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

[The Rocketeer]

It may be too late for that, as WDI has manufactured set pieces and gone so far as to submit permits for their installation (I think I remember seeing those filed this past summer in the permits thread.) But since we can't see how far along they've gotten on the inside, it is possible that they could make changes to what they had planned.

But I will admit, I was a little surprised that they didn't force the makeover of WoL to further develop it as a festival center. Not that that's what I personally would have wanted...

I guess they could always make one half of the pavilion a "play" area aimed at kids while the other half caters to entertaining the adults with food and beverage. The concept art already evokes a sort of dance club atmosphere. Let the "hotel" area be a place where both children and adults can pass out

Honestly I had never thought about it until now, but I think I would have rather seen WoL turn into a year round festival center and all of these play exhibits go into the Communicore buildings. I wonder if that was even a possibility. I guess they thought the table idea would be more profitable, it would've been a more centralized location for sure and they wanted to make money off of fireworks viewing, but I have got to imagine that refurbishing two-three existing buildings is cheaper than the route they ultimately took, now it definitely is because they will have to redesign that space again... or they won't and we'll just have a large patch of grass with festival booths for 10+ years.

 

[marni1971]

Honestly I had never thought about it until now, but I think I would have rather seen WoL turn into a year round festival center and all of these play exhibits go into the Communicore buildings. I wonder if that was even a possibility. I guess they thought the table idea would be more profitable, it would've been a more centralized location for sure and they wanted to make money off of fireworks viewing, but I have got to image that refurbishing two-three existing buildings is cheaper than the route they ultimately took, now it definitely is because they will have to redesign that space again... or they won't and we'll just have a large patch of grass with festival booths for 10+ years.

Honestly if I’d paid for fireworks viewing from the bar on legs I’d want my money back.

Distance from that to the Stargate would be the same as from the castle to the Seven Seas boat dock.

 

[The Rocketeer]

Honestly if I’d paid for fireworks viewing from the bar on legs I’d want my money back.

Distance from that to the Stargate would be the same as from the castle to the Seven Seas boat dock.

Agreed.

 

[SplashJacket]

Honestly if I’d paid for fireworks viewing from the bar on legs I’d want my money back.

Distance from that to the Stargate would be the same as from the castle to the Seven Seas boat dock.

Wow, seemed like an exaggeration, but I checked it and it's almost exactly the same distance. Wild.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Don't people go out of their way to watch the HEA fireworks from the Polynesian and the Contemporary? And aren't the rooftop dining rooms of Riviera and Destino also for long distance viewing?

 

[marni1971]

Don't people go out of their way to watch the HEA fireworks from the Polynesian and the Contemporary? And aren't the rooftop dining rooms of Riviera and Destino also for long distance viewing?

Depends what sort of show you want to see.

Or how much you understand what you’re looking at .

 

[HauntedPirate]

Remember the good ol’ days when you could watch Wishes! from several spots, like at the Contemporary, and they’d pipe in the show music?

 

[UNCgolf]

Don't people go out of their way to watch the HEA fireworks from the Polynesian and the Contemporary? And aren't the rooftop dining rooms of Riviera and Destino also for long distance viewing?

I don't think that's a very good comparison. HEA has the castle projections, and you do miss those (mostly) when watching from the California Grill or other similar places -- but I think HEA works better without the projections anyways. It's not that well designed because the projections and fireworks compete for your attention (other similar projection/fireworks shows don't have that issue). Anyways, the point is that the projections aren't an integral part of HEA.

Although we don't know exactly what Harmonious is yet, it sure seems like the barges are an integral part of the show and you need to be able to see what's happening on them. If they aren't, it makes their decision to install them permanently in the lagoon even dumber.

If all you care about is the fireworks then it wouldn't be a problem, but it looks like Disney wants you to care about more than that with Harmonious.

 

[UNCgolf]

Remember the good ol’ days when you could watch Wishes! from several spots, like at the Contemporary, and they’d pipe in the show music?

They still do that for HEA, at least at the California Grill. Don't know about other locations.

 

[HauntedPirate]

They still do that for HEA, at least at the California Grill. Don't know about other locations.

My problem with HEA - Too much to look at. It’s an ADD nightmare.

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

They still do that for HEA, at least at the California Grill. Don't know about other locations.

They do at poly, bungalows, and club lounge.

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

They still do that for HEA, at least at the California Grill. Don't know about other locations.

And GF grill patio.

 

[ToTBellHop]

And GF grill patio.

And the WL pool area even though you can’t see it very well.

 

[Brer Panther]

I remember being able to hear the music from Happily Ever After on the beach of the Grand Floridian. I assumed that was just because the music was really loud, not because they pipe in the music...

 

[Ripken10]

And the WL pool area even though you can’t see it very well.

While not all the dvc cabins at the wilderness lodge have a great view, there is a few that have incredible views. We got one with an incredible view and you get the music in the hot tub. It was the best fireworks spot I ever had...maybe because we were just sitting there not expecting it then the fireworks started going off. There is only a few cabins that get the view we got.

 

[Surferboy567]

Their hasn’t been much said about the Play! Pavilion in a little bit. Today, shopDisney released a new wave of EPCOT prints featuring World Discovery (the new neighborhood play resides in). In the description of these prints they have a blurb about each attraction that is being represented.

Play’s description doesn’t provide much but does give us a little bit, it reads:

““In the future, the Play! pavilion will present an interactive city where guests discover games and experiences that connect them with their favorite Disney characters, demonstrating how ''play is essential to innovation , exploration, and creativity in the world around us.''”

Further down it also says

“EPCOT's Play! pavilion is scheduled to open in 2021”

 

[marni1971]

Their hasn’t been much said about the Play! Pavilion in a little bit. Today, shopDisney released a new wave of EPCOT prints featuring World Discovery (the new neighborhood play resides in). In the description of these prints they have a blurb about each attraction that is being represented.

Play’s description doesn’t provide much but does give us a little bit, it reads:

““In the future, the Play! pavilion will present an interactive city where guests discover games and experiences that connect them with their favorite Disney characters, demonstrating how ''play is essential to innovation , exploration, and creativity in the world around us.''”

Further down it also says

“EPCOT's Play! pavilion is scheduled to open in 2021”

Don’t read too much into that.

 

[Surferboy567]

Don’t read too much into that.

Thanks @marni1971! Figured it probably doesn’t mean much. Would be weird to open a pavilion of this nature now. I guess they can but probably wouldn’t have the best optics.

At least, they are acknowledging projects that have been ignored for a while.

 

[JohnD]

Thanks @marni1971! Figured it probably doesn’t mean much. Would be weird to open a pavilion of this nature now. I guess they can but probably wouldn’t have the best optics.

At least, they are acknowledging projects that have been ignored for a while.

Putting a pause on projects because of COVID-19 doesn't necessarily mean "ignored."

 

[marni1971]

Putting a pause on projects because of COVID-19 doesn't necessarily mean "ignored."

Indeed. Even Rat isn’t being ignored. Far from it.