History Headscratchers / DisneyThemeParks

** Agreed. This troper has yet to find or see ''anything'' Hunchback related in any of the stores at Disneyworld in the past few years, and it's probably been much longer. I heard the beginning of a cover of Topsy Turvy playing on the loudspeakers while walking to Phantasmic. It was cut off ten seconds after it began and replaced by Under the Sea. Do they even ''have'' an Esmerelda face character?

** This Troper is convinced that the characters have become nothing more than walking advertisements for their popular/newer movies. If they can't make money off of it, why bother trying, right? *facepalm* For the record, This Troper is a huge fan of Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame and has been terribly embittered by the lack of characters from that movie.

* Does anyone else wonder if the people managing the Theme parks have something against a couple Disney films? I notice that Disneyland isn't very nice to {{Mulan}}, since she's barely acknowledged at all. They clearly have something against many of their live-action films that aren't ''MaryPoppins''. Maybe they think the kids wouldn't recognize them, and the PeripheryDemographic of the costumed characters (eg, people who don't like to meet them but like to see how the costumes were designed) isn't large enough to have people from less-popular Disney movies walking around? It would explain some absences, in addition to the fact that nobody probably wants to walk around dressed like TheReluctantDragon or [[ThePrincessAndTheFrog Louis]]. But why the {{Mulan}} hate? I've been there in 2010 and 2011, and it seems almost like it's been put into DisContinuity. Heck, they even put Rapunzel's hair in the park and added Tiana to the Fantasmic show.

** What parks are these you're going to where you've been seeing Mulan? In all my trips to Disneyland, the only time I ''ever'' saw them acknowledge Mulan's existence was when the movie was newly-released into theatres and they put a float of the ancestors into one of the parades and a small barbie-synopsis of the movie on main-street, (Which is now advertising Disney Princesses. While it does have Mulan, it also puts more emphasis on the "Classic" princesses) but since 1998, Mulan seems to have been treated as DisContinuity.

* How come there isn't a Ghibli themed part of one of the parks?

** A martial arts demonstration would be cool. Minor nitpick: Mulan doesn't wear a kimono. She wears a woman's shenyi known as a quju.

** Probably just branding. The primary draw of the princesses (don't know how Mulan counts as a princess) is marketed toward girls, and Mulan spends most of her film wearing distinctly non-feminine clothing. The kimono was just about the only thing she ever wore that was feminine, so that's what she's marketed as. It's annoying for me, because seeing an armored Mulan in the China pavilion would be awesome. Especially if they got an actress who could do a martial arts demonstration when she was there.

*** The Mad Hatter is actually a special case. He wasn't always a "face character," as they say--[[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CNk5peybvlw/Sqm3jq779sI/AAAAAAAABk4/CofkrHfJDqo/s320/disneyland+1963+alice+and+mad+hatter+640.jpg this]] was the original costume. Compare to http://www.bobafettmp.com/Temp/photos/Disneyland/Disney-4-8-06-Parade-MadHatter-1.jpg the contemporary version]]. (For reference, [[http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alicepic/disney-movie/mad-hatter-1.jpg this]] is the animated character. They opted to make the park version of the Mad Hatter look ''less'' like the film version because he doesn't work as a character ''unless he can talk.'' The rapid-fire absurd comic dialogue is more essential to the character than his straight-up appearance.

* Everytime I see {{Mulan}} in the parks, she's always in her kimono. The one she didn't even spend half of the movie wearing. Why not a different outfit? Is she just not recognizable without it?

** Likely because of the exaggerated porportions. Hook has a signiture look of a long face with a big nose, while the Mad Hatter has a more normal looking face (you can see the Cast Member is wearing a fake nose there anyway). It probably just comes down to what makes the actor look more like the character.

* Regarding the actors dressed as Disney characters, specifically, human characters: why do some of them, like [[http://www.awesomeallday.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/captain-hook-and-mr-smee-disneyland-costumes.jpg Captain Hook]], wear giant mascot heads, while others like [[http://www.bobafettmp.com/Temp/photos/Disneyland/Disney-4-8-06-Parade-MadHatter-1.jpg the Mad Hatter,]] simply wear makeup? Seeing one next to the other is a bit incongruous, not to mention how creepy those giant grinning masks look.

*** Just to clarify: Paul Pressler didn't actually believe that people go to Disney parks for the shopping. That can be part of the draw for some, since they offer some lines of merchandise not found anywhere else. But Pressler came to the theme park division directly from a stint as President of the Disney Store retail chain and only knew how to relate to guests as shoppers. It was more ''convenient'' for him to treat the park like a giant mall. Ironically, under his "leadership," the merchandise at Disneyland was genericized to the point where people were ''less'' likely to come for the shopping.

** DCA was built "on the cheap," as they say - lots of off-the-shelf carnival rides, skimpy theming, heavy focus on shops and shops alone, poorly thought-out original attractions, and ideas simply borrowed from other parks without concern for how they would fit into the new park as a whole. In other words, DCA began life as a real-world sort of SouvenirLand. It needs to be said right now that '''''this is NOT normal for Disney, nor has it ever been.''''' Those responsible for the decision to go the miserly route with DCA's design and construction are no longer part of the company, and from what I understand, the leader of the initial project was very out-of-touch with the guests and genuinely believed that [[SouvenirLand they only came to the parks to shop.]] He lasted less than 10 years in his position. In the grand Disney tradition of simply moving forward and making the best of everything, the current $1.1 billion overhaul seeks to raise DCA in quality from an above-average amusement park to a genuine Disney theme park. (And it's working!) As for why haters still exist? They really have nothing to go off of, but like most hate groups in the world, they do it [[CompensatingForSomething solely to feel superior to someone]], so they keep on hating despite lacking a valid foundation for their actions.

** DCA was built "on the cheap," as they say - lots of off-the-shelf carnival rides, skimpy theming, heavy focus on shops and shops alone, poorly thought-out original attractions, and ideas simply borrowed from other parks without concern for how they would fit into the new park as a whole. In other words, DCA began life as a real-world sort of SouvenirLand. It needs to be said right now that '''''this is NOT normal for Disney, nor has it ever been.''' Those responsible for the decision to go the miserly route with DCA's design and construction are no longer part of the company, and from what I understand, the leader of the initial project was very out-of-touch with the guests and genuinely believed that [[SouvenirLand they only came to the parks to shop.]] He lasted less than 10 years in his position. In the grand Disney tradition of simply moving forward and making the best of everything, the current $1.1 billion overhaul seeks to raise DCA in quality from an above-average amusement park to a genuine Disney theme park. (And it's working!) As for why haters still exist? They really have nothing to go off of, but like most hate groups in the world, they do it [[CompensatingForSomething solely to feel superior to someone]], so they keep on hating despite lacking a valid foundation for their actions.

** DCA was built "on the cheap," as they say - lots of off-the-shelf carnival rides, skimpy theming, heavy focus on shops and shops alone, poorly thought-out original attractions, and ideas simply borrowed from other parks without concern for how they would fit into the new park as a whole. In other words, DCA began life as a real-world sort of SouvenirLand. With those responsible for DCA's miserly design no longer involved in Disney's executive decision-making, the current $1.1 billion overhaul seeks to raise DCA in quality from an above-average amusement park to a genuine Disney theme park. As for why haters still exist? They really have nothing to go off of, but like most hate groups in the world, they do it [[CompensatingForSomething solely to feel superior to someone]], so they keep on hating despite lacking a valid foundation for their actions.

** Long answer short in response: It's not that we dislike California Adventure, it's that the money used to build what is essentially an outdoor mall could have been used to expand and detail existing parts of the Magic Kingdom. West Coast Americans think of Disneyland as part of our cultural heritage, and even if you're 25 years old, you still remember it as something it isn't now. California Adventure is just an excuse to squeeze the Park Hopper fee out of the ticket buying public, and nothing more.

** It's because it was a severe case of being designed by the executives with more dining and shopping locations then actual attractions.

* To fully embrace the magic of the Disney Theme Parks (especially the ones in style of the Magic Kingdom), you should belive that everything is real. Big Thunder Mountain is a real gold mine, you really save the universe with Buzz Lightyear, The Haunted Mansion is really cursed and so on... But even if you get pass by all the {{Time Travel}} involved, you still have to suspend your disbelive and ignore the crowds and all the safety spiels. And even then the illusion crumbles as soon as you ride a second time.

* To fully embrace the magic of the Disney Theme Parks (especially the ones in style of the Magic Kingdom), you should belive that everything is real. Big Thunder Mountain is a real gold mine, you really save the universe with Buzz Lightyear, The Haunted Mansion is really cursed and so on... But even if you get pass by all the [[Time Travel]] involved, you still have to suspend your disbelive and ignore the crowds and all the safety spiels. And even then the illusion crumbles as soon as you ride a second time.

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