Theme Parks Were Better in the 90s (Part 1)

"Did you ever look around at these minimalist spaces?" Yes! Absolutely!!! People complain about fast food restaurants now, but I've been seeing this de-theming trend since the early 2000's. For the past 20 years, I've been observing consumer spaces getting less and less interesting than they were in the 80's and 90's. I'm shocked that only now, the rest of the world seems to have figured this out and agreed that it's a bad idea. But it keeps going because it looks good on social media? Take me back!

I think the unknown was made theme parks in the 1990s so amazing. You didn’t have YouTube videos of the rides so you were going there blind aside from maybe watching a promotional video or getting a leaflet from the travel agent before you were there. I first went to Florida in 1997 when I was 10 and it was so big and exciting.

I will say, as someone born in 1990, the 90s seemed a lot more kid friendly, if not kid oriented.

There was a very real sense of magic at all the theme parks. As a life long Floridian I can tell you that walking into any one of the parks was special. Everyone was truly happy to be there, they were all cheerful and kind to each other, and I'm talking about the guests. Cast members were also very interested in greeting you and making sure you had a great experience at all times. Contrast to the last few years where people feel entitled, rude and even combative. People skipping lines, the obvious mental health issues from both adults and kids, and cast members who you can simply tell are just there to collect a paycheck and appear more like small town carnival employees.

I miss color! I wouldn’t go back to the 90s, my teen years were not my favorites, but I do miss how colorful it was. You should see how colorful my house was . One room was painted to look like the ocean, and another was Jackson Pollockisk, and my sister did have a water bed, while I had a clear telephone

The minimalist style is as much about business (greed) as it is about aesthetics. These companies found out that people were lingering to appreciate the theming rather than actually spending money. When Vegas abandoned casino theming it was specifically stated that guests were spending more time taking pictures than gambling. And they certainly weren’t going to allow that to continue!

I think we're on the verge of a recival of highly themed experiences, in part because of the nostalgia cycle, and in part because it's something you can't get online. A local pet shop near me has a highly themed interior with the fish area being in a shipwreck with the rest of the shop being a beach around it, with a restaurant on the deck of the ship and a zipline and rock climbing. There's also the fact that Trey and Parker of South Park fame have taken out an 800 million dollar loan to open Casa Bonita locations across the US.

I've never heard anyone pronounce "Aladdin" as Al-Addin, but it makes total sense and has kinda blown my mind.

If there was only 1 word I can describe the 90s, it would be wacky. Everywhere you go, the theming for these iconic locations at the time was everywhere & they like to pop out to amaze audiences/customers. It's ashame now that you barely see theming nowadays because "simple = better". I may not be a 90s kid (born in 2000), but man everything 90s & even 80s always satisfied me & it always made me wished I got to experience those 2 decades because those times looked so much fun

This is speaking to my millennial soul so much. There was something so whimsical and comforting about the 90s aesthetic, and for me, there are so many core memories associated with it all

Minimalism has been the blight of American life for 15 years

The 90s especially at Disney made me fall in love with Theme Parks, everything felt wonderful. It gave me a sense of hope and escape, it was truly a way out of the hum drum world of the everyday. I wish my kids could experience this the way I did, it was so wonderful it's permanently etched in my psyche. Nowadays they aren't a escape but just another Corporate billboard everywhere...just feels stale, thank you for another trip down memory lane.

I used to work at the dallas zoo and often had lunch at the themed mcdonalds across the street. It was incredibly well done but unfortunately it was in such a rough neighborhood that I bet they didnt get may children coming in anymore. Was sad to see the location sterilized. It was an iconic dallas landmark. As a kid you would see the animals at mcdonalds before you saw the actual zoo - so its how you knew it was close.

One of the reasons why I used to love going to my local Regal Theater was because it looked super 80s/90s. Colorful squiggly pattern carpet, bright neon lights, etc. I loved the transportation into a new fun space.

Finally someone actually talks about this! I’m not even close to have ever been able to experience the “authentic” 80s/90s aesthetic (late gen-z here). But I’ve always been really fascinated by it. Especially just how much more interesting even common spaces like restaurants and shopping malls were. I also feel like theme parks were much more experimental back then which added a lot to the “wow factor” they had at the time. To me, it seems like a lot of the big parks play it too safe by just making IP based attractions. And while they are cool, we know that these places are capable creating creative and original experiences, and I want them to do just that.

I miss these spaces from my childhood, but I wonder how much of it was due to wearing the rose-colored glasses of a kid in the early 2000s. Thank you for another insightful video!!

As an interior designer this video literally hits all the points right on the nose! We study the transformations of design fads in school and this was what I wrote my essay on!

Sheesh, this video is pretty much a portrait of me as a person in video form. I was born in 1979, a little kid in the 80’s, and a teenager in the 90’s. I grew up in the Midwest, taking vacations to the Orlando theme parks, and also going to many other amusement parks like Cedar Point. I had a waterbed, loved themed restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, pretty much was into all things 90’s. In 1998 I moved to Orlando shortly after striking out on my own as an adult, and have lived there ever since for over 25 years. Even the shots of the Mall at Millenia you used struck a chord with me, as I’ve gone there since the first month it opened, and was there just a few days ago. I suppose most people, so long as things were relatively good, miss times like their teenage years a lot. You’re at the point of still being very young and not having many worries or responsibilities, but yet you are fully aware and can do adult things like driving a car or being out on your own. For me, that was the perfect mix, and the 90’s were an absolutely great decade for that. Wow did I have fun and love it. I swear I still haven’t been able to adapt ever since with all of the ongoing changes, to the point of being depressed, alone, and unemployed. But I still can make myself feel good by watching videos like this and revisiting things from the 90’s. Were some things from the decade a little out there and dated? Sure. But you know what? They were sure fun. It was a colorful decade that had so many new things to enjoy. Many of which changed our lives. I think some of those slowly came back and sort of became a double edged sword on us, as they killed off other things or led us to be pretty obsessed, but at the time the were sure great.

Nothing was better than 1980s EPCOT

I swear, when I remember what stuff looked like in the late 90's and first half of the 2000's when I was a kid, it feels like a dream. I have lived in Orlando for most of my life so I saw the peak of this era when it existed. Like a dream full of colors where none exist today.