I don't think they are going to replace every light fixture in Disneyland. So just take a breath and calm down. Everything's going to be ok.

Mr. D. Duck
05-29-2002, 05:32 PM
Originally posted by DisneylandBoy
I agree with tabacco. I thought the light fixture was pretty cool. Merlinjones, you need to stop the bitterness. The light fixtures aren't that big of a deal - especially since they are pretty. I don't think they are going to replace every light fixture in Disneyland. So just take a breath and calm down. Everything's going to be ok. Hm... I think that was a little harsh.

I agree completely with merlinjones. I think that "Pooh" lights in Critter Country are unacceptable---they ruin the theming. I do, however, think they are OK if they are only in the character meet n' greet area.

marron-cream
05-29-2002, 07:21 PM
Originally posted by DisneylandBoy
The light fixtures aren't that big of a deal - especially since they are pretty. I don't think they are going to replace every light fixture in Disneyland. So just take a breath and calm down. Everything's going to be ok.

That kind of apathy is what the suits are hoping for. The Disney Store is decorated 'pretty' too. I don't want to see it in Disneyland though. Call me crazy, but there's something charming about designs exclusive to a land, as opposed to slapping some characters on an object and calling it theming.

Tigertail777
05-29-2002, 07:58 PM
I like the drawings on the side that fits the area, but the post and metallic holder (painted in a nauseating yellow) do not. I would say keep the glass panes, and ditch the rest...no reason they couldn't retrofit those panes in a more authentic square lantern, and what would really set it off would be to have a gas flame instead of electric bulbs (or at least those neat flame bulbs they use in HM). For the most part I agree with merlinjones... they really need to stop tinkering with the theming if they don't know what they are doing. My history of material culture teacher would have been absolutely horrified at this sight, and after taking three semesters of that class, frankly I am too, it is called a theme park for a reason: it has a THEME.

peasy
05-29-2002, 08:42 PM
This section of the park will soon house a new Winnie the Pooh ride, and therefore this light will be themed in it's new home. If you don't like that, well that is your opinion. Let it go. It is a light. At least it isn't some cheapo K-mart tract light. Give them some room to explore. I like the thought of having a few different charms here and there, instead of having everything follow a "pattern", i.e. all the lights in one land looking exactly the same. Wait until the new Critter Country opens in Spring "03" and then make a judgement, until then, everything may be temporary anyway.

merlinjones
05-29-2002, 08:54 PM
It looks like a Kmart light to me. It is not a themed period lamp, it is a lamp with a pictorial theme. There is a huge difference.

"I see what I eat is not the same thing as I eat what I see" - Lewis Carroll

Lost Boy
05-29-2002, 10:06 PM
I hate Pooh.

WHY?

First: He is replacing Mickey Mouse as the company icon and he wasn't even created by Disney, he is a bought and kept tramp.

Second: They took out Mr. Toad at WDW Maigic Kingdom to put Pooh in.

Third (AND WORST): They took out Country Bears to put in a little, stinky yellow pile of Pooh.

To much Pooh. I hated him/it before, but now I will never set foot in Critter Country again!!!:mad:

I hope with all my heart that Disney looses the law suit and looses all rights to merchandise Pooh. That would be poetic justice!

Uncle Dick
05-30-2002, 04:23 PM
I saw the fixture up close yesterday, and I honestly don't think it looks that bad. Sure it's a little misplaced out in front of Teddi Barra's place, but if the rumors of an imminent Pooh take over are true, that shouldn't be a problem for much longer…

Pony Sugrue
05-30-2002, 04:43 PM
"Marty" private messaged me to tell me that he prefers the "POOH lamps" over the old ones. Go figure. JUST KIDDING!!

Yeah, that POOH Seems to be taking over everything like STARBUCKS. Even though it did kill the "Country Bears", and it is the cheap version (definitly not TOKYO's and not even WDW's with the bounce part), it will be majorly popular. The one in WDW is always one of the most crowded things down there. I was depressed to see this because its success made sure Disney had no financial regrets about "gigging" TOAD in WDW.

At least as a new attraction, this will be incredibly popular (though not with me). I just hate to see anything go... especially when there are so many other places to put POOH.

Why they did this when the "Country Bears" movie is coming out is beyond...

ChipmunkStar
05-30-2002, 06:23 PM
Ha ha, I thought I'd seen it all, and then I stumble across an arguement aout a single light fixture. ONE LIGHT people! Let's see. . . A Winnie the Pooh meet and greet location is rght next to that light post, a Winnie the Pooh Store is right next to that light post, and a Winnie the Pooh Attration will be opening right near that light post.

OH MY GOSH THE HUMANITY! It's SO out of theme! I request,no,I DEMAND! that this insanity is stopped! The theme for one ingle light post may not be harmed! I will run around Disneyland in a cape to protect the park of these unspeakable horrors! This injustice cannot last! Let's have a protest! Who wants to draw the flyers? With Pooh and arrows through his forehead?

I mean honestly people. . . This is what it sounds like. One light post near the attractions it is themed to? In the words of one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches, "SIMMA DOWN NOW!"

Uncle Dick
05-30-2002, 07:42 PM
Originally posted by ChipmunkStar
I mean honestly people. . . This is what it sounds like. One light post near the attractions it is themed to? In the words of one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches, "SIMMA DOWN NOW!"
Yeah, I'm kind of with you here. I think the "outrage" over the light post has a lot more to do with animosity against the "Pooh invasion" as a whole than with any single Pooh-themed element. At this point, Critter Country is such a mess theming-wise (Davy Crockett vs. Country Bears vs. Song of South vs. Pooh) that I think a single light fixture is the least of its worries.

[Edit: Just for reference, here's (http://home.pacbell.net/jonvn/bc2.jpg) a picture featuring the "old" Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade fixture.]

Ace
05-30-2002, 07:51 PM
ok, I can see where merlinjones is coming from... this IS disneyland. It's not 6 flags, where 'theming' is a couple of bulidings that look like they're from another era. If this happens throughout the park........ it can't. It just can't.

Morrigoon
05-30-2002, 10:43 PM
The point is... it's NEVER ...JUST...ONE... fixture. It's "let's put in a fry cart, wait til they've accepted it, then replace Harbor Galley with a McDonald's." It sounds silly to have this amount of outrage over a single light fixture until you realize it's almost always the beginning of something worse - Imagine critter country being turned into a canary-yellow toontown of a Pooh land. Or worse... a Pooh store that happens to have a Pooh ride shoehorned into it. Okay, my language is a little strong in describing this one... but the essential argument is this: if they can slip in one cheap ugly yellow lamp (I do like the glass panes but the fixture? UGHH!), then they can continue slipping in generic stuff like that, paint a character on it and call it themed. That's DCA... they're turning DL into DCA!:( Imagine they decide that the wood stick-looking chairs in Hungry bear are getting old... they replace them with common metal chairs painted yellow and stenciled with Pooh and call it a day.

It's never just ONE fixture....

Nigel2
05-30-2002, 10:47 PM
It's like the domino effect but with set pieces.:D

merlinjones
05-31-2002, 07:57 AM
Morigoon relayed my fears accurately:

Canary yellow Poohland with generic fixtures stamped with little Pooh trademark drawings - - call it Camp Pooh-py. It the concept of "creep". Once a small infraction on quality or tradition becomes accepted it nearly always becomes the new acceptable (lower) touchstone.

This is the recnt history of the downgrading of the Disney Company - - how we reached unacceptable levels of maintenence at the parks, how treatment of staff deteriorated, and how we went from Fluppy Dogs (cheap TV animation, but not with Disney characters) to DuckTales (cheap TV animation with Disney characters, but not feature characters) to Aladdin TV show (cheap animation of newer feature characters) to proposed video sequels to Snow White (cheap animation of classic characters - - something management once swore would never happen).

A minor gripe on the surface, but after all its a Step in the Wrong Direction...

WDWalways
05-31-2002, 12:19 PM
.... why the haters of this new "Pooh" light fixture are so certain it was cheaply made??!!?? How do you know it didn't cost quite a bit of money?? Just because you think it's ugly and/or tacky and out of theme with the area it's in doesn't mean they put it together for a buck and a quarter --- but yet again, these are the people who call a park that cost almost a billion dollars to build and is continuing to grow -- more dollars being spent -- cheap and tacky. What can you do??!!?? :rolleyes:

Tigertail777
05-31-2002, 12:48 PM
To me it doesn't matter what was spent on the thing, whether it was expensive, or cheap it is tacky and tasteless. The main gripe to me is that thing was approved of at all, because Disney in the past has always been so careful with every tiny detail of their theming, and if this is one tiny detail, then I hate to see the finished product. They used to have people in theming that would very carefully choose things based on aesthetics, and colors. Any first year art student will tell you that you must use yellow, and particularly this shade of yellow very sparingly--why? because anyone standing next to the color tends to have a jaundiced sick look to their face. I am not kidding they really stress to not use huge amounts of yellow in anything because it tends to make people feel physically ill... their have been many color tests done by many people in the past and this has been proven: Disney should really know better. But you say this is one yellow pole it can't hurt anything --think of it as a peek into the entire color scheme of the area, and then think about the kind of half-assed work they are doing compared to Walt's day where every nitpicking detail was scrutinized: you think WE are being picky about a lightpole? you havn't heard some of the stories about how picky uncle Walt was---sheesh he could give you heart attack with his pickiness. Now lets take this into perspective shall we? A new pooh ride is going in where there already was a viable attraction (country bears) pooh could have been easily been put somewhere closer to fantasyland, on top of this tomorrowland is being outright ignored (how many working rides constitute a land anyway?) unless you count the floating garbage lagoon as an attraction, and the rocket without rods attraction... other things in Disneyland needed TLC from the budget before pooh should have ever been put on the drawing board. The lightpole is just a thermometer in the mouth of Disneyland indicating its growing sickness. I beleive things can still be turned around, and made right but only when management admits they have made a mistake or two and I don't know if they are yet willing.

tinkfreak
05-31-2002, 02:02 PM
I don't know why you guys are acting like this is something new. I hope you freaked out 10 times as much when Pooh Corner replaced Crocodile Mercantile. The store has been there for years! It didn't make sense to have the arcade light fixture there anymore (no arcade, no CB's), so what fit in it's place? Well gee, it is right outside of a Pooh shop...

Calm down people. And for the record, I also hate Pooh. But let's not act like his invasion just happened. It's been happening for years.

Tigertail777
05-31-2002, 02:56 PM
Crocodile Mercantile is gone???? crap. If I would have known about it I definately would have complained louder, but finding info like this on Disney parks hadn't been very easy until the advent of the internet, and I am still relatively new to the net, so am just now discovering some of the changes. So this pooh invasion thing is new to me, and probably other people who had no way to keep in touch with the park. I like pooh, but he is getting just too darn popular, and I don't think it shows much forsight on Disney's part to simply cash in on popularity, and not be constantly on the look out for new things the way Walt did. Pooh is beginning to overshadow Mickey and for the life of me I can't figure why--they both have the same inoffensive type personality (at least the current Mickey does) dunno I don't get it. I kind of hope that Disney loses the pooh lawsuit so they don't go around on the crutches of pooh anymore (besides it just isn't right what they are doing to the heirs). But that is my opinion.

MonorailMan
05-31-2002, 04:15 PM
Originally posted by Tigertail777
Pooh is beginning to overshadow Mickey

Example of this: Pooh meet 'n' greet had about 20 kids waiting, Mickey on Main Street maybe had 5. :(