Rumor Is the End of Innoventions Near?

[trainplane3]

I imagine it's still worth keeping around somewhere, though maybe some place in World Showcase may draw more of a crowd. There's a good amount of people who go to the parks that will never touch Disney Springs, and I imagine it's not that expensive of a store to run.

Also that reminds me, the store in Epcot has a staircase directly to the left of the entrance. Where does it lead?

Oh I don't want to see it leave either. I'd like to see it stay but I have no idea what we should even expect at this point with the new spine.

I believe offices and/or storage? I seem to remember them going up the stairs to get the box for a Figment giclee I bought a couple years ago.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Odyssey looks like it has a reprieve thankfully.

Millennium tent / World Showplace is staying.

It’s as if they’ve run out of creativity to design a theme park. Sell more food and drink.

What nearly killed DCA in the early years again?

It seems to me that they've simply accepted Epcot as a Festival park with a collection of rides.

It’s almost like they’ve gone with band aids and not surgery again.

That's exactly what they're doing.

They have been making band aid "fixes" since 1997 and none of them have worked.

On a positive note, I think the masses on here have felt the monoliths in front of Spaceship earth and the tarp explosion behind it aren't a great look. It sounds like at least aesthetically Future World will see an improvement. However, it still very much seems like the park will be a Festival park with a disjointed theme and the worst ride lineup of any Disney Park in the world.

 

[jt04]

This is just the hub for the most part.

It is entirely possible funds are going more to the pavilions and SSE in this plan.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This is just the hub for the most part.

It is entirely possible funds are going more to the pavilions and SSE in this plan.

It's possible Disney is investing in porcine aviaries.

 

[jt04]

It's possible Disney is investing in porcine aviaries.

It is a fact they are investing in a preview center which they wouldn't be doing if the latest doom predictions for the park were remotely accurate.

IMO.

 

[marni1971]

It is a fact they are investing in a preview center which they wouldn't be doing if the latest doom predictions for the park were remotely accurate.

IMO.

But of course they think they’re doing the right thing. More timeless. More relevant. More Disney.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

But of course they think they’re doing the right thing. More timeless. More relevant. More Disney.

Doing the right thing is subjective, but the better option is surely to revitalize existing space. That’s from a monetary point of view too, which seems to be all they care about anyway. CommuniCore is big enough for a festival center and a Beer Garden just as it is. Is it ideal? No. Is it a better option than tearing them down and not presenting the option of future expansion at all? Absolutely.

 

[FerretAfros]

It is a fact they are investing in a preview center which they wouldn't be doing if the latest doom predictions for the park were remotely accurate.

IMO.

Of course they'd never want to promote bad projects in such a public-facing way. Meanwhile at DCA's Blue Sky Cellar...

https:///wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DasUIZXVQAA3CtY.jpg

Pixar Pier is a bad concept, executed poorly, at incredible expense for what it is, yet it's still being highlighted nearly a year after it opened. In the meantime, there's a new billion-dollar land across the Esplanade that's set to open in a couple months that has remarkably little information available in the parks, but is largely blocked from view of average guests.

DCA's preview center opened in 2008 because they knew all the upcoming construction would be too significant to ignore. So instead of pretending like it didn't exist, they leaned into it and created an opportunity to get people excited for the park's future. Given that Epcot's core will also require several years of extensive construction, it makes sense that they want a similar location for guests to learn more, so all those poor CMs don't have to keep answering questions about what's behind the wall.

It's not about quality, it's about marketing. I suspect marketing is also the reason why they were willing to tear down perfectly usable buildings for this plan: it's a lot easier to get people excited (whether potential visitors planning vacations, or corporate boardrooms buying into expensive projects) if the change is more drastic. New must be better, right?

 

[AdventureMP4z]

Also that reminds me, the store in Epcot has a staircase directly to the left of the entrance. Where does it lead?

There is also a locked elevator, i'd assume it goes to offices and storage.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

There is also a locked elevator, i'd assume it goes to offices and storage.

It used to be the Teacher’s Center. It’s just storage now, nothing cool anymore.

 

[FrankLapidus]

In claiming that Disney is "investing in a preview center", would that mean in this case that they are just using the Odyssey building to display some concept art, maybe a model or two?

 

[Movielover]

Imagine you had never been to, or even heard of Epcot Center before. Then you see this:
View attachment 363303
View attachment 363304
View attachment 363302
What might you think this was?
When told it was part of a theme park, what might you think then?
What's inside, what's beyond?
Would you know there are exhibits inside? What kind of experiences would you guess are in there? Did you know there's a shop and restaurant? Where might those be? Any idea what amazing pavilions lay beyond these structures or how to reach them?
This was Disney's first flex-space. A great idea, but not for a hub. I feel like any other park you make your way inside and you mind fills with the options laid out all around you. I think once you pass beyond Spaceship Earth, many first-timers look about and think, "wait-what?" as they reach for a map.
IMHO

Looks like a late 80's airport concourse to me, but to each their own.

 

[Bender123]

As another Wisconsinite I don't have a problem with a beer garden in Epcot in saw Canada, the UK, etc., I have a problem with the location in the middle of what is currently known as future world.

How do you expect me to make it all the way to Canada without a beer? That's like asking a marathon runner to go without water...Im already struggling at the lack of sausage and cheese curds in the entrance plaza.

 

[mikejs78]

But of course they think they’re doing the right thing. More timeless. More relevant. More Disney.

You forgot 'more family'.

Nothing says more family like a beer garden.

 

[Bender123]

Imagine you had never been to, or even heard of Epcot Center before. Then you see this:
View attachment 363303
View attachment 363304
View attachment 363302
What might you think this was?
When told it was part of a theme park, what might you think then?
What's inside, what's beyond?
Would you know there are exhibits inside? What kind of experiences would you guess are in there? Did you know there's a shop and restaurant? Where might those be? Any idea what amazing pavilions lay beyond these structures or how to reach them?
This was Disney's first flex-space. A great idea, but not for a hub. I feel like any other park you make your way inside and you mind fills with the options laid out all around you. I think once you pass beyond Spaceship Earth, many first-timers look about and think, "wait-what?" as they reach for a map.
IMHO

It looks like a conference center...Don't get me wrong, I love old Epcot, but those pictures make it look like I am walking into a Ramada for a day long session on Informatics.

 

[jt04]

Of course they'd never want to promote bad projects in such a public-facing way. Meanwhile at DCA's Blue Sky Cellar...

https:///wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DasUIZXVQAA3CtY.jpg

Pixar Pier is a bad concept, executed poorly, at incredible expense for what it is, yet it's still being highlighted nearly a year after it opened. In the meantime, there's a new billion-dollar land across the Esplanade that's set to open in a couple months that has remarkably little information available in the parks, but is largely blocked from view of average guests.

DCA's preview center opened in 2008 because they knew all the upcoming construction would be too significant to ignore. So instead of pretending like it didn't exist, they leaned into it and created an opportunity to get people excited for the park's future. Given that Epcot's core will also require several years of extensive construction, it makes sense that they want a similar location for guests to learn more, so all those poor CMs don't have to keep answering questions about what's behind the wall.

It's not about quality, it's about marketing. I suspect marketing is also the reason why they were willing to tear down perfectly usable buildings for this plan: it's a lot easier to get people excited (whether potential visitors planning vacations, or corporate boardrooms buying into expensive projects) if the change is more drastic. New must be better, right?

I wish I could comment from an informed perspective. All we have (which has been fueling this thread for days) is some crude fan art that seems more created for propaganda and click bait than a portrayal of the actual project gamma.

I'll get back to you after D23.

 

[jt04]

It looks like a conference center...Don't get me wrong, I love old Epcot, but those pictures make it look like I am walking into a Ramada for a day long session on Informatics.

I think you just described a level in purgatory.

 

[Bender123]

I think you just described a level in purgatory.

I have seen enough conference centers...they all start to look the same. High ceilings, floor to ceiling windows in the halls, noisy colorful carpet, skylights in the lobby...All those pictures need is a few people in suits with a cell phone to their head and a folding table, lined in cheap white fabric, with a sign that has check in instructions.

 

[jt04]

I have seen enough conference centers...they all start to look the same. High ceilings, floor to ceiling windows in the halls, noisy colorful carpet, skylights in the lobby...All those pictures need is a few people in suits with a cell phone to their head and a folding table, lined in cheap white fabric, with a sign that has check in instructions.

Don't forget the branded cozies, notepads and helium balloons.

 

[Bender123]

Don't forget the branded cozies, notepads and helium balloons.

Table with coffee, tea, water in carafes, fresh cut fruit platter and an assortment of "breakfast breads"...Every room is called something like "Inspiration", "Success" and/or "(insert Random natural setting here)", which becomes "The Grand Ballroom" when they take down the accordion walls...like its some sort of Voltron...