Why Magic Kingdom PARK?

[Mickey91]

Okay all you CMs out there and anyone else in the know. Why does Disney insist on calling The Magic Kingdom, Magic Kingdom Park? It takes the Magic and awe factor right out of it before you even enter the gate. It is a tiny reminder that this is an amusement park and not some magical land where all your dreams come true. I think just calling it The Magic Kingdom is way more magical.

[WDWgoofy]

My guess is that it is Magic Kindom park to protect the Disney brand and its trademark.

You do not want your specific product to be used in a general way.

For instance, Klennex, Coke and FedEx gained such wide acceptance that their unique products are used as general terms. While it is good to have such universal use, it does damage the brand.

So Magic Kingdom park recognizes the uniqueness of the product. It is not all parks, but a special one!

[HairyBear]

I always thought it was The Magic Kingdom, maybe was it ever called this or was it always Magic Kingdom Park?

Oh and another brand that is synonimous with the actual product is Band Aid.

[GrmGrninGost]

I have to agree that adding Park to the name lessens the magic value. I do not understand the need for it. It has been called the Magic Kingdom for many years and it has not been a problem. Now all of a sudden it is a problem? When I go to WDW, especially the Magic Kingdom, I feel like I'm in a different world, not a "park". If I want to go to a "park", I can stay a lot closer to home and spend a lot less money!

[CaptSmee]

I'm not sure what your question is...i've always heard it called Magic Kingdom or The Magic Kingdom. What else would it be called? I don't think the name was as widespread until after Epcot opened and there was more than 1 park at WDW.

[Marker]

It takes the Magic and awe factor right out of it before you even enter the gate.

That puts an awful lot of power in 1 single word. For me the magic is not in the name.

And the word "Park" can have a favorable connotation as well,

Yellowstone Park
Central Park
Fenway Park


And if someone tells me they're going for "a walk in the park", I think of a relaxing place with green grass, children playing, and people having fun. I see a park as a great place to go.

Maybe it's just a matter of perspective.

[LudwigVonDrake]

The trademarked name is probably The Magic Kingdom Park. Most (if not all) people refer to it as The Magic Kingdom :tink:

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Looking at everything I've got from Disney, including my hard ticket staff badges and what-not, they all say Magic Kingdom. On all the signs, it's Magic Kingdom. Every bit of merchandise (and trust me, I know this for a fact since we have two whole rows of merch for it) says only Magic Kingdom. Not even "The", just Magic Kingdom. Such as my MS sweatshirt and shirt - "Main Street USA - Magic Kingdom."

I think it's one of those things that some Guests do it, and they think that's how it's called. Like, when some Guests think MK is called Disney World. Which prior to 1982, would have been correct.

[Sweezy]

i must say, i too would prefer the absence of the word 'park'...but its certainly no huge deal either way. i agree it has more cache as 'Magic Kingdom' instead of 'Magic Kingdom Park'.

[Main Street Jim]

I'm with Jessica on this one; I've never seen the word "Park" used anywhere in or on any merchandise or anything, although I *have* seen commercials on TV that specify "only at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World" (Jessica, do you watch the MKTV in the Mouseketeeria or in the break rooms?). But all *guest-viewable* stuff I've ever seen - guide maps, times guides, merchandise, etc. - all say "Magic Kingdom", omitting the "Park".

[Hull-onian]

This Thursday Morning, April 17th, I will be in the Magic Kingdom. It will be Magical. Maybe I can ride Mainstreet Jim's train with him as the engineer. Now, that is Magic.:mickey:

[SpecJoe Magic]

There are definitely places where it's referred to as Magic Kingdom Park. I don't recall exactly where, but I know for a fact that I've seen it before. I don't understand why "Park" is occasionally in the title for the Magic Kingdom, yet it's never used for any of the other theme parks at WDW. That being said, I really don't see how the use of that word takes anything away from the magic.

[cal5755]

This Thursday Morning, April 17th, I will be in the Magic Kingdom. It will be Magical. Maybe I can ride Mainstreet Jim's train with him as the engineer. Now, that is Magic.:mickey:


Well this Thursday morning, April 17th, I will be green with envy because I will not be in Magic Kingdom or anywhere near Mainstreet Jims train!!

I hope you have a Magical Day though :mickey:

[tinklover]

This Thursday Morning, April 17th, I will be in the Magic Kingdom. It will be Magical. Maybe I can ride Mainstreet Jim's train with him as the engineer. Now, that is Magic.:mickey:

main street jim is no longer working teh train :( he is now at the tomorrowland speedway you will have to RACE over there to see him lol. pun intended. have a magical trip.

on to the topic i think maybe it is now Magic Kingdom park due to the fact that they now have the 4 "parks" MK. Epcot, Dhs, and AK? I could be wrong but it makes sense to me.

[Taja]

Once upon a time...

Disneyland held the title of "The Magic Kingdom."

When WDW originally opened, MK was "WDW." I don't recall it ever being referred to as "Magic Kingdom" in the early years.

That doesn't mean it wasn't, just that I wasn't aware of it! :)

[Jasper]

I don't know if it was in "official" documents or not but I have seen Animal Kingdom and The Studios tagged with the word "park" on occasion. It is possible that the word "park" is not even part of the officially copyrighted name but is just used whenever it seems appropriate. I do also remember seeing the word name Epcot Park on a few rare occasions as well but since that doesn't trip off the tongue very well it is extremely rare.

I used to be involved in advertising for a medium size company about 15 years ago and did some filing of paperwork for some copyrights on product and business names. From that experience I learned that there are no hard and fast rules about how the name actually gets used by the company that owns that name. So if the official copyright is for "The Magic Kingdom" and Disney wants to occasionally add the word park onto the end then there is nothing wrong with that.

And no, no one else could go in and copyright the name "The Magic Kingdom Park" and prevent Disney from using it because there is a portion of the copyright laws that says in effect that if another name is "substantially" similar then that new version cannot be copyrighted by someone else. And I have a hard time believing that any court would accept that the word park somehow makes the name substantially different.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

The statement about adding 'park' to the end of MK because there are 4 parks doesn't make sense when we are discussing that some people seem to have heard it associated with MK, and not any of the other parks, which the exception of the one. Otherwise, they'd also have heard "Epcot Park", "Disney's Hollywood Studios Park" and "Disney's Animal Kingdom Park". All of which sound stupid. Personally, I've never heard it called MK Park. Disney World, yes. MK, yes, MKP...no.

Jim, I rarely watch MKTV. The TV in the MS Break Room is really small and under a light, so there is a big glare on it.

[trackbarroness]

It's sometimes on in the Stitch break room.
I'll have to check this out, and get back to ya. :mickey:

[gerald72]

I'm with Jessica on this one; I've never seen the word "Park" used anywhere in or on any merchandise or anything, although I *have* seen commercials on TV that specify "only at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World" (Jessica, do you watch the MKTV in the Mouseketeeria or in the break rooms?). But all *guest-viewable* stuff I've ever seen - guide maps, times guides, merchandise, etc. - all say "Magic Kingdom", omitting the "Park".

On Disney.com, where have a choice to click on Parks, Resorts, or More Magic, if you click on Parks, and then Magic Kingdom, it uses the term Magic Kingdom® Park

[gerald72]

[QUOTE=CaptainJessicaSparrow;1603712] Otherwise, they'd also have heard "Epcot Park", "Disney's Hollywood Studios Park" and "Disney's Animal Kingdom Park". All of which sound stupid. Personally, I've never heard it called MK Park. Disney World, yes. MK, yes, MKP...no.




I agree this sounds stupid. But, once again on Disney.com, check out where they give the park hours. Your choices are Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and even Disney's Animal Kingdom PARK!

My question is this: Why isn't it DISNEY'S Epcot and DISNEY's Magic Kingdom???

[Main Street Jim]

Maybe I can ride Mainstreet Jim's train with him as the engineer. Now, that is Magic.
main street jim is no longer working the train; he is now at the tomorrowland speedway you will have to RACE over there to see him! :) It's true; I'm not at the :train: any more...:( I'm playing with :car::flag2: now :mickey:

Anyways...we now return to your regularly scheduled topic!

[SBETigg]

I think it's probably just to avoid guest confusion. Newbies often think the Magic Kingdom refers to the whole WDW area, in the same way that they sometimes call the Magic Kingdom "Walt Disney World." This differentiates to eliminate that confusion, but I'm sure it is still just the Magic Kingdom to those of us in the know. I wouldn't let it get me down. :cool: