The Unofficial Guide to Things They Hope You Don't Notice

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 8:27 am

cousininmiami wrote: PS Awesome pictures!! What kind of camera do you use??

Just your regular run-of-the-mill Kodak I bought at...Wal-Mart. The Morocco pictures I borrowed. The Soarin' picture was taken in late '05, I haven't been to EPCOT in awhile and they may have resolved the issue.

BTW, there is another flub in the background of World Showcase,

You can see the Swan behind France. It really destroys the forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower. Either it is really really small or the Swan is monstrously huge.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 8:33 am

I was going to mention the swan and the Dolphin, but I don't get these shots? Did you take them? The Swan seems blown up in that picture? Are these coming from the International Gateway? This is behind the pavilion somewhere?

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 8:57 am

This may help to give you a perspective for the Canada shot.

The France picture I found online and don't know where exactly that was taken, but I do know you can see the Swan from inside Epcot if looking at France across the lagoon.

spodie · Post by **spodie** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 9:11 am

Now, the Swan I notice everytime I go to Disney. I guess they didn't figure out that things stuck out like sore thumbs in the background of the World Showcase until after the Swan and Dolphin were built.

MW1218 · Post by **MW1218** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 9:15 am

In order for Soarin' to be as immersive as possible, the screens really do have to be that large, and unfortunately, so that they can move people through the queue, there need to be multiple screens. The unique design of the screens mean that they had to tailor the building to it, so unlike the ToT behind Morocco, they couldn't make it look like something that belonged in Canada. The debate over whether Soarin' belongs in Epcot is a different matter entirely.

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 9:25 am

MW1218 wrote:In order for Soarin' to be as immersive as possible, the screens really do have to be that large, and unfortunately, so that they can move people through the queue, there need to be multiple screens. The unique design of the screens mean that they had to tailor the building to it, so unlike the ToT behind Morocco, they couldn't make it look like something that belonged in Canada. The debate over whether Soarin' belongs in Epcot is a different matter entirely.

I disagree with not being able to disguise the building. They could have screened it with trees or made it appear to be a mountain. There are both trees and mountains in Canada. The trees would probably ruin the forced perspective, but a mountain wouldn't as long as they utilized the same ratio as the buildings.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 10:44 am

agingerbugg I respectfully disagree with where you are saying that camera angle is being shot from? Your arrow shows what appears to be a straight on shot but you can see in the Wal-Mart pic that it is not straight on as there is the back of the cabin facing the camera and it appears that the totemic building (the shop with the totem face you walk through) is facing towards the picture taker. To me that would mean they are taking the picture from closer to the Future World/WS (whatever it's called, I can't recall the name) cross over point behind the Fountain of Nations. What throws me though is you can see water in the foreground which I assume is part of the WS Lagoon, so it makes me wonder if they're taking it from the dock as you enter WS.

Maybe I'm way off though, oh. Regardless it is clearly an ugly image but I wonder where one sees it as I haven't noticed the Soarin' building or whatever it is back there from anywhere I've walked. My second note was that it seems like they may be blown up somehow by a trick of the camera? The Swan has never seemed that large to me while in WS and I get the sense it was taken from outside the park or there was something screwy with the lens focus.

PureDisney · Post by **PureDisney** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 11:17 am

I don't think they really made any attempt to hide the building or even to make it really fit into the park. It looks like it was done in a fairly cheap manner just to get the ride up and running.

PureDisney · Post by **PureDisney** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 11:19 am

You can see the Swan behind France. It really destroys the forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower. Either it is really really small or the Swan is monstrously huge.

Man I must be blind, I never really noticed that but it does look awful in the picture.

Clusty · Post by **Clusty** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 11:24 am

Mr.ToadWildRider wrote:agingerbugg I respectfully disagree with where you are saying that camera angle is being shot from? Your arrow shows what appears to be a straight on shot but you can see in the Wal-Mart pic that it is not straight on as there is the back of the cabin facing the camera and it appears that the totemic building (the shop with the totem face you walk through) is facing towards the picture taker. To me that would mean they are taking the picture from closer to the Future World/WS (whatever it's called, I can't recall the name) cross over point behind the Fountain of Nations. What throws me though is you can see water in the foreground which I assume is part of the WS Lagoon, so it makes me wonder if they're taking it from the dock as you enter WS.

Maybe I'm way off though, oh. Regardless it is clearly an ugly image but I wonder where one sees it as I haven't noticed the Soarin' building or whatever it is back there from anywhere I've walked. My second note was that it seems like they may be blown up somehow by a trick of the camera? The Swan has never seemed that large to me while in WS and I get the sense it was taken from outside the park or there was something screwy with the lens focus.

I think the reason the Swan looks so big is because of the forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 12:35 pm

Clusty wrote:
Mr.ToadWildRider wrote:agingerbugg I respectfully disagree with where you are saying that camera angle is being shot from? Your arrow shows what appears to be a straight on shot but you can see in the Wal-Mart pic that it is not straight on as there is the back of the cabin facing the camera and it appears that the totemic building (the shop with the totem face you walk through) is facing towards the picture taker. To me that would mean they are taking the picture from closer to the Future World/WS (whatever it's called, I can't recall the name) cross over point behind the Fountain of Nations. What throws me though is you can see water in the foreground which I assume is part of the WS Lagoon, so it makes me wonder if they're taking it from the dock as you enter WS.

Maybe I'm way off though, oh. Regardless it is clearly an ugly image but I wonder where one sees it as I haven't noticed the Soarin' building or whatever it is back there from anywhere I've walked. My second note was that it seems like they may be blown up somehow by a trick of the camera? The Swan has never seemed that large to me while in WS and I get the sense it was taken from outside the park or there was something screwy with the lens focus.
I think the reason the Swan looks so big is because of the forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Good point, but I think that also reinforces how pivotal where the shot was taken from matters to how much of an eyesore it is. I've always noticed the Swan and Dolphin over the trees in WS, but i've never been too bothered by them. But if it were like the picture above I would be completely opposed to it.

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 12:36 pm

Again, the picture was taken late 2005, I am not certain of the angle, I did edit that post to say that the arrow is incorrect. After four years, it is really difficult to remember where one is exactly standing. The France picture, as I said before, is borrowed, it is not mine. For all I know it was taken with a super zoom lens on the moon.

cousininmiami · Post by **cousininmiami** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 12:58 pm

All this talk is so funny really, because seriously I am usually, kind of shall we say, toasted, by the time we get around to that area! I am now so curious to see what I think about some of which we are talking about, I may have to look and take pictures first before we start enjoying the food and drink of the countries!

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 2:29 pm

agingerbugg wrote:Again, the picture was taken late 2005, I am not certain of the angle, I did edit that post to say that the arrow is incorrect. After four years, it is really difficult to remember where one is exactly standing. The France picture, as I said before, is borrowed, it is not mine. For all I know it was taken with a super zoom lens on the moon.

I just want to be clear I'm not being critical so much as curious. I appreciate the pictures a lot it's just I've never seen such dramatic shots of these "eye sores" (though I don't think I can really call the Swan an eye sore) over WS' skyline. I guess it's that I've never really seen them first hand like that and that's why I was so confused as I feel completely unobservant if I've been so grossly missing them on trips. I've always noticed the Swan/Dolphin but not like that; and I've never seen the Soarin' structure before either.

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Fri 17, 2009 5:04 pm

I found this picture on flickr taken from Japan, Soarin' can be seen on the left.

Shot of canada found on flickr.

and another

An artsy shot of Soarin'

I think the reason most people don't notice it, is because you have to be across the lagoon to see it. You cannot see it by standing in front of Canada. When you are across the lagoon, you are distracted by the country you are in front of, not the ones across the lagoon.