Grand Fiesta

[ToTBellHop]

I guess I would point out a few things...

1. The line between being weak and being charming is very thin.

2. There is a big difference between creating stories and spoonfeeding them.

3. To challenge a guest is not necessarily a bad thing. Having to "figure it out" a bit has led to some of the greatest artistic and entertainment successes in the world. Research is certainly too far for the average guest, but I don't think El Rio took that.

4. EPCOT Center was not all that educational. It was inspirational, hopeful, and creative dressed in a guise of education. It was a showcase; not a text book. It celebrated the fun, the best, the accomplishments of people: science and culture.

5. Let's not mix up "confusion" with "boredom". That is highly what has led to the "wonderful" success in our education system.

6. It's not about the age of a character; it's about what they reprsent.

7. I don't think many original EPCOT Center fans would latch onto ERDT as their choice. But, it's all that we had left of the original park.

You are entitled to your opinion, and I'm glad you like it. But these nails in the coffin of what EPCOT Center did is NOT an "everybody wins" situation. It merely may be that there are more current paying customers that feel like they won. Only time will tell if that has any longer legs than did the first attempt at this park.

this isn't really a nail in the coffin of EPCOT Center. EPCOT Center is long dead, having decayed beyond recognition and the grass has grown completely over the plot so that no one will ever find it. This is more an issue of sweeping away the final piece of evidence at a murder scene...

 

[fw1987]

I love 3 Cabs

Followed by a Shiraz and then maybe a Pinot.

 

[mousermerf]

To all those espousing the cultural value or El Rio and it's artistic merits...

What were they and how were they expressed?

We had this arguement when the ride was first scheduled to close. I've got the "Ye Olde Book-O-Epcot" and I know exactly what El Rio del Tiempo meant scene by scene. We discovered (as a group here on wdwmagic) by exploring the text that even the most adamant fan of the attraction had no clue what the ride was supposed to be about.

So please stop this tirade about "El Rio spoke to me, it was educational, it was an art piece." It simply wasn't. It was a an attraction that was starved of cash flow during the end of its construction due to ballooning costs of the park and it suffered horribly from it. If anything they are now finally making right that wrong and finishing the attraction.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I just hope that Disney re-releases the animated movie cause Netflix no longer has it (it broke during shipment to my house).

 

[aeillill]

I'm really sad to see El Rio go, some of my earliest memories of WDW is of those vendors following you. While the ride was dated I still found it really enjoyable for some reason. I'm also really excited to see what they do with the Three Caballeros. If it was a character like Mickey or Goofy I'd be really annoyed, but the Three Caballeros fit IMO.

Everything being redone to Epcot though really makes me wish I could go back in time to my trip when I was 4 in 1989. EPCOT Center must have been so exciting back then. Really makes me wish I could have appreciated it when I was younger.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm really sad to see El Rio go, some of my earliest memories of WDW is of those vendors following you. While the ride was dated I still found it really enjoyable for some reason. I'm also really excited to see what they do with the Three Caballeros. If it was a character like Mickey or Goofy I'd be really annoyed, but the Three Caballeros fit IMO.

Everything being redone to Epcot though really makes me wish I could go back in time to my trip when I was 4 in 1989. EPCOT Center must have been so exciting back then. Really makes me wish I could have appreciated it when I was younger.

I'm not sure I would call a park filled up with rides going 2 mph "exciting." Perhaps it was inspirational in 1989, but that would generally be lost upon a 4 year old.

 

[Main Street USA]

You shouldn't have to "do research" to enjoy a theme park ride.

Face it. The original "El Rio" was a weak attempt to create a ride in World Showcase (and, at the time, the only "ride" in WS after the German ride got axed)

It was born out of the idea to build a Florida version of Disneyland's "Blue Bayou" restaurant, but without a show like DL's "Pirates".

To those who think Disney is all about storytelling, "El Rio" had no story.

To those who say the original EPCOT was about education, name two things that you learned from "El Rio".

To those that complain that the parks are becoming too "Pixar-ized"--- The Three Caballeros are a 63-year-old Walt-created original that I'm sure did not get dreamed up by the merchandise folks. This appears to be a genuine attempt to pay homage to a vintage Disney film in a setting that is most appropriate.

The original EPCOT failed because it did not appeal to a wide audience. Sure, sophisticated adults may have flocked to the place. But parents with children avoided it, simply because it was "boring".

Now with Nemo, The Three Caballeros, and characters galore, younger tastes have something to enjoy as their big brothers and sisters race off to the thrill rides, and their parents soak up the ambiance of international locales.

Now, everybody in the family can find something to enjoy. That enjoyment means they spend more $$$. More spending means continued investment in the parks. Everybody wins.

Do you read? I said the initial idea had deep cultural significance, not that the average guest, or even the seasoned WDW veteran, would understand it.

 

[Main Street USA]

To all those espousing the cultural value or El Rio and it's artistic merits...

What were they and how were they expressed?

We had this arguement when the ride was first scheduled to close. I've got the "Ye Olde Book-O-Epcot" and I know exactly what El Rio del Tiempo meant scene by scene. We discovered (as a group here on wdwmagic) by exploring the text that even the most adamant fan of the attraction had no clue what the ride was supposed to be about.

So please stop this tirade about "El Rio spoke to me, it was educational, it was an art piece." It simply wasn't. It was a an attraction that was starved of cash flow during the end of its construction due to ballooning costs of the park and it suffered horribly from it. If anything they are now finally making right that wrong and finishing the attraction.

If you're referring to my post in any way, you don't read well either. I didn't write that it had great artistic merit or anything similar. I wrote that it was intended to have that deep meaning. Nothing more. Geez.

 

[aeillill]

I'm not sure I would call a park filled up with rides going 2 mph "exciting." Perhaps it was inspirational in 1989, but that would generally be lost upon a 4 year old.

Well, yes it was lost on me hence my wishing I could remember it. Perhaps I wasn't clear what I meant. I wish I was old enough to appreciate it, I wish my 21 year old self could travel back in time and see what it was like back in 1989. Perhaps I would really enjoy the 2 mph rides that I don't remember.

 

[CThaddeus]

Well, yes it was lost on me hence my wishing I could remember it. Perhaps I wasn't clear what I meant. I wish I was old enough to appreciate it, I wish my 21 year old self could travel back in time and see what it was like back in 1989. Perhaps I would really enjoy the 2 mph rides that I don't remember.

From the sounds of it, you would...as did a lot of us.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

From the sounds of it, you would...as did a lot of us.

yes. And, four isn't that far off. I was only 7 then, and it certainly spoke to me. It has by far the most memories from my trip that year (second time at the resort, first being 1987 which I have very few memories of just from being so young). I can honestly say EPCOT Center had/has a lot to do with both my inspirational side and my cynical side.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Does anyone remember the days when Disney didn't think it needed to dumb down ride names? Imagine if it were "Splash Mountain Starring the Song of the South Friends" or "The Mad Tea Party Inspired by Walt Disney Pictures' Alice in Wonderland"...

 

[dxwwf3]

Does anyone remember the days when Disney didn't think it needed to dumb down ride names? Imagine if it were "Splash Mountain Starring the Song of the South Friends" or "The Mad Tea Party Inspired by Walt Disney Pictures' Alice in Wonderland"...

:lol: :sohappy: