EPCOT Possible Demolition of The Land and The Seas Pavillions?

[dennis-in-ct]

His personal twitter is a laugh riot right now.

Tom, some free advice to you, of course knowing how you continually monitor this site and it lives rent free inside your head. When you demean other people and insult them to justify or backup your stories (like you are doing on Twitter), you loose the little credibility you still have. Please....keep it up.

Point well taken .... but as Al Lutz said to me in person when I met him in DL (3 months after DCA opened) “well, you’re reading the articles”
I took it to mean that any attention is good attention. Just like today’s reality shows - they cause big drama to keep you engaged.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Large portions of this rumor don't even pass a basic common sense test. Nor does this rumor seem to make sense with the other rumors passed on by that site. Now, that's not saying WDW always has common sense, but it would need to seem a bit more plausible. Of course, I can only imagine how many views this will get them ...

 

[hopemax]

While I absolutely trust @marni1971 and @Magic Feather, I don't trust Disney. So I'm wondering about potential "lost in translation" type options, regarding these pavilions. Disney seems to take the attraction with most complaints, or most expensive operations costs and targets them for radical change or outright closure. Are their issues with the buildings that would require partial or complete rebuilds? Where are they in the guest satisfaction pecking order? Operational costs? Since current management couldn't understand the use of Tower of Terror, do they understand Living with the Land and its Disneyness? Seas is easier because of the Finding Nemo franchise, but commitment to "an aquarium of some type," doesn't necessarily mean commitment to what we are used to as Epcot.

 

[DeletedAccount55555]

Didn't throw a paddy earlier this week when he didn't get a media event invite for Galaxy's Edge in California?

Lots of Disney sites and blogs more responsible than his didn't get invites, judging by how many I heard discussing getting reservations in the first few days of the land on podcasts.

This is an opinion piece, and the author clearly mentions where info on the source can be found.

There is nothing in that story indicating it's just the writer's opinion, and he only credits his information to "internal documents."

I think the DIS unnecessarily gets a bad rap. Occasionally they run with things that are not accurate but it's rare, they are open to feedback and they tend not to get too click-baitty.

The little bit of originally-produced news content I see from the DIS is stuff on theme park patents. The rest of the time they're largely aggregating from other sites, including mainstream sources like the Sentinel. I don't think their goal is to break big news stories.

When it comes to their content overall, I often like it. They can be very critical, occasionally verging on hyperbole, but it feels honest.

My only complaint is really just a personal preference, as I feel Pete and co. have more upscale tastes on vacations, hotels, restaurants, etc., so their shows can feel out of touch with more budget-minded Disney fans like me.

 

[LittleGiants'16]

Aren’t their plenty of news organizations that use that exact wording? Maybe I’m wrong, they trademarked that actual phrase?

*Not standing up for that site but I’m just genuinely curious now.

Just ran a quick search of US trademarks. ESPN has a registered mark for the phrase "The Worldwide Leader in Sports." There are few other live marks using the words "worldwide leader," which leads me to think that if the USPTO is willing to award multiple marks using the phrase, then Tom's probably good to go using it in his context. Plus, he's such a small potato relative to ESPN/Disney that there's almost no point in pursuing an enforcement action, especially one you're likely to lose.

Now, that said, they could probably send a cease and desist if they wanted to, and that alone would probably be enough to get him to use a different slogan (trademark suits are super expensive to litigate).

TL/DR: Tom's probably fine. But don't quote me, because it's been a while since I took IP.

 

[trainplane3]

While I absolutely trust @marni1971 and @Magic Feather, I don't trust Disney. So I'm wondering about potential "lost in translation" type options, regarding these pavilions. Disney seems to take the attraction with most complaints, or most expensive operations costs and targets them for radical change or outright closure. Are their issues with the buildings that would require partial or complete rebuilds? Where are they in the guest satisfaction pecking order? Operational costs? Since current management couldn't understand the use of Tower of Terror, do they understand Living with the Land and its Disneyness? Seas is easier because of the Finding Nemo franchise, but commitment to "an aquarium of some type," doesn't necessarily mean commitment to what we are used to as Epcot.

And ratings in which case Imagination would be on the chopping block (last I heard on here it has the lowest ratings in the park and some of the lowest in all of WDW). That is a possible plan for that pavilion but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

 

[NateD1226]

These two pavilions need TONS of work. Getting rid of them and forgetting their existence won't help Disney at all. Imagine how many fan would be so mad about the change. There is no common sense here. Hopefully, it is all just enhancements to bring Epcot back to its former glory.

 

[hopemax]

And ratings in which case Imagination would be on the chopping block (last I heard on here it has the lowest ratings in the park and some of the lowest in all of WDW). That is a possible plan for that pavilion but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

I think most fans would say "We just want an awesome Figment ride." Regular guests just want an awesome ride, and I don't Figment would be a "turnoff." But given the last attempt, it seems like new Figment wouldn't pass Disney's "risk" test. It doesn't pass it's character/movie/franchise test either. So we seem to be stuck with Epcot event merchandise with Figment selling well enough to leave it in this state of excruciating and depressing limbo.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

On the other hand, draining a nearly 6 million gallon aquarium and re-homing several thousand marine creatures would be a bit of a challenge.

Several THOUSAND?!

I feel like if I see 100 fish that's a lot. I remember the pavilion in 1989 and it was jaw-dropping amazing with tons of marine life. Last August when we were there, it felt like a sad shadow of it's former self.

I am ok with this going

 

[Brer Oswald]

You wouldn't need to retheme it at all. Soarin' Around the World is a perfect fit for Showcase Plaza. Flank it on the other side with "it's a small world" and I'd be thrilled.

I’ll call Wre

I think the DIS unnecessarily gets a bad rap. Occasionally they run with things that are not accurate but it's rare, they are open to feedback and they tend not to get too click-baitty.

I agree. I think they make good content, particularly on their YouTube channel. What makes me laugh was Corless “calling them out” for always pandering to Disney, when in reality, they call Disney out every time they do something shady.

 

[trainplane3]

I think the DIS unnecessarily gets a bad rap. Occasionally they run with things that are not accurate but it's rare, they are open to feedback and they tend not to get too click-baitty.

I live to only watch Pete get mad at Disney. But really, their podcast is pretty nice though I haven't listened to it in months.

 

[Rowlet]

I live to only watch Pete get mad at Disney. But really, their podcast is pretty nice though I haven't listened to it in months.

I enjoy listening to their podcast too. I always wondered what folks on this site thought of that group and their overall reputation.

 

[DeletedAccount55555]

Someone should start a Disney/theme park media thread. It's come up a lot in separate threads lately.

As for this rumored demolition....is anyone arguing that this seems legitimate? Even a retheming seems far fetched, especially since The Seas has already gone through that.

Wouldn't Imagination be overhauled before anything else on that side of Future World?

 

[BlakeW39]

So as both seem to be staying, might we be seeing true overhauls of both respectovely? Obviously keeping the aquarium and then LwtL and Soarin', but might they be overhailed in an aesthetic sense and possibly might Nemo be kicked to the curb? Or at least in hisbcurrent state.

 

[mousekedoc]

I would expect phase 3 involves removing air conditioning from Living with the Land and the Living Seas. But I defer to insiders for more insight....

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

The Seas I could see as having a fixed lifespan due to the tanks, in the 2030s it will be 50 years old.
The Land isn't broke, so why fix it?

The land is getting a new movie too.

 

[IveBeenJack]

This is for clicks... with SWGE opening this week, alot of competition among the Disney fan pages (see what I did there... It's a fan page... not a news site... stop critiquing him and DSNY as news sites)

I have ZERO association with the aforementioned site. It has no credibility. And the owner of the site is extremely unprofessional.

 

[Disorbust]

i have nothing to base this on but I don't think its so far fetched that they would get rid of the seas. The cost of maintance must be sky high, add to it the age and I think it could be a real consideration.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The optics of removing a sea life pavilion and a pro-earth pavilion from the company that made the Nemo franchise, Wall-E, and a solar panel field shaped like Mickey Mouse are bad enough to keep this from passing the smell test. If anything, I’d expect enhanced IP integration from this company. It’s Figment where I could imagine a more dramatic shift in gear, though still not demolition.

 

[JayKZ]

Can I put the server for *****.com in it?

That's ***(Fake)**.com, thank you very much.