2015: The year of the EPCOT makeover?

[Jose]

Ratatouille is not coming, is it?

 

[aladdin2007]

Looking at an aerial view of Norway, there is enough land next door between Norway and Mexico where they could build a switchback queue big enough to hold HOURS worth of Frozen-obsessed folks waiting for their 90 second ride. I haven't seen the blueprints for the building, but I can't imagine that there isn't a way to get people from the giant entrance doors to that side of the building... Or they could make it FPP only - thus guaranteeing that the only people who will get to ride are those staying on-site for at least 10-14 days...

But what about the inside? (1) Scrap the boat ride system; expensive to maintain/operate, would limit the "new" ride to the same too-short track, and how do you work the backwards section into any logical "storytelling". (2) Clone the ride system used in Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek (Tokyo); huge savings on design costs, unique ride system to WDW, "flashlights" could easily become "wands", and you could have virtually any narrative you might want (i.e. not necessaarily retelling the story from the movie, but using the characters to tell a new story) - this would merge the interactivity of TSMM with the irrational popularity of Frozen, and because the interactivity would become the main feature, they could "go cheap" on the AA figures that populate the ride. Would likely become THE most popular ride in WDW. (3) Frozen mega-store; this will allow Disney to suck dry the wallets of the guests, but will leave Puffin's Roost in tact as a Norwegian shop and not a Frozen merchandising hell-hole. They could possibly position it so that the queue actually goes through half of it [you've been in line for 2 hours, you'll buy anything to get your whining kid to shut up] and the other half is for the post-show fleecing.

The whole frozen thing should have been built between Mexico and Norway as an entire seperate attraction/building/pavilion. Lets face it, no new countries are coming in any of our lifetimes here. But they didnt want to build anything and wanted to save money. At least by putting it between the two with an extended Scandinavian theme it would have kept Norway in tact, while building a facility that could handle the crowds better. Instead they chose the faster, easier, cheaper approach which is going to come back to bite them in Mickey's tail with the crowd control issues that are going to insue. I dont care how they rework the current insides of Maelstrom, that side of world showcase will be a mess. Out of all of Epcot's issues, Norway was the last thing that needed changing right now, even though Maelstrom and the movie needed a refresh etc. Bigger issues continue to sit with no attention. Imagination, eo, energy, etc.

 

[tpoly88]

Have never heard a real rumor that WoL would get any attractions...Frozen is coming and Soarin will get a new video that is probably it unfortunately.

Whatever happened to Body Wars that was in WoL? did they dismantle it? Seems they could refurbish and stick something in there. I keep hearing from people they are going to add a country where australia is? any truth to that?

 

[marni1971]

Whatever happened to Body Wars that was in WoL? did they dismantle it? Seems they could refurbish and stick something in there. I keep hearing from people they are going to add a country where australia is? any truth to that?

The bays are empty. The sims are gone.

 

[marni1971]

Ratatouille is not coming, is it?

Never was.

 

[Mike S]

The bays are empty. The sims are gone.

Weren't some of the Body Wars sims used to test Star Tours 2 or something? I'm sure I read that somewhere.

 

[marni1971]

Weren't some of the Body Wars sims used to test Star Tours 2 or something? I'm sure I read that somewhere.

Yes. And heavily modified to a point of no return in the process.

Plus years of neglect. Especially when a hydraulic fluid system that is meant to run every day didn't run for months on end.

 

[Jose]

Never was.

so why do we call 2015 the year of the makeover?

 

[Mike S]

so why do we call 2015 the year of the makeover?

Crushed fanboy dreams.

 

[tpoly88]

The bays are empty. The sims are gone.

thanks. i hope they do something else at Epcot, my wife and loved to walk around and have a few drinks but when our friends come with their older kids the kids are bored there. Too bad they never did the Mt Fuji roller coaster.

 

[Oriolesmagic]

I think EPCOT has enough there currently to be more than full-day park. What's wrong with the whole thing is that a lot of the attractions are subpar. Leading us to feel that park needs a lot more expansion than it actually does.

1. Something needs to be done about Universe of Energy, that whole section of the park (including WoL) feels so dead. It's a huge area and a lot of good can be done with it.

2. A re-imagined Imagination pavilion. Captain EO has run its course, a Phineas and Ferb show would be a great fit in that section. Most importantly, Journey into Imagination has to be re-done. It's a ghost-town right now and for good reason, it needs a new vision....heck, an old vision. The same one the first iteration had.

3. Additional Soarin theater.

And you start from there. Future World desperately needs to be revitalized. After all this is done, THEN you look to expand.

 

[marni1971]

so why do we call 2015 the year of the makeover?

Errr... We don't.

 

[jt04]

The bays are empty. The sims are gone.

Reads like the opening of a sci fi thriller.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Reads like the opening of a sci fi thriller.

 

[danlb_2000]

so why do we call 2015 the year of the makeover?

Who is "we"? I think only the op called it that.

 

[tpoly88]

I think EPCOT has enough there currently to be more than full-day park. What's wrong with the whole thing is that a lot of the attractions are subpar. Leading us to feel that park needs a lot more expansion than it actually does.

1. Something needs to be done about Universe of Energy, that whole section of the park (including WoL) feels so dead. It's a huge area and a lot of good can be done with it.

2. A re-imagined Imagination pavilion. Captain EO has run its course, a Phineas and Ferb show would be a great fit in that section. Most importantly, Journey into Imagination has to be re-done. It's a ghost-town right now and for good reason, it needs a new vision....heck, an old vision. The same one the first iteration had.

3. Additional Soarin theater.

And you start from there. Future World desperately needs to be revitalized. After all this is done, THEN you look to expand.

i agree with you on that. stuff needs updating, just hard to keep the 17 yr old occupied there. I feel Disney has really lost that group the last several years and universal has grabbed them. I think it is one reason that the MK is always so busy now, really the only park 14-19yr olds want to go to.

 

[Siren]

Whatever helps you get through the day....

Oh whatever. . . anyway, I was so sad to hear about the passing of Oscar De La Renta. He was one of the few designers who had expertise on what was flattering for women and he embraced the female form with his fascinating creations. Oscar wasn't trendy, nor did he jump on the harsh, heroine chic and ugly grunge stuff. He was always about the glamour and remained consistent in designing spectacular dresses and beautiful modern clothes for women. It was only a couple of years ago, that Oscar collaborated with Disney, Harrods, and Christies to design a dress inspired by Snow White. There were other designers who designed pieces for their assigned princess, too. But, I will only share Oscar's piece. The dress was featured in the Harrods Christmas window display and sold at Christies last year for charity.

Moving along, here is the Epcot map.

I hope Disney uses lot 1 for the Frozen expansion -- as it will provide plenty of space. And, then for lots 2 through 8 add rides -- starting with the Ratatouille ride on lot six that connects to France.

 

[Siren]

I dislike both Test Track versions, both feel like you're just being driven through empty warehouses, one just with more neon than the other (the speed you travel isn't even intense enough for me to care about calling it a "thrill ride"). Still sorely miss World of Motion and all of its awesome set pieces and huge animatronic population, such a sad thing to have seen it gutted and its replacement feel so empty and relatively devoid of detail...

I didn't have to "try hard" to realize that Norway's tourism boost wasn't from the viewing of Frozen alone, it's common sense and requires no effort. Extra education had to be provided outside of the movie's confines for any boost to be had, the movie was used as an extremely loose tie in for marketing purposes to achieve the boost. It's kind of like saying just the viewing of Lord of the Rings alone was the sole reason for a boost in New Zealand tourism. No one knew (and few cared) where it was filmed until the creators made documentaries about it to promote New Zealand. Little to no boost would have been had with the movie alone.

I expect the ties to Norway to be extremely subdued if not absent entirely in Frozenstrom. In a PR statement from Tom Staggs (in response to a concerned message from someone who wished assurance that Norwegian culture remain prominent in the ride), it was commented that the ride would be focused on the characters and music from the movie. I expect very little promotion will be done regarding Norway in the ride (and kids probably will not give a crap about Norway when they just want to see Elsa and Olaf). The statement rather brushed past Norway's connections, saying they would be focusing on the movie's story instead of promoting the country.
http://land.allears.net/blogs/dnews/2014/09/frozen_attraction_to_replace_m.html

Your argument does not hold water at all, it makes me wonder if you will argue anything just for the sake of being right.

Try to look at it this way. Let's say, that travelers from all parts of the globe are flocking to the Southernmost Point for a slice of delicious key lime pie. Everyone loves this pie because it tastes so good. But, you insist that the pie is not that delicious, because technically limes are sour and if it weren't for people adding sugar, sweet cream and a hint of vanilla extract, the pie would taste bitter. Therefore, people are not traveling great distances for the key lime pie itself -- instead they are traveling because of the bakery that actually makes key lime pie. This is exactly how tedious your argument is.

So here..... have a nice cold one to wash down your denial, and don't forget to grasp one of those super cute straws I gave you. Consider it a consolation prize.

Now, I do agree with you to an extent that Test Track could be so much better. But, it's still the most thrilling ride at Epcot, imo. I especially *love* to ride Test Track at night! At least, Test Track no longer has one of the worst queues at WDW. I totally prefer the new queue over the old one. The worst queues remaining are Tomorrowland Speedway and Winnie the Pooh. I just adore riding in the Hunny Pots, but I refuse to ride this standby.

Also, I'm not sure if I agree with your assertion that the kids will just supposedly want to see Elsa and Olaf, and not care anything about Norway. Norway will finally draw in kids, that mostly frequent MK -- the families and children who would not otherwise be exposed to Norway's culture at all.

If the ride turns out to be lacking in *real* Norwegian culture, then the children will certainly absorb their surroundings within and about the Norway pavilion, which will hopefully be filled with cultural artifacts and elements of Norwegian culture. So, we'll see.

 

[Fleis76]

God knows Imagination needs an update. Maybe they will finally do something with the upstairs section that's been closed off forever.

As far as Frozen in Norway is concerned, I'm on the fence. As my avatar demonstrates, I'm clearly a fan, but really something like that belongs more in Magic Kingdom than anywhere. By all means, have a meet and greet, but I believe the attractions of each country's pavilion should be a celebration of their rich histories and culture, not distilled to an animated feature. It would be like having Japan represented by a Dragon Ball Z ride. I have similar gripes about the Three Amigos at Mexico.

 

[aladdin2007]

Oh whatever. . . anyway, I was so sad to hear about the passing of Oscar De La Renta. He was one of the few designers who had expertise on what was flattering for women and he embraced the female form with his fascinating creations. Oscar wasn't trendy, nor did he jump on the harsh, heroine chic and ugly grunge stuff. He was always about the glamour and remained consistent in designing spectacular dresses and beautiful modern clothes for women. It was only a couple of years ago, that Oscar collaborated with Disney, Harrods, and Christies to design a dress inspired by Snow White. There were other designers who designed pieces for their assigned princess, too. But, I will only share Oscar's piece. The dress was featured in the Harrods Christmas window display and sold at Christies last year for charity.
Moving along, here is the Epcot map.

I hope Disney uses lot 1 for the Frozen expansion -- as it will provide plenty of space. And, then for lots 2 through 8 add rides -- starting with the Ratatouille ride on lot six that connects to France.

While the map is correct, they are not using#1 for frozen, they should have, but they arent. And ratatouille isnt coming.