EPCOT Journey of Water featuring Moana coming to Epcot

[J4546]

even in older concept renderings before the festival center building was cancelled, we knew that communicore west was gonna be torn down so this isnt a surprise nor do I miss it. Im fine with it being gone, and look forward to the new open air plaza and all the greenery in the new epcot core. Less than a year left!

 

[lazyboy97o]

even in older concept renderings before the festival center building was cancelled, we knew that communicore west was gonna be torn down so this isnt a surprise nor do I miss it. Im fine with it being gone, and look forward to the new open air plaza and all the greenery in the new epcot core. Less than a year left!

What wouldn’t you be fine with?

 

[josiah mazelin]

Incorrect, you’re looking at things extremely warped. Disney characters were originally developed both in & outside the parks division. (Both within Imagineering ‘and’ the animation & live action film divisions) We loved when there was a tasteful balance of both without coming at the expense of the core themes & focus of the park. That theme & focus is becoming smaller and smaller to only ‘strictly’ be focused on film & tv tie in characters and ‘their’ worlds/situations and not the real world concept at hand., to the point it’s more & more replacing said original concepts that did it right to the point they don’t exist anymore or very little do. The truly non-level headed folks are the corporate folks up-top that absolutely reject nuance & balance and only want an extreme push into one direction that breaks the core themes & concepts at hand. From what we’ve seen, it seems more of the focus was put on Moana & the characters themselves rather than the water & water cycle from what I can see. “Inspired By Moana” is a huge stretch in this case, I’d argue. Much like most of the new IP-tie in additions that have been added. The original EPCOT theme ties are very loose/easily missable to nearly non-existent now when it comes to new additions and updates done to original attractions

Honestly i can’t argue with that. You make some good points. I understand what youre saying about how they used to have a tasteful balance of Disney characters without jeopardizing the theme, values, and focus. For me, I do enjoy seeing things in the world showcase like Frozen and Ratatouille because those Movies are based in those countries. The only caveat is that i wish they would have focused more on the country/culture than the movie. For example it felt like they were saying Norway IS Frozen, rather than Frozen is something that’s Norwegian. I can understand where people are coming from on their frustration with the parks not staying true to their original theme (not just Epcot). it feels like Disney isn’t maintaining theme integrity and they don’t even care. Like Tiana bringing the Bayou/salt mine/restaurant/museum to a mountain in the southwest…what? However, i have come across many die-hard EPCOT fans who just can not cope with any sort of change regardless if it’s a justified change or not. And they are challenging to talk to. At this point i would be fine if Disney executives flat out recognized that Epcot is so different now than before and completely recreated the a focus and core value. Even if it’s different than before, they just need a new basic theme to give more specific direction for the future. Old Epcot is gone and i don’t know if it can ever truly come back.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Honestly i can’t argue with that. You make some good points. I understand what youre saying about how they used to have a tasteful balance of Disney characters without jeopardizing the theme, values, and focus. For me, I do enjoy seeing things in the world showcase like Frozen and Ratatouille because those Movies are based in those countries. The only caveat is that i wish they would have focused more on the country/culture than the movie. For example it felt like they were saying Norway IS Frozen, rather than Frozen is something that’s Norwegian. I can understand where people are coming from on their frustration with the parks not staying true to their original theme (not just Epcot). it feels like Disney isn’t maintaining theme integrity and they don’t even care. Like Tiana bringing the Bayou/salt mine/restaurant/museum to a mountain in the southwest…what? However, i have come across many die-hard EPCOT fans who just can not cope with any sort of change regardless if it’s a justified change or not. And they are challenging to talk to. At this point i would be fine if Disney executives flat out recognized that Epcot is so different now than before and completely recreated the a focus and core value. Even if it’s different than before, they just need a new basic theme to give more specific direction for the future. Old Epcot is gone and i don’t know if it can ever truly come back.

Frozen doesn’t take place in Norway.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Nope. Indoor walkthroughs don’t work. Apparently only outdoor walkthroughs work now.

They only work if they're in French.

 

[donaldtoo]

Perfectly adequate reasoning. unfortunately EPCOT purists usually aren’t able to have a level-headed discussion about anything new in EPCOT because the incorporation of Disney characters (in Disney World!) just isn’ like the good ole days in the 80s-2000s. They won’t be happy until everything from the world of Animated IP is gone and replaced with Horizons and Maelstrom. (Not saying this is the person you replied to, but just in general). Personally, im fine with pre-existing IP being incorporated into attractions as long as it makes sense. JoW makes more sense to me than a Zootopia ride in a Moana land at DAK.

As you can see, I answered the post very level-headedly. But, thanks for assuming I’m not level-headed without even knowing me, because I have an affinity for the excellence I experienced in EPCOT Center of the past.

 

[donaldtoo]

Frozen doesn’t take place in Norway.

That, and SotS was actually set in Georgia, not the Southwest…they shoehorned it in as best they could, I guess…?!

 

[donaldtoo]

Also, @josiah mazelin, you’re almost 40 years younger than I am. Unlike you, no offense intended, but, no matter how many grainy videos you watch, articles you read, etc., you’ll never understand how amazing the original EPCOT Center was.
Excellence was still the bar, and mediocrity was unacceptable.

 

[HauntedPirate]

even in older concept renderings before the festival center building was cancelled, we knew that communicore west was gonna be torn down so this isnt a surprise nor do I miss it. Im fine with it being gone, and look forward to the new open air plaza and all the greenery in the new epcot core. Less than a year left!

Not concept renderings. Actual plans. Some have seen them. Details of some have been shared. The one plan someone was extremely kind enough to let me see made this walk through look like a colossal waste of space, and didn’t require the destruction of a perfectly good building. But… Moana!!!

 

[Epcot81Fan]

And even if it didn't Disney all but abandoned the theme of Future World.
They're not going back to it.

But that’s the exact problem.

OK, if the entire concept of Future World (man’s progress through technology, hope for the future, etc.) is no longer relevant to the world (up for debate), then come up with a new unified, amazing concept for the park.

Don’t create a half-a$&ed mishmash of Test Track, Guardians, Moana, Abandoned Imagination, Soarin, etc. and call it “Epcot”.

And if Future World is dead, then they need to also stop shamelessly living off of its history and fans’ nostalgic love for Future World with the retro logos, music, Figment, etc.

They are creative midgets standing on the shoulders of giants.

If Epcot is dead, fine, change the name of the park, make it something new, and amaze and entertain us all over again.

But Disney needs to stop throwing this crap against the wall and telling us it’s “Epcot”.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This isn’t an attraction. It’s a walk-through.

Walk-throughs aren't attractions?

So, the castle parks' tree houses aren't attractions?
Walt Disney Presents?
Tom Sawyer Island?
Sleeping Beauty Castle?
Most of The Seas?
Stave Church and all the other cultural displays/museums of World Showcase?

 

[TP2000]

Excellence was still the bar, and mediocrity was unacceptable.

Brilliant point. There's now an entire generation of people here who have no idea that excellence was ever the standard for Disney's parks.

Thus, they have no idea that their expectations and point of references have been stunted into mediocrity.

They think "mediocre" is fine, especially if it comes with a fawning YouTube video from a smarmy lifestyle blogger.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Honestly i can’t argue with that. You make some good points. I understand what youre saying about how they used to have a tasteful balance of Disney characters without jeopardizing the theme, values, and focus. For me, I do enjoy seeing things in the world showcase like Frozen and Ratatouille because those Movies are based in those countries. The only caveat is that i wish they would have focused more on the country/culture than the movie. For example it felt like they were saying Norway IS Frozen, rather than Frozen is something that’s Norwegian. I can understand where people are coming from on their frustration with the parks not staying true to their original theme (not just Epcot). it feels like Disney isn’t maintaining theme integrity and they don’t even care. Like Tiana bringing the Bayou/salt mine/restaurant/museum to a mountain in the southwest…what? However, i have come across many die-hard EPCOT fans who just can not cope with any sort of change regardless if it’s a justified change or not. And they are challenging to talk to. At this point i would be fine if Disney executives flat out recognized that Epcot is so different now than before and completely recreated the a focus and core value. Even if it’s different than before, they just need a new basic theme to give more specific direction for the future. Old Epcot is gone and i don’t know if it can ever truly come back.

There’s the problem though…. We shouldn’t even have to settle with these Disney execs and the core themes & values. It’s like they don’t understand at all that those core themes & values make the park interesting and a fan favorite for so many. On top of it, the only reason folks are so gung-ho about the changes coming at the parks is more often than not, they ‘constantly’ replace an attraction with an original concept or characters for more Film IP when ultimately they can add new things and simply update the classic tastefully without changing the core original themes, characters & concepts of the attractions, the execution has had a track record of being poor or poorly implemented and on top of it, absolutely ‘NO’ attempt or room’s been really made with original park created content & characters without it being ‘strictly’ (and I mean ‘strictly’ being tied to and being focused on a film & TV franchises/characters despite past successes showing the original concepts were totally viable (‘especially’ things like the original ‘83-98 Journey Into Imagination) . To put it in simple terms, the real reason some folks are becoming gung-ho about it is simply because Disney themselves are gung-ho about going this directionless, non original/thematically inconsistent way as opposed to anything else.

This, as I’ve said a million times is why the large majority of folks are asking for ‘balance’ of both original ‘&’ familar IP concepts done tastefully and to possibly focus more on ‘expanding and adding new alongside’ rather than needlessly outright replacing them. and/or ‘tastefully enhancing attractions’ first before outright going out of their way to replace or shoehorn tv & films IPs in when it doesn’t necessarily need it. It needlessly hampers the creative & innovative abilities at WED/WDI along with what people love in/about the park.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Walk-throughs aren't attractions?

So, the castle parks' tree houses aren't attractions?
Walt Disney Presents?
Tom Sawyer Island?
Sleeping Beauty Castle?
Most of The Seas?
Stave Church and all the other cultural displays/museums of World Showcase?

I think Moana can fairly be termed an attraction, but most of your list actually works to convince me otherwise.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I believe “walk-through experience” is the term Disney has applied to this. Because “experience” is the word all the hip and cool kids are using these days.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I believe “walk-through experience” is the term Disney has applied to this. Because “experience” is the word all the hip and cool kids are using these days.

Experience isn’t a new term.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They should call it a "journey."

The Journey of Water Inspired by Moana Journey!!

 

[HauntedPirate]

Experience isn’t a new term.

Nope. And Disney isn’t exactly known for being on the cutting edge of anything these days, except price hikes.

 

[Bocabear]

no, they are activating that space into an interactive journey experience...I think that uses most of the currently popular buzz words...lol

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I'll call this an attraction. It's something of some substance to walk through. I don't agree with its placement, and I think there could have been something better here, but it's definitely an attraction. Just one I have no interest in.