Where parents and children could have fun together

For today's blog, I'd like to touch on one of Walt's quotes that I mentioned in my first update:

"We believed in our idea, a family park where parents and children could have fun together."

Above anything else, I believe that this was truly Walt's defining goal in creating the modern theme park. He often spoke of his trips to some of the smaller amusement areas and excursions with his family, and the amazing connection that he was able to make with his children while doing so. Above all else, he desired to build a park where parents could bring their children and both would have fun together. That word together is a very important part of the discussion and one that must not be missed.

There are numerous places spread out amongst the globe where parents can take their kids and watch their kids have fun while they sit back and watch, and in some cases just endure it. That was not Walt's idea for the parks. He firmly believed that he could build a place where parents and children could come and both have fun together, at the same time, laughing and dreaming as one. To his amazing credit he created exactly that and his way of doing it was very interesting. When asked about the issue, he had this to say:

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either."

and

"Adults are interested if you don't play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don't believe in talking down to children. I don't believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching."

When it comes to theme park design and development, those two quotes should be emblazoned in every creative, executive, and financial office in America today. When asking why Walt's enormous dream became such a success, became a world icon, and a brand unto itself, all that you have to do is look at those ideals. The parks today spend all of their time on the latest thrill ride, or on synergy, yet they miss the most simple of all answers. And that simple answer is "Parents and Children having fun together." It really is that simple yet it's overlooked all too much lately.

Theme parks in general have been taking a track lately of bigger, badder, and faster. I think that's a mistake. It really is. It's a mistake because it completely ignores Walt's entire vision for creating the parks. For creating a place where Parents and Children can have fun together. Thrill rides are fun, and I have no problem with having a few of them scattered throughout the park, but they cannot become the basis for your park if you want to reach the full market that is available. Let's look at demographics for a moment.

Who does the thrill ride reach out to? It reaches out to the ages between approximately 12-30 and while that is a large demographic, it's not the demographic that drives theme park success. Theme parks that remain successful and become engrained in the vocabulary of America become that way because they reach out to the entire family, and allow the entire family to laugh, learn, and enjoy the experience together. Thrill rides don't allow that. They break up the family and they tend to break the parks into seperate experiences aimed at different demographics. We wind up with kiddie lands, thrill lands, and shows for the older. This is a problem because it does not allow the family to enjoy it together.

In analyzing why this is a problem, I look at my own experiences. Why am I hopelessly addicted to the theme park? The answer is very simple. Memories. My greatest memories of my childhood took place within the gates of Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. When I think back to those memories I am reminded of laughing with my mother and father all at once while riding the old Hannah Barbara ride at Universal, being wowed by the pirates in Pirates of the Carribean at the Magic Kingdom, of dreaming of an amazing future with my family on Horizon's at Epcot. It was a familial experience. One that brought us closer together as a family, one that a simple look at a picture brings us all back to that same place and memory where we laughed and smiled all as one. I don't have those memories from parks that were primarily thrill rides. I don't get that when thinking about my mother waiting on a bench while my dad and I rode a roller coaster, or of both of my parents sitting there and watching while my sister and I were shot into the air on a slingshot ride. Those rides missed the point of drawing the family together and it is what the theme parks did so well in the past.

I am beginning to become afraid that those ideals are being lost. Rides like Mission Space, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Dueling Dragons, and The Hulk are wonderful rides in and of themselves but they totally miss the goal that Walt spoke of many years ago. They divide the family and remove the one thing that made me love the theme park. They removed the bonding with my family. So while I understand the need for one or two thrill rides in a park for those families and individuals who do love them, I don't want to see the parks become known as thrill parks. In the end, to remain successful into the future, they must remain family parks. That means creating something that the whole family can enjoy together, not kiddie lands, and not thrill rides.

To all that come to this happy place

Good morning, Good Evening, or Goodnight. I'm not sure what time it is that you're first reading this so allow me to touch all my bases. I'd like to take a moment and tell you about myself, the author of this blog that you have taken the time to read. I'm not sure what has brought you here out of all the wonderful places on the internet for discussion of the theme park business, but I'm glad you stopped by for whatever reason it is. If you're in the wrong place, that's ok. The exit is to the left, but if you'd like to sit down and read a while I'd appreciate it.

My name, as it is known in internetdom, is kcnole and I am a huge fan of theme parks. My wife calls me obsessed and I should say that she is probably right. They are my escape from the everyday dross, my fantastic journeys that I may never take otherwise, and my dreams for tomorrow. I should be more specific in my particular forte' however. I am speaking largely of the Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resorts. I am aware that there are other places as wonderful as those such as Walt's original park in Anaheim, the wonderful Busch Garden's Europe in Williamsburg, and especially Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea but my meager budget won't allow those excursions at this point. I have often gushed to my wife about visiting some of these parks in various parts of the world but I get enough grief for my continued requests to travel to Orlando, so for now that is where I will remain until I manage to get her as hopelessly addicted the magic of theme parks as I.

So for the current duration of this blog you can expect to read my thoughts on the amazing resorts at Walt Disney World, The Disney company as a whole, and Universal Orlando Resort. As my sphere increases you may also read of reports from Sea World and other various parks in the area. Some have asked me why I am not focusing on just one resort and my simple answer is that I cannot. As I have stated earlier, I am not just a fan of Walt Disney World, but a fan of all theme parks that are well done and if I'm going to take my time to write about what I love, I'm going to touch on it all. While I am not a fan of any particular theme park over any other I must admit to being a huge fan of Walt Disney's vision in creating Disneyland and then Walt Disney World. I think he said it best in these following three quotes and if any theme park designer or investor will buy into the man's vision, they will have a successful park.

"We believed in our idea, a family park where parents and children could have fun together."

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."

"To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

Walt is a man I incredibly miss and as others have said, I'm not sure we deserved him, but we were lucky to have him. I will be coming back to his quotes from time to time to delve deeper into the mind of Walt. I hope you enjoy my observations and thoughts, and I hope that you'll jump into the conversations as well through the comment system here. If I'm wrong, tell me. If you agree with me, then I'd appreciate that too. If I spelled something wrong, well then maybe I'll hire you to be my editor. :)

So once again, thank you for stopping by and reading my thoughts.