Epcot Pavilion Sponsors

[jmani56]

Forgive me if this has been discussed/answered before, but I have a question about Epcot and it's sponsorship model...

We always hear that pavilions (like WOL) will never be reopened or improved upon without major funding from sponsors. Why is this? The other parks all function without sponsors, and major attractions like E:E are funded entirely by Disney. And to my knowledge, The Seas pavilion does not have a sponsor. So why does Epcot sometimes suffer from outdated attractions because of this reason? It seems like an excuse to me. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems really strange to have an entire empty pavilion due to that reason when other parks have no such abandoned areas.

 

[unkadug]

The other parks are not designed around the same business model as Epcot

EPCOT was originally designed and conceptualized as a joint venture between Disney and Big Business. To go against that grain is an anathema to TDO.

 

[wolf359]

EPCOT was planned right from the beginning with those sponsorships in place. They needed all of the outside funding in order to create something that size. EPCOT is huge, and I don't think it could or would have been built as we know it today without the significant amount of outside funding it received. And at the time EPCOT was built, I'm sure the company just assumed they'd always have someone willing to pay.

Perhaps THAT's the biggest future event Future World missed the mark on forecasting...a lack of sponsorship dollars.

So EPCOT's Achilles Heel is it's size. Because of it's size I'm sure it costs significantly more to staff and maintain, yet it still charges the same amount to guests.

As more and more sponsors have dropped out, that means Disney has to take up the slack. Their decision to close Wonders of Life instead of continuing to spend even more money on an unpopular pavilion is controversial, but for right now I think it was the right choice.

And it isn't like Disney World as a whole hasn't seen similar closings. 20,000 Leagues sat closed for years just because it was so costly to maintain, yet had low capacity. Pleasure Island is also completely closed because no one else has stepped up to populate it with the next bold new idea. Discovery Island and River Country have more complicated reasons behind their closings, yet they still sit closed.

So really, in the grand scheme of things, I suppose we're lucky that "only" one pavilion at EPCOT is closed.

 

[Horizons1]

Well another EPCOT pavilion to see a similar stagnation was Horizons. Shortly after GE dropped out the pavilion was closed and just sat there. It would eventually reopen, but that's because TT was running behind schedule and UOE was also being rennovated. Had that not been the case, Horizons may have very well sat there for a while, similar to WOL.

Come to think of it, Horizons was rumored for some time to see a similar fate as WOL where it was going to become convention space. I even remember hearing about Fantasia 2000 being shown in the Ominimax theater for guests. Man, that would have been cool.

But EPCOT was founded on sponsership. This is the core idea of the park that goes back to when Walt Disney first came up with the city. It's a mixture of Disney and companies.

 

[marni1971]

Come to think of it, Horizons was rumored for some time to see a similar fate as WOL where it was going to become convention space. I even remember hearing about Fantasia 2000 being shown in the Ominimax theater for guests. Man, that would have been cool.

Just a rumour, nothing more. Same for Fantasia.

 

[jmani56]

If that model isn't working for the time being, doesn't it make more sense for Disney to fund the pavilion themselves? I guess I don't buy the whole "Epcot is too big for Disney to fund" argument. Animal Kingdom is much larger and by all accounts more expensive to keep up, yet Disney fitted the entire bill.

I understand the original model for Epcot was for sponsorship, but if the park is suffering as a result of this model, I don't see why they wouldn't change it. They obviously have enough money for new theme parks (AK), huge expansions (Fantasyland), and new attractions (TSM), so I just don't see why Epcot is always put on the shelf.

 

[wolf359]

I'm not sure EPCOT is "suffering" just because of the closure of Wonders of Life. Sure, it would be great if someone would pay to have that pavilion updated and reopened, but as far as we know no one has and it isn't a priority for Disney.

Without the support of outside sponsors, Disney has to pick their battles when updating pavilions on their own dime. In spite of the general belief that big companies like Disney have oodles and oodles of cash just lying around in vaults a la Scrooge McDuck they have plenty of debt and operational costs just like all of the other big companies that can no longer afford to sponsor attractions.

As far as new attractions and updates goes though, I'm not sure EPCOT is really being left out. In the last ten years EPCOT has seen an updated Land pavilion and the addition of Soarin', an updated Seas pavilion, the opening of Mission: Space, an updated Spaceship Earth, an updated ride in Mexico, and new films in China and Canada.

Compared to that, I think the other three park's roster of new and updated attractions looks downright modest.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I heard a rumor that has come up twice, both saying that HP might be dropping out of their contract for Mission: SPACE. I'm curious as to what will become of that should it happen...

 

[rkelly42]

I heard a rumor that has come up twice, both saying that HP might be dropping out of their contract for Mission: SPACE. I'm curious as to what will become of that should it happen...

Mission: Empty Space

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I heard a rumor that has come up twice, both saying that HP might be dropping out of their contract for Mission: SPACE. I'm curious as to what will become of that should it happen...

Horizons... wishful thinking but that would be cool. I am not so impressed with Mission Space.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

More than likely another sponsor would step forward, but it would be interesting to see if Disney would just keep the attraction running mostly as is, sans sponsor. That worked for a few attractions, but I'm not sure Mission: SPACE will be one of them.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

More than likely another sponsor would step forward, but it would be interesting to see if Disney would just keep the attraction running mostly as is, sans sponsor. That worked for a few attractions, but I'm not sure Mission: SPACE will be one of them.

I never thought it would or will last. I think they are in store for another space attraction, a whole new ride and theme or the return of Horizons do to all the complaining.

 

[WDW Monorail]

I never thought it would or will last. I think they are in store for another space attraction, a whole new ride and theme or the return of Horizons do to all the complaining.

Regardless of what you may think, complaining of the removal of Horizons is non-existent outside of these boards. M:S is an immensely popular attraction that wrongfully suffered some bad press.

Horizons was continuously rated one of the least popular attractions by guests.

After all the time and money spent creating the technology used in the attraction, M:S will not be going anywhere anytime soon, even if sponsorship is dropped.

 

[Master Gracey 5]

I'm a M:S fan myself and the only complaint I have with the ride is the watering down into Green and Orange rides. Not everyone can be an astronaut and withstand high and low gravity situations - its just a fact of life. I only vaguely remember Horizons but I know it never generated the lines the M:S does.

As far as HP dropping sponsorship - I don't see that happening anytime soon. HP is doing very well lately and is the number 1 PC maker in the world (Dell's quality issues finally caught up with it). Since the ride opened in 2003, they likely signed a 10 year sponsorship agreement so the soonest they would drop would be 2013 and unless the company comes on tough times by then, I doubt they'll drop.

 

[dvm258]

Honestly, I see GM dropping their sponsorship of Test Track before HP drops their sponsorship of Mission: SPACE.

Test Track takes a lot of resources to keep running. Honestly, it's more of a question of when, not if, GM will drop out. GM is also a major part of the ride itself, as it's all over the walls, in the preshow video, the post-show, and on the ride itself. Unlike Mission: SPACE, it will cost Disney a significant amount of money to remove all of the GM references from the ride. The job could potentially involve a long refurb rivaling Space Mountain's as well.

Disney would much rather have a new sponsor foot that bill rather than themselves, but I don't think one is about to step up.

Some people mentioned Toyota in earlier threads, but considering how much money they're spending on the recalls now, I think they may be eliminated from consideration. (Or possibly, a ride like Test Track which is all about car safety is exactly what they need?) It's an interesting topic!

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Regardless of what you may think, complaining of the removal of Horizons is non-existent outside of these boards. M:S is an immensely popular attraction that wrongfully suffered some bad press.

Horizons was continuously rated one of the least popular attractions by guests.

After all the time and money spent creating the technology used in the attraction, M:S will not be going anywhere anytime soon, even if sponsorship is dropped.

So Horizons is dramatized due to protesting LOL?. PS... I also like mission space but wish it had more to offer.

 

[fyn]

I'm a M:S fan myself and the only complaint I have with the ride is the watering down into Green and Orange rides. Not everyone can be an astronaut and withstand high and low gravity situations - its just a fact of life. I only vaguely remember Horizons but I know it never generated the lines the M:S does.

As far as HP dropping sponsorship - I don't see that happening anytime soon. HP is doing very well lately and is the number 1 PC maker in the world (Dell's quality issues finally caught up with it). Since the ride opened in 2003, they likely signed a 10 year sponsorship agreement so the soonest they would drop would be 2013 and unless the company comes on tough times by then, I doubt they'll drop.

I remember Horizons quite well, and I've seen days where it generated as long of a line as any in EPCOT. It's important to remember that today's crowd levels are (despite the recession) much higher than when Horizons was shut down.

 

[WondersOfLife]

no sponsor for WOL.
UOE is running without a sponsor.
GM lost it's contract for owning TT last year (or 2).
I just heard HP is dropping sponsor for mission space now?

all we have left is innoventions (IBM), the seas with nemo and friends (PIXAR), Spaceship Earth (Siemens), Club Cool (Cocacola), and Microsoft taking WOL soon

so if u include that sponsor signature for TT is still there, and you dont think HP is dropping, no problem =)

ohh... and The Land (Nestle)

 

[Monorail Lime]

ohh... and The Land (Nestle)

Nope. They pulled out last year.

 

[Master Gracey 5]

I remember Horizons quite well, and I've seen days where it generated as long of a line as any in EPCOT. It's important to remember that today's crowd levels are (despite the recession) much higher than when Horizons was shut down.

I'm sure you're right, it was just too long ago for me to remember well. Of course, being 10 I probably didn't notice the wait as clearly as I do now.

Nope. They pulled out last year.

Yeah, Nestle had been there forever and left even with the traffic from Soarin. If you think about it, there isn't much in that pavilion to connect with their sponsorship (other than cacao, rice, and sugar growing in LWTL). I think they finally decided there was no benefit to sponsoring the Land.