News .

[joel_maxwell]

In the last week of two they FINALLY fixed the lightbleed in the 180 top. No more fuzzy-clouds (unintentional) over the area where the vehicles are rotating backwards for descent.

At the same time, many of the fiberoptics are dead. The globe before the communication tunnel has none of them working, and only half of the global neighborhood vignettes work.

That said, there's lots of apparent animatronic work - who knew Michelangelo shifted his weight and lifted his knee while painting the sistine chapel?

Who knew the girl-ish looking poet in the renaissance on the steps was meant to shift his/her weight, blink and look from side to side, actually sort of looking bored listening to the presentation?

Who knew the Pharaoh's hand was supposed to swirl in a loopy motion as he rambles "on.. and on... and on..." so-to-speak?

The newspaper printer guy actually reads the paper he's looking at! His eyes are capable of following it from side to side, and turning his neck!

So some animatronics are definately getting some love.

thanks for the info merf. Michelangelo lifting his knee/leg, who would have though he would have had gas.

 

[marni1971]

So some animatronics are definately getting some love.

Great news; any other items of note? I hope if they keep the newspaper boy they give him back his original pre-94 voice. He sounds like he`s reached puberty far too early!

To think this is all being done on the third shift really gets my hopes up a) not too much of the `82 ascent scenes will change too much, b) a slim chance the rehab could open between stages, or not be as long, but most of all c) Siemens are taking it very seriously. Kodak could learn a thing or two!

 

[dxwwf3]

Great news indeed merf

 

[joel_maxwell]

Kodak could learn a thing or two!

if only.... interestingly though, they are both major competitors in the medical field. not that CEO of hospitals are going to Epcot to decide what PACS system they want their hospital to run, but if it gets any media attention outside the park, hopefully kodak will feel or see some pressure to update.. errr, overhaul.

 

[mousermerf]

I though HP also did digital imaging for medical stuff.. and yet we can't get a bloody sponsor for WoL.

 

[joel_maxwell]

I though HP also did digital imaging for medical stuff.. and yet we can't get a bloody sponsor for WoL.

Nah.

Seimens
GE
Kodak
Fugi

are the 4 major playa's with the biggest companies. there are a lot of smaller comapnies that actually lead the medical field in certain aspects, but they arent thousands of employees deep... like the one i work for.

 

[marni1971]

and yet we can't get a bloody sponsor for WoL.

kind of makes you wonder how much they are actually trying dosn`t it?

I am right in that UoE is also sponsorless?

 

[mousermerf]

kind of makes you wonder how much they are actually trying dosn`t it?

I am right in that UoE is also sponsorless?

Yup.

 

[TinkerBell9988]

I'm loving this work in SE. Lets hope that the end result will please everyone, fanatics and new guests alike.

I was surprised to see the green laser before the communication tunnel, since I hadn't noticed it since I was about 7 years old. I think its kind of cool; very retro but futuristic at the same time. I hope it stays.

This refurb is making me very happy.

 

[nelsonj3]

This all sounds very good!!! Thanks for the updates, Merf!

I can't wait to experience them myself when I make a quick trip to Epcot this coming Sunday! :sohappy:
(As quick as a trip to Florida can be when I live in Indiana! :lol: )

 

[joel_maxwell]

kind of makes you wonder how much they are actually trying dosn`t it?

I am right in that UoE is also sponsorless?

it is probably pretty hard to get a sponsor for somehting that is closed and going to be bulldozed though? any more rumors about the weather pavilion and WoL?

 

[marni1971]

That`s really all it ever was - an unsubstantiated rumour about a Weather pavilion. Same for bulldozing it. Remember the one about knocking down the UoE and WoL for one Incredibles mega pavilion?

I`d be surprised if Disney turned down a company who offered to update and sponsor WoL - it seems they don`t know just what to do with it. Thinking about it the structure isn`t in bad shape - apart from a few fixable leaks (but what building dosn`t leak in Futureworld?) and some ceiling tiles. New decor, a lick or two of paint and some updated displays would sort the pavilion out. Body Wars obviously needs to be re-shot (main screen CGI perhaps) as would The Making of Me. Cranium Command holds up fine, apart from the obvious dated projections. Even accessability - if deemed a problem that cutting back the foliage wouldn`t fix - could be comparitivley to fix by removing the ramp at the entrance and entering into the lower level.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

With all of these improvements, will those scenes still be gutted when the refurb is done? It seems odd the AA's would get all the love if they weren't going to hang around. Just a thought, I was under the impression they were changing more ride scenes than that.

 

[ToTBellHop]

If they found a good sponsor in the medical field, I'm sure they'd want to gut the entire pavilion and redo it all. It's far too dated...any biomedical is going to want something modern to showcase their newest gadgets...and to not suggest that there are lightning bolts in the brain.........I'm fairly confident even in 1989 that we knew about neurotransmitters...did the Imagineers not open a biology textbook before creating Body Wars?

 

[Slowjack]

If they found a good sponsor in the medical field, I'm sure they'd want to gut the entire pavilion and redo it all. It's far too dated...any biomedical is going to want something modern to showcase their newest gadgets...and to not suggest that there are lightning bolts in the brain.........I'm fairly confident even in 1989 that we knew about neurotransmitters...did the Imagineers not open a biology textbook before creating Body Wars?

Yeah, and what about Cranium Command--it turns out there aren't actually little people inside the brains of teenagers who control everything! I mean, do Imagineers subscribe to the 17th century theory of the homunculus, too?:lookaroun

Okay, sorry if I was sarcastic there, but I don't think Body Wars was intended to be a realistic portrayal of the inner workings of the human body. My guess is that biology is an area you have studied so that bothers you more than the average person--I know as a computer science teacher that fake computer use bugs me (like, in Dinosaur, when Dr. Seeker just rattles his fingers on the keyboard for half a second to break through the security), but I always keep quiet to avoid getting elbowed in the ribs by my wife...

Oh, and I agree that aspects of WoL are dated--but I'm more concerned with all the Saturday Night Live characters in Cranium Command. It's like an episode of "I love the 80s." (For the record, though, I still love Cranium Command.)

 

[marni1971]

Put it another way, the structure of WoL is sound. It`s the details that need to change. Much cheaper than decomissioning the entire pavilion, demolition, R&D, site prep and construction of a new building.

JoeyJoe, believe me, I don`t want the ramp removed either.

DisneyMusician2; from what we think we know, the scenes from the boy/girl videophone onwards will change. Pretty much like what the `94 rehab did to the 82/6 versions.