Guardians of the Galaxy coming to Energy Pavilion at Epcot

[azox]

If only. I love the idea of the Mickey ride, but am completely baffled as to why they don't put it elsewhere and actually increase park capacity if that is their main concern with Star Wars opening and the crowds it will bring.

It's odd they would do this to GMR. From what I have seen it's not like the ride doesn't attract enough guests. Does it have anything to do with some sort of sponsorship issue? Just trying to figure out what the real benefit is of closing it down would be.

 

[Otterhead]

It's odd they would do this to GMR. From what I have seen it's not like the ride doesn't attract enough guests. Does it have anything to do with some sort of sponsorship issue?

I apologize if this was discussed earlier (it's a giant thread) but that was my assumption. TCM has a three-year sponsorship agreement, and while the ride has been nicely spruced up, I have to wonder if there's been friction from TCM's demands. Right now, while the ride is the best it's looked in decades, adding Robert Osborne as a constant presence in the ride doesn't work so well. You've got his recorded voiceover as well as the live host on your vehicle adding color commentary. If that was part of the agreement, I have to wonder if TCM has pushed for other changes as well that've soured Disney on the sponsorship.

 

[rle4lunch]

Still excited for a Mickey ride, but like others, don't see why it could not go in the animation building unless they are just reusing GMR track and doing a reskin with Mickey (please no). I am still curious about the new direction of the park. In what scenario does GMR not fit? Yes it could be updated and still relevant. Add some animated movies. Take out the CM drivers and the whole dated gangster thing. Just don't throw it out. We need more rides, not replacements.

Maybe they can turn it into another travesty of a ride like Gran Fiesta, just, you know, on land. ?

We rode GMR last month for the first time in like 10 years, and man, it really needs to leave.

 

[Otterhead]

Maybe they can turn it into another travesty of a ride like Gran Fiesta, just, you know, on land. ?

I don't know what about Gran Fiesta makes it a "travesty". The use of classic Disney characters specifically created for Mexico? The Eric Goldberg animation? The animatronic Donald, José, and Panchito?

 

[P_Radden]

Maybe they can turn it into another travesty of a ride like Gran Fiesta, just, you know, on land. ?

We rode GMR last month for the first time in like 10 years, and man, it really needs it's scenes updated or replaced with newer films younger generations can relate to.

Fixed

 

[doctornick]

It's odd they would do this to GMR. From what I have seen it's not like the ride doesn't attract enough guests. Does it have anything to do with some sort of sponsorship issue? Just trying to figure out what the real benefit is of closing it down would be.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is a combination of GMR being relatively low ratings on guest surveys and the ride is relatively expensive to run (paying for live actors during the ride can jack the operating costs up). I think there also might be a sentiment that Mickey "deserves" to be in a central prominent location, housed within the (sometimes?) park icon.

I think there might be some valid points there, but to me it is overridden by the fact that DHS just needs more darn attractions. They need to be in actual expansion mode for a while before they should consider replacing anything else. The park simply needs more capacity at this point replacing rather than adding is far from ideal.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Maybe they can turn it into another travesty of a ride like Gran Fiesta, just, you know, on land. ?

A travesty is the original ride which, as a history of Mexico, certainly white-washed the difficult parts of that history (the cruelty of the indigenous people to each other, the cruelty of the conquistadors to the indigenous people, the repression of the Church, the land grab of the US from Mexico) and, then, to top it all off, presenting a modern day visit to Mexico as a non-stop haggle session. At least the US American history presentations deal with the issue of slavery.

The revised version is a visit to modern Mexico as a travelogue... which is exactly what The Three Caballeros movie is all about. Such a travesty!

 

[lazyboy97o]

The revised version is a visit to modern Mexico as a travelogue... which is exactly what The Three Caballeros movie is all about. Such a travesty!

To call Gran Fiesta Tour a travelogue is a stretch. The locations have absolutely no importance to the Where's Waldo? storyline. The primary reason locations are featured is because they were in El Rio Del Tiempo. A story's inconsequential setting is not its subject.

 

[jt04]

Fixed

Then it would have Future World problems of constantly needing updates to be relevant.

 

[marni1971]

Then it would have Future World problems of constantly needing updates to be relevant.

Not it wouldn't. It's about the genre, remember.

 

[Otterhead]

Then it would have Future World problems of constantly needing updates to be relevant.

Not 'constantly'. Just occasionally. The trick is identifying timeless films to update it with.

I'd argue that the sections to remove would be Footlight Parade (seeing as how it's... broken), Tarzan, the patched-in Sorcerer's Apprentice scene, Casablanca, and the "Emerald City" Oz scene. The opening could be a tribute to early Disney stuff (Alice Comedies, Mickey Mouse, Snow White), Tarzan could be a Pirates of the Caribbean scene, etc.

The first GMR has lasted quite awhile; updating 1/3 or so of the scenes would be a nice refresh for the next 10-15 yrs.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Not 'constantly'. Just occasionally. The trick is identifying timeless films to update it with.

I'd argue that the sections to remove would be Footlight Parade (seeing as how it's... broken), Tarzan, the patched-in Sorcerer's Apprentice scene, Casablanca, and the "Emerald City" Oz scene. The opening could be a tribute to early Disney stuff (Alice Comedies, Mickey Mouse, Snow White), Tarzan could be a Pirates of the Caribbean scene, etc.

The first GMR has lasted quite awhile; updating 1/3 or so of the scenes would be a nice refresh for the next 10-15 yrs.

Emerald City part of the Oz scene is pretty necessary to me. While it's small, it does give you the full main cast of the film.

 

[Otterhead]

Emerald City part of the Oz scene is pretty necessary to me. While it's small, it does give you the full main cast of the film.

Don't get me wrong, I love it personally -- I'm such a dork about Oz stuff, and it made me cheer as a kid. I'm just thinking of how the space could be utilized. Maybe some other scene could be added afterwards as the finale.

 

[jt04]

Don't get me wrong, I love it personally -- I'm such a dork about Oz stuff, and it made me cheer as a kid. I'm just thinking of how the space could be utilized. Maybe some other scene could be added afterwards as the finale.

I can imagine the possibilities here and my head explodes. Imagine the final montage film of GMR but instead using animatronics depicting famous scenes from Disney movies all around you. That would be something.

 

[marni1971]

I can imagine the possibilities here and my head explodes..

Did you video it?

 

[jt04]

Not 'constantly'. Just occasionally. The trick is identifying timeless films to update it with.

I'd argue that the sections to remove would be Footlight Parade (seeing as how it's... broken), Tarzan, the patched-in Sorcerer's Apprentice scene, Casablanca, and the "Emerald City" Oz scene. The opening could be a tribute to early Disney stuff (Alice Comedies, Mickey Mouse, Snow White), Tarzan could be a Pirates of the Caribbean scene, etc.

The first GMR has lasted quite awhile; updating 1/3 or so of the scenes would be a nice refresh for the next 10-15 yrs.

I envisioned this as a mash-up of the Walt Disney Story, Great Movie Ride and One Man's Dream focused on the Disney legacy in film. Including a bit of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.

 

[willtravel]

I think returning EPCOT to its former glory days would still produce lines like this!

Seeing this makes me smile and sad at the same time...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Don't get me wrong, I love it personally -- I'm such a dork about Oz stuff, and it made me cheer as a kid. I'm just thinking of how the space could be utilized. Maybe some other scene could be added afterwards as the finale.

Just add James Franco's Wizard of Oz to be peeping around the corner like Captain Jack was so skillfully added to PotC. BAM! It's now a Disney IP!

 

[Cesar R M]

Sad but not surprising. Look at Stitch, wonder how long that'll be "seasonal".

Considering Disney's "seasonal" and "temporal" stuff.. probably 10 years..

 

[Cesar R M]

A travesty is the original ride which, as a history of Mexico, certainly white-washed the difficult parts of that history (the cruelty of the indigenous people to each other, the cruelty of the conquistadors to the indigenous people, the repression of the Church, the land grab of the US from Mexico) and, then, to top it all off, presenting a modern day visit to Mexico as a non-stop haggle session. At least the US American history presentations deal with the issue of slavery.

The revised version is a visit to modern Mexico as a travelogue... which is exactly what The Three Caballeros movie is all about. Such a travesty!

and like I said before.. as a Mexican.. the movie feels more like "Donald goes to some Mexican areas". aka it focuses on Donald too much. Hell, even the photo ops outside is "donald with a hat and a sarape"