Discussion:
Big disappointment
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t***@aol.com
2008-04-23 15:53:06 UTC
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Well I hate to say it but the much anticipated Imagineering DVD
"Secrets of Imagineering" or something like that pretty much flat out
sucks.

I was hoping for a lot, especially after the recent move in the right
direction on some of the Walt Disney Treasures DVD and the excellent
Little Mermaid ride through they did on the Mermaid DVD. However this
Imagineering DVD just sucks.

It is so incredibly simplistic that NO ONE other than the most
uninitiated fan could possibly find anything new or of value here.
And those who know literally NOTHING about the parks are very unlikely
to be purchasing the thing to begin with. Despite having Tony Baxter
and Marty Sklar involved with most of the Discs there is just precious
little information. These guys are incredible wealths on knowledge
and yet they are muted here. Instead we learn such fascinating behind
the scene tidbits such as the center of the park is called the Hub.
About as deep as the DVD gets is that Tiki Room was originally going
to be a restaurant. OK, very basic but still interesting had they
shown us original concept art and discussed what it may have looked
like. Instead they spend maybe 5 seconds on concepts such as this
before breezing on to the next subject.

The concept of a DVD like this is super strong and yet the execution
is just HORRIBLE. Why can they not understand the audience who would
purchase something like this? The free promo DVDs offer a better look
at the parks... and that is sad.

At the very least they could of given us the bonus materials where
they got deep. Maybe unedited interviews with Baxter and Sklar or
something like that... but no. Instead we get incredibly lame little
vignettes promoting DCA and a triva game that is so painful to sit
through you may considering shooting yourself 1/3 of the way into it.
On that trivia game you learn that Walt Disney LIVED in the
firehouse. Really... he and his family LIVED there huh? It's just
crazy.

For God's sake Disney... give the fans a chance to create an official
DVD of this nature for you because the fact is that we could honestly
do a better job and have a better depth of knowledge than whoever is
hobbling this stuff together for you. The fact that you could take
Baxter, Sklar and the rest and throw them together for a DVD and come
up with something this lame is well, shocking.
9Lanterns
2008-05-03 17:04:35 UTC
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Somehow I missed this post when you first posted it, Ted. But I'm sad
to hear the DVD is not that good. I was kinda looking forward to it.

The Disneyland Secrets DVD (part of the Disney Treasures series) that
you mentioned is FANTASTIC. There's some old Disneyland tv shows that
have been around before, but there's an excellent documentary feature,
and a really good segment of time-lapse movies with commentary by Tony
Baxter. For a hardcore Disney fan like yourself, there's probably not
TONS of new info, but there's some good stuff there. The time-lapse
stuff alone is practically worth the price.

-Shane
t***@aol.com
2008-05-05 15:37:09 UTC
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I agree 100% Shane, the Disneyland Secrets DVD is FANTASTIC. Coupled
with the CGI Little Mermaid ride through I was thinking that Disney
was really honing in on the perfect blend of behind the scenes Disney
park info on DVD that many fans have been craving. Baxter;s
participation in general has led to wonderful results and it is a real
treat to hear such a knowledgeable insider tell some first hand
stories as both a participant and simply as a fan.

So because of all of that I was really hoping that this Imagineering
DVD was going to be a home run, the pen ultimate Disney fan DVD.
After all this is a niche release, not meant for the general public
and aimed directly at the hard core fans. This was the opportunity to
NAIL it. Sadly they took such a huge step backwards with it that I
cannot recommend it to anyone other than the fanatical completist who
simply must own everything. It is so light in info that even the most
casual fan will find 90% of it old hat. In fact there is hardly any
actual info presented at all... it is more of a very sparse visual
tour of the park showing us everything we have seen MANY times
before. For the general public however this DVD falls outside of any
normal person's interest and does not present enough current or
practical info to be of any help. So you have a DVD with no audience
and it is just a real shame. For now the Secrets of Disneyland DVD
stands head and shoulders above the rest as the best Disney park
related DVD out there.

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