CHOP//PED!! Game Thread!!

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Tegan’s Take:

@TheOriginalTiki - You struck a near perfect balance of integrating IP while honoring the original intent of the pavilion. This would be a fun addition to EPCOT’s lineup and would finally give Mulan some much deserved theme park representation.

@Lizzy May Bee - I adore this idea and the setup is lovely. I did find myself wanting a bit more detail on the ride itself. But as a concept this is very intriguing and a welcome addition to EPCOT’s edutainment lineup!

@ThemeParkPriest - Major kudos for choosing to tackle a subject that is unpleasant but ultimately so important. Once again I always appreciate the edutainment route. I think a bit more detail regarding the present day would be welcome, but again, this is heavy stuff and we don’t like to talk about it but we should. Thank you!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Hi, everyone!
My apologies for going AWOL halfway through VF—life very much got in the way and I haven’t had the chance to check back in a while. Glad to see things are still going strong here, though! Perhaps I’ll jump in again someday soon.
Best of luck to those remaining in this awesome little event!

A WILD EARLIE APPEARS!!!

Feel like guest judging the final round with us?!

 

[Outbound]

So there was an East Asian theme here! One China, double Japan (again!)

(I’m not a real judge, just adding my thoughts!)

—

Tiki - What happens when you combine two mainstays of “new attractions for the Chinese Pavilion” - Mulan and the fireworks factory? You put it all together and it turns unique! A fireworks roller coaster themed to Mulan sounds so perfect here, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already! I loved all the details along the write-up, especially the pyro effects. You know how to write a roller coaster! Great job!



Lizzy - I love this dive into Japanese culture. I’m not familiar with Obon, but that’s exactly what the World Showcase should do, teach us about other cultures. Excellent choice ! The attraction sounds well-suited while also standing on its own as indoor roller coaster. I do wonder if this would be interpreted as too similar to Cosmic Rewind, but I think the holiday theming would help to set this apart. Also, great improvements to the presentation here!



Priest - This caught me as a surprise, to be honest. With a prompt as open-ended as attractions for any World Showcase Pavilion, I’d never have thought of this topic. It’s also an important topic which deserves more attention and, overall, I appreciate the message of peace and disarmament. It’s the kind of message that comes from the heart, Priest, and ties wonderfully to EPCOT’s origin with world peace and optimism. The ride itself, passing through history as relating to its theme, reminds me of EPCOT classics like Spaceship Earth or Horizons. But. I’m not entirely sold on this topic at a Disney Park. Building the memorial among the likes of the World Showcase could sober fun around the rest of the park. It would also need to be handled in the most absolutely respectful ways possible, which I think you’ve overall done here. But also, in the context of Pavilions getting attractions, I think Japan has so much more to also bring to the table. I could see this topic better suited to FutureWorld if I’m honest. Now all that said. Despite my potential worries, I have a lot of respect for you bringing out this theme and promoting an important message on peace. Great work, Priest!

 

[ThemeParkPriest]

Thank you all for the feedback. Besides my days at the theme parks in Japan, certainly going to Nagasaki and the Atomic Bomb Museum there was something that stays with me. Although I know guests of most ages go through the Museum, it was certainly risky of me to lay out an attraction as I did.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Everything okay, Tegan?

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

This was not an easy decision.

All three of you came up with genuinely fantastic ideas and all of these submissions would add tremendous value to World Showcase.

Unfortunately, we do have to say goodnight to one of you at this point.

The chef on the chopping block is

@ThemeParkPriest

Priest, I hope you don’t interpret this as us saying “heavy subject matter can’t have a place in a theme park.” Not at all. I truly admire your willingness to take this on and appreciate the level of care you put into your submission. This was bold and full of merit.

Ultimately, we did have to make a difficult choice and I think what it really came down to for us is that if Japan is going to have a single standout attraction to represent itself on this stage, it’s probably preferable that it be an attraction that is something more celebratory to their culture rather than a somber reminder of what somebody else did to them.

But once again, this subject absolutely has a place in Japan’s contribution to EPCOT in my opinion. Thank you for being willing to take on something difficult and uncomfortable.​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

@Lizzy May Bee and @TheOriginalTiki - welcome to the Dessert Round!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

The Dessert Round

This is it; the final round, the lasting impression! So with that in mind,…

Your final task is to pitch a brand new post-show for the Imagination pavilion! You will not be able to make any changes to the ride itself or any other aspect of the pavilion; this submission should be specific to the attraction post-show space. What you do with it is entirely up to you!!

You will have one hour to complete this challenge! There is no sentence or photo minimum or limit!!

And your time starts….​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

…..​

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

…..

Now!!!!!​

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

View attachment 893900

THIS IS SO ACCURATE IRL THO

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

The top of my main dresser, for reference.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

ImageWorks Expo: A Post Show Reimagined

Exiting the Journey into Imagination attraction, guests are greeted instantly by the iconic rainbow tunnel now relocated as the pathway that directly leads to the brand new, Reimagined ImageWorks. This return of an iconic Epcot staple is just the first good omen for a post show that's filled with both call backs to the beloved original attraction as well as modern, shareholder friendly inclusions that tie the Imagination concept into some of Disney's most popular IPs.

After emerging from the rainbow tunnel, guests find themselves on the ground level of a two story Imagination convention literally set within the mind's eye. The first floor contains some of the more popular early ImageWorks interactive games and elements brought to life in new ways. One of the most prominent features of the first floor is the jumping fountains extending from the exterior of the pavilion and weaving its way all throughout the convention floor space in a literal "stream of consciousness".

The headlining new feature here is the return of DreamFinder in the form of a set piece within the convention that mimic's the character's famed original appearance in the original Journey Into Imagination, with DreamFinder riding the flying Dream Catcher mobile through a backdrop of clouds. DreamFinder is represented through an interactive AA that uses Turtle Talk style technology to talk to guests directly about their dreams and the power of imagination.

The second floor of the ImageWorks floor overlooks the first floor and features three unique "convention halls" each themed to a different Disney IP that's tied into the concept of Imagination. Inside Out Emotion HQ takes guests to a perfect recreation of the emotion Headquarters from the Inside Out movies where they can play several interactive games including "What's Your Emotion" quizzes, tablets designed for easy character creation for guests to make their own Pixar styled Imaginary Friends, and an interactive music creation tool that has guests placing different colored emotion orbs in a pattern in order to form their own unique compositions based on their personal flow of emotions.

Cranium Command goes from the emotions directly into the brain, for a full fledged recreation of the classic Wonders of Life theater show. I think this would tie really nicely to the presence of Inside Out in the same convention and would be a playful nudge to the fact that the Inside Out franchise very much took inspiration from Cranium Command.

The third and final convention hall is the Digital Frontier. In the cannon of the convention's storyline Kevin Flynn has collaborated with DreamFinder to bring guests into the world of the GRID, specifically the retro 1980s version. This will be a simple but highly immersive walk through exihibit that teams Disney Imagineers with the abstract art installation mavericks at MeowWolf for a highly anticipated collaboration in the themed entertainment space. Step into the GRID and experience all the wonders of Kevin Flynn's digital Frontier, one pixel at a time.

​

 

[Lizzy May Bee]

Figment’s Room

​

A post-show shouldn’t be an over the top extravaganza, but rather a cherry on top of an attraction’s sundae, and this new area will be exactly that. Experience the chaos of Figment’s imagination in this abstract room, that (using screens) ebbs and flows, and changes color, in reaction to guests’ movements. (maybe skip this one out if you’re easily motion sick)

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

And that’s the conclusion!!!!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Tegan’s Take:

For starters, I’m not sure if I’m grateful or disappointed that one of you didn’t turn the Image Works into something that ties into Japan

On a serious note;

@Lizzy May Bee - It feels to me like either you forgot just how large the Imagination post show area is, or maybe you ran out of gas here in the final round. But. The concept of Figment’s Room is truly a wonderful idea!! I would seriously love to see you fully explore this in greater detail. There is so much room for playful, silly, whimsical storytelling, even tying it back to the half hearted show scene in the current attraction. I do agree with you that for the most part, a post-show should be the cherry on top. There just happens to be a lot of space and a lot of untapped potential in this particular pavilion. And that was really what I was going for with this prompt. Nonetheless, you have done a marvelous job all evening and one thing is for certain; the Japan pavilion is your domain!

@TheOriginalTiki - You took this idea and ran with it! I’m truly mindblown by how much you managed to fit into this space and did so in such a fun and cohesive manner. The Image Works Expo has more imagination than the actual ride does. You explored a multitude of ideas here and gave each of them just the perfect amount of representation; everything here feels simultaneously fully realized while also not feeling unrealistic. This is probably my favorite thing you have ever submitted in any game I’ve hosted.

 

[Outbound]

This was an interesting prompt, in contrast to the others, it’s a very specific problem, and you each went about the project in an entirely different way.

First, Tiki, I loved the overall write-up, bringing us through each sequence in the post-show. The return of Dreamfinder is nice to see, but expanding into other subjects and themes is where it starts coming into its own. Inside Out and Cranium Command are great, but Digital Frontiers is the clear stand out. Love both the early digital frontier and MeowWolf inclusions, both are so inspired suiting Innovations, they should be there now! Honestly, I think it’s so good you may not have needed the other spaces.

The presentation was great, with the purple text fitting Innovations and colorful reference photos showing the overall atmosphere for the project. There’s a lot of great details here, tying the whole project together very well. Amazing job Tiki!

-

Lizzy, so after reading Tiki’s project, I surprisingly appreciate your completely opposite approach. They say a picture says a thousand words, and you’re testing it here with your concept art, which is very atmospheric, and if I’m guessing, took a bit of time getting just right.

Despite the great art telling how the post-show feels, I wish there was more writing to dive into the specifics. This seems like a very inspiring place, but what is it like passing through the space, etc. Just a bit more atmospheric detail would really help perfect your ideas.

Great work!

 

[Lizzy May Bee]

@Lizzy May Bee - It feels to me like either you forgot just how large the Imagination post show area is, or maybe you ran out of gas here in the final round.

Never actually been to Journey Into Imagination (or Epcot in general), so yeah I don't really have an idea of the actual scale. Anyways, I can take a guess that Tiki has this one in the bag, so thanks to him (and the other players) for the competition, and thanks to Tegan for hosting this fun little game!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Thank you all for participating in the first ever Armchair Imagineering Chopped Competition!

It has been so much fun spending the evening with you all! But we have the final order of business; declaring our winner.

Tiki and Lizzy, you are both incredibly talented players! I always appreciate every single one of your contributions, no matter how minor or significant they might be.

However, we must bid one of you goodnight.

The chef on the chopping block is…

@Lizzy May Bee

Lizzy, I just read your reply about never having been to EPCOT and that just makes your efforts tonight all the more impressive! You made it to the finals in a fast paced game that was based entirely around a park you’ve never stood foot in! THAT is incredibly impressive!

Thank you for a full evening of awesome contributions. And I can’t wait to participate in Dreamfinder’s Art Gallery!!

And that means that our winner and Chopped Champion is….

The Japan Pavilion!

…

Jkjkjk

Congrats, @TheOriginalTiki!!