"Designing Disney's Theme Parks": Some Reflections
Eskay
Hi all:
Earlier this week, when I was in New York, I got a chance to see the
Disney exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt museum on Fifth Avenue: "Designing
Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance." The exhibit runs
through January 10th, and you can find some information about it on the
Web at:
I thought I’d write up some impressions, on the off-chance that they
might be interesting to the readers of r.a.d.p or either of the a.d.d
groups.
I wasn’t crazy about the use of the word "reassurance" in the exhibit’s
title. It sounded a bit condescending to me. Like *real* architecture is
supposed to challenge you, but all Disney’s does is reassure you,
placate you, make you feel comfortable. The feeling I got was that the
architectural establishment was looking down its nose at Disney. That
feeling was reinforced when I overheard a conversation among a group of
architects who were taking a tour of the galleries. Their guide ? I
assumed she was a Cooper-Hewitt curator or employee ? explained that
Disney’s original band of Imagineers weren’t architects at all: they
were set designers and animators. The architects scoffed; how could mere
animators make significant contributions to the architectural canon?
I’d argue that Disney’s Imagineers *have* made a significant
contribution ? in part, because they ignored the conventions of the
craft. (I should point out that I haven’t yet read the exhibition
catalogue -- $35 paperback, $50 hard-cover ? which may make an entirely
different argument.) Simply put, they didn’t play by the rules.
One of the things I liked most about the exhibit was the way it conveyed
the pure creative freedom with which the Imagineers manipulate ideas.
There was a 3-D model of Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream of Extinction (from
the Disney Studios) made entirely out of brightly-colored construction
paper, torn into rough strips. It looked like an idea that popped right
out of an Imagineer’s head ? no time to do a formal sketch, just rip up
some paper. Another model ? this one for part of Disney’s America ? was
made of coarsely-cut cardboard, sculpted into a verdant farm. A packing
box, an X-acto knife, and an idea ? that’s all it takes.
There was also a small-scale model of the Indiana Jones ride from
Disneyland, and next to it a video screen. The Imagineers had dragged a
lipstick-sized camera through their model to impart a sense of what the
final ride would feel like. It’s hard to imagine a "real" architect
taking such a funky, science fair-type approach. But that’s what’s great
about the Imagineers ? that freedom to do things in ways they aren’t
done elsewhere. To be professional children, basically.
Some things I enjoyed seeing:
- A model and drawings of the proposed Russian pavilion for Epcot.
- A fiberglass casting of the doorway to Disneyland’s Mr. Toad’s Wild
Ride, which served as the entrance to the exhibit.
- A room full of vintage maps of all the parks
- The original audio-animatronic: the "dancing man." Basically, a small
(five inch high) figure on a little stage that apparently did a tap
dance routine (modeled after Buddy Ebsen). All the mechanics are on
display in a lucite case underneath the stage. I’d been told my a Disney
Imagineer in Florida that this animatronic still actually works (he’d
helped refurbish it), but it wasn’t operating at the show. Too bad.
- Designs for a Wizard of Oz "dark ride" that was never built. Guests
would’ve ridden on tractors.
- A video tour of WDW’s Utilidor.
- A huge storyboard for the Tower of Terror attraction.
- Photos taken by Imagineers of places like New Orleans and Africa used
to inspire their designs for the theme parks (New Orleans Square in DL
and the Animal Kingdom, respectively).
- An original Tiki bird (sadly, with no soundtrack, just movement)
I guess the only thing that’s disappointing about the exhibit is that
since it’s merely an agglomeration of photos, sketches, models, and
other items (like a seat from Alien Encounter), you never really get the
full experience of being surrounded by Disney architecture ? walking
down Main Street, for instance, or crossing the wooden bridge to
Adventureland. So the exhibit never really gets across the sense of
complete immersion you get when you enter one of the parks. It’s
something Disney does exceptionally well (controlling the sights,
sounds, and smells), and it’s a level of control that most "real-world"
architects rarely have. If you’re building a skyscraper in Manhattan,
for example, can you control what the building across the street looks
like? Can you control the experience someone has on the street as they
approach the entry to your building? Hardly, and I’d imagine there’s
some jealousy of Disney there ? having enough land and money to design a
self-contained "world." (Find me an architect who doesn’t dream about
that.)
What did I take away from the exhibit? Well, I really was inspired by
the sense that you don’t have to adhere to any rules about how you take
your ideas and give them shape in the real world ? it doesn’t matter
what kind of paper you use, or whether you draw to scale, or whether
anyone thinks that you can actually build a blue-and-gray medieval
castle in the swamps of central Florida. I kept coming back to that
scrap of corny Disney wisdom (from Horizons?): "If we can dream it, we
can do it." That’s what this exhibit was about for me ? never doubting
that your ideas have value, doing whatever it takes to bring them to
life, and abiding by only the rules that matter to you.
There’s a picture in the exhibit that really encapsulated everything for
me. Walt is showing off Disneyland’s shiny new monorail. He’d wanted to
build a futuristic train for his park, and despite the obstacles, he got
it done. The way he leans casually against the front car, and the big
grin on his face, lets you know that he never for a minute believed that
it might not get built.
- Eskay
Li'l Bell
- Li'l Bell
Bartender Sam
>
> - Designs for a Wizard of Oz "dark ride" that was never built. Guests
> would’ve ridden on tractors.
Hehehehehe..... geez, that would've been bad..... tractors.. hehehehehe
BTW, Very nice write-up Eskay.
--
Bartender Sam
Veteran Paratrooper, Flag Waving Republican, Die hard Tampa Bay
Buccaneers Fan, Disney Parks Junkie, and All Around Cool Guy....
Steve Hoskins
I was fortunate enough to visit the exhibit when it was at the
Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood, California. I, too, found it
fascinating, not so much from the standpoint of explanations of
the "hows and whys" of the Disney designs, but just the ability
to view the original scale models of Main Street, the video showing
the "utilidors" in the Walt Disney World Complex, the various items
of artwork depicting things that have or haven't come to be. The
Russion EPCOT module was outstanding, as well.
The "scale model" of the Indiana Jones ride....somehow I believe the
exhibit mentioned something about this one being from Paris, maybe
I am mistaken. The layout seemed close but yet different than the
layout of the Indiana Jones attraction out here at Disneyland. Maybe
I'm off the track (no pun intended) a little bit. But, the method
used to film the attraction scale model was quite innovative and
provided a visitor with quite a video to watch!! It DID look quite
real.
Not sure where the xhibit is at now, but I wholeheartedly recommend it,
no matter what phase of Disney them parks you might be interested in.
William L. Griffin IV
writes:
>Well put! Now I'm twice as excited to see this exhibit!
>
>- Li'l Bell
I saw it at the Armand Hammer Museum in LA on my Disneyland trip
earlier this year. I'm going to take *many* long lunches through the
end of the year and ride the #4 uptown...
To anyone out there that is "on the fence"... MAKE THE EFFORT to see
this exhibition. It is a rare glimpse inside the creative force.
Bill
bill...@my-dejanews.com
Dang, I wish I had gone to the Hammer exhibit! I just got the book, which
makes me even more angry I missed it. A different Bill
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
SMyers
I like the way you stated that "real" architects looked down on the
Disney experience. I rather like the word "reassurance", the world is full
of various realities. When I go to Disney, I do go for a reassurance that
the kid in me is still there, that "Pan" can and does come home on
occassion. Yes, the prices are high and there seems to be less family and
more corporate feel, but it is still Disney. I remember, my first visit and
probably a hundred or so others, I remember my kid's first visit and what it
was like to take them through the park and show them all of the things that
I enjoyed, and even with all of the ride changes, the reassurance that the
fun is still there.
I went "home" last year, Mom has changed the house and it's not the home
I grew up in anymore. The "shrine" that was my bedroom is now her home
office, where she connects to the world (she STILL can't program her VCR)...
but it is now Mom's house - not my childhood home.
Amy (& Eeyore)
Hi Eskay!
What a fabulous, thoughtful review of the exhibit! I do wish I could see it
but a trip to New York from (now very soggy) San Antonio is not in the cards
- my travel budget is all spent on trips to WDW :-).
Thanks again for the virtual tour!
--
Amy (& Eeyore)
"We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it."
-Eeyore
Remove *nospam* in the above e-mail address to reply.
Craig Watkins
Anyone know where the exhibit is headed in the future?
Craig
..............
Eskay wrote:
>
> Hi all:
>
> Earlier this week, when I was in New York, I got a chance to see the
> Disney exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt museum on Fifth Avenue: "Designing
> Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance."
[snip]
Marc-A. Dagenais
>Anyone know where the exhibit is headed in the future?
In the book based on the exposition, New York is listed as the last stop on
the tour, after going from Montreal (where it was created) to Minneapolis
and Los Angeles....
Marc-A. Dagenais
Anonymous
>
> Very nice writeup!
>
> I like the way you stated that "real" architects looked down on the
> Disney experience. I rather like the word "reassurance", the world is full
> of various realities. When I go to Disney, I do go for a reassurance that
> the kid in me is still there, that "Pan" can and does come home on
> occassion. Yes, the prices are high and there seems to be less family and
> more corporate feel, but it is still Disney.
<snip>
----
The 'reassurance' is getting harder and harder to get. With Eisner's
fawning over those 'real' architects (like Graves, Stern, etc.). When I
go to Disney parks, I am looking for Disney Reassurance. Disney has been
giving these 'real' architects too much influence in recent Disney
projects. It seems to me that the talent they have at WDI is more
talented than any of these 'real' architects.
CS
theallisons
13-April 11, 1999 at the Modern Art Museum of Ft Worth.
The Modern Art Museum has a website: www. mamfw.org
Mike Corbo
Marc-A. Dagenais wrote in message
<_o4X1.1724$0r5.1...@weber.videotron.net>...
Marc-A. Dagenais
>Does anyone know how long the exhibit will be in New York?
Until January 10, 1999...
Marc-A. Dagenais