I met someone today (in her 20s) who grew up thinking [Walt] Disney World was it, and when she did learn of Disneyland, thought it had opened after WDW! I was so stunned I didn't even correct her nomenclature!
One of my favorite pastimes at Disneyland is eavesdropping (shhhh, don't tell anyone).
Of course, you get wrong attraction names (Haunted House). Wrong branding (I actually heard somebody say Barbies Castle) and east/west flip-flop. (Two teenage boys didn't want to go on Indy because they thought it was a stage show.
But, like you, I've also heard the "which Park came first" argument. That one always leaves me puzzled.
It's just a matter of time before the crowds start to believe that Walt Disney is another non-existent corporate mascot like Mrs. Butterworth or Uncle Ben.
When I was at Hong Kong Disneyland last July, the cast members there were amazing!.....like Disneyland CMs of the 70's and 80's --their training must have been great. One friendly girl was asking me where I was from.....I said Los Angeles and she asked if I had been to (HK) Disneyland before.I mention that week was my first, but I go to the original Disneyland all the time. She and some of the other castmembers were AMAZED to learn there was another Disneyland outside of Hong Kong!!! I expalined there were even other parks and that HK DL was the newest. I mentioned that I worked for Disney for 13 years and the ORIGINAL opening in 1955. THEN, the HK DL cms were AMAZED at how young looking I was!!......after the fact it dawned on me and my friend that they thought I worked at Disneyland in 1955 for 13 years!!!
Ouch! As a Disneylander, I'm amazed at the misinformation I run across sometimes. Today's young people are not necessarily history buffs to say the least. Still, even basic pop culture followers have to know that Disneyland is the original, the first, the "Big D," the theme park that started modern American theme parks, etc., etc. It's a shame a lot of folks are missing out on elements of the Park that have gone to "Yesterland." The whole realm of Tomorrowland, for example, is utterly different today than in the mid-80s. I'm sure there are folks who wander into post-Eisner Tomorrowland and wonder why in the heck they constructed that enormous round, rotating building for "Innoventions." And what is that raised track that splits Tomorrowland in two near the entrance? Or that wacky satellite dish scuplture thingy on top of that round building in the middle of Tomorrowland---what the heck is THAT all about? How about that building above the Mod Hatter and those holes in the middle of the Matterhorn---or that cute little chalet tucked behind the fir trees in Fantasyland? Why would Disney build those structures and then just "hide" them in the background?
One more: were small towns in turn of the Century America really just one, big, connected shopping mall of Disney merchandise??
O.K., I'm done for now, but there are other like-minded folk over at "Reimagineering.blogspot.com," so check out their site. I could go on and on...
One of my favorite pastimes at Disneyland is eavesdropping (shhhh, don't tell anyone).
ReplyDeleteOf course, you get wrong attraction names (Haunted House). Wrong branding (I actually heard somebody say Barbies Castle) and east/west flip-flop. (Two teenage boys didn't want to go on Indy because they thought it was a stage show.
But, like you, I've also heard the "which Park came first" argument. That one always leaves me puzzled.
It's just a matter of time before the crowds start to believe that Walt Disney is another non-existent corporate mascot like Mrs. Butterworth or Uncle Ben.
ReplyDeleteDuh... everyone knows the first Disneyland was in Tokyo... How stupid can you get? ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at Hong Kong Disneyland last July, the cast members there were amazing!.....like Disneyland CMs of the 70's and 80's --their training must have been great. One friendly girl was asking me where I was from.....I said Los Angeles and she asked if I had been to (HK) Disneyland before.I mention that week was my first, but I go to the original Disneyland all the time. She and some of the other castmembers were AMAZED to learn there was another Disneyland outside of Hong Kong!!! I expalined there were even other parks and that HK DL was the newest. I mentioned that I worked for Disney for 13 years and the ORIGINAL opening in 1955. THEN, the HK DL cms were AMAZED at how young looking I was!!......after the fact it dawned on me and my friend that they thought I worked at Disneyland in 1955 for 13 years!!!
ReplyDelete-Mike Cozart
TOMORROWLOUNGE 67
Ouch! As a Disneylander, I'm amazed at the misinformation I run across sometimes. Today's young people are not necessarily history buffs to say the least. Still, even basic pop culture followers have to know that Disneyland is the original, the first, the "Big D," the theme park that started modern American theme parks, etc., etc. It's a shame a lot of folks are missing out on elements of the Park that have gone to "Yesterland." The whole realm of Tomorrowland, for example, is utterly different today than in the mid-80s. I'm sure there are folks who wander into post-Eisner Tomorrowland and wonder why in the heck they constructed that enormous round, rotating building for "Innoventions." And what is that raised track that splits Tomorrowland in two near the entrance? Or that wacky satellite dish scuplture thingy on top of that round building in the middle of Tomorrowland---what the heck is THAT all about? How about that building above the Mod Hatter and those holes in the middle of the Matterhorn---or that cute little chalet tucked behind the fir trees in Fantasyland? Why would Disney build those structures and then just "hide" them in the background?
ReplyDeleteOne more: were small towns in turn of the Century America really just one, big, connected shopping mall of Disney merchandise??
O.K., I'm done for now, but there are other like-minded folk over at "Reimagineering.blogspot.com," so check out their site. I could go on and on...