[Fun] Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

[Pizzapants]

Hold on, hold on, put your torches down! Hear me out! What exactly was the theme that WDI was going for in this land? I believe it was supposed to be a cheap, kitschy, roadside tourist trap. And what did we get? A cheap, kitschy, roadside tourist trap! It is so well themed that many of us hate it, demand it be torn down, and killed with fire, just like any of these crappy roadside carnivals. We question our safety and ask "Why is this even in a Disney park?" So bravo, WDI! You nailed it! You nailed it real hard! And it makes me sad.

[ttintagel]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

It's like the people who don't bother with a Halloween costume, say, "I'm going as a regular person," and think it's SO WITTY.

[KingEric]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Yeah they are so committed to the theming that several workers have died there.

[stingybreadboy]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

While Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama is not my favorite part of any Disney park by any means, I can appreciate the attention to detail that is very consistent with all of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The idea that the cement is made is look like worn and cracked parking lot pavement is clever. The road leading around Dino-Rama, near the Boneyard and past Cementosaurus, is called Route 98 (the year Animal Kingdom opened) and many of the decorations, such as plant borders and signage is done with old license plates, tires, or hubcaps. Also, the cast members are all "cousins" of Chester and Hester, as the latter were too cheap to hire help outside the family. I don't spend a lot of my time there, and while many people call this section very un-Disney, I certainly applaud the designers for coming up with the little touches that are undoubtedly and remarkably Disney.

[PSUMark]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

"A word may be said in regard to the concept and conduct of Disneyland's operational tone. Although various sections will have the fun and flavor of a carnival or amusement park, there will be none of the 'pitches,' game wheels, sharp practices, and devices designed to milk the visitor's pocketbook." -Walt Disney

[TimmyTimmyTimmy]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

I feel sorry for the people that have died there and their families.
I am not going to tell what I feel about the people that like the area.

[Jo4brains1]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

If there's anything I hate about Disney (not much), it's the Eisner era of the parks. This section is so cheesy. Why does Disney even have a Togo spinning mouse?

[KingEric]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

If there's anything I hate about Disney (not much), it's the Eisner era of the parks. This section is so cheesy. Why does Disney even have a Togo spinning mouse?

But animal kingdom is the Eisner era

[RooBear]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Having driven through South Dakota, Nebraska and the Dells, they truly nailed it.

Peace,
Roo

[DancinBelle]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

I understand that they were going for cheesy, but I think they pulled it off almost too well. It certainly transports you out of the feeling of the rest of the park, that's for sure. I would love to see it redone with something worth exploring, but the likelihood of that happening is sadly zip.

[MactheMan]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Why does Disney even have a Togo spinning mouse?

ummmm... they don't

[mickdaddy]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

They still could have built a cheesy roadside area and actually put in quality attractions. The only place I actually like here is the boneyard area.

[toonaspie]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Themed as well as it is, the problem is the very idea itself being implemented in a Disney theme park to begin with. Cheap tacky roadside attractions still exist so there's no real escapism here. Same goes for any kind of homage to carnivals in general. It's the cheapest of all tactics by Disney to take currently existing carnival rides and fancy them up with theme and story. Now I know what you're thinking regarding Dumbo and the teacups, but we're talking about an entire land themed to a carnival. That's like Coca-Cola creating a new line of drinks as an homage to generic brand cola*.

*Sorry if that was a lousy analogy but hopefully my point got across.

[mickdaddy]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Themed as well as it is, the problem is the very idea itself being implemented in a Disney theme park to begin with. Cheap tacky roadside attractions still exist so there's no real escapism here. Same goes for any kind of homage to carnivals in general. It's the cheapest of all tactics by Disney to take currently existing carnival rides and fancy them up with theme and story. Now I know what you're thinking regarding Dumbo and the teacups, but we're talking about an entire land themed to a carnival. That's like Coca-Cola creating a new line of drinks as an homage to generic brand cola*.

*Sorry if that was a lousy analogy but hopefully my point got across.

I agree completely the area should not exist at all especially with all you can do with the dinosaur theme! Its really disappointing!

[DRSeeker]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

The big problem is that is wasn't the original plan for the Dinoland area. Originally, there was plans for a coaster called the Excavator and it was going to integrate the Boneyard and the Dig Site together with the coaster. And they had many other plans also, like more AA interactive dinosaurs out in the Cretaceous Trail, but instead they went for the extreme cheap route, they made it cheap and then said we intended to make it look cheap.

Do a search for DAK Excavator and you can see the original plans and compare that to what ended up as Dino-Rama

[Ukulele Guy]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Restaruantasaurus is one of my favorite themed environments for how dense it is. Especially the area to the right inside the door where the archaeologists' quarters are. SO COOL!

[Coastierox]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

I've said if before, so I'm just gonna paraphrase myself: go travel the southwest. Not only did they nail the concept, it's clean and fun. The end.

[mkcoastie]

Re: Chester and Hester's = The best themed land

Restaruantasaurus is one of my favorite themed environments for how dense it is. Especially the area to the right inside the door where the archaeologists' quarters are. SO COOL!

I was actually just talking about this. Restaruantasaurus has a very fun, unique and well done theme. I love it, if only they had extended this out to the rest of the land.

Overall, as for Chester and Hesters, I would have to agree. It is extreamly well themed........and that makes me want to cry and scream. The idea that so much attention to detail was put into what i will gladly call the worst theme in any disney park makes me extreamly sad. imagine what could have been if that effort had been put into something else.



I will leacve with a quote from the blog ReImagineering

"Stumbling upon this loud land after a peaceful stroll around the wondrous Tree of Life is like tripping into a pool of vomit after leaving St. Peter’s Basilica."