In its heart and soul, Disney is an entertainment company. Conduct your own pointed discussion regarding ticket prices, but morning, noon and night, Disney is in the business of captivating audiences. There is no one better at it. They run rather successful film and television operations, though Disney Parks are the most directly relatable, as guests get to physically experience and embrace them. Activities in the parks, thus, draw the lion’s share of emotion and commentary.
Considerable ink and ire tend to flow whenever the world’s most beloved theme park makes even a nominal alteration to the familiar landscape. Overly plus, or Walt forbid, entirely remove a ride or landmark, and all fandom breaks loose. Disney history is dotted with a number of noteworthy renovations. These are some of the more pronounced, if excessively lamented:
Editor’s note: These are Christopher’s personal views and not necessarily those of everyone at Theme Park Tourist.
3. Maelstrom, Norway Pavilion, Epcot
A charming attraction, to be sure, Maelstrom starts our list off due to the recency of its removal and because of what is replacing it. The “High Seas Norwegian Adventure” was the one true draw of this lesser-traveled region of Epcot’s World Showcase for all but the rarest Carlsberg and Kjottkake enthusiast. But with the evolution and world domination of the Norway-based epic “Frozen,” Disney has the opportunity, if not obligation, to revitalize this pavilion, while simply supercharging this already popular park.
Everyone with children knows Anna, Elsa and Olaf now rule the universe. In the path of this North-Sea-driven tsunami Maelstrom never stood a chance. Odds are, if Space Mountain were for whatever reason located in the Norway Pavilion, they would have bulldozed it as well. Much of the habitually-neglected area is currently being converted to resemble Arendelle. Considering the amazing transformation that recently occurred at Disney California Adventure, turning what was the last convenient parking lot into a perfect, real-life replica of Cars Land, the “Frozen” unveiling is sure to be similarly otherworldly. Still, the ground swell of posthumous support for what Disney rightfully perceived as an expendable attraction was, well, unexpected.
Disney cannot close a restroom without suffering the slings and arrows of an outraged, if obscure fan base. This sylvan dark ride full of fuzzy trolls, with an accompanying, inherently-amiable, Viking-like voiceover, though, had more than its share of devotees. Even still, it was not a prevailing crowd favorite. The wait for Maelstrom was historically, comparably short. It drew more guests than the neighboring “Gran Fiesta Tour,” sure, but that’s only because it was profoundly less boring. We love the Three Caballeros, we do, but Dios help us, that ride is a snoozer.
So, for Disney, sacrificing a marginally popular space-filler to fashion an attraction in homage of the land’s current, most highly coveted theatrical spectacle is automatic. As for the criticism that “Frozen” will be three years separated from theaters by the time the ride comes out, picture the Peter Pan example. “Peter Pan” the movie came out in 1953. It’s still the most impacted ride in Fantasyland. Then, those criticizing the move as an affront to Norwegian culture and heritage need come to terms with their own hypocrisy. You know you skipped the video at the end of the ride just like the rest of us.
2. Sorcerer’s Hat, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The enormous Sorcerer’s Hat, longtime Disney’s Hollywood Studios landmark and replica of that worn by Mickey Mouse in the movie Fantasia, was not an attraction. This is obvious, but has to be acknowledged, or the feedback gets uncomplimentary. Despite not being a ride, or anything with which you could interact, short of posing in front of or beneath, the announcement of the hat’s removal was met with consternation one might encounter had Disney threatened to remove one of its castles. The constant updates regarding the placement of yellow tape and construction fencing, and the panel-by-panel photographic tracking of the hat’s demolition spoke to a level of nostalgia this particular Disney symbol may not have deserved.
As with any iconic Disney structure, from Spaceship Earth to the Matterhorn to the Dole Whip dispensary, the Sorcerer’s Hat came to represent something more than towering metal and lights, and even more than the object it embodied. Much fabled magic is generated in the special feeling a guest gets when they see, hear, feel, even smell something particular, something inherently and undeniably Disney.
It occurs when you first approach and catch sight of the Walt Disney World sign or when you board that first monorail. When you spot World Showcase Lagoon from the air or the Matterhorn from the freeway. When the unmistakable aroma of peculiarly-yellow popcorn assails your senses. It’s the moment when you leave the world behind and your Disney journey truly begins.
The Sorcerer’s Hat became such a trigger for many. It is emotional, surely, when one of these symbols goes the way of the Skyway, but it needn’t be overwhelming. The Disney Resorts are littered with such splendor. Stand anywhere inside any Disney Park, within any Disney Resort, even simply at a Disney shuttle stop, then turn in a complete circle. You will spot no less than a hundred highly detailed, potentially personally-meaningful Disney elements that can suitably replace a formerly-special, huge, blue, magic Mickey hat.
1. Court of Angels, New Orleans Square, Disneyland
Unless you’ve sought it out on purpose, you likely weren’t aware of the Court of Angels’ existence. Many who wandered into it, even while being struck by its quaint beauty, were completely unaware it had a name and unsure whether they hadn’t haplessly ambled backstage. Simultaneously adored by a semi-significant handful of the ardent and sentimental, and utterly unrecognized by an arguable majority of park visitors, the Court of Angels may have been Disney’s sole greatest paradox. It closed to the general public recently, surrendering its confines to a Club 33 expansion, prompting tens of guests to vent their uneven outrage across a myriad of ineffective social channels.
Club 33 has long been maintained as the bellwether in Disneyland privilege. The blessed who have experienced its nigh unattainable wonder are the envy of the commoners who have and will not. Even to catch a glimpse of the elusive paradise, as immaculately dressed guests pass furtively through the mysterious green door, is a rare, coveted occurrence. As though the haves did not yet have enough, a fresh remodel of the uber-exclusive restaurant has cost regular visitors the obscure Court of Angels sanctuary. The development revealed some unanticipated passion.
From parade floats to lush flora to spectacular fireworks, everything Disney puts its hands to, then puts in its parks, becomes an inseparable part of an overall incredible experience. When any one of these elements is removed, or in this case walled off to make a more comfortable waiting room for the super fortunate, the loss is felt. Grief surrounding the Court of Angels closure was a bit protracted.
A petition was circulated when news of the reconstruction became public. It went nowhere, of course. The last public outcry that can be said to have had any genuine effect on Disney policy involved pirates chasing innocent women in an unsavory, anti-progressive manner. Court of Angels fans had passion, but were not on the obvious and correct side of a politically sensitive issue. A touching vigil took place on the courtyard’s last night. Nothing stands in the path of progress, though, and we are now relegated to admiring what once was a tiny oasis of beauty, now sequestered behind plywood and stained glass.
Every ride is someone’s favorite. Every alcove can offer peace and splendor. And, for some, a giant blue hat was synonymous with their overall Disney experience. Those threatening to boycott a particular park, or even Disney in its entirety because of these or related losses are overreacting. You will discover another icon. You can find another place to rendezvous and recoup. You probably already have found a thousand other effects, elements and encounters, not to replace necessarily, but supplement what it is that makes Disney so incomparably wonderful. It’s easy to fall back in love with Disney. Remember, they’re really good at what they do.
