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Here's my idea for a new attraction for Hollywoodland at DCA: The Disney Vault Theater.
It would be a spectacular Imagineering-designed 10-screen multiplex theater that plays Disney classic films that are currently "in the vault." Attending the theater would be FREE (included) with park admission (tickets via Fast Pass). It would be a chance for visitors to see -- and brag about when they go home -- seeing classic Disney movies unavailable on the big screen elsewhere.
It would be the thematic capstone to DCA's Hollywoodland as it would be the most literal embodiment of the Disney/Hollywood legacy. What is more Disney-meets-Hollywod than the classic Disney animated films? Emotionally it would leverage the classic animated characters that Fantasyland does at Disneyland via dark rides, but at DCA it would be the films themselves. A goal of DCA 2.0 was to bring emotion and characters to the park: this would accomplish that in a distinctive way. "The Disney Vault" could be the "mecca" for Disney fans that really makes DCA feel deeply part of the classic Disney legacy.
You would enter through a grand art deco theater facade with silver/metallic surfaces, chrome, and glittery marble - everything you'd expect from the word "Vault." There would be a grand lobby/ retail store selling classic merch. There would be food concessions of course. There may an actual room off the side of the lobby behind 8" thick acrylic wherein you can see actual reel of film as if they are in some humidity-free protective storage (not real, but fun). Each of the 10 theaters would have an elaborate theme (Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Peter Pan, etc.) with fabrics, proscenium, props, etc. Guests would want to visit them all, and talk about the ones they have been in.
Some reasons supporting this idea:
1. The emotional "value" of seeing these movies for guests is way out of proportion with the cost for Disney to build and show these movies. In other words, cheap for Disney but perceived as valuable to guests. The "equity" (sunk costs) of making these movies happened decades ago, why not leverage it now?
2. It cements DCA as the Disney-meets-Holywood center of the universe. It makes Hollywoodland real the way working motion-picture studio activity does in other Hollywood themed parks, in much more limited space.
3. It's a huge people eater. It can have a hourly throughput of up to 5,000 people at low build/operation/upkeep cost. And highly repeatable (guests will want to see the different movies and different themed theaters).
4. Stimulates concession sales (popcorn, soft drinks).
5. It can be built quickly to accommodate growing crowds at DCA (doesn't need years of WDI R&D).
6. Furthers the symbolic and company-myth power of "The Disney Vault" as a brand/concept.
7. Allows Disney to "test" previews with a test audience from around the country.
--What do you think?
It would be a spectacular Imagineering-designed 10-screen multiplex theater that plays Disney classic films that are currently "in the vault." Attending the theater would be FREE (included) with park admission (tickets via Fast Pass). It would be a chance for visitors to see -- and brag about when they go home -- seeing classic Disney movies unavailable on the big screen elsewhere.
It would be the thematic capstone to DCA's Hollywoodland as it would be the most literal embodiment of the Disney/Hollywood legacy. What is more Disney-meets-Hollywod than the classic Disney animated films? Emotionally it would leverage the classic animated characters that Fantasyland does at Disneyland via dark rides, but at DCA it would be the films themselves. A goal of DCA 2.0 was to bring emotion and characters to the park: this would accomplish that in a distinctive way. "The Disney Vault" could be the "mecca" for Disney fans that really makes DCA feel deeply part of the classic Disney legacy.
You would enter through a grand art deco theater facade with silver/metallic surfaces, chrome, and glittery marble - everything you'd expect from the word "Vault." There would be a grand lobby/ retail store selling classic merch. There would be food concessions of course. There may an actual room off the side of the lobby behind 8" thick acrylic wherein you can see actual reel of film as if they are in some humidity-free protective storage (not real, but fun). Each of the 10 theaters would have an elaborate theme (Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Peter Pan, etc.) with fabrics, proscenium, props, etc. Guests would want to visit them all, and talk about the ones they have been in.
Some reasons supporting this idea:
1. The emotional "value" of seeing these movies for guests is way out of proportion with the cost for Disney to build and show these movies. In other words, cheap for Disney but perceived as valuable to guests. The "equity" (sunk costs) of making these movies happened decades ago, why not leverage it now?
2. It cements DCA as the Disney-meets-Holywood center of the universe. It makes Hollywoodland real the way working motion-picture studio activity does in other Hollywood themed parks, in much more limited space.
3. It's a huge people eater. It can have a hourly throughput of up to 5,000 people at low build/operation/upkeep cost. And highly repeatable (guests will want to see the different movies and different themed theaters).
4. Stimulates concession sales (popcorn, soft drinks).
5. It can be built quickly to accommodate growing crowds at DCA (doesn't need years of WDI R&D).
6. Furthers the symbolic and company-myth power of "The Disney Vault" as a brand/concept.
7. Allows Disney to "test" previews with a test audience from around the country.
--What do you think?
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