News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[Matt_Black]

Agree - Characters do not belong in EPCOT

Who says? Things change, and you might not like it, but that's the way of things. For example, I think the best version of Batman is the fun, light-hearted version best exemplified by the 1966 TV series featuring Adam West. Most people nowadays prefer a darker, more serious take. Who's right and who's wrong? It's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, because Batman is a comic book character. Same thing applies to EPCOT. If you don't like it, don't go.

 

[WondersOfLife]

You have no idea how much I'm cringing from reading that post right now. Cartoons in WS everywhere aside, why Arietty for Japan? Even if Ghibli wanted to play ball with Disney on a theme park (It's solely a distribution relationship and Miyazaki's very much against super commercial stuff like theme parks and video games), it's one of their lower tier films and based on an British book series to boot.

Too bad. So sad. It appears to be happening anyways.

 

[Bocabear]

Then what is the problem with Baymax being added to Innoventions where there is currently nothing but a plywood wall?

While I loathe and destest the Character Meet and Greet thing they have done with Innoventions, I think adding Baymax and a section about robotics and healthcare would be kind of genius...to me, it's not just the fact that there are characters, but they are so poorly integrated into the framework of EPCOT. Now a futuristic healthcare robotics pavilion featuring Baymax would be an example of using the character in an "entertain and educate" framework... not just a character hug and photo opportunity... There are ways to incorporate chracters into everything if it is done right...

 

[Miss Heinous]

Too bad. So sad. It appears to be happening anyways.

I can promise you though that there will never be a Brother Bear attraction in Orlando.

 

[Master Yoda]

Agree - Characters do not belong in EPCOT

I would agree, however about 80%-90% of the them park going public think otherwise.

 

[prberk]

America the Beautiful opened (November 71 I think)
Magic Carpet 'Round the World ’74
America the Beautiful (re edited) 1976
And American Journeys 1984-1993. But I'll have to check the actual dates to be sure.

Thanks. I remember that the concept of a 360-degree theatre really had an impression on me as a child. I thought it was really cool. I remember noticing that the number of screens was an odd number, allowing the projectors to project from between two screens, with the break between them exactly opposite the center of a screen to make it work. (Backlit projection was not needed.)

Thinking of this just reminds me of the innovation WDW and the Disney company put into the parks. It was quirky "innovention" like this that really inspired me as a child, and the type that I would want some of these newbies to comprehend when they try to understand why some of us lament the lack of innovation found in the parks and resorts today.

These attractions also remind me of a simpler day in regard to the attraction content. It was kind of soarin' over America before we had Soarin', which itself was innovative at the time. I would love to find a way to see that 1976 bicentennial version of America the Beautiful. Notice, by the way, that they had only updated the attraction within the past two years when they changed the film back (probably for the bicentennial). In the seventies it looks like they were keeping the film up to date or refreshed almost as often as they raised ticket prices. What a novel idea!

 

[Miss Heinous]

Agree - Characters do not belong in EPCOT

So no Kitchen Kabaret, Food Rocks, Journey Into Imagination, Cranium Command, World of Motion, or Goofy About Health. Got it.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I can promise you though that there will never be a Brother Bear attraction in Orlando.

That, I do not doubt you on. Just an idea, though.

 

[Miss Heinous]

That, I do not doubt you on. Just an idea, though.

A terrible idea.

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

I think that over all EPCOT needs to slightly change with the times. Putting characters in WS, etc. I think it is being done tastefully, at least with the face characters. I don't think we can ever go back to 1982. Times have changed. When EPCOT was developed people did not have easy access to other parts of the world. So, edutainment was needed more. Learning about the countries was a new idea back then. Not like you can today with video streaming, youtube, etc. Heck the modern version of the internet today even.

I think that EPCOT needs significant investment. Which is the understatement of the year. While I don't think that every World Showcase pavilion needs to have a kids ride. There could stand to be maybe one more. They should focus most new rides in Future World however. They need to do something with Innoventions both East and West. Not sure where they could expand Future World out at exactly but it could be done.

I still say they should take some of the interactive rides in Disney Quest once it closes and fully flesh out at least one side of Innoventions. They should put them in with Sum of All Thrills. Then at least that side of Innoventions would be full. Maybe make the other side more hands on based classic Innoventions / Communicore style exhibits.

Love it or hate it that's just my opinion.

 

[WondersOfLife]

A terrible idea.

--is what someone with terrible ideas would say. :3

 

[Matt_Black]

A terrible idea.

... I like that movie.

 

[FigmentJedi]

So no Kitchen Kabaret, Food Rocks, Journey Into Imagination, Cranium Command, World of Motion. Got it.

There's a difference between park original characters and "characters", which almost always refers to pre-existing movie/TV ones.

 

[Miss Heinous]

... I like that movie.

That's fine that you like it, but the general public doesn't. In fact if you ask most guests coming to the parks about it a lot of them will give you a puzzled look.

 

[marni1971]

... I like that movie.

'Nuff said.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Being an EPCOT Center lover is like watching a beautiful performance of Beethoven in Carnegie Hall only to suddenly see Miley Cyrus float in naked on a wrecking ball while the hall is flooded with a horde of munching, drinking, burping, backwards baseball cap wearing fans loudly cheering that the times have changed and that they're now taking over.

 

[Horizons '83]

Being an EPCOT Center lover is like watching a beautiful performance of Beethoven in Carnegie Hall only to suddenly see Miley Cyrus float in naked on a wrecking ball while the hall is flooded with a horde of munching, drinking, burping, backwards baseball cap wearing fans loudly cheering that the times have changed and that they're now taking over.

And now I have to get a new coffee as I have spit it all out on my desk

 

[prberk]

I think that over all EPCOT needs to slightly change with the times. Putting characters in WS, etc. I think it is being done tastefully, at least with the face characters. I don't think we can ever go back to 1982. Times have changed. When EPCOT was developed people did not have easy access to other parts of the world. So, edutainment was needed more. Learning about the countries was a new idea back then. Not like you can today with video streaming, youtube, etc. Heck the modern version of the internet today even.

I think that EPCOT needs significant investment. Which is the understatement of the year. While I don't think that every World Showcase pavilion needs to have a kids ride. There could stand to be maybe one more. They should focus most new rides in Future World however. They need to do something with Innoventions both East and West. Not sure where they could expand Future World out at exactly but it could be done.

I still say they should take some of the interactive rides in Disney Quest once it closes and fully flesh out at least one side of Innoventions. They should put them in with Sum of All Thrills. Then at least that side of Innoventions would be full. Maybe make the other side more hands on based classic Innoventions / Communicore style exhibits.

Love it or hate it that's just my opinion.

Being an EPCOT Center lover is like watching a beautiful performance of Beethoven in Carnegie Hall only to suddenly see Miley Cyrus float in naked on a wrecking ball while the hall is flooded with a horde of munching, drinking, burping, backwards baseball cap wearing fans loudly cheering that the times have changed and that they're now taking over.

We don't need 1982... or Miley Cyrus' wrecking ball either (although I almost spit my coffee out, too, with that one...).

All we really need is to assign this to a few imagineers and others who actually understand and care about the vision of EPCOT. Involve some folks outside of imagineering, too, who might care and give thoughtful guidance. Remember that in the beginning they even sought the opinions of Ray Bradbury.

These days perhaps they could involve Brad Bird or others who work in the creative realm usually but also are likely to appreciate the vision and goals of EPCOT.

I remember saying to myself when I first visited EPCOT Center back then that I liked it but that it appeared too permanent for a place called "Experimental Prototype...'. So, it does need to innovate, but that does not mean simply "stunt-casting," which is a term normally reserved for TV shows or movies who bring in an otherwise out-of-place guest star meant to shore up ratings in a way that is anything but germaine. That is what I think of throwing characters (and, yes, @Miss Heinous , you know I mean film characters, not original characters made for the attraction, as did @ford91exploder above) at the attractions -- it is stunt casting, which must be followed up with real and lasting innovation in order to be more than a temporary fix.

EPCOT still has tremendous potential. All it needs is some attention from people who would both believe in it and have the vision and connections at Disney and outside to make it happen.

One final thought: Television. I have always said that WDW and DL both worked their magic best when cross-promoted with television. And I think that EPCOT, with its vision of the future and of world cultural understanding, is a prime candidate for synergy with television, especially "Discovery"-type shows. I would love to see an "EPCOT World of Discovery" type of show, weekly using EPCOT as a backdrop for showcasing the greatest in human endeavor and innovation. And whatever happened to the annual teacher's awards show? That was a plus that said "EPCOT" all over it.

 

[FigmentJedi]

We don't need 1982... or Miley Cyrus' wrecking ball either (although I almost spit my coffee out, too, with that one...).

All we really need is to assign this to a few imagineers and others who actually understand and care about the vision of EPCOT. Involve some folks outside of imagineering, too, who might care and give thoughtful guidance. Remember that in the beginning they even sought the opinions of Ray Bradbury.

These days perhaps they could involve Brad Bird or others who work in the creative realm usually but also are likely to appreciate the vision and goals of EPCOT.

I remember saying to myself when I first visited EPCOT Center back then that I liked it but that it appeared too permanent for a place called "Experimental Prototype...'. So, it does need to innovate, but that does not mean simply "stunt-casting," which is a term normally reserved for TV shows or movies who bring in an otherwise out-of-place guest star meant to shore up ratings in way that is anything but germaine. That is what I think of throwing characters (and, yes, @Miss Heinous , you know I mean film characters, not original characters made for the attraction, as did @ford91exploder above) at the attractions -- it is stunt casting, which must be followed up with real and lasting innovation in order to be more than a temporary fix.

EPCOT still has tremendous potential. All it needs is some attention from people who would both believe in it and have the vision and connections at Disney and outside to make it happen.

One final thought: Television. I have always said that WDW and DL both worked their magic best when cross-promoted with television. And I think that EPCOT, with its vision of the future and of world cultural understanding, is a prime candidate for synergy with television, especially "Discovery"-type shows. I would love to see an "EPCOT World of Discovery" type of show, weekly using EPCOT as a backdrop for showcasing the greatest in human endeavor and innovation. And whatever happened to the annual teacher's awards show? That was a plus that said "EPCOT" all over it.

Expanding Epcot into other media could also be a means of revitalizing their older characters and making new ones in a similar spirit to assist in educational/inspirational goals. A Journey into Imagination show could be a fun way of exploring history and world folklore like some kind of mashup of Doctor Who and Jim Henson's Storyteller and bear the torches of attractions' past in the supporting cast.

 

[rnese]

The Imagination Pavilion can easily be transformed into a dark ride that transports guests through the history of great "Imagineers" or INVENTORS. Scenes that show people like Leonardo DaVinci to Ben Franklin first Imagining their creations, then creating them! All hosted by Figment. The theatre can be used for an updated show featuring wacky an "Imagineer" whose good intentioned, hair-brained schemes go horribly wrong. DONE!

Next, the universe of energy can be changed to feature not what types of energy we should use (to avoid political issues) but what energy CAN DO. Focus on things like Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy. This opens up the opportunities for a thrill ride...and it can be timeless. DONE AGAIN!

Patent pending. I'm available for employment asap Disney Imagineers...