I wrote this letter about the EPCOT GotG rumor if you're interested....

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
I rarely openly complain about this topic. I am usually one of those around here that is optimistic. But there comes a point when enough is enough. Yes, Disney can do what they want, but they should also be honest with us and with themselves if they no longer support the mission they themselves outlined for each park. Just stop with the pretending....
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
That is not for you or I to decide. Only Disney can decide upon their mission and the theme of their operations. As a prime example, some folks repeatedly criticize Epcot because they think the theme has been broken with new attractions such as Frozen Ever After. They fail to realize that the theme of any and all Disney operations is solely determined by Disney.
Oh, poppycock. The theme of a themed environment can be determined by any visitor. (That is sorta the idea) The theme of Main Street USA is not '1995 Seattle grunge fest with mosh pit'.

TWDC has legal ownership of WDW and can hence legally decide any changes at will, yes. That is something else.
 

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
I just think Disney is going meta on us.
Epcot is a theme park that is themed to represent an unthemed theme park.
image.jpeg
 

Phil12

Well-Known Member
These are not my suggestions nor anyone else's. It was Disney that came up with the mission of each park and put it up on a plaque. If they want to move away from that, they should stop pretending that they still follow these ideas.
It is your opinion that they are not meeting their mission. It's my opinion that they have gone above and beyond meeting that mission and are moving into better directions to not only meet the old mission but to improve upon it.

Star Wars will fit in any section of any park with just a little story modification. After all, Walt Disney and Darth Vader are one in the same person. It's just that most people just see the evil side of Vader and the good side of Disney. But if folks were to look at these characters objectively (the fictional D. Vader and the real W. Disney) they'd find the common genius that these two share.

I fully understand that nostalgia weighs heavily upon traditionalists and they resist change using arguments that sound very logical to their own way of thinking. There are still people that argue that putting Soarin' in The Land pavilion was a mistake and that removing Horizons and WoM were bad decisions as well. Some people also think WDW should expand the monorail system. Simple math tells us that all of Disney's decisions in these matters were correct.

If Disney decides to put GoTG in Epcot they'll be able to theme it to their own satisfaction. And if they want to also put GoTG in DHS at the ToT they'll make it fit there as well. If Disney can put 20k in Fantasyland and PoC in Adventureland and the Speedway in Tomorrowland, then they can fit any attraction anywhere they want.

Also, WDW is really at a point where they need to reduce visitation. They can afford to make a few people angry by removing Mr. Toad or putting GoTG in Epcot. It doesn't hurt the theme or the mission one bit. It only hurts a few fans who take these matters way too seriously. Every time Disney puts in a new attraction or makes any changes, there are always naysayers that come forth to express their dissatisfaction. That's part of the entertainment in reading this forum.
 

Phil12

Well-Known Member
Let me go back to an example I use over and over again. Disney cannot plop down a Star Wars attraction in Frontierland and say that it is on-theme. It is not and never will be. Doing so doesn't fit the theme, it destroys it, in that case irrevocably. You can't say it's now "Frontier themed plus space in this one place".
Star Wars could work anywhere, in any park. A team of good writers could make it work. You need to have more imagination like our old friend Walt!
 

SorcererMC

Well-Known Member
It doesn't hurt the theme or the mission one bit. It only hurts a few fans who take these matters way too seriously. Every time Disney puts in a new attraction or makes any changes, there are always naysayers that come forth to express their dissatisfaction. That's part of the entertainment in reading this forum.

Au contraire, it's quite entertaining to read about how Disney can 'make anything fit' into any park, so long as theme is deemed irrelevant. Because that's logical, right?
 

BasiltheBatLord

Well-Known Member
I wrote letters to Iger and Chapek about this and I actually got a call back from a live human from Anaheim Guest Services about it. She just basically told me to have faith in the Park execs and that they know what they're doing and wouldn't be doing this if they didn't think it was a good idea etc. I told her I don't share her enthusiasm but was amazed and grateful that someone actually called me about it.
 

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
So I guess my question is, do we know at all what the extent of GoTG is going to be overlaid or infused? I mean I get the love of old things (I cannot stand the Nemo dumbed down Living Seas) but at some point Ellen and Bill Nye were introduced to help bring contemporary interest into the attraction and this may be no different.

Is it going to continue to educate while adding interest and some funny moments? If so then I really have no problem. Is it going to be a mindless batch of pablum with digital projections? If so then hand me a torch and pitchfork to storm the castle.

Are we pushing the panic button because of what we know or are we pushing it in fear of what we are (rightfully) concerned about in light of recent character/movie infusions of older attractions?

Not trying to poke at anyone I just honestly have not heard anything more than the association of GoTG and UoE together.
 

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
It is your opinion that they are not meeting their mission. It's my opinion that they have gone above and beyond meeting that mission and are moving into better directions to not only meet the old mission but to improve upon it.

It isn't an opinion. The purpose of each park is (was) clear...especially for Epcot. If they want to move in different directions that is fine. But then they should chuck the Epcot plaque in the garbage and rename the park and each section of it.
 
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sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
So I guess my question is, do we know at all what the extent of GoTG is going to be overlaid or infused? I mean I get the love of old things (I cannot stand the Nemo dumbed down Living Seas) but at some point Ellen and Bill Nye were introduced to help bring contemporary interest into the attraction and this may be no different.

Is it going to continue to educate while adding interest and some funny moments? If so then I really have no problem. Is it going to be a mindless batch of pablum with digital projections? If so then hand me a torch and pitchfork to storm the castle.

Are we pushing the panic button because of what we know or are we pushing it in fear of what we are (rightfully) concerned about in light of recent character/movie infusions of older attractions?

Not trying to poke at anyone I just honestly have not heard anything more than the association of GoTG and UoE together.
I can only speak for myself of course, not the OP, @George could speak to his concerns.
My communications, with Melissa Valiquette and with George Kalogridis, were not exactly focused on GotG. They both mentioned it in passing. My letter to Ms. Valiquette was based around the fact that the GotG rumor had any legs at all. That the state of the park has gotten to the point that I couldn't dismiss GotG out of hand.
My communications with Mr. Kalogridis hinted at GotG in passing, but was about the larger problems with the park, one which GotG would make much worse.

Now, the few rumors I've let myself read (with some corroboration with forum members that are seen as trusted sources) point to this not being an overlay, but a teardown of the Energy pavilion. I've seen mention on multiple other sites that the attraction is going to be a roller coaster, one mentioning Vekoma building a "revolutionary" coaster for GotG.

While it's been mentioned here that a good series of writers could potentially write a story that would allow GotG to be introduced and fit in with the theme, I find it challenging to do so without the story being too much of a stretch. GotG, in the MCU's current version, is a space fantasy set in the current day. It is not a futuristic property in it's current Disney owned version.
Could the writers pen up a tale with GotG looking all over modern Earth for energy sources to stop some big bad guy, sending us on a wild ride? Sure. I bet they could.
Based on the track record of the last few decades of Epcot, (and this gets to the heart of my letters), is that it wont happen. They did not take Finding Nemo and use it to tell a story that augmented the message or theme of The Seas. They did not take Soarin' and use it to tell the story of The Land. They did not take Frozen and use it to explore Norway. They built attractions that were tangentially related and placed them in there with no story, no thought of the modification to theme.
I personally have no problem with using characters to tell stories in Epcot attractions. This will be explored more in an article that should be appearing in the Featured Articles section at some point here. I do however have problems with characters being used in lieu of thematic ties and story.

I'd applaud a thoughtfully produced attraction that used well-known characters to educate and inspire guests the way that the original Epcot Center attractions did.
My issue is that based on the evidence provided, I do not have high hopes that this will happen. I find it more likely, based on evidence, that they will put a GoTG roller coaster in place of the pavilion, and that will be it. No mention of Energy. No change to the mission of Epcot. Just, look at our cool new ride.

I hope to be pleasantly surprised, I really do. I loved Epcot Center and want nothing more than to love it again.
 
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Phil12

Well-Known Member
How would Star Wars fit with Harambe Village?
It would be a perfect fit. Star Wars is based upon David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". And of course, prior to 1869 Saudi Arabia was directly connected to the African continent. The deserts of North Africa are gateways to the jungle in East Africa. Leaving the desert in search of water is a normal activity. Star Wars and Harambe fit like hand and glove.
 

jakeman

Well-Known Member
It would be a perfect fit. Star Wars is based upon David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". And of course, prior to 1869 Saudi Arabia was directly connected to the African continent. The deserts of North Africa are gateways to the jungle in East Africa. Leaving the desert in search of water is a normal activity. Star Wars and Harambe fit like hand and glove.
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