News New Play Pavilion to replace Epcot's Wonders of Life

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Actually, with the Scarlet Witch and Loki mini-series, they're doing exactly that!

I’ve heard rumors of a Obi-wan TV series

 

[TwilightZone]

Interesting mock-up (emphasis on mock) I saw on Twitter the other day. What do we think they'll do with the dome ceiling?

A. Make it a projection
B. Tear it down and replace with something less round.

 

[Dragonman]

Yeah the Body Wars sims are long gone. They were last used to test the new version of Star Tours. Not sure what happened to them after that though

 

[TwilightZone]

Yeah the Body Wars sims are long gone. They were last used to test the new version of Star Tours. Not sure what happened to them after that though

I heard somewhere they are now repair parts.
Don't quote me on that though.

 

[willtravel]

Meh. Oh well, at least I have memories, good memories of Epcot. An Martins videos.

 

[Figment Newton]

Is 21 pages really that difficult to skim through? Or to use the search button top right which allows one to easily search a thread for mentions of X, Y, or Z?

For a roundup of the released artist's concept that one may have missed...

Sorry about that, I figured somebody had noticed it and just wanted to share my thoughts on a nice nod to classic Disney. I didn't realize there was a search tool, that'll be handy in future browsing.

Anyway, thanks for the in depth review of the concept art, it definitely helps digest the all the info better!

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Yeah the Body Wars sims are long gone. They were One was last used to test the audio for the new version of Star Tours. Not sure what happened to them after that though

Fixed that up for you. Three were destroyed initially, then after Star Tours testing was done, the fourth one was destroyed.

 

[SirLink]

Nobody is upset. Pixie Dusters decided the Doom-and-Gloom crowd and the Realistic fans hated it, but the consensus is a win-win scenario. I think everyone has accepted IP is coming no matter what.

Nope, I've not and I will not.

 

[aladdin2007]

The Biergarten lunch buffet has become our traditional last day must do. Warning - the interior is old school EPCOT. Mostly.

and love it!! living with the land is kind of that way for me as well, even though its not the symbiosis/symphony of the seed opening scenes....do you by any chance have a photo of le cellier when it was a buffet? I remember that so well from childhood but can not find any picture of it. Thanks.

 

[DeletedAccount55555]

"I didn't read anything you guys said, but how dare you say the things I'm making up in my mind?!"

Then this thread is a lot better than the Twitter reaction.

I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that any change to Epcot that involves Disney IP was going to be met with outrage, ESPECIALLY on here.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think everyone has accepted IP is coming no matter what.

But even as a character IP park, Epcot is a disappointment. The desperation to get things like Play Pavilion in as soon as possible is not giving guests the best possible experience. It's Frozen Ever After* all over again. Or a Mary Poppins merry-go-round. Or a partial DLP clone**.

Even the big budget GotG ride suffers from poor design and has no reason for being at Epcot vs DHS (or elsewhere) other than it's "Disney".

"Disney characters" is not a real, concrete theme, and the "just build whatever" attitude is proof that for all the renderings made and money spent they still have no clue what "Epcot" is or could be.


*contrast that with the larger, better HKDL Frozen land

**No Remy Bistro, just the ride

 

[Little Green Men]

But even as a character IP park, Epcot is a disappointment. The desperation to get things like Play Pavilion in as soon as possible is not giving guests the best possible experience. It's Frozen Ever After* all over again. Or a Mary Poppins merry-go-round. Or a partial DLP clone**.

Even the big budget GotG ride suffers from poor design and has no reason for being at Epcot vs DHS (or elsewhere) other than it's "Disney".

"Disney characters" is not a real, concrete theme, and the "just build whatever" attitude is proof that for all the renderings made and money spent they still have no clue what "Epcot" is or could be.


*contrast that with the larger, better HKDL Frozen land

**No Remy Bistro, just the ride

Why would they add the restaurant when there already 2 table service restaurants, a counter service, and a gelato place in the pavilion already?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Why would they add the restaurant when there already 2 table service restaurants, a counter service, and a gelato place in the pavilion already?

Similar to Blue Bayou, the restaurant is part of the ride experience. You end the ride in Remy's restaurant, turn a corner, and then see other people there before you leave. It's not as effective, but clearly part of the intended show.

Yes, there are other restaurants in France (dozens more in Epcot total, with another one coming), but the point was also about copying a pre-existing idea while still cutting corners. GotG is the only big budget, built from scratch character experience coming to Epcot, the park that's allegedly all about that in an effort to be "more Disney".

 

[YodaMan]

I don’t totally hate this. Maybe I’m seeing this the wrong way, but I see this as one big temporary project. My take-aways from the announcements:

• Epcot is finally getting overhauled
• They want to start with infrastructure issues like the entrance and the spine
• Before they gut/demo/redo the hub area they want to put all the soon-to-be-displaced M&Gs into a central area, like the under-used WOL pavilion
• With WOL having a new temporary purpose, they need a new Festival Center (since Odyssey can only really accommodate Festival of the Arts) and might build a new purpose-built one from scratch
• With the Odyssey not being needed for festivals anymore, it’s a perfect place to advertise all the on-going changes in the park

Does that about sum it up? It seems like one big announcement about the START of much more exciting things to come and Disney just felt forced to show their hand because of the Hagrid announcement. Anything could really happen next.

 

[ChrisFL]

A Festival center that's closer to the front of World Showcase makes a lot more sense to me.......hmm, maybe that's the extra building next to Journey in the entrance concept art

 

[Movielover]

hmm, maybe that's the extra building next to Journey in the entrance concept art

That... or it could just be a nondescript generic building meant to fill out and imply that the skyline of World Showcase exist in concept art for a area focused solely on the entrance to the park...

 

[matt9112]

I'm not kidding when I say I use wonders of life area music for everything. This is the unofficial victory music of the day.

it kills my chest hurts....the music represents something that will never EVER return.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Far left marquee looks like Carl Frederickson as a kid.

 

[peter11435]

it kills my chest hurts....the music represents something that will never EVER return.

It’s Edna

 

[AdventureMP4z]

I am excited for this! It seems like a good expansion to EPCOT Center, and quite frankly, anything Future World can get, especially for Kids, is good right now!