DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
Did we look at the same concept art?
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EPCOT New Play Pavilion to replace Epcot's Wonders of Life
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
ObscurityPoint
Well-Known Member
I was under the impression that they’re reusing the same dome-shaped building. I’m imagining a heavy use of projections on the ceiling.
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
Precisely. It’s being gutted, so demo work on the inside. Think WoM to Test Track except there’s not gonna be a ride
GlacierGlacier
Well-Known Member
It's not like there's much inside of WoL to begin with
Comparing the "demolition" of the inside of a now-unthemed shopping/showcase space to the actual demolition of the interior of a dark ride is a bit of a silly position to take.
Heck, I'd consider the demolition of the interior of Innoventions a much more serious project than taking down a bunch of pastel signs and oddly placed theaters/stages.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
Yes, classic EPCOT is dead and it’s not coming back, because no modern entertainment corporation is going to sink billions into a park that expleciticly addresses how the world is and how it should be. That’s done. It doesn’t mean we should ever stop complaining because it’s a travesty, but it’s done.
IPs will be central to almost everything going forward. That’s a fundamental truth of every aspect of the modern entertainment industry. And that doesn’t have to be bad. Disney has a wealth of great IPs it is actually underutilizing that can be implemented in very clever ways. We need to accept IP domination, and that isn’t terrible.
BUT
EPCOT in general and FW in particular needs a new, explicit, coherent theme that does more then attempt to leverage the facades of the past for nostalgia money. It needs a theme that clearly differentiates it from the other three parks. It needs attractions that interest every age groups and don’t condescend to any of them. It does not need brief contentless thrill rides that kids can’t ride or endless meet-and-greets with costumed college students that bore adults to tears. And the new, emergent EPCOT needs intelligent vision, wit, and clear thematic goals - Disney Magic.
The Play Pavilion fails on every count.
It exacerbates the muddle of thematic confusion in FW, obscures differences from WDWs other parks, offers things for only one age group and talks down to them in the process, and demonstrates very little creativity. It is a continuation of the mindset that has driven EPCOT downward since the mid-90s.
I wish the first thing Disney had announced as part of this roll-out was the new, grand organizing principle for EPCOT. Maybe the plans for Imagination and the Spine will compensate for this start. But this opening salvo raises doubts that such a unifying vision exists.
IPs will be central to almost everything going forward. That’s a fundamental truth of every aspect of the modern entertainment industry. And that doesn’t have to be bad. Disney has a wealth of great IPs it is actually underutilizing that can be implemented in very clever ways. We need to accept IP domination, and that isn’t terrible.
BUT
EPCOT in general and FW in particular needs a new, explicit, coherent theme that does more then attempt to leverage the facades of the past for nostalgia money. It needs a theme that clearly differentiates it from the other three parks. It needs attractions that interest every age groups and don’t condescend to any of them. It does not need brief contentless thrill rides that kids can’t ride or endless meet-and-greets with costumed college students that bore adults to tears. And the new, emergent EPCOT needs intelligent vision, wit, and clear thematic goals - Disney Magic.
The Play Pavilion fails on every count.
It exacerbates the muddle of thematic confusion in FW, obscures differences from WDWs other parks, offers things for only one age group and talks down to them in the process, and demonstrates very little creativity. It is a continuation of the mindset that has driven EPCOT downward since the mid-90s.
I wish the first thing Disney had announced as part of this roll-out was the new, grand organizing principle for EPCOT. Maybe the plans for Imagination and the Spine will compensate for this start. But this opening salvo raises doubts that such a unifying vision exists.
I'm not certain, but I believe that the new offering will not use those spaces and it will all be contained under the dome in the current festival spaces.
mikejs78
Well-Known Member
Please don't tell me that there will be a mysterious building in place of the Imagination Pavillion...
mikejs78
Well-Known Member
Really? That's what they're doing? Why not just use the Innoventions West area?
I'm probably in the minority on this, but I don't think the original mission of EPCOT would really work today, even if updated. Particularly the 'educate' part.
When EPCOT first opened, there was no Internet. Information wasn't nearly as easy to get a hold of. Today, any curiosity about a particular topic can be satisfied via a quick Google search. I can watch a seemingly infinite number of youtube videos on the creation of the seas, etc.
In a way, EPCOT's inspirational view of the future has come to pass, which, somewhat ironically, has resulted in it's own diminished relevancy.
When EPCOT first opened, there was no Internet. Information wasn't nearly as easy to get a hold of. Today, any curiosity about a particular topic can be satisfied via a quick Google search. I can watch a seemingly infinite number of youtube videos on the creation of the seas, etc.
In a way, EPCOT's inspirational view of the future has come to pass, which, somewhat ironically, has resulted in it's own diminished relevancy.
Walter Elias Disney
Well-Known Member
Hopefully they will incorporate some of the ideas from the Animation Building -Disney California Adventure
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
I kind of read this as the opposite. I took it as this is just the start of the ip takeover of the park. I just don't see them limiting it to just one spot of the park.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Could have done a Weather Pavilion with TDS Stormchaser ride for Body Wars..
There was a post a few years ago that there was demolition in WoL but, from looking at the building you couldn't tell what they did...Imagineers set to demo part of WOL pavilion.. It was however for removal of the body wars vehicles and displays around the pavilion..
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jt04
Well-Known Member
I do think this is a placeholder similar to cmm, birthdayland, or dinorama. 10 to 25 year shelf life.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Speedy71
Well-Known Member
AKA Epcots Mall Playground....With Dancing and M&G's
Glad I'm not the only one who can see this as a mall addition.
DreamfinderGuy
Well-Known Member
Actually there is a ton of stuff inside Wonders. There’s three huge structures in the center, not to mention the Well & Goods tent, remaining Circus wall decor, Pure and Simple bar and seating areas, entry ramps, Body Wars arches, Frontiers of Medicine as a whole, the list goes on and on and on.It's not like there's much inside of WoL to begin with
Disney Maddux
Well-Known Member
So do we know if they are going with the theme of this being Oh My Disney? It'd make a lot of sense.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
if I'm reading Martin's cryptic messages correctly (and I could be WAAAY off), it sounds like the Imagination pavilion may get some kind of extension, possibly tearing down the theater and adding something else....maybe for an extended ride experience? I'm not expecting Martin to spill anything, just saying how I'm reading into it.