Guardians of the Galaxy coming to Energy Pavilion at Epcot

[marni1971]

BTW, the Iron Man attraction opens soon. Is it getting good reviews?

It's not open yet. As you said.

Put two and two together.

 

[jt04]

It's not open yet. As you said.

Put two and two together.

Sometimes they have CM previews. Plus I saw a feature showing the queue with Stan Lee. Aren't you and him on a first name basis?

 

[marni1971]

Sometimes they have CM previews. Plus I saw a feature showing the queue with Stan Lee. Aren't you and him on a first name basis?

Stan Lee gushes about whatever he's being paid to talk about. He gave plenty of similar press for IOA. The excellent documentary "Billion Dollar Funfair" has a particularly nauseating piece.

As for me knowing him I'm afraid your'e wrong.

Surprise.

 

[wdisney9000]

As with most Epcot-related changes, there seem to be 3 camps:

1) THIS IS THE DEATH OF EPCOT! GOD SAVE US ALL!!1
2) *cautiously optimistic*
3) *less optimistic but I can't really bring myself to care anymore, please just give us something new, anything pLEASE*

Perhaps you should read more, or visit other threads in regards to Epcot before compartmentalizing people into incorrect camps.

I'll echo what some others have said in that Disney needs to firmly decide what this new park will look like and then GO FOR IT. If we're going to see more character inclusions like Frozen in Norway, let's do it. Put Ratatouille/Beauty and the Beast in France, Brother Bear in Canada, add a Polynesian pavilion and bring on Moana, give us a Mulan ride in China and more M&G's with everyone.

Do you honestly feel that emulating Fantasyland and blurring the lines of distinction between parks is the best that WDI is capable of? Or is it simply pandering to the most basic desires of guests, most who dont understand proper and balanced theme beyond an empirical correlation of a cartoon character displayed in an attraction.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Which is depicted in nearly every natural science museum on earth. Epcot and every Disney theme park should be about a unique entertainment experience. Save the museum experience for school field trips.

You see @marni1971 this is an example of my argument concerning how the original mission for Epcot cannot be duplicated at this time. We have entered into a brain dead social cycle. A cycle that sees no need to know things or to be even slightly knowledgeable about anything other then which turn to take to get to McDonalds. There is no longer a pocket in the human brain that has any curiosity beyond what the next program on TV, Action Sci Fi movie or special at Walmart will be tomorrow. I have never been so sad for this country in my whole life. I do, sadly, feel that I must accept it for the time being and what we get will be based on that very mind (or lack of mind) set that is the current trend.

 

[marni1971]

You see @marni1971 this is an example of my argument concerning how the original mission for Epcot cannot be duplicated at this time. We have entered into a brain dead social cycle. A cycle that sees no need to know things or to be even slightly knowledgeable about anything other then which turn to take to get to McDonalds. There is no longer a pocket in the human brain that has any curiosity beyond what the next program on TV, Action Sci Fi movie or special at Walmart will be tomorrow. I have never been so sad for this country in my whole life. I do, sadly, feel that I must accept it for the time being and what we get will be based on that very mind (or lack of mind) set that is the current trend.

Absolutely. Society as a whole is dumbed down. Especially when it comes to entertainment for the masses. There's still higher brow niches but on the whole it's reality tv for the masses, no longer than five minutes at a time, they want it now and they don't want to wait.

Compare "suns reverse, moons rephase" to "thank the Phoenicians"

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Someone else (forgive me, I don't recall who it was, many pages back) mentioned the importance of the Infinity Stones within the story, as a source of almost limitless energy. GotG1 is basically about getting one of the stones away from the bad guys who intend to use it as a weapon, in order to protect the galaxy. Now also keep in mind, Star Lord (the main character) is a human from Earth.

Imagine his narration of an introductory film or even throughout the course of the ride -- I can totally see him saying things like, "Man, back on Earth, we were just starting to mess around with solar power -- we couldn't have even imagined anything like this!" -- basically let him serve as the lens through which the rider experiences these out of this world technologies and experiences. I think if it's done right, it could absolutely work. Since it sounds like the new construction won't be using the original ride technology, I'm wondering what the pace and style of the new ride might be. Honestly, I think something a bit more fast paced, maybe even an indoor coaster could be really cool with the theme. And if it included some of the songs from the movie as atmospheric sound (a la Rockin' Rollercoaster) that could be really cool.

I'd rather have Bozo the clown explain the concept of energy in Simple English than hear pseudo-scientific nonsense on a coaster. (Isn't that what The Hulk coaster in IoA is for?)

 

[wdisney9000]

You see @marni1971 this is an example of my argument concerning how the original mission for Epcot cannot be duplicated at this time. We have entered into a brain dead social cycle. A cycle that sees no need to know things or to be even slightly knowledgeable about anything other then which turn to take to get to McDonalds. There is no longer a pocket in the human brain that has any curiosity beyond what the next program on TV, Action Sci Fi movie or special at Walmart will be tomorrow. I have never been so sad for this country in my whole life. I do, sadly, feel that I must accept it for the time being and what we get will be based on that very mind (or lack of mind) set that is the current trend.

While I completely agree, and the disturbing lack of curiosity to explore culture and knowledge in Epcot is outweighed on these forums by a preference for 100% fantasy every where, all the time is proof, dont you think that we need those things now more than ever? We cant give up. We cant just accept that people no longer care. We must try.

And please, before anybody retorts with the typical, "im on vacation, I dont need a lesson at WDW", please understand that nobody is saying you do. You should try and understand that there is so much more to be entertained by (not exactly educated) than mere princesses and meet and greets. We all want to experience the "Disney" aspects of a WDW vacation, and we definitely should. I absolutely love the fantasy experience, but I also realize that the balance struck by non fantasy attractions and shows only makes it all that much more enjoyable. I would never want the same experience constantly replicated with little more than swapped out characters and soundtracks. Be careful what you wish for.

 

[JohnD]

Stan Lee gushes about whatever he's being paid to talk about. He gave plenty of similar press for IOA. The excellent documentary "Billion Dollar Funfair" has a particularly nauseating piece.

As for me knowing him I'm afraid your'e wrong.

Surprise.

I recently watched your tribute video on the original UoE. While it was certainly dated, it still felt inspirational. I had forgotten about the pre-show. That was awesome by itself. Now they have Ellen, Dr. Nye, Alex Trebek, and "stupid Judy". Would be great if we could go back to something inspirational again.

 

[Clowd Nyne]

While I completely agree, and the disturbing lack of curiosity to explore culture and knowledge in Epcot is outweighed on these forums by a preference for 100% fantasy every where, all the time is proof, dont you think that we need those things now more than ever? We cant give up. We cant just accept that people no longer care. We must try.

And please, before anybody retorts with the typical, "im on vacation, I dont need a lesson at WDW", please understand that nobody is saying you do. You should try and understand that there is so much more to be entertained by (not exactly educated) than mere princesses and meet and greets. We all want to experience the "Disney" aspects of a WDW vacation, and we definitely should. I absolutely love the fantasy experience, but I also realize that the balance struck by non fantasy attractions and shows only makes it all that much more enjoyable. I would never want the same experience constantly replicated with little more than swapped out characters and soundtracks. Be careful what you wish for.

My wife and I love Epcot for the "Edutainment". It's a far cry from Walt's dream but it least it has that.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

I think there is another factor that is being ignored besides "the dumbing down" of america.

We contain access to nearly all of human knowledge from our phones.Cosmos and Planet Earth are easily available to watch. Many people fill their free time by watching documentaries on Netflix.

Curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge has easily available outlets now. So a park based on those themes is naturally going to seem about as exciting as a park themed to California in the middle of california. The very nature of how information is discovered and communicated has changed drastically since Epcot opened.

I still hope these themes aren't forgotten and I want Epcot to be a celebration of discovery and knowledge, but Epcot needs to evolve with the times. Many people aren't going to be happy paying for admission to the park if the main rides are all just AAs acting out the documentary they watched on Netlfix last week.

Note: I'm not saying this is how I feel, just that I can understand why most people feel that way. I still want them to build a new Horizons and bring back Irons to narrate an updated SSE

 

[lazyboy97o]

The issue is not one of a "brain dead" society but one of seeking out a "brain dead" audience. The blame is Disney's and no one else's.

 

[ImagineDziner]

Absolutely. Society as a whole is dumbed down. Especially when it comes to entertainment for the masses. There's still higher brow niches but on the whole it's reality tv for the masses, no longer than five minutes at a time, they want it now and they don't want to wait.

Compare "suns reverse, moons rephase" to "thank the Phoenicians"

I feel the same way. While we can get fairly tired of the real world, ignoring it won't make it better, and as a child growing up with EPCOT Center, I was inspired and looked forward to how incredible our tiny blue marble (Spaceship Earth) would be. So inspired with the wonder of what could be that I became an architect and designer so that I could contribute and make the world a better place. Sure some of the ideas may become outdated, but that's just an opportunity to improve upon previous concepts and update pavilions to accommodate the new concepts... sigh.

 

[CDavid]

I think there is another factor that is being ignored besides "the dumbing down" of america.

We contain access to nearly all of human knowledge from our phones.Cosmos and Planet Earth are easily available to watch. Many people fill their free time by watching documentaries on Netflix.

Curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge has easily available outlets now. So a park based on those themes is naturally going to seem about as exciting as a park themed to California in the middle of california. The very nature of how information is discovered and communicated has changed drastically since Epcot opened.

We also have easy access to all of the movies and other intellectual property which Disney apparently thinks all its attractions must be based upon. Most guests will have seen Frozen or Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy long before they arrive in the parks, but that certainly doesn't in any way seem to weaken their enjoyment of the parks. On the contrary, it enhances interest; People want to explore and be a part of the worlds and stories they have seen in the movies.

The science and discovery based themes of Epcot are not fundamentally different. Guests still want to explore and enter into the technologies and places they've seen or heard about. Properly presented, these concepts can sustain greater interest than the IP based attractions (we've seen the movie; We're not uncovering anything we didn't already know). Nobody questions that people would like to step into the movies with a Little Mermaid ride - even when they saw the film this morning - but for some odd reason this is seen as a strange and foreign concept for the themes of Future World. It isn't.

The idea and concept of Epcot Center is not what has passed out of favor. Rather, what has grown stale are the attractions themselves after decades of benign neglect, lack of investment and improvements, and generally poor, lazy, and unimaginative choices made in replacement and updated attractions.

If you contend that advanced technology and ease of access to information has made the idea of Epcot obsolete, then at least to some degree, you are also arguing that museums, science fairs, and historical exhibits and destinations are also obsolete in modern society. Though there is indeed a problem with a "reduced attention-span, dumbed down society", the problem lies less in the concept being presented than it does in the delivery of the content.

The issue is not one of a "brain dead" society but one of seeking out a "brain dead" audience. The blame is Disney's and no one else's.

Thank You.

 

[jt04]

I think there is another factor that is being ignored besides "the dumbing down" of america.

We contain access to nearly all of human knowledge from our phones.Cosmos and Planet Earth are easily available to watch. Many people fill their free time by watching documentaries on Netflix.

Curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge has easily available outlets now. So a park based on those themes is naturally going to seem about as exciting as a park themed to California in the middle of california. The very nature of how information is discovered and communicated has changed drastically since Epcot opened.

I still hope these themes aren't forgotten and I want Epcot to be a celebration of discovery and knowledge, but Epcot needs to evolve with the times. Many people aren't going to be happy paying for admission to the park if the main rides are all just AAs acting out the documentary they watched on Netlfix last week.

Note: I'm not saying this is how I feel, just that I can understand why most people feel that way. I still want them to build a new Horizons and bring back Irons to narrate an updated SSE

Disney and especially original EPCOT changed the way museums function and present information. Epcot "Future World" "Pavilions" have become ubiquitous around the globe. So much so that the concept seems trivial at a Disney theme park.

Similarly, the global economy and ease of travel has had the same effect on World Showcase.

I sometimes think the mouse choose Frozen deliberately as the first indicator of a change to the parks mission statement. EPCOT Center is no more.

Let It Go.

 

[jt04]

You see @marni1971 this is an example of my argument concerning how the original mission for Epcot cannot be duplicated at this time. We have entered into a brain dead social cycle. A cycle that sees no need to know things or to be even slightly knowledgeable about anything other then which turn to take to get to McDonalds. There is no longer a pocket in the human brain that has any curiosity beyond what the next program on TV, Action Sci Fi movie or special at Walmart will be tomorrow. I have never been so sad for this country in my whole life. I do, sadly, feel that I must accept it for the time being and what we get will be based on that very mind (or lack of mind) set that is the current trend.

See post #4433 this thread.

 

[Mike S]

In a world where movies like Interstellar and The Martian are successes at the box office there should be hope that the concepts of EPCOT Center could easily be brought into the 21st century without undermining them.

 

[jt04]

In a world where movies like Interstellar and The Martian are successes at the box office there should be hope that the concepts of EPCOT Center could easily be brought into the 21st century without undermining them.

When Disney first suggested it was difficult to stay ahead of the future I thought they were making excuses. Now we live in a world that has proven the theory correct. Elon Musk plans to land people on Mars in the not too distant future. 5G cellular service is on the way at least a decade sooner than was previously thought. Energy may be a fading issue globally as tech nobody imagined a few years ago is emerging from the labs. And Uber is perfecting flying cars and Musk and others the hyperloop.

Progress.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

When Disney first suggested it was difficult to stay ahead of the future I thought they were making excuses. Now we live in a world that has proven the theory correct. Elon Musk plans to land people on Mars in the not too distant future. 5G cellular service is on the way at least a decade sooner than was previously thought. Energy may be a fading issue globally as tech nobody imagined a few years ago is emerging from the labs. And Uber is perfecting flying cars and Musk and others the hyperloop.

Progress.

 

[jt04]

Interesting response. Explains your nickname perfectly I reckon.