Artwork (c) Disney
Disney announced a new American Idol attraction that will set up shop in the old Superstar Television building at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
While WDW management should be commended for a) doing something with this abandoned structure and b) using a television property rather than creating another shopfront stuffed with princesses and c) avoiding the temptation to go cheap and incestuous with their own tween-centric High School Musical/Cheetah Girls/Hannah Montana programming, I still have to wonder how well this all-but washed up Fox show will play in just a few years. American Idol is showing its age. The viewing audience for its opening episode this season was its lowest in four years. As malaise sets in and the wind goes out of American Idol's sails, the park will be left with another empty Who Wants to be a Millionaire building.
Still, I'm curious to visit this attraction and to find out how Disney deals with one of the show's most iconic elements: Simon Cowell's signature insults. Many viewers tune in to American Idol just to watch as unfortunates are singled out by Cowell and subsequently ridiculed during each season's initial episodes. Will Disney subject their guests to random acts of mean-spiritedness? If they avoid this aspect of the show, will they be neutering it for guests who are coming just to hear wry British putdowns?
And one last thing...what is with this concept art? The people are rendered about 3x as large as they would appear against the existing structure. As part of this renovation, are they shrinking the building? Are they only inviting the sad victims of bovine growth hormone overdoses? Either way, the whole thing just comes across as something more rinky-dink than I imagine Disney had hoped.
And one last-last thing, again on the concept art. For those who pine for the original Disney-MGM Studios with its Hollywood-That-Never-Was aesthetic, well, let's just kiss that old idea goodbye. If this attraction is realized as rendered, we'll have a sleek contemporary structure and an overscaled, visually hyperactive LED board screaming at the end of Hollywood Boulevard. If the hat wasn't enough, this attraction may well be the cut that kills the old Bob Weis-era Studios.
Oh well, here's hoping they have a Clay Aiken rubberhead wandering the park.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
You're Going to (Disney's) Hollywood (Studios)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
In addition to being incredibly huge, many of the people in the concept art seem to be dressed as conquistadors, some even look to be riding horses, or mechanical versions thereof. Perhaps Disney has discovered that "American Idol" is the long fabled Florida fountain of youth? Or that the attraction is so inspiring, even long-dead conquistadors will rise from the grave and pony up for Studio's admission? Or is this a subliminal suck-up sign directed toward Spain in hopes of getting that country to spring for a new pavilion for the stagnant World Showcase at Epcot? Or perhaps, just perhaps, I am reading the whole thing wrong and Disney is actually gonna make use of the old "Captain Eo" host and hostess costumes by giving them out as prizes to visitors of the "American Idol" theme park experience. The mystery of the silver-conehead gigantic guests thickens...
Post a Comment