Well, it certainly has been a long time since the last update. What say we continue our tour of EPCOT II?
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Branching leftward from Venture Port, we enter World Celebration. World Celebration is devoted to the wonders of our world, and an everlasting tribute to the powers that helped make this world what it is. World Celebration is surrounded by ponds and canals. In addition, you'll also find new flowing streams and small rocky waterfalls adding motion beneath the swaying of the tall trees, which also provide much needed shade to the area. Vibrant flowers along the grassy banks of the water add color to the area, while the reflections of Spaceship Earth and the surrounding buildings add even more life and visual interest to the plaza. The first building we come across is the glittering golden dome of...
"Innoventions" is a combination of the words "innovation" and "invention". Therefore, the exhibits presented here are exactly that, a cutting edge glimpse into the various future technologies and ideas of our ever and always changing world. In this tribute to the human spirit of innovation, we discover an interactive "museum" bursting with games, activities and exhibitions that connect us with the latest in real-world advancements, as well as with friends, family and beloved Disney characters - both real and virtual - like never before. Innoventions is divided into one unique exhibit after the next, all in focus on the wonder and imagination that we might use to better our tomorrow.
Stepping into the dome, the interior "show" of the pavilion is divided into a number of smaller exhibitions and larger attractions, all indoors, each built in focus and relation to an area of science, industry and discovery. This sweeping, two-level rotunda is beyond imagination and everyday reality - it is unbelievable in sight, scale and design. Whirring contraptions and peculiar sculptures fill the spacious interior of this inspired, breathtaking "museum." Abstract designs and murals, bright neon fixtures, and oddball furnishings act together in a perfect theatrical production.
We are greeted at the door by the owner of this "museum", one Tom Morrow. Tom is an Audio-Animatronics android voiced by Nathan Lane, who explains the concept of Innoventions in a comedic fashion, even performing an updated version of the Sherman Bros. classic "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from the Carousel of Progress.
Tucked away inside a special corner of Innoventions is an old friend from the early days of CommuniCore, SMRT-1. SMRT-1 is a purple and chrome robot set on a rotating pedestal surrounded by telephones, and he invites guests to play along in trivia and guessing games. When your turn comes up, SMRT-1 asks you (in its synthesized voice) to speak your answer loud and clear through the phone. It also spends some time ad-libbing and singing between games: "If I keep this up I might graduate from Solid State." Yes, this is a fully interactive animatronic, eager to carry on conversations with any passer-by. SMRT-1's headquarters are located steps away from the eating garden of the Stargate Restaurant. The Stargate Restaurant has all the classic fare like burgers, chicken nuggets, desserts and soft drinks. Dine outdoors under the cool shade of a metallic canopy, or indoors amid colorful ambiance and electronic marvels. The Stargate Restaurant can be found on the farthest right-hand side of Level One, but on the farthest left-hand side is the Digital Bazaar, represents an unexpected future for the modern department store. Imagine, for a moment, an incredible, seamless experience unifying the convenience and speed of online shopping with the fun and physicality of a day at the mall.
Twisting and twirling escalators and elevators serve as our passage into Level Two of Innoventions, bringing us mere inches away from those whirring gears and other contraptions. Once upstairs, the first exhibit we'll come across is perhaps, the kookiest of all the exhibits found here: Von Drake's House of Genius. What technological expo wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Disney's foremost genius on just about anything? Professor Ludwig Von Drake is, as described by Walt, "an eminent psychologist, renowned color expert, etymologist" and "the most sought after lecturer in the world." This so-called "House of Genius" is an unexpected delight - a look at the future, a future that appeals more to the cartoon denizens of Disney. A quick tour through the Hall of Invention shows a number of utterly useless inventions and ideas - back-scratching robots, googly-eyed trash cans that chow down on garbage, dancing wind-up toys the size of automobiles, you name it, it's there. Von Drake Labs on the other hand is an interactive playground for scientists of all ages to explore. Various contraptions and whirligigs invite hands-on discovery and nonsense, often at the expense of an unwilling Donald caught as a stubborn participant in the wrong place at the right time.
The lighthearted House of Genius ends in Von Drake's "Sing-Along Stadium," a small viewing chamber for those fabulous Sing-Along Songs, which the Professor co-hosted alongside his associates, Professor Owl and Jiminy Cricket. Throughout the day, all the episodes these three enigmatic figures hosted play on a loop, all of them remastered from their original VHS distribution. They are, in order of release date, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Heigh-Ho, The Bare Necessities, You Can Fly, Fun With Music, Under the Sea, I Love to Laugh, Be Our Guest, Friend Like Me, Circle of Life and Colors of the Wind. Of course, during the Festival of the Holidays, the Jiminy-hosted Very Merry Christmas Songs joins the rotation as well. Of course, if you wish to meet the Professor in person, he and Donald have their own meet-and-greet here!
Moving on, we come upon three more exhibits. First is City Builders. This exhibit allows its guests to sit at design stations and essentially build a city from the ground up. Starting in the current year and working your way up 100 years, you'll be able to create your own city using futuristic designs and your own customized layouts. Nearby that is a personal favorite of mine: Green Eyes. In a partnership with the Disney Conservation Fund, World Wide Fund for Nature, and Ocean Conservancy, Green Eyes focuses on what we can do, as well as what the world can do, to better preserve our incredible planet and its natural resources and beauty. In other words, it's a look at what we can do if we see the world through green eyes. Eco-friendly transit and food production are among the possible advancements in protecting the environment. Pollution-reducing methods and the use of less plastics are demonstrated. Diagrams and video presentations portray how, if in affect, these methods and ideas might improve our world in a detailed timeline.
The upstairs portion of Innoventions is also home to the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Labs. A more "futuristic" take on DCA's Blue Sky Cellar, it is in this place that guests can get in touch with their creative side and learn more about the art of Imagineering. Here now is a complete list of everything that you will be able to see and do here at the Blue Sky Cellar:
Finally, by combining state-of-the-art virtual-reality technology, physical sets and multi-sensory effects, including touch and smell, The VOID: Step Beyond Reality invites Innoventions visitors to become active participants in uniquely themed environments. Surrounded by 3D imagery and sound in an immersive story by ILMxLAB and The Void, brave heroes walk around freely without a tether as they explore an exciting new world. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, Ralph Breaks VR!, and Black Panther: Wakanda Escape are among the three featured adventures. Interact with popular characters and each other in a virtual environment designed to capture the groundbreaking technology - and the magic of illusion.
Steps away from Innoventions, you'll find another golden icon...one that looks a lot like some sort of spacecraft. It is, of course, the home of EPCOT II's Mission Statement...
In the grand style of the EPCOT Center original, New Horizons is a ride through time and space in the showcase of mankind’s crowning achievements - technology, transportation, communication, food, health, energy, and future habitats on land, undersea and in space. Taking off from the FuturePort, readied to "take the journey we've always dreamed of", we meet our narrators: a young couple (the granddaughter and son-in-law of the original Horizons narrator) eager to showcase what the future has in store. Brilliant dioramas populated with Audio-Animatronic figures and three-dimensional sets portray our world from on and under the sea, and well into outer space, a decided glimpse at life in the distant future. Our journey begins with a look at what past visionaries dreamed the future would be like from Jules Verne to sci-fi 1920s and 30s comic books to a futuristic 1950s. But of course, what the future truly holds is absolutely magnificent...
First, we soar through the urban Nova Cite, a Utopian metropolis. We then visit the crops and fields of Mesa Verde, once a barren desert turned oasis through future means of irrigation and farming. Seawater has become an excellent source of energy for the undersea-communities of Sea Castle. This incredible expansion of civilization has even reached our Milky Way with the Brava Centauri space station afloat among the stars and planets. In this future, and as it should hold true today, it does not matter whether we come from different races, backgrounds, cultures or religions, we all have the same aspirations and dreams. Together, this peaceful and unified future can be achieved.
We are treated to an even bigger and better adventure into the future with an ongoing message of coexisting with our fellow humans in a peaceful and unified world. Better yet, we are also given the opportunity to glance at our own future through the ride's spectacular finale: a simulated, "choose-your-own" journey back to the FuturePort. Via flight (or submarine), we can choose one of three methods: land, sea, or space... Often considered to be this park's masterpiece, New Horizons is the promise of a bigger and better future with an ongoing message of global unification and peace. If I may quote from our ride's narrator, "If we can dream it, we really can do it. And that's the most exciting part."
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Man, it feels good to be back! So, what did everybody think of Innoventions and New Horizons? I think they fit the World Celebration concept like a glove. BTW, I must say that most of the Innoventions concept comes direct from @MANEATINGWREATH's Wonders of Science from his excellent Mirror Disneyland. I say "most of" because two concepts--specifically, the "If We Can Dream It" Labs and City Builders (and technically, the name "Green Eyes")--come from a concept for a "New Horizons Pavilion", created for the 2016 House Cup Competition by the following: @disneydf, @GrandCanyonConcourse, @Fox&Hound, @Brer Panther, @Adam Snider, @deere839, @Tony the Tigger, @Steel City Magic, @Mattyice16, @DarthMileZ and @spacemt354, so all credit goes out to all these fine people!
So, there's still one more pavilion left to see in World Celebration, and we shall get to that in the next post. Until then, please feel free to leave any and all comments or feedback you may have!
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World Celebration
Branching leftward from Venture Port, we enter World Celebration. World Celebration is devoted to the wonders of our world, and an everlasting tribute to the powers that helped make this world what it is. World Celebration is surrounded by ponds and canals. In addition, you'll also find new flowing streams and small rocky waterfalls adding motion beneath the swaying of the tall trees, which also provide much needed shade to the area. Vibrant flowers along the grassy banks of the water add color to the area, while the reflections of Spaceship Earth and the surrounding buildings add even more life and visual interest to the plaza. The first building we come across is the glittering golden dome of...
Innoventions
"Innoventions" is a combination of the words "innovation" and "invention". Therefore, the exhibits presented here are exactly that, a cutting edge glimpse into the various future technologies and ideas of our ever and always changing world. In this tribute to the human spirit of innovation, we discover an interactive "museum" bursting with games, activities and exhibitions that connect us with the latest in real-world advancements, as well as with friends, family and beloved Disney characters - both real and virtual - like never before. Innoventions is divided into one unique exhibit after the next, all in focus on the wonder and imagination that we might use to better our tomorrow.
Stepping into the dome, the interior "show" of the pavilion is divided into a number of smaller exhibitions and larger attractions, all indoors, each built in focus and relation to an area of science, industry and discovery. This sweeping, two-level rotunda is beyond imagination and everyday reality - it is unbelievable in sight, scale and design. Whirring contraptions and peculiar sculptures fill the spacious interior of this inspired, breathtaking "museum." Abstract designs and murals, bright neon fixtures, and oddball furnishings act together in a perfect theatrical production.
We are greeted at the door by the owner of this "museum", one Tom Morrow. Tom is an Audio-Animatronics android voiced by Nathan Lane, who explains the concept of Innoventions in a comedic fashion, even performing an updated version of the Sherman Bros. classic "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from the Carousel of Progress.
~ Level One ~
First, the House of the Future and Apple Exhibition, the former being an updated take on a Disneyland classic, and the latter hosted by the multinational Apple Inc., preview the up and coming best in personal living, consumer electronics, computer software, and online communication. The Tesla Showroom specializes in electric car displays and, through Tesla, Inc.'s Solar City subsidiary, solar panel manufacturing and use. The "If We Can Dream It" Labs are an interactive design laboratory which enables guests to create new technology that will be useful into the 21st century and beyond. These laboratories will set guests up at specific design stations for a variety of technology of the 21st century. If you're interested in designing technology for outer space, you venture to the space port and with assist from design guides, follow the "story" on each design studio to help build technology for the future. For instance, the space port story - a group of explorers are on the Moon and their communications are lost. You are given three options to see how you can restore the communication and you work together with friends and family to try and solve the mystery and get the communication back by creating new solutions to the problems. It's an interactive exhibit that actually requires critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning, making it a unique location in EPCOT II and something that embodies the edutainment values of the original theme park.
Tucked away inside a special corner of Innoventions is an old friend from the early days of CommuniCore, SMRT-1. SMRT-1 is a purple and chrome robot set on a rotating pedestal surrounded by telephones, and he invites guests to play along in trivia and guessing games. When your turn comes up, SMRT-1 asks you (in its synthesized voice) to speak your answer loud and clear through the phone. It also spends some time ad-libbing and singing between games: "If I keep this up I might graduate from Solid State." Yes, this is a fully interactive animatronic, eager to carry on conversations with any passer-by. SMRT-1's headquarters are located steps away from the eating garden of the Stargate Restaurant. The Stargate Restaurant has all the classic fare like burgers, chicken nuggets, desserts and soft drinks. Dine outdoors under the cool shade of a metallic canopy, or indoors amid colorful ambiance and electronic marvels. The Stargate Restaurant can be found on the farthest right-hand side of Level One, but on the farthest left-hand side is the Digital Bazaar, represents an unexpected future for the modern department store. Imagine, for a moment, an incredible, seamless experience unifying the convenience and speed of online shopping with the fun and physicality of a day at the mall.
~ Level Two ~
Twisting and twirling escalators and elevators serve as our passage into Level Two of Innoventions, bringing us mere inches away from those whirring gears and other contraptions. Once upstairs, the first exhibit we'll come across is perhaps, the kookiest of all the exhibits found here: Von Drake's House of Genius. What technological expo wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Disney's foremost genius on just about anything? Professor Ludwig Von Drake is, as described by Walt, "an eminent psychologist, renowned color expert, etymologist" and "the most sought after lecturer in the world." This so-called "House of Genius" is an unexpected delight - a look at the future, a future that appeals more to the cartoon denizens of Disney. A quick tour through the Hall of Invention shows a number of utterly useless inventions and ideas - back-scratching robots, googly-eyed trash cans that chow down on garbage, dancing wind-up toys the size of automobiles, you name it, it's there. Von Drake Labs on the other hand is an interactive playground for scientists of all ages to explore. Various contraptions and whirligigs invite hands-on discovery and nonsense, often at the expense of an unwilling Donald caught as a stubborn participant in the wrong place at the right time.
The lighthearted House of Genius ends in Von Drake's "Sing-Along Stadium," a small viewing chamber for those fabulous Sing-Along Songs, which the Professor co-hosted alongside his associates, Professor Owl and Jiminy Cricket. Throughout the day, all the episodes these three enigmatic figures hosted play on a loop, all of them remastered from their original VHS distribution. They are, in order of release date, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Heigh-Ho, The Bare Necessities, You Can Fly, Fun With Music, Under the Sea, I Love to Laugh, Be Our Guest, Friend Like Me, Circle of Life and Colors of the Wind. Of course, during the Festival of the Holidays, the Jiminy-hosted Very Merry Christmas Songs joins the rotation as well. Of course, if you wish to meet the Professor in person, he and Donald have their own meet-and-greet here!
Moving on, we come upon three more exhibits. First is City Builders. This exhibit allows its guests to sit at design stations and essentially build a city from the ground up. Starting in the current year and working your way up 100 years, you'll be able to create your own city using futuristic designs and your own customized layouts. Nearby that is a personal favorite of mine: Green Eyes. In a partnership with the Disney Conservation Fund, World Wide Fund for Nature, and Ocean Conservancy, Green Eyes focuses on what we can do, as well as what the world can do, to better preserve our incredible planet and its natural resources and beauty. In other words, it's a look at what we can do if we see the world through green eyes. Eco-friendly transit and food production are among the possible advancements in protecting the environment. Pollution-reducing methods and the use of less plastics are demonstrated. Diagrams and video presentations portray how, if in affect, these methods and ideas might improve our world in a detailed timeline.
The upstairs portion of Innoventions is also home to the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Labs. A more "futuristic" take on DCA's Blue Sky Cellar, it is in this place that guests can get in touch with their creative side and learn more about the art of Imagineering. Here now is a complete list of everything that you will be able to see and do here at the Blue Sky Cellar:
- Imagineering Exhibit Center: View concept art, models and blueprints for new and upcoming developments at Disney parks worldwide. The Exhibit Center also features a preview film that features Imagineers talking about the upcoming attractions, which is updated routinely as construction progresses.
- Animation Academy: In just 30 minutes, you'll be able to draw one of your favorite Disney characters. This is a similar set-up to the Animation Academy over at Disneyland Park.
- Living Easels: Use a giant digital easel to create your own artistic masterpieces.
- Disney's Song Studio: The long-lost art of WDW Forever CDs is back! At the Song Studio, you can make your very own personalized musical souvenir. For just $20, you can pick ten tracks of any Disneyland Maine park audio -- background music, ride themes, ride narrations, etc. -- and put them together to make your own CD. I already mentioned that a similar merchandise option is available at Toontown Music Co. at Disneyland Park, but Disney's Song Studio is exclusively Disney park music, whereas Toontown Music Co. is open to music from all kinds of Disney media.
- The Amazing Destini: The Amazing Destini a figure that entertained guests at the 2011 D23 Expo. This is a full-fledged real-time AA figure. And to be honest, you gotta see him to believe him!
- CyberSpace Mountain: In this beloved part of the Blue Sky Labs, reborn for a new generation, you can personally design your very own roller-coaster. You can pick out layouts, settings and themes, and completely customize what the cars will go along--loops, corkscrews, hills, the works. Whether you're more "chill" or more "thrill", you can make it as tame or as white-knuckle as you want! Even better, you can step inside a simulator and take your creation for a test-run! The cylindrical simulator is able to capture the exact movement and direction of the entire coaster, as designed by the armchair Imagineers themselves!
- Imagineering the Future: At Imagineering the Future, you can achieve a dream that I'm sure many Disney fans have dreamed of: designing your very own Disney park! You can pick and choose elements from Disney parks worldwide, even those attractions that aren't with us anymore. In order to get the most out of anything, the restaurants and shops can be filled in automatically, and the foliage can be added in automatically, too. In addition, if you don't want to pick and choose, you can use pre-made sets (like MK's Main Street, DLP's Fantasyland and all that other stuff). You can even adjust the exteriors to your liking, too! And the best part? After you're done, you can step into a simulator and explore the park yourself! But if you don't want the fun to end, no sweat. Once you're done creating, as you're inside the simulator, a special thumbdrive of your park is made, and it can be hooked up to one of your gaming systems or your computer so you can continue to explore your park!
Finally, by combining state-of-the-art virtual-reality technology, physical sets and multi-sensory effects, including touch and smell, The VOID: Step Beyond Reality invites Innoventions visitors to become active participants in uniquely themed environments. Surrounded by 3D imagery and sound in an immersive story by ILMxLAB and The Void, brave heroes walk around freely without a tether as they explore an exciting new world. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, Ralph Breaks VR!, and Black Panther: Wakanda Escape are among the three featured adventures. Interact with popular characters and each other in a virtual environment designed to capture the groundbreaking technology - and the magic of illusion.
Steps away from Innoventions, you'll find another golden icon...one that looks a lot like some sort of spacecraft. It is, of course, the home of EPCOT II's Mission Statement...
New Horizons
In the grand style of the EPCOT Center original, New Horizons is a ride through time and space in the showcase of mankind’s crowning achievements - technology, transportation, communication, food, health, energy, and future habitats on land, undersea and in space. Taking off from the FuturePort, readied to "take the journey we've always dreamed of", we meet our narrators: a young couple (the granddaughter and son-in-law of the original Horizons narrator) eager to showcase what the future has in store. Brilliant dioramas populated with Audio-Animatronic figures and three-dimensional sets portray our world from on and under the sea, and well into outer space, a decided glimpse at life in the distant future. Our journey begins with a look at what past visionaries dreamed the future would be like from Jules Verne to sci-fi 1920s and 30s comic books to a futuristic 1950s. But of course, what the future truly holds is absolutely magnificent...
First, we soar through the urban Nova Cite, a Utopian metropolis. We then visit the crops and fields of Mesa Verde, once a barren desert turned oasis through future means of irrigation and farming. Seawater has become an excellent source of energy for the undersea-communities of Sea Castle. This incredible expansion of civilization has even reached our Milky Way with the Brava Centauri space station afloat among the stars and planets. In this future, and as it should hold true today, it does not matter whether we come from different races, backgrounds, cultures or religions, we all have the same aspirations and dreams. Together, this peaceful and unified future can be achieved.
We are treated to an even bigger and better adventure into the future with an ongoing message of coexisting with our fellow humans in a peaceful and unified world. Better yet, we are also given the opportunity to glance at our own future through the ride's spectacular finale: a simulated, "choose-your-own" journey back to the FuturePort. Via flight (or submarine), we can choose one of three methods: land, sea, or space... Often considered to be this park's masterpiece, New Horizons is the promise of a bigger and better future with an ongoing message of global unification and peace. If I may quote from our ride's narrator, "If we can dream it, we really can do it. And that's the most exciting part."
===========================================================================
Man, it feels good to be back! So, what did everybody think of Innoventions and New Horizons? I think they fit the World Celebration concept like a glove. BTW, I must say that most of the Innoventions concept comes direct from @MANEATINGWREATH's Wonders of Science from his excellent Mirror Disneyland. I say "most of" because two concepts--specifically, the "If We Can Dream It" Labs and City Builders (and technically, the name "Green Eyes")--come from a concept for a "New Horizons Pavilion", created for the 2016 House Cup Competition by the following: @disneydf, @GrandCanyonConcourse, @Fox&Hound, @Brer Panther, @Adam Snider, @deere839, @Tony the Tigger, @Steel City Magic, @Mattyice16, @DarthMileZ and @spacemt354, so all credit goes out to all these fine people!
So, there's still one more pavilion left to see in World Celebration, and we shall get to that in the next post. Until then, please feel free to leave any and all comments or feedback you may have!
