Ellen was a fantastic attraction.
Really sad how inspiring it was to so many kids, and it's now just gone.
Don't worry...I promise I'm going to tie ALL this into relevancy for the MonstersLand thread.
First,
@Pizza Moon ... did ever you experience Universe of Energy 1.0? Watching someone else's home videos doesn't count imo.
I experienced it firsthand...at least a half dozen times. Compare that to about 4x more for Imagination 1.0. Out of
all the original Future World Pavilions I found UoE 1.0 the
least "inspiring."
Cool.... Dinosaurs!
Cool..... "Riding on Sunshine"
Cool....brief clip of EPCOT under construction (this was long before commercial Internet
)
But that was it for me. I was way too short as a kid and my feet too tired for walking 2/3 steps for every one adult step to appreciate the pre-show with those amazing rotating screens. And I didn't start appreciating the underrated music until after the last time I rode it (thanks Marty Sklar!)
It inspired me to take a nap on the one time I rode it.
Also Ellen is... yikes.
Agree to All regarding 2.0. And I'm a chronic lifelong insomniac!
Yay(?)...they (pretty much) kept the dinosaurs....
Ha-ha (maybe?) the first time seeing Ellen fighting-off an animatronic dino.
But at-most I
never felt more than, "Meh" regarding 2.0.
I was grateful I was still "riding on sunshine," but by 1996 solar energy lost its thrill (many of my neighbors had the panels)....don't get me wrong I really think solar is absolutely wonderful when it's "done right" (I'm not trying to open a political pandoras box here!)
Must have added something... it's still there! If at the end of its existence Horizon had been a major draw, it would still be there like SSE.
When 99% of anyone ever thought "EPCOT" I'm sure SSE is the mental image that instantaneously pops in their head. It has been the undisputed, unqualified icon of EPCOT since at least the 1979 groundbreaking. That's Iconic.
(I don't know if it's still this way)...but you
had to go under it to go anywhere else in EPCOT. I remember reading in guidebooks since the 80s that was the major reason it had the longest queue in the mornings. Even with the awful 2007 ending a major reason SSE still gets the queues is because of its placement and prominence.
I absolutely loved Horizons (and it's been discussed thoroughly it needed some updating) and I absolutely loved its building....but it was never a comparison the absolute engineering marvel that SSE building is and that its attraction is (esp 1994 version). Like all original FW pavilions, Horizons building complimented the SSE building.
In fairness, The Ellen incarnation was quite a downgrade from the original in most cases, especially the finale. Not that that defends ripping it out for GOTG.
When they announced GoG I was not sad because I never cared for "Ellens" other than it being a chance to "take a long shuteye." The only part I was happy about was they were keeping the building. Although I know most FW buildings have been roundly criticized, I was always impressed by them. But I admit I didn't think it through. I didn't anticipate the ugly gravity building that I feel, at best, detracts from still-impressive SSE geosphere.
Now...the tie-in to the thread!!!!: While watching the climax of Monsters in 2001, I (like pretty-much everyone else I'm sure) got inspired by the idea: "gee this door-room would make an amazing coaster!"
But....
- I really hope the door coaster isn't a shallow "quickie" experience
- [Maybe "inspirational" is way too much to ask for (much less think) anymore,] but I really hope the Monster's Land WOW'S and BUILDS anticipation as you walk closer and closer to the main attraction building.
- I hope the Monsters show makes even the most ardent MV3D fans think "I'll always miss MV3D, but this was indeed a worthy replacement!"
- I hope the entrance building builds the excitement even further as you get closer and closer to it (that it becomes even an icon of sorts)....but that the gravity building isn't an eyesore from within the park.
- I hope the overall result isn't something that becomes dated within a few years of opening...that "for generations to come" (as they like to say), people will keep wanting to ride it over-and-over, that they certainly don't mind the treck to what was considered a "dead-end" in the park, and it joins the ranks of attractions like HM and (imo), SSE 1994 or Imagination 1.0.
Boots and pants and boots and pants... The construction advances... boots and pants 