A Few Epcot Updates

[MythBuster]

The new Cantina has been progressing quite nicely and the updated ROE package for lighting the Cantina should be great. A lot more strobes and rim lighting.

Also at Mexico. Donald's M&G area is almost done. Really nicely done Mayan architecture with great theming, fits in good with the pyramid. It will be a great photo op even when Donald is not there. They are also installing special lighting for the M&G area, so maybe they will be doing it at night time also.

They will be upgrading the lasers for ROE next year, updating to solid state lasers and they will add more locations like the islands in the middle of the lagoon.

 

[nepalostparks]

Very cool!

Thanks for the info.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Sounds good overall. The Donald meet and greet should work nicely and I'm all for new updated lasers. Hopefully they don't overdo it too much with the cantina and the new strobes...I'm afraid we'll end up with a situation where the cantina overpowers the main pavilion (Wishes has this problem where the stage arches sparkle WAY too much and the castle barely does).

 

[NewfieFan]

The new Cantina has been progressing quite nicely and the updated ROE package for lighting the Cantina should be great. A lot more strobes and rim lighting.

Also at Mexico. Donald's M&G area is almost done. Really nicely done Mayan architecture with great theming, fits in good with the pyramid. It will be a great photo op even when Donald is not there. They are also installing special lighting for the M&G area, so maybe they will be doing it at night time also.

They will be upgrading the lasers for ROE next year, updating to solid state lasers and they will add more locations like the islands in the middle of the lagoon.

I wish the M&Gs at Epcot had longer hours. Most of them end around 7pm, right!?! How many times have I taken the kids to see Aladdin and been told he's leaving for the night! I need to learn to get there earlier in the day!

Excited to see the Donald M&G though... will they bring out the other Caballeros at times or is just Donald?

 

[muteki]

The new Cantina has been progressing quite nicely and the updated ROE package for lighting the Cantina should be great. A lot more strobes and rim lighting.

Also at Mexico. Donald's M&G area is almost done. Really nicely done Mayan architecture with great theming, fits in good with the pyramid. It will be a great photo op even when Donald is not there. They are also installing special lighting for the M&G area, so maybe they will be doing it at night time also.

They will be upgrading the lasers for ROE next year, updating to solid state lasers and they will add more locations like the islands in the middle of the lagoon.

Great to hear about the ROE lasers. Hopefully this time around we will get an upgrade instead of the downgrade we got last time. The lasers have been pretty weak for years now.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Great to hear about the ROE lasers. Hopefully this time around we will get an upgrade instead of the downgrade we got last time. The lasers have been pretty weak for years now.

I wouldn't say we got a downgrade. When RoE came around, full color spectrum lasers replaced the orginal bi-color ones. While it seems the lasers we currently have have dimmed over the years, the patterns and color effects they are capable of producing are definitley an upgrade over the previous lasers.

 

[marni1971]

While it seems the lasers we currently have have dimmed over the years, the patterns and color effects they are capable of producing are definitley an upgrade over the previous lasers.

The 1999 models were never as bright as the 1988 versions. Even greens are dimmer than the IllumiNations ones.

(Wishes has this problem where the stage arches sparkle WAY too much and the castle barely does).

The arches are how the castle should look; the original strobes are so dirty (and broken) they should all be replaced. Seeing the Christmas Castle Lights strobes was like a breath of fresh air.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

The 1999 models were never as bright as the 1988 versions. Even greens are dimmer than the IllumiNations ones.

Huh...interesting. Would you say the switch to full color was worth it, then, or would they have been further ahead to keep the '88 models?

The arches are how the castle should look; the original strobes are so dirty (and broken) they should all be replaced. Seeing the Christmas Castle Lights strobes was like a breath of fresh air.

I thought the same thing when I saw the strobe lights on the castle lights at Christmas. Considering they repainting of castle that took place a few years ago, not to mention the yearly installation process that is the Dreamlights, don't understand why they just haven't fixed the exisiting strobes already (apart from money. :brick

 

[mp2bill]

Nice!

 

[wdwmagic]

Huh...interesting. Would you say the switch to full color was worth it, then, or would they have been further ahead to keep the '88 models?

The old models were extremely bright and visible compared to what we have today. When they designed RoE the decision was made that old green lasers were old hat and had been done to death. The only way to keep lasers in the show was to offer something new, and that was the custom colored lasers. Problem is, they are barely visible most nights.

 

[marni1971]

Huh...interesting. Would you say the switch to full color was worth it

No. The pavilion lasers from 1988 were bi-colour (green and blue, with cyan possible) with very good effects and visibility so what`s worth being multi colour if you can`t see them?

During the shooting of my ROE HD edit I actually marvelled at the intricacy of the ROE programming, especially during Chaos. It`s just such a shame you can`t actually see it.

As for the castle, I too don`t get why the strobes were swapped out or updated when they updated the whole castle and stage lighting package to LED a few years back.

 

[dxwwf3]

I'm all for enhancements to RoE, but I would be even more excited about a new show. RoE has definitely run its course, IMO. I know I'm in the minority on that, but I just feel they can do so much better.

 

[EpcotFanForever]

...

 

[harveyt0206]

* Steps into thread. Looks around. Realizes she has just entered a lasers debate and steps back out* :animwink:

 

[wdwmagic]

* Steps into thread. Looks around. Realizes she has just entered a lasers debate and steps back out* :animwink:

LOL feel free to step in, we love a good laser debate!

 

[wdwmagic]

Also at Mexico. Donald's M&G area is almost done. Really nicely done Mayan architecture with great theming, fits in good with the pyramid. It will be a great photo op even when Donald is not there. They are also installing special lighting for the M&G area, so maybe they will be doing it at night time also.

Agreed, I saw some photos of this and they are doing a real nice job. Should be a great location.

 

[spaceghost]

No. The pavilion lasers from 1988 were bi-colour (green and blue, with cyan possible) with very good effects and visibility so what`s worth being multi colour if you can`t see them?

During the shooting of my ROE HD edit I actually marvelled at the intricacy of the ROE programming, especially during Chaos. It`s just such a shame you can`t actually see it.

As for the castle, I too don`t get why the strobes were swapped out or updated when they updated the whole castle and stage lighting package to LED a few years back.

So, does this mean that you feel that the above mentioned move to solid state lasers will be a good move then?

 

[EpcotFanForever]

LOL feel free to step in, we love a good laser debate!

Actually not a debate, but an exchange of facts. So this is what I found on the website of a supplier of lasers for light shows:

"Lightwave International is a worldwide pioneer, and an early adopter of DIRECT solid state technolgy. This technology has caused an almost overnight obsolesence of the water-cooled ion laser. We currently offer up to 38 Watts of full-color solid state projection OUTPUT -- brighter than an 80 Watt or larger ion system. Gone are the hoses, pumps, huge power requirements, hefty shipping costs, and technical complexity. Our new systems plug into a standard outlet, are similar in size to a video projector, and do not require any water cooling."

Keep in mind that 80 watts of laser light is huge - it will burn holes through things. And the gas lasers are only a few percent efficient, meaning most of the power ends up in waste heat. Diode lasers put much more of the power directly into the beam.

 

[rabbit1]

The World of Color show out at California Adventure does some great things with full spectrum lasers, and they are quite bright too (though WoC has a much smaller "stage" to illuminate). If they're bringing the same or similar technology to RoE, I think people should be very pleased with the results.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

The World of Color show out at California Adventure does some great things with full spectrum lasers, and they are quite bright too (though WoC has a much smaller "stage" to illuminate). If they're bringing the same or similar technology to RoE, I think people should be very pleased with the results.

Yes, the WoC lasers are pretty neat, and definitely bright. Still, that show has the advantage of being in a rather small, limited viewing area (more or less a football field as opposed to 40+ acres of lagoon and promenade for RoE). It also has a constant stream of fog/mist thanks to the fountains which makes the lasers easier to see.

Unfortunately, I'm willing to bet that the WoC lasers are too weak to be used for a show the size and scale of RoE. I'm sure Steve or Martin could shine a bit more light onto that...