Good or bad?
Disneyland's it's a small world ride has re-opened with the addition of some Disney characters (in the style of the classic dolls) to make the ride more fun (you're supposed to see how many you can spot). Also some movie song themes have ben woven into the classic song.
Press release with video and photos here: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/disneyland/36703/
News article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29040851/
it's a small world renovation - good or bad
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Wow, I haven't been there for almost fifteen years. I remember it being one of my least favorite rides. It was cool to see animatronics dressed up in different clothes, but that was it. I guess it does make more sense to tie the ride into their actual film properties. It might attract more people to the ride if they can advertise with known characters.
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From the article:
Man, providing all goes as planned, I was planning on going to Disneyland next month (for my b-day and all) and with this, they have seriously ruined one of things I was most looking forward to. I don't like change, plain and simple. It might not be so bad, but as of right now I'm sad they have gone through with this.
And don't get me started on the music, I think that's even more disrespectful.
I agree, what a awful, dumb decision. It was bad enough when they added Johny Depp to the Pirate ride, but this is going too far. You don't mess with something like this. I cannot put into words how disappointed by am. Why not open up a new ride and showcase these characters there? Hidden they say, but I very much doubt it.A writer on the Web site Boing Boing calls it "one of the most egregious and downright disgusting decisions" ever made by Disney.
Man, providing all goes as planned, I was planning on going to Disneyland next month (for my b-day and all) and with this, they have seriously ruined one of things I was most looking forward to. I don't like change, plain and simple. It might not be so bad, but as of right now I'm sad they have gone through with this.
And don't get me started on the music, I think that's even more disrespectful.
For some things, renovation might be a necessity.
I probably wouldn't be averse to a renovation of Tomorrowland if that hadn't already happened.
When a lot of these attractions were designed, they were planned by men who had been to art school in the 1930s and that's reflected in the attractions. There's always going to be some artistic bias reflected in the time when someone grows up and when they were taught.
For some things, the designs have endured and remained timeless. For others, they have dated badly and frankly need sprucing up.
Science fiction in general hasn't been imagined as well as other genres. I don't think it was until 1968 we truly saw a premiere science fiction movie that was futuristic AND timeless at the same time. That was 2001: A Space Odyssey. You look at the original Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers series and boy do they look hokey!
The same's generally true for the original Star Trek (although the exteriors of the main ships for the TV series have held up pretty well -- their interiors are a DIFFERENT matter). Like it or not, Star Trek had to be updated and was in the late 1970s -- Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The redesign was so successful it influenced the next 25 years of Star Trek TV series and motion pictures. That first film is still the best-looking in the entire franchise, IMHO.
(The new Star Trek feature by comparison looks poorly designed and overthought. It's a victim of "Apple Design" and Hollywood's need to reinvent the wheel to satisfy creative egos -- and line the pockets of people who general have nothing to do with the success of anything except payroll. That generally leads to disasters...)
I haven't been to A Small World in close to 30 years but as I recall some of the 1960s/1970s tech stuff definitely needed updating. Mainly Tomorrowland, though. The rest of the Walt Disney World resort was fine.
I probably wouldn't be averse to a renovation of Tomorrowland if that hadn't already happened.
When a lot of these attractions were designed, they were planned by men who had been to art school in the 1930s and that's reflected in the attractions. There's always going to be some artistic bias reflected in the time when someone grows up and when they were taught.
For some things, the designs have endured and remained timeless. For others, they have dated badly and frankly need sprucing up.
Science fiction in general hasn't been imagined as well as other genres. I don't think it was until 1968 we truly saw a premiere science fiction movie that was futuristic AND timeless at the same time. That was 2001: A Space Odyssey. You look at the original Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers series and boy do they look hokey!
The same's generally true for the original Star Trek (although the exteriors of the main ships for the TV series have held up pretty well -- their interiors are a DIFFERENT matter). Like it or not, Star Trek had to be updated and was in the late 1970s -- Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The redesign was so successful it influenced the next 25 years of Star Trek TV series and motion pictures. That first film is still the best-looking in the entire franchise, IMHO.
(The new Star Trek feature by comparison looks poorly designed and overthought. It's a victim of "Apple Design" and Hollywood's need to reinvent the wheel to satisfy creative egos -- and line the pockets of people who general have nothing to do with the success of anything except payroll. That generally leads to disasters...)
I haven't been to A Small World in close to 30 years but as I recall some of the 1960s/1970s tech stuff definitely needed updating. Mainly Tomorrowland, though. The rest of the Walt Disney World resort was fine.
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I haven't had a chance to check out the links yet, but just off the top of my head, remember that "Disneyland will never be finished". I suspect that Walt might even have scrapped Small World entirely by this time if there wasn't this historical perspective on trying to keep some of the things there as they were in Walt's day.
Honestly, the park was always intended to change, be added to, and taken away from to be replaced by something new or improved. I'm not saying the change is good or right, but that it was always destined (and intended) to happen. Who knows what crazy decisions a senile old Walt might have made in the 80s before his forced retirement?
Honestly, the park was always intended to change, be added to, and taken away from to be replaced by something new or improved. I'm not saying the change is good or right, but that it was always destined (and intended) to happen. Who knows what crazy decisions a senile old Walt might have made in the 80s before his forced retirement?