A dream is a wish your heart makes, so long as the sugar shock doesn't put you into cardiac arrest. Thankfully the millions of guests who wished this gargantuan exercise in bad taste was only temporary had only to wait till the 25th Anniversary of Walt Disney World was over.
20 comments:
When I was at WDW while this "cake castle" was up - I was seated next to a little girl (presumably the target audience for this decor) on the Monorail who blurted out to her parents: "Why did they ruin the castle! It's so ugly!!!"
Exactly.
What was even worse was seeing it half-on, half-off before the celebreation began. The cold cranes surrounding the castle, hoisting pieces of that giant faux confection, only made a very jarring sight even worse, no matter where in the park you stood.
What's more, this was the one time that I remember seeing Guests actually embarrassed to look in the direction of the castle. What could possibly be more inane than that?
It's sad how far a little bad Imagineering can take you.
Yeah - spectacular feat of engineering and construction, icky result.
This is a wonderful idea. Which miniature golf course is this castle located?
Many locals here, such as myself, couldn't even go near the Magic Kingdom during that time period.
Too much Pepto®, not enough relief!
John Hench had his hand in the Castle Cake. I'm fairly sure he retained his job.
Honestly, do you guys just take shots at stuff that annoyed you or are you focused on seriously changing the way imagineering works?
Yes, people disliked the Castle Cake overlay, but it was temporary AND one of the original Imagineers, one of the very same guys who created the glory days you pine for, was partially responsible for it. You can do better than this.
If you're interested, John Hench happily relates his involvement in an interview with Alain Littaye in Walt's People Vol. 1, edited by Didier Ghez.
Sorry, I don't see anything wrong with the new paint job for Disneyland's castle and the few other "50th" touches. It sparkled and became the centerpiece for several events -- from the best-ever nightly fireworks show to the rededication ceremony July 17 featuring Diane Disney Miller.
Looking at the cake overlay and thinking that someone certainly learned a valuable lesson. I'm sure it could have been worse -- like gold-leafing the entire structure.
Good design is timeless. Bad design is just bad design. Hench or no Hench. If Ghandi or Princess Di or Martin Luther King designed this overlay I wouldn't be any less disgusted.
Im not sure there was ever that much good design in the Florida castle.. Yes its big but it still looks plastic and wrong.. At least they got it right in DLP..
My point was not that John Hench=Automatically Good, but that not everything that one finds distasteful in Disney is the result of Imagineering rotting from within.
There are legitimate complains to be made about the current state of Imagineering but this was not one of them. I notice the call for firing the imagineers responsible was taken off the main post. That was my main reason for responding in the first place...as much as I hate the Tiki Room Under New Management, I'm not calling for the heads of those responsible.
The 50th Anniversary treatment was tastefully done.
The Cake treatment I think was just to stark a change to the centerpiece.
The idea though to celebrate a milestone birthday in such a huge way was understood by me personally.
Ok, So we all know what not to do, but this is going to come up again some time. What would you suggest?
Also, lets remember that a long time ago, these same beloved people tried to make a mountain out of candy before. People fail, we learn and them move on. "Disneyland Circus" anyone?
Speaking on behalf of what could well be the majority of women, if it were made of chocolate I think I could have tolerated it for a while.
The cake idea was ugly, but at least it was temporary. Worse was the change to Spaceship Earth.
That Cake Castle was God awful. Disneyland Paris looked good for it's 5th but I still think that castle (the most gorgeous of them all) looks best as it was originaly meant to be viewed. The Dinseyland 50th castle really REALLY looked good in my eyes and was a perfect touch for the celebration of the 50th.
I personally feel the overlay was a bit on the kitschy side however I feel that the Imagineers where heading in the right direction. True, the castles are the centerpieces of the parks, the wienies, the icons, etc. but I feel it was the first step in a direction that could end in amazing results that could indeed leave us guests in wonderment. I think the Imagineers are totally aware of how the birthday cake was a tad over the top. I think as the years have progressed they're still trying to fine tune the art of the castle overlays. Granted it may take a few good ole college tries but I think if the Imagineers do continue this trend they may just nail it.
I personally feel the overlay was a bit on the kitschy side however I feel that the Imagineers where heading in the right direction. True, the castles are the centerpieces of the parks, the wienies, the icons, etc. but I feel it was the first step in a direction that could end in amazing results that could indeed leave us guests in wonderment. I think the Imagineers are totally aware of how the birthday cake was a tad over the top. I think as the years have progressed they're still trying to fine tune the art of the castle overlays. Granted it may take a few good ole college tries but I think if the Imagineers do continue this trend they may just nail it.
I personally feel the overlay was a bit on the kitschy side however I feel that the Imagineers where heading in the right direction. True, the castles are the centerpieces of the parks, the wienies, the icons, etc. but I feel it was the first step in a direction that could end in amazing results that could indeed leave us guests in wonderment. I think the Imagineers are totally aware of how the birthday cake was a tad over the top. I think as the years have progressed they're still trying to fine tune the art of the castle overlays. Granted it may take a few good ole college tries but I think if the Imagineers do continue this trend they may just nail it.
yes, I will agree with you full heartingly on THAT! THAT CAKE WAS HORRIFIC! I thought it was actually funny the first time I saw it, but it got really old, REALLY FAST!
Therewestop said...
Good design is timeless. Bad design is just bad design. Hench or no Hench. If Ghandi or Princess Di or Martin Luther King designed this overlay I wouldn't be any less disgusted.
He he.
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