-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks
- Thread starter hpyhnt 1000
- Start date
- Status
EPCOT Explorer
New Member
:lol:
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Thanks. He deserves it and so does our mixology staff. John Sedlar, our chef has overdelivered for sure. In Gourmet Magazine they gave LA's top food critic a virtual $1000. and asked her where in the city she'd spend it. We got her first 400 bucks as top Restaurant!. LA Magazine gave us 4 out of 4 stars, best new bar and best tequila and Angeleno gave John "Chef of the Year". the LA Times gave us 3.5 out of a next to impossible 4 stars. So our first year has been good so far and the Lakers are back in action, which is always good for business. It's been fun. Thanks for asking. Try us out when in LA. I'll be there tomorrow night!
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
All good thoughts as it could go many different ways and still be cool. Once you have the infrastructure to do the game you can change it out for conventions and events. It would be cool if the secret room was on wheels in the utilidor and you could move it to be attached to a different entry point, and redress it for different versions of the game so it could be unique every year. Or....much like the Halloween mazes at Knott's and Uni, why not do a linear underground WDW maze with really cool effects, so you down in one land and come up in another!. Yeah baby yeah!
The real French Catacombs are like that in Paris. (that's where i got the whole Jean Lafitte catacombs for the DL Pirate island idea..look..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris
hack2112
Active Member
That would be very cool, but now I'm having HHN withdrawal.
But could you imagine if they made an underground maze like that and kept upgrading and changing it? You could even start or finish under the castle, giving us a (possible) interactive castle tour that turns into a hunt for some sort of treasure.
The possibilities are endless.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
TDL had a Castle Mystery Tour and it worked pretty well. I think people like exploring things like that.
EPCOT Explorer
New Member
SirGoofy
Member
I agree that they do as well, and I think things like KP, Animal Kingdom's trails, and WS prove that they do.
hack2112
Active Member
double yes
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Janet is LA Noir.
I'm loving listening to 1920's hollywood sonnets of Janet Klein.
http://www.janetklein.com/
Close your eyes and go back to your little tower of terror corners of your minds!
I'm loving listening to 1920's hollywood sonnets of Janet Klein.
http://www.janetklein.com/
Close your eyes and go back to your little tower of terror corners of your minds!
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
Hi Eddie:
Long-time reader, first-time poster (this thread).
I'm a great fan of your work and was just last night reading The Architecture of Reassurance section on Main Street, its development from DL --> DLP and your thought process on the Paris design - great stuff.
Are you aware of the good samaritans who keep a watchful eye on the effects and details of Disneyland Paris: http://www.photosmagiques.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5607
Sadly, a lot of Main Street's great details are in need of attention. Still, it's good to be aware of what was once there.
That aside, you've mentioned a few times that an imagineer's grandest creations are never realized. I'm wondering, providing it is okay to do so, if you can tell us about your favorite projects that never came to be - particularly attractions/parks/lands that are not already public knowledge.
If this is beyond the bounds of what you are willing/able to discuss... that's cool, here's a non-specific question that I've been thinking about: WDI builds many elaborate models of a lands/parks/attractions. Once the attraction or park is built, what happens to the models? I know a few may be saved, but are the others trashed, photodocumented, taken home by imagineers?
What about projects that are indefinitely shelved (ie Beastly Kingdomme or Sci-Fi City) - are those models saved?
As a model-lover, it kills me to think of those elaborate models getting destroyed.
Sorry for the long post. It is a real pleasure to read your commentary.
Long-time reader, first-time poster (this thread).
I'm a great fan of your work and was just last night reading The Architecture of Reassurance section on Main Street, its development from DL --> DLP and your thought process on the Paris design - great stuff.
Are you aware of the good samaritans who keep a watchful eye on the effects and details of Disneyland Paris: http://www.photosmagiques.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5607
Sadly, a lot of Main Street's great details are in need of attention. Still, it's good to be aware of what was once there.
That aside, you've mentioned a few times that an imagineer's grandest creations are never realized. I'm wondering, providing it is okay to do so, if you can tell us about your favorite projects that never came to be - particularly attractions/parks/lands that are not already public knowledge.
If this is beyond the bounds of what you are willing/able to discuss... that's cool, here's a non-specific question that I've been thinking about: WDI builds many elaborate models of a lands/parks/attractions. Once the attraction or park is built, what happens to the models? I know a few may be saved, but are the others trashed, photodocumented, taken home by imagineers?
What about projects that are indefinitely shelved (ie Beastly Kingdomme or Sci-Fi City) - are those models saved?
As a model-lover, it kills me to think of those elaborate models getting destroyed.
Sorry for the long post. It is a real pleasure to read your commentary.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Wow. thanks for the kind words...Lots to chew on. Here goes.
I was not aware of those watching for the "little things", but glad to see they do and that those details got noticed in the first place. I'm afraid to look at the page too often as I'll just get depressed! The soundtracks in windows are shut off before and after parades so it's hard to know if they are off forever or just for a few hours. We can only hope.
Favorite projects not built. Where does one begin?
"Sci-Fi City" for TDL (includes Rocket Bikes and Cybermyd). The 1920's MSUSA for DLP (El train, Speakeasy and 20's deco dining car private club). In Anaheim, it's "Dragon's Lair" in SBC (turtle talk interaction meets real fire breathing dragon), "Search for Titanic" Sub Voyage (surfaces in atlantis you get out and explore), Lucas T'land (Droid battles in old Carousel), Lafitte's "Buccaneer Island" on TSI (catacomb tunnels under river lead to hideout), the bigger (ride the JC out to the camp) idea for Indy, all for DL. "Xanadu (Citizen Kane Mansion) Hotel" for MGM Studios, Swiss Pavilion (with Matterhorn) for EPCOT. "Oceania" (Queen Mary on land) Hotel for DRP. Did some new attractions using the Pooh wireless ride system that I would have liked to see but can't really talk about.
This stuff can be searched in more detail.. it's out there. "Disney and More" blog has info/art on old stuff.http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2008/05/wikipedia-list-of-never-built-disney.html
Show Models are mostly stored in warehouses, the paper ones usually get tossed. Many painted interior dark ride or rockwork models go to vendors in pieces when the ride is produced to be used as a guide, so they get pretty beat up and sometimes never return.
I hope this is enough to answer your questions. Looking back, it would have been fun to build even two of those things!
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the response! You've mentioned a lot of tantalizing projects.
Was the Xanadu Hotel an earlier incarnation of ToT or was it a distinct walk-through, restaurant or ride? Golden Age Hollywood is the best thing the Studios has going for it and I wish that theme would be explored further.
How close did Sci-fi City come to getting the greenlight? Was it cost that killed it? What kind of ride was Cybermid? And can you elaborate on the "Space Pirates" attraction?
I wonder if Tron 2 is a big success, the Rocket Bikes concept could come back in the form of Light Cycles... would look great at night.
Was the Xanadu Hotel an earlier incarnation of ToT or was it a distinct walk-through, restaurant or ride? Golden Age Hollywood is the best thing the Studios has going for it and I wish that theme would be explored further.
How close did Sci-fi City come to getting the greenlight? Was it cost that killed it? What kind of ride was Cybermid? And can you elaborate on the "Space Pirates" attraction?
I wonder if Tron 2 is a big success, the Rocket Bikes concept could come back in the form of Light Cycles... would look great at night.
EPCOT Explorer
New Member
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
The Xanadu Hotel was this "hearst castle" meets "Pickfair" of a palace based on the old hollywood movie moguls and their lux lifestyle.
SFC was practically a go, when TDS went way over budget and they got nervous and pulled our yen to use over there. What was left built Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride and Queen of Hearts Restaurant.
Cybermyd was Rockin Rollercoaster's track plan inside a digital Pyramid jutting from an offworld crater. The only glowing shred of a lost civilization. You were shrunk to a "byte" and beamed through the towering walls of this gigantic pyramid shaped microchip but are warned as you race down its circuits that it is guarded by a deadly virus. Of course you are detected and chased to a confrontation with the glowing virus. Explosions ensue and you survive. Soundtrack multiple on board audio like Uni's new coaster. (this was 10 years ago) Think Crystal Method meets Stargate. We had several other pretty SF shows as well. One with UFO's and the other with Aliens. Too bad Universal Singapore is using the name SciFi City in their park. Space Pirates?
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
How far did that get?
I was asked to do a rendering really quick and knock out a design for Barry Braverman who had EPCOT. Had lots of fun making the Bobsleds come out of the Mountain and race all around the rocky perimeter of the land. All the way out to jagged snowy peaks by the water so you go under them as you walk by. Real immersive and fun. Chalets, Bernese Mountain dogs, Fondue, Yodeling, the works. Result? Sudden Death on impact. Never heard another thing. Others had done similar years before, I was just the latest Test pilot. Wish it had happened... I LOVE all things Swiss.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Funny you say that. Paul Pressler wanted the Rocket Bikes to be developed as Star Wars Speeder Bikes. I quit right after that.
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
Things have gotten better from a year ago... EDL seems to be making some effort to fix up some of these details that have been ignored for a time.
One of the unofficial descriptions of Sci-fi City that came out a while back mentioned Galactic Circle, Cosmic Way, an Alien Zoo, Lunar-Rovers (conversion of the Grand Prix Raceway), a saucer-version of Astro-Orbiter, Rocket Bikes, and a Cratertown district saying "thrillseekers can search out the Space Pirates hideout." It also mentioned an overlay called HyperSpace Mountain (adding new pre-show, soundtrack, FX), but there was no mention of Cybermid. It's interesting to see how things are changed/embellished from source to rumor.
Going back to Xanadu... was it to be an actual resort hotel near the Studios or an attraction (walk-through) within the Studios?
- Status