Ellen's voice is back in the ride... but her animatronic is probably gone for good.

[monothingie]

They can change the ride however they want as long as they keep my 45 minutes of air conditioning. Energy has always been the best way to beat the heat.

This is not something I'm proud of, but I have been asked on two separate occasions by people I was sitting with to wake up and stop snoring. They said I was "ruining" the magic.

 

[TyrantBoss]

Disney Imagineers simply have to put their heads together and really think about what they want Epcot to be.
The front of Epcot is supposed to be a land of the future and it was somewhat futuristic and advanced in approach back when it opened 30 years ago, but now it has become a land of pavilions and environmental things.
- The most futuristic is Test Track and that is simply a Tron-ization of the original Test Track.
- The "futuristic" gardening techniques showcased in The Land are okay, but they are currently using them so they really don't foretell the future.
- Under the Seas is weak. Nemo and Friends is boring. Turtle Talk with crush is underwhelming.
- Energy is dates and all it talks about is what we have done and currently do for the most part.
- Imagination we all know is brutal
- Even Spaceship Earth doesn't touch on any future at all. The exit of that ride is terrible. So once again we have a ride that talks about that past and what we are currently doing.

What does Disney need to do to fix it? I have a few ideas.
- The Land: Soarin' is good as is the gardening area, but they need to give us something a bit more there. After Soarin' there's nothing to do.
Animal Kingdom is all about the conservation so turn The Land into the future of what is going to be done with the land.
- Under the Seas: I always thought it was going to be some really amazing aquarium that would immerse you in the sea and show some fantastic underwater technologies.
- Imagination: That can be some fantastic outer reaches of human advancement...robotics....cutting edge developments and it celebrates the HUMAN imagination and where we may be going in the future with some of where we are now but not yet there.
- Energy: The same....advancements in Energy with just touch on history. Make it a little more like Dinosaur, not as jarring but go on an expedition in a time machine or something along those lines.

Epcot should be filled with robots walking around, some moving sidewalks, elevated moving sidewalk walkways, those transport trolleys we always saw in tubes that could transport you from place to place. And at night.....spires of the front of Epcot should light up like a Tron landscape that can be seen in the distance.
The front of Epcot needs to be magical.

 

[MaryJaneP]

There is no "Energy" to fix it.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

That's why this ride is a walk on attraction. Needs some love. But a lot of EPCOT needs it. It has so much potential.

I like Ellen, but its time for something new- a really new version of this classic.

 

[polynesiangirl]

Future World is starting to make me feel like I'm part of a giant social experiment. Like, "let's see if they'll still pay 100 bucks to get in even if it's just empty warehouses! With theme music!"

 

[parker4fm]

Here's an idea. It's far fetched, but what the heck. Why don't we petition Ellen and Bill Nye on change.org for them to invest and push for a refurb? Having their reputation attached to a very outdated ride is likely not the highlight of their careers...

Thoughts?

 

[ShoalFox]

Every year I go on EEA thinking it will be the last time I ever ride it, and every year I am disappointed. Despite its dated appearance, I think the show is fine (not nearly as great as the original though). That said, it's been time for something new since 2009-- the last time UoE received any major attention. As long as they leave the ride's format the same, I'll be okay with just about anything that can make UoE better. I just love the traveling theatre car so much that it makes UoE my favorite classic Epcot Center pavilion; heck, before I changed my avatar to Tod, it was UoE's symbol. To end this off, Disney needs to give UoE the love it deserves and restore it to its former glory.

 

[Goofyernmost]

That's why this ride is a walk on attraction. Needs some love. But a lot of EPCOT needs it. It has so much potential.

Well, that and the fact that it has enormous capacity. The only wait that there ever really was to any degree was the time that elapsed in the pre-show. I know that Energy is getting a little old and tired but it is still miles ahead of what was there originally. That is unless you liked sitting through a 45 minute infomercial for Exxon.

Disney Imagineers simply have to put their heads together and really think about what they want Epcot to be.
The front of Epcot is supposed to be a land of the future and it was somewhat futuristic and advanced in approach back when it opened 30 years ago, but now it has become a land of pavilions and environmental things.
- The most futuristic is Test Track and that is simply a Tron-ization of the original Test Track.
Let's think about this for a minute... Test Track (the building) housed the WoM. WoM was a ride through the history of transportation to the present. There was no future there that was anything other then concept cars on the way out. TT uses futuristic designs and futuristic concepts more then WoM ever did.
- The "futuristic" gardening techniques showcased in The Land are okay, but they are currently using them so they really don't foretell the future.
Again, the land pavilion is almost exactly the same as it was when it opened. Experimental farming which at the time was being used, a movie about the circle of life and Kitchen Kabaret. And it was done. No future just present. Soarin is a vast improvement over KK.
- Under the Seas is weak. Nemo and Friends is boring. Turtle Talk with crush is underwhelming.
Except for the Hydrolators, Seas is almost exactly the same, but with the addition of Crush it gave something to see other then fish swimming. It was after all an aquarium first and foremost. The entrance where Nemo is featured was just a plain short omni ride through the main aquarium, which is still is, but, most of the view of the actual water and fish are not on display as prominently.
- Energy is dates and all it talks about is what we have done and currently do for the most part.
Did exactly the same thing as what is shown now but no where near as entertaining. That gives you some idea what a snore it was then.
- Imagination we all know is brutal
I do so wish I could disagree with you on this one, but, I cannot. They have totally destroyed what was once a great pavilion, but, even then it wasn't about the future, it was current known imagination references. It hinted to how the imagination would or could influence the future, but, nothing really specific.
- Even Spaceship Earth doesn't touch on any future at all. The exit of that ride is terrible. So once again we have a ride that talks about that past and what we are currently doing.
SSE is now and always was a ride that was a historical show on the different stages of man and communication, it did hint, like the current one does that it would continue to expand and grow, but was not a future focused ride.

Now I'll add one. Horizons was as close to anything to do with the future as any other attraction in that part of the park. It touched upon, along with history, what the possibilities were for the future. Be that, living in space, under the ocean, reclaiming desert land and making it more futuristicly productive. It also touched on future communications. Mission: Space does that as well unless you can tell me of any current shuttle crafts that go to Mars on a regular basis. If they exist, I must have missed that memo. Anyway, it is the only one that still is focused on what might happen in the future.

Although back 30 some years ago the place was called Future World, it wasn't as much the future as today's.

 

[aladdin2007]

The current version will be 20 years old next year! Cmon Disney wake up....
I'll miss the Lady Elaine Fairchild ellen animatronic, but it was probably getting as bad as the Sigourney Weaver one in the Great Movie Ride, that they refuse to do anything about with there too.
I still love the main dinosaur scene it reminds me of Epcots golden days, but the whole show is becoming worse than Imagination at this point.

 

[aladdin2007]

If they aren't embarrassed by having a shuttered pavilion for over a decade nothing will. I mean... It's an exercise in stupidity... Or maybe laziness... Or just not caring. M:S seems like the turning point where they said, "we tried, it's good enough, there you go." Actually, the moment they started tearing out classic rides to make it more kid and teen friendly it went downhill. It's no coincidence and a telling big signal, that a lot of people at WDI do not get EPCOT Center.

TT was relatively an easy refurb that injected some life into it. You can't tell me they can't do the same for UOE, or Imagination. And IMHO, M:S should be considered an expansion plot.

All of the above to the first bolded part,,,,the second bolded line remember TT has a sponsor that forked up plenty of money for the redo.

 

[bingie]

Last time i rode it i fell asleep immediately and a I woke up during the exit spiel to hear ".... and sir, we hope you had a good nap"

 

[StageFrenzy]

If you go to the parks please take pictures and videos of these things and tweet out #disneymagic or some such. If you know if Disney is trying to get a # trending tag it to that.

 

[OneDNP]

This is not something I'm proud of, but I have been asked on two separate occasions by people I was sitting with to wake up and stop snoring. They said I was "ruining" the magic.

As our next trip will be with a toddler, I have this ride earmarked as a potential nap-site after lunch. It was recommended from multiple sources.

I'm wonder if it actually gets a full do-over renovation, if it will be the horizons/imagination for the generation that grew up with it as EEA and not UoE. Were they to do something like convert the pavillion to event space, I could certainly see it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Does anyone else fine it ironic that more people fall asleep in a ride based on Energy than any other attraction on property?

 

[Jamie2016]

I like Ellen, but its time for something new- a really new version of this classic.

I agree..I'd like to see them make an attraction with the theme of alternative/renewable energy.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Does anyone else fine it ironic that more people fall asleep in a ride based on Energy than any other attraction on property?

Ironic and a shame that people plan nap time when riding this attraction. EPCOT really needs at least a billion dollar make over. It has so much potential and could take the pressure off the MK. It will be interesting to see how they had Frozen fever.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Ironic and a shame that people plan nap time when riding this attraction. EPCOT really needs at least a billion dollar make over. It has so much potential and could take the pressure off the MK. It will be interesting to see how they had Frozen fever.

I can fall asleep during T2: 3D...

 

[Professor_Jason]

Ellen spends a week at Universal Orlando on her show every year, I'm surprised Disney didn't take her out of the ride years ago

 

[SteamBoat6092]

UOE needs a refurb or reinvention for sure. And the fact that Hoirzon's has sat blank is a disgrace, at least turn it into a massive meet and greet for uncommon disney characters and reopen a shop/restaurant to go along with them inside. Something to soak up some people and pull them away from TT and Soaring would be helpful.

 

[Bairstow]

The cynic in me sees their turning one theater into convention space, the other into retail, and the dinosaur area into a restaurant.