The MousePlanet Mailbag is a regular compilation of some of our reader feedback and writer responses that may be of interest to our readers. We encourage you to drop your questions, opinions, or comments to us in care of our mailbag.
Mouse Tales author and staff writer David Koenig answers letters in response to his recent column on the closing of the Disney Gallery at the Disneyland Resort (“Exhibit Closed: The Disney Gallery closes up shop,” August 14, 2007). Josh G. writes:
Big fan here; loved your piece on the sad closing of the gallery. I just had to point out one grammatical note that’s a pet peeve of most writers like myself—there’s no such word in English as “anyways.” The word you meant to use is “anyway.”
Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the note. Hope you enjoyed the article anyways.
Paul writes:
You wrote, “The Gallery itself was beautiful, out of the way, and always uncrowded. Ever since the PeopleMover closed, it was one of the few places I could escape the mass of humanity, yet still be enveloped by the Disney magic.”
I was in the park on this last Saturday and Sunday, noticing my favorite place to see and hide was closed. Seriously bummed… speechless.
Thanks for your efforts and writing.
Thanks for the note. The Main Street Cinema is about my last place left to hide; let’s hope the park doesn’t “restore” the Gallery by destroying the Cinema.
Alan C. writes:
I read your article about park closures and was saddened to learn that the Disney Gallery is no more. There goes the best place to see Fantasmic! I lack your sources and I live 500 miles away in Carson City, Nevada, but I suspect that Club 33 really needs the space. I was on two “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tours and these tours took me into the foyer of Club 33. Cozy!
There’s limited real estate at the original Disney theme park, and it seems that offices and peripherals are creeping in. During the Pressler years, I feared that Disneyland would eventually become the South Coast Plaza with a $149.99 cover charge! Instead, Downtown Disney (with no cover charge) was created.
I was thrilled when the Passport replaced the ABCDE ticket books, but there were repercussions. You mentioned them: there is no “reward” for a high-capacity ride, no financial incentive to maintain attractions or build new ones, and attractions are economic disincentives because they do not directly generate revenue. I will complete my BS in business management this month, and the Disney theme park’s aggressive marketing is held to be worthy of emulation.
You mentioned that the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will survive because it exits through a gift shop—did that become common in the 1980s? Did it start at Walt Disney World with Epcot? This is a great marketing tool for pushing merchandise—if the attraction was a positive experience—but is intrusive. At Walt Disney World, Pooh took over Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and the Country Bears were displaced at Disneyland. Marketing must have been the key factor. There was limited Wind in the Willows or Country Bear merchandise. How much new Winnie the Pooh merchandise has come out recently? Marketeers keep forgetting the synergy factor. In their haste to turn a quick buck—or even just a few pennies—they turn every Wal-Mart into a Disney theme park experience without the hassle of going to Anaheim or Orlando. I hope that trend is reversing, but with my current business college exposure, I doubt it.
The Disney Gallery had several good synergistic effects. First, showcasing the back story prompted me to see the original movie—on VHS, DVD, or even theatrical release. Second, I’d plan my trip around the attraction featured in the Disney Gallery. Third, I’d even collect a bit of memorabilia—especially books. There are other venues for all of this—perhaps moving the Disney Gallery exhibits across the esplanade to Disney California Adventure would be a better move. I don’t know if putting some of the exhibits in Downtown Disney would fly by the accountants—who measure every square inch of retail floor space and hog those inches. Simply replicating the warehouse feel of Wal-Mart isn’t working—Wal-Mart is paying much more attention to presentation now.
Isn’t Disneyland about presentation? Walt intended Disneyland to do several things; first and foremost, Disneyland was a playground. Second, that playground would bundle Disney products for a seamless experience. I accuse the marketeers of putting the cart before the horse.
In the late 1990s, when The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at the Magic Kingdom, Pooh & Friends was in fact Disney’s top-selling merchandise brand.
Riki B. writes:
Thank you for your insightful take on the Gallery. It is also one of my favorite places to visit and I am deeply saddened at its loss as I am a Disney art collector and have made purchases at the special exhibits held there. Most recently my wife and I got to meet Jayne Seymour and had her sign a print of her painting we bought. We visited the Gallery on the day before it closed for one last time. The Walk in Walt’s Foot Steps tour included the gallery and its detailed history as Walt and Lilly’s apartment. I wonder if that is now dropped from the tour? How sad as you have said we have lost another important part of Disney history.
The other Galleries have already displayed some of Maggie Parr’s, Jim Crouch and other of our favorite artists giclee’s but the problem is they are very limited in the area they have for display and it is not the same as seeing it in the gallery. You are also right the poor CMs that worked the gallery had no clue as to what was going on or why they were closing the gallery.
I enjoy and look forward to all the articles you write for MousePlanet and have all your books, which you have signed for me and my wife at the lecture you gave earlier this year in Downey. We also enjoyed very much in seeing the video that went with the your CD of early years of Disneyland. I look forward to getting your new book about WDW when it becomes available. Thanks for sharing your love of everything Disney.
Thank you for sharing your heart, as well.
Kurt writes:
Thanks for your article on the gallery… our family is coming back again to Disneyland (8 times since 1997) and the gallery was one of our favorite places (exactly how you described, quiet, cool, uncrowded)… we are so disappointed to lose this special place… just glad to know that there are others who feel this way and that we are not alone… thanks…
Doug H. writes:
That had to be the most non-ending ending in Koenig history. I can tell you were thrilled with the subject matter. Haha. It was as abrupt as Snow White’s Scary Adventure.
They will be selling Princess Puke in a jar soon to grab the little boys. I used to like Pink.
Yes, the blurb about the Princesses was tacked on to the Gallery story at the last minute and, yes, fascinates me to the high degree that you suspect.
Next, MousePlanet staff writers answer letters from readers about Disneyland-related topics. Irene writes:
I went to Disneyland yesterday (August 23) and noticed a change, or maybe I just had never noticed.
On The Pirates of Carribean ride, after the cannon battle scene, there is an image of two men fighting. Where all you can see is there shadows. Well this time I noticed three men fighting, one of them had a hat on with those feathers like the man on the pirate ship.
I didn’t have my camara, but maybe some time next week I will take a picture. Is this something new, or has there always been three men fighting?
The fighting projection was added to Disneyland’s Pirates attraction around the time of the 1997 refurbishment, though I seem to remember that particular change appearing before the full renovation. It was originally designed and implemented in the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction. The projection effect has been problematic since its installation at Disneyland, sometimes vanishing entirely and sometimes only audible but with no visible projection. I’m not specifically aware of a change to this projection with the other “Pirates” movie additions/changes.
Mikey writes:
My friend and I are having a debate about the Fastpass machines at the Matterhorn. I remember seeing a whole new queue set-up a couple years ago and an area for Fastpass distribution. But it flopped. My friend does not believe that there was ever FP machines at the Matterhorn.
I am trying to look up any proof (photos) of Matterhorn Fastpass to show my friend that it did exist for a little bit before they removed it. I would greatly appreciate it if you point me to the right path…
Thanks for writing. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a definite answer either way; I seem to recall during the Fastpass expansion that also saw Fastpass added to Pirates and the Haunted Mansion (during normal, non-holiday operation) that Fastpass queues may have been built near the Matterhorn, but I’m fairly certain that if they were built they were never used.
