Banksy Opens up a Bemusement Park in England

Just been there today for exclusive TG coverage! Completely 'alternative' and totally eye opening! I hope to have photos for TG as soon as my laptop is back from the menders. In the meantime,  here is a overview starring my own good lady with Dismaland below (on a rainy English summer's day)...

I can't wait for your report Mac! That's one park I really like to see.

Certainly looks like "Something completely different"

To admire its absurdity is quite refreshing.

Whether it has international - appeal only time will tell.

The beauty of English weather is Mac could have driven North to the Costa-del-Mersey.

Cut the grass - take the grandkids to the park and a warm glow of sunburn for not wearing my hat.

But with a name like Dismaland I suppose warm rain is part of the experience,

Love to see more photos too

I saw a report on this a few days ago and wondered when the lawsuit would be filed.

I thought the same thing when I saw the photo Rob include with the post, that of Cinderella's castle with Tinkerbell--type flight over it.

Disney is very protective of its intellectual property rights.  I expect that suit is already being drafted.

I think Disney would get bad press by suing and this park is only going to  be open a short time, but I guess we will see. In the 1990's , there was a top ten hit by a group called Dada called Dizz Knee Land and I don't think Disney bothered them, but not certain.

I understand what you're saying Rob, but that castle is as much a part of Disney's image as it's mouse.  This is one of the Disney logos

(logo is used courtesy of the Walt Disney company)

I suspect even the font used by Disney for the name is registered and proprietary.  I also think it's all part of the conceptual piece as imagined by Banksy, no fool, and he's hoping for a suit, the sooner the better.  All publicity is good publicity and part, I strongly suspect, of his conceptual overview.

I think Banksy has read the instructions "retire to a safe distance before igniting fuse"

To England where the Courts know the difference between "Satire" and "Plagiarism"

"Disney has refused to comment on notorious street artist Banksy's latest work of art - a seaside theme park called 'Dismaland' that skewers the Happiest Place on Earth...The silence from Disney is strange, considering the company's history of fiercely defending it's copyright of Mickey's image. In 2012, the company filed a complaint against the EDM artist Deadmau5, who performs wearing a Mickey-esque face mask."

One thing I know Disney is thinking  of is their British fans. They are some of the most devout Disney fans I've seen. They go to the parks and bring back tons of merchandise and they return. If they filed a suit, I think they'd get a lot bad press in Britain.

I think devoted Disney fans would welcome a lawsuit.  Especially in the UK.  Nothing like a good turf war.  Think football.  Think footpaths.

Think footballers in mouse-masks impeding a footpath...

Come to think of it, I sure hope Banksy didn't block any footpaths with his endeavor.  That could mean more trouble than even Disney could dream up

Of course the best defence Banksy has is his anonymity.

It is the fact that Banksy's true identity has always been a jealously guarded secret, known only to a handful of trusted friends.

Too bad Banksy and Disney couldn't team up in  the making of an amusement park. With Disney's money and know how and Banksy's great imagination they could really make something 

I suspect neither of them are real team players.  I think it must be Disney OR Banksy, no meeting in the middle.

You guys are certainly mirroring all the thoughts that we had yesterday! I hope that my photos (taken in the drizzle) will come out to show you.

The views that struck us immediately were the Dismaland logo above the entry (and on the souvenir T shirts), the Mickey Mouse ears worn by all the staff, the dilapidated, iconically-shaped, crumbling fairy tale castle with it's polluted moat - but perhaps the most dramatic is the centrepiece in the castle with the life-sized princess's pumpkin carriage and horse, spilled onto it's side with the lifeless princess sprawled out of the carriage window (her ribbon around her waist being lifted by 2 little Disneyesque coloured birds) and the whole tableau being photographed by the strobe flashes of the accompanying paparazzi... Very Princess Di and Cinderella at the same time! (And incredibly well presented!)

The rest of the 'parc' is very tongue-in-cheek socio-political comment, sometimes very barbed but not 'infringement' material. But it will certainly stir all the hot conversations such as those already started on these fine pages!

Just a couple of dismal (!) iPhone photos to add fuel to the discussion...

The Dismaland website crashed again today as people tried to buy tickets. Since the website  crashed over the weekend also, people were speculating that this was part of a extended performance to make the bemusement part experience worse. A spokesperson for Banksy assured the BBC that the website crashed because of high demand.

dismaland-website-crashes-again-as-banksy-denies-online-ticketing-error-is-a-hoax-10471010

While we are anxiously waiting for Macs report, here is Dismaland's official trailer. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2NG-MgHqEk