News Morocco Pavilion redevelopment

[UNCgolf]

I think the ship has sailed on keeping IP out of EPCOT. The ideals of Black Panther (his speech to the UN) scream EPCOT to me. Otherwise, I'd be with you. I've long thought that Tomorrowland should be various takes on the future as seen in Disney movies with EPCOT being inspired by real life and pseudo science. But I also think now that they've sabotaged EPCOT, Wakanda is actually more befitting of EPCOT.

Yeah, ideally there would be no IP in EPCOT at all. That ship has clearly sailed.

I still don't think there's a good fit for Wakanda, though. Putting it in the World Showcase torpedoes the whole concept. There are no pavilions based on fictional places. Yes, they sure screwed up the Norway pavilion and it's pretty close to just being an Arendelle pavilion now, but they didn't completely change it over and it's at least still called Norway. Putting in Wakanda would be another big leap.

I also think putting in Wakanda would risk a backlash the same way changing the Morocco pavilion to Agrabah would. There are no sub-Saharan African countries represented in the World Showcase, so putting in a fictional one owned by Disney as the first/sole representation would likely not get a great reception from some groups.

As for Future World, they already used the one potential fit by changing UoE into Guardians -- Wakanda would have actually been a much better fit than Guardians since it would have been much easier to tie into real world energy applications. I don't know where Wakanda could go now that wouldn't feel completely incongruous to everything around it unless they tear down an existing pavilion.

My guess is they're iffy about using Wakanda at all, though, since they can't include Black Panther as part of it.

 

[LittleBuford]

It sure didn't stop them from turning Norway into Arendelle... or Akershus into Princess Dining.

Norway is still Norway, even if Frozen is now a major presence there. Morocco will remain Morocco, whether or not they turn the dial up on Aladdin.

 

[LittleBuford]

Quite frankly if they were set on making it an Aladdin Dinner experience I would rather they turn it into Agrabah or an Arabian Coast pavilion...

I for one wouldn’t. Why should an Aladdin experience entail the retheming of the entire pavilion? That doesn’t make any sense, and it ignores the fact that the architecture of the pavilion is distinctly Moroccan.

 

[castlecake2.0]

I for one wouldn’t. Why should an Aladdin experience entail the retheming of the entire pavilion? That doesn’t make any sense, and it ignores the fact that the architecture of the pavilion is distinctly Moroccan.

I don’t get why everyone on here thinks by adding some Aladdin stuff (IF that even happens) would make the pavilion “Agrabah”. Norway is still Norway, France is still France, Mexico is still Mexico, adding some characters to Morocco isn’t all of a sudden not going to change that.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I don’t get why everyone on here thinks by adding some Aladdin stuff (IF that even happens) would make the pavilion “Agrabah”. Norway is still Norway, France is still France, Mexico is still Mexico, adding some characters to Morocco isn’t all of a sudden not going to change that.

Not everyone accepts what Disney calls something at face value or superficial references.

If the main selling point of the Morocco pavilion becomes the Aladdin characters, like Norway has with Frozen and Princess character dining, than the pavilion will have lost most of its original purpose. Regardless of what exterior details remain intact or what Disney labels the area on a map.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don’t get why everyone on here thinks by adding some Aladdin stuff (IF that even happens) would make the pavilion “Agrabah”. Norway is still Norway, France is still France, Mexico is still Mexico, adding some characters to Morocco isn’t all of a sudden not going to change that.

Exactly. And Aladdin has already been making character appearances at the pavilion since the ’90s anyway. I just don’t understand the alarmism.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Yeah, ideally there would be no IP in EPCOT at all. That ship has clearly sailed.

I still don't think there's a good fit for Wakanda, though. Putting it in the World Showcase torpedoes the whole concept. There are no pavilions based on fictional places. Yes, they sure screwed up the Norway pavilion and it's pretty close to just being an Arendelle pavilion now, but they didn't completely change it over and it's at least still called Norway. Putting in Wakanda would be another big leap.

I also think putting in Wakanda would risk a backlash the same way changing the Morocco pavilion to Agrabah would. There are no sub-Saharan African countries represented in the World Showcase, so putting in a fictional one owned by Disney as the first/sole representation would likely not get a great reception from some groups.

As for Future World, they already used the one potential fit by changing UoE into Guardians -- Wakanda would have actually been a much better fit than Guardians since it would have been much easier to tie into real world energy applications. I don't know where Wakanda could go now that wouldn't feel completely incongruous to everything around it unless they tear down an existing pavilion.

My guess is they're iffy about using Wakanda at all, though, since they can't include Black Panther as part of it.

Honestly, for us fanbois that want to see the return of EPCOT classics like Horizons, I could see a sales pitch being made internally that uses IP.

Much of Horizons was about different views of the future, many of those were generalized pop culture views. You could conceivably do that with different takes on Futurism that have been established since 1983. Wakanda would be one of them, but that would only be part of a larger concept.

As I said upthread, I wouldn't oppose a Wakanda Outreach / tech showcase attraction or pavilion in Future World. I'd be on board with it as a replacement to the Play! Pavilion. Having said that, Wakanda / Black Panther as a property may be the biggest ace in the hole Disney currently has. If they're going to build a single movie based IP out as another 10+ acre land, Wakanda should be it. Something of that size doesn't belong in EPCOT in my opinion. I'd welcome it in DHS, and potentially in MK.

The other variable here is Black Panther himself. As tragic as Chadwick Boseman's passing was, it may have solved any logistically problem Disney may have had using the IP in Florida. It is my understanding that Black Panther is featured on artwork in Marvel Super Hero Island, but only the T'Challa / Black Panther character would be prohibited from use in Florida. Theoretically, they could build Wakanda with any and all other characters. If Black Panther 2 is Shuri's movie (as most anticipate), she can host a tech filled attraction, pavilion or land and no guests would question where T'Challa is.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Disney needs to make another princess movie.


Set in Morocco.


Fixt.

 

[jt04]

I don’t get why everyone on here thinks by adding some Aladdin stuff (IF that even happens) would make the pavilion “Agrabah”. Norway is still Norway, France is still France, Mexico is still Mexico, adding some characters to Morocco isn’t all of a sudden not going to change that.

The thinking is I assume that this would be the next step in creating expansion areas that are fully controlled by Disney. That would help the decades old problem of a very slow built out of the park. Especially the back half. World Showcase needs more content. IoA is passing it this year. IMO.

 

[Bocabear]

EPCOT is fully controlled by Disney... They can do what they want...unfortunately they dont want to spend any money on attractions...We are currently one country short of the original vision for the park, Germany, UK, and Japan were all supposed to have attractions within the first few years of opening.... The Equatorial Africa Pavilion was never built, Germany, UK, and Japan never received their attractions...
I have no problem with Ratatouille in France...Kind of makes sense as it takes place in Paris...But what about the other obvious locations that are still not being addressed....along with The Imagination Pavilion and Wonders Of Life... They are returning parts of the park back to nature because they don't want to invest in any more attractions... We are heading backwards....

 

[GimpYancIent]

EPCOT is fully controlled by Disney... They can do what they want...unfortunately they dont want to spend any money on attractions...We are currently one country short of the original vision for the park, Germany, UK, and Japan were all supposed to have attractions within the first few years of opening.... The Equatorial Africa Pavilion was never built, Germany, UK, and Japan never received their attractions...
I have no problem with Ratatouille in France...Kind of makes sense as it takes place in Paris...But what about the other obvious locations that are still not being addressed....along with The Imagination Pavilion and Wonders Of Life... They are returning parts of the park back to nature because they don't want to invest in any more attractions... We are heading backwards....

Bring on Agrabah! Don't let the activities in the lagoon distract you.

 

[castlecake2.0]

The thinking is I assume that this would be the next step in creating expansion areas that are fully controlled by Disney. That would help the decades old problem of a very slow built out of the park. Especially the back half. World Showcase needs more content. IoA is passing it this year. IMO.

Disney has had full control of Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, American Adventure, and Norway for years and very little has changed except for frozen overlay. They’ve had lots of time to add things and never did, so I don’t see Morocco changing all the much except maybe character dining and shops sharing merchandise with animal kingdom and adventureland’s assortment.

 

[jt04]

Disney has had full control of Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, American Adventure, and Norway for years and very little has changed except for frozen overlay. They’ve had lots of time to add things and never did, so I don’t see Morocco changing all the much except maybe character dining and shops sharing merchandise with animal kingdom and adventureland’s assortment.

I've heard they do and they don't have control. Even Martin doesn't seem to have enough knowledge to give much insight. One thing is for sure, WS needs some capital investment next. (After gotg and the 40th). Ratatouille is great but they are losing ground to Uni and WS is the perfect venue to respond to Epic Universe. IMO.

 

[castlecake2.0]

I've heard they do and they don't have control. Even Martin doesn't seem to have enough knowledge to give much insight. One thing is for sure, WS needs some capital investment next. (After gotg and the 40th). Ratatouille is great but they are losing ground to Uni and WS is the perfect venue to respond to Epic Universe. IMO.

Totally agree, world showcase needs built out and added on to. I worked in world showcase for several years, the pavilions I mentioned are fully owned and operated by Disney, they can do whatever they want with them. The others are a little more tricky with third parties, I’m not sure how contracts and all that work for those ones.

 

[marni1971]

I've heard they do and they don't have control. Even Martin doesn't seem to have enough knowledge to give much insight.

They have control.

I’ve said it before - Japan has a ready made huge show building still standing. It’s a no brainier for whenever Iger decides to rescind his capex reduction. But it’s been a no brainier for decades.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Disney has had full control of Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, American Adventure, and Norway for years and very little has changed except for frozen overlay. They’ve had lots of time to add things and never did, so I don’t see Morocco changing all the much except maybe character dining and shops sharing merchandise with animal kingdom and adventureland’s assortment.

They also put a new film in Canada and upgraded both Canada and American Adventure to digital. So, at least they're being maintained.

 

[castlecake2.0]

They also put a new film in Canada and upgraded both Canada and American Adventure to digital. So, at least they're being maintained.

Yes that’s true, it’s just everyone thinks they’re going to rebrand Morocco as Agrabah, when Disney has never done such a thing to its other fully owned pavilions. Yes there’s a heavy presence of frozen in Norway, but it’s still Norway, they didn’t change Canada into brother bear land, or UK into Alice in wonderland-land. So I think a lot of people are getting worked up about something that’s not happening.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Yes that’s true, it’s just everyone thinks they’re going to rebrand Morocco as Agrabah, when Disney has never done such a thing to its other fully owned pavilions. Yes there’s a heavy presence of frozen in Norway, but it’s still Norway, they didn’t change Canada into brother bear land, or UK into Alice in wonderland-land. So I think a lot of people are getting worked up about something that’s not happening.

I agree with you. But I also believe that they'll get there. Slowly, but surely. Given the direction they've been taking. Especially considering that UK WAS going to get a Mary Poppins attraction pre-pandemic.

 

[uncle jimmy]

They have control.

I’ve said it before - Japan has a ready made huge show building still standing. It’s a no brainier for whenever Iger decides to rescind his capex reduction. But it’s been a no brainier for decades.

I've miss what you said before... is it an attraction (or show) in the show building in Japan?

 

[marni1971]

I've miss what you said before... is it an attraction (or show) in the show building in Japan?

Right now it’s storage and workshops. Originally it was built for Meet the World - a hybrid Carousel of Progress type show. But it’s a massive space with enough room for 2, 3 floors of attraction.