The Wizard Hat

[Newsies]

Had to tell...but I don't think they'll
Go the "obstruction" route again...

I think the chapter in history of hands, hats, and pink frosting is officially closed.

We must never forgive, and never forget.

 

[jtwibih]

That is blasphemous.......

 

[justgot2havefun]

We've been to WDW 6 times in 12 yrs, and our favorite part is still Fantasmic everytime. There's just something about the nostalgia of the characters and the idea of the power of imagination. I can understand how it may seem repetitive to some, but it would hardly be a WDW trip without it.

BTW, I agree--it will be nice for the park to return to the way it was originally designed.

 

[jtwibih]

I mean seriously did that castle *#!% really happen?

I keep coming back to this thread hoping that picture has either disappeared or was a total figment of my imagination

 

[BayouMickey]

I'm sorry.. I liked the birthday cake castle, it's not like it was a permanent thing and it did make the whole 25th festive.

 

[jlundeen]

We must never forgive, and never forget.

Ugh...I remember that...so much work for such an unfortunate outcome...

 

[Planogirl]

I mean seriously did that castle *#!% really happen?

I keep coming back to this thread hoping that picture has either disappeared or was a total figment of my imagination

I saw it personally and hoped the whole time that it was just my imagination. It was spectacularly tacky IMO.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

See...I've known to be "harsh" occasionally...

But I didnt have that much of a problem with it as a novelty...

Now...when we watched them switch out numbers to put up "EPCOT"... As if to say "incase you're unclear as to what the worlds largest ball indicates..."

Or the 15 year lawn ornament at mgm...

Then They got some "splainin'" to do

 

[DDLand]

See...I've known to be "harsh" occasionally...

But I didnt have that much of a problem with it as a novelty...

Now...when we watched them switch out numbers to put up "EPCOT"... As if to say "incase you're unclear as to what the worlds largest ball indicates..."

Or the 15 year lawn ornament at mgm

Agreed. I think it was fun. Now if it stayed up for more then a decade I'd get my pitchfork.

Heck, I think I prefer it to the Disneyland Castle over the 50th. That was tacky, boring, and just annoying. Really terrible.

 

[Princess Jes]

The hat was unnecessary and was installed for the "100 years of magic" that ended in 2002.

Neither the hat...nor the festival made any sense. Walt Disney had been dead for 35 years and it was a "celebration" of his birth in 1901. You celebrate the anniversary of an accomplishment...not a birth...except unique circumstances..like major world changing figures and/or folklore

That was open space before and can become it again. That is the closest thing MGM has to a "central plaza"

There are also rampant rumors about major work/redesign in the park...so removing the hat there first makes sense from a logistics standpoint as well

I'm sorry, but out of this whole thread, the thing I have the most issue with is this post.
Of course you celebrate a birth... we call them "Birthday's" and most people celebrate these every year.
And also, I would think we all agree that Walter Elias Disney WAS a major world changing figure!
Surely this was a joke?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

No...a joke is "what do you do with a elephant with 3 balls?
You walk him and pitch to the rhino."

I'm not joking... The 100 year birth anniversary of a business figure that was alive for
Just a few days over 65 of them?

Even in the Disney cult of personality that's a stretch. And this was still the developing e age...it's not like they had a functioning website - it was awful - and they couldn't bombard you with the backstory.

As an employee of a decent sized entertainment company at the time...it never made much sense to really any of us...the confusion spread to the customers... Nobody had any clue what the 100 years meant...nobody knew when walt Disney was born. They did a terrible job of explaining it...actually they really didnt try.

The backstory was that the millenium in EPCOT was possibly ( increasingly likely based on present course and speed) the zenith of wdw. Huge attendance and profits...satisfaction ratings at or near alltime highs... And remember that Eisner had prepped the property... A new park, relatively new west side, ride additions in the parks of significance - test track, rockinroller coaster - and the Asia opening in AK...
He lost his touch righ about there in retrospect.

It seemed like the best of times...

So that ended...attendance went down in EARLY 2001 (note the context) and Mikey wanted to keep it going...

So hey...lets move it to MGM...and make it a 15 month/extension celebration of...uhhh...somebody use that "google" thing and find me something!!!

As Cronkite said,
"And that's....the way it was"

 

[Tigger1966]

First off I liked the 100 Years celebration as I believe Walt Disney did have a huge impact on entertainment industry.
Also I would love to see the hat moved to outside the entrance for a merchandice stand like they have at Animal Kingdom.

 

[DDLand]

First off I liked the 100 Years celebration as I believe Walt Disney did have a huge impact on entertainment industry.
Also I would love to see the hat moved to outside the entrance for a merchandice stand like they have at Animal Kingdom.

You know, the more pictures I see of the theater the more I never want to lay eyes on that gross thing again. Please Disney never let the hat see the light of day moving forward. It also doesn't look like those workman have been trying to preserve it either.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

First off I liked the 100 Years celebration as I believe Walt Disney did have a huge impact on entertainment industry.

I certainly agree about the significance of Walt Disney. However, the banners and the logos just said "100 Years of Magic" -- not something that recognized Walt Disney's birth 100 years earlier. The banners could have said "Centennial Celebration of the Birth of Walt Disney, 1901." But they didn't.

"100 Years of Magic" came across as nothing more than a meaningless marketing slogan. At that time, Disney liked to change its slogan every year of two, just like hamburger chains.

Fortunately, the exhibit "Walt Disney, One Man's Dream" celebrated Walt Disney for guests who took the time to go there. And it's wonderful that the exhibit is still part of Disney's Hollywood Studies.

Also I would love to see the hat moved to outside the entrance for a merchandice stand like they have at Animal Kingdom.

The huge steel structure has been demolished. You won't see it again.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I certainly agree about the significance of Walt Disney. However, the banners and the logos just said "100 Years of Magic" -- not something that recognized Walt Disney's birth 100 years earlier. The banners could have said "Centennial Celebration of the Birth of Walt Disney, 1901." But they didn't.

"100 Years of Magic" came across as nothing more than a meaningless marketing slogan. At that time, Disney liked to change its slogan every year of two, just like hamburger chains.

Fortunately, the exhibit "Walt Disney, One Man's Dream" celebrated Walt Disney for guests who took the time to go there. And it's wonderful that the exhibit is still part of Disney's Hollywood Studies.



The huge steel structure has been demolished. You won't see it again.

Yeah...

That's kinda where i was going about the whole 100 year thing.

Did I mention that I saw it every day?

Sometimes things aren't personal crusades and don't really need to be defended with a shield and a spear

 

[Hoodie]

Rumor is that it is officially GONE as of this morning.

 

[rteetz]

It's fact not rumor

 

[jlundeen]

I love seeing the Chinese Theatre when you first come through the gates!!!

 

[lugnut33]

So much better

 

[umichigan10]

As was once proclaimed in one of my favorite episodes of SpongeBob: sweet,sweet victory!