News 'Awesome Planet' coming to The Land pavilion

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
I always found it funny that SSE at a point was not IP free. Remember when you could see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the cinema scene?
The difference, of course, is that SSE was not ABOUT Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was featured as a representation of the Film milestone within the history of communication. Which is fair, given its status as a landmark film.
 

Oddysey

Well-Known Member
Saw it in person last night.

Things I liked:

Edutainment approach

The in theater wind blowing through some of the scenes.

The smells which are few and faint but still add to the attraction. I especially loved the pine tree smell in the forest from the OG Soarin. Can never get enough of that!

The theater lighting effects that were used to plus the northern lights and the lighting.

Other thoughts:

Although my expectations may have been a little to high (I didn’t read spoilers). I think my primary disappointment is when I go back to remembering original Epcot. Nearly every experience was pushing technological boundaries beyond the era that it was constructed and you walked away with an experience that cannot be had any where else. There was the kinetic mosaic (UoE) and countless other examples. People can argue that Symbiosis wasn’t great, but the screen was larger than any at my local theater and the sound system was strong for the time. I feel had this attraction been completed in the time when Epcot was continually pushing the boundaries of what was possible, we would have gotten 4K or perhaps 8K fidelity along with HDR or Dolby vision. Not easy or cheap to pull off on a massive screen, but if this attraction were being made when Epcot was constantly pushing the boundaries, and tech was where it is today, I am certain Disney would have given it their best shot.

A 4K or 8k screen with HDR would be something that could display the beauty of nature in an unmatched and impressive way that keeps me wanting to revisit the attraction. Instead we get a grainy film in a time where all TVs in my home provide vastly superior fidelity (on smaller screens of course).

My DD8 was so excited for this as we have watched all the episodes on Netflix of Planet Earth, Our Planet, Blue Planet, etc. that are by far more awe inspiring. The camera work, visual fidelity, natural views and overall story arc are much better. I get it is difficult to pull off a story arc in a 10 minute attraction format but there was a time when most experiences at Epcot were nearly unrivaled. She walked out saying it was ok, my DW and I walked out asking why we would ever attend the attraction again.

The lack of narrative arc just made the film feel preachy and like an overlong infomercial. I mean the last frame is encouraging you to go to a website and make a donation. The aforementioned Netflix series’ describe dying coral, and the many other issues that challenge our planet through the prism of study and attempting to understand core issues versus just simply being told that things are becoming worse than ever before because I say so.

I played close attention to the reaction of the 3/4 full auditorium. There was no clapping at the end at all, and the Cirlcle of Life despite its flaws at least drew some clapping in each showing I attended, trust me I attended many with my DD who is simply in love with nature. Even in the last year there were always applause.

The movie ends oddly and in fact a woman behind me was heard saying “should I clap” and due to the overall downtrodden tone of the attraction, a younger girl in her party said “I feel dead inside after that.” This comment triggered a laugh from a rather large group in the theater because the films overall message is a bit grim while providing little hope. All this to say I don’t think Awesome Planet will resonate with a large segment of the population, and attendance will likely drop relatively quickly.

Know that I went into this attraction very excited because my DD and I have spent much time watching Planet documentaries with each other. However, for me, this was unfortunately a disappointment. If others enjoy the new show that is wonderful. I will stay tuned into this thread awaiting reviews from others who have experienced the attraction.
 
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sedati

Well-Known Member
"The Seas" is still my favorite old school Epcot Center film, though there was nothing special about the presentation format itself (bleacher style seating). Just an inspiring combination of excellent script/narration coupled with great visuals, moody music, and big loud sound.
"Symbiosis" didn't really break new ground either, but was well done. It sounds like "Awesome Planet" at least added a bit to that simple theater.
Would love to see them take another stab at the Radok screens as it could probably be pulled off much easier with today's technology. It made for an incredibly cool preshow (1,000x better than "Makin' Memories.")
 

Admiral01

Premium Member
"The Seas" is still my favorite old school Epcot Center film, though there was nothing special about the presentation format itself (bleacher style seating). Just an inspiring combination of excellent script/narration coupled with great visuals, moody music, and big loud sound.
"Symbiosis" didn't really break new ground either, but was well done. It sounds like "Awesome Planet" at least added a bit to that simple theater.
Would love to see them take another stab at the Radok screens as it could probably be pulled off much easier with today's technology. It made for an incredibly cool preshow (1,000x better than "Makin' Memories.")

I’m old enough to remember the anticipation, as a kid, of The Living Seas being built. I still get chills when I think about the incredible dramatic reveal of the hydrolators following the intro movie. “...Try to imagine. For we welcome you now to take the first steps into that future. We welcome you to The Living Seas. We welcome you to Sea Base Alpha.”

chills. Awesome reveal. I miss that.
 

RoysCabin

Well-Known Member
I remember listening to a Retro Disney World podcast (thanks for the username inspiration, fellas!) where they talked about Symbiosis being brought to documentary film circuits for years after it left EPCOT, definitely high quality filmmaking behind that one.

And while I also miss the Living Seas experience, the story I'll always get reminded of is my mother, in the park with some family friends of ours, taking little 1 year old me in there the year TLS opened, hoping to have a nice, quiet, dark spot where I could continue napping for a bit...only for the thunder to crack during the opening movie, causing me to wake up crying. No wonder it took me years to be ok around loud sounds in the parks!
 

c0reyt

Member
Saw this as well as far and wide yesterday and couldn’t be more pleased. Another great update! Question... was I imagining things or did I see an attempt at a artificial storm cloud/wind column in the front upper-right if the theater? I could have sworn I caught the tail end of something made out of mist or fog but couldn’t be sure.

You did, I saw it too. It was pretty sweet TBH.
 

SpectroMagician

Well-Known Member
I was excited about this but it looks horrible. No one at the table was like "hey guy this idea is sort of dumb"? Should have done more of a Planet Earth style show and not a "hey do you want to buy the earth" dumb trope. Dumb concept, too short, annoying agenda pushing... not a good remake at all.
 

Rich Brownn

Well-Known Member
I was excited about this but it looks horrible. No one at the table was like "hey guy this idea is sort of dumb"? Should have done more of a Planet Earth style show and not a "hey do you want to buy the earth" dumb trope. Dumb concept, too short, annoying agenda pushing... not a good remake at all.
I think the point was to emphasis this is our home and not just a planet.
 

CJR

Well-Known Member
We finally got around to seeing this and I have to say that we all loved it!

It's hard what to make of these attractions to an extent, since they're not ground breaking additions, but more so replacements for what was already there. The Circle of Life was fun, but this definitely felt more reverent in tone. The wind/water features were nice, didn't notice smells, but it's all good. The visuals seemed to pop, loved the color. Overall, it's nice to have an attraction in the space, and a very solid followup to the previous attraction too.
 

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