News Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind attraction confirmed for Epcot

[lazyboy97o]

Yeah but what does any of that have to do with Walt's family? Truth be told, if they had kept running Disney, Disney likely would have been acquired and the parks sold off.

EPCOT Center is the scapegoat for the woes of the Studio. The plan to buy the company you reference was about getting a cheap film library. The Studio would have been shut down while the old films still made money in rerelease and television broadcasts. The parks would have been sold because they were still profitable, so profitable that they always made up for the losses at the Studio.

“Walt Disney Productions is in trouble and needs new management because they just successfully opened the world’s largest private construction project” is a narrative that makes no sense. Instead, EPCOT Center is dismissed as a boring failure and the film studio is conflated with the whole company. This creates the false impression that the financial trouble of the “Studio” was pushed by the huge resources poured into EPCOT Center. WED Enterprises was firing on all cylinders but gets lumped into the malaise at the Studio because the coup was for the whole company and not just the struggling movie business.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

For better or for worse.

It always seemed like while many liked Epcot, it always had the public perception of "that park that was a school lesson with all the slow rides". I mean, many shows did make fun of it.

Still love Epcot. Always have, always will.

LOL but true!!!

 

[larryz]

There was Robin Williams voice acting in Cranium Command???

Oops... my bad.

I thought I remembered Robin Williams doing General Knowledge, but upon research, turns out it was Corey Burton.

 

[mikejs78]

EPCOT Center is the scapegoat for the woes of the Studio. The plan to buy the company you reference was about getting a cheap film library. The Studio would have been shut down while the old films still made money in rerelease and television broadcasts. The parks would have been sold because they were still profitable, so profitable that they always made up for the losses at the Studio.

“Walt Disney Productions is in trouble and needs new management because they just successfully opened the world’s largest private construction project” is a narrative that makes no sense. Instead, EPCOT Center is dismissed as a boring failure and the film studio is conflated with the whole company. This creates the false impression that the financial trouble of the “Studio” was pushed by the huge resources poured into EPCOT Center. WED Enterprises was firing on all cylinders but gets lumped into the malaise at the Studio because the coup was for the whole company and not just the struggling movie business.

I think this is a bit of a simplistic view of what happened. Of course Epcot wasn't the problem, but the studios m, the merchandising, pretty much every aspect outside the parks was being mismanaged. True, Roy felt that too much was spent on Epcot, but his beef was that the studio was stagnant, and that was his uncle's legacy. He got Eisner in to save the studio, not because of the parks.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think this is a bit of a simplistic view of what happened. Of course Epcot wasn't the problem, but the studios m, the merchandising, pretty much every aspect outside the parks was being mismanaged. True, Roy felt that too much was spent on Epcot, but his beef was that the studio was stagnant, and that was his uncle's legacy. He got Eisner in to save the studio, not because of the parks.

The Studio was starting to see success again with ventures like Disney Channel and Touchstone Pictures. Turning around the Studio means new leadership there, not over everything. The creative and financial success of the parks was and still is diminished to justify taking over everything. Calling just the studio Walt’s legacy is exactly the outcome desired by this sort of false narrative, it elevates the studio above the parks. WED Enterprises and it’s aspirations beyond movies and theme parks are also very much the legacy of Walt Disney. Roy E. wasn’t saving his uncle’s legacy, he was saving his father’s legacy.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

You rang?

View attachment 265549

The white lines are an overlay from the permit.

the current show building is huge. Would the new coaster tracks be confined to that launch tunnel and new show building or would some decent portion of the new ride also utilize the current show building?

 

[trainplane3]

the current show building is huge. Would the new coaster tracks be confined to that launch tunnel and new show building or would some decent portion of the new ride also utilize the current show building?

UoE will have queue and several preshows from what's been hinted at. Load and unload will also take place there as well.

 

[Bairstow]

Honestly, I feel Disney's Animal Kingdom is supposedly the new EPCOT now.

It's weird that WDW mangement will take Disney's Animal Kingdom very seriously (Which I love), but they could easily include some IP's in it and it'd fit pretty well (Which I'd be fine with). While with Epcot they are literary just throwing any random IP into the thing.

I imagine that Animal Kingdom's relatively moderate case of IP-itis (other than the obvious) has been largely due to the constant efforts of Joe Rohde to defend it, Batman-style, as "his" park.

 

[marni1971]

the current show building is huge. Would the new coaster tracks be confined to that launch tunnel and new show building or would some decent portion of the new ride also utilize the current show building?

Load and unload, and a pre/post launch show area.

 

[celluloid]

Honestly, I feel Disney's Animal Kingdom is supposedly the new EPCOT now.

It's weird that WDW mangement will take Disney's Animal Kingdom very seriously (Which I love), but they could easily include some IP's in it and it'd fit pretty well (Which I'd be fine with). While with Epcot they are literary just throwing any random IP into the thing.

It also helps that Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens tampa and many other wild animal experiences in the state; although we know in numbers in theming are nowhere near the budget of Disney, the other places do Conservation messages and exhibits very well, so Disney has to keep Animal Kingdom the best Animal experience in their minds in Florida.

 

[rle4lunch]

Conversely, the variety is unparalleled in WDW. I adore Disneyland, but having been exposed to ALL WDW has to offer.....I prefer World.

Very true. My first visit to DL after many, many visits to WDW, was like, "this is awesome, but small". I view DL as a weekend vacation and WDW as a full week vacation. Plus, the immersion factor of 45 square miles in which i can stay on the grounds that whole time without contact to the outside world is another big plus for wdw.

 

[mikejs78]

The Studio was starting to see success again with ventures like Disney Channel and Touchstone Pictures. Turning around the Studio means new leadership there, not over everything. The creative and financial success of the parks was and still is diminished to justify taking over everything. Calling just the studio Walt’s legacy is exactly the outcome desired by this sort of false narrative, it elevates the studio above the parks. WED Enterprises and it’s aspirations beyond movies and theme parks are also very much the legacy of Walt Disney. Roy E. wasn’t saving his uncle’s legacy, he was saving his father’s legacy.

This is a ridiculous rewriting of history. Disney would not be an independent entity, studios or parks, if not for the change at the top. Ron Miller was too conservative in his approach. While WED was doing great stuff, Disney as a whole was stagnating under Miller. Even Disney Channel and other initiatives were not doing as well as expected, and they were riding on Walt's legacy rather than doing new things (like Walt did ). If you are in favor of Time Warner World instead of Disney World, then the Miller approach was the right one.

 

[montyz81]

Pretty damning evidence. The words "more Disney" jabs like a knife in the back to die-hard Disney fans and a knife in the chest of The Imagineering Greats that built things not to be "More Disney" but to be unique. Seems that concept is lost on today's Disney. I don't think we'll ever see a return to form. Least not under the Bobs.

Wait a minute, isn't "More Disney" all about new concepts and being unique? As mentioned Epcot Center did this in spades plus it had the added benefit of trying to realize the goals of Walt Disney's real EPCOT city. It was about different industries and associated companies trying out new "unique" ways of doing things. Hell the word "Prototype" has "unique" built in. Everything about it was completely unique and completely Disney! After all it was based on a concept by the founder himself! This makes it completely Disney. Bob should really try to figure out what "More Disney" means!

 

[RSoxNo1]

Well Chapek did say it needed to be “more timeless, more relevant, more family friendly, more Disney.” I took that’s as a repudiation and condemnation of the concept (original concept) of Epcot.

He also echoed Tom Fitzgerald by saying the real becomes fantastic and the fantastic becomes real. They clearly don't know what the park is about.

 

[marni1971]

Does anyone know the rumored or confirmed budget for this ride?

Far too much and rising. Even internally it’s raised eyebrows.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I hope they choke on it in a career destroying financial train wreck.


A half a billion mediocre ride, outclassed before opening by the new Potter coaster, based on yesterday's superhero flash in the pan. Hasn't the world already moved on to Wonder Woman and Black Panther?

 

[ToTBellHop]

I hope they choke on it in a career destroying financial train wreck.


A half a billion mediocre ride, outclassed before opening by the new Potter coaster, based on yesterday's superhero flash in the pan. Hasn't the world already moved on to Wonder Woman and Black Panther?

I didn’t think it had quite hit half a billion. That’s not the best standard for reasonable cost, though.

 

[mikejs78]

I hope they choke on it in a career destroying financial train wreck.


A half a billion mediocre ride, outclassed before opening by the new Potter coaster, based on yesterday's superhero flash in the pan. Hasn't the world already moved on to Wonder Woman and Black Panther?

I'm with you mostly - as I don't want to see this coaster in Epcot (DHS on the other hand? Sure.). But I'd hardly call Guardians 'yesterdays superhero flash in the Pan'. It's very popular. It was the highest grossing super hero film of 2017 (yes, it beat out Wonder Woman globally, although Wonder Woman did better in the US). Still, your points about the mediocre ride (although that remains to be seen) and high budget are valid.

 

[marni1971]

I didn’t think it had quite hit half a billion. That’s not the best standard for reasonable cost, though.

It’s not far off.

 

[mousekedoc]

So, if what i read here is correct, Disney is spending upwards of $225,000,000 on Rat and somewhere near $500,000,000 on GOTG. That doesn’t include whatever will go into refurbishing anything else in EPCOT. And yet somehow I and so many on these forums seem disappointed. I know what is happening at other parks and i understand TWD co makes vast sums of money, but when, if ever, will us couch imagineers be satisfied?