News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

A

Absimilliard

Well-Known Member
smile said:
quality work, for sure...
still think it's a boast not quite fully earned yet, is all

if nothing else, he's certainly bringing respectability to vekoma's in-house layouts - not that it's difficult lol...
but seriously, first time i saw (haven't rode) lech i was surprised it was actually vekoma - very promising future for him and them at this rate... looking forward to it

i also thought vekoma's submission for the energylandia mega was actually the best one, which surprised me... do you know if he did that?

inatmin won that, btw - currently building hyperion
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He did. TRON was the last design at Vekoma that was done under their old layout person. Everything after comes from the mind of Benjamin Bloementhal. As for the Energylandia coaster, let's just say Vekoma full production line had a hand in Intamin winning that RFP (request for proposal).

I am not a fan of Alan Schilke as his coasters are all very similar and he seemingly can't design a standard vertical loop. He also doesn't take into account what made the old wooden coasters he replaced unique and always went to the same well. The Riverside Cyclone had a drop that "felt like you fell off a cliff": Wicked Cyclone has the Schilke generic steep drop with no sharp pop of air at the top.
 
A

Absimilliard

Well-Known Member
smile said:
schilke's awesome and what he's doing with rmc is just phenom...
i'm half amazaed they do what they do at all with these conversions, but what they end up converting to is just as wowzers

sv'll be killer!

but, i'd have to disagree and say that he did not kill arrow...
they got leapfrogged, really - in a rush from overseas... but i still have a hard time saying the world is better without arrow in it

x was/still is great design - but it's widely publicized initial issues were hard to overcome... which is a shame considering, like we mentioned before, it's been a champ ever since.
Click to expand...

What did Arrow in and caused most of the industry to go bankrupt is the 2001 slowdown. Remember back in the late 1990's when seemingly you had a few hyper coasters going up each year, Premier Parks/Six Flags could not build coasters fast enough and you had Custom Coasters International cranking out all those roller coasters each year? It all came crashing down in 2001 when the industry went back to a normal pace and then 9/11 happened. Companies had all increased production, invested all their ressources in new products and could not make it through sadly.

That year and in 2002, Arrow went bankrupt and the assets purchased by S&S. Vekoma went bankrupt and the company purchased by a local marine yard. Some staff left and they formed KUMBAK, an important behind the scenes supplier. The reorganised Vekoma started coming out with new ideas, like the Motorcycle Coaster and the "Disney track" used for Expedition Everest and other Disney rides.

Custom Coasters International (CCI) went bankrupt when their flawed business came crashing down and their habit of undercutting on project bids failed because they went from building five new coasters in 2000 to only two new ones in 2001. By the time 2002 came around, they barely finished Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain at Indiana Beach and then abruptly closed in the middle of constructing the New Mexico Rattler in Albuquerque. That poor park had already paid CCI for the project and now were left with a half finished coaster and not a lot of financial ressources to finish the job. The local community rallied and the park managed to avoid bankrupcy and finish the ride later in 2002.

One very troublematic project was the new Warner Brothers Movie World in Madrid. Six Flags was in charge of construction at that new park and to put it simply: most suppliers had either gone bankrupt or had gone into reorganization.
 
smile

smile

Well-Known Member
Absimilliard said:
He did. TRON was the last design at Vekoma that was done under their old layout person. Everything after comes from the mind of Benjamin Bloementhal. As for the Energylandia coaster, let's just say Vekoma full production line had a hand in Intamin winning that RFP (request for proposal).

I am not a fan of Alan Schilke as his coasters are all very similar and he seemingly can't design a standard vertical loop. He also doesn't take into account what made the old wooden coasters he replaced unique and always went to the same well. The Riverside Cyclone had a drop that "felt like you fell off a cliff": Wicked Cyclone has the Schilke generic steep drop with no sharp pop of air at the top.
Click to expand...

suppose we'll agree to disagree on schilke...
i don't happen to see the need for standard vertical loops and i like how he plays with overbanking... :p hey, these are opinions anyways

i also think you'd have a hard time finding very many (though they do exist) who aren't pleased with the rmc conversions... rmc is one of the hottest around right now, with reason

far as layouts right now, i'd personally choose taron or helix before lech...
also happy those are three different companies
:D

Absimilliard said:
What did Arrow in and caused most of the industry to go bankrupt is the 2001 slowdown. Remember back in the late 1990's when seemingly you had a few hyper coasters going up each year, Premier Parks/Six Flags could not build coasters fast enough and you had Custom Coasters International cranking out all those roller coasters each year? It all came crashing down in 2001 when the industry went back to a normal pace and then 9/11 happened. Companies had all increased production, invested all their ressources in new products and could not make it through sadly.

That year and in 2002, Arrow went bankrupt and the assets purchased by S&S. Vekoma went bankrupt and the company purchased by a local marine yard. Some staff left and they formed KUMBAK, an important behind the scenes supplier. The reorganised Vekoma started coming out with new ideas, like the Motorcycle Coaster and the "Disney track" used for Expedition Everest and other Disney rides.

Custom Coasters International (CCI) went bankrupt when their flawed business came crashing down and their habit of undercutting on project bids failed because they went from building five new coasters in 2000 to only two new ones in 2001. By the time 2002 came around, they barely finished Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain at Indiana Beach and then abruptly closed in the middle of constructing the New Mexico Rattler in Albuquerque. That poor park had already paid CCI for the project and now were left with a half finished coaster and not a lot of financial ressources to finish the job. The local community rallied and the park managed to avoid bankrupcy and finish the ride later in 2002.

One very troublematic project was the new Warner Brothers Movie World in Madrid. Six Flags was in charge of construction at that new park and to put it simply: most suppliers had either gone bankrupt or had gone into reorganization.
Click to expand...

arrow was also really failing to innovate - until too late...
and in a moment of them doing so by imitating euro designs, they failed miserably (drachen fire)
 
Stripes

Stripes

Premium Member
Wasn't sure where to say this, it doesn't deserve its own thread, but Iger was completely ignorant about the parks during the Morgan Stanley event today. Talking briefly about the Star Wars Hotel, he shouted out to Chapek in the audience and asked: "Have we announced that yet?"

Just wow.
 
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Rodan75

Rodan75

Well-Known Member
DoubleJ21 said:
Wasn't sure where to say this, it doesn't deserve its own thread, but Iger was completely ignorant about the parks during the Morgan Stanley event today. Talking briefly about the Star Wars Hotel, he shouted out to Chapek in audience and asked: "Have we announced that yet?"

Just wow.
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It seems like he was trying to be humorously flippant at this event. Many of his comments have a similar tone. ( for the record I don’t think they landed in a positive way, but I don’t think ppl took it seriously)
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Rodan75 said:
It seems like he was trying to be humorously flippant at this event. Many of his comments have a similar tone. ( for the record I don’t think they landed in a positive way, but I don’t think ppl took it seriously)
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Might be a call back to the time when he let loose DHS was going to have a name change and then they decided not to change it. It's the "oh, look, I'm doing it again" bit.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
@Figments Friend sure would've gotten a hold of that one.
Click to expand...

It is a nice design, but i have my own self-drawn Figment inspired artwork -

'Heart of All Creation'
My original hand drawn / hand colored design drawn for Tony Baxter.
Drawn a couple of years ago, in honor of his 50th Anniversary of working for Disney.

Shown here as a pair of canvas prints ( he owns one of them ).
:)

image_zpssqlcskcx.jpeg



-
 
P_Radden

P_Radden

Well-Known Member
At this point with the limbo we're in regarding the Epcot projects (sans Energy/Rat), I think this is pretty much how I feel about things:
noYepEpcotCenter.png

Time to go back to basics and polish the gem they already have. Expand on it's original mission statement. Do this overhaul correctly, with love for Epcot Center. Don't need to demolish parts or all of the Communicore buildings. Don't need massive changes. FW just needs corrections in the form of fresh paint, reduced foliage, opened up windows, tarps gone, etc.. Not that hard to figure out BOBS
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
It is a nice design, but i have my own self-drawn Figment inspired artwork -

'Heart of All Creation'
My original hand drawn / hand colored design drawn for Tony Baxter.
Drawn a couple of years ago, in honor of his 50th Anniversary of working for Disney.

Shown here as a pair of canvas prints ( he owns one of them ).
:)

image_zpssqlcskcx.jpeg



-
Click to expand...
Wow...I had no idea you drew! Nice! :eek:


No Star Tours?
 
trainplane3

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
SteamboatJoe

SteamboatJoe

Well-Known Member
EvilChameleon said:
So hey, since this seems to be the general EPCOT thread, hopefully when they do the drones in the new Illuminations, it looks like what we saw for the Opening/Closing Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics.
Click to expand...

I heard some of the stuff seen on TV were post production add ins or something like that but I think your overall point is a good one.
 

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