[Question] Why does WDW have the best icons?

[WDW1971]

Has anyone ever noticed that the WDW parks have the best icons in comparison to the other Disney parks around the globe.

Just look at how each of these icons relate to their park (granted the Sorcerer's Hat is questionable):



http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanctum...de/2384894999/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/horwath/6054702391/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpod523/2597516169/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwmicklejr/5492108449/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_caines/178400068/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickberden/5421422028/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalslg/5198351155/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheukiecfu/2625914012/






In addition I feel that these icons are good for their parks:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3396829158/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/frances...83/3595778086/







Now can anyone tell me how these icons relate?





http://www.flickr.com/photos/m_y_b/4483851915/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/7273829576/

[ttintagel]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Cinderella Castle really did set the bar for park icons, didn't it? I think, "Bigger!" was the watchword at WDW from the start, as the people in charge were really invested in creating the park they felt Walt would have if he'd had enough land and money. The Asian parks started small (with the Tokyo and Hong Kong castles being clones of Orlando and Anaheim), and the DLP castle probably suffers in comparison to all the real castles in the area.

[ohmyjustin]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

While I can't argue that Cinderella Castle, the Tree of Life, and Spaceship Earth are great icons, I really don't think the Sorcerer's Hat is a great symbol. Why does that represent Hollywood Studios? Because of Fantasia? Hardly the same league as the others. The Earful Tower did a great job of representing the park, but it's really lackluster in my opinion. The Chinese Theatre is an icon for something else, so I'm really not a fan of it being "the" definitive representation of DHS.

I also think you undersell the California icons. Disneyland Castle is the original, making it quite important to a Disney Parks fan. Carthay Circle Theatre doesn't represent California as a whole now as much as it does represent what California was. DCA is becoming more and more a blast from the past with Buena Vista Street, the Victorian-style Paradise Pier, and even with the style of Hollywoodland. CCT does a great job of representing that time period because that was entertainment then--that summed up lifestyles for so many people across the board. Not to mention the incredible relation to Walt Disney's career.

[PSUMark]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

I mean Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, the Chinese Theater and the Earful Tower, and the Tree of Life all relate to the theme of the park, are large, awe-inspiring pieces of architecture that give the park it's definitive style.

Fixed it for you.

[WDW1971]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Fixed it for you.

Haha :lmao:

[ohmyjustin]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

I really think for DCA they should have made the icon Grizzly Peak and made it the focal point from the hub.

It was at one point (see images below), but I don't think they really represent California any better than Carthay Circle. Okay, I get it, it's a bear and on our flag is a bear. It's a cool-looking mountain and it has a great ride associated with it, but it really only presents the natural and doesn't really have a strong connection to Disney, which is where the park is headed. California has, in my eyes, become the supporting role and thread for the Disney-fication that's been happening since "DCA 1.0." Besides, like you said, Disney makes plenty of mountains.

[redrhino54]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Im sorry, but i love the "HAT" !! Maybe they might find something else to replace it someday, but i think its a good representation of the Disney animated movies. Maybe if they made it bigger !!................

[WDW1971]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Im sorry, but i love the "HAT" !! Maybe they might find something else to replace it someday, but i think its a good representation of the Disney animated movies. Maybe if they made it bigger !!................

I do too haha.

[Dapper Dan]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Cinderella castle set the bar high. It's big because Walt wanted a bigger castle, but also so that it could be seen from far away so that people arriving by car wouldn't start wondering if they got off the wrong exit after driving by a whole lot of nothing on the long drive across the entire length of the property. It was also a trick to make people drive all the way through EPCOT and see how awesome living there was.

It's weird that people don't like the hat. I don't like it. It's a big weird out of place thing at the end of a well themed 30's street. Why is this unacceptable but a medieval castle at the end of a turn of the 20th century street is artistic brilliance? It could be the existence of the hub which sort of exists outside of any specific theme; a feature that the area surrounding the hat doesn't have. It could also be that the castle is the gateway to Fantasyland while the hat isn't a gateway to anything. The area around and behind the hat is still Hollywood's golden age making it even more out of place. It's also the only park icon that can't be seen from the roof of the Contemporary. The Tree of Life is pretty well camouflaged, but you can pick it out if you know what you're looking for.

Spaceship Earth is awesome because it's huge and there's nothing like it anywhere. It's uniqueness and location make it iconic. It is at the front of the park instead of the middle like all the others and can be seen from pretty much anywhere within the park. It, more than any of the others ties its entire park together. Now if they'd just do something about those darn flying triangles.

The Tree of Life doesn't do much for me. Like the mountain at Tokyo Disney Sea, the Tree of Life isn't really unique because it's a tree. Though it is a very large and unique tree. It's also not as omnipresent as Spaceship Earth. Like Cinderella castle The Tree of Life can only be seen from certain places within the park. However being a big tree in a park full of trees, I don't think it stands out as much as it should. Or maybe I'm just a big jerk. I don't know, I've only been to the Animal Kingdom twice.

I think Walt Disney World has these big clearly defined icons because they want to reassure all the tourists driving around that huge property on unfamiliar roads that they are going to the right place, whatever their destination happens to be.

[Prometheus]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Here is a question to you: Why are you always comparing WDW to DLR(and other parks) and making it sound like WDW is 100 Times superior to the other parks?

[TylerDurden]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Here is a question to you: Why are you always comparing WDW to DLR(and other parks) and making it sound like WDW is 100 Times superior to the other parks?

Wow. Everyone's allowed to have an opinion here dude...

[Prometheus]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Wow. Everyone's allowed to have an opinion here dude...

I suppose this is my opinion as well? I'm just pointing it out, not trying to be mean or anything

[WDW1971]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Here is a question to you: Why are you always comparing WDW to DLR(and other parks) and making it sound like WDW is 100 Times superior to the other parks?

:ot: but I am not intending to say that WDW is better than DLR or DLR is better than WDW.

---------- Post added 07-24-2012 at 09:41 AM ----------

Wow. Everyone's allowed to have an opinion here dude...

Thanks dude, you are now like one of my favorite micechatters haha:yea:

[Barbaraann]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

I Love the WDW icons. I wish that Disneyland had much better icons as well. What I really do not like is the non-existent castle that is used for the Disney Parks logo, and the term "Disney Parks" is a pet peeve of mine.

[PSUMark]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Im sorry, but i love the "HAT" !! Maybe they might find something else to replace it someday, but i think its a good representation of the Disney animated movies. Maybe if they made it bigger !!................

I do too haha. I think the reason people abhor it is because of what is behind it. I think they cannot stand to see such a beautiful building covered up by the "hat." If it were built there since opening I don't think as many people would have a problem with it.

The Sorcerer's Hat gives allows for a unique centerpiece that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Sorcerer Mickey is often used to represent various parts of the Walt Disney Company. Fantasia is an animated master piece which features great music and compelling stories, so I think it fits as the icon.

But back on topic, who thought that a large hat could be an icon for a park? It is cool to look at and really defines the park.

It's weird that people don't like the hat. I don't like it. It's a big weird out of place thing at the end of a well themed 30's street. Why is this unacceptable but a medieval castle at the end of a turn of the 20th century street is artistic brilliance? It could be the existence of the hub which sort of exists outside of any specific theme; a feature that the area surrounding the hat doesn't have. It could also be that the castle is the gateway to Fantasyland while the hat isn't a gateway to anything. The area around and behind the hat is still Hollywood's golden age making it even more out of place.

I think that most people, including myself (and more than a few Imagineers) hate the hat because it represents the greatest of all possible Imagineering faux pas: a visual contradiction. As defined by Imagineer John Hench, a visual contradiction is, "the active clutter that you see in the real world, which creates mixed messages, sets up conflicts, creates tension, and may even feeling threatening... If visual details disagree, guests experience active clutter, which has the same effect on the eye as a cacophony of noises has on the ear."

Dapper Dan is right to point out that the Castle is a potential visual contradiction, yet the Castle is not directly adjacent to Main Street, U.S.A - it's adjacent to the Hub, which at WDW's MK, at least, acts as a sort of gateway, neutral-themed zone. The hat, conversely, is not just adjacent to but inside Hollywood Blvd as evidenced by the Chinese Theater behind it and the Brown Derby to its right. As Dapper Dan pointed out, the Hat is surrounded on at least three sides by "the golden age of Hollywood" which makes it the visual equivalent of a fire siren in the midst of an orchestra concert. It simply does not belong.

And the above doesn't even begin to address the hat's aesthetic value or thematic value as a symbol of the park. If DHS existed to celebrate Disney animated films, then the Sorcerer's Hat could be an appropriate icon. But DHS exists to celebrate "the Hollywood that never was and always will be." The Sorcerer's Hat is woefully inadequate in this regard, as it symbolizes only a particular medium of film from a particular production company. The earful tower - emblematic of the signature water towers that existed at most major studios during the golden age of Hollywood, or the Chinese Theater - one of the great Hollywood movie houses from its golden age that served (and still serves) as a gateway to the immersive film experience are much more complete and appropriate icons thematically.

Finally, the hat is just garish and ugly.

Most of WDI wants it gone, and I hope they have their way sooner rather than later.

[ttintagel]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

I really like the hat. I just hate it being where it is. If I was in charge, I'd move it to Downtown Disney and make it the icon of that area.

I also like the new Carthay Circle. It seems to me that while DCA 1.0 was about the general adventure of Californnia, DCA 2.0 is more specifically about *Walt's* adventure in California. The Carthay embodies that moment when the world knew that he had made it to the big time.

[TimmyTimmyTimmy]

Disneyland Paris... the best themepark in Europe and the most balanced of all Magic Kingdoms. A park with classic Disney magic and even something for thrillseekers. The castle here is the most complete and perfect Disneybuilding ever if you ask me. The inside reveals a huge dragon and even environments that you would find in any other real castle in the world. Fantasy and reality in a perfect combination, not too small and not to intimidating.

This is the best of designs:

[WDW1971]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?



?????????????????

[PSUMark]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

Can you tell me how this represents the world where Imagination and Adventure set sail? Where the spirit of exploration lives in all of us? A journey of adventure, romance, discovery and fun? I do not see how a volcano does all of those things.

Well, I can try. Similar to how the castle at MK is Cinderella's Castle and not just "a castle," the volcano at TDS is not just "a volcano" but is Vulcania. If you're familiar with the "20,000 Leagues" mythology of Jules Verne, you know that Vulcania is the home port of Captain Nemo, from which he embarks on imaginative voyages of adventure aboard The Nautilus. For those, such as myself, who are fans of the Verne stories and of Walt Disney's 1954 film, the retro-futurism of Verne and particularly the spirit of Captain Nemo represents a romantic and adventurous "old world" spirit of exploration and discovery.

Admittedly, Vulcania may not function as the greatest possible "thesis statement" on what the whole of TDS encompasses, but it is arguably the most intricately detailed park icon ever created. Sleeping Beauty Castle in DLP is really the only icon that can rival Vulcania in that regard. The hourly eruptions are really cool, and, after Spaceship Earth, Vulcania houses the best attraction contained within a park icon anywhere.

At Walt Disney Studios Paris they have...nothing? What here represents our fascination and affection for cinema and television, celebrates the art and artistry of storytellers?

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone - in this thread or elsewhere - willing to defend anything about Disney Studios Paris. I don't think anyone disagrees with you on this one.

At Hollywood Studios the Sorcerer's Hat represents Hollywood and what people do when then dream, wonder and imagine, where illusions and reality are transcribed by technological magic. If you have seen Fantasia, the hat is used in a scene where Mickey dreams and imagines a whole different world that transcends reality, just like the movies. It also represents Walt Disney Pictures and their movies.

This would kind of make sense if DHS was solely a park about the magic of movie-making and those who make them. (And even if it was, the Hat is still a pretty poor representation of those things.) But DHS is about more than that - it's about "the Hollywood that never was and always will be." A large chunk of the park (arguably the best chunk) is entirely devoted to the culture and setting of the golden age of Hollywood, and the hat doesn't represent that at all. It's also quite the stretch to imply that Mickey in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is acting as a metaphor for filmmakers. Of course, the biggest problem with the hat is still that it's a glaring visual contradiction in its current/context location, but even aside from that, the hat fails as an icon to represent the whole of what DHS is intended to be - the Chinese Theater and the Water Tower both accomplish that better (together or individually).

[ohmyjustin]

Re: Why does WDW have the best icons?

How does the Carthay Circle theater show the spirit and optimism and the endless opportunities in the Golden State? A place that shows the richness and diversity of California. The landscapes, the people and the dreamers it inspires?

Spaceship earth showcases the world and how man's achievements are celebrated through imagination, new and exciting horizons, inform and inspire and instill belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that people everywhere express their beliefs and cultures while at the same time benefiting mankind.

At Hollywood Studios the Sorcerer's Hat represents Hollywood and what people do when then dream, wonder and imagine, where illusions and reality are transcribed by technological magic. If you have seen Fantasia, the hat is used in a scene where Mickey dreams and imagines a whole different world that transcends reality, just like the movies. It also represents Walt Disney Pictures and their movies.

The Tree of Life showcases how animals are so dependent upon their land and there is balance and harmony within the Animal Kingdom where every organism is vital to survival and man's necessity to preserve this beauty.

If you're going to talk about the icons, then talk about the icons. If you want to talk about the attractions, then talk about the attractions.

Carthay Circle can represent the spirit and optimism because it is the embodiment of a dream coming true. That's where the Walt's first full-length movie was presented. Snow White exceeded expectations of anyone and can be considered a turning point in his career. Some might say it was the beginning of the Disney empire, even more important than any of his other characters because this was the first that really pushed what animation was.

It too shows the richness and diversity in its food. Everything from Udon noodles with its Asian inspiration to the Italian pastas and American burgers, etc. Fresh vegetables and other ingredients are staples of Californian culture. Even without the restaurant, though, does CCT fully explore dreams and making them come true. Perhaps not California landscaping, but again, I think that's nothing more than a supporting role in the new DCA.

Spaceship Earth as a visual icon is none of those things. It is a large ball. It screams futuristic, but it does not talk about man's horizons or accomplishments unless you get into detail about the ride inside. Its history as an attraction house doesn't mean anything unless you talk about the attraction.

The Sorcerer's Hat comes from a scene in Fantasia where Mickey breaks the rules and gets into a huge mess and nearly drowns until Yen Sid saves the day. Mickey didn't know how to use the hat and it was nearly his end because of it. Does it represent dreams and magic? Sure. But to say it has anything to do with technological magic is a stretch to me. Perhaps if you want to say that the hat is more about Fantasia as a whole and not so much the one scene, then yes, I would agree. However, I will say that the hat is a better icon than the theatre or the Earful tower. The theatre represents the heyday of movies, which is not necessarily what the entire park is about (I'm looking at Rock n Rollercoaster, but maybe that is the odd man out) and the tower is really just a water tower with ears on it. All that says to me is Disney took over a studio and wanted to have a little chuckle.