Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II)

[Pixiedustmaker]

They could have transitioned into the ride that way with a solarium type scene and that could have been filled with the welcome banners and some characters.

I was thinking more along the lines of something almost completely transparent. For example, they make acrylic domes of a certain size:

And I think that acrylic can basically be seamlessly solvent welded together, so why not make an acrylic bubble large enough to house, as you suggest, the welcoming scene. What a great transition! You'd have the topiaries, then what looks like more grassy hills, but with the animatronics singing, banners . . . etc. Obviously, when it rains the dome would become visible, but that would be an attraction in itself.

You could put the air conditioning vents in the floor, so that when guests enter the dome the temperature drops a bit.

If they ever wanted to make it snow inside of an attraction, I could them using a gigantic acrylic dome room, the snow particle hit the sides of the room and just run down to gutters along the edges and are recycled into snow.

They're thinking about putting a dome over Houston, though obviously a pure acrylic dome would be very expensive for a city.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/other-shows-mega-engineering-videos.htm

 

[Omnispace]

With LEDs, the spectrum is so narrow that the lights don't have that warm feel, which I think a lot of us associate with Christmases gone past.

Yes - unfortunately the color rendition for LED lighting is not quite there yet - there are still gaps in the spectrum. Even though they can mix different LED's to fill-in different colors they still don't have that wonderful "glow" of incandescent. Another thing I find distracting about LED's is that their light is very harsh -- perhaps because of the 60hz cycle they operate on. There are better quality LED's out there but because of their cost are generally not they type you would find in a Christmas string.

I thought this was an interesting article when I read it. Just when you think things are settling down something new comes along...

Plastic Light Bulbs

 

[Omnispace]

They could have transitioned into the ride that way with a solarium type scene and that could have been filled with the welcome banners and some characters.

Perhaps in the first room they can recreate the great hall from Logan's Run??!! I love that space and was devastated to find out it had been demolished along with the Apparel Mart. It would look great filled with more plants and, er, singing dolls.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Yes - unfortunately the color rendition for LED lighting is not quite there yet - there are still gaps in the spectrum. Even though they can mix different LED's to fill-in different colors they still don't have that wonderful "glow" of incandescent. Another thing I find distracting about LED's is that their light is very harsh -- perhaps because of the 60hz cycle they operate on. There are better quality LED's out there but because of their cost are generally not they type you would find in a Christmas string.

I thought this was an interesting article when I read it. Just when you think things are settling down something new comes along...

Plastic Light Bulbs

Reminds me of Electroluminescent strips. I have 2 Edison lights in my house that were made in the 20's and still have not burned out! Bought them as new/old stock and kept them on a dimmer for ten years.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

This might be a little bit off topic, but I couldn't help but notice that BVS (and Carsland) used a lot of LED Christmas lights. (Maybe they had a couple of incandescents in the plastic bells, but otherwise it was an LED christmas).

The tree.

And the garlands used retro-looking C7 Christmas bulbs which obviously had different colored LEDs at the base. Very similar to widely sold models such as below:

With LEDs, the spectrum is so narrow that the lights don't have that warm feel, which I think a lot of us associate with Christmases gone past.

I'm all for saving the environment, but I figure that Disney could specially build replica C7 light chains that utilize a broad spectrum warm white led that shines through different colored paint, versus just going with the narrow spectrum of blue, green . . . etc.

The DCA Christmas Tree looked nice, but it didnt' really jiv with the 1930s look they're aiming for.

Old school lights just have a different look and given that more and more people are using standard LED Christmas lights, they just don't seem that special anymore.

Good points. Maybe incandescent is primally appealing because it is in fact a teensy weensy exposed campfire on a suspended piece of filament? Perhaps LED actually stands for "Lacks Emotional Depth".

 

[Eddie Sotto]

They're thinking about putting a dome over Houston, though obviously a pure acrylic dome would be very expensive for a city.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/other-shows-mega-engineering-videos.htm

I'm sure that is another source of Dome ready jobs. Let's get started!

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Tomorrowland Dept. This is something that catches my eye. Organic high tech. How about conductive wood? eWood.
http://transmaterial.net/index.php/2012/12/28/wood-e/

 

[flynnibus]

Ewood? Isn't that what the web was created for?? Tehehe

 

[Omnispace]

Reminds me of Electroluminescent strips. I have 2 Edison lights in my house that were made in the 20's and still have not burned out! Bought them as new/old stock and kept them on a dimmer for ten years.

I think that could be what they are but somehow because of the nanotubes imbedded in the plastic they give off a lot more light? Still not as warm and fuzzy as incandescent but very intriguing.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

I think that could be what they are but somehow because of the nanotubes imbedded in the plastic they give off a lot more light? Still not as warm and fuzzy as incandescent but very intriguing.

3M created a great product I've used called "light pipe" which has many tiny grooves in it that transmit light.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ementSolutions/ProductInformation/LightGuide/

 

[Rasvar]

I think that could be what they are but somehow because of the nanotubes imbedded in the plastic they give off a lot more light? Still not as warm and fuzzy as incandescent but very intriguing.

I've noticed some "warm LED" white lights this year. They seem to be closer to the incandescent. But it is the rest of the colors that I have not seen a lot of. Hopefully there will be more of this warm LED tech next year in a wider spectrum. I can understand the push for the LED lights at the parks considering the cost savings in electrical usage compared to older styles.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Perhaps LED actually stands for "Lacks Emotional Depth".

LMAO!!

Given the computer hardware engineers I worked with, years ago, this is spot on.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I've noticed some "warm LED" white lights this year. They seem to be closer to the incandescent. But it is the rest of the colors that I have not seen a lot of. Hopefully there will be more of this warm LED tech next year in a wider spectrum. I can understand the push for the LED lights at the parks considering the cost savings in electrical usage compared to older styles.

The warm white LEDs have a broader spectrum that most LEDs, and they could be the light source, IMHO, for multi-colored C7 Christmas Lights if they used plain colored paint.

Main Street's popcorn lights are still incandescent, for now.

One light bulb I hope never goes LED is the incandescent bulbs they use for the twinkle lights in the hub. They are actually the same type of blinkers used on model train sets, (seen on the blinking billboard below).

 

[Eddie Sotto]

There is something truly unique about those Lionel layouts. They really are not trying to be realistic as layouts have become, but celebrate the innocent simplicity of analog mechanics. That Ice Cream Stand and all those tracks are really incredible. Impressionistic versus realistic, Magical post. The wheat lights are a great touchstone. Who knows? Maybe that's the nostalgic link. Thanks.

 

[trs518]

Tomorrowland Dept. This is something that catches my eye. Organic high tech. How about conductive wood? eWood.
http://transmaterial.net/index.php/2012/12/28/wood-e/

Like we've mentioned before, EPCOT's Innventions should be based off things like this or items off this list....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emerging_technologies. I personally like Hibernation (suspended animiatin), nanomedicines, flexible electronics, and or almost anything in the energy section.

 

[flynnibus]

There is something truly unique about those Lionel layouts. They really are not trying to be realistic as layouts have become, but celebrate the innocent simplicity of analog mechanics

Yup - the throwback to pure mechanical toys. It rings true for you obviously given your past interests (the walk through in Paris, etc). The simplicity.. yet ingenuity is what keeps electro mechnical toys and games so strong in the collectors market. And why Lionel can still charge a metric @#@#-ton for their toys

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Like we've mentioned before, EPCOT's Innventions should be based off things like this or items off this list....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emerging_technologies. I personally like Hibernation (suspended animiatin), nanomedicines, flexible electronics, and or almost anything in the energy section.

But much of this technology is happening now. The Da Vinci robots do robotic surgery, there is a ton of genetic engineering going on in academia and industry. I'm not an energy expert, by far, but there is little to nothing that surprises me in the emerging energy section.

The old Epcot theme had a futuristic bent to it, I think for such a sense of optimism to be rekindled, they'll have to go beyond the present and plainly visible future, into the realm of Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Coruscant and the universe of Star Wars excite me . . . new types of Lithium batteries do not.

 

[trs518]

But much of this technology is happening now. The Da Vinci robots do robotic surgery, there is a ton of genetic engineering going on in academia and industry. I'm not an energy expert, by far, but there is little to nothing that surprises me in the emerging energy section.

The old Epcot theme had a futuristic bent to it, I think for such a sense of optimism to be rekindled, they'll have to go beyond the present and plainly visible future, into the realm of Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Coruscant and the universe of Star Wars excite me . . . new types of Lithium batteries do not.

I would really like it if EPCOT stayed factual and that Tomorrowland was Science Fiction.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I would really like it if EPCOT stayed factual and that Tomorrowland was Science Fiction.

You got a good point.

I do like Spaceship Earth, though when you think about it, the ride is more about the world history of communication than about the future, save for the ending. The Living Seas was nice, but the idea of an undersea base is sort of Science Fiction. I think that the most factual ride in Future World is the Land boat ride, and the Universe of Energy, maybe this is why these pavilions have stood the test of time.

Though what if Communicore/Innoventions had a Star Wars theme to it and blended aspects of technology? Such as one half could be Hoth and there could be factual displays about what a freezing planet would be like, and perhaps about the ice age on earth.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

There is something truly unique about those Lionel layouts. They really are not trying to be realistic as layouts have become, but celebrate the innocent simplicity of analog mechanics.

I'm not a big model train guy, but I sure do love watching those YouTube videos model train aficionados have done by mounting cameras on their trains.