News Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind attraction confirmed for Epcot

[MattFrees71]

Question: If all of the other changes were happening to Epcot, WITHOUT GOTG happening, would people be more positive about the overall direction the park is going?

I would think so!

 

[lazyboy97o]

I’m sure you know that’s a gross oversimplification. I think there is a litany of other reasons Universal still is not hitting Disney levels.

Execution, nostalgia and brand loyalty for starters.

We can’t dismiss Potter, when there is a perfect merging of beloved IP with execution, it can theoretically move the needle (and Merch) far more than an original.

Of course, I’m a huge fan of park originals. Variety is always the best policy.

The movie franchise model is presented as the thing that must be done to ensure success of the parks. Execution is routinely excused for the franchise and nostalgia and brand locality are also dismissed in the claims that the parks must stay relevant by focusing on what kids know, current franchises. I’m not dismissing the Wizarding World, but it is not the singular way of achieving success.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

As I said, all things being equal, yes it is. Otherwise, I could set up a cardboard box, and paint "Avengers" on it, and make billions.

Is this where I make the joke about the Guardians Show Building?

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I thought I had read that there was a licencing fee that was expiring. But you would certainly know better than I.

I recall hearing that Disney was disappointed with how DCA's Tower was performing in guest surveys -- that it was no longer being cited as something that actively drew people to the park, just something they did while they were there. That they wondered if they could do better by such a prominent, expensive attraction, and started to consider the option of replacing the Twilight Zone theme.

I have no interest in standing behind the transformation from Tower to Guardians, but it did turn the ride back into a draw for the park. At least for now.

 

[Dunston]

Say what you will about how well Guardians fit in Future World, but they still fit in there far more than they do in California Adventure. At least Epcot tries to hide its eyesore building.

I just don't understand why we can't wait to see what the finished product is for Guardians before we say that it goes against everything that Epcot is about?

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm remaining optimistic that it will at least be the kind of futuristic/optimistic vibe that test track has--a futuristic thrill ride that maybe has something to do with energy or some kind of inspiring message. If not, and it is a wacky Guardians of the Galaxy adventure in the middle of Epcot, at least we're getting a great new ride out of it.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Say what you will about how well Guardians fit in Future World, but they still fit in there far more than they do in California Adventure. At least Epcot tries to hide its eyesore building.

Isn't the DCA Guardians building going to anchor the new Marvel land there?

 

[Dunston]

Isn't the DCA Guardians building going to anchor the new Marvel land there?

I think the major headliner for Marvel land will be the Spidey ride. Still, if Marvel/Avengers land is gonna be on Earth, doesn't make sense for The Collector's house to be there.

 

[peter11435]

I think the major headliner for Marvel land will be the Spidey ride. Still, if Marvel/Avengers land is gonna be on Earth, doesn't make sense for The Collector's house to be there.

Neither mission breakout or Spiderman will ultimately be the headliner attraction of the land.

Mission breakout is already set on Earth.

 

[kthomas105]

I think the major headliner for Marvel land will be the Spidey ride. Still, if Marvel/Avengers land is gonna be on Earth, doesn't make sense for The Collector's house to be there.

Last I read the current rumor on the DL side of the forum is a spiderman web shooter ride similar to buzz or TSMM with the potential for trackless tech. Not a high thrill E ticket. Things may have changed though. I believe the reason stated for this is that any ride done with spiderman cannot be similar in nature to the current spiderman ride at IOA, as in no simulated movement with screens/physical sets.

 

[kthomas105]

Neither mission breakout or Spiderman will ultimately be the headliner attraction of the land.

Mission breakout is already set on Earth.

Is the avengers coaster still slated to be that land's headliner?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Is the avengers coaster still slated to be that land's headliner?

If they can build one with a PPH acceptable to DLR ops.

 

[aliceismad]

The last renderings I saw for Marvel Land did not seem to go visually with Mission Breakout, but I think that was some blog that was talking about multiple Marvel Lands, not just DCA. I wondered if those rendering would mean anything in connection with GOTG at Epcot, but I have no idea.

 

[Dunston]

Last I read the current rumor on the DL side of the forum is a spiderman web shooter ride similar to buzz or TSMM with the potential for trackless tech. Not a high thrill E ticket. Things may have changed though. I believe the reason stated for this is that any ride done with spiderman cannot be similar in nature to the current spiderman ride at IOA, as in no simulated movement with screens/physical sets.

I hope they find a way to make you feel the dynamic movement one would associate with Spider-Man. Trackless shooter ride sounds really cool, if there's physical sets.

The last renderings I saw for Marvel Land did not seem to go visually with Mission Breakout, but I think that was some blog that was talking about multiple Marvel Lands, not just DCA. I wondered if those rendering would mean anything in connection with GOTG at Epcot, but I have no idea.

Maybe the different Marvel lands/attractions are part of the Marvel Parkomatic Universe.

 

[bclane]

Could the Spider-Man ride be based around that pendulum based roller coaster patent that Disney came up with a couple years ago? That could give the feeling of being the man himself swinging between buildings or whatever.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Could the Spider-Man ride be based around that pendulum based roller coaster patent that Disney came up with a couple years ago? That could give the feeling of being the man himself swinging between buildings or whatever.

It's either a state-of-the art overhead pendulum coaster-shooter as you aim your arm shooters/laser at the latest 8K 2.5D images cast on real sets, or, you walk in an stand in front of a flapping screen with a projection and you wildly move your arms around and the motion detector shows fuzzy images of things getting hit on a one second delay.

 

[RSoxNo1]

My guess is that it's fairly likely we'll probably hear the original Universe of Energy theme on Peter's Walkman at some point.. (I made the EPCOT Mixtape Cover)
View attachment 358042View attachment 358043

This is excellent. Just tweeted it out crediting you.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Where else in Epcot (outside of Spaceship Earth) is Epcot's original theme still present?
Why should a new attraction echo a theme that was abandoned long ago?
Themes of optimism and futurism and especially innovative technology go stale just as quickly - perhaps even more so - than pop culture themes.

TT 1.0 and MS still had/have hints of the original theme of EPCOT Center.

But even those, one is gone and the other is pushing 20 years old.

This.

A few things here, I think there are elements of EPCOT Center still in the park. The architecture of World Showcase is still very much in place, as are the entertainment offerings. The World Showcase rides themselves very well may be upgrades over their predecessors, but they're further removed from the EPCOT Center approach to things. I'd argue that the Frozen meet and greet is an acceptable inclusion into World Showcase.

In Future World, I think Test Track 2.0 fits, especially the pre and post show. The ride fits, but I don't think it's execution was as good as it could have been. I'd love to see them better integrate the pre-show designs along the ride path using the larger monitors. Perhaps we run alongside some of our test vehicles during the attraction.

Regarding Guardians, there are absolutely treatments that work for this attraction, but those treatments are routed in nostalgia as opposed to moving Epcot forward. So if this works as a love letter to classic Epcot while the rest of the park is a disjointed mess, what does that truly accomplish? It will be the biggest ride in the park and potentially pay tribute to what the park used to be. That's a confusing message.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Question: If all of the other changes were happening to Epcot, WITHOUT GOTG happening, would people be more positive about the overall direction the park is going?

Well obviously EPCOT's destruction would be less without Iger barfing his Marvel over a FW original. But that's still just one nail in the coffin. RAT is a disaster for WS, the flagship of a WS being bibbety boppity boo'ed into Fantasyland 2. The replacement of Illuminations by a Disney Sing-a-long video is still too bitter to contemplate. Its last showings feel like a funeral rite for EPCOT.
Also, an essential element of the beauty of FW is its rigid symmetry. One simply can not tear down one half of the CommuniCore buildings.

Positive are reducing the Food&Swine festival, plus the two restoration projects of greenery and a prism at the entrance and a Harvest Theater movie. A C-ticket movie, but one that remarkably is kinda sorta fitting, if you squint your eyes. The new restaurant spree I'm a bit on the fence about although I can't really explain why.

Still expecting to be rich and famous one day even though I'm in my forties, I have some positive hope for the SSE deconstruction and the surprise big box between FW and WS near Imagination.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Tony Baxter tells the story of when management was wondering if they really needed to license the Indiana Jones name from Lucas - could they have a great attraction without it specifically being Indiana Jones. (Crazy huh? My how the tables have turned.) Tony then gave a presentation for "The Kentucky Smith Adventure" just to make the point that even if the ride was just as superb, it is not as strong an attraction. The ride would have to do all the heavy lifting of telling you why you should want to be with this Kentucky Smith person, what to expect from a Kentucky Smith adventure, what the rules are, genre is, etc. etc.

It's not just about gift shop merchandise. In many ways a popular IP gives imagineers healthier budgets, and frees up their storytelling abilities.

Baxter loves IP. I think because he doesn't excell in telling a story. Thunder works, beautifully so, but the whole story only became clear after decades. He found no good way of telling it on the ride (arguably intuitively the rider understood nevertheless, which is even better). At Imagination he used original characters, with not even an established physical universe to draw from as with Thunder, so he felt he needed to open with their introduction, the rather static 'origin movie' first three minutes Splash' does use IP, so now again Baxter doesn't explain anything, and the attraction story is exceedingly difficult to figure out. The only times he truly succeeded in telling a ride's story in an efficient way are indeed with Indy and Star Wars - drawing on well defined characters and universes.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Baxter loves IP. I think because he doesn't excell in telling a story. Thunder works, beautifully so, but the whole story only became clear after decades. He found no good way of telling it on the ride (arguably intuitively the rider understood nevertheless, which is even better). At Imagination he used original characters, with not even an established physical universe to draw from as with Thunder, so he felt he needed to open with their introduction, the rather static 'origin movie' first three minutes Splash' does use IP, so now again Baxter doesn't explain anything, and the attraction story is exceedingly difficult to figure out. The only times he truly succeeded in telling a ride's story in an efficient way are indeed with Indy and Star Wars - drawing on well defined characters and universes.

The story of Splash Mountain is difficult to follow? Dude suffers from “grass is greener” syndrome, runs away, gets chased by a fox (all foxes are bad) and a dumb bear (all bears are dumb—see CBJ), ev’rybody starts telling jokes until the bunny gets caught in tar...err honey, but he escapes and everything is satisfactual again. Easy breezy.

All that’s missing is the happy slave and kid who’s parents are getting divorced. That kind of storyline only works at gritty DAK.