No more hand painted watches on Main Street-Declining by Degrees continues

[Giant Panda]

Do not misrepresent my words, please. You have no idea what kind of r-word I get when this happens.
It's the AP PROGRAM that is the one policy that causes every problem.

I never bought a watch, either. I liked that it was there. But if it's gonna take that much red tape, then I'm glad I didn't inquire. Buying something like that would be like choosing a tattoo. It's something that should last forever and it should be very personal. (Mainly because of the cost, and that I'd be wearing it all the time.)

That's a great idea, Sediment! A tatoo parlor on Main Street! Okay okay, maybe in the alley they're going to build behind Main Street ....

[DisneylandTraveler]

Posted wrong spot...sorry

[clippers6]

When you write "blame the AP's," some people will think I'm actually doing that.

Thing is, the PROGRAM causes TDA to look for more revenue, such that every retail space not holding its own is up for a renovation of some kind. Without the PROGRAM, more revenue comes from admissions, which means that the whole park is an attraction and watchpainting is part of the show that people paid to see. And TDA can then focus on attracting more paying guests at the gate instead of prying more money from their wallets once they're in.

I do agree that it was very niche. And there is no reason to have the shop right there on Main Street, when someone could do all the red-tape work via online. But it is an example of "declining by degrees," in which something is taken out and replaced by something less.

I was referring to annual passes in general, not the actual passholders themselves, but I see your point. I agree with you about the declining by degrees. So many of the things I enjoyed when I went with my parents have been replaced by retail space. However, I still think the hand painted watches would still be gone even without the annual pass program. It's just one of those things that most people don't appreciate. Getting a picture on a small watch face is a painstaking process that requires a great deal of skill, but unfortunately it isn't something I think today's contemporary audience really reacts to and the price doesn't help. I think the design of the location didn't help either as it was hard to watch them work. Since they mentioned that some of the artists would be transferred to The Disney Gallery, I wonder why they can't just offer watches there.

---------- Post added 10-30-2012 at 03:05 PM ----------

No, they were removed by Disney because of changing political views on the treatment of Native Americans and the use of their cultural traditions for commercial purposes.

You could argue that changing cultural views and tastes also led to the removal of the Tobacco Shop, Flower Shop, Candle Shop, etc. even though all of those and the Native Americans were good thematic fits. The loss of the watch shop can be linked to a culture that is shifting toward technology (cell phones) and away from watches.

[blackoutj]

I am sure I will get a lot of disagreement on this, but I went multiple times to look at getting a customized watch done for me and the types of things I wanted as a fan boy were never really offered. To be fair I only ever did look at the book and didn't ask about doing designs outside of the book.

[darkamor]

Sometime change is good (ie no Aunt Jemima Pancake Restaurant), sometime change is bad (ie less space for Penny Arcade, less specialty shops highlighting artisan shops of the era) sometime change is out of our hands (ie poor quality merchandise, nothing one of a kind except the candy made @ Disneyland daily), sometimes fads bring about change (ie maybe one a kind merchandise will strictly be sold in Downtown Disneyland where it doesn't require theme park admission to get to & there is more foot traffic) - would a SWATCH Shop on Main Street selling Disney themed Swatch watches work, or are Smart Phones replacing the need to have a watch? (in this case, not everyone is an iPhone user, so perhaps the Walt Disney Co can start making merchandise for those who use HTC or Samsung) ...


R.I.P. Main Street USA (I'll hold onto the Memories about what I dearly <3)

C J