tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post114913326164708263..comments2024-02-08T07:33:49.907-08:00Comments on Re-Imagineering: The Slow Sad Sinking of UtiMr Bankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952506736745891323noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-43081264463549028822013-12-30T19:40:32.338-08:002013-12-30T19:40:32.338-08:00Loved the post and UTI is one of my favorite tikis...Loved the post and UTI is one of my favorite tikis. UTI is alive and well at the Polynesian resort in Florida. I had the pleasure of seeing several when i was there!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-87245513917318706992008-03-05T17:24:00.000-08:002008-03-05T17:24:00.000-08:00I know where Uti is.There's a copy of that sculpt ...I know where Uti is.<BR/><BR/>There's a copy of that sculpt at the Polynesian Resort. The tooling (mold) is at WDW. I've seen it for myself. A new Uit could be made right now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-89104464736802554002007-07-08T00:32:00.000-07:002007-07-08T00:32:00.000-07:00While I agree with most of this post, sincerely, I...While I agree with most of this post, sincerely, I do have one positive correction. Now, while the Uti figure can still be considered one of a kind, a mold definitely exists somewhere. All nine of the Tiki Gods are scattered all around the Polynesian Resort in Florida. I sculpted my own copy of Pele while living there, and took about a hundred tiki god photos for reference. They're needing a little help, and fresh paint, but they are all there reproduced and scattered all over the property. I must have counted four or five of each of them. The point is, a mold exists, and they should replace Uti.<BR/><BR/>-Al Peterson<BR/>aloyzius6@hotmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1161670634221863722006-10-23T23:17:00.000-07:002006-10-23T23:17:00.000-07:00"Disneyland has been such a source of happiness fo..."Disneyland has been such a source of happiness for me over the years that I can't help but regard the glass as half full whenever given the option."<BR/><BR/>That may be true, but for some, we have seen what Disney was, and we have seen what Disney has become, and we are disappointed. We believe that the people running the show have lost the vision in favor of the dollar. The synergistic marketing frenzy seems to have overtaken everything, including Walt's vision for what the parks were supposed to be. You can grow and change without abandoning the past, without abandoning your heritage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149482573212647022006-06-04T21:42:00.000-07:002006-06-04T21:42:00.000-07:00"Anonymous" #5 said "Things are going to come and ..."Anonymous" #5 said "Things are going to come and go" at the park -- and that's true, and that's all well and good. But the reasons behind the "come and go" are pertinent to an attraction's revision. That is to say, if a show element is dropped or added for the purposes of improving it one way or another, then that is a valid reason for change. However, if a show element (or entire show) is lost due to neglect, apathy, or misunderstanding of what the show/story is all about, then that is merely ignorance in action. <BR/><BR/>Walt did say that the park would change and evolve "as long as there is imagination" -- he did not, I belive, endorse changes due to slack or indifference.<BR/><BR/>- fanofwaltAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149477856173883362006-06-04T20:24:00.000-07:002006-06-04T20:24:00.000-07:00Mr Banks, I respect what you're doing here. I rea...Mr Banks, <BR/><BR/>I respect what you're doing here. I really do. I just wanted to add that there is a difference between understanding your point and agreeing with it. I understand what "Most readers have obviously" understood before me. I just don't agree with it.<BR/><BR/>Disneyland has been such a source of happiness for me over the years that I can't help but regard the glass as half full whenever given the option. <BR/><BR/>Well, thank you for allowing me to throw my thoughts into the barrel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149474372392611832006-06-04T19:26:00.000-07:002006-06-04T19:26:00.000-07:00I knew a comment like this was coming but am glad ...I knew a comment like this was coming but am glad it took so long to show up. Most readers obviously understood the point being made here, which is very comforting.<BR/><BR/>Yes, in the grand scheme of things this isn't an earth shattering loss. But the demise of Uti serves as a very pertinent metaphor for the drip by drip degradation of the parks overall. One very relevant show element down we can live with, but add it up with the hundreds, even thousands, of small carefully considered show details that are regularly watered down or tossed in the trash and the whole house caves in. There was no reason why Uti had to go. The cost to restore her was negligible. Her value as a key component to over-all show was priceless.<BR/><BR/>If we continue to believe that the classy thoughtful little details of Disney theme parks aren't worth saving then we deserve what we get.<BR/><BR/>It all adds up.Mr Bankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12952506736745891323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149473369385368582006-06-04T19:09:00.000-07:002006-06-04T19:09:00.000-07:00This kind of nit pick obsession is really just too...This kind of nit pick obsession is really just too much. While I'm the first to agree that the Disney Parks took a dramatic down swing in the 90's, it's crazy to go on about things like a missing Tiki during our current upswing in quality. The newly redone courtyard is beautiful. The new team running the park should be applauded for their efforts at restoration inside the berm and not slandered for their abandonment of irrelevant show building details. Disneyland is not a museum to be preserved. Things are going to come and go and while some loses deserve to be mourned we, as an internet community and fan base, need to really pick and choose which battles are important and which just make us seem like out of touch curmudgeons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149188581144140032006-06-01T12:03:00.000-07:002006-06-01T12:03:00.000-07:00It's time that Disney drop corporate Imagineering©...It's time that Disney drop corporate Imagineering© and go back to the ultra-creative WED Enterprises. Get rid of them stinkin' uncreative lawyers. What the heck are they doing designing and maintaining Disneyland anyway??!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149187611544081812006-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:002006-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00A good place for Uti to be rebirthed would be the ...A good place for Uti to be rebirthed would be the Polynesian Resort. Put her about 10-20 meters out into the lake, with her back to the resort, and she'd be perfect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149187362842507412006-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:002006-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:00I've never been witness to Uti, well not since I w...I've never been witness to Uti, well not since I was one or so years old. But, the sentiment put forth here is perfect. It's sad to see Disney "Out-Disney-ed" at one of their own parks. Though I ahve never seen the Tokyo parks, other than pictures. Even those pictures are amazing.<BR/><BR/>the outsourcing should stop. The people in the front lines who represent the whole company should be treated better, should be treated like who they are. The faces of Disney. I too think the list of things being done wrong, is long and depressing. My real concern is how far into the rut can you get before you realize something isnt right. Some steps have been made, but its barely even a drop in the ocean. <BR/><BR/>And, yes, why are they looking to expand more when there is so much work to do here in our own backyards still? How many parks can you build before you become another six flags on a grand scale? Disney is special for many reasons, let's not forget that one of them is that there WAS no other place on Earth like it. If things keep up the way they are heading, Disneylands could become (cringe) cookie cutter parks, and what's so special about that? <BR/><BR/>-gurgiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149170315647779432006-06-01T06:58:00.000-07:002006-06-01T06:58:00.000-07:00Mr Banks,Thank you for the story of the disapperan...Mr Banks,<BR/>Thank you for the story of the disapperance of UTI. I always wondered what happened. I hope the management knows that we notice these things. DL and WDW have lost so many of the little touches that make them part of our hearts and minds.<BR/>The list is so long and depressing. <BR/>Maybe it's time to devote more time and money in our American parks rather than abandon these shores for "offshore" locations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149152430642302302006-06-01T02:00:00.000-07:002006-06-01T02:00:00.000-07:00The collapse of the thatched roof is a striking me...The collapse of the thatched roof is a striking metaphor for what happened to corporate Disney over the same period. The replacement with cheap umbrellas is a filling reflection of the "spreadsheet <BR/>management" style instituted during that time. Though the managers may have filled their functional roles, the charm, culture, and magic was gone. To quote a dear friend "though it may smell like a rose, you have to realize it's really just cheap perfume". It's time to bring back Uti and have the roses bloom once more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22576594.post-1149139560118288202006-05-31T22:26:00.000-07:002006-05-31T22:26:00.000-07:00And if anyone out there has seen the wayward godde...And if anyone out there has seen the wayward goddess, perhaps one day Sleeping Uti will reawaken...Merlin Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13397520005969644808noreply@blogger.com