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

[EPCOT Explorer]

As for me, NOS used to be in first place until the retail got out of hand. Adventureland is such an "escape" isn't it? You'd never guess you were in Anaheim. There was something intrinsically romantic about the "Swiss Family Treehouse" that Tarzan never did for me. It's the whole fantasy of being able to actually live like that and picture yourself there. Working at the Sunkist place across from it, I never tired of that Polka song, in fact, I used to sweep to it to pass the time! Becoming the character of "Shrunken Ned" was the best way to "hang" in Adventureland on a permanent basis!

WDW feels mostly the same, but has lost some of the uniqueness over the years...

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Great story.
Thanks for putting so much detail into the parks Eddie!

Our pleasure! As an example, the songs chosen for the BGM playlist for the DL JC were all about heading off to faraway places. "Moon over Manakoora", "Someone's Rockin' my Dreamboat", "We'll meet again", "I'll be seeing you" etc. We cheated the period a bit as some were WW2 classics.

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

Our pleasure! As an example, the songs chosen for the BGM playlist for the DL JC were all about heading off to faraway places. "Moon over Manakoora", "Someone's Rockin' my Dreamboat", "We'll meet again", "I'll be seeing you" etc. We cheated the period a bit as some were WW2 classics.

Very interesting. I'm listening right now.

 

[Jasonflz]

Our pleasure! As an example, the songs chosen for the BGM playlist for the DL JC were all about heading off to faraway places. "Moon over Manakoora", "Someone's Rockin' my Dreamboat", "We'll meet again", "I'll be seeing you" etc. We cheated the period a bit as some were WW2 classics.

Hey Eddie, did you get the chance to work on New Tomorrowland?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Hey Eddie, did you get the chance to work on New Tomorrowland?

If you mean 2055, not really. When I first started I did some time converting the Carousel of Progress into a traveling alien circus of sorts with George Lucas. My very first art for WED was a Millennium Falcon inspired overlay to the Carousel Building to make it appear to look like a giant docked ship that had landed from another galaxy. The 1986 Lucas driven T'land did not happen.

After DLP, I worked on the surf inspired Fedex Space Mountain music and produced that upgrade (no dough productions). Afterward, I had proposed the "Rocket Bikes" (dual racing rocket powered motorcycles) to run on the Peoplemover beamway in like 1992-3 but that was not feasible for clearance reasons in the buildings, so when I got to be the design director for TDL, I took the ride there and developed the "Sci-Fi City" new T'land with our TDL team. That got killed by TDS' budget overruns. I quit in 1999.

 

[Jasonflz]

If you mean 2055, not really. When I first started I did some time converting the Carousel of Progress into a traveling alien circus of sorts with George Lucas. My very first art for WED was a Millennium Falcon inspired overlay to the Carousel Building to make it appear to look like a giant docked ship that had landed from another galaxy. The 1986 Lucas driven T'land did not happen.

After DLP, I worked on the surf inspired Fedex Space Mountain music and produced that upgrade (no dough productions). Afterward, I had proposed the "Rocket Bikes" (dual racing rocket powered motorcycles) to run on the Peoplemover beamway in like 1992-3 but that was not feasible for clearance reasons in the buildings, so when I got to be the design director for TDL, I took the ride there and developed the "Sci-Fi City" new T'land with our TDL team. That got killed by TDS' budget overruns. I quit in 1999.

Cool! It's a shame that the projects planned (at least most of them) never come to fruition. I wrote out some ideas after seeing the concept art for Sci-Fi City and was very interested in the whole idea. So you never worked on Walt Disney World's New Tomorrowland in the early 90's?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Cool! It's a shame that the projects planned (at least most of them) never come to fruition. I wrote out some ideas after seeing the concept art for Sci-Fi City and was very interested in the whole idea. So you never worked on Walt Disney World's New Tomorrowland in the early 90's?

Not really. There were some leftover Fedex scenes rehabbed into to Space Mountain but that's it. Band aids. I may have read to do voices in the area, like Sonny Eclipse or the Peoplemover or something like that (I did end up being the boarding announcer for the WDW Steam Train, that's still there).

Post Paris, I was on Tony Baxter's west coast projects (DL future palnning) till I went on to TDL in 95.

 

[IHeartArt]

What was it like working with Lucas, Eddie?

 

[Jasonflz]

I may have read to do voices in the area, like Sonny Eclipse or the Peoplemover or something like that (I did end up being the boarding announcer for the WDW Steam Train, that's still there).

That's pretty cool and I remember hearing the spiel.

Thanks for clearing everything.:wave:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

If you mean 2055, not really. When I first started I did some time converting the Carousel of Progress into a traveling alien circus of sorts with George Lucas. My very first art for WED was a Millennium Falcon inspired overlay to the Carousel Building to make it appear to look like a giant docked ship that had landed from another galaxy. The 1986 Lucas driven T'land did not happen.

After DLP, I worked on the surf inspired Fedex Space Mountain music and produced that upgrade (no dough productions). Afterward, I had proposed the "Rocket Bikes" (dual racing rocket powered motorcycles) to run on the Peoplemover beamway in like 1992-3 but that was not feasible for clearance reasons in the buildings, so when I got to be the design director for TDL, I took the ride there and developed the "Sci-Fi City" new T'land with our TDL team. That got killed by TDS' budget overruns. I quit in 1999.

Shhheeeeeesh!:lol::sohappy: So much epic, Blue Sky stuff here. VERY awesome.


What did you help with in TDL?

 

[jt04]

Not really. There were some leftover Fedex scenes rehabbed into to Space Mountain but that's it. Band aids. I may have read to do voices in the area, like Sonny Eclipse or the Peoplemover or something like that (I did end up being the boarding announcer for the WDW Steam Train, that's still there).

Post Paris, I was on Tony Baxter's west coast projects (DL future palnning) till I went on to TDL in 95.

Not to get off track but.......

Just wondering about your general impressions of the new "37" restaurant in DTD. There are obviously a few design similarities with your restaurant. Were you involved in it's design at all?

Also, I really hope they dig up your Sci-Fi designs for Tomorrowland for use at WDW. I really think that genre would work perfectly. Was there any talk of changing the "lands" name at TDL to better reflect the Sci-Fi theme if it had been built?

Thanks.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Not to get off track but.......

Just wondering about your general impressions of the new "37" restaurant in DTD. There are obviously a few design similarities with your restaurant. Were you involved in it's design at all?

Also, I really hope they dig up your Sci-Fi designs for Tomorrowland for use at WDW. I really think that genre would work perfectly. Was there any talk of changing the "lands" name at TDL to better reflect the Sci-Fi theme if it had been built?

Thanks.

I'm not Eddie...:lookaroun:lol: but, I doubt that. The names are iconic and have meaning. Why do that? We have threads on that every few weeks.:lol:

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Not to get off track but.......

Just wondering about your general impressions of the new "37" restaurant in DTD. There are obviously a few design similarities with your restaurant. Were you involved in it's design at all?

Also, I really hope they dig up your Sci-Fi designs for Tomorrowland for use at WDW. I really think that genre would work perfectly. Was there any talk of changing the "lands" name at TDL to better reflect the Sci-Fi theme if it had been built?

Thanks.

37? I had nothing to do with it, and I don't see the design similarity with Rivera although I did see some latin food on small plates! I think we are more "casual gourmet" and may be less expensive. Those who have been there can compare the two on these sites and let me know what you think.

http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky060909a.htm
www.riverarestaurant.com

The name of the land was to be "Sci-Fi City". In Japanese SF or Sci-Fi is something that is understood, revered and easier to get than Tomorrowland. The OLC folks loved the name.
At TDL you have to think about what the guest understands in translation from english words sometimes and if you are fundamentally changing the concept how that expectation is met with the name. We also had an "off world" section on "the other side of the tracks" called "Cratertown" which was all alien landscape with a small alien biker bar. This was the terrain where the "Rocket Bikers" all convened to race. In a way, SFC is similar to New Tomorrowland in WDW as they both use a city metaphor as a theme.

SFC is listed below among other unbuilt projects including some great Xian Hope designed images.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/01/wikipedia-list-of-never-built-disney.html

 

[Jasonflz]

^ The concepts drawn out should have been the look for New Tomorrowland in Disneyland.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

37? I wish I WAS 37..never heard of it. Will ck it out .Those who have been there can compare to images on our site and let me know what you think.

www.riverarestaurant.com

The name of the land was to be "Sci-Fi City". In Japanese SF or Sci-Fi is something that is understood, revered and easier to get than Tomorrowland.
At TDL you have to think about what the guest understands in translation from english words sometimes and if you are fundamentally changing the concept how that expectation is met with the name. We also had an "off world" section on "the other side of the tracks" called "Cratertown" which was all alien landscape. This was the terrain where the "Rocket Bikers" all convened to race. in a way it is similar to New Tomorrowland in WDW in theme as both use a city metaphor.

SFC is listed below among other unbuilt projects including some great Xian Hope designed images.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/01/wikipedia-list-of-never-built-disney.html

Ahh. That makes a bit more sense concerning the name change.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

^ The concepts drawn out should have been the look for New Tomorrowland in Disneyland.

Maybe, but I'm not sure. We'll never know, but IMHO America needs a Tomorrowland to hope for so I'd always try that one first. I'd explore nanotechnology as a theme too, not just gadgets or products. Imagine the "Adventure thru inner Space" 2.0 in 3D? or alternative energy for the Autopia? I think real science is getting pretty interesting again and why not use that if we could?

FYI- We did SFC, as we did for all things TDL, to work for that audience. One of the things about Tokyo is that it already is a Tomorrowland so that's why we ventured into the genre they love, SF.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Maybe, but I'm not sure. We'll never know, but IMHO America needs a Tomorrowland to hope for so I'd always try that one first. I'd explore nanotechnology as a theme too, not just gadgets or products. Imagine the "Adventure thru inner Space" 2.0 in 3D? or alternative energy for the Autopia? I think real science is getting pretty interesting again and why not use that if we could?

FYI- We did SFC, as we did for all things TDL, to work for that audience. One of the things about Tokyo is that it already is a Tomorrowland so that's why we ventured into the genre they love, SF.

I've had thoughts akin to that for a while.:lol:...It would work pretty well in EPCOT too. Maybe in Innoventions.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Names are changed to protect the innocent

Ahh. That makes a bit more sense concerning the name change.

Believe me, when your job is making decisions like that or at least proposing them, you realize that you are messing with big magical stuff and you should not take the responsibility lightly. Like in Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility". Imagineers are there to "push the envelope" and take risks because that is where Disneyland came from, but I'm also a lifelong fan and a radical purist at heart. So there is always a conflict between breaking molds and starting fresh or simply casting from the same to monotony. It's tough because it's not your name on the door, it's Walt's and his legacy that you are honored to carry on and not pimp, but rather to expand in a way that is true to his vision. I think I was not careful enough on some projects and maybe too careful in others, but always tried to see things as a 12 yr. old fan too, and putting that detail in that made things rich and fun to explore. You could believe that the upstairs of Main Street was really inhabited. Thus the sounds from the windows.

I got to the point in TDL and DLP where you have to think beyond the nostalgia of what you like, but a foreign audience and what these visual symbols mean to them and of course, what do they dream of? What do they think Disney is? The TDL answer was "Disney means everything that is good about America".

Now you have an emotional driver to work with

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Believe me, when your job is making decisions like that or at least proposing them, you realize that you are messing with big magical stuff and you should not take the responsibility lightly. Like in Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility". Imagineers are there to "push the envelope" and take risks because that is where Disneyland came from, but I'm also a lifelong fan and a radical purist at heart. So there is always a conflict between breaking molds and starting fresh or simply casting from the same to monotony. It's tough because it's not your name on the door, it's Walt's and his legacy that you are honored to carry on and not pimp, but rather to expand in a way that is true to his vision. I think I was not careful enough on some projects and maybe too careful in others, but always tried to see things as a 12 yr. old fan too, and putting that detail in that made things rich and fun to explore. You could believe that the upstairs of Main Street was really inhabited. Thus the sounds from the windows.

I got to the point in TDL and DLP where you have to think beyond the nostalgia of what you like, but a foreign audience and what these visual symbols mean to them and of course, what do they dream of? What do they think Disney is? The TDL answer was "Disney means everything that is good about America".

Now you have an emotional driver to work with

Eddie, it is EXACTLY this kind of spirit and ideal that I wish everyone shared at Disney.:sohappy: Thank you so much, for keeping to the original ideals of Walt Disney, while trying to make a new Disney at the same time.

Fantastic post, I appreciate the response.

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

Tiger fan and student and soon-to-be alum.:wave:

Congratulations! Class of 86.