Captain EO final show on 12/6 - Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival to be the replacement

[RSoxNo1]

Does it even HAVE a future, It would be MUCH more profitable as the EPCOT Resort and Casino...

I've been a Jim Hill defender on these boards, so consider this a rare deviation from that.

When the rumors for Hollywood Studios surfaced (Star Wars & Pixar) Jim said many things like (paraphrasing) "unfortunately this means the studio identity of the park will be going away". It took over a decade for the park to get to that state with things slowly being removed and the park becoming increasingly disjointed.

Did people hold MGM/DHS in such a high regard that the studios component was beloved? Was the state of disrepair that the park has become result in people not caring about the change in direction? Personally, I'm 100% in favor of the new direction of Hollywood Studios. I don't know that it will be particularly cohesive, but it will be more like Universal Studios where it's a collection of great attractions.

With Epcot, I think the stripping down of that park is well underway. Most of the decisions made in the park over the last 10 years have been steps backwards and the park's attendance is only just now passing what it was in 1997. We've all seen the Modern Marvels when they say that Epcot needed thrill rides, and perhaps that was true. But did that solve the problem?

There is very little about Epcot now that creates a sense of wonderment, and we haven't seen anything in the form of quantifiable rumors that indicate this is going to change. We've seen far more evidence that they will look for attendance boosts tied to festivals or poor thematic fits (Norway).

Fixing Hollywood Studios is different than fixing Epcot. Hollywood Studios is almost getting a clean slate. With Epcot, I think it needs to be done piecemeal.

I'd like to see overhauls to Energy and Imagination as well as updates to Living with the Land and the Spaceship Earth descent. Energy and Imagination need to become family friendly D/E-tickets, and none of these additions should have ties to existing intellectual properties. I would make Innoventions an area for characters to educate younger guests about technology. I think this would be a proper way to integrate characters into the park. That is unfortunately unavoidable.

Following these changes, the character eviction process elsewhere in the park has to begin. Start with Finding Nemo, then the Three Caballeros, and finally Frozen. Replace these attractions with alternatives that better fit the theme of discovery.

 

[Baloo62]

I am a lower school STEM instructor by profession. Given the national push for STEM initiatives at all grade levels, it amazes me that Epcot has not capitalized on such hands-on experiences as engineering and robotics, for example. This, to me, is a perfect fit for Innoventions, if nothing else. Disney has to look no further than the science and/or children's museums found in every major city. During a summer trip to Dallas, we enjoyed a trip to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. I was enormously impressed with the second floor in particular where there were enough STEM-related activities to keep people of all ages engaged for hours. Surely Disney has enough money to pull that off and keep the experiences fresh and always changing. And I would think the opportunity for corporate sponsorship would be a snap (i.e. Lego or K'Nex). It would also be in keeping with the foundational Mission Statement of Epcot. Come on Disney, you can make learning fun and entertaining! If I can do it in my classroom every day, surely you can. Change one of the Innoventions buildings to "STEMulations"....just give me credit for the name.

 

[Jon81uk]

Can we all agree that Epcot has the scariest future of any Disney Park in the world?

There has been speculation that by 2021 Epcot will have the lowest attendance of all the WDW parks....

 

[dizda]

I am a lower school STEM instructor by profession. Given the national push for STEM initiatives at all grade levels, it amazes me that Epcot has not capitalized on such hands-on experiences as engineering and robotics, for example. This, to me, is a perfect fit for Innoventions, if nothing else. Disney has to look no further than the science and/or children's museums found in every major city. During a summer trip to Dallas, we enjoyed a trip to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. I was enormously impressed with the second floor in particular where there were enough STEM-related activities to keep people of all ages engaged for hours. Surely Disney has enough money to pull that off and keep the experiences fresh and always changing. And I would think the opportunity for corporate sponsorship would be a snap (i.e. Lego or K'Nex). It would also be in keeping with the foundational Mission Statement of Epcot. Come on Disney, you can make learning fun and entertaining! If I can do it in my classroom every day, surely you can. Change one of the Innoventions buildings to "STEMulations"....just give me credit for the name.

I think that you have hit on one of the big problems with Epcot (and in particular Future World) today: every decent sized American city has at least a children's museum or science museum or both. Many of the types of activities and displays that once could have been used to fill pavilions and create a sense of wonder are available at the local museum. I think that Disney understands this but instead of trying harder to develop unique attractions uses this as a reason to take the easy route with Epcot.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

I tried to watch EO during my last trip to WDW. I didn't even make it through the pre-show. I got bored and hopped a bus to Epcot to get some dinner. Maybe it was a good show after all, but I'll never know. Oh well.

It isn't. It's an awful show, and all parties involved should feel ashamed at the thought of its existence.

And while I would infinitely prefer to view the Pixar shorts than be subjected to EO even just once more, the decision to replace it with said films is indefensible. There can only be one plausible explanation: that these decisions are being made on the fly... a reactionary process void of any long-term vision.

EO should never have come back in the first place, but this replacement is doubling down on the poor decisions of yesterday.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think that you have hit on one of the big problems with Epcot (and in particular Future World) today: every decent sized American city has at least a children's museum or science museum or both. Many of the types of activities and displays that once could have been used to fill pavilions and create a sense of wonder are available at the local museum. I think that Disney understands this but instead of trying harder to develop unique attractions uses this as a reason to take the easy route with Epcot.

I think you are overstating the availability of museums to the average american. If you live in a large metro area yes but in suburbia not so much.

 

[French Quarter]

You must not have Netflix.

I do but I didn't pay for the 4D and preshow options.

 

[French Quarter]

Does anyone know which shorts will be part of this attraction? I think it would be cool if they used the Donald Duck short "Working for Peanuts." It was previously shown at the Magic Kingdom with their Magic Journeys theater. It was also re-released in 3D with Meet the Robinsons in 2007. After watching the short again, I think it would work well with the 4D special effects. Also, it's nice that Chip and Dale are nearby the Imagination pavilion for meet and greets.

They have not said...other than they are Pixar shorts.

 

[dizda]

I think you are overstating the availability of museums to the average american. If you live in a large metro area yes but in suburbia not so much.

But it is a lot easier for the average American family to hop in the car for a trip to the nearest city than to take a trip to Orlando. It is probably much cheaper too. I think that the family that would have loved to visit Epcot in 1987 would be the family visiting museums today.

 

[Chris82]

But it is a lot easier for the average American family to hop in the car for a trip to the nearest city than to take a trip to Orlando. It is probably much cheaper too. I think that the family that would have loved to visit Epcot in 1987 would be the family visiting museums today.

There's no reason Disney couldn't do science and technology bigger, better, and more awesome, though

 

[ford91exploder]

But it is a lot easier for the average American family to hop in the car for a trip to the nearest city than to take a trip to Orlando. It is probably much cheaper too. I think that the family that would have loved to visit Epcot in 1987 would be the family visiting museums today.

You might be surprised at how expensive a museum visit is if you do not live in the city, 20-40 bucks for parking, figure tickets at 30 each meals plus gas and figure a 2-3 hour ride each way. It aint cheap.

 

[ford91exploder]

There's no reason Disney couldn't do science and technology bigger, better, and more awesome, though

Exactly all that is missing is the will and desire to do it!

 

[admiral-ari-x]

Can we all agree that Epcot has the scariest future of any Disney Park in the world?

You can say that again :s As my favorite park on the resort other than MK, I really hope this park gets the love it deserves, and soon! *CoughcoughactuallyusetheimaginationpavilionforsomethingmeaningfulCOUGHusetheWoLpavilionCOUGHfixfutureworldingeneralCOUGHCOUGH*

Sorry, I go into coughing fits when I get worried

 

[lazyboy97o]

But it is a lot easier for the average American family to hop in the car for a trip to the nearest city than to take a trip to Orlando. It is probably much cheaper too. I think that the family that would have loved to visit Epcot in 1987 would be the family visiting museums today.

So because others copied Disney then Disney should have just given up?

 

[TubaGeek]

I do but I didn't pay for the 4D and preshow options.

Dude, this makes Shrek 4-D look like Forbidden Journey.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Dude, this makes Shrek 4-D look like Forbidden Journey.

Yeah, some people give Disney a free pass to easily. I personally think this update is fine if it is temporary for six months until Disney can FINALLY close down the entire Imagination Pavilion for a full redo once Soarin and Frozen are open and they can spare the capacity. Anything more than that is totally unacceptable. For now it is reasonable as some capacity for the park and I think worthy of one visit--incidentally, I also deemed the EO Tribute worthy of one visit...

 

[RSoxNo1]

There has been speculation that by 2021 Epcot will have the lowest attendance of all the WDW parks....

I think it could be sooner than that, depending on how quickly Star Wars comes online.

 

[dizda]

So because others copied Disney then Disney should have just given up?

No, that was not what I said. In my original post, I said that the growth in science museums gives Disney an excuse to go the easy route rather than trying to be more creative. Instead of adding an attraction, they can say, "Well people can see that at a science museum and we are not a science museum." The proper response would be, "People can see that at a science museum; what can we do in terms of science education that a museum can't do?" Instead, though, they take the easy route of a film festival and empty pavilions.

 

[dizda]

You might be surprised at how expensive a museum visit is if you do not live in the city, 20-40 bucks for parking, figure tickets at 30 each meals plus gas and figure a 2-3 hour ride each way. It aint cheap.

By that accounting, even a one-day Disney trip is unaffordable to the average family. Add the airfare or gas to Orlando, hotel, and park tickets, and a museum visit is very affordable. Most science and children's museums also offer family memberships that cut the cost even for a single trip or include parking (if it is not already free with admission) or some other freebies, such as reciprocal memberships at partner museums.

 

[dizda]

Exactly all that is missing is the will and desire to do it!

I do not disagree that Disney can and should do science bigger and better. What I was saying is that the number of science and discovery museums nowadays gives them an excuse to be lazy when they should be inspired to do better. Because of the museums, they know that they cannot simply do what they could have done 30 years ago and gotten "wow" reactions--because people have seen those things at local museums. However, instead of trying harder, Disney can point to the museums and say that the museums are doing science and technology.