Guardians of the Galaxy coming to Energy Pavilion at Epcot

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rle4lunch

Well-Known Member
Wish I could like your post more than once. Couldn't agree with you more.

Watching Dr. Tyson describe NASA's budget as represented as a sliver of an actual dollar bill was painful.

A world where NASA was fully funded -AND- private companies were battling it out? Well, I guess we really would have a great big beautiful tomorrow.

People have stopped looking up. Now all they do is look down, into their phone, which they don't use to talk on.

All they ever need, want, desire, is in the palm of their hand. All the while, life goes by. They'd rather have simulated beauty than look at the real thing. They think posting all the things they do in life are more important than actually living in that moment and remembering the feelings that encompassed them while they were there. They'd rather show how 'great' their life is to their friends, yet at the same time, they isolate themselves to the cold embrace of a 4.5 inch screen.

It's truly a conundrum. We live in the most amazing time ever, where any piece of history or knowledge is literally at our fingertips, yet we'd rather post how many piccachu's we caught in the parking lot. We bury our heads in digital sand and minutia while a dwindling amount of people reach for the stars. The rest of us are, well, sheep.

I remember growing up longing to go to Space Camp, or be one of the first to go hypersonic in a scramjet. I'm 40 and still have these dreams and aspirations. Watching Marty McFly get on his hoverboard inspired me to sit in our garage and try to find a way to magnetize my skateboard using magnets off of car speakers (hey I was 12).

Sorry for the rant, but this world needs more IMAGINATION, and less simulated stimulation. And perhaps an enema.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
People have stopped looking up. Now all they do is look down, into their phone, which they don't use to talk on.

All they ever need, want, desire, is in the palm of their hand. All the while, life goes by. They'd rather have simulated beauty than look at the real thing. They think posting all the things they do in life are more important than actually living in that moment and remembering the feelings that encompassed them while they were there. They'd rather show how 'great' their life is to their friends, yet at the same time, they isolate themselves to the cold embrace of a 4.5 inch screen.

It's truly a conundrum. We live in the most amazing time ever, where any piece of history or knowledge is literally at our fingertips, yet we'd rather post how many piccachu's we caught in the parking lot. We bury our heads in digital sand and minutia while a dwindling amount of people reach for the stars. The rest of us are, well, sheep.

I remember growing up longing to go to Space Camp, or be one of the first to go hypersonic in a scramjet. I'm 40 and still have these dreams and aspirations. Watching Marty McFly get on his hoverboard inspired me to sit in our garage and try to find a way to magnetize my skateboard using magnets off of car speakers (hey I was 12).

Sorry for the rant, but this world needs more IMAGINATION, and less simulated stimulation. And perhaps an enema.
I believe you over estimate the number of people in the past that reached for the stars. Time has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. We look back and all we see is the wheat. The chaff has been scattered by the winds of time.
 

RobidaFlats

Well-Known Member
I believe you over estimate the number of people in the past that reached for the stars. Time has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. We look back and all we see is the wheat. The chaff has been scattered by the winds of time.

This is a very important point. Without going full-out Nietzsche, it is a very special few who truly advance things on a meaningful level. The masses are generally happy with what they have, until they are given something even better, then that becomes the new standard.

Dreams/delusions of grandeur are not a universal trait.
 

Phicinfan

Well-Known Member
No.
Things are different today, and visions of the future are different today.
We really did believe that there would be undersea colonies and space colonies in existence by this point in time.
I believe there is still expectation of life out in outer space in the not too distant future. So don't totally agree with you
 

rle4lunch

Well-Known Member
I believe you over estimate the number of people in the past that reached for the stars. Time has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. We look back and all we see is the wheat. The chaff has been scattered by the winds of time.

I think you're reaching too far into the weeds with your metaphor. lol.
 

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
I believe you over estimate the number of people in the past that reached for the stars. Time has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. We look back and all we see is the wheat. The chaff has been scattered by the winds of time.

I think you're reaching too far into the weeds with your metaphor. lol.

"If we hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate."
 

dupac

Well-Known Member
Humans on Mars is still a viable option for Future World... anyone seen/read The Martian? It is not a "Tomorrow of Yesterday" concept in my opinion.

When I think about technology that's in reach, but either not quite proven or integrated into our lives, I think about things like augmented reality and self-driving cars. What do other people think of?

More on topic, I find myself agreeing with a previous poster, if you're going to use IP in Epcot, at least do it in a way that is still in theme. Like why doesn't Nemo and Friends teach us about the oceans? Turtle Talk does (I think...?), but I feel like the actual ride could be so much better even with the move tie-in.
 

Horizons78

Grade "A" Funny...
"If we hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate."

image_7.jpeg
 

rnese

Well-Known Member
You would think the way all the politicians tout the need for strong defense for America, NASA would get lots more money. After all, they're the ones who would blow up the meteors and asteroids. Also, aliens, maybe.
This would make an AMAZING movie!
I'm surprised no one has thought of it.;)
 

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
My two cents: I believe space will continue to be explored, eventually resulting in space colonies. I don't think it'll proliferate in the sea. It's so much easier and cheaper to simply build taller buildings than to keep the water out below sea level.

Looking at the space stuff from a distance, only 12 men have ever walked on the moon, and the last one did so in 1972, about 9 years before Epcot opened. Only 21 people have ever left Earth orbit. More recently, the International Space Station was hugely hugely hugely expensive, yet it has yielded virtually zero in hard scientific advances to help makind. Every year, Discover Magazine publishes a list of the 100 biggest scientific advances of the year, and I do not believe that any of them over the past half dozen years or so have had anything to do with the ISS. This huge budget-busting project has yielded essentially nothing beneficial to mankind.

By contrast, the unmanned projects post-Apollo have had some huge successes, from the Hubble, the interplanetary missions, the satellites, GPS, weather forecasting, and even back to the Voyager missions.

Eventually I believe people will return to the moon and beyond. It'll be expensive, but I think it'll happen. Just remember, the moon missions would probably never have happened if not for the cold war. Watch the brilliant first episode from HBOs From the Earth to the Moon. They fear a "red moon". In large part, the space race was about winning allies with our advanced technology. After all, the Soviets beat us into space with Sputnik and Yuri Gragarin, so the only thing left was to beat them to the moon. We did, and perhaps averted WWIII in some twisted way. Of course, the true scientific discoveries and betterment of mankind resulted from the tech arising from the race itself, not from any amazing discoveries from what they found on the moon itself.

Yeah, very off point here, but the imagination still runs wild with space stories. From Star Trek, to Star Wars, to Guardians and a thousand other works of fiction, space is where so many of us are looking. And space is exactly where a very cool additional attraction could be focused on at Epcot even though at least one is already there. Just don't wimp out and rely on the IP to do it.
 

Brad Bishop

Well-Known Member
I think the ISS is more about politics than anything else:
- Hey, look at us, can't we all hold hands and get along?
- I'm a politician - I helped fund the ISS... SPACE!

Overall it seems rather pointless.

Of course I could make an argument that the rush to the moon was pointless. It, too, was political (beat the Russians!). From what I understand NASA had plans for something that would take off, much like a plane, and be able to fly out of orbit and out in space and eventually reach the moon. An actual reusable space craft, not a pig you strap to the side of some boosters and have it try to glide down. The problem was that it wouldn't meet the time line. Brute force would, though. So we just built huge freaking rockets and did it that way.

Woot! We won! ...and stopped going back.
 

RobidaFlats

Well-Known Member
My two cents: I believe space will continue to be explored, eventually resulting in space colonies. I don't think it'll proliferate in the sea. It's so much easier and cheaper to simply build taller buildings than to keep the water out below sea level.

Looking at the space stuff from a distance, only 12 men have ever walked on the moon, and the last one did so in 1972, about 9 years before Epcot opened. Only 21 people have ever left Earth orbit. More recently, the International Space Station was hugely hugely hugely expensive, yet it has yielded virtually zero in hard scientific advances to help makind. Every year, Discover Magazine publishes a list of the 100 biggest scientific advances of the year, and I do not believe that any of them over the past half dozen years or so have had anything to do with the ISS. This huge budget-busting project has yielded essentially nothing beneficial to mankind.

By contrast, the unmanned projects post-Apollo have had some huge successes, from the Hubble, the interplanetary missions, the satellites, GPS, weather forecasting, and even back to the Voyager missions.

Eventually I believe people will return to the moon and beyond. It'll be expensive, but I think it'll happen. Just remember, the moon missions would probably never have happened if not for the cold war. Watch the brilliant first episode from HBOs From the Earth to the Moon. They fear a "red moon". In large part, the space race was about winning allies with our advanced technology. After all, the Soviets beat us into space with Sputnik and Yuri Gragarin, so the only thing left was to beat them to the moon. We did, and perhaps averted WWIII in some twisted way. Of course, the true scientific discoveries and betterment of mankind resulted from the tech arising from the race itself, not from any amazing discoveries from what they found on the moon itself.

Not a bad analysis. I would like to mention that one of the drivers for further exploration and colonization (in my humble opinion and guess) will be more for resources than physical room. This was something that I think Horizons pointed out fairly well.

The key to almost all sustained technological advances has been for a practical purpose: resources, new products, etc. The idea of the pure advancement of science is something that doesn't really exist on a large scale. Science and technology advance in order to do something.

That said, I think that the concept of an undersea colony could exist, but it would be dependent on resource extraction. If there was something on (or under) the sea floor that would be more easily exploited by a semi-permanent undersea setup, then it could make sense. Similarly, I expect the early attempts at space colonization to be in support of mineral harvesting from planets, asteroids, whatever.

But these types of discussions are awesome and speak to the greatness of Future World that we are still discussing them today.
 

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
I am sure wait times will go up since Big Thunder Railroad is now closed for refurbishment ;)
Agree on DHS, MK needs more rides to it is still lacking capacity.

Not only was Big Thunder closed, but It's A Small World and the Swiss Family Treehouse. I was there last week and while it wasn't super busy (this is the slowest time of the year after all), the losses of those two big rides and walk through were definitely felt. 70 minutes for Space Mountain in mid-September? Craziness. The park needs more rides. Yes, DHS, DAK, and Epcot all need more rides too, but when your flagship park is bringing in double the amount of people the other three parks are, it too needs expansions.
 

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
Buzz Aldrin had the idea of a large transport ship that continually goes back and forth to the moon and Earth. Essentially it will swing around both and go back to the other. Very little fuel would be needed because momentum and gravity assist would largely power it both ways. Meanwhile, other craft could dock to it and cheaply and easily hitch a ride. Once you get to the other place, undock and go down to the surface. Yeah, big investment up front, but once there, it'll be like catching a bus. Each trip for the bus would likely require a little fuel to keep it on course, but that's minor compared to the fuel needed for the simplest of prior moon missions.

Arthur C. Clarke pioneered the idea of space elevators. Shoot a satellite into orbit, and have it drop a cable to the surface. Then use that cable to build an elevator to space. Zip up a bunch material, and you've now got a true orbiting platform for future launches. Suddenly you don't needs tons of rocket fuel to get stuff up there, just favorable weather and some good cables.

Now, put these two ideas together, and trips to the moon suddenly become very routine and doable. Take people and material up the elevator, put them on a ship built in orbit, shoot them toward the bus, and hitch a ride. Also, slap one of these elevators on the moon to build a loading platform there, and almost no rocket fuel would be needed to go back and forth. The only fuel would be what it takes to go to and from the bus to the orbiting platform. If you want to extract natural resources from the moon, that's the way to do it.

It would also make an amazing Adventure By Disney someday.
 

wdwgreek

Well-Known Member
Ride
Not only was Big Thunder closed, but It's A Small World and the Swiss Family Treehouse. I was there last week and while it wasn't super busy (this is the slowest time of the year after all), the losses of those two big rides and walk through were definitely felt. 70 minutes for Space Mountain in mid-September? Craziness. The park needs more rides. Yes, DHS, DAK, and Epcot all need more rides too, but when your flagship park is bringing in double the amount of people the other three parks are, it too needs expansions.
While park attendance has grown exponentially since 2005, the ride capacity has remained stagnant, even with NFL MK is busting at the seems, it needs a new attraction that eats up at least 1,500 people an hour.
 
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