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Mickey Monitor Entry 1 : New Epcot Pavilion (Horizons Thread)
- Thread starter QuillPenn
- Start date
A couple quick notes from the main thread:
It was mentioned by @OvertheHorizon that it would probably be best to start by asking, what is the story we are trying to tell?
What do the people of today, care about the most in regards to the future.
And as a suggestion, we should probably look further forward than the first Horizons did, which was a future that was supposedly some 30 to 40 years away. I suggest looking 100 years forward into the 22nd century.
As a result, I like the idea officially calling the attraction: Horizons, Century IV.
Thoughts?
It was mentioned by @OvertheHorizon that it would probably be best to start by asking, what is the story we are trying to tell?
What do the people of today, care about the most in regards to the future.
And as a suggestion, we should probably look further forward than the first Horizons did, which was a future that was supposedly some 30 to 40 years away. I suggest looking 100 years forward into the 22nd century.
As a result, I like the idea officially calling the attraction: Horizons, Century IV.
Thoughts?
spacemt354
Chili's
I'll tag over @FigmentPigments @orlando678- @StevenU and anyone else who'd like to contribute.
I concur with "Horizons, Century IV" -- it's a great name and feeds off of the spirit of the original, rather than just a copy of the original.
Since I'm assuming this pavilion would replace Mission:Space or be on the more technological based "Future World East" -- I'd say you could do a bit of "world building"
Similar to film franchises like Star Wars and such, rather than continuing to go back to the same planets (Tatooine, Hoth, Endor) -- you branch out into other areas (Mustafar, Naboo, etc) with your "sequels"
In that spirit, my suggestion to start off would be to go to new places on earth and in outer space, rather than revisit Mesa Verde and such.
I concur with "Horizons, Century IV" -- it's a great name and feeds off of the spirit of the original, rather than just a copy of the original.
Since I'm assuming this pavilion would replace Mission:Space or be on the more technological based "Future World East" -- I'd say you could do a bit of "world building"
Similar to film franchises like Star Wars and such, rather than continuing to go back to the same planets (Tatooine, Hoth, Endor) -- you branch out into other areas (Mustafar, Naboo, etc) with your "sequels"
In that spirit, my suggestion to start off would be to go to new places on earth and in outer space, rather than revisit Mesa Verde and such.
FigmentPigments
Well-Known Member
I'm assuming this will be a realistic look into a possible future, correct?
It probably should, given what's happened in other works that looked into what the future would be like, (if you'll recall, the original Tomorrowland at Disneyland looked into the far far future of 1986.) Perhaps one scene should acknowledge that what will see (or just saw) is only a guess based on what we know today, and that it could look vastly different when we actually get there.
"Who knows what's over the Horizon?"
That might be a good slogan for the pavilion, or a song title.
spacemt354
Chili's
Also I just want to let everyone know I have an exam Thursday and will also be traveling that day so I'm a bit swamped up until Friday -- so if I'm not around to agree to something that's why. Also, I've done enough of these projects where I really don't mind what direction we go -- I would actually prefer we take your lead @QuillPenn and @OvertheHorizon as well as anyone else, so that you get the opportunity and experience leading these types of projects!
FigmentPigments
Well-Known Member
Excellent. Okay, I just wanted to verify before we started so there's no confusion as to what we want to include. I also agree with @spacemt354 suggestion of possibly using different locations.
I watched a video of floating cities that could end up saving humanity if the ice caps melt and the continents start to flood. This seems like to step in the right direction as far as tech. Something the average person has not seen before but still grounded in real world issues and tech.
YES!! And for space, we could talk about colonies on the moon or other planets. I know NASA's been talking about colonizing mars for years now.
I imagine that 100 years from now, Mars would at least have a decent sized village, if not a full on city.
spacemt354
Chili's
For space I'd also look to some moons in the outer Solar System, that could possibly be future deep space missions
Europa and Titan being two prominent ones today -- along with maybe an asteroid.
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
So I go out of town for a few hours and return to find a new thread... started by a person who 24 hours didn't have any interest in a Horizons pavilion. We're doing something right. I ordered a different book this morning about trends and I want to take a look at that. I think - as a group - so that as many people as possible can participate, we ought to take at least a week to brainstorm ideas for what COULD be included in a new Horizons... then try to winnow it down to what SHOULD be in included. I know we all have busy schedules, and taking a week gives everyone time to chime in.
Pi on my Cake
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
It's a little detail, but I picture 3d printed food becoming a trendy impulse buy type thing once they get it to taste good.
Lile, watching cooking shows and then being able to instantly buy and have the meal they just made.
Assuming we still see the home of the future, little things like that could be fun to come up with to fill it up.
Lile, watching cooking shows and then being able to instantly buy and have the meal they just made.
Assuming we still see the home of the future, little things like that could be fun to come up with to fill it up.
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
I do a one-man play based on Ben Franklin. It is based on his words, and here is a segment from his writings about "the future." Franklin died in 1790, so this is probably from the 1780s:
"I find myself captivated more by dreams of the future than the history of the past. I regret that I was born too soon. Imagine the height to which we may be carried in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. Perhaps we will learn to deprive large masses of their gravity and give them levity for easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labor and double its produce; all diseases may be prevented or cured, including even old age—our lives lengthened at pleasure beyond Methuselah."
"I find myself captivated more by dreams of the future than the history of the past. I regret that I was born too soon. Imagine the height to which we may be carried in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. Perhaps we will learn to deprive large masses of their gravity and give them levity for easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labor and double its produce; all diseases may be prevented or cured, including even old age—our lives lengthened at pleasure beyond Methuselah."
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
I agree that we should be thinking about what we care about most for the future. What kind of a world do we want for our children and grandchildren.
On the topic of Century IV. (Building from a prior suggested name of Century III.) When Epcot opened in 1982, America had just entered its third century as a nation. If that is what Century III referred to, then perhaps we might want to give it a less American outlook and more of a world outlook - especially in view of Epcot as site for the world to visit. Century 22?
To the extent that Horizons (1983) was seen as a successor to the Carousel of Progress, one of the underlying themes was how "labor saving devices" and technology transformed our lives and gave us more time for leisure activities. Based on a few earlier suggestions that have been tossed out, there are now thoughts about how we can sustain our lives on this planet with growing population, global warming, etc. I've also mentioned how technology has added to the "clutter" of our lives. In the spirit of brainstorming (I believe in tossing out ideas because it will hopefully prompt other - different - ideas) what if our focus was on harnessing the human spirit to solve problems. Almost a flip side - the practical side - of an imagination pavilion.
Oooh! Century 22, I like that!
And I agree with the thoughts on solving problems, it gives away to create a realistic, but optimistic look at the future.
We could start off with a quick trip to the past, see early inventions and how they solved problems, like the wheel making transportation easier, (World of Motion anyone?). A scene like this would definitely would have to mention the Printing Press, said by many to the single most important invention in the history, (which gives us a nice tie-in to Spaceship Earth.)
These inventions lead to progress, which in turn leads to new problems, which in turn leads to new inventions to solve these problems. Wheeled vehicles clogged up the roads, so we invent flight. (We could make a nod to both the Wright Bros. and Albertos Santos-Dumont, the first man to fly outside of the U.S.) Paper for books are destroying forests, so we switch to a digital format. This introduces the concept of human innovation going through a cycle of a problem- invention- progress-problem -invention -progress.
We then briefly return to the present for a brief look at some of the biggest problems of today, (Global Warming, Overpopulation, etc. We can still workout what problems we want to address.) and then move forward into the future to see how we might solve these problems, Floating Cities keep people from melting ice caps, colonies on moons and other planets give humanity more space to live.)
As part of the experience we acknowledge that what we come up could have their own problems, (maybe address this with a comical scene of some sort, trying to keep things optimistic.) But eventually, someone will come along with an idea that will solve that problem.
And with @OvertheHorizon 's mention of this being the practical side of Imagination, what about the new facade being a combination of the original Horizons facade, which was Spaceship of sorts shaped to bring to mind the image of a retreating Horizon, and the Pyramids of Imagination? Any artists out there who might be able to come up with some visual ideas?
Whew! How's that for a brainstorm?
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
Everybody... keep your thoughts coming. Chime in with whatever ideas you may have been thinking about, or which are sparked by what you read here.
As a quick thought, it occurs to me that this new Horizons could be the culmination of a full day in Future World, You start off at Imagination, (which I just know we will be working on eventually.) You see the other attractions, and then see how it all comes together with Horizons. Guests end up seeing all of Future World as a tapestry of Human Invention and Innovation. Which I believe is the initial concept behind Future World. Yes?
spacemt354
Chili's
One thing I think we should consider when designing this attraction is -- how does it not become outdated easily? And how does it appeal to a general audience.
While I know a fundamental goal of ours is to stay true to the spirit of Epcot -- I think we can do that with a more riveting attraction. Not necessarily a thrill ride or anything of that kind -- but build off of (what was at the time) a pretty innovative ride system.
I'm thinking a possible upgrade would be an alternative KUKA arm -- with less turbulence, but the ability to enter in and out of show scenes, rather than passively view them.
As for the attraction itself -- Horizons and Quill did a great job of summarizing the basic premise of the prior edition so I won't delve into that -- but just add that the reason why Epcot purists view this attraction in such high regard is because it embodies the spirit of Epcot that was lost in the late 90s.
This attraction will be successful if it embodies what Epcot stood for, without sending us back in time to 1983 in terms of story and just pure nostalgia.
I could listen to the Horizons soundtrack all day -- but I could also listen to the 1994 Jeremy Irons Spaceship Earth soundtrack all day...and in the 2007 upgrade, the soundtrack was changed.
So subtle things like that I think would go a long way.
If we are focusing on space and deep space colonies -- Louis Viallet is someone I like who isn't mainstream like a Hans Zimmer Interstellar soundtrack, but I still think would sound really cool if you are floating through space in the future.
(at 50:40 mins)
While I know a fundamental goal of ours is to stay true to the spirit of Epcot -- I think we can do that with a more riveting attraction. Not necessarily a thrill ride or anything of that kind -- but build off of (what was at the time) a pretty innovative ride system.
I'm thinking a possible upgrade would be an alternative KUKA arm -- with less turbulence, but the ability to enter in and out of show scenes, rather than passively view them.
As for the attraction itself -- Horizons and Quill did a great job of summarizing the basic premise of the prior edition so I won't delve into that -- but just add that the reason why Epcot purists view this attraction in such high regard is because it embodies the spirit of Epcot that was lost in the late 90s.
This attraction will be successful if it embodies what Epcot stood for, without sending us back in time to 1983 in terms of story and just pure nostalgia.
I could listen to the Horizons soundtrack all day -- but I could also listen to the 1994 Jeremy Irons Spaceship Earth soundtrack all day...and in the 2007 upgrade, the soundtrack was changed.
So subtle things like that I think would go a long way.
If we are focusing on space and deep space colonies -- Louis Viallet is someone I like who isn't mainstream like a Hans Zimmer Interstellar soundtrack, but I still think would sound really cool if you are floating through space in the future.
(at 50:40 mins)
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
In my view, what dated Horizons was the "look back" portions of the ride. "Future from the 50s" - for the 45 - 55 year olds that saw the attraction when it opened represented a futuristic view of things when they were children/teens. But twenty years later it wasn't relevant to most riders.
I've been thinking that whatever prelude the attraction requires should be a "current" look. In many ways, the vision of desert colony, space colony, and undersea colony would still be relevant today (not suggesting we recreate those).
I've been thinking that whatever prelude the attraction requires should be a "current" look. In many ways, the vision of desert colony, space colony, and undersea colony would still be relevant today (not suggesting we recreate those).
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FigmentPigments
Well-Known Member
I kind of agree. I did a New Horizons prompt a while back, and I had the "look back" portion in the queue where people can look and be informed there, but if bypassed won't affect the attraction. I'm partial to keeping the attraction relegated to a look towards the future instead of a combination of past and future. Just my opinion though.
