I agree completely, and I think it's not so much the "memory of the attraction" replacing the reality of the attraction here. I think, and I know this has been a divisive issue around here so I won't go into depth, it's the reality of the performer being glossed over with his death. Obviously we can't go back in time two years, but I would bet that if we did and showed the general population an excerpt from this video about Michael Jackson as a space commander, most would have absolutely no interest in seeing it. Suddenly, however, the whole world is a Michael Jackson fan.
My point is that this doesn't have so much to do with people being nostalgic for Captain EO (although I'm sure there are plenty who are), I think it has to do with people being nostalgic for Michael Jackson. While Thriller, Billie Jean, etc., were a bit products of their time, they have still aged much better than Captain EO. I wonder what people who have never seen Captain EO (or haven't seen it in a long time) will think. I have showed several friends the videos on YouTube, and they've laughed for the duration, pointing out that it's one of the dumbest things they've ever seen. These people probably aren't representative of the general Disney-going population, but I think the point still stands.
I don't normally have a problem with nostalgia or with nostalgic aspects of WDW returning to the contemporary parks. I think Dreamfinder should return. I think the score to Tomorrow's Child would be fine on SpaceShip Earth. However, I limit my intake of nostalgia to nostalgia that is not self indulgent. Nostaliga merely for nostalgia's sake is dangerous because it implicitly concedes that we don't care if the parks improve--we're satisfied with old technology, old attractions, everything the way it was in 1971, 1982, 1994, or whatever year you thought Disney was at its pinnacle.
I disagree with that. I think nostalgia is only fine when it is embraced because there is a substantive quality to it that warrants retaining. With that retention should come improvements and refinements, adaptations to evolving standards of technology, and other such changes to make that nostalgia a representation of "the best possible" Disney.
There is no such quality in Captain EO as it will be returning. It's a dated attraction being brought back without any updates, and it's of poor quality (in many respects) by today's standards. Even after I get past the issues of bringing back a Michael Jackson attraction, that still doesn't sit well with me. The parks should be evolving, not stagnating or degrading. The rationale that "Honey I Shrunk the Audience sucks too" is not a legitimate rationale for bringing back EO. It's a cop out.
