Guardians of the Galaxy coming to Energy Pavilion at Epcot

[ParentsOf4]

Why does everything have to be so absolutist? It wasn't stated that they were completely unrelated. There is some continuity, as you put it, but it is definitely not what Walt had in mind.

If Walt woke up from a coma in 1982 and was shown EPCOT Center, he wouldn't immediately know what he was looking at. However, after being brought up to speed on what happened, particularly with regard to infrastructure, building codes and governance, I would imagine that he would recognize at least the spirit of what he was going for, just in theme park form instead of city. Then he would say something to the effect of "Not bad boys. Not what I would have done, but if anyone could do what I did then I wouldn't be me."

This is pure speculation with no basis in fact.

I think Walt Disney would wake up and say, "What the heck happened to my Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow? You know, the one that I made that short film about. You guys messed it up!"

He'd then light up a cigarette and take a long drag.

 

[RobidaFlats]

This is pure speculation with no basis in fact.

I think Walt Disney would wake up and say, "What the heck happened to my Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow? You guys messed it up!"

He'd then light up a cigarette and take a long drag.

I think we can all agree that the cigarette is far from speculation.

 

[Andrew C]

This is pure speculation with no basis in fact.

I think Walt Disney would wake up and say, "What the heck happened to my Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow? You know, the one that I made that short film about. You guys messed it up!"

He'd then light up a cigarette and take a long drag.

This made me laugh out loud.

 

[RoysCabin]

This is a paragraph of sound logic to me. I hope Guardians comes. EPCOT needs a little pop to it. You can still have futuristic things in this park. I see no issue of it coming other than a little "butthurtiness" from a few people. I want this park to remain relevant. This is one way to go about things. Just my honest opinion on it.

Not to disregard the lines that I'm sure a GotG ride could generate, but to tie it in with the post I made earlier, I think such a move potentially moves closer to making EPCOT less relevant, at least in terms of its identity as its own theme park, as it risks moving toward more homogenization throughout WDW.

Now granted I'm going by pure speculation here, as we all are at the moment, so I'm not trying to definitively say "this ride would kill EPCOT" sight unseen. But the overall point for me is that a place like Fantasyland already handles many "traditional" Disney IPs and the revived Studios park is going to essentially be an entire park of IPs (Star Wars, Pixar, Muppets, I'm sure more on the way);if I'm a parent with kids who want to see the princesses or what have you, I'm taking them to Magic Kingdom, and with kids who want less traditional Disney we're making a beeline for the Studios.

At that point, what does EPCOT offer, if that's all the company is going to focus on? A single Frozen ride, a Guardians ride, but nothing thorough, nothing that could match the much more complete work they'll be doing with MK and the Studios. That leaves you in two potential places, more likely: either EPCOT remains a red headed step child because the theming for the IPs won't be as complete as the other parks', or you completely remake the park with a majority IP approach, at which point why even call it "EPCOT" anymore?

Again, this isn't to say that one ride will completely ruin Future World (something that was sadly already done circa 2000), just as adding Frozen alone hasn't completely ruined World Showcase, but given the direction the other parks have gone and are going in I don't think it serves EPCOT well to be the park that only half-commits to anything resembling a vision.

 

[DisneyJayL]

Not to disregard the lines that I'm sure a GotG ride could generate, but to tie it in with the post I made earlier, I think such a move potentially moves closer to making EPCOT less relevant, at least in terms of its identity as its own theme park, as it risks moving toward more homogenization throughout WDW.

Now granted I'm going by pure speculation here, as we all are at the moment, so I'm not trying to definitively say "this ride would kill EPCOT" sight unseen. But the overall point for me is that a place like Fantasyland already handles many "traditional" Disney IPs and the revived Studios park is going to essentially be an entire park of IPs (Star Wars, Pixar, Muppets, I'm sure more on the way);if I'm a parent with kids who want to see the princesses or what have you, I'm taking them to Magic Kingdom, and with kids who want less traditional Disney we're making a beeline for the Studios.

At that point, what does EPCOT offer, if that's all the company is going to focus on? A single Frozen ride, a Guardians ride, but nothing thorough, nothing that could match the much more complete work they'll be doing with MK and the Studios. That leaves you in two potential places, more likely: either EPCOT remains a red headed step child because the theming for the IPs won't be as complete as the other parks', or you completely remake the park with a majority IP approach, at which point why even call it "EPCOT" anymore?

Again, this isn't to say that one ride will completely ruin Future World (something that was sadly already done circa 2000), just as adding Frozen alone hasn't completely ruined World Showcase, but given the direction the other parks have gone and are going in I don't think it serves EPCOT well to be the park that only half-commits to anything resembling a vision.

I guess we will have to see how it's done, if it even happens.

 

[WhatJaneSays]

This is pure speculation with no basis in fact.

I think Walt Disney would wake up and say, "What the heck happened to my Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow? You know, the one that I made that short film about. You guys messed it up!"

He'd then light up a cigarette and take a long drag.

Oh my goodness. I almost said that exact thing a few days ago when someone made some comments like "well, Walt wouldn't have approved" ... cigarette mention and all.

 

[Sped2424]

Walt Disney's idea for EPCOT was abandoned in the 1970s.

Just keep in mind that EPCOT as Walt Disney envisioned it was going to be a planned community (not theme park) where Walt retained near-dictatorial control over its residents.

Not exactly my idea of the makings of a great theme park.

Which according to Bioshock doesn't work out well anyways.

 

[marni1971]

Ok, does anyone know if the old ride track (and or vehicle) will be scrapped for an all new track or will it be a retheme like Frozen Ever After?

Not a retheme. Which will be quite sad.

 

[Sped2424]

Not a retheme. Which will be quite sad.

so a full scrap? Why sad?

 

[marni1971]

so a full scrap? Why sad?

Goodbye to the diorama, travelling theatre, and a lot of the original park.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Goodbye to the diorama, travelling theatre, and a lot of the original park.

I am so saddened by all of this. :'(

And no redeeming factor either. Just a dumb superhero ride, a Six Flags-ication. They take something that is unique, the eight wonder of the world, and use it to vend their wares. Like destroying the Sphinx for a giftshop to sell junk trinkets to the tourists visiting the Pyramids.

 

[Sped2424]

Goodbye to the diorama, travelling theatre, and a lot of the original park.

I can't even imagine what they are thinking of doing in there. Im guessing the old ride vehicles shall die too when you say travelling theater. So that means a new ride system? This doesn't sound cheap which is a tad shocking. Still though they manage to defile Epcot a bit more every year.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I can't even imagine what they are thinking of doing in there. Im guessing the old ride vehicles shall die too when you say travelling theater. So that means a new ride system? This doesn't sound cheap which is a tad shocking. Still though they manage to defile Epcot a bit more every year.

It certainly isn't cheap.

 

[Kraken_of_the_Deeps]

Goodbye to the diorama, travelling theatre, and a lot of the original park.

Still as a child, I was very impressed by the surrounding view of the diorama and how big it was. It was my favourite in Epcot. This however was the original version in the 80ties, I have not seen it since in person.

I presume the dinosaurs in the Energy do not really have any specific preservation value to Disney as they are mostly the same as found in Disneyland (which has the World's Fair versions?). I've never seen Disneyland version, but it seems at least the main pieces were based on it.They are the same molds, I presume?

Now it would be their chance to plus the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom with extra animatronics and scenary, altough I guess it wont happen.

 

[SorcererMC]

At that point, what does EPCOT offer, if that's all the company is going to focus on? A single Frozen ride, a Guardians ride, but nothing thorough, nothing that could match the much more complete work they'll be doing with MK and the Studios. That leaves you in two potential places, more likely: either EPCOT remains a red headed step child because the theming for the IPs won't be as complete as the other parks', or you completely remake the park with a majority IP approach, at which point why even call it "EPCOT" anymore?

Again, this isn't to say that one ride will completely ruin Future World (something that was sadly already done circa 2000), just as adding Frozen alone hasn't completely ruined World Showcase, but given the direction the other parks have gone and are going in I don't think it serves EPCOT well to be the park that only half-commits to anything resembling a vision.

Agreed. How does adding one new ride create a vision or contribute to the existing one? I think that the original EPCOT was built with the understanding of a main tenet of architecture - that buildings (or pavilions or attractions) do not stand alone in and of themselves, but stand in dialogue with one another. How on earth will GotG in FutureWorld accomplish that?

 

[Bocabear]

GOTG in Futureworld will be aligning the park to be no more than an extension of DHS... It really does not work and makes no sense at all... if they were going this route why didn't they just put Star Wars Land in EPCOT? they would have more space to work with, and the park was designed to handle massive crowds unlike DHS> Not that I advocate that at all... Instead why don't they just put GOTG in TOmorrowland... replace Stitch, replace the Speedway and build a new fresh vision that looks like the futuristic home planet from the film... At least it is sci fi fantasy and would work within the context of the park... I can never understand the decisions they make for additions to the parks... they just seem so tone deaf.

 

[DisneyJayL]

Butt hurt has turned into panic. Speculation has turned into meltdown. This is even before we know what they are doing.

 

[DisneyJayL]

Not to disregard the lines that I'm sure a GotG ride could generate, but to tie it in with the post I made earlier, I think such a move potentially moves closer to making EPCOT less relevant, at least in terms of its identity as its own theme park, as it risks moving toward more homogenization throughout WDW.

Now granted I'm going by pure speculation here, as we all are at the moment, so I'm not trying to definitively say "this ride would kill EPCOT" sight unseen. But the overall point for me is that a place like Fantasyland already handles many "traditional" Disney IPs and the revived Studios park is going to essentially be an entire park of IPs (Star Wars, Pixar, Muppets, I'm sure more on the way);if I'm a parent with kids who want to see the princesses or what have you, I'm taking them to Magic Kingdom, and with kids who want less traditional Disney we're making a beeline for the Studios.

At that point, what does EPCOT offer, if that's all the company is going to focus on? A single Frozen ride, a Guardians ride, but nothing thorough, nothing that could match the much more complete work they'll be doing with MK and the Studios. That leaves you in two potential places, more likely: either EPCOT remains a red headed step child because the theming for the IPs won't be as complete as the other parks', or you completely remake the park with a majority IP approach, at which point why even call it "EPCOT" anymore?

Again, this isn't to say that one ride will completely ruin Future World (something that was sadly already done circa 2000), just as adding Frozen alone hasn't completely ruined World Showcase, but given the direction the other parks have gone and are going in I don't think it serves EPCOT well to be the park that only half-commits to anything resembling a vision.

Does anyone know what direction they are going?

 

[wdisney9000]

Why does everything have to be so absolutist? It wasn't stated that they were completely unrelated. There is some continuity, as you put it, but it is definitely not what Walt had in mind.

If Walt woke up from a coma in 1982 and was shown EPCOT Center, he wouldn't immediately know what he was looking at. However, after being brought up to speed on what happened, particularly with regard to infrastructure, building codes and governance, I would imagine that he would recognize at least the spirit of what he was going for, just in theme park form instead of city. Then he would say something to the effect of "Not bad boys. Not what I would have done, but if anyone could do what I did then I wouldn't be me."

It is frustrating to see so many posts that ignore what is actually said and try to make disagreement and argument where it doesn't have to exist. There is plenty of actual disagreement and conflict, do we really need to invent more?

Your post was based on Walt magically waking from a coma ...but you ask why we need to invent conflict..? LOL

 

[RoysCabin]

GOTG in Futureworld will be aligning the park to be no more than an extension of DHS... It really does not work and makes no sense at all... if they were going this route why didn't they just put Star Wars Land in EPCOT? they would have more space to work with, and the park was designed to handle massive crowds unlike DHS> Not that I advocate that at all... Instead why don't they just put GOTG in TOmorrowland... replace Stitch, replace the Speedway and build a new fresh vision that looks like the futuristic home planet from the film... At least it is sci fi fantasy and would work within the context of the park... I can never understand the decisions they make for additions to the parks... they just seem so tone deaf.

"Tone deaf" is probably a good way to put it, and I think that after a time potential customers start to sniff stuff like that out. Again, I have no doubts that a Guardians ride would do great business for a little while, but what are the odds that it or Frozen, for that matter remain attractions that people will book their trips around the way people currently do for Harry Potter and likely will for Star Wars?

HP and SW are two franchises with a ton of depth to them (just speaking in terms of world building) and each has a rabid fanbase made of multiple generations of readers/viewers, fanbases that are incredibly active in areas like fan art, cosplay, fan fiction, really all-encompassing stuff, to a degree where you can completely understand Universal and Disney wanting to create a themed area for each. GotG is very popular, to be sure, and a very fun movie, but it doesn't have that going for it, and again, dedicating one attraction to it in a park that otherwise does not work for it thematically will only serve the purpose of getting some long lines for it for a couple of years before things likely level off again, as folks who want to see recreations of movie franchises will prioritize and just go to MK or Studios, instead.

Against such a likelihood, does it make it worthwhile to effectively kill off the pavilion concept for a short term boost in ridership in that corner of the park? Again, half-steps; either keep EPCOT true to a unified, thematic vision, or just ditch it entirely and go in a radically new direction, but stuff like this isn't going to cut it, not when they're likely still going to have Spaceship Earth as the centerpiece of the park and when the next iteration of Imagination, whenever it might be, has the strong potential to feature Dreamfinder and Figment.