News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[DC0703]

I think this is an interesting and important question. World Showcase will likely remain the same, even if/when more IP get infused to the pavilions. But there's no particular reason that Future World has to retain the same theme -- in fact, it's progressively become less futuristic over the years. Nor does FW has to all remain under the same theme. It's possible to "group" stuff into smaller areas with different themes (like the west side becomes "experience the natural world" or somesuch and the east side side becoming "exploration" -- just shooting from the hip).

Right now, GotG don't fit FW at all, but it doesn't mean that the theme of the area can't change to allow it to meld better.

In many ways, Future World was never the best name for this side of the park. Even in the glory days of EPCOT, many of the rides had a lot to do with history and current advancements. That has only gotten more pronounced as the attractions changed over the years. Far more appropriate would be to consider this the science and technology part of the park.

Going with that theme, I suppose you could think of GotG as science fiction. Given that they once considered a movie pavilion for the park and have an imagination-themed pavilion, a sci-fi themed pavilion may work. (Though I still think it would be better in DHS... my usual disclaimer when discussing GotG).

 

[Captain Neo]

Watch this space.

Like very very very soon.

If you like certain diversionary attractions you should make the most of them.

I'll also cautiously add there is more being planned for the park. Some decisions - if they happen - are sure to please a lot of people.

I won't go into specifics yet since nothing is definite yet apart from what I've already talked about. There is a lot of proposal and counter proposal for over the next 8 years or so. However there is a definite acknowledgement the whole park needs work.

I should also reiterate EPCOT Center is dead. This isn't a return to that parks hey day.

So no education? No optimism towards the future or exploration of culture? SAD!

 

[Pirate665]

So no education? No optimism towards the future or exploration of culture? SAD!

I'm sorry to say, but yes, this is a long gone venture...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Lolno, not even arguable. Medicines from the past 100-200 years have increased the average lifespan by several times. Vaccines and antibiotics in particular have saved countless lives and have all but wiped out some diseases. I owe my life to antibiotics, it's entirely possible I could have died during childhood without them.

Fossil fuels have unquestionable benefits, but they definitely don't come close to matching the benefits to humanity that medicine has. They have also caused a lot of suffering (some of which we are only just now starting to witness) as well.

The only reason that vaccines and antibiotics are possible is because of fossil fuels.

The entire world used to be agricultural. It was only with the invention of industrial farming equipment that humans were free to pursue knowledge work, including medical research. Hunger used to be a very real problem for the entire world. Industrial farming solved that problem.

 

[Ripken10]

The only reason that vaccines and antibiotics are possible is because of fossil fuels.

The entire world used to be agricultural. It was only with the invention of industrial farming equipment that humans were free to pursue knowledge work, including medical research. Hunger used to be a very real problem for the entire world. Industrial farming solved that problem.

I typically like your post...but I think we are getting quite a bit off topic now...

 

[Bocabear]

The estate of Hans Christen Anderson would dispute that.

Actually Frozen has absolutely NOTHING to do with The Snow Queen...the only similarity is there is snow and ice and a female character and a male character...other than that, it is completely unrelated... I wish they had actually done The Snow Queen...but instead we got this story about sisters... Which has nothing to do with Hans Christian Anderson's Story.

 

[Bocabear]

Yes, it's trolling when I point that learning should be for it's own sake and not to further some sort of grand scheme.

But this is exactly what the cartoon franchise addition does...it adds a grand scheme of merchandising to a pavilion that once taught you how the seas themselves were created...and how unexplored our seas are...and inspired us about what we can do in the future...now all the educational aspects are hidden behind cartoon fish and the learning is non-existant.... The original version taught in an entertaining way...it just needed some freshening up... not a rip and gut removing the whole soul of the pavilion...

 

[Goofyernmost]

I am glad siemens with stay as I love SSE. However, can they fix the horrible historical inaccuracy of Michelangelo lying down? That drives me crazy and I constantly embarrass my DW and DD every time when I yell out "thats not how he painted". Right @awheartsdw

I don't know if it's true or not, but, unless you have a photo of how he painted the ceiling... you don't either. This depiction is dated way, way before Disney ever attempted to recreate the scene. I'm 68 years old and remember being told that when I was a kid. I'm not sure how, at this point, anyone would know for sure. And does it really matter?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

It wasn't primarily industrial advancements that allowed breakthroughs in science and medicine. That had somewhat of an effect, but the biggest motivator was people fighting back against oppressive religion and government dictatorships. It became safer to make scientific discoveries without being punished by tyrannical religious zealots. And following the American and French revolutions, the rise of democratic ideals allowed education to become more readily available to the general public (increasing the number of brilliant minds), whereas previously it was limited to "divine" bloodlines.

Hunger is still a problem in the world (and it exists for almost the same reasons as the above). Countries that were able to combat tyrannical leaders in the past have achieved a bigger degree of comfort and wealth for the general public, compared to those still oppressed. And when that scale tips back out of balance (rise of powerful mega corporations for instance), even the successful countries begin to see an increase in hunger again.

 

[Goofyernmost]

As far as Sea Base Alpha is concerned, it was a very clever way to present what is primarily a giant aquarium. It wasn't, in my mind, an effort to point out that in the future there would be a zillion of these under the surface. If we get honest, you can watch fish swim around in a tank just so long before you go brain dead. This was an interesting way to introduce it. The Hydrolators were shear genius. Want to know why I think that they no longer exist? Because it was a genius creation and the folks, that primarily keep their I.Q.'s in a thimble, actually believed that they were submerging and returning. They have had lawsuits brought by people that decided that the change in pressure from one level to another caused them medical problems. It wasn't worth it to keep in operation, plus they might have been getting to the point of disrepair as well. The system could have continued working with this theme as a nice little fantasy part of the pavilion. It was nice that Nemo gave them a reason to reinstate the sea cabs and the introduction of the characters helped to "educate" kids in a way that they really didn't know they were being educated. Nemo was just a different Hydrolator.

 

[Mike S]

As far as Sea Base Alpha is concerned, it was a very clever way to present what is primarily a giant aquarium. It wasn't, in my mind, an effort to point out that in the future there would be a zillion of these under the surface. If we get honest, you can watch fish swim around in a tank just so long before you go brain dead. This was an interesting way to introduce it. The Hydrolators were shear genius. Want to know why I think that they no longer exist? Because it was a genius creation and the folks, that primarily keep their I.Q.'s in a thimble, actually believed that they were submerging and returning. They have had lawsuits brought by people that decided that the change in pressure from one level to another caused them medical problems. It wasn't worth it to keep in operation, plus they might have been getting to the point of disrepair as well. The system could have continued working with this theme as a nice little fantasy part of the pavilion. It was nice that Nemo gave them a reason to reinstate the sea cabs and the introduction of the characters helped to "educate" kids in a way that they really didn't know they were being educated. Nemo was just a different Hydrolator.

And yet there's no problem with a similar effect taking us miles below the surface to the cart station deep in the vaults of Gringotts.

 

[RoysCabin]

And yet there's no problem with a similar effect taking us miles below the surface to the cart station deep in the vaults of Gringotts.

I'm pretty sure Marty Sklar (think it was Marty?) has mentioned something about people suing over eardrum damages because Living Seas made their ears pop or something, but for one I believe he was joking, as there's no real record of lawsuits over it, and secondly he finished his statement about it with "I'd love to see that lawsuit", since all Disney would have to do is present its schematic and an overview of the attraction showing that the hydrolators barely traveled anywhere.

But yeah, that's really what made the theming of the pavilion so great: you really were just traveling to an aquarium (albeit one that's still the second biggest in the States, and many, many times larger than the average city's aquarium; it really is an engineering marvel), but by adding all the trappings of the original pavilion it felt like a much greater experience than just that, whereas now if you enter and exit through the gift shop to just see Sea Base you're not given that sensation and immersion anymore. Heck, plenty of working aquariums around North America have tried to do things similar to that by offering things like moving sidewalks through glass tunnels (the Ripley's aquarium in Toronto, great stuff), or by integrating 3D or IMAX films or whatever into the experience.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

I'm pretty sure Marty Sklar (think it was Marty?) has mentioned something about people suing over eardrum damages because Living Seas made their ears pop or something, but for one I believe he was joking, as there's no real record of lawsuits over it, and secondly he finished his statement about it with "I'd love to see that lawsuit", since all Disney would have to do is present its schematic and an overview of the attraction showing that the hydrolators barely traveled anywhere.

Yeah, that was Marty. People "complaining" about the change of pressure from descending in the hydrators even though they never dropped an inch.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

News flash- Hollywood pimping out remakes and sequels is not new. The Maltese Falcon? Remake. The Wizard of Oz? Not the first time that was adapted to film. His Girl Friday? Gender flipped remake, predating Ghostbusters by decades.

Never suggested that remakes are new, but that you have to admit, they're coming out in droves now. If you want to get real technical, then there is the argument that NOTHING is "original" anymore because it always bears structure similarities to something, somewhere.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Ah yes. The ol' "I didn't like it, so it sucked" argument

I'm guessing you thought it was a brilliant movie?

 

[Matt_Black]

I'm guessing you thought it was a brilliant movie?

Well, the Academy did, as did BAFTA, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the Annies, the Critics' Choice Awards...

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Well, the Academy did, as did BAFTA, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the Annies, the Critics' Choice Awards...

What was its completion? "The Croods," "Despicable Me 2," "Ernest & Celestine" and "The Wind Rises."? Disney will always retain a quality that is above and beyond its competitors. I'm not surprised it won awards. That being said, the movie was full of holes and from a filmmaking standpoint, left a lot to be desired. I wonder if it would be half the spectacle it was if you took away its soundtrack.

 

[Matt_Black]

What was its completion? "The Croods," "Despicable Me 2," "Ernest & Celestine" and "The Wind Rises."? Disney will always retain a quality that is above and beyond its competitors. That being said, the movie was full of holes and from a filmmaking standpoint, left a lot to be desired. I wonder if it would be half the spectacle it was if you took away its soundtrack.

Well, yeah. Much like other films, the soundtrack went hand in hand with the story. Mary Poppins probably wouldn't be nearly as beloved if you took out all the songs either.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Well, yeah. Much like other films, the soundtrack went hand in hand with the story. Mary Poppins probably wouldn't be nearly as beloved if you took out all the songs either.

Have you ever seen the re-cut MP trailer that makes it look like a horror film??

Fair enough. I know my dis-taste for Frozen is my own and I'm largely in the minority. I won't be able to forgive it for taking away Maelstrom, but I can sure avoid Arendelle when it makes it's way to DL.

 

[RoysCabin]

On the subject of remakes/reboots, it's absolutely true that remakes have been a thing since the creation of cinema (hey, one of Edison's earliest films was an adaptation of Frankenstein). However, I think it's also fair to point out that remakes take on a different character in the modern age due to the presence of home video/streaming services. A remake made during the 1940s-1970s, for example, wouldn't carry the same overtones of "cashing in on nostalgia" because the film it was based on would not be readily available for any fans to view unless it was getting a regular theatrical re-release, at least in some cases.

I've been wondering for awhile about the impact of home video and streaming on theme park, too, whether the push to create lands or attractions that completely replicate a film is misguided because people already have the DVDs at home (or have a Netflix account), or if that push is because people can so perfectly recite a film due to seeing it repeatedly at home, as opposed to older flicks where the audience would only be able to remember whatever aspects of them happened to stand out the most upon their first viewing.