Disney Venice?

Ok - so I know Disney isn't ACTUALLY planning it - but it popped up on my news radar and I thought it funny enough to post up here: Disney Venice - News.com.au

Venice spurns Mickey Mouse idea By John Beveridge October 02, 2008 06:00am TRUST an economist to come up with a plan that is practical and offensive in equal measure. British practitioner of the dismal science John Kay won a handy $9000 prize from Venice's prestigious Istituto Veneto. But the locals are unimpressed with his idea to turn the city on the water into a theme park, complete with a $90 entry charge for tourists. "The city is already a theme park and should be handed over to Disney -- they would do a better job of running it,'' said John, showing the same blunt honesty that saw him champion Mickey Mouse as the only person who could save Venice. Mr Kay said the obvious problem with Venice was that it was an artificial economy, with millions of tourists swamping the dwindling cadre of just 70,000 residents. That meant that tourists ended up ripped off and annoyed and residents felt like moving out. "If the first thing visitors to Venice remember is the magnificence of the setting, the second is the frequency with which they were ripped off,'' wrote Mr Kay. "Disney wants its guests to have a good time because it cares whether they come back. Most residents of Venice would rather that visitors didn't come back.'' While the academy said it did not back the idea, Venice mayor Massimo Cacciari was outraged that they awarded Mr Kay the prize. And he was even more outraged by the suggestion that he be replaced by a theme park manager. Mayor Cacciari told Reuters that he found it "simply comic'' that a Venetian cultural institution should reward "the most kitsch images about Venice and its future.''