mikejs78
Well-Known Member
I would love it if they rethemed the Seas Pavillion as the Marine Life Institute from Finding Dory. And made the ride about Dory and Nemo touring the institute learning about Marine life.
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News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?
- Thread starter djkidkaz
- Start date
tirian
Well-Known Member
You both make great points, but I’ve attended a few of those shows. There’s real stuff out there that’s similar to what you see in movies, and it’s completely different to experience it in person. Heck, I can watch shows online too, but it’s still a different experience from live theater.
I’m not saying those exhibits would be E-tickets. I’m saying they could’ve filled in gaps to make Future World feel less hollow. But the gaps don’t matter anymore, because WDI is simply removing them with the new spine. And there will be less to do in Epcot 2024 than in Epcot 1994.
tirian
Well-Known Member
Remember, “tech” wasn’t the original business model for Epcot. None of the original pavilions showcased tech for its own sake; and when Horizons opened, it was more about possibilities than trade show tech.
Inspiration, discovery, optimism, and world culture formed EPCOT Center’s business model.
Yes, many of the original attractions were products of late-70s planning, and looked hokey by the early 90s. But the themes of human progress and cooperation are still important today—some fans think they’re more important as the Internet has brought out the worst in a few loud people of all persuasions. Cynicism, not optimism, controls the media cycle we live in.
Now Epcot is going to be Magic Kingdom 2.0 to showcase cartoons and comic book characters, because execs have decided that’s the only way to build a theme park. Corporate cynicism has won: the idea that fans are too stupid to appreciate anything but fantasy characters, despite Epcot’s success for 35 years.
Epcot was never about tech. It was about celebrating our heritage and discovering our future in the real world. It was the last product of Walt Disney Productions to serve Walt’s crazy ideas of making money while also having a higher purpose,* and it wasn’t even the city he had actually planned.
*as seen in his determination to make animation a respectable art form, to make TV a place for movie-quality storytelling, to build a park where families could have fun together, and to build a prototype city to show the world what could be done. The man wasn’t perfect, but all his business plans served higher ideals than coldly making money.
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starri42
Well-Known Member
And it had the General Electric logo slapped everywhere.
tirian
Well-Known Member
Because they sponsored it, as was the typical corporate way of doing things at the time.
Incidentally, the original script was an even more blatant infomercial for GE, and the company’s CEO vetoed it because he wanted it to be about human progress, not his company.
note2001
Well-Known Member
The days of "Wow! What if... " are gone in the days of Disney. Dreaming about the future is out and being fed the narrative is in.
It's all about social media and oversharing. Cue the Instagram walls, YouTube postings of of events and Drinking around the World. They want others to see and desire to copy or one-up the experience. Even the merchandise is now reflecting this attitude.
Disney still wants the place to look great but for now we've gone from a society of dreams and science to one all about the instantaneous gratification of the party and showing off. It's fun but wears out quickly in my book. I still look to make rich memories and I know eventually society will come back around to this.
Dreaming has changed to being fed what to think. The new shows, fireworks or fountain based, all force the stories of the past onto us with projections and narration and eliminate the internal self-interpretation.
If we see a new fountain in the place of FON here it won't be just a bunch of pretty jets dancing to music. It will have a line of "Remember, Disney is great, now show your friends."
I fear for Spaceship Earth and what updates they will do to it.
It's all about social media and oversharing. Cue the Instagram walls, YouTube postings of of events and Drinking around the World. They want others to see and desire to copy or one-up the experience. Even the merchandise is now reflecting this attitude.
Disney still wants the place to look great but for now we've gone from a society of dreams and science to one all about the instantaneous gratification of the party and showing off. It's fun but wears out quickly in my book. I still look to make rich memories and I know eventually society will come back around to this.
Dreaming has changed to being fed what to think. The new shows, fireworks or fountain based, all force the stories of the past onto us with projections and narration and eliminate the internal self-interpretation.
If we see a new fountain in the place of FON here it won't be just a bunch of pretty jets dancing to music. It will have a line of "Remember, Disney is great, now show your friends."
I fear for Spaceship Earth and what updates they will do to it.
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Exactly. A hugely important point.
The old remotely tech trade show was a small display in Futurecom of near future / new AT&T products.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
But there will be more of your favorite Disney®, Pixar® and select superhero movies, because we can’t watch those just anywhere.
*Q*
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t exactly say it was everywhere, there were a couple as you enter the pavilion and couple at the end of the ride. With an appliance or two in the ride itself subtly branded as G.E.
Incorrect.
I'm not familiar with the organizational aspect of The Walt Disney Co. Do they have a Dept. that looks after the historical/legacy preservation of Disney? I wonder if the people who make these decisions consult the archives for reference?
It appears that it's all about "cool" and "hip" these days. For many, Disney Parks are much more than an image on social media. The fountain meant something, the way it was dedicated says it all. If I wanted a "cool" fountain I'd go to Las Vegas!
If they decided to whack it, they better build something special, something that has a meaning, something that is more than a profitable update.
I understand that EPCOT is supposed to evolve, not decline.
It appears that it's all about "cool" and "hip" these days. For many, Disney Parks are much more than an image on social media. The fountain meant something, the way it was dedicated says it all. If I wanted a "cool" fountain I'd go to Las Vegas!
If they decided to whack it, they better build something special, something that has a meaning, something that is more than a profitable update.
I understand that EPCOT is supposed to evolve, not decline.
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
I actually only remember the plasma ball logo at the ride exit... I thought the sponsorship was very low-key... Even the Living Seas was more blatant about it's sponsor company.
tirian
Well-Known Member
Nemo! Nemo! Where are you?
Donald! Donald! Where are you?
Remy! Remy! Where are you?
Etc.
tirian
Well-Known Member
No, because — sadly enough — they don’t care. Not a single leader in the current exec leadership team cares about anything except owning the most brands in modern entertainment. Quality is iffy (e.g. Nutcracker, Disney channel); legacy doesn’t matter (e.g. censoring old cartoons that are products of their time, using the Disney Channel Mickey in the ride); new brands are exploited to death (Star Wars, and soon Marvel).
No one cares about the company’s history or traditional importance except how the nostalgia can be used to sell more stuff.
Iger was a weatherman who came to Disney when Eisner bought ABC. Chapek oversaw the conversion of Disney Stores from the classic experience to plastic toys.
But lest I sound cynical, I’ve simply accepted this sad fact. I keep the “Magic” and wonder alive by watching Walt’s classics, and by choosing to overlook the greed and simply have fun when I’m in parks. Plus, I visit many other locations around the world to keep theme park entertainment in perspective.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Does the closure include the SpectacuLAB?? Because that show was honestly pretty good! Loved those science students/actors. Very cool especially for kids.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
No, because — sadly enough — they don’t care. Not a single leader in the current exec leadership team cares about anything except owning the most brands in modern entertainment. Quality is iffy (e.g. Nutcracker, Disney channel); legacy doesn’t matter (e.g. censoring old cartoons that are products of their time, using the Disney Channel Mickey in the ride); new brands are exploited to death (Star Wars, and soon Marvel).
No one cares about the company’s history or traditional importance except how the nostalgia can be used to sell more stuff.
Iger was a weatherman who came to Disney when Eisner bought ABC. Chapek oversaw the conversion of Disney Stores from the classic experience to plastic toys.
But lest I sound cynical, I’ve simply accepted this sad fact. I keep the “Magic” and wonder alive by watching Walt’s classics, and by choosing to overlook the greed and simply have fun when I’m in parks. Plus, I visit many other locations around the world to keep theme park entertainment in perspective.
Just remember what someone in another thread told me recently, if Disney tries to go back to they way they used to run the parks it would result in retirees not being able to pay their bills. Think of the elderly when you criticize Disney's next big money grabbing move.
ShoalFox
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Spectaculab has been closed for a while now.
Princess Leia
Well-Known Member
Funny you should mention the Astuter Computer Revue- the only known footage was recently uploaded to Youtube:
themeparkuniversity.com
First Video of Epcot's Astuter Computer Revue Surfaces in Over 35 Years - Theme Park University
Are you a completist when it comes to extinct attractions? There are plenty of us out there and I’m fascinated with rides and shows that no longer exist. Even more so, those that seem to have vanished in video form over the years. After a while, you give up hope that any kind of recording Read...