I have a lot of opinions about the parks. It's the part of the company I've spent the most time with, and because of that I feel like I have some justifications for my opinions. For this blog post I'm going to focus on just one part of what makes Animal Kingdom the worst park.
Everybody knows the feeling of entering the Magic Kingdom. You go through the turnstyles and are greeted by a large floral design and the Main Street Train Station. After you go through the train station and grab a map you're presented with the main attraction. The shops of Main Street line the road leading up to Cinderella Castle. You can already see the details of the castle and know that you're in the heart of Walt Disney World. This effect, of hiding a large and impressive structure and then bringing it right to the forefront of everyone's attention, is known as "the reveal". This occurs (at least) in every WDW theme park.
In Epcot there isn't a lot blocking the view, but you're still presented with Spaceship Earth looming above you and the Leave a Legacy walls framing it. After you pass under Spaceship Earth you're treated with another new view, the main fountain of Future World and the building surrounding it. And even once you past that you're given a third reveal. At the end of the long bridge leading to World Showcase is World Showcase Lagoon and right across the water you can see the American Adventure building, the largest building in World Showcase. Although the effect is diminished for Spaceship Earth, you still have a chance to appreciate the fountain and the layout of World Showcase, all thanks to Disney's classic reveal.
Now think about Hollywood Studios. Again, the effect for the Sorcerer's Hat (formerly the view directly to the Chinese Theater) is diminished because of the positioning of the turnstyles, but the real reveal is of Tower of Terror. As you get to the end of Hollywood Boulevard and turn right onto Sunset Boulevard, the buildings seem to part ways for the view to Tower of Terror. You can't really see it until you're right there on the street looking up at it. Another successful reveal.
And Animal Kingdom. After you go through the turnstyles you're put in front of a dense forest. Nothing really special. As you go through the forest you might see some animals. Sometimes. Maybe. Again, nothing spectacular. Then you get to the main bridge leading you to Discovery Island. You can see the Tree of Life now, but it's so far away you can't see any of the details. And the river running underneath the bridge is dirty and full of moss or some kind of algae. Yes, there's also Expedition Everest, but you can approach it from so many different directions, there isn't a single controlled reveal. And you can't even get close to the Tree of Life to be able to see its details, unlike every other building that gets a reveal. It's just a poorly designed set up and reveal for a structure that should be really impressive.
Alright, as a fan of Animal Kingdom I feel obligated to stick up for it.
ReplyDeleteWhen you enter the Magic Kingdom and go through Main Street you can't really see any details of the castle either. You only really see them when you get up close. I will grant that the view isn't obstructed by a dense forest, or anything because it is very well constructed as a focal point. But the Tree of Life is no further away from the main entrance than Cinderella Castle. I think the only reason one would mention 'not being able to see the details' of the tree as a relevant issue is because it has a bunch of awesome animals carved into it.
Which of course brings me to the awesome animals! In the other three parks a giant structure of some sort is the big reveal. And all the parks have a general theme and are constructed in line with that theme. For the Magic Kingdom it's...well based on whichever land you are in. For Hollywood Studios its the movies, and for Epcot it's a split between science and whatnot and world showcase. But the theme of Animal Kingdom is animals! So, maybe that dense forest when you first walk in to the place, filed with strategically placed animal exhibits should be counted as a partial reveal. The thrill is supposed to come from seeing real live exotic animals in a simulated wild environment (hence all the dense trees everywhere).
The caveat that sometimes the animals are not always immediatly visable is fair I guess, but that's kind of the trade off with using live animals in a theme park. If we're going to use that as a strike against Animal Kingdom, then I think it is fair to use the fact that the Magic Kingdom--and especially Main Street and Fantasyland-- are usually extremely crowded to the point where you can barely walk, see the sights, or find a decent spot to watch the parades.
good debate; is it a disagreement based in human v. non-human animal perspectives, or, the attempt of some humans (Disney, inc) to market to other humans (us) about the non-humans? Is this a microcosm of where we (humans) are in relation to wild nature: very removed from it, but if we want to help/teach about/connect with nature, it has to be fairly cleaned up (theme it for human consumption). Here’s a guy, Joel Sartore, who takes photographs of rare species saved in zoos and aquariums, over 6000 to date: http://growingbolder.com/media/travel/photography/joel-sartore-788992.html; and see his photographs: http://www.joelsartore.com/. He takes the pictures because they are almost gone; can a theme park do what he does and still sell tickets?
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