Innoventions West to Close in May?

[sshindel]

Man all this EPCOT talk today has me on a rather insane, totally infeasible imagineering kick to reinvent the park. If I don't watch it, I'll be sitting around doodling "blueprints" complete with monorail footers to mail to Orlando like a crazy person.

 

[jamesgf]

I just hope they do something new and it doesn't become Frozenoventions.

 

[The Duck]

I can remember the glory days of Communicore during the early 80's and it was a place of wonder and excitement.

Then, I visited in the early 2000's and I was treated to the wonder of Velcro.

Does anyone else remember this steaming pile of .......... "Edutainment"?

 

[rsoxguy]

That completely and totally misses the point. The very last thing Future World needs is yet another closed and vacant building (Wonders of life, Odyssey, Imagination upstairs, and now Innoventions West). That's undeniably a lot of space in one area which is closed off to Epcot guests (granted, some areas are used for special events, but were intended as theme-park space).

A refurbishment which puts something new in the space is a different story, but we would all be suspicious Disney would close the space down now and then wait many months or even years before doing anything.

And as already pointed out, the future is not now; It is yet to come, and (obviously) always will be. Attractions and exhibits portraying that upcoming future will by definition always have a place, but you have to keep up as technology changes. You can't build something today - for the future - and then leave it alone for 20 years until it becomes a history exhibit instead. Disney has too much a tendancy to do that.

Hello CDavid. When someone quotes me and then uses the term “misses the point”, I’m drawn to an analysis of what it is that I’m missing. In this case, you seem to be stating that I lack a basic understanding of the pitfalls of dead space within a premier space at EPCOT. Why you would make this assumption about me I do not know.

Perhaps you missed my point. The point that I was making is this; Innoventions is a boring and outdated attraction according to my opinion. It would not hurt me to see it closed. Why you would assume that I would expect the space to remain unused I do not know. Disney’s track record? Perhaps. It’s just that my desire would take me to that magical place in life where a dead attraction is redeveloped into a great new attraction that bears some type of relevance to me, a cash paying tourist. An existing attraction for which I have little interest does not serve a purpose in my life, and in an ideal world it would be a good thing to see it closed and redesigned or replaced. I'm not certain if this fits within your "point".

You see, I thought that the “point” of this thread as stated by the OP was to inform us regarding a possible closure. I wasn’t aware that the “point” of this thread was to state the importance of utilizing premier space within a theme park. As such, I commented on the merits of the attraction mentioned according to my personal opinion, while foolishly omitting a statement regarding the importance of properly utilizing the space currently taken by said attraction. Please forgive.

The irony found in all of this? You and I are in complete agreement concerning your “point”.

 

[mm121]

I agree we don't want empty space sat doing nothing, but as others have said it sounds like the sponsors are pulling out. Without sponsorship Innoventions is either full of out-of-date broken non-innovative things or closed. Epcot was deisigned to be like a worlds fair, to do that it was designed to be run with cash from sponsors. If there are no sponsors, there is no true Epcot and we will see more and more "Disney" with characters etc.

sounds like disney really needs to rethink this whole sponsorship model if no companies want to participate, same goes for the world showcase when no new countries can strike a deal to expand it and current countries like norway have basically abandoned their pavilions.

Companies probably have an issue with sponsoring considering that they are basically spending their money to help a multi billion dollar corporation make even more money, with no direct way to monotize on the opportunity

 

[MarkTwain]

I don't think those were rumors. Just suggestions from @WondersOfLife .

This. I've seen the BH6 idea over and over but never from someone I would call an insider, only as a fan suggestion (although admittedly a good one... unfortunately Disney and good ideas don't always coincide).

I do know that bringing movie IP into Epcot is seen as an urgent priority, and Inside Out is a top contender. This certainly could be seen as a move to create event space, freeing up Wonders of Life.

* although I would argue that with World Showplace, Odyssey, and lord know how many corporate lounges, Epcot has more than enough event space already, but that's another matter.

 

[Little Green Men]

Here's the BH6 rumor thread: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/innoventions-into-big-hero-6.894563/

 

[Captain Neo]

Bring back Communicore yo

 

[nuhuelins]

I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a makeshift Apple Store or something equally unnecessary from their competitors!

 

[Next Big Thing]

Well.... Now they're just killing this park.

Well, Inno West is embarrassing in it's current form. They're killing more if they let the building sit idle than if they repurpose it for guest use. I would love it if they expanded the back half of the building a bit and put in an actual ride.

But we all know that won't happen.

 

[matt9112]

The best possible outcome? We move the festival center for F&W to this location and finally.... finally... finally do something with the WOL pavilion.

I mean if you're going to have a festival center, you really need it in the middle of the park as opposed to way on the edge. This move would serve that need. It would free up much needed real-estate for a new attraction or two.

One can hope..... otherwise Epcot is going to give the Studios a run for their money as "which park is on life support?"

dave.. i think they really have cut corners and under-looked things for far too long epcot and the studios are both a joke on there own....if you remove MK from Florida you have nothing, i think the execs likely know this but are faced with the thought of (we need to do a DCA makeover to two parks!) and financially that's just...a hard pill. alass it could all have been avoided if decisions were made differently i hope they remember the latter.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

I can second the confirmation.

From my understanding, it's because neither Liberty Mutual nor T. Rowe Price opted to renew their contracts. If they opted not to renew and IBM THINK is going away as well, it's pointless to keep that building running. Believe it or not, The Great Piggy Adventure is actually quite expensive, not necessarily in running it but the components involved (you wouldn't believe me if I told you how much those individual piggy banks cost).

I take it they won't let me take a pig home then.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

This is a stretch, however...

Remember "Project Kaleidoscope," which saw the strange vertically striped painting of the Innoventions buildings? A few insiders had said that the painting was just one part of a larger project, and if that's the case, the rest of it has yet to materialize. Could this be a part of it?

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

This is a stretch, however...

Remember "Project Kaleidoscope," which saw the strange vertically striped painting of the Innoventions buildings? A few insiders had said that the painting was just one part of a larger project, and if that's the case, the rest of it has yet to materialize. Could this be a part of it?

One can only hope. Would be nice if they took the building back to being open windows. Set the vinyl wraps free!!! Maybe even build in a peoplemover into the 2nd floor like it was originally intended. It could be a loop around future world and talk about the history of EPCOT and even Disney World as a whole. That would be a simple ride addition and a big people eater. Then they can redo the 1st floor into other attractions. They could move the event space from WOL to the Milenium Building in World Showcase and repurpose the Odyssey into something other than part time event space.

 

[ParksAndPixels]

I agree but I'm looking for straws to grasp onto.

At this point, the straws are so small they are hard to see, nearly impossible to grasp

Problem is as of late, we are ones always holding the short straw in the end.

 

[ParksAndPixels]

dave.. i think they really have cut corners and under-looked things for far too long epcot and the studios are both a joke on there own....if you remove MK from Florida you have nothing, i think the execs likely know this but are faced with the thought of (we need to do a DCA makeover to two parks!) and financially that's just...a hard pill. alass it could all have been avoided if decisions were made differently i hope they remember the latter.

For years I have never been this person, but now when people ask about going to Disney, I usually tell them to save the money and wait. Especially if they've never made the trip. I've now explained several times that it isn't currently like it once was. I mean at least when MGM opened you felt like there was much more to do with the original BLT. Now not so much.

 

[Susan Savia]

I always liked the benches area across from Where's the Fire. Hope it won;t be another coffee shop!

 

[sshindel]

For years I have never been this person, but now when people ask about going to Disney, I usually tell them to save the money and wait. Especially if they've never made the trip. I've now explained several times that it isn't currently like it once was. I mean at least when MGM opened you felt like there was much more to do with the original BLT. Now not so much.

I'm not quite there. Most people, especially first timers, would never know anything was "wrong". Most first timers I help end up having a great time, come back loving it and looking forward to go back.
Since I know what a place like Epcot once was, spent tons of time there in my youth, I have a different perspective on it. I know what I'm missing. Most first timers, or non-annual visitors, still can have a great time.

 

[ChesterKiwi]

One can only hope. Would be nice if they took the building back to being open windows. Set the vinyl wraps free!!! Maybe even build in a peoplemover into the 2nd floor like it was originally intended. It could be a loop around future world and talk about the history of EPCOT and even Disney World as a whole. That would be a simple ride addition and a big people eater. Then they can redo the 1st floor into other attractions. They could move the event space from WOL to the Milenium Building in World Showcase and repurpose the Odyssey into something other than part time event space.

I would be all for this, but the chances of Horizons returning are honestly probably better.

 

[ParksAndPixels]

I'm not quite there. Most people, especially first timers, would never know anything was "wrong". Most first timers I help end up having a great time, come back loving it and looking forward to go back.
Since I know what a place like Epcot once was, spent tons of time there in my youth, I have a different perspective on it. I know what I'm missing. Most first timers, or non-annual visitors, still can have a great time.

I understand your point, but considering where I live and that the distance & money to travel to WDW is already a lot before even arriving... Not to mention many come to me because of my knowledge of the parks, it's hard for me to encourage someone to spend their money right now on something that is less than stellar. And I even tell them, "hey in two years some big improvements and expansions are coming which will give you more bang for buck, but right now personally I'd do something else." Now, if they still seem like they want to go, then I gladly give every tip and help I can to them.