The Bridge at DCA (Hyperion) has been painted according to Touring Plans...

Great, with the new color, all they need to do is add two towers and some suspender cables and they'll have a squished version of the Golden Gate Bridge! Oh, wait... they already tried that and it didn't work?

I personally liked the old color better because it nicely complemented the Carthay Circle in the background.

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Originally Posted by frollofan

I personally liked the old color better because it nicely complemented the Carthay Circle in the background.

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Bingo.

Comparing the two pictures, the new colors look awful. The pinkish color calls negative attention to itself, it clashes with the rest of BVS. I don't think that the original bridge being a similar color of its surrounding buildings made the land monochromatic. It made it classy, clean, and elegant. It made it true to the time period and thus an effective story piece that complimented its surroundings and that looked natural and right in it place.

The new colors of the bridge might work if the bridge was in a state of isolation, if it was a simple bridge without a story or a name or a purpose. But the thing is, the bridge exists as a story piece in a themed area, it exists to convey certain ideas and to help establish the time and the mood of Buena Vista Street. It had a name, a story, a purpose that are completely altered with this new color. As many posters have pointed out, the new color scheme of the bridge is not reflective of its original inspiration and not evocative of the age of BVS. It ceases to be an icon, it ceases to be something that enhances the story and brings subtle elegance and style to the land. It might be a small detail, but it makes a big difference.

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Originally Posted by gatheringrosebuds

Comparing the two pictures, the new colors look awful. The pinkish color calls negative attention to itself, it clashes with the rest of BVS. I don't think that the original bridge being a similar color of its surrounding buildings made the land monochromatic. It made it classy, clean, and elegant. It made it true to the time period and thus an effective story piece that complimented its surroundings and that looked natural and right in it place.

The new colors of the bridge might work if the bridge was in a state of isolation, if it was a simple bridge without a story or a name or a purpose. But the thing is, the bridge exists as a story piece in a themed area, it exists to convey certain ideas and to help establish the time and the mood of Buena Vista Street. It had a name, a story, a purpose that are completely altered with this new color. As many posters have pointed out, the new color scheme of the bridge is not reflective of its original inspiration and not evocative of the age of BVS. It ceases to be an icon, it ceases to be something that enhances the story and brings subtle elegance and style to the land. It might be a small detail, but it makes a big difference.

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Well said.

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Originally Posted by gatheringrosebuds

Comparing the two pictures, the new colors look awful. The pinkish color calls negative attention to itself, it clashes with the rest of BVS. I don't think that the original bridge being a similar color of its surrounding buildings made the land monochromatic. It made it classy, clean, and elegant. It made it true to the time period and thus an effective story piece that complimented its surroundings and that looked natural and right in it place.

The new colors of the bridge might work if the bridge was in a state of isolation, if it was a simple bridge without a story or a name or a purpose. But the thing is, the bridge exists as a story piece in a themed area, it exists to convey certain ideas and to help establish the time and the mood of Buena Vista Street. It had a name, a story, a purpose that are completely altered with this new color. As many posters have pointed out, the new color scheme of the bridge is not reflective of its original inspiration and not evocative of the age of BVS. It ceases to be an icon, it ceases to be something that enhances the story and brings subtle elegance and style to the land. It might be a small detail, but it makes a big difference.

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While I agree about the old colors being fine together, I remember quite a few people on this forum saying that BVS had way too much beige. Perhaps they got a few complaints during surveys?

There really has to be a good reason for doing what they did. No money is being made on the new colors. So I must imagine there was some practical reason for the change. It could have been because of guest response. It could have been the paint wouldn't hold up to wear and tear so a temporary, stronger replacement was used. Or maybe like someone said earlier, the metal work staining the lighter paint.

Ok, instead of focusing on pictures of the new painted bridge. Why not focus our attention on a video I shot of a Before and After look of the Painted Hyperion Bridge in HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap3tKapv4nI

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Originally Posted by Pinrar

There really has to be a good reason for doing what they did. No money is being made on the new colors. So I must imagine there was some practical reason for the change. It could have been because of guest response. It could have been the paint wouldn't hold up to wear and tear so a temporary, stronger replacement was used. Or maybe like someone said earlier, the metal work staining the lighter paint.

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My bet is that the "reason" is the same one Disney used in recent years to crank up the chroma on Main Street to Mall levels, saturate the castle colors to resemble Barbie Princess toy packaging, stock the shops of Main Street, Buena Vista Street and Frontierland with the same gaudy, generic character crap they sell at WalMart, and crank up the background music throughout the park. The goal is to create an environment of brightness and loudness that supports Disney's corporate vision of the DLR as a brand marketing mall aimed at grabbing the youth and kid demographics. To the Disney Marketeers, beige is blah and history is for geezers: you gotta keep it as bright and loud as a cartoon if you want to keep 'em spending.

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Originally Posted by Retrocool

Actually I WOULD prefer that the Carthay be purposed as a theater, a movie theater specifically. But, it hasn't been; it's been purposed as a restaurant. I don't much like it, but it's relatively acceptable, given that the exterior of the building (until now) replicates the original (now-demolished) building.

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I'm really hoping you know that DCA's Hyperion hasn't changed. That's a picture of the one at Hollywood Studios, the mini one, that's always looked like that.

As seen in the video above I think it looks ok during night as everything else is lit too.

But during the day i def. prefer the older version. OH well.

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Originally Posted by Mr Wiggins

My bet is that the "reason" is the same one Disney used in recent years to crank up the chroma on Main Street to Mall levels, saturate the castle colors to resemble Barbie Princess toy packaging, stock the shops of Main Street, Buena Vista Street and Frontierland with the same gaudy, generic character crap they sell at WalMart, and crank up the background music throughout the park. The goal is to create an environment of brightness and loudness that supports Disney's corporate vision of the DLR as a brand marketing mall aimed at grabbing the youth and kid demographics. To the Disney Marketeers, beige is blah and history is for geezers: you gotta keep it as bright and loud as a cartoon if you want to keep 'em spending.

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I guess were going to have to agree to disagree. While I might be able to concede that the castle colors might not have been just for the 50th but also to appeal to the little princess lovers, I think it too much of a stretch to say the same thing about the bridge's new look. I just dont see how brown vs beige(2 colors children in particular find boring) makes kids want to make their parents buy more things. And I think its even more of a stretch to believe that that was disney's actual motivation.

Like I said you might have a case with the castle, but the bridge? I'm just not buying it(no pun intended)

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Originally Posted by Westsider

Out of curiosity, were you also this upset when you first saw the DCA bridge for the first time six months ago? Since the DCA version has towers that are all out of scale to the original, and are missing their finials on the tower tops, and WDI decided to slap on four extra pediments with light fixtures in the middle of the span that never appear anywhere on the original viaduct bridge sections? Did all that make you mad, since it was obvious changes and additions that the original bridge never had?

The DCA version of this bridge is not a clone of the original Hyperion viaduct. It's got a scale and light fixtures and added columns and pediments that don't exist on the original. Was that troubling for you on opening day back on June 15th?

And if so, how come it never came up before?

What's with all the sudden emotion for this bridge no one seemed to care much about before, and current outrage that WDI just altered the color scheme on it? I looked at it on my way in to work this morning through the DCA entry gates, and it looks really good in person. A big improvement over the sea of beige stucco that section of the street had before.

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Thank God you exist. The sanity-keepers are fewer and farther between now.

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Originally Posted by Kevbot217

Thank God you exist. The sanity-keepers are fewer and farther between now.

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Why is someone not sane if they don't care for the new paint job? Don't we all have the right to an opinion?

The new paint on the bridge does change the street. Now the bridge has become a "weanie." It stands out from the rest of the street. It now has become a destination to reach. Before with the muted color, it blended into the street helping it disappear. It does make Buena Vista Street more hip and edgy. I think that is what they are going for.

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Originally Posted by JiminyCricketFan

The new paint on the bridge does change the street. Now the bridge has become a "weanie." It stands out from the rest of the street. It now has become a destination to reach. Before with the muted color, it blended into the street helping it disappear. It does make Buena Vista Street more hip and edgy. I think that is what they are going for.

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And we all know that Disney does "hip and edgy" well.....:lol: