Disney Changed Times Square Forever

Can you imagine that there was once a time when the glittering heart of New York City’s theatre district was once a crumbling wasteland of vice and disrepair and it was all saved by a Mouse?
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[@Becinneverland]

Oh good my two favorite topics combined - theatre and theme parks, absolutely obsessed!

[@carminecdinoproductions]

I agree!

[@pibbitybibbity]

The first time I visited New York City and was in Times Square was November 1982. As a 16-year-old who grew up in Wyoming & Texas, it was an eye-opener! I’m glad I got to see it pre-Disney. I’m a theater nerd so I love that’s more theater-based now, but I wish the electronic ads weren’t so prevalent, so you could still enjoy some of the amazing older architecture.

[@jlafunk]

I lived in NYC in the 1990's. You also skipped over major time periods straight into "Oklahoma!." (the exclamation point is part of the title of the show, BTW. I'm not yelling). Like the decades of Vaudeville and the birth of the American Musical with the musical Showboat. Disney destroyed it. Times Square wasn't that seedy in the 90's. Yes, there were porn theaters but they weren't next door to Broadway theaters. Times Square was actually pretty friendly and safe for tourists. Disney came in with Beauty & the Beast , which played at the Palace Theater on 7th between 46th & 47th streets. (I was a Disney employee who worked the souvenir stands for that show for a year). And, then they acquired The New Amsterdam Theater. The New Amsterdam was the home of the Zigfield Follies and has a second theater upstairs above the main theater where a "blue" version of the Follies would be performed after-hours. It included a mezzanine with a solid class floor and cafe tables. The waitresses who served were lit with uplighting so you could see up their skirts... and they didn't wear panties. The theatre is still up there and I was able to see it when I helped open the New Amsterdam in the 90s (it was gutted a long time ago, so there aren't any seats). The renovation of the New Amsterdam is incredible. The first show there wasn't the Lion King- It was a concert version of King David (a "musical" by Alan Menken & Tim Rice). I know this because some of their souvenirs were stored over in the Beauty & the Beast's souvenir closet and I helped transport them to The New Amsterdam one afternoon. My biggest gripe about what they did to Times Square is the conversion of the streets into a pedestrian mall. It's horrible and takes the excitement out of it. There isn't' any "hustle & bustle" any more. It's boring people from out of town doing boring run-of-the-mill things that aren't about New York.

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

Thanks for sharing this perspective.

[@Attmay]

*F(r)iends* and *Sex and the City* were like a one-two punch to this city’s collective gut, and Disney was the one holding its arms so the other two could do the punching.

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

I'm all for bringing back an environment for the arts that all ages can enjoy, but it's still a cesspool of advertisements. It feels disgusting.

[@tracyjohnson4478]

This is a decent video but it gives Disney way more credit for the work that was already in the works. Like others have stated, Giuliani was already working on cleaning up Times Square which was helped along by the popularity of the mega musicals like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. Disney was simply the capstone. I recommend Michael Riedel's book, "Singular Sensation" which covers Broadway during the 80's and 90's.

[@wemdoe]

Makes you miss the Disney renaissance.

[@onehorseopensleigh]

5:00 In a few years, history may not be so kind to Bob Iger 🤣🤣🤣

[@carminecdinoproductions]

Disney is like a famous superhero team from Marvel Comics like the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy! They saved Times Square!

[@kellyweingart3692]

*in Mickey Mouse voice* “Oh, boy!”

[@onehorseopensleigh]

Boooooo. Your first thumbnail was hilarious. 🤣🤣🤣 But of course I understand the update.

[@LARKXHIN]

tbh that's the reason I marked it at watch later.

[@carminecdinoproductions]

Yep

[@aledandrian]

They didn’t save Times Square, they helped gentrify it into a a corporate oblivion

[@happiestplace3754]

Run Lilian!

[@hogbackmtn]

Was there a Disney store in Times Square in the late 90s? The current one opened in 2011. Before that there was World of Disney on 5th Ave.

[@happiestplace3754]

Just noticed you changed the thumbnail, lol.

[@BebeLush2]

Love it! Great job Disney❤❤

[@uncledohdoh]

As much as his reputation has fallen and declined... history will show Giuliani as mayor of NYC at the time and police chief Bratton at the time cleaned up Times Square. Unfortunately, Giuliani will not be remembered for this but... a terrible time in US history due to his poor choices.

[@happiestplace3754]

ANOTHER thumbnail change???

[@MrMeatHook]

So “Disney saved Times Square” is the only narrative we’re preaching here. We’re going to completely ignore the fact that this was at the same time that Giuliani was mayor and was making good on his campaign promise to clean up Times Square?

[@Attmay]

That would be an admission that Republicans are capable of good governance.

[@MrMeatHook]

@@Attmay on occasion, they are. I don’t like Giuliani, but he did a good job of making NYC a bit less of a shithole

[@blakeandersonECW420]

​@@Attmay well that would be a lie so no

[@AbigayleFall-sp3wt]

As if we need another corporate octopus hive mind to own historical public property, and turn it into a commodity for their shareholders! 🫠