16 May 2008

The development of langauge

Words are important. They not only combine letters together to mean something, they convey ideas and images. If you have noticed while reading the Main Street Gazette that I am fond of using full names for attractions, parks, resorts, etc. it is because I believe words have a power and that they should not be misused or belittled. This is the one pet peeve that irritates me deep beneath my skin worse than any other. The Twilight Zone sits in front of Tower of Terror for a reason, not simply because Disney licensed its use, but it the term conjures up images and feelings of the fantastic tales of the weird and incredible. The same goes for Walt Disney World, commonly referred to as only Disney World.I understand, really I do, that Disney World is shorter and easier, but that is not its name. Original plans for the park labeled it as only Disney World, but after the untimely passing of the patriarch of all things Disney, Roy stepped up and redesignated the plans Walt Disney World. In his own words, from page 21 of Jeff Kurtti’s Since the World Began:
“Everybody knows the Ford car, but not everybody knows it was Henry Ford who started it all, Roy stated. It’s going to be Walt Disney World, so people will always know that this was Walt’s dream.”

When talking about the Vacationland we all love, I don’t ask that you carry my burden of referring to it by name each and every time, I only ask that you remember what, who, and why we are talking about Walt Disney World.

5 comments:

Princess Fee said...

A very good point, Ryan. I will admit that I occasionally use the initials (eg. WDW), but I don't like saying Walt Disney World without the 'Walt' in it - because I also think it helps differentiate between the other parks around the world. Of course, I get mad at people that say they're going to Disneyland and it's actually Walt Disney World, but that's another story!

I relate it to something that I learn when I was in Primary School - in one of our assemblies, I remember the minister telling us about Christmas. Without turning this into a religious posting, he said that if you abbreviate and say Xmas, you're taking out the Christ of Christmas. This has stuck with me since I was about 7 and I think it has played an impact in how I want to call it Walt Disney World. Call it Disney World, you're taking the Walt out of it...

Greg said...

Guilty. I do from time to time drop the Walt from the name; but not as a matter of disrespect. And in a prior comment here I abbreviated the full name of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Again, no disrespect intended.

DD said...

gave you a shout out in my blog today regarding this :)

tee hee hee.

Ryan P. Wilson said...

I will also use abbreviations, because after the thousandth type of typing a phrase it does tend to become tiresome, and I don't mind abbreviations or the use of shortened terms, it is just a pet peeve I thought would open up a good discussion. Thanks for adding to the discussion guys and gals! And thanks for the shoutout Krissy!

Doc Terminus said...

Point well taken Ryan P Wilson