So I guess my question is, do we know at all what the extent of GoTG is going to be overlaid or infused? I mean I get the love of old things (I cannot stand the Nemo dumbed down Living Seas) but at some point Ellen and Bill Nye were introduced to help bring contemporary interest into the attraction and this may be no different.
Is it going to continue to educate while adding interest and some funny moments? If so then I really have no problem. Is it going to be a mindless batch of pablum with digital projections? If so then hand me a torch and pitchfork to storm the castle.
Are we pushing the panic button because of what we know or are we pushing it in fear of what we are (rightfully) concerned about in light of recent character/movie infusions of older attractions?
Not trying to poke at anyone I just honestly have not heard anything more than the association of GoTG and UoE together.
I can only speak for myself of course, not the OP,
@George could speak to his concerns.
My communications, with Melissa Valiquette and with George Kalogridis, were not exactly focused on GotG. They both mentioned it in passing. My letter to Ms. Valiquette was based around the fact that the GotG rumor had any legs at all. That the state of the park has gotten to the point that I couldn't dismiss GotG out of hand.
My communications with Mr. Kalogridis hinted at GotG in passing, but was about the larger problems with the park, one which GotG would make much worse.
Now, the few rumors I've let myself read (with some corroboration with forum members that are seen as trusted sources) point to this not being an overlay, but a teardown of the Energy pavilion. I've seen mention on multiple other sites that the attraction is going to be a roller coaster, one mentioning Vekoma building a "revolutionary" coaster for GotG.
While it's been mentioned here that a good series of writers could potentially write a story that would allow GotG to be introduced and fit in with the theme, I find it challenging to do so without the story being too much of a stretch. GotG, in the MCU's current version, is a space fantasy set in the current day. It is not a futuristic property in it's current Disney owned version.
Could the writers pen up a tale with GotG looking all over modern Earth for energy sources to stop some big bad guy, sending us on a wild ride? Sure. I bet they could.
Based on the track record of the last few decades of Epcot, (and this gets to the heart of my letters), is that it wont happen. They did not take Finding Nemo and use it to tell a story that augmented the message or theme of The Seas. They did not take Soarin' and use it to tell the story of The Land. They did not take Frozen and use it to explore Norway. They built attractions that were tangentially related and placed them in there with no story, no thought of the modification to theme.
I personally have no problem with using characters to tell stories in Epcot attractions. This will be explored more in an article that should be appearing in the Featured Articles section at some point here. I do however have problems with characters being used in lieu of thematic ties and story.
I'd applaud a thoughtfully produced attraction that used well-known characters to educate and inspire guests the way that the original Epcot Center attractions did.
My issue is that based on the evidence provided, I do not have high hopes that this will happen. I find it more likely, based on evidence, that they will put a GoTG roller coaster in place of the pavilion, and that will be it. No mention of Energy. No change to the mission of Epcot. Just, look at our cool new ride.
I hope to be pleasantly surprised, I really do. I loved Epcot Center and want nothing more than to love it again.
