Five ways JazzFest and DisneyWorld are alike

There's FantasyLand, AdevntureLand, and...JazzFest:

1.  Controlled Environment
Access to both Disney and JazzFest is highly controlled (and expensive).  They are an interesting variation on the "cathedral and bazaar" business models.  Both venues convey the impression of the bazaar, offering a variety of music, food, and attractions, and products.  In actuality, both are tightly controlled "cathedrals" because of the ultra-restrictive environment.  A true bazaar originates from the street, without fences and security surrounding it.

2.  Phony parades. 
Whether it's a main street of a town in Wisconson on 4th of July, or a second-line parade in the Ninth in NOLA, parades originate with the people, not the controlling authority.  I wouldn't go as far as to say the parades at JazzFest are on the level of a minstrel show, but they come close.

3.  Mass-produced food
Restaurant diners have an expectation of food that is cooked-to-order.  Some restaurants stretch that concept, with "pot cooking" dishes such as gumbos/soups, or places that put the same sauce on multiple dishes.  Usually, however, the seafood underneath the sauce is still cooked to order.  Disney and JazzFest both cook to feed much larger numbers of guests.  Given that JazzFest's grounds are an extremely primitive environment, almost all the food is prepared off-site.  Cohon-de-lait po boys, crawfish monica, oyster sacks, and dozens of other dishes are brought onto the Fair Grounds by heavy-duty catering operations that do final assembly at the food booth.  This doesn't necessarily mean that the food served is bad, just that it's mass-produced.  One could easily argue you get a better NOLA food experience in a cook-to-order restaurant.

4.  "regulars"
You see them all the time, the "vacation club" members who come to Disney World so often they are jaded.  JazzFest has similar "regulars," the people who run to the two main stages to stake out claims like they're in the Oklahoma land rush.  They're quick to tell you everything that's wrong with your personal fest-going strategy, and they're often quite obnoxious drunks by the time the last act takes a bow.

5.  Transportation bottlenecks
When you put tens of thousands of people into a small, controlled setting, you have to address the issue of letting them out when everything shuts down for the evening.  The mass exodus from Disney's Hollywood Studios after the 10pm showing of "Fantasmic" is not that much different from the breakdown of civilization that takes place when the final acts wrap up and people walk away from the stages and tents.  The pushing and shoving in the "JazzFest Express" bus lines is absolutely incredible.