Tom Staggs Says -- "It Can't Just Be About Nostalgia"

[DoctorQ9]

The New York Times did an article recently about the "New Fantasyland" at WDW. Here is an excerpt:

To make all this fantasy a reality, Disney more than doubled the size of Fantasyland, to 21 acres from 10 acres. Along the way, there were casualties, like Snow White’s Scary Adventures, a ride that had been in the park since it opened in 1971. Purists grumble when a classic ride like that is shuttered. Yet evolution is as much a part of Disney’s DNA as mouse ears. The parks are always changing. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park didn’t exist when I was little. Another year, I arrived to find beaches in a spot where I didn’t recall so much as a grain of sand. A few weeks ago, I zoomed along on the newly re-engineered Test Track Presented by Chevrolet at Epcot. As new Magic Kingdom attractions pop up, old favorites disappear, be it Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
“It can’t just be about nostalgia,” Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, told me the next morning as I stood beside him in a rose garden peering up at the spires of Cinderella’s Castle.

From my previous postings regarding the Grand Canyon Diorama and the Autopia, some of my fellow MiceChatters have gotten the impression that I want all of the older attractions to either 1) be drastically revamped or 2) be removed and replaced with newer attractions. In brief, they think that I have no respect for Disneyland nostalgia.

However, I believe that my position is closer to that of Tom Staggs himself -- it cannot be just about nostalgia. Older attractions (or older elements within that attraction) should make way for newer attractions if the newer attractions would make the entire Disney experience better.

Is my position a reasonable one? Do you agree with Tom Stagg's statement?

[PiecesOfEight]

Do you agree with Tom Stagg's statement?

Of course.

[ssaamm]

Do you agree with Tom Stagg's statement?

Mostly, but taking out a ride for a meet and greet I do not agree with

[Mr Wiggins]

Do you agree with Tom Stagg's statement?

Tom Staggs? Which Tom Staggs?

Tom "Michael Eisner's Chief Financial Officer" Staggs? Tom "Strategic Planning Superhoncho" Staggs? That Tom Staggs?

Maybe they're referring to Tom "One Disney" Staggs? Tom "Disney Parks Merchandise In Every Store" Staggs? Tom "Brands, Brands and More Brands" Staggs?

No matter, Tom "Biggest Beancounter in Burbank" Staggs weighing in on the subject of nostalgia has to be the worst joke of 2012.

[lazyboy97O]

Staggs is trying to scapegoat what set Disney apart by framing it as something outdated an antiquated.

[DoctorQ9]

Mostly, but taking out a ride for a meet and greet I do not agree with

I wholeheartedly agree. Meet & Greets or Playgrounds do not count as true attractions in my book...

[SoCalbma]

Agreed!!!

I think the removal of Snow White ride for Meet and Greet is Stupid!

[Disneytwins]

It can't be just about nostalgia. I agree.

[Coheteboy]

If it's JUST about nostalgia, then nothing will change. So in that mindset, Staggs is correct. But it cannot just be about change for the sake of change.

See: 1998 Tomorrowland

[almandot]

If it can't just be about nostalgia, we didn't need to create attractions based on The Little Mermaid(1989), Beauty and the Beast(1991), and Snow White(1937). I understand he's talking more about the whole "parks not being a museum" concept, but let's not misplace the fact that the majority of the disney park experience is a product of nostalgia. :P

[Mr Wiggins]

If it's JUST about nostalgia, then nothing will change. So in that mindset, Staggs is correct. But it cannot just be about change for the sake of change.

See: 1998 Tomorrowland

Exactly right. And yes, Disney theme parks certainly should not be just about nostalgia.

But the thing that makes Staggs' statement such a laughable example of Disney's self-serving PR spin is how it dodges the reality of what he and his cronies believe Disney theme parks are about, namely, their mentor Michael's decree that it's "all about turning movies into rides."

Staggs should let the other shoe drop and come clean on the truth: he and his corporate beancounters see Disney parks as just about brands.

[Buster Keaton]

I would agree that it can't be all about nostalgia, but at the same time nostalgia is a crucial element. Walt Disney himself did say "I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past." So, Disneyland needs to have one foot firmly set in the past and the other foot set firmly in the future. How does that work out in real life? That's where the controversy resides. Taking out an attraction for a "Meet and Greet the Princesses" site doesn't serve either nostalgia or progress in my opinion. In a world of ipods and texting, I think it's great that there's a place where I can take my kids (if I had any that is) to see fully working steam powered trains, a steamboat, an idealized turn of the century "Main Street", and other "nostalgic" things. It's sort of a sly way of educating people when you think about it. I hope Disney never loses sight of that.

[LordVader]

Isn't Staggs next in line to be CEO once Iger resigns? If so, then I dread the day he comes into office.

[Disneymike]

Isn't Staggs next in line to be CEO once Iger resigns? If so, then I dread the day he comes into office.

Yep.....

[MrsMonroe]

I agree with him but although i dont think closing the park signature attractions is a good idea, see peoplemover lol