EPCOT 25th RUMORS

[WDWFigment]

It would make sense if they did do something starting then since Disney likes to have a different theme each year to give you a reason to go back. I personally hope they do something. EPCOT is my favorite park.

So in theory, Disney's next "year" could be an Epcot 25th celebration?

 

[jedimaster1227]

No it is not. The passporter is written by someone that runs a unoffical website. So if they hear a rumor that is what they put it in there. I would say that the fact that the head of Epcot said it is not happening is more then a small HINT that it is not happening!!!

So yes in fact this is a BIG rumor!

J

I asked because I don't read many unofficial source pages anymore... If I haven't heard of it personally or had one of my friends refute the rumor, I toss it aside. Brad Rex of all people would not lie about such an occasion which is why we are doing something ourselves for the event rather than waiting for these rumors to be proven false. Hope you all can join us! :wave:

So in theory, Disney's next "year" could be an Epcot 25th celebration?

Not so much as it would only affect Epcot. The other parks would operate normally if this occasion if it were really happening, but since it isn't there isn't much to worry about...

 

[TP2000]

The info quoted from Passporter already has a glaring error; The Year of a Million Dreams goes through calendar year 2007, ending 12/31/07, three months after Epcot's 25th. From a recent Disney press release;

"As part of the "Where Dreams Come True" initiative, Disney Parks introduced "The Year of a Million Dreams" (Oct. 1, 2006-Dec. 31, 2007). During this 15-month, first-of-its-kind celebration, more than one million very special dreams are being granted to guests visiting Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. The celebration also is highlighted by the debut of innovative Disney attractions and entertainment spectaculars at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts."

I'm afraid this Passporter info is just fan-fueled rumors from people who don't want to admit that Disney won't be do anything major for Epcot's 25th Anniversary. The Year of a Million Dreams is the major marketing campaign for Orlando through the end of this year. It's not going to be cut short, or supplanted, by anything major for Epcot's 25th. Sad but true, and it would be best if we all finally admitted that.

 

[MickeyTigg]

Is the passporter even official?

No...it's not. If the park VP says there isn't going to be a celebration...there is not going to be one.

If there was..we probably would have heard something by now.

What rumors...the only rumors are from people that won't give up on making things up that there's going to be a celebration.

 

[goofyfan13]

No...it's not. If the park VP says there isn't going to be a celebration...there is not going to be one.

If there was..we probably would have heard something by now.

What rumors...the only rumors are from people that won't give up on making things up that there's going to be a celebration.

Exactly, I'm willing to bet all that we will see is some merchandise, like the retro shirts coming out already, and AT MOST a new/special Illuminations.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If Disney don't celebrate EPCOTs 25th - then we can always make our own celebrations by holding an unofficial party in the park

 

[frank4369]

Exactly, I'm willing to bet all that we will see is some merchandise, like the retro shirts coming out already, and AT MOST a new/special Illuminations.

I wouldn't have a problem with that, but I don't understand why Disney wouldn't just do a park specific celebration. Signage and a parade would be great as well, and it's not like every park needs to be made over for it. I'm certainly not trying to fuel any rumors, but it would be surprising to me if nothing was done. It wouldn't be in line with history.

 

[Xadllas]

Thats a LOT to get started on. Basically everything you listed there they would have to start like, right now, to have it done during the 25th year.

OK, let the party begin. Just remember DON"T SHOOT THE MESSENGER



A 20 page thread on a Disney fan site hardly makes the place crowded. Even if every post was a different person, and every single person went, thats only 200 people.

If you think the casual guest really cares about being there on the (day of the) 25th anniversary of Epcot, you're mistaken (sadly).

People cared about being at Disneyland on its 50th I don't see how this is any different.

 

[kcnole]

I don't see any reason why they don't at least do a small celebration in the parks. It wouldn't cost very much money, they don't even have to really hype it. Just put up some signs around the park marking the 25 years, put out some nice merchandise about it, put in a parade celebrating 25 years of discovery or something, and officially announce a refurb or new attraction or something as a gift to Epcot for its 25th anniversary. Maybe put in a small attraction detaling the history of Epcot. Then tear down the wand.

That's all I need for a good celebration. I don't need, in fact I don't even really want some worldwide celebration. I just want something inside the park recognizing this wonderful event.

 

[SirNim]

If there was..we probably would have heard something by now.

We would have heard by now if the event were to be on a grand, multi-park, international scale.

But should any event take place, it will not be on such a scale. It will be on a much smaller, one-park, one-day scale...

...a scale which would warrant an announcement much sooner to the actual day...

...an announcement sometime during the summer, or perhaps even into September...


Any announcements made by this point could very well be bluffing or double-speak. I wouldn't put double-speak past any Disney representative...

 

[WDWFigment]

People cared about being at Disneyland on its 50th I don't see how this is any different.

I agree; We need to remember that just because someone doesn't post on a WDW forum doesn't mean that they don't care about WDW. How many of you cared about WDW before posting here? Almost everyone, I'm sure. The fact that there are always tons more lurkers than members also solidifies my belief that we shouldn't be so elitist when we evaluate how the rest of the WDW going public feels about WDW...

 

[spaceghost]

We would have heard by now if the event were to be on a grand, multi-park, international scale.

But should any event take place, it will not be on such a scale. It will be on a much smaller, one-park, one-day scale...

...a scale which would warrant an announcement much sooner to the actual day...

...an announcement sometime during the summer, or perhaps even into September...


Any announcements made by this point could very well be bluffing or double-speak. I wouldn't put double-speak past any Disney representative...

Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. I know EPCOT's VP said that there was not going to be a park wide celebration, but maybe he said that because he had to because Disney doesn't want to overshadow YOAMD with another celebration at this early point, or because the decisions hadn't been made yet. It seems that there is always a promotion/event/celebration going on with the parks, so it also seems likely that something has to be in store for after the YOAMD promo is over. And if you think back to YOAMD, that wasn't announced until a few months before it actually started, so I'm not sure why we'd be expecting any announcements at this point anyway. Until we hear what the next promo/event is going to be (which will probably be a while), I'll hold out a teensy bit of hope that something may happen with this...

 

[mousermerf]

We would have heard by now if the event were to be on a grand, multi-park, international scale.

But should any event take place, it will not be on such a scale. It will be on a much smaller, one-park, one-day scale...

...a scale which would warrant an announcement much sooner to the actual day...

...an announcement sometime during the summer, or perhaps even into September...


Any announcements made by this point could very well be bluffing or double-speak. I wouldn't put double-speak past any Disney representative...

Along those lines, we haven't heard anything about Epcot's Food and Wine Festival which begins that same weekend. That festival draws in over a million guests on its own, has tons of sold out events, and yet we've heard nothing about this year's lineup yet. So, it takes a while to get things going. You really think Disney wont atleast reconsider their position with how much hype there has been over that single statement from Brad Rex?

 

[jedimaster1227]

If Disney don't celebrate EPCOTs 25th - then we can always make our own celebrations by holding an unofficial party in the park

Way ahead of you there! http://www.freewebs.com/zmanatr/codenamecelebration25.htm :wave:

 

[ROEFan88]

Sounds interesting. But can I ask, after meeting up... what do you plan on doing then? What could you do which you wouldn't on any other day, and that wouldn't arouse the attention of cast members? This is, of course, on the assumption that Disney have nothing planned (which I hope isn't the case). I'd love to be there if there was someting special planned.

 

[EpcotServo]

What could you do which you wouldn't on any other day, and that wouldn't arouse the attention of cast members?

While I'm only speaking for myself, I have to say that I don't want our event to slip under the radar. I want the Cast Members and Managers to pass the news of our event down the line to the big wigs. I want them to kind of roll back in their easy chairs and say "Boy, we really missed out. We could've gotten alot of money out of that."
:lol:
I mean that with all due respect of course.

 

[rdour@techminds]

Gatherings do gather attention.

Hello,

I participated in several of the MouseFest activities during December. One thing to note is that most Disney CMs honestly had no idea what that was about. The interesting meet was the podcasters. We did have quite the crowd. Most guests and CMs didn't even know what a podcast is, but I'm sure they did understand that community gatherings are great for Disney. I wish that the parks had a CM in guest relations that could officially be a last minute Disney rep when these pop up. It would just be nice to see Disney acknowledge the hard work of people who plan such events. These are not large corporate gatherings, or a massive family reunion. These are focused Disney fans meeting to enjoy a product produced by a major American corporation. You would think they would want reps out there to gather the general mood of the crowd and to just plain show they are watching and appreciate the work.

Remember, for every word we write here, good or bad, it just adds press to the pile. The goal is to get people to visit the parks, see the movies, buy the DVDs, and trade those pins and collectables. I'm just so happy they provide a product worth talking about for free at great lengths. This is similar to the Apple Macintosh. You get a Mac user talking and it is like having someone tell you the story of the bible or something similar. You ask me a single little question about my trip and I'll talk your ear off for the next few hours. I may even convince you to go with me on the next trip.

Ah, so this is the one little innocent addiction that is not unhealthy we can all enjoy? This is good, the world needs more to laugh, cry, and ponder about.

Ryan

 

[Giaco]

New Theme Every Year?

Does Disney World have a new theme every year? This year it's a "Year of a Million Dreams"; does that mean that 2008 will have it's own theme? Just wondering?

 

[Champion]

Does Disney World have a new theme every year? This year it's a "Year of a Million Dreams"; does that mean that 2008 will have it's own theme? Just wondering?

More often than not, yes, there is a celebration going on. Since, basically, the 25th celebration, they've done something pretty constantly. A few gaps in them, but not that many.