Pictures of things No Longer Seen at WDW

[klmall]

 

[tltay2005]

 

[Dan Murphy]

 

[kimmar067]

.....I know, right? There, there.....

 

[klmall]

 

[Ponderer]

There has been so much hate about this, but, really they did a very expensive, very detailed and very creative overlay for the castle for that one celebration. If anyone wonders why we don't get special stuff anymore, it is because most of the public has so little imagination that the mere action of covering up a plastic castle with a plastic celebration cake, is just beyond peoples ability to accept. Oh, well, they won't be doing that anymore so we no longer have to worry about it. The money that they don't spend on whimsical stuff like this will just go into Iger's bonus. I'm sure he will enjoy the cash infusion.

My personal problem with it was that it *didn’t* feel expensive. The inflatable parts of it swaying in the wind made the whole enterprise look comical. It looked great in pictures, but it was disappointing in person.

And I think it lead to the decorating of Spaceship Earth, which I thought was as ill-conceived as anything the parks have ever done.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

 

[goofyernmost]

My personal problem with it was that it *didn’t* feel expensive. The inflatable parts of it swaying in the wind made the whole enterprise look comical. It looked great in pictures, but it was disappointing in person.

And I think it lead to the decorating of Spaceship Earth, which I thought was as ill-conceived as anything the parks have ever done.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

You must have been there at different times. I went there twice that year and honestly, what you are saying is brand new. Where did the info come from that any of it was inflated and that it moved in the wind. I never saw anything like that and it doesn't make any sense that they would use inflatable items instead of solid plastic that could be securely attached and like a shell around the castle. I'm not denying it, but, I have never seen or heard about any part of it being inflated. What I saw was something that I thought was incredibly clever, whimsical and fun and was just for a one year celebration.

The other things that they did after that were just allowed to stay to long. The wand at Epcot and the big ugly hat in DHS. Both were for special times. The wand for the Millennium and the hat for Walt's 100th birthday. They just weren't clever enough to take it down. The cake would never have been able to stay past the celebration. However, now that they realize that the fan is not flexible when it comes to anyone covering their plastic fantasies they will not do it again. To bad, because it seems to me to be a huge loss that we have forced upon ourselves.

 

[Ponderer]

You must have been there at different times. I went there twice that year and honestly, what you are saying is brand new. Where did the info come from that any of it was inflated and that it moved in the wind. I never saw anything like that and it doesn't make any sense that they would use inflatable items instead of solid plastic that could be securely attached and like a shell around the castle. I'm not denying it, but, I have never seen or heard about any part of it being inflated. What I saw was something that I thought was incredibly clever, whimsical and fun and was just for a one year celebration.

The other things that they did after that were just allowed to stay to long. The wand at Epcot and the big ugly hat in DHS. Both were for special times. The wand for the Millennium and the hat for Walt's 100th birthday. They just weren't clever enough to take it down. The cake would never have been able to stay past the celebration. However, now that they realize that the fan is not flexible when it comes to anyone covering their plastic fantasies they will not do it again. To bad, because it seems to me to be a huge loss that we have forced upon ourselves.

 

[Ponderer]

The whole thing wasn’t inflatable of course, but a lot of the detail work was, especially all the icing work. Pretty much any article referencing it mentions that, including the Wikipedia entry on it. (Officially, it was 1000 feet of inflatable details, mostly the pink and blue icing.) It probably made installation/removal a lot easier and may have been an easier load on the structure.

I don’t mind whimsy, I just wasn’t thrilled about the execution - and to be fair, the stunt is not a small reason why I visited WDW for the first time, so it probably did its job. It’s a matter of taste to be sure. The only people who probably had a gripe were those spending big bucks on a storybook wedding that they dreamed of, and then getting a bright pink candy cake. It’s a fun idea, but somewhat less...romantic. The story is Disney lost a small fortune on wedding cancellations, though they probably made up some of it with the 25th anniversary visitors.

 

[Chaoticsweetness]

 

[klmall]

 

[goofyernmost]

The whole thing wasn’t inflatable of course, but a lot of the detail work was, especially all the icing work. Pretty much any article referencing it mentions that, including the Wikipedia entry on it. (Officially, it was 1000 feet of inflatable details, mostly the pink and blue icing.) It probably made installation/removal a lot easier and may have been an easier load on the structure.

I don’t mind whimsy, I just wasn’t thrilled about the execution - and to be fair, the stunt is not a small reason why I visited WDW for the first time, so it probably did its job. It’s a matter of taste to be sure. The only people who probably had a gripe were those spending big bucks on a storybook wedding that they dreamed of, and then getting a bright pink candy cake. It’s a fun idea, but somewhat less...romantic. The story is Disney lost a small fortune on wedding cancellations, though they probably made up some of it with the 25th anniversary visitors.

I'm still quite skeptical about any of it being inflatable. I have never heard it mentioned of witness what looked like an inflated situation, how they would hold up in the wind, etc. If they did, they did, but, I'm just not convinced and probably won't be until I see some solid evidence of it. Not saying your wrong, just that I am not convinced that it is true.

As for the people that reserved the Wedding Chapel for that time, I would have thought that they would have been warned about the view from the window over the alter.

 

[klmall]

I'm still quite skeptical about any of it being inflatable. I have never heard it mentioned of witness what looked like an inflated situation, how they would hold up in the wind, etc. If they did, they did, but, I'm just not convinced and probably won't be until I see some solid evidence of it. Not saying your wrong, just that I am not convinced that it is true.

"To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1996, Imagineers transformed the front of Cinderella Castle into an 18-story "birthday cake." Complete with red and pink "icing," giant candy canes and 26 glowing candles, the castle served as the centerpiece for the 15-month-long celebration. Designed by Walt Disney Entertainment Florida and later constructed by the Imagineers, this was no small undertaking. It took more than 400 US gallons (1,500 L) of pink paint to cover the castle, which was decorated with multicolored "sprinkles," 26 candles, ranging in height from 20–40 feet (6.1-12.2 m) tall, 16 two-foot (61 cm) long candy stars, 16 five-foot (1.5 m) candy bears, 12 five-foot (1.5 m) gumdrops, four six-foot (1.8 m) stacks of Life Savers, 30 three-foot (91 cm) lollipops, and 50 two-foot (61 cm) gumballs. Additionally, more than 1000 feet (305 m) of pink and blue inflatable "icing" was needed to finish it off. On January 31, 1998, the castle was transformed back to its original state." Wikipedia.


"It was hated by most of the regulars.

It also cost Disney untold thousands of dollars in wedding cancellations. The layout of the Wedding Pavilion has the windows at the end of the center aisle on a direct view of Cinderella Castle. Many brides had all their plans, especially their colors, planned out based on the normal blue-gray of the Castle; the pink clashed terribly.

And the running joke on almost all Disney discussion boards on USENET and the Internet was that the official sponsor of the Castle's paint scheme was Pepto-Bismol." - Mike Tuchman who works at Disney

 

[klmall]

 

[goofyernmost]

"To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1996, Imagineers transformed the front of Cinderella Castle into an 18-story "birthday cake." Complete with red and pink "icing," giant candy canes and 26 glowing candles, the castle served as the centerpiece for the 15-month-long celebration. Designed by Walt Disney Entertainment Florida and later constructed by the Imagineers, this was no small undertaking. It took more than 400 US gallons (1,500 L) of pink paint to cover the castle, which was decorated with multicolored "sprinkles," 26 candles, ranging in height from 20–40 feet (6.1-12.2 m) tall, 16 two-foot (61 cm) long candy stars, 16 five-foot (1.5 m) candy bears, 12 five-foot (1.5 m) gumdrops, four six-foot (1.8 m) stacks of Life Savers, 30 three-foot (91 cm) lollipops, and 50 two-foot (61 cm) gumballs. Additionally, more than 1000 feet (305 m) of pink and blue inflatable "icing" was needed to finish it off. On January 31, 1998, the castle was transformed back to its original state." Wikipedia.


"It was hated by most of the regulars.

It also cost Disney untold thousands of dollars in wedding cancellations. The layout of the Wedding Pavilion has the windows at the end of the center aisle on a direct view of Cinderella Castle. Many brides had all their plans, especially their colors, planned out based on the normal blue-gray of the Castle; the pink clashed terribly.

And the running joke on almost all Disney discussion boards on USENET and the Internet was that the official sponsor of the Castle's paint scheme was Pepto-Bismol." - Mike Tuchman who works at Disney

OK, I stand corrected on the inflatable portions. Never noticed any degree of movement when I made two trips there during that time.

Also I do feel bad for the people that reserved a wedding before it became the cake, but, please people this isn't the White House or the Grand Canyon, or Mt. Rushmore it's a fantasy theme park designed to entertain and if some people canceled their wedding plans at Disney because of it... well, that is what they should have done. It is amazing how many of us managed to get married without a plastic castle in the background so clashing wasn't an issue. Yes, it was jokingly referred to as Pepto Castle, but, that was humor and whimsy that a place like WDW and especially MK is supposed to be all about. Growing up just a little wouldn't be a bad thing to do at times. I'll bet there were very few kids that weren't completely amused by the Castle Cake. I was a regular and I did not hate it. I would have if they hadn't removed at the end of the celebration, but, they did and I was fine with it. Forgive me but I never heard of a Mike Tuchman... was he a bus driver by any chance?

 

[Ponderer]

Mike - who I believe was a regular of these boards under the name Cheshire Figment until his death in 2015 - worked at WDW in various capacities, including guest services, was a Disney shareholder and an all-around source of great Disney information.

 

[RexFromEndor]

 

[klmall]

Mike - who I believe was a regular of these boards under the name Cheshire Figment until his death in 2015 - worked at WDW in various capacities, including guest services, was a Disney shareholder and an all-around source of great Disney information.

Yes, Mike was a Virginian before moving to Florida after his wife's death. We met at one of the Metro area pin meets back in the early '90s. He was a major contributor to the DIS!

 

[klmall]

I miss this parade most of all! I can't stand that there are no longer night parades at Disneyworld

 

[Ponderer]

One of the reasons I'm looking forward to my first Halloween party is to get some version of a nighttime parade out of it.