Epcot France rumor?

GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It's not exactly a rumor, but Screamscape reported the following this morning:

France Renovation - Rumor - (10/11/12) Is France preparing to get a new attraction soon? According to a trusted Screamscape source, they were at Epcot this past week and upon exiting the Impressions de France film attraction in World Showcase, they were approached by a survey taker to get their opinion on the aging attraction. Other than The American Adventure, I believe Impressions de France is the only other surviving original World Showcase attraction left untouched.
The following is just a bit of speculation on my part, but due to it’s location, I believe the backstage area behind the France Pavilion has a bit more extra space available to it that could be used for a future attraction if needed. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a copy of the Ratatouille dark ride under construction in Paris be installed here. With the Paris theme and restaurant, there could be no better location.
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Can we just skip the Screamscape credibility comments, and discuss the merits/possibility of this happening?
Are they legitimately looking at doing something more for France?
Has anybody else been surveyed? What were the questions?
 
FrankLapidus

FrankLapidus

Well-Known Member
The insiders here have been pretty unanimous in their assertions that nothing is currently planned for Epcot so I won't get my hopes up, though I agree with you that the Ratatouille dark ride would be a good addition.
 
K

Kuhio

Well-Known Member
I saw survey CMs at France last week, but opted not to take a survey. I assumed they were seeing how guests felt about the digitization of the film (which looks great, at least from a technical standpoint).

Although the improvement of the film quality happened over a year ago, I recall hearing someone mention it during EPCOT's 30th (Marty Sklar, I think, during his second presentation) and praising it as something akin to a "whole new experience." I wonder whether Disney is trying to figure out whether a "refurb" of this type to an aging attraction -- i.e., one that doesn't really change the substance of the show -- gets the company enough bang for its buck with regard to guest satisfaction and enjoyment.
 
sshindel

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
From the perspective of could something fit there, doing some very unscientific looking (opening up Google Maps, bringing up Epcot and Disney Studios in Paris, getting them to the same zoom level, and clicking back and forth), it does look like the space alloted might fit the dark ride.
Now, do I see them building a new ride there instead of just updating the film? Not really.
I'll wish for it, because it could be fantastic, and is one of my favorite films of all time, but I've rarely found Jiminy Cricket's song lyrics to hold very true.
 
wm49rs

wm49rs

A naughty bit o' crumpet
Premium Member
As the article said, it's all speculation, and the bakery in France is getting a major overhaul. So it's not quite completely "untouched."
 
GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
wm49rs said:
As the article said, it's all speculation, and the bakery in France is getting a major overhaul. So it's not quite completely "untouched."
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It didn't say the pavillion was untouched, just the attraction. Which, for the record, both attractions have been "touched" or changed in some way, just not drastically from the original presentation.
 
Mike730

Mike730

Well-Known Member
Boy, I wish it were true! I feel bad doing this, but Epcot may be my least favorite of the Florida Disney parks.

Future World used to consist of awe-inspiring attractions while World Showcase left guest with a fun (and tasty) way to fill up the rest of their day in a cool culturally-infused environment.

The problem now is that FW is beat up and run down leaving World Showcase to pick up more slack, which it cant really do because the attractions there were never meant to be E-tickets. Even more so, the attractions still there are nothing new.

As guests spend less time in the front of the park and more time in the back, they are left wanting more. I've heard dozens of people ask "Where are all the rides?". It also doesn't help if that guest has been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg where the whole park is countries and each one has multiple experiences. That is something we should expect from a Disney park right?

In my eyes, unfortunately, Epcot is in the realm of DHS. DHS may be a mess, but Epcot isn't far behind. You wouldn't pay to get into your local mall's food court and pay at the cashier for Wendy's would you? Why should we do it at Epcot?

Disney needs to commit to adding or re-doing attractions (like test track). FW may need new attractions badly, but adding them to WS wouldn't hurt either. Perfect-fits like the Ratatouille dark ride seem like no-brainers.
 
GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Mike730 said:
Disney needs to commit to adding or re-doing attractions (like test track). FW may need new attractions badly, but adding them to WS wouldn't hurt either. Perfect-fits like the Ratatouille dark ride seem like no-brainers.
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Completely agree with your sentiments here. Epcot could/should be so much MORE! There is so much potential here to make it into something truly spectacular, but either they just don't know how to or there isn't any desire or incentive to do so.
 

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