Someone recorded a song and filmed a music video to criticize the current direction and management of the Disney parks.
• What Would Walt Say (Music Video)
• What Would Walt Say (Visualizer Video)
What Would Walt Say
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UmbrellaFish
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Re: What Would Walt Say
Big cringe.
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Sotiris
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Re: What Would Walt Say
I found it amusing that parks nerds have moved from complaining online to creating entire protest songs. 
I'm not into the parks myself, but I do see constant complaints about the parks' creative direction as well as reports about attendance being down. How do you feel? Are you satisfied with how Disney's currently running the parks?
I'm not into the parks myself, but I do see constant complaints about the parks' creative direction as well as reports about attendance being down. How do you feel? Are you satisfied with how Disney's currently running the parks?
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UmbrellaFish
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Re: What Would Walt Say
I found the video confusing and overwrought. To me, it’s very confusing to talk about “What Would Walt Say” about a theme park that he was never alive to visit. Roy was hugely important in making the Magic Kingdom happen after Walt’s death, but I think Walt would have wanted more original experiences (not copies of Disneyland attractions). Roy opted for copies I think because that was a provably successful model left behind by Walt, but also because that’s much cheaper than developing lots of new attractions. I think Walt would have wanted to continue pushing the envelope by developing new attractions and new tech. In that sense, I don’t think the Magic Kingdom has ever been everything it might have been had Walt been alive to actually shepherd the project.
Also, some of the chosen filming locations… the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom is a Walt-era Disneyland attraction that was moved from California to Florida. The PeopleMover is an attraction at the Magic Kingdom whose Walt-era antecedent was ripped out by Michael Eisner in the 2000’s and there’s a fan movement to bring it back. And the Walt the Dreamer statue is brand new and it’s an Iger era addition (actually, I write that, but it could have even been announced under Chapek, I don’t remember). These things actually all point to Walt Disney World carrying on Walt Disney’s legacy when they don’t exist at the theme park he was actually alive to visit. It’s contradicting his message.
Mega fans are upset when a new attraction replaces an old one, but the newest attractions and experiences at WDW have received favorable reviews. In a few months Epic Universe will open and we already know Disney is planning to combat that by expanding the Magic Kingdom. Like everyone else, I am disappointed about some things changing— like the loss of the Rivers of America. But overall, I’m excited to experience the new things coming.
Disney’s problem isn’t the attractions, it’s the money grubbing. It’s the practice of putting things behind a paywall that were previously free. It’s the insane amount of prep and planning it takes nowadays to make sure you have your money’s worth of your Disney vacation. It’s the necessity of having a cell phone at the parks to make sure you ride all the rides your family wants to do. That’s the problem.
Also, some of the chosen filming locations… the Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom is a Walt-era Disneyland attraction that was moved from California to Florida. The PeopleMover is an attraction at the Magic Kingdom whose Walt-era antecedent was ripped out by Michael Eisner in the 2000’s and there’s a fan movement to bring it back. And the Walt the Dreamer statue is brand new and it’s an Iger era addition (actually, I write that, but it could have even been announced under Chapek, I don’t remember). These things actually all point to Walt Disney World carrying on Walt Disney’s legacy when they don’t exist at the theme park he was actually alive to visit. It’s contradicting his message.
Mega fans are upset when a new attraction replaces an old one, but the newest attractions and experiences at WDW have received favorable reviews. In a few months Epic Universe will open and we already know Disney is planning to combat that by expanding the Magic Kingdom. Like everyone else, I am disappointed about some things changing— like the loss of the Rivers of America. But overall, I’m excited to experience the new things coming.
Disney’s problem isn’t the attractions, it’s the money grubbing. It’s the practice of putting things behind a paywall that were previously free. It’s the insane amount of prep and planning it takes nowadays to make sure you have your money’s worth of your Disney vacation. It’s the necessity of having a cell phone at the parks to make sure you ride all the rides your family wants to do. That’s the problem.