Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks

[Alektronic]

Wow. Disney should jump on this before KSC does.

And here is a related article:

San Francisco and Los Angeles may not be the only destinations from Orlando for Richard Branson's Virgin-brand aircraft. Outer space could be in the flight plans eventually.

Branson, the British billionaire, said this week his Virgin Galactic spaceflight subsidiary "would seriously consider" Central Florida for an East Coast spaceport within the next decade.

Branson, who was in town Wednesday to inaugurate domestic air service to Orlando by his Virgin America affiliate, noted that space travel, thanks to Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center, is a big part of the region's history, making the area "a very likely location" for Virgin Galactic once a state-owned spaceport in New Mexico is up and running.

The company, whose VSS Enterprise spacecraft completed its first manned free flight earlier this week from an altitude of more than 45,000 feet, is now just days away from unveiling Spaceport America, located in Truth or Consequences, N.M

"I'm sure in future years, you know, we're going to need an East Coast base. Orlando is certainly a place we would seriously consider," Branson said. " I think one day Orlando is a very likely location for one of our spaceports. You know, we're going to get it established in New Mexico first of all, but once that's firmly and truly established, I think it's very likely we'll come to Orlando."

Branson added he hopes that happens in "less than 10 years." The colorful entrepreneur said he sees Virgin Galactic working with NASA on "lots of things" in future years.

The idea of commercial spaceflight specifically in Orlando is not new. Officials at Orlando International Airport were talking publicly about an airport of the future — a "transportation exchange" capable of handling hypersonic aircraft — as early as 1991. According to an airport newsletter at the time, Orlando International was one of only a very few airports with the potential to handle both sub-orbital and orbital flights.

"The vision of other types of travel has been there," said Carolyn Fennell, an airport spokeswoman. "It was conceptual at the time, but there was vision and thinking of it."

Branson's London-based holding company, Virgin Group, first announced plans to fly paying customers beyond Earth's atmosphere in 2004, saying its goal was to offer commercial spaceflights by 2007.

Officials from the Florida Space Authority were soon talking with Branson representatives about the possibility of basing Virgin Galactic's spaceflights in Central Florida. But Branson eventually announced an agreement with New Mexico after that state agreed to build a $225 million spaceport.

The first flight has yet to occur, but Virgin Galactic has already accepted 370 deposits totaling $50 million from customers reserving seats on its first series of flights. A single airfare costs $200,000.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-virgin-galactic-spaceport-orlando-20101014,0,249650.story

 

[Eddie Sotto]

It's all pretty exciting. We are seeing history being made in a sense. To me, the big news in that article was that NM agreed to build the $225M Spaceport and that's why it's there as Orlando was in the running. Disney is used to others paying for things like that so it would be hard to imagine them being in the running.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I agree wholeheartedly with you, Eddie. The Divine Creator is an amazing God who created an amazing universe. I happen to call him Jesus- other opinions will vary.

 

[ChrisFL]

My favorite parts of DL and WDW are the places that are the most natural. The remote areas of the Rivers of America when it's quiet on the Mark Twain are truly magical. So are the Florida sunsets with the Castle in silhouette. WDW puts nature front and center, and the parks are nestled within that green blanket. I love that. The liberal amount of green at WDW reinforces the promise that any "Progress City" or any other development would be somehow in balance or subservient to the natural world it lived in as a neighbor. The animals are just as much a part of the future and residents as the people. Too much Urbanity to an extent lacks humility IMHO. Skyscrapers are magical but carry an ego. Man has a hard time improving on his surroundings and can do it in a balance. To me, WDW had that balance of development and natural beauty. The busses and traffic that infest WDW today just hurts that subliminal promise and remind us of the cities we left behind.

To me, a successful execution of Progress City would have achieved a great thing, in that it would dramatically reduce urban sprawl, and that would in turn let the natural areas go back to thriving. Having a few parks with trees in the middle of a "concrete jungle" doesn't help natural ecosystems.

Just consider the amount of parking lots, 8 lane highways, etc. that wouldn't be necessary in the kind of layout that progress city can have. It removes a LOT of wasted space.

 

[redshoesrock]

You asked what I have seen, and the areas that interest me are virtual characters that can be represented in full dimension in the real world. The anime concert video I posted in the response to Kevin Yee interests me and so does his dancing robot. I think it's a starting point to something great. Imagine being able to do a character parade where they didn't look like rubberheads, but looked real in 3D and performed on their floats. If you saw Peter Pan flying over his float that would be magic.

You know, in keeping with your idea of virtual characters ala the concert video you just showed - what if we took the best quality audio samples available from Walt, created a hologram of him just like the music video, and have an attraction similar to Turtle Talk with Crush where Walt would come out on the stage and talk to the guests, perhaps even answer some questions from the audience, only it would be completely computerized rather than the hologram lip-syncing to an actor. Obviously the Disney and Miller families would be brought in and consulted to make sure that everything would be done with the best intentions and in good taste. You could call it "Virtually" Walt Disney. Or, better yet, you could add it to the end of One Man's Dream after the film - when the film ends "Walt" comes on stage to talk directly to his guests.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

You know, in keeping with your idea of virtual characters ala the concert video you just showed - what if we took the best quality audio samples available from Walt, created a hologram of him just like the music video, and have an attraction similar to Turtle Talk with Crush where Walt would come out on the stage and talk to the guests, perhaps even answer some questions from the audience, only it would completely computerized rather than the hologram lip-syncing to an actor. Obviously the Disney and Miller families would be brought in and consulted to make sure that everything would be done with the best intentions and in good taste. You could call it "Virtually" Walt Disney. Or, better yet, you could add it to the end of One Man's Dream after the film - when the film ends "Walt" comes on stage to talk directly to his guests.

Love that! Great idea! But now I must tell you that I already have one. Ok two, an old Walt and a young Walt. Kevin Kidney made mine. I have them right here in the living room. I ask my Walt all kinds of stuff (better than Furby). Where do you think I get all these answers for the board?

Seriously, there was a proposal years ago to use an AA Walt figure in a "One Mans' Dream" show for TDL. I thought that if you set him in his office set (as he appeared on TV), softly backlit with Tinker Bell flying around, all the characters on the desk, on his shoulder, etc (peppers ghost effect) he would host his own life as a supplement to images and film. i may have shown this as an option for the Lincoln theater as well. Can't recall. Doesn't matter as it died on arrival.

Soundly rejected so you move on. Too touchy. AA Walt was just a "hot button" back then.

I had pitched it anyway, because I thought the difference was that he was not standing there giving a speech, he was an occasional host to mostly media and pixie dust effects, etc., like he was on TV. (If it didn't look real you wouldn't attempt it anyway) and show him in small doses, don't focus on the figure for 30 seconds at a time. Keep it magical and subtle. The American Adventure does this well with the use of figures. I think "When you wish upon a Star" choir finale with him there in silhouette under a great montage of his unbuilt Disney dreams would have been a tear jerker.

The "turtle talk" hologram is a cool app if it's Walt or someone else. At the Amusement convention there have been versions of this interactivity but not a talking hologram, more of a 3D projection.

 

[misterID]

Love that! Great idea! But now I must tell you that I already have one. Ok two, an old Walt and a young Walt. Kevin Kidney made mine. I have them right here in the living room. I ask my Walt all kinds of stuff (better than Furby). Where do you think I get all these answers for the board?

Seriously, there was a proposal years ago to use an AA Walt figure in a "One Mans' Dream" show for TDL. I thought that if you set him in his office set (as he appeared on TV), softly backlit with Tinker Bell flying around, all the characters on the desk, on his shoulder, etc (peppers ghost effect) he would host his own life as a supplement to images and film. i may have shown this as an option for the Lincoln theater as well. Can't recall. Doesn't matter as it died on arrival.

Soundly rejected so you move on. Too touchy. AA Walt was just a "hot button" back then.

I had pitched it anyway, because I thought the difference was that he was not standing there giving a speech, he was an occasional host to mostly media and pixie dust effects, etc., like he was on TV. (If it didn't look real you wouldn't attempt it anyway) and show him in small doses, don't focus on the figure for 30 seconds at a time. Keep it magical and subtle. The American Adventure does this well with the use of figures. I think "When you wish upon a Star" choir finale with him there in silhouette under a great montage of his unbuilt Disney dreams would have been a tear jerker.

The "turtle talk" hologram is a cool app if it's Walt or someone else. At the Amusement convention there have been versions of this interactivity but not a talking hologram, more of a 3D projection.

Man, that would have been fantastic.

Both of those Walt ideas are pretty cool. An AA like Obama and Lincoln would be really interesting. So would the Crush idea.

 

[Vernonpush]

Love that! Great idea! But now I must tell you that I already have one. Ok two, an old Walt and a young Walt. Kevin Kidney made mine. I have them right here in the living room. I ask my Walt all kinds of stuff (better than Furby). Where do you think I get all these answers for the board?

Seriously, there was a proposal years ago to use an AA Walt figure in a "One Mans' Dream" show for TDL. I thought that if you set him in his office set (as he appeared on TV), softly backlit with Tinker Bell flying around, all the characters on the desk, on his shoulder, etc (peppers ghost effect) he would host his own life as a supplement to images and film. i may have shown this as an option for the Lincoln theater as well. Can't recall. Doesn't matter as it died on arrival.

Soundly rejected so you move on. Too touchy. AA Walt was just a "hot button" back then.

I had pitched it anyway, because I thought the difference was that he was not standing there giving a speech, he was an occasional host to mostly media and pixie dust effects, etc., like he was on TV. (If it didn't look real you wouldn't attempt it anyway) and show him in small doses, don't focus on the figure for 30 seconds at a time. Keep it magical and subtle. The American Adventure does this well with the use of figures. I think "When you wish upon a Star" choir finale with him there in silhouette under a great montage of his unbuilt Disney dreams would have been a tear jerker.

The "turtle talk" hologram is a cool app if it's Walt or someone else. At the Amusement convention there have been versions of this interactivity but not a talking hologram, more of a 3D projection.

WOW! That would be awesome at the Studios!

 

[imagineer boy]

Didn't Walt himself say he never wanted to have an animatronic modeled after himself?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Didn't Walt himself say he never wanted to have an animatronic modeled after himself?

I don't know. Probably. If I was him, I would say that

I think I remember locating an old bust of him and we were going to use it in Walt's Restaurant in Paris and Marty said that Walt had seen it and remarked "Am I dead already?". So I don't think he liked that kind of memorialization, especially while he was alive. Who would? We used it anyway and it looks great. To me it's about what you do with these things and how something is treated. Does it enhance the legacy and the man or dilute it into being kitch? Abe Lincoln is far more of a revered person (that Walt took on himself) and we have no problem seeing him give his speech as he is true to his words and in a dignified setting. The Walt AA in the show (as we pitched it) like Lincoln, would be using his own words in his own real voice as he did on Sunday nights, only you'd feel he was real. It's all in the execution. I can still see how it could be creepy and the family would object, so it's a hot issue. AA is another form of storytelling media, that's all.

Of course, now he's on Collector Plates, pins, and as a statue in the parks, so I guess the cat is out of the bag.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Man, that would have been fantastic.

Both of those Walt ideas are pretty cool. An AA like Obama and Lincoln would be really interesting. So would the Crush idea.

The only thing that concerns me about the Crush idea is that if they can make him say whatever they want, then what stops them from having him plug the Disney Vacation Club and his favorite movie, Tangled?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

D23 Winter Issue

If you are into the D23 thing, the winter issue of the magazine will have an article on EPCOT and "Walt's dream of the future" as told in an interview with Ray Bradbury and Marty Sklar. Maybe some new insights?

Here are some online images that go with the article.

http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/080310_DTT_EpcotPhotoGallery.html

More about what is in it.

http://d23.disney.go.com/inthisissue.html

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Life imitates theme...kind of. Muster Mansion Replica

I'm hijacking the thread to point the spotlight on the effect themed "fantasy worlds" have on some people. Disneyland is the place where the thing you saw on TV and wished was real is just that. The castle is not a set, it's something to explore.

Well, to this family "The Munster's" was their Castle and they had to live in it, so they built their own MUNSTER MANSION. I just love how someone would go this far, despite the execution. Just a bit of a detour, and a lesson on the effect your themed environments can have on guests.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFioUuEJFjs

 

[HMF]

Another one of Eddie's Pirate's Lair concept sketches has emerged.
http://micechat.com/forums/disneyla...further-realms-fright-109.html#post1056307706

 

[MarkTwain]

Didn't Walt himself say he never wanted to have an animatronic modeled after himself?

I think Walt said he never wanted a statue of him inside Disneyland... and yet Partners is one of my favorite parts of the park. I guess that just goes to show Walt wasn't always right.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

I think Walt said he never wanted a statue of him inside Disneyland... and yet Partners is one of my favorite parts of the park. I guess that just goes to show Walt wasn't always right.

He would probably be flattered to know that his legacy lives on over 40 years after his death. So many celebrities are nearly forgotten. Charlie Chaplin out lived him and is not nearly the same household word that Disney is.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Disney and More Blog

Alain Littaye informed me that he is rerunning 4 articles on projects I was involved in as a tribute on his blog, Disney and more.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/

The first article is "The Disneyland Paris that never was." I'm interviewed explaining the art as well. If you are new to the thread and would like to see lots of art, you might want to check it out. DLP Main Street concept art, Encounter Restaurant LAX, Rivera and more will be running in this reissue. If you have questions about anything up there let me know.

He's also selling lots of great stuff.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Raiders of the lost Art

Another one of Eddie's Pirate's Lair concept sketches has emerged.
http://micechat.com/forums/disneyla...further-realms-fright-109.html#post1056307706

I have photocopies of some very rough sketches of that concept (some unfinished) and since HBG2 has a whole thread on it decided to hunt for them. I know of some more but can't lay my hands on them. All of it was done on vacation in Hawaii and then presented when I got back. It's one of those projects you wished you could have built, and in a way they did!

In case you missed the thread and this excellent blog, here it is.

http://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/2010/09/jean-lafitte-and-mega-theme-temptation.html

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Futuro: Home of the future.

One of the video's I carry around on my phone is of Futuro, a modular home of the future. It just makes me smile. I'd love to own one of these 1970's prefab "Orbs" that is closer to a "Mentos" pill than great design, but I'd love it just the same. Such optimism!

http://weburbanist.com/2010/01/10/the-futuro-house-space-age-architecture-comes-home/

http://www.berting.nl/futuro/

You just missed the last one for sale..

http://www.angelfire.com/home/futurohouse/sandiego1.html

http://greg.org/archive/2009/05/19/for_sale_crazy_finnish_futuro_house.html

Eddie Sotto soooo wants one of these. How cool would it be to fix one of these bad boys up and drop it on some cheap piece of desert on the way to Vegas? I still have a couple of them Lava Lamps from Encounter for the interior, so we're off to the races. We'd do some kind of "roadside alien museum" or coffee stop for drowsy drunks so it made a few bucks in the off season. I just know I want to go Futuro!

The book has a DVD with acid visuals in Finnish. Before Nokia there was Futuro.

http://www.arcspace.com/books/tomorrows_house/

(Woah. I just realized we're almost to half a million views on this thread!)

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Frozen Walt Dolls.

As some of you may know, the high cost of education is making it tougher to get that degree. Some of us raise the money by selling limited edition "Frozen Walt Dolls". At least that's what Sponge Bob creator Steven Hillenberg did and two editions put him and his friend through Cal Arts. They are still for sale here.

http://www.smartartpress.com/products/1145