14 July 2011

Dining and entertainment

There is something to be said for the environment in which a meal is served. An enticing room can salvage, though perhaps not electrify, a mediocre entree. With that in mind, the first palate tempter for a guest at Walt Disney World is the sign which adorns the door and beckons guest in.

In the Magic Kingdom, the placards which entice guests not only have to offer up an omen as to the type of fare and environment the guests are entering, but they also have to stay consistent to the land in which they subsist. Notice, for instance, the uniform angularness of the dining signs’ characters in Tomorrowland, as opposed to the scrolling letters of Main Street, U.S.A. or western flair found in Frontierland’s fonts.

Transitions are also critical when it comes to restaurant signs that hover between two lands. For instance the adventurous spirit and every day charm that is encompassed on the posting for the Crystal Palace, situated between on the corner of Main Street, U.S.A. and Adventureland. Similarly, two shingles have been placed out for patrons of Columbia Harbour House, one colonial in nature for Liberty Square and one which contains a bit more whimsy for Fantasyland.

No matter how you slice it, signage is just as important to the meal experience as the decor of the restaurant itself. You can never tell what miniscule detail is going to call to the tummy rumblings of a passerby guest.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I've never really thought much about the signage for the restaurants. Now that I see them all in one place, it makes sense!

WDWGeabes said...

Makes me wonder if this is the same throughout all the WDW parks. If so, would you mide doing this photo safari in each to show us. Great article!

Ryan P. Wilson said...

WDWGeabes, the rest of the parks is definitely a project I am working on. So be sure to keep an eye for those articles in the coming weeks/months!