"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world."
– Walter Elias Disney
his quote is the one - and often, only - argument people believe they have in their pocket when the Disney company tinkers with Mr. Disney's Disneyland. For those that believe Mr. Disney was referring directly to every move the future Disney company will make in removing something ‘old’ and replacing it with something ‘new’ within Disneyland, I can only hope they become a lot more educated on the philosophies that Mr. Disney ran his park by. The real truth is, as long as the Disney company’s only motivation is the dangling carrot of the dollar sign, there is no room left for imagination, at all.
Unfortunately, this lack of imagination has been the problem for quite a while. The proof is in the pudding: there is nothing imaginative about a Prince$$ meet-and-greet. By removing something of historical value and replacing it with something that will help revenue for Disney’s still-going 'Princess' campaign the only people that are losing are the guests (have you noticed that Cast Members all over the park are now greeting little girls as ‘Princess’? Yikes...). Sure, plenty of little girls will be meeting a princess and reveling in the joy of being told she is beautiful… but that has been happening inside of the OTHER Fantasy Faire located at the Fantasyland Theater for quite a few years.
Unfortunately, this lack of imagination has been the problem for quite a while. The proof is in the pudding: there is nothing imaginative about a Prince$$ meet-and-greet. By removing something of historical value and replacing it with something that will help revenue for Disney’s still-going 'Princess' campaign the only people that are losing are the guests (have you noticed that Cast Members all over the park are now greeting little girls as ‘Princess’? Yikes...). Sure, plenty of little girls will be meeting a princess and reveling in the joy of being told she is beautiful… but that has been happening inside of the OTHER Fantasy Faire located at the Fantasyland Theater for quite a few years.
Upon proper use of Mr. Disney's quote, like Disneyland, I’m finding that writing for a blog is also something that constantly changes and grows. Because this blog is mostly about taking people on our adventure of re-discovering the history of Disneyland and the ideas of Mr. Disney, I thought it would be great to add a few links to follow my “Goodnight, Sweetheart” post addressing the destruction of Carnation Plaza Gardens. I figured a Wikipedia page would do it some justice, and perhaps somewhere, some like-minded fanatic had a full write-up about it, littered with the love and the research they carefully crafted together, meant to teach myself and everyone else about the Gardens. As it turns out, that wasn’t quite the case.
Into Google, plugged in every query I could think of relating to the actual history of Carnation Plaza Gardens. Nothing. Each round, I became more and more creative with my queries but to no avail. However, the results did get were more than I could have asked for. Though I did not learn anything factually new about the Gardens, I did meet a WHOLE lot of people who are a WHOLE lot of broken-hearted about the fate of the stripes we wore proudly. This touched me. So, instead of including links to historical facts that we could all learn about the Gardens (only because there isn’t anything extensive enough to actually learn from, yet), I will include a list of various links to blogs and internet findings about the removal of Carnation Plaza Gardens. An objective list, but all together an example of the impact of the loss Disneyland and its guests have suffered - whether they realize it or not.
As you can see, I have only enhanced my former blog entry with additions of new and better ideas that help support its effectiveness and then added something necessary but separate at the end of it. This example is most likely what Mr. Disney was referring to when he made his infamous quote. I would also like to emphasize that unlike the Carnation Plaza Gardens, my original blog entry is only a week old and has not been bringing memories and dancing feet to incredible amounts of people for a good 46 years.
And now, finally, to the links. I will be adding to these so if you know of some that should be included, please let me know!
D.L.R. Best and Worst
Anne gives a sentimental goodbye at The Best Possible Job
(list updated 12/28/12)
Anne gives a sentimental goodbye at The Best Possible Job
(list updated 12/28/12)
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