Chape's World Update 5/5/07

[Chape19714]

Hola! Cinco de Mayo!

:lol:

Today, I have various updates from Epcot! I am not so happy to report that there will be no update next week, but there will be a HUGE update the week after!

Here we go!

Let's start at Spaceship Earth:

In the communication tunnel (just before the top), this new green laser has appeared, perhaps waiting to be re-programmed?

The new Project Tomorrow is GREAT! I really like the new globe. Here's a close-up:

Soarin's Queue is getting the rumored wall separating Fastpass from Stand-by, but until then, this seems to do the job (it runs the full length of the line)

By the way, A Happy 2nd Birthday to Soarin' (and LMAX)

A Cinco de Mayo Fiesta was in full swing over at Mexico!

Maelstrom's refurbishment has started, the shops after Maelstrom remain open.

China still has some re-painting to be done

Japan's tarps are down a bit more, showing more of the roof!

-I feel the need to state how dirty the Soarin' film has gotten, it's really bad, and I hope it's fixed soon. Impressions de France looked clearer.

-one of the China film screens was terribly out of focus.

-Gran Fiesta tour lines filled the queue house the entire day! :sohappy:

-Panchito, Donald, and Jose did a meet and greet together on the pyramid steps.

-The side "Wide screen" curtains in theater 2 at Universe of Energy are still missing...Disney, please bring them back, the effect is completely ruined without them!

-All and All, a great trip! See you at the World!
Well, that's about it! Thanks for reading!

ONLY wdwmagic.com and dlrp.fr have the rights to publish these photos. If you should need to publish these photos on a website not mentioned above, please obtain permission from me via PM. If you should want the photos in a larger size, please contact me via PM. Thanks!

 

[AndyP]

Great informative update as usual! Glad you're having so much fun at the world while I can't!

 

[benji]

Thanks for the photos. I have to say the work on the Soarin que is weird. I can't wait to see the finished que. The wall being put up is a example of how Disney just threw Soarin together and put it into Epcot. I never really thought it was that good of a ride. Maybe your right it just might be those blurry video screens. Every time I ride the video doesn't look good. The only cool thing about the ride is the ride it self, not the video. And come to think of it why show a video of California why not Florida. Florida has great views from the sky. They could have showcased our state light houses, everglades national park, and beach city's like Miami. And how long have the Japan tarps been up for? Sorry I got a little of subject. Great pics!:lookaroun

 

[napnet]

ah missed you by one day... great review... the laser thing was doing the same for us today

I posted a few more pics of the games at sse here (scroll down on the page) http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=178567

 

[disneypirate]

thanks for the update!

 

[DisneyPirate85]

Sorry to hear bout Soarin being so bad! We LOVED it last year and was looking forward to it again this year! Thanks for the update's......:wave:

 

[Champion]

Thanks for the photos. I have to say the work on the Soarin que is weird. I can't wait to see the finished que. The wall being put up is a example of how Disney just threw Soarin together and put it into Epcot. I never really thought it was that good of a ride. Maybe your right it just might be those blurry video screens. Every time I ride the video doesn't look good. The only cool thing about the ride is the ride it self, not the video. And come to think of it why show a video of California why not Florida. Florida has great views from the sky. They could have showcased our state light houses, everglades national park, and beach city's like Miami. And how long have the Japan tarps been up for? Sorry I got a little of subject. Great pics!:lookaroun

The problem with Soarin's queue is that single rider line never materialized. So it had a space, but it was never run because it didn't help. There were so many seats, it was easy to fill them with whatever was in line. Thats why its being changed to spread Fastpass and standby out more.

As far as the graininess of the video you are both mentioning, I agree. Though I do believe the original Soarin's video is in really bad shape as well. They need to add cleaning of the film to the regular maintanence of the ride. (Because digital is too much to ask for)

As far as changing it to Florida, the problem is that Florida doesn't have enough different scenes. Yes, there are nice things to see in FL. But they aren't all that different. With CA, you get anywhere from beaches to mountains to deserts and everywhere in between. A video based on the entire country is a better choice to ask for then one of just FL.

 

[imamouse]

Thanks for the short update. Looking forward to the full version next week!

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Thanks for the photos :wave:

 

[disneytopdog]

whats the deal with the china section. That painted tarp was up in September, and I think the Japan trp I think was up then also. Are they just painting it or rebulding them

 

[Figment4Ever]

We just got back from the world...
I noticed the laser on SSE (we actually stopped right in front of it) - and I didn't remember it from the past, but I also didn't realize it was new. I hope they do something with it, it seemed out of place just sitting there with no discernable form or meaning.

The wall at Soarin' felt very weird...actually the whole queue did. It was my first time riding it, and even with our fastpasses it took almost 30 minutes to get on the ride...and the queue was by far the most boring of any at Disney. (maybe I felt that way because we didn't wait more than 15 minutes for any other ride, thanks to careful planning and liberal uses of fastpasses. But still - the queue is SPARTAN and there's not even videos to keep you entertained, and then there was a hideously long line besides.

As for the ride itself - I thought it was well-done, but could still use some work. We were in the front row, so the "top" of the ride, and we could see the top of the screen - which kind of ruined some of the effect. Also, the cuts in the movie are VERY weird and don't blend into each other at all...it seems like it could be edited to be less jarring. As for the scents, they were very neat, but everything smelled like oranges to me - it felt like the same scent came out every time. (Friends that were with me say that's not true and there were evergreen and ocean scents, but if so, the oranges just overpowered it for me every time).

As for it being California instead of Florida, that's because it was imported (as-is) from Disneyland California for the 50th anniversary last year...same as Lights-Motors-Action is set in France because it was brought in from Disneyland Paris.

We ate at San Angel Inn on Cinco de Mayo - I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more going on, since that was the "theme" of the flower & garden festival this weekend. You could make your own flowers out of tissue paper and tehre were some extra decorations (shown by the OP) - but other than that I didn't see anything. It could have just been too hot though - we were in a rush to get all our last minute stuff in before leaving so I may have missed some of it.

We broke the Ellen ride Saturday morning (not sure what happened - but we had to get off in the middle of it) - so I'm not sure about the curtain bit, but if I understand what part you're talking about - why would they do that?!?!

 

[the-reason14]

The SSE laser thangy thang was there in march during my spring break trip, I noticed it was new too and out of place. Thanks for the pics, and it seems like theres alot of changes coming to soarin.

 

[haveyoumetmark]

Thanks for the update, Chape!

The tarps for the refurb in China show a picture of the building, or what it will look like when it's finished. Very cool, because they actually do this in China when the actual Chinese temples are under refurbishment in the Forbidden City.

 

[cptwife80]

I'm very happy to see someone is taking notice to Japan. I love that place and can't wait for it all to be done. Also seems like they have taken forever to do china... It had the tarp on it since I was down in October, hopefully it will be gone when I go again in October.

 

[Scar Junior]

I swear... every trip there's at least one country that's partially obstructed. While it sure is ugly, it's good to know they aren't being left to rot. Thanks for the update, Chape!

 

[~Tinkerbell~]

Thanks for the update and pictures! Looks like there's a lot going on in Epcot at the moment. Thanks!

 

[Fun2BFree]

Loved the photo update, Chape! Maybe the green laser isn't a new effect, but rather a fixed one? The Soarin' construction sign screams classic Epcot.

 

[brkgnews]

Is it just me, or does the Maelstrom construx wall seem to really cover a lot of area? I mean a lot of area before you actually get to the attraction. Maybe they're doing some facade work, too... or maybe they're using it as a staging area or even feeding stuff in and out through the waterfall opening?

 

[PhilharMagician]

Is it just me, or does the Maelstrom construx wall seem to really cover a lot of area? I mean a lot of area before you actually get to the attraction. Maybe they're doing some facade work, too... or maybe they're using it as a staging area or even feeding stuff in and out through the waterfall opening?

I was thinking the same thing. That wall comes all the way out to the entrance to Akerhaus restaurant. Maybe they are also going to do some work on the facade also.

It is hard to believe that Japan still has tarps and scafolding up. It has be in rehab for almost 2 years. They could have rebuilt the whole building faster.:shrug:

 

[Angelo-Titan]

Hi all, I just got back yesterday from Epcot also. As a huge Soarin fan, I have to also admit that the que, is kind of bland once you get past the large screens. And the wall is way out of place. Now I have to admit that they have to do something. I got to Epcot yesterday at 9:45 a.m. and even with light to moderate crowds yesterday the wait at Soarin was up to 30 minutes at 9:45. I know that if I get to Epcot later than 1 p.m. then there is no way I am going to ride Soarin. And that stinks, because it is such a great ride.

Plus I have noticed all of the dirt on the film. And there were some vertical lines on the film also.