Has the phrase "Disneyland will never be completed..." become negative?

[Disneylandfan85]

We've all heard the phrase, "Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there's imagination left in the world". Those are some good words, but it seems as though it has come to be viewed in a negative light for any reason, mostly any changes that are not particularly liked.

What gives?

[MrsMonroe]

I embrace change

[animagusurreal]

I think it's positive when it represents Walt's spirit of innovation and pushing the envelope, constantly giving his audience something new and wonderful to explore.

I think it's negative when it's used to say that all changes of any kind of ever are automatically pre-ordained by Walt and thus cannot ever be critiqued ever ever ever ever ever for any reason.

[frollofan]

In the past 2 decades definitely, considering the times Disney has replaced quality attractions with inferior ones. Country Bears to Pooh, Swiss Family Robinson to Tarzan, etc. However, with attractions such as Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, and Star Tours proving to be change for the better, I now have faith that attractions will be replaced for more imaginative, more creative, more enjoyable attractions. If this ultimately becomes Disney's main goal in imagineering attractions, then Walt Disney's quote will still have a positive meaning.

[CAspace]

It is The one motto Walt quoted that the corporation uses to justify the removal of attractions and the addition of usually inferior replacements.

MBA's make most of the "creative" decisions at Disney Corp. these days. They disregard almost all of Walt's ideals.

[Meville]

For some people Imagination is a synonym for 'money to be made'.

[lazyboy97O]

Disney of today is obsessed with the first half of the quote, but for the most part has flushed the second part down the toilet. That second half is key. Change to Disneyland is not supposed to be a mere given that just happens, it is supposed to be done with meaning and purpose, with imagination. Looking at the latest box office receipts and toy sales is not imaginative. Wrapping content in different wrappers to make it "fit" into the aesthetic of an existing area is not imaginative. Replacing open-ended experiences with prescribed narrative suppresses imagination.

[Mr Wiggins]

It is The one motto Walt quoted that the corporation uses to justify the removal of attractions and the addition of usually inferior replacements.

MBA's make most of the "creative" decisions at Disney Corp. these days. They disregard almost all of Walt's ideals.

Disney of today is obsessed with the first half of the quote, but for the most part has flushed the second part down the toilet. That second half is key. Change to Disneyland is not supposed to be a mere given that just happens, it is supposed to be done with meaning and purpose, with imagination. Looking at the latest box office receipts and toy sales is not imaginative. Wrapping content in different wrappers to make it "fit" into the aesthetic of an existing area is not imaginative. Replacing open-ended experiences with prescribed narrative suppresses imagination.

Bingo x 2.

[gomezaddams]

Lazyboy is spot on, but there is something missing in the original statement. It should read, "Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there's imagination left in the world and the volition to make it happen."

I'm quite sure that there have been some fabulous designs drawn up over the last decades that just stayed plans. There have been other attractions that have been gutted in their planning & construction. What has been missing is a major lynch pin in the process. The embodiment of that key factor was Roy Disney. Walt & crew came up with ideas & Roy had to figure out a way to make it happen. Roy was a very under appreciated member of the team. Walt was one of a kind & it looks like Roy was fairly unique in his own right.

Today, they start with a budget and design down from there. The only team that seems to have the proper balance is the group in Tokyo. Compare the two Pooh attractions. The Tokyo version is an impressive experience & I have only seen it on video. We have proof that the Imagineers can design & build such an attraction if the entire team has the volition to create such an attraction. How different would Critter Country in Anaheim be if a Tokyo caliber of attraction was built there instead of what was erected?
Radiator Springs Racer was a nice attempt but still falls short in my view. It tried to do too many things without doing any of them very well. It is a short attention span attraction. The entire design smacks of compromise and not vision.
The phrase will not become operative again until the people in charge change the pecking order in the process. It should be budget for design and not design for budget. You know for sure that Walt went to Roy and said, "This is what we want. Now, how much is it going to cost us?" He did not go in to Roy and ask, "How much can we spend for this attraction?"
Roy found a way to do it. All that you have to do is look to Tokyo to know that it is still possible. There is still a faint hope for that phrase to regain its promise, but there will have to be fundamental changes.

[MickeyM]

Today, they start with a budget and design down from there. The only team that seems to have the proper balance is the group in Tokyo. Compare the two Pooh attractions. The Tokyo version is an impressive experience & I have only seen it on video. We have proof that the Imagineers can design & build such an attraction if the entire team has the volition to create such an attraction. How different would Critter Country in Anaheim be if a Tokyo caliber of attraction was built there instead of what was erected?

Tokyo consistently has extraordinary budgets and subsequent mind-blowing attractions because the Oriental Land Company (Tokyo Disneyland's owners) pay the bills. The Walt Disney Company usually has to pay very little out of their own pockets for what goes to Tokyo. With the right budgets, impressive things can be built.

[bayouguy]

From what I've gathered about Walt, he used to admonish his artist for throwing away stuff as he felt that there were many good ideas among the discarded papers. I guess present imagineers delete their good ideas faster, rather than keeping files for future usages.

[lazyboy97O]

Tokyo consistently has extraordinary budgets and subsequent mind-blowing attractions because the Oriental Land Company (Tokyo Disneyland's owners) pay the bills. The Walt Disney Company usually has to pay very little out of their own pockets for what goes to Tokyo. With the right budgets, impressive things can be built.

But do you know why, ultimately, they pay those bills? Because they are contractually obligated to uphold the Disney standards that The Walt Disney Company continues to impose on them, but not themselves. Disney themselves knows these standards, but figures we just don't notice and its easier to do less here while charging the Oriental Land Company to continue to do more.

[DARTH MAUL]

Disney of today is obsessed with the first half of the quote, but for the most part has flushed the second part down the toilet. That second half is key. Change to Disneyland is not supposed to be a mere given that just happens, it is supposed to be done with meaning and purpose, with imagination. Looking at the latest box office receipts and toy sales is not imaginative. Wrapping content in different wrappers to make it "fit" into the aesthetic of an existing area is not imaginative. Replacing open-ended experiences with prescribed narrative suppresses imagination.

[lazyboy97O]

Which part do you find confusing?

[DARTH MAUL]

Wrapping content in different wrappers to make it "fit" into the aesthetic of an existing area is not imaginative. Replacing open-ended experiences with prescribed narrative suppresses imagination.

well, I would say that altering content to fit the theme of the land DOES indeed help. Also, I have no idea what the last example is referring to.