EPCOT: Project Renaissance

[comics101]

Hello everyone--I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

I wanted to post a quick overview of the ideas and concepts already posted. Expect new ideas/pavilions to come very soon!

The EPCOT Renaissance - Phase 1

Dreamer's Plaza
Phase 1 of the EPCOT Renaissance brings an all-new entrance plaza to the park. The sterile concrete structures of the current entrance give way to a vibrant, lush oasis reminiscent of concept art created for Disneyland's WestCOT. Designed to celebrate civilization's progress throughout mankind's 200,000+ year history, Dreamer's Plaza features tributes to the world's most significant historical leaders, inventors, and innovators are featured; "Dreamers and doers," as Walt liked to call them.
Along the edge of Dreamer's Plaza, amidst the gardens and rockwork, 10 statues representing traits and characteristics of the "dreamers and doers" honored in the area can be found: Communication, Dedication, Discipline, Empathy, Integrity, Optimism, Passion, Patience, Resilience, and Vision.
Finally, at the center of the plaza, a statue of Walt Disney replaces the original EPCOT Center fountain and pylons. Walt is depicted as he was seen during the 1966 E.P.C.O.T. film, and is surrounded by a pond and garden.

Discovery World
The name "Future World" is retired as the front half of EPCOT is rechristened Discovery World: a place of knowledge and scientific advancement; where human achievement is celebrated and where the dreamers of tomorrow are equipped to change the world today.

VenturePort
The vibrant oasis found in Dreamer's Plaza continues into the heart of EPCOT, as Innoventions Plaza gives way to VenturePort. All roads through VenturePort lead to a place of hope and knowledge. Here, Mankind's destiny unfolds, as guests are given the tools and information necessary to shape the world of tomorrow.
Along with the change in name, VenturePort brings with it entirely new structures in which attractions are housed. Sleek, white, and modern in design, the new buildings appear to be synthesized with the environment; architecture and nature are one and do not compete with each other.

Attractions found at VenturePort include:

• The Experimental Prototype Cafe of Tomorrow
• The EPCOT Character Expo
  • Wall-E & EVE
  • Baymax & Hiro
  • Ludwig Von Drake
• Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
• EPCOT 360 (full service dining)
• Bot's Diner
• The TED Talks Forum
• Club Cool by Coca Cola
• The Walt Disney Imagineering Labs
• iCreamery
• The Discovertorium

Cosmos: A Journey through the Universe
Located at the former home of the Energy Pavilion, world-renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson brings his hit National Geographic television specials to life through the all new multi-sensory dark ride: Cosmos: A Journey through the Universe. Merging elements of the Universe of Energy with Soarin' and 3-D motion vehicle technology (Spider-Man/Ratatouille) on Cosmos, guests join deGrasse Tyson on his "Ship of Imagination" to witness the very moment that the big bang ignited the creation of the universe.

 

[comics101]

Another week and a half, another sporadic post regarding EPCOT ideas... I wish I had the time to post on a more regular basis, but as the new year begins, things are getting busier than ever!

Regardless, I have a quick thought/update that I'd like to get opinions on:

What about some sort of a "Career Center of Tomorrow" for VenturePort? I imagine it would be located near the TED Talks Forum. Curated by futurists and career experts, the exhibit would feature a variety of games, quizzes, and activities designed to give guests a taste of careers that might not yet exist but likely will in the near future.

 

[comics101]

Hello everyone!
I may have taken a brief hiatus, but that doesn't mean that the ideas have stopped! There's still plenty of work to be done on the all-new EPCOT! So, to paraphrase a certain cartoon mouse, "Is everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show!"
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Discovery World is continuing to take shape—recently, Cosmos: A Journey through the Universe opened in place of The Universe of Energy, and VenturePort is well on the way to its grand opening. There’s one project though, located at the former home of The Wonders of Life, that hasn’t been announced just yet, despite some very obvious signs of construction work at the pavilion. Fans have long debated what Disney has up its sleeve for the space, with many agreeing that it is, unfortunately, likely to be home to a new, permanent festival center. That’s why, when Disney announced the newest pavilion coming to EPCOT, fans everywhere were shocked with delight.

More to come...

 

[comics101]

Well guys, another month (and then some) has passed, so I figured it's time to provide everyone with another update on EPCOT's Project Renaissance. While information regarding new additions to Discovery World and World Showcase are forthcoming, I wanted to change my post on The Cyberspace pavilion to provide more details. That update is below.
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Upon its reopening, when guests approach what once was the golden dome housing Body Wars and Cranium Command, they’ll instead discover a light blue dome now known as The Cyberspace: a brand-new pavilion dedicated to the mysteries and wonders of the World Wide Web. Hosted by Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope, The Cyberspace is heavily influenced by Ralph Breaks the Internet, and is sort of an IP dumping ground for the park (not unlike the upcoming Play Pavilion).

Entering the pavilion, guests find themselves at EPCOT Computer Central (ECC), where they are informed that they are going to be “digitized.” They are funneled into DigiPods, transformed into pure information, and sent rocketing into the ECC’s Wi-Fi router. From there, guests can explore the excitement of the World Wide Web, replicated as a train terminal located within an internet city (see Figure 2).

*The DigiPods work exactly as the Resistance Transport does in Rise of the Resistance’s preshow.

Figure 1: Entering the pavilion, guests find themselves inside at EPCOT Computer Central (resembling the internet router from 'Ralph Breaks the Internet'), and are led by Ralph and Vanellope to DigiPods that take them to the Internet World.

Much like the EPCOT’s future Play Pavilion, The Cyberspace features a variety of exhibits and games for guests to explore and enjoy. Though most of the exhibits are based on Disney properties such as The Incredibles or Big Hero 6, the pavilion also features shows and activities sponsored by various Social Media and computer companies such as Facebook and Apple. Perhaps an exhibit sponsored by Facebook stresses Social Media etiquette, while Apple provides information on Apple Fitness+ and the ways in which technology can assist with exercise.

Figure 2: Concept art depicting the terminal / hub where Ralph and Vanellope first arrive at the Internet provides an example of what the pavilion's interior will look like.

At the pavilion’s center stands ‘The Search Bar,’ hosted by fictional search engine KnowsMore. Here, an LCI KnowsMore animatronic interacts with and greets guests, always trying to complete their sentences and search queries. Additionally, as guests make their way through the pavilion, they’ll encounter Spamley and his gang of Pop Up Advertisers, which randomly appear and troll guests with memes, advertisements, etc.

Figures 3 & 4: KnowsMore and Spamley are two of the LCI animatronic figures that populate the pavilion and interact with guests.

Three “major” attractions (one B-ticket, a C-ticket, and an E-ticket) are found within the Cyberspace pavilion, including 1) The Disney Princess Academy, 2) Ralph Tours the Internet and 3) Tron Lightcycle Power Race. The entrance to each attraction is marked by a separate “marquee” within the larger Internet Terminal (similar to the image seen in Figure 5).

Figure 5: Each attraction features its own entrance within the larger pavilion, marked by a "marquee" unique to the franchise upon which the attraction is based. Think the Animation Building at Disney's California Adventure.

The Disney Princess Academy
Located underneath a pink castle-marquee, the B-ticket, Disney Princess Academy, is an interactive show hosted by an animatronic Vanellope in which she helps the Princesses find “Happily Ever After” outside of their fairytale worlds.

Ralph Tours the Internet
A C-ticket dark ride, guests enter Ralph Tours the Internet through a monorail station (as seen in Play Pavilion concept art) and join Ralph/Vanellope on a tour through Internet City. Vehicles are made up of 4 cars, seating 2-3 across—with each train of cars designed to look like mini-monorails.

Tron Lightcycle Power Race
Finally, moving out of the Magic Kingdom and into EPCOT comes the park's first ever roller coaster: Tron Lightcycle Power Race. Located beneath a marquee designed to resemble Flynn’s Arcade from the Tron movies, this upgraded version of the Shanghai Disney/Magic Kingdom ride features two dueling coaster tracks—one side blue, the other yellow—each battling one another in a race that could mean life or death.

Unlike current versions of the roller coaster, the new Tron features no outdoor segments; the entire ride is located within a show building to maintain the illusion of being inside “The Grid.” To hide the massive show building required for the new attraction (*cough* unlike Cosmic Rewind *cough*) , half of the coaster will actually be located underground in a massive basement. The upper portion of the show building will feature a canopy similar to the show buildings in SDL and MK, albeit slightly modified to blend with the light blue dome of The Cyberspace pavilion. At night, the dome and canopy glow, filtering through various shades of purple and blue lights.

 

[comics101]

Hey everyone, I’m back with a few new updates—this time featuring a series of A and B-ticket attractions for World Showcase. For now, I’m calling these shows and exhibits “Behind the Classics,” though I don’t exactly love that name. Regardless, the basic idea is to give guests the opportunity to experience the fairy tale stories that inspired so many of Disney’s animated feature films.

For example, located in the China Pavilion’s courtyard, an acrobatic show debuts featuring ‘The Ballad of Hua Mulan.’ As a Chinese performer sings of the legend in her native Mandarin, a narrator translates the story into English. Meanwhile, a Chinese acrobat troupe depict scenes from the story.

In Germany, a new showbuilding located behind the pavilion houses ‘The Snow White Castle Mystery Tour,’ an interactive walkthrough attraction through the Evil Queen’s castle past show scenes from the original Grimm Bros. story.

At Italy, off to the side of the pavilion, a small outdoor amphitheater is constructed, at which a puppet show featuring scenes from the novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio” is performed.

In France, I’d like to include some sort of an attraction involving Victor Hugo’s “Notre-Dame de Paris,” however I’m not exactly sure what it be, nor do I have any idea where it would be located. Similarly, I’m torn between an attraction based on Robin Hood or an attraction based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” for the UK pavilion. I suppose ‘Alice’ fits the pavilion’s aesthetic a bit better.

Anyway, just a short update for today to let everyone know I'm still constantly coming up with ideas for EPCOT: Project Renaissance, even though I don't share them as frequently as I wish I could.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the "Behind the Classics" attractions! Any thoughts on what France's Hunchback attraction might entail? In the UK, would you go with Robin Hood, 'Alice,' or something else entirely?

 

[DisneyManOne]

Hey everyone, I’m back with a few new updates—this time featuring a series of A and B-ticket attractions for World Showcase. For now, I’m calling these shows and exhibits “Behind the Classics,” though I don’t exactly love that name. Regardless, the basic idea is to give guests the opportunity to experience the fairy tale stories that inspired so many of Disney’s animated feature films.

For example, located in the China Pavilion’s courtyard, an acrobatic show debuts featuring ‘The Ballad of Hua Mulan.’ As a Chinese performer sings of the legend in her native Mandarin, a narrator translates the story into English. Meanwhile, a Chinese acrobat troupe depict scenes from the story.

In Germany, a new showbuilding located behind the pavilion houses ‘The Snow White Castle Mystery Tour,’ an interactive walkthrough attraction through the Evil Queen’s castle past show scenes from the original Grimm Bros. story.

At Italy, off to the side of the pavilion, a small outdoor amphitheater is constructed, at which a puppet show featuring scenes from the novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio” is performed.

In France, I’d like to include some sort of an attraction involving Victor Hugo’s “Notre-Dame de Paris,” however I’m not exactly sure what it be, nor do I have any idea where it would be located. Similarly, I’m torn between an attraction based on Robin Hood or an attraction based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” for the UK pavilion. I suppose ‘Alice’ fits the pavilion’s aesthetic a bit better.

Anyway, just a short update for today to let everyone know I'm still constantly coming up with ideas for EPCOT: Project Renaissance, even though I don't share them as frequently as I wish I could.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the "Behind the Classics" attractions! Any thoughts on what France's Hunchback attraction might entail? In the UK, would you go with Robin Hood, 'Alice,' or something else entirely?

Honestly, today, I was reminded of "The Story Behind the Story", a special feature on the 2002 Beauty and the Beast DVD wherein the histories and inspirations of various Disney films is related. Maybe you could utilize that name for these exhibits. It would be perfect for something devoted to showcasing the inspirations for Disney films.

 

[comics101]

Honestly, today, I was reminded of "The Story Behind the Story", a special feature on the 2002 Beauty and the Beast DVD wherein the histories and inspirations of various Disney films is related. Maybe you could utilize that name for these exhibits. It would be perfect for something devoted to showcasing the inspirations for Disney films.

Oh sweet, I hadn't seen these before. I'm going to have to check them out--thanks for sharing!