I agree on all three counts!
The globe should be a better screen and the fountains are pretty pathetic if you've seen World of Color, but I think the bones of a good show are there. Plus, it ties together Future World and World Showcase pretty well, IMO. Find a way to put literal HDTV screens in the continents, or make the whole globe covered in LEDs... then you could have a better screen when you wanted and you could still have the image of the continents when you wanted. Seriously, if you're going to make a representation of the Earth, it had better be BIG if you're only going to have images on the land... land only covers 30% of the planet! Have the fire raise out of the top at the end instead of making the whole globe open. Would anyone really miss seeing the globe open up? That must be a lot of weight to lift and lower.
I think just a larger earth and maybe some viewing areas would suffice.
You mean you don't like to get to Theater 2 first so you can hear the whole radio broadcast?!?
Personally, definitely no. I just think the average guest is a little more A.D.D. "I've gotta get EVERYTHING done and this will just take too much time" than I am.
Fine. Let em run from FP to FP.
They've fed the proverbial beast. I know people that are calm, the cerebral type that when you throw them down into the mix at WDW, it's out the window, and it's kill or be killed with their rushing and basic unenjoyment of the attractions because they have so much that they've been fed that they have to do and are overscheduled from the moment they arrive.
They are what makes UoE so unique, even today!
The whole A.D.D. talk and the average guest really gets me going. It's funny in a twisted way that Disney essentially has helped create the monster within their own parks. When my wife and I didn't have children, we were always on the move, didn't care for pure silence and relaxing, we were just constantly moving. While we've kept up the physical fitness side of things, once you have kids, many of us completely love the moments of quiet and relaxation.
Whether it's sitting outside on our patio, or even sitting in total silence, relaxing, that's something that we wouldn't have done before the kids, but now, those moments are so exceptional and recharging. So, what does this have to do with Disney? The whole concept of the going to Disney World wasn't just about going on vacation, but relaxing, decompressing, and having a lot of fun. The idea of sitting in one attraction for three quarters of an hour, just taking it in and not having to deal with the kids bickering, or bolting from one place to another.
What's the monster that Disney has created? Ride reservations, dining reservations, taking appointments for seeing characters, killing nearly all of the relaxing, non-hyper elements of going to the parks to where they are all basically saying that you have to be on the go at all times because you "HAVE TO DO THESE THINGS." Armies of strollers and ECVs filling the walkways while you move for dear life.
I believe that if the company ever devotes the money to redoing the attraction, that they'll figure out how to either shorten it or dumb it down even further as they perpetuate the myth of everyone needing to stare at a screen in their pocket and can't sit still for more than five minutes without talking on a phone. I think that there are many people that can enjoy a long produced attraction like Universe of Energy, but the lack of interest by many is more related to the fact that the show is way outdated. A lot of what is said isn't too far off from today minus the not so subtle fossil fuel industry's take on energy and the laughable renewable energy portions. The fact that Ellen, Alex Trebek, and Bill Nye look and are from 20 years ago, that just comes across as pathetic to most audiences. And let us not forget Jamie Lee Curtis, who when the film was made was a few years off True Lies and now is schilling yogurt to boomers in the States.
I think the ride system is still impressive. Still innovative, unusual. It has the great strenght of allowing for a large theatrical presentation, while still bearing in mind Walt's wisdom to 'keep the guests moving'.
The original UoE is one of the EPCOT pavilions that would've just looked miserably out of date by now. Frankly, parts of it always were boring even in its heyday. Shame they replaced it all by something that stands the test of time even worse. But that was and is about the quality of the movies, not the ride system. Where there are lasers, mirrors, rousing scores nobody was bored. Surely some show guys somewhere can come up with something flashy? Like the orginal, but then with today's technology? Me, I'd hire an avant garde filmmaker, and a showman, and a sustainable energy expert and put the three of them in conclave until they come up with a killer makeover concept.
Please leave those dinosaurs intact for all eternity. They remain a sight to behold. No part of the dino areas in either UNI or DAK have managed to improve on it, neither can rivel UoE for sheer atmosphere. But restore the old version. Dinos die. They die drowning in tar pits. That's how their fossils are preserved. They are not swimming for fun like a baby dolphin.
The Radok Cubes preshow still looks fresh and awesome thirthy years later. Genuine artistry, of which EPCOT had so much and of which so little survived. Imagene, if you will, in the current climate an EPCOT movie that is not based on some C-eleb, does not feature a cartoon merchandidse franchise. But that is made by a Czech avant-garde filmmaker!
