"Minusing"

[elvistelth]

i was told that it was put there for a reason other than the hat being a symbol of the park... if you remember back in the early days, many of the t-shirts and memorabilia used the chinese theater as a sort of icon. (that and the water tower) apparantly the Grauman family sued the Disney company saying that it is making money using their theater as an icon... Disney must have lost, and as a result had to actually obscure the view of the theater from the entrance...

thus the mickey hat replaced the theater as the main park icon...

weird isnt it...?

If that is accurate, the bandaid approach they chose to fix the problem is very lazy.

[WDW4Ever]

I'd rather have a bandaid I think than completely get rid of the Great Movie Ride Chinese Theater motif

[Dizisit]

I agree. Geez, I'd even settle for fake but realistic oak trees...they would never grow so there would be no problems. Disney has shown they are capable of pulling this off (Swiss Family, AK Tree of Life) it's just laziness or cheapness that kept it from happening.

Same thing I was thinkin' about the "Imagineering trees", then I got to your post!
No trimming or watering needed...!
I'll bet some of it had to do with viewing "Wishes" from that area, too...?!

[Dizisit]

I did not notice if anyone mentioned the reasoning behind why the sorcerer mickey hat is there...

but....

i was told that it was put there for a reason other than the hat being a symbol of the park... if you remember back in the early days, many of the t-shirts and memorabilia used the chinese theater as a sort of icon. (that and the water tower) apparantly the Grauman family sued the Disney company saying that it is making money using their theater as an icon... Disney must have lost, and as a result had to actually obscure the view of the theater from the entrance...

thus the mickey hat replaced the theater as the main park icon...

weird isnt it...?

I was just getting ready to post that info as well, but read ahead just in case someone else already had, and sure 'nuff...!

[Dizisit]

I've also heard rumors that the hat was only a "temporary" fix until they could come up with a better solution. "Temporary" being a very relative term here.

[elvistelth]

I'd rather have a bandaid I think than completely get rid of the Great Movie Ride Chinese Theater motif

Agreed, but couldn't they modify the theatre a little so it wouldn't look too much like Grauman's?

[HauntedGabe]

I did not notice if anyone mentioned the reasoning behind why the sorcerer mickey hat is there...

but....

i was told that it was put there for a reason other than the hat being a symbol of the park... if you remember back in the early days, many of the t-shirts and memorabilia used the chinese theater as a sort of icon. (that and the water tower) apparantly the Grauman family sued the Disney company saying that it is making money using their theater as an icon... Disney must have lost, and as a result had to actually obscure the view of the theater from the entrance...

thus the mickey hat replaced the theater as the main park icon...

weird isnt it...?

They could have choosen something that didn't obstruct to be the icon.
The Mickey Water Tower? How 'bout that.

Agreed, but couldn't they modify the theatre a little so it wouldn't look too much like Grauman's?

Bet the imagineers would if the bean counters allowed.

[elvistelth]

Bet the imagineers would if the bean counters allowed.

I think that is the essence of why things at WDW have been on the decline over the last few years.

[GirlStar613]

I too remember MGM when it first opened and still refer to it as MGM. I really really really hate that hat! Reading the explanation of why they needed a new icon I still believe Disney could have come up with something better. At least they could have created something less obtrusive and more stylistically in tune with the park. It looks to me like they just plunked in down, wiped their hands and walked away. Ok, that's my two cents and I'll just remember to breathe now. Haha...

[ashleighbass06]

They could have choosen something that didn't obstruct to be the icon.
The Mickey Water Tower? How 'bout that.

I think the purpose is that the theater is not the first thing you see in the park. It is almost impossible to get a photo of the theater now, especially from straight ahead.

[elvistelth]

Remember the House of Magic?

[elvistelth]

Shopping in the Magic Kingdom used to be a unique experience. There used to be themed shops that sold items which were exclusive to WDW. The House of Magic was one of those places. It sold tricks, and jokes, and other cool things. They now sell t-shirts and stuffed animals in that space...just like the kind you can get in the mall near your house. Merchandising is also subject to minusing.

[JNota0005DakMC]

Yeh... I remember these days... before they really made the emporium take up almost all of the one side of Main Street... now it's like going to the World of Disney at the DDM... i think it's ridiculous...

[HauntedGabe]

And that laps right into DownTown Disney

The original Disney Village MarketPlace had wonderful, original shops.
It was quaint and relaxing. A gourmet shop where you could grab wine and cheese and plop on the grass under a tree. Calming rustic brown decor outside all the shops. A place to get away from the hype.

I borrowed these from Big Brian NC. I've got to learn how to scan my old photographs!


The empress Lilly, before they sold off Walt's Wife's name sake for $$.

Even with what is left, you get this:

[elvistelth]

If you are interested in what Downtown Disney used to be read this excellent article by Foxxfur:Passport to Dreams Old & New: WDW Village