Guardians of the Galaxy coming to Energy Pavilion at Epcot

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

Yeah, this is how rational people operate in their lives. They reserve judgment until they have the relevant information to form opinions.

Let's try a different approach here. Please defend for me how a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction fits into the theme of Future World at Epcot.

It very much seems to me that you don't have a very good grasp on the concept of themed design.

 

[ctrlaltdel]

This! I think that is the biggest problem. I've mourned old EPCOT Center, but I would like to know what their vision is for Epcot 3.0. Because Epcot 2.0 was pretty much a failure.

I think most are worried that it is just making mish-mash of IP's until EPCOTis no longer recognizable outside of the countries of WS. Which could be better than Epcot 2.0 because the at least the attractions could (should?) be world-class. But it would also require Epcot to move even farther away from the original EPCOT. But if Marni and the other insiders are optimistic, I have a feeling that they have some interesting ideas for the other pavilions, that will hopefully form into something slightly coherent theme-wise.

 

[spresso81]

From Marni's statements that this will be a ride and show I do not see this as going away from the pavilion theme of FW. As of now, I am not sure what or if this will have anything to do with energy. If Disney can somehow integrate GotG with the current energy theme of the UoE than I think this could be a huge plus.

Let's be honest UoE was not helped by Ellen. The ride does have the cool dino animatronics and provides education information about energy sources but is there any reason as of now to not think that Disney could still provide some useful educational knowledge using the GotG characters??? Maybe it is wishful thinking but if it is pulled off well and we get a nice new ride - this has to be an improvement. The current Ellen video is outdated. Something needed to be done and maybe this can work

 

[doctornick]

Am I the only one who thinks Gotg is a good idea?

I like what Martin had to say about it and think the execution is what matters. FW is probably evolving into a new theme -- how well GotG "fits" depends on what the final overall product is like. I'd like to think they have a master plan that would put all the parts together effectively.

That said, if I have to choice between good cohesive theming versus quality attractions, I'd pic the latter every time. Of course, there's the "why not both" answer, but that may not be one of the choices.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

I'm fairly certain the problem is tense.

People are not willing to destroy Epcot. The question is why did they destroy it? Past tense. It's gone.

It was the sponsorships. The contracts were very much in their favor. When the contracts needed to be renewed, they would either decide to renew the contract and update the attractions with mixed results (Kodak's poorly recieved updating JII, GM's positively recieved replacement of WoM with TT) or not renew and put their fate into Disney's hands (MetLife with WoL, GE with Horizons). Future World has had a very hard time establishing it's identity since then and judging by this rumor, it seems like Disney execs are content on making the complete conversion into a borderline themeless "anything goes" type park.

 

[Minthorne]

The park is being renamed too

IPCOT
Intellectual Property Cashcows Override Theme

That said - I am actually excited by this. Disney never seemed willing to keep up future word in it's original concept. This is like Gemini Project all over again.

 

[asianway]

I like the rumor of a Mission:Space Update, and a Communicore/Innoventions update.

But GotG in Future World? You gotta be kidding me. This seems wronger to me than Frozen in Norway. Even wronger than using the "word" "wronger".

Future Would has been dead to me for 10 years, nuke it. Ill be embracing the oblivion on this one.

Though consider this bone chilling thought - what if they try to shoe horn in the same show concept here as they do in DCA TOT? Kind of like they did for Nemo into the subs and Seas...

 

[MichWolv]

Future Would has been dead to me for 10 years, nuke it. Ill be embracing the oblivion on this one.

Though consider this bone chilling thought - what if they try to shoe horn in the same show concept here as they do in DCA TOT? Kind of like they did for Nemo into the subs and Seas...

I rather assume they will do so. GotG in future world already has my bones chilled. The specific application cannot chill them further.

 

[ctrlaltdel]

Future Would has been dead to me for 10 years, nuke it. Ill be embracing the oblivion on this one.

Though consider this bone chilling thought - what if they try to shoe horn in the same show concept here as they do in DCA TOT? Kind of like they did for Nemo into the subs and Seas...

Hopefully not. The insiders haven't explicitly said, but to me, it sounds like GOTG is getting a purpose built attraction. Marni did say it was an E-ticket, I can't think GOTF using UoE ride system would be considered an E. I could be way off base here though.

 

[orlando678-]

The park is being renamed too

IPCOT
Intellectual Property Cashcows Override Theme

That said - I am actually excited by this. Disney never seemed willing to keep up future word in it's original concept. This is like Gemini Project all over again.

I wish they would have gone with the Gemini Project

 

[rushtest4echo]

Animal Kingdom - Disney spent years convincing people that AK was "Nahtazu", when in reality that's all it opened as. Over the past 15 years they've tactfully kept Animal elements while totally veering into entertainment and rides to further the message that this was not just a zoo.

Hollywood Studios - Opened exclusively as a "you're behind the scenes" and "look how these things are done/filmed". Slowly morphed into a bad combination of "behind the scenes" and "within the scene" much like Universal. Hopefully by 2021 they will have completed the conversion to simply being a well themed movie/IP park with immersive worlds. Even Sunset Blvd fits that bill for the most part.

EPCOT - Conceived as a demented communist experiment, then morphed into a world's fair. And like actual worlds fairs (and Tomorrowland), it got stale quickly. The billion dollar "edutainment" park was hopelessly outdated only a few years after opening and families with small kids despised the place. Because Disney did not wish to continue the vicious cycle of being "new" every few years (again, like Tomorrowland), they finally put the concept out of its misery and brought in a key demographic with brands/IP's.

All three of these parks have undergone massive changes to the concept and execution of what the park was "supposed to be" when they opened. I get it, EPCOT was supposed to be one thing, and now it's not. Why is that so bad though? EPCOT has always been one of my favorite (if I'm honest with myself, it's my #1) park, and I'm far more angry at them allowing the place to become a dilapidated world's fair than seeing IP's brought in. They're not going to keep dumping money into attractions every decade in order to literally rebuild the entire park as stuff gets old or falls out of style. It's just smart business to find a new direction for EPCOT. Hopefully that direction involves less "seasonal events" for local drunks and more timeless attractions that people are clamoring for- even if that means IP and thrill rides.

 

[willtravel]

I haven't been to Universal Orlando since 1998, but have looked at there website briefly here and there. But is Disney following UNI? Just a bunch of IP's wherever? No studios, no Epcot. No real park theme? Just a bunch of parks now themed around land's/ attractions now based around IP's?

I know the Studios never lived up to it's potential. And Epcot, well Disney company doesn't care about it, hence the shape it is in. But what I liked about WDW was having 4 parks that has different themes. Now it seems like 4 parks are going to IPland .

 

[RSoxNo1]

Frozen in Norway is more defensible then GotG in Future World, I think.

Debatable, but if so....barely.

Poor theme and major operational issues in Norway. Poor theme in Future World. Frozen is a worse decision.

Why are people so willing to destroy Epcot? I find it odd and troubling. Perhaps it's the result of them being "Disney" fans rather than Disney park fans.

I'll preface this by saying I don't like it at all. Having said that, the writing was on the wall when the Studios theme left DHS. Today's corporate culture loves their intellectual properties and all other theme park logic be damned.

As @marni1971 has indicated. EPCOT Center is dead. It's safe to say it has been dead for 15-20 years. I have not seen Frozen Ever After or Soarin' Around the World in person, so take that into consideration with the following statements. Today's Epcot is not a good park. I hate that it's not going back to it's roots, but the park as currently constituted is the worst Disney park in the country. I wonder what potentially cohesive theme could be used that explains the arbitrary combination of intellectual properties currently blended in that park. I assume that more intellectual properties are coming to Future World and World Showcase but I wonder what other sweeping conceptual changes will find their way to that park.

I was incredibly vocal against Frozen Ever After. I was also quite vocal against the trend towards Intellectual Property additions. They've beaten me into submission and this is certainly not the path that I wanted EPCOT to take. Having said that, I'm now curious to their ultimate solution. It sounds like this is going to be a slow evolution into non-sensical disconnected attraction land, but on the plus side we'll always have Martin's Vids.

 

[Horizons '83]

Energy might be the most embarrassing "attraction" in Epcot. However, I don't want them to put anything there, I hope they really think through what should be put there and Wonders.

 

[Bocabear]

I wish they would have gone with the Gemini Project

I know...Project Gemini now sounds like a conservative well thought out plan compared to just dropping IPs anywhere.
Sad...

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I have mixed feelings about GOTG at Epcot (I'd prefer DHS) but I've always thought the planet of Xandar in the movie would look really cool for Epcot's Future World
View attachment 148763

Or... Tomorrowland??

 

[FrankLapidus]

This just feels inevitable.

Frozen opened the floodgates, it's been hard to escape the feeling for a while that the only way Epcot was going to get the investment and improvements its long needed was through bringing more film-based attrctions.

I don't like this but I've accepted that the original concept of the Epcot that I was introduced to and loved is gone. There's a lot I still love about the park but it's going to move further away from what it was created to be. I'm not a Marvel fan, I liked Guardians of the Galaxy but I can't say I'm interested in or enthusastic about an attraction based on it; I'll wait to see what they have planned for Imagination, I loved that attraction once and hate what it's become.

 

[marni1971]

You aren't shy with your opinions. You should realize though that they are your opinions.

And you should realise who you're talking to.

And have some manners.

 

[Virtual Toad]

Vomiting over this. Total creative bankruptcy at a time when the world desperately needs a true EPCOT Center more than ever before. :-(
RIP EPCOT. Every Pavilion Closed Or Trashed.

 

[marni1971]

Which nation?

Right now I'm not sure.