Greg Maletic: Revisionism
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Disney has made these kinds of changes in the past with both positive and negative results. I could have been content with Disney morphing the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse into Tarzan's Treehouse, but in the process they got rid of what made the treehouse so great. For one, they removed the plumbing system, with its water wheel and lift mechanism that delivered running water to every room. Second, they somehow lost the organ. (Don't try to convince me that the gramophone is a suitable replacement.) And though you gained a cute baby elephant splashing at the attraction's exit, you lost out on the attraction's most appealing attribute, the feeling that it was a place where you could actually live. Empty cabanas with notes left from the Robinsons made it seem like if you just hung out for a few more hours, they'd invite you to spend the night. The static cartoon figures now in place transform the treehouse from what seemed like a home into a museum.
But sometimes these updates work. Though I have fond memories of Disney World's Mr. Toad ride, it's hard to argue persuasively that it was a better attraction than its more sophisticated--and lengthier--replacement, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. (True...Mr. Toad is one of those rare Disney attractions that lets you die at the end and go to Hell. But let's neglect the appeal of that for the moment.) Nostalgia makes me wish I could ride Mr. Toad again, but if I'm being truthful, that's pretty much all it is: nostalgia.
And in terms of updates that work, you can't look at a more relevant example than the one set by Disneyland Paris, where Tom Sawyer Island has already been replaced by a similar, pirate-themed island. Adventure Isle is exciting to explore, beautiful...everything you could possibly want. Even though it lost the Tom Sawyer mythology that for me has always been an inherent part of Disneyland, what it's been replaced with, it has to be said, is pretty darn cool.
I remain hopeful. Jack Sparrow Island--or whatever it's called--could be a lot of fun. (It'll look a little odd with a paddlewheel steamboat running around it, but incongruities aren't new to Disneyland.) Note to the Imagineers: please, don't make the mistake that those educators did back in Huntsville, and re-christen the place just so it'll be easier for the audience to understand. Make the place better so that no one misses what it once was. Walt Disney said that Disneyland would never be completed. I don't think that was a dictate to keep the park "relevant� to the guests. I think what he meant was that every day, Disneyland the place should work to become more like Disneyland, the ideal. By getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island, make sure that it's a step towards making Disneyland more like "Disneyland� than it has ever been.
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-- Greg Maletic
In addition to being a lifelong Disney park fan, Greg Maletic is a graphic designer and documentary film producer based out of San Francisco. Greg can be reached at laughingplace@c3images.com.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted October 25, 2006
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