TheDisDork
Welcome Home
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2011
Hey all!
Sorry to bother with this question! So, as many are aware, Magic of Animation in DHS is ending its run on the 12th of this month. My question, however, is whether there has been a confirmed date for the closure of the M&G area you enter post-show / behind the Art of Disney store. Will it occur at a later date or will it close concurrently with Magic? I would really, really love to make sure I get to visit that area one more time before it closes for good.
I haven't taken advantage of the M&G, but I will happily share a story lending credence to the idea that every attraction, big or small, Under New Management or original, can be somebody's most special place. When I was a young warthog, I snuck through the back of the Art of Disney store our parents were perusing and into what we thought was a "secret" part of the store. The fun for me, at first, came from this little adventure. That same visit, I purchased a book from that Art of Disney on the making of Lilo and Stitch, which I would learn many years later was made in that very building. That book would serve as my introduction to the wonderful world of filmmaking. It is still on my shelf at home, first book on the top left.
The wonderful thing about this story is, I can tell it without stretching details to fit a more colorful, neatly packaged narrative. Some stories work out just right as-is.
As the years went on, it became something of a tradition, whether I was with this cousin or not, to visit this area. I fell in love with the concept art and faux Academy Award displays (of course, the display with the reprint of Chris Sanders's original sketch of Stitch became recognized as its own small temple). I typically visit WDW 5+ times a year, and one of my greatest thrills always has / was walking down the small hallway covered with posters of upcoming films, scrutinizing the concepts just announced or proselytizing about those whose development I have followed to whichever poor soul had accompanied me this trip.
And then there has been that room. As I said before, big or small, every little detail of Disney can mean the whole world to someone. That room you enter immediately after the Magic of Disney Animation (or after "sneaking" through the back of Art of Disney) has been that place to me. Those maquettes and drawings of upcoming films were my E-Ticket. They were proof positive that there were people out there - real people like you and me, people who maybe, MAYBE one day I could be like - who really existed, who worked hard, and who worked together to make those pieces of magic that occupy the Disney vaults. I liked to put my hands against the glass and imagine that one day I could be part of a team like that. It didn't matter if I did or didn't like the final product upon its release months later - what was important is that it showed someone that they could be special and one day make something that might make someone else feel that special too.
That little area in the back is where magic becomes real to me. That is the power that every part of these parks can have over people like us.
It has been 12 years since I first visited that area or bought that book. During those intervening years I studied filmmaking, worked hard, and kept a stiff upper lip against what I was sure were insurmountable odds. But that little area in the back of the store always gave me a special kind of energy. I am now the lead editor of a hit TV show. I am happy with my career and I am paid handsomely enough that I can continue my 5+ trips to WDW every year where I can turn off the phone, stop checking the email, and pretend to be a normal, functioning human being. Among the decorations in my edit bay are an Up poster and a small Toothless figurine from the film How to Train Your Dragon (created Chris Sanders, of Lilo and Stitch fame). To someone, somewhere out there, I hope they think I help make magic. Is it the magic of Disney that we all know and love? No, not yet. That's still a special kind of magic to me. But the idea of that special magic gives me something to reach for, be it with Disney or not. I was inspired to realize that people like you and me really can do something great with our lives, be it great for one person or millions.
But it will be hard for me to say goodbye to my little room. It will be nigh impossible to walk into that store last time, knowing that the next time I go there will be no more secret entrance in the back. There will be no more picture of Stitch in that little glass display. There will be no more little mock-Academy Awards to wish upon. No more kids lining up for Sorcerer Mickey. No more posters to wonder at adorning that little hallway. And no more little maquettes to still keep reaching for. There will be a hole in my heart for you, little room. You might just make a guy cry when he says goodbye and thanks you for everything you did for him.
Sorry to bother with this question! So, as many are aware, Magic of Animation in DHS is ending its run on the 12th of this month. My question, however, is whether there has been a confirmed date for the closure of the M&G area you enter post-show / behind the Art of Disney store. Will it occur at a later date or will it close concurrently with Magic? I would really, really love to make sure I get to visit that area one more time before it closes for good.
I haven't taken advantage of the M&G, but I will happily share a story lending credence to the idea that every attraction, big or small, Under New Management or original, can be somebody's most special place. When I was a young warthog, I snuck through the back of the Art of Disney store our parents were perusing and into what we thought was a "secret" part of the store. The fun for me, at first, came from this little adventure. That same visit, I purchased a book from that Art of Disney on the making of Lilo and Stitch, which I would learn many years later was made in that very building. That book would serve as my introduction to the wonderful world of filmmaking. It is still on my shelf at home, first book on the top left.
The wonderful thing about this story is, I can tell it without stretching details to fit a more colorful, neatly packaged narrative. Some stories work out just right as-is.
As the years went on, it became something of a tradition, whether I was with this cousin or not, to visit this area. I fell in love with the concept art and faux Academy Award displays (of course, the display with the reprint of Chris Sanders's original sketch of Stitch became recognized as its own small temple). I typically visit WDW 5+ times a year, and one of my greatest thrills always has / was walking down the small hallway covered with posters of upcoming films, scrutinizing the concepts just announced or proselytizing about those whose development I have followed to whichever poor soul had accompanied me this trip.
And then there has been that room. As I said before, big or small, every little detail of Disney can mean the whole world to someone. That room you enter immediately after the Magic of Disney Animation (or after "sneaking" through the back of Art of Disney) has been that place to me. Those maquettes and drawings of upcoming films were my E-Ticket. They were proof positive that there were people out there - real people like you and me, people who maybe, MAYBE one day I could be like - who really existed, who worked hard, and who worked together to make those pieces of magic that occupy the Disney vaults. I liked to put my hands against the glass and imagine that one day I could be part of a team like that. It didn't matter if I did or didn't like the final product upon its release months later - what was important is that it showed someone that they could be special and one day make something that might make someone else feel that special too.
That little area in the back is where magic becomes real to me. That is the power that every part of these parks can have over people like us.
It has been 12 years since I first visited that area or bought that book. During those intervening years I studied filmmaking, worked hard, and kept a stiff upper lip against what I was sure were insurmountable odds. But that little area in the back of the store always gave me a special kind of energy. I am now the lead editor of a hit TV show. I am happy with my career and I am paid handsomely enough that I can continue my 5+ trips to WDW every year where I can turn off the phone, stop checking the email, and pretend to be a normal, functioning human being. Among the decorations in my edit bay are an Up poster and a small Toothless figurine from the film How to Train Your Dragon (created Chris Sanders, of Lilo and Stitch fame). To someone, somewhere out there, I hope they think I help make magic. Is it the magic of Disney that we all know and love? No, not yet. That's still a special kind of magic to me. But the idea of that special magic gives me something to reach for, be it with Disney or not. I was inspired to realize that people like you and me really can do something great with our lives, be it great for one person or millions.
But it will be hard for me to say goodbye to my little room. It will be nigh impossible to walk into that store last time, knowing that the next time I go there will be no more secret entrance in the back. There will be no more picture of Stitch in that little glass display. There will be no more little mock-Academy Awards to wish upon. No more kids lining up for Sorcerer Mickey. No more posters to wonder at adorning that little hallway. And no more little maquettes to still keep reaching for. There will be a hole in my heart for you, little room. You might just make a guy cry when he says goodbye and thanks you for everything you did for him.
