Letters to the Editor
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Welcome to another Letter's to the Editor column. It's been quite a while since we've done one of these - quite a while. But we hope to do a few over the next couple of weeks to do some catching up, then we'll see after that.
Letters are introduced with the column or article they go with. Any responses to the letters are shown in italics.
On the occasion of Walt Disney Imagineering's 50th anniversary, Ken Pellman's Kenversations gave some suggestions for the next 50 years.
I wanted to respond to your excellent article on WDI. Many of your comments are worth note, especially the final 8 suggestions for a "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow." Suggestion 2 makes so much sense to me. Lately, new attractions have been very disappointing (Aladdin's Flying-Carpets at WDW's MK, the whole dino-rama thing at DAK, Test Track at EPCOT, SuperStar Limo at DCA and the horrible Journey into Your Imagination - although the recent rehab is a marked improvement). Attractions like these lack the depth, meaning, creativity, originality, and heart of classic Disney attractions. I also agree with your suggestion that it's the little things that add so much atmosphere to Disney parks. I'm sad about the loss of the beautiful floral area on Main Street at WDW; the horrible hat on Hollywood Blvd. that obscures the lovely Chinese Theatre and ruins the theming; the charming shops that carried unique merchandise that once graced the Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM. The entire Disney Village Marketplace, once so relaxed and quaint, has been transformed into a gaudy area with loud mega-stores. I also agree that improvements to existing favorites is a great way to go. Both "Atlantis" and "Treasure Planet" are perfect fits for the new Tomorrowland areas that emphasize fantasy science fiction. I know that WDI is capable of great things -- in fact, I love "One Man's Dream" at Disney-MGM, "Soarin' Over CA," "Buzz Lightyear" and "Winnie the Pooh." Thanks for reading my note and for writing a meaningful article that hopefully will make a difference to a company that I love and respect.
Your ideas about interactive rides et al sounds good but... How is this possible when the company could care less about the paltry interactive elements it currently has in its rides? Example: I visited both DL and DCA this weekend and BOTH coasters' sound systems were not working AGAIN. Screamin' and especially Space Mountain should be maintained in a way that keeps the sound working. If they won't do simple stuff like keeping the sound on how can they expect to do anything more elaborate and have it working for longer than the first weeks of operation?
Lee MacDonald's article on the demise of The Disney Stores sparked a lively discussion on the boards and some passionate feedback.
While I agree on most points with you Lee (I do miss the Disney gallery. There's still a huge one in Framingham, Mass that I know of), but I believe Disney is slowing learning from their saturation of the market. Here in South Florida, there were at least three Disney Stores that I could easily reach. I even worked at one. Yet, the Disney Company seems to be pulling out of South Florida quickly. The only store I can go to is about an hour away, and it's not even a TDS, its called Disney's Character Premiere. It's a discount store (strangely, no Treasure Planet merchandise has shown up. But we have gotten some of those DCA hand skateboard things) Lilo and Stitch merchandise in Miami is on discount, while Treasure Planet still goes for full price. They'll never get rid of all those pink Morph plush! The pins have to stop though. I was not thrilled by the music series. I'm not even a die hard collector. To tell you the truth, from what I've seen, Disney HATES to discount pins. The stores, even the discount ones, won't sell them below the normal $6.50. Is it just S. Florida, or what? The most disappointing thing is there unfortunate disability in catering to adults. No Stitch shirts or anything. Just oversized sweatshirts (in Miami, no less!). At least they stopped using the color pink in some stores. The pink and blue color scheme makes me want to turn away, and I'm a Disney fanatic.
As a former TDS Cast Member myself, reading your story broke my heart because it rang so true. I first started out as a seasonal Cast Member at TDS because of my sheer love of Disney. I stayed because TDS was an extension of the parks, bringing the magic of the theme parks to guests at the mall. I loved that I could talk to guests about their trips and got paid for it. I loved helping guests and making sure they left my store happy. TDS, as you said, was different from any other store in the mall. It was all about guest satisfaction. I left TDS in the summer of 2001 because the store had become like every other one in the mall: it was all about selling and making a profit, not guest service or MAGIC anymore. I didn't do it for the money, I did it because I loved it. One of my former cast members joked that her job at TDS was her golf game: it was how she liked to spend her free time on the weekend. You would be hard pressed to find a cast member today who would say the same thing, and that is the saddest thing of all. It's just like every other job in the mall now, except there's Mickey on the walls.
No one's writings get as much respect as Bob Gurr's Designer Times articles - and rightly so. And you never know who'll be reading.
Dear Mr. Gurr, Dave (Dave Gengenbach who was mentioned in this article) was my father. Today would have been my parents 44th wedding anniversary. I called mom this morning and read her your kind words - thank you. I have printed the article for my children's scrapbooks. Mom says "thank you" and "hello" and that she found a recipe of yours recently. You should be proud of what you accomplished - it would never have been pulled off in today's corporate world!
Great Story Bob. I too go way back to the openings of DL and WDW. I was dating a girl whose dad owned the Spanish Village at the '62 Seattle Worlds fair and watched them build the Space Needle and the Seattle Monorail. I think the Monorails are now going to show up all over. Walt had a vision and the rest of the world is just now seeing his vision. Every time I go to WDW I must ride the monorails and would like to see them running all over the area including downtown Kissimme and even to the airport. Wow what a thought. Keep up the good work.
One of our relatively new columns, Reliving Fond Memories, has garnered a following:
I have to say yet again that David Mink's articles are always well-written and interesting. I am not even a big fan of Goofy yet now I want to see the DVD just so I can see the artistry that David mentions. Great job!
(On Cliff Edwards article): A very sad, and yet hopeful story. Mr. Edwards made a mess of his life, but he still did something wonderful. I know I smile every time I hear "When you wish upon a Star", and I'm sure millions of other people smile too.