GLOWfest

[innerSpaceman]

Well, since World of Color saw fit to have zero connective tissue for its random Disney-clip segments, I don't see why DCA should bother having such connections between a "this is all we have open in evenings" zone and where the show takes place.

I'm not necessarily knocking WoC, btw, for having no connections. Most fireworks shows in the history of Disneyland have been a random assembly of Disney songs set to pyro ("Remember" being the lone and notable exception).

Seeing that they wanted to offer something fun (check) and perhaps (though likely I'm giving them too much credit) synergistically rainbow color-themed (check), and seeing that the Backlot is currently the only dead-end street in the park, I think it's the perfect thing in the perfect location.

Assuming they want to have something fun IN the park while everything else is closed, where else might they have put GLOWFest inside DCA??


I have to also assume it looks just tacky awful during the day when it's supposed to just be the Hollywood street - - but at night I think the theme of pseudo-rave works quite nicely on a Hollywood street. I think a generic street (e.g., Downtown Disney) would be a tad more boring, and a tent unacceptably boring.


It may not be your cup of tea, and perhaps the alcohol service being 3 levels more prevalent than in the rest of DCA rubs you understandably the wrong way (i.e., rubbing alcohol) - - but just go and enjoy your inner perv. Cute raver boys all high on dope await your perving delights. (I perv on cute boys everywhere in Disney, why should it be a problem if, for a while, a bunch of them are conveniently grouped, as long as there's no grope?)

[Gn2Dlnd]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Assuming they want to have something fun IN the park while everything else is closed, where else might they have put GLOWFest inside DCA??

That's my only choice, in the entire Disney/entertainment/1940's era backlot category? Glow-Fest?

BTW, is GLOWFest one of those oh-so-clever DisneyParks acronyms? Gay Lights Or Water Fights, Get Lecherous Over Wee Furries, Good Lord Our Wallet's Fvcked...

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'd like to check it out. It has potential to be interesting, or appalling.

[innerSpaceman]

Acronyms notwithstanding, it might be your only choice if you wanted to appeal to the teen and young adult market for a change. Such a change that Disney Entertainment has not been able to manage it for decades.

Meanwhile, between GLOWFest, Bollywood Dancers, and I daresay even World of Color, I have never in my life seen DCA with such a happening vibe of pure fun and excitement among the guests.

[keith - SuPeR K!]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

]Meanwhile, between GLOWFest, Bollywood Dancers, and I daresay even World of Color, I have never in my life seen DCA with such a happening vibe of pure fun and excitement among the guests.

I have to agree. The park actually feels alive for once!

[Gn2Dlnd]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Acronyms notwithstanding, it might be your only choice if you wanted to appeal to the teen and young adult market for a change. Such a change that Disney Entertainment has not been able to manage it for decades.

And, somehow, Disneyland doesn't get any less crowded. How ever do they do it?

I'd love to see WOC again this summer, I just doubt that I'll be spending my waiting time inside DCA. So, it will be interesting to see if Glow-fest's numbers stay up once WOC has been seen by the locals.

[Kevy Baby]

I'm beginning to think Gn2Dlnd is going to out-curmudgeon the King Curmudgeon

[innerSpaceman]

Maybe no less crowded, but not the same demographic of crowds as when they had Videopolis. Heheh, it was a demo that seemingly scared the bejesus out of some guests (likely the same guests scared nowadays by the Goths or the red shirts). But perhaps that youthful, less responsible demographic was more free-spending than older demos, and thus more desireable. I personally don't think so. But add in alcohol sales, and I think you have minted a gold mine!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

What's a red shirt? My only frame of reference for that term is Star Trek.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

What's a red shirt? My only frame of reference for that term is Star Trek.

Bwa-ha.

On that note, I saw some guy in DL a few weeks ago wearing a red t-shirt with the word "Expendable" printed in Star Trek font.

Grumble. Okay. Disney has known how to mint money from day one. Usually they resist going for the easiest money and the lowest common denominator. DCA was the massive exception to the rule and, by all accounts, it was a big mistake for them. Remember, "If it's good enough for Magic Mountain?" So, Eisner was ousted, and we now have this multi-billion dollar makeover going on at Disney's second least compelling theme park. (I'll let the French get all curmudgeonly about Disney Studios.) Lots of fantastic artwork to look at in the Blue Sky Cellar, and daily updates on the company's blog from people like Steve Davison and John Lasseter. Quality, quality, quality. You people aren't going to believe the amount of quality we're going to be cramming into this park. And then, practically on the eve of what would define what we should expect from now on from DCA, Iger got nervous, dumbed down the centerpiece show and installed a temporary, and temporary looking dance party. They're trying to create a Hollywood Bowl picnic and concert experience, and then they sell you a plastic poncho and want you to hang out at a rave. Good for them, I guess. Remember the uproar when The Candlelight Procession was moved to the Fantasyland Theatre, and the only way you could be guaranteed a seat was if you bought a dining package? I'm sure there were people who loved the convenience, but it was terrible showmanship, and the extortion was transparent.

Yes, alcohol sells. Yes, Romans like watching lions eat Christians. Doesn't make either a great idea. There's more to this than, "I don't like children running around in a party where mixed drinks are being sold so I'm going to be a cranky old stick-in-the-mud." I really hate the cheap show quality of Glow-fest. I hate that they continue to ignore the infrastructure and themeing that already exists in the park. I hate that executive arrogance inserted itself into the creative process for WOC.

What is the point of WOC? Is it simply to give people a show, and create ancillary ways to pull money out of our pockets? Or is it a way to re-brand DCA, giving us a reason to come back and play at that park we used to hate? Every great show at Disneyland is filled with iconic Disneyland moments, Tinkerbell flies over the Castle, the MSEP towers over the crowds sitting on the curbs of Main Street, the Columbia is Captain Hook's pirate ship! Nighttime at Disneyland itself is so iconic there was an entire episode of The Wonderful World of Disney about it. The current "parade," Celebrate! A Street Party, is utterly forgettable and has no iconic Disneyland moments, neither did Light Magic. I would argue that WOC comes close, using the Fun Wheel as a lighting effect. Unfortunately, the cattle herding and the sheer amount of time invested just to see the damn thing makes makin' memories secondary to navigating the experience. Using the Hollywood Blvd. backdrop wall as a projection surface is a great idea, but (here's that word again) iconic scenes from Hollywood films might be a better fit for the Backlot. Move the bars inside Hollywood and Dine, hire a real live band in "I just got off from work at my studio job" costumes to play on the improv stage. I swear, DCA wouldn't lose a single guest waiting to see WOC, and they might walk away saying DCA is finally getting its act together.

I know Glow-fest isn't going anywhere, they're already hiring more food trucks to amp up the L.A. edgy hipness factor. Maybe, if it makes enough money, they'll just stop with all this expensive and unnecessary remodeling, shut down that little fountain show, and wrap the entire park in Glow-fest contact paper.

I'm not judging anyone for enjoying it. Go, have fun. Raise heck. I'd just rather see the full might and power of the Disney Magic Machine put to work here.