How does that old saying go?
“Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine…”
Now anyone who’s spent a considerable amount of time around me will certainly vouch that I’m not exactly a huge fan of change, but at least I’m getting better … I think. My biggest culprit in this corner, of course, is food because while sure, there might very well be a whole plethora of new tastes and flavors out there just waiting to cross my palate, often too many times it’s just easier for me to go with an old and faithful standby than to risk going hungry that night because what sounded good on the menu just didn’t cut the mustard when it was actually brought to the table!
But then again, some of my current favorite dishes would’ve never found their way into my world had I not taken a bit of risk here and there, so I digress – change can be good.
As of late we’ve been seeing a lot of changes around Walt Disney World and frankly, a lot of guests up in arms for those same reasons – there are talks of revamping or updating classic Disney attractions and critics simply aren’t interested. They’d prefer to walk through the parks as they were when each first opened, and while I can appreciate the nostalgia to some extent, I’m not sure if that’s the best approach both in terms of running Walt Disney World as a business and also simply in maintaining that entertainment factor to keep guests coming back year after year…
I actually started thinking about this topic when I read about the talks of adding some of the classic Disney characters to the It’s a Small World… attraction over at Disneyland in California and the veritable uproar that it’s caused across the Internet. Allegedly during some recent downtime, Disney Imagineering began staking out key areas to integrate some of the other Disney franchises into the existing attraction, such as adding Stitch to the Hawaiian scene, Belle to Paris, and so forth. And while I’m not entirely crazy about these specific updates if they were to come to fruition, I think at this point I’m more concerned about the unwavering clinginess to “Classic Disney,” as it were, that is oddly showing up on both sides of the table.
The perfect parallel to this, in my opinion, is the Great Wand Debate of 2007, in which last year for Epcot’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, Sorcerer Mickey’s wand that had been towering over Spaceship Earth since the Millennium Celebration back in 2000 was finally removed some seven years later, and arguably for more than a handful, said removal came about seven years late to their liking. And this is one instance where I find myself on the other side of the line in that, I actually liked the wand! I really only started frequenting Walt Disney World since I moved down to Florida in 2003, so I guess I sort of became accustomed to the wand and thought it added a sort of magically whimsy to an otherwise technological and history-based park. It was a reminder to me that we were still in one of Mickey’s parks and it showed up great in photos if you were patient enough, but alas, nostalgia overtook enough of the popular vote across WDI and they opted to restore Spaceship Earth to its former, non-magical glory.
To me, it just looks like a giant golf ball again, but I suppose you can’t win ‘em all, eh?
But I guess the point is that at least for seven years, the wand was up there sparkling proudly – they tried something different, but it just didn’t take off with the right people. That’s one of the things that I’ve always taken away from the various books that I’ve read about Walt Disney himself – he was always trying new things and experimenting to see what worked and what didn’t – really, how else are you ever going to know?!
“Disneyland will never be complete as long as there is imagination in the world.”
And at least when I look back over the changes that I’ve personally experienced, while they might not all have been spot-on, I think for the most part they’ve all been steps forward and that certainly counts for something!
Stitch’s Great Escape replacing Alien Encounter (Tomorrowland – Magic Kingdom)
Now it’s hard to believe that this one is even on my list, much less my very first one, but while Stitch isn’t exactly a must-ride for me every single visit, it only took me one ride on Alien Encounter to know that I’d never ride it again. Color me a wuss, but the thing was just far too scary for any Disney park – the kind of attraction I’d expect at Universal Studios.
Soarin’ replacing Food Rocks (The Land Pavilion – Epcot)
I fondly remembered all of that singing food from my childhood and would’ve liked to revisit them as an adult, but you can’t deny that Soarin’ is probably the best attraction in the park.
At some point we can go Soarin' OVER some fruit if it makes you feel any better...
Pirates of the Caribbean upgraded with Jack Sparrow appearances (Adventureland – Magic Kingdom)
This one was probably the most impressive of all to me simply because I think it’s cool how the attraction came full circle, first inspiring a movie (that didn’t suck, mind you!), and then later being updated to include popular tie-ins from said movie. The new additions offer a trio of nice vignettes for those paying attention without “ruining the classic experience” along the way – nice job, indeed!
The Living Seas upgraded to The Seas with Nemo and Friends (The Seas Pavilion – Epcot)
I know – I miss the Hydrolators just as much as the next guy, but you just can’t deny how cool the effect at the end of your trip into the aquarium is when we see Nemo & friends “swimming” right along with all of the other fish in that 4.5 million gallon tank! Not to mention the new themeing throughout the queue line is awesome – this one was an easy improvement.
The Haunted Mansion upgraded with new special effects (Liberty Square – Magic Kingdom)
Honestly I hadn’t rode The Haunted Mansion in quite a while before the new effects were put into place, so it was admittedly kind of hard to actually pinpoint exactly what all of the new upgrades even were! Nonetheless, the new stairs room (a la M.C. Escher) is very cool, indeed, and the crystal ball room is definitely sweeter than ever.
Think of all the ghouls and ghosts that we'd have missed out on if The Haunted Mansion hadn't received a well-executed touch-up last year...
SOMEBODY out there might enjoy Lights, Motors, Action! ... maybe?
So that’s almost half a dozen changes across the largest resort area in the world, and while no, it doesn’t include some of the blunders such as the Lights, Motors, Action! Stunt show or those lackluster ride upgrades for Spaceship Earth, it’s certainly not a full list of all of the positive improvements we’ve seen, either (i.e. the new games added to the end of the Spaceship Earth exit area). The point is two-fold – first of all, we as guests have to come to terms with the idea that in being an entity that sees nearly 50 million people each year, that’s a diverse enough group where you’re never going to please all of us at the same time. Case in point is my beloved wand from Epcot – while most people seemed to think that it needed to exit stage right as soon as humanly possible, there are still a thriving handful of us who actually liked the wand and were sad to see it go. Same with folks that actually enjoy Lights, Motors, Action!, think Judi Dench provides a better narration to Spaceship Earth than Jeremy Irons, and so forth. Unfortunately, we’re not all going to be absolutely thrilled with every single new change that comes to the World, which is all the more reason that my second point is so important.
We have to allow Disney Imagineering the ability to try new things and explore areas that have yet to be introduced into the parks – it’s what Walt always preached and it’s truly what Disney’s parks as a whole need to continue their reign at the top of their industry. Each of the parks must continue to evolve and grow to attract new guests, otherwise eventually all you’re going to have left are nostalgic adults wandering around a museum and that’s certainly not what Walt intended for these parks. Change is inevitable, and some “upgrades” are certainly going to sail better than others, but if we don’t allow Disney the freedom to change things up from time to time and take those chances, eventually “classic” attractions is all that they’ll have left and like it or not, more is needed to keep those turnstiles moving day in and day out…
And believe you me, it’s certainly not easy for yours truly at times to accept, either – I guess it’s just human nature that we allow ourselves to get so attached to the things that we love, we forget that sometimes change isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. Food Rocks was great, as much as I can remember from over ten years ago, anyways, but to not have to hop a flight to California simply to take a ride on Soarin’ – it’s a sacrifice for progress that I’m more than willing to make! Just remember, you may not care for Disney’s latest “enhancements” to the parks, but for all you know, the person next to you might find their new favorite attraction in such a change – it’s all subjective, and at the end of the day, we just have to have a little faith in Walt’s people that they’re always going to keep moving forward to find new ways to bring us that magic that we’ve all grown so fondly accustomed to over the years.
