News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[Bocabear]

I will agree with you on that point, but sometimes wonder what the whole Gemini project would have brought...the real plus would have been the expanded attractions at all the pavilions...raising capacity and fleshing out the park a bit...Time Racers could have been a great ride...maybe it could have been adapted into it's own show building without using Spaceship earth...after all it was supposedly launching from the roof of the Energy building...What if it used the energy building plus an addition.... Wish I knew what the plans were like.

 

[Kman101]

I will agree with you on that point, but sometimes wonder what the whole Gemini project would have brought...the real plus would have been the expanded attractions at all the pavilions...raising capacity and fleshing out the park a bit...Time Racers could have been a great ride...maybe it could have been adapted into it's own show building without using Spaceship earth...after all it was supposedly launching from the roof of the Energy building...What if it used the energy building plus an addition.... Wish I knew what the plans were like.

The amount of greenery added in that plan would have been nice. I think it included water but I can't remember at the moment.

Hopefully the spine project hasn't been impacted. That desperately needs to happen.

 

[Princess Leia]

Okay, I saw GotG Vol. 2 last night, and there are a couple of things I guess could be tied to Energy, in one way or another...

Spoiler: movie spoilers

1. The main plot is kicked off by Rocket stealing some super batteries from an alien race. Originally, the Guardians were protecting the batteries from another giant alien, so I suppose a coaster could be built around the title sequence (with Mr. Blue Sky blasting in the background)
2. Ego the Living Planet, Peter's father, creates energy with Peter... and then essentially uses Peter as a living battery to destroy the universe. Peter's okay, since he has his dad's powers, but the rest of Ego's children did not have this power, and it's mentioned that he killed them by using their energy as batteries, or something

I think Option 1 would be the more obvious tie-in than Option 2, since Option 2 would be a huge spoiler for anyone who hadn't seen the film. Personally, I believe that the Guardians should move into Stitch's space, but I really doubt that will happen.

 

[Kman101]

Okay, I saw GotG Vol. 2 last night, and there are a couple of things I guess could be tied to Energy, in one way or another...

Spoiler: movie spoilers

1. The main plot is kicked off by Rocket stealing these super batteries from an alien race. Originally, the Guardians were protecting the batteries from another giant alien, so I suppose a coaster could be built around the title sequence (with Mr. Blue Sky blasting in the background)
2. Ego the Living Planet, Peter's father, creates energy with Peter... and then essentially uses Peter as a living battery to destroy the universe. Peter's okay, since he has his dad's powers, but the rest of Ego's children did not have this power, and it's mentioned that he killed them by using their energy as batteries, or something

I think Option 1 would be the more obvious tie-in than Option 2, since Option 2 would be a huge spoiler for anyone who hadn't seen the film. Personally, I believe that the Guardians should move into Stitch's space, but I really doubt that will happen.

Interesting. Seems like GOTG has fallen off the stove and hit the backburner for Epcot but maybe I'm reading too much into it. It deserves better than shoehorned somewhere (cough, tower in DCA, cough)

Spoiler

Do they show the Collector's Tower from DCA in the new movie like the Clickbait site was trying to claim?

 

[Princess Leia]

Interesting. Seems like GOTG has fallen off the stove and hit the backburner for Epcot but maybe I'm reading too much into it. It deserves better than shoehorned somewhere (cough, tower in DCA, cough)

Spoiler

Do they show the Collector's Tower from DCA in the new movie like the Clickbait site was trying to claim?

Spoiler: Guardians

I didn't see it. Characters who were in the Guardians collection in the first movie- Howard the Duck & Cosmo- had cameos (Howard even had a scene near the beginning of the film), but they definitely weren't imprisoned anymore. I didn't see The Collector in the character dancefest credits (though Jeff Goldblum's Thor: Ragnarok character was there for some reason).

I really think that Guardians could make a fantastic attraction... in the right place. It deserves something new, not a reskin of another ride. It really does not belong in Epcot.

 

[RoysCabin]

I will agree with you on that point, but sometimes wonder what the whole Gemini project would have brought...the real plus would have been the expanded attractions at all the pavilions...raising capacity and fleshing out the park a bit...Time Racers could have been a great ride...maybe it could have been adapted into it's own show building without using Spaceship earth...after all it was supposedly launching from the roof of the Energy building...What if it used the energy building plus an addition.... Wish I knew what the plans were like.

Very fair point; plus, we have to consider that Imagineering often has to provide ideas based on demands fed to them from on high, so while I'll admit that my first reflex on Project Gemini was something along the lines of "what the heck are any of these Imagineers doing even considering replacing Spaceship Earth with a thrill ride?!", I do have to remind myself that replacing Spaceship Earth may have been something few people at Imagineering actively wanted to do, but felt was necessary given the parameters provided by corporate. Heck, maybe I'm wrong and Fitzgerald and others went along with the idea with excitement, but as you say, we simply don't know.

 

[marni1971]

and well...Time Racers could have been astounding...we don't really know the full story of what the attraction was to be....do we? has anyone seen the full presentation of that concept??

Time Racers as planned would be like Imagination;

Good unless you knew what was there before. Then it would have been a travesty.

 

[bcoachable]

it must be so tough being an imagineer-
dreaming up stuff that you want to do, then being told what you must dream up to fit the project that the "Bigs" want done

 

[AKL2003]

All this speculation regarding FW getting its attention AFTER WS has me wishing they would have kept Sum of all Thrills up and running longer....loved that attraction...was hoping its closure was for the "greater good" ...now not so sure...

 

[PJBuckeye]

it must be so tough being an imagineer-
dreaming up stuff that you want to do, then being told what you must dream up to fit the project that the "Bigs" want done

So, like every other job

 

[HMF]

I will agree with you on that point, but sometimes wonder what the whole Gemini project would have brought...the real plus would have been the expanded attractions at all the pavilions...raising capacity and fleshing out the park a bit...Time Racers could have been a great ride...maybe it could have been adapted into it's own show building without using Spaceship earth...after all it was supposedly launching from the roof of the Energy building...What if it used the energy building plus an addition.... Wish I knew what the plans were like.

Gemini would have been a disaster from which there would be no turning back.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

We haven't, have we?

@marni1971

 

[lazyboy97o]

it must be so tough being an imagineer-
dreaming up stuff that you want to do, then being told what you must dream up to fit the project that the "Bigs" want done

It's not just their bosses. So many of their so-called fans do not think they are actually creative enough to come up with good ideas on their own.

 

[HMF]

It's not just their bosses. So many of their so-called fans do not think they are actually creative enough to come up with good ideas on their own.

Many of them today most likely aren't. Most of the really creative Imagineers, Your Tony Baxter's your @Eddie Sotto's, your Tim Delaney's and Tom Morris' have all been forced out of the company while the few truly creative ones left like Joe Rohde are selling out for horrible ideas to stay on the payroll. The "Everything must be tied to a franchise" mandate has been in place for a decade now. How many people has WDI hired since then?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Many of them today most likely aren't. Most of the really creative Imagineers, Your Tony Baxter's your @Eddie Sotto's, your Tim Delaney's and Tom Morris' have all been forced out of the company while the few truly creative ones left like Joe Rohde are selling out for horrible ideas to stay on the payroll. The "Everything must be tied to a franchise" mandate has been in place for a decade now. How many people has WDI hired since then?

Walt Disney Imagineering is much larger than those select few, high level, high profile people.

 

[Bocabear]

While I agree that Spaceship Earth should have never been compromised in the Geini project, the other stuff to me looked pretty good...Adding an Autopia attraction as an addition to Test Track, Adding a rain forest coaster to The Land, seemed like a god thing to flesh out the original pavilions with some added attractions that fit the themes...

 

[HMF]

While I agree that Spaceship Earth should have never been compromised in the Geini project, the other stuff to me looked pretty good...Adding an Autopia attraction as an addition to Test Track, Adding a rain forest coaster to The Land, seemed like a god thing to flesh out the original pavilions with some added attractions that fit the themes...

I will agree that other than Time Racers and Mermaid in the Seas the rest of Project Gemini would have been welcome additions.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

If GOTG in energy isn't happening, which is certainly fine by me, I really hope they have another plan ready to go so we don't have to wait 10+ years for Energy to get updated or leave.

My guess is that it's no longer their first priority in the Epcot makeover. But I have a hard time believing this project has been shelved.

 

[DznyRktekt]

So are the opinions expressed here regarding Project Gemini based on the black and white pixilated site plan and elevation of the former Spaceship Earth/ Timeracers that were circulating on the forums? I had a difficult time forming a judgement on those pieces of the puzzle. Does anyone have concept art they could share?

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Granted there's a lot going on construction wise around Disney World, but it's kind of remarkable EPCOT hasn't had any project started. RAT being accelerated seems like a "what took you so long?" type of move.