Rumor Possible Demolition of The Land and The Seas Pavillions?

[trainplane3]

One thing to remember, there are always alternate plans. But instead of getting multiple confirmations, he probably took it and ran with it.

Remember how Tron was going to replace the Speedway? And they doubled down on it, hardcore. But then they had to edit it during D23 to be in line with what our friends here we're saying? Martin always said there was a Speedway demo plan but it was decided at least months before D23 to not go with it.

Not validating sources bite them yet again.

 

[marni1971]

May I ask, what was phase 1,2?

Everything you’ve seen and read about on these forums so far.

 

[ChrisFL]

This seems REALLY, REALLY out there.

First, as mentioned, the expense of doing this would be immense and trying to clear out The Living Seas and re-homing all of those fish and endangered species without incident?

Also, if they tore both down, what would they put in their place to make it worth putting up such immense cost? I don't see anything drawing a big enough crowd to overcome that expense.

 

[HauntedPirate]

One thing to remember, there are always alternate plans. But instead of getting multiple confirmations, he probably took it and ran with it.

Remember how Tron was going to replace the Speedway? And they doubled down on it, hardcore. But then they had to edit it during D23 to be in line with what our friends here we're saying? Martin always said there was a Speedway demo plan but it was decided at least months before D23 to not go with it.

Not validating sources bite them yet again.

I feel sorry for those who think he's some great source of Disney information.

 

[trainplane3]

I feel sorry for those who think he's some great source of Disney information.

He's definitely the loudest and most followed one out there for rumors.

If this site marketed our various insiders as news, it would explode in popularity. Rumors can be news but Disney changes plans like I upgrade something in the house, consistently. So it's wise not to report rumors until a couple days prior to them being official or else you get a "hater" following like he has.

And then he gets mad at them which makes everyone (both sides) seem like a...

at the end of the day.

 

[griffin ferrari]

Everything you’ve seen and read about on these forums so far.

I was more asking, what was in each phase.

 

[jt04]

They started getting pretty reliable, and now this. I cannot emphasize enough that I have heard the exact opposite of this so many times. Both are up for refurbs, but the fundamentals should not be changing. I expect some version of Living with the Land and some version of the Aquariums to be here in 2030. Additionally, there are so many things dependent on the pavilion (ex. The USDA hydroponics research) that a lot of bridges would have to be burned to close them down. This is a big swing, and a drastic miss.

I wouldn't mind if the research got relocated to the Cape. Along with a similar attraction at the KSC Visitor Center. That is where the serious research money is potentially available.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I legit cracked up when I saw this. Are they going to get Wreck it Ralph himself to hold Soarin’ steady while they demolish the rest of the Pavilion???

 

[themouselets]

Lose the land and the seas and you're left with only 3 of the opening day themes.

Communication
Transportation
Imagination

Epcot already lost energy, the future (Horizons), innovation (Communicore/Innoventions) and the body. Can you count the Play Pavilion as innovation? A stretch, but maybe. Not sure the theme of that one. And of course add space, which in my mind is a legitimate theme.

Losing some of the original themes already made the cohesiveness of Future World lacking, but without these two pavilions it just doesn't make sense. I find it very hard to believe Disney would do this (for many reasons), but specifically because it would completely redefine Future World.

Then again, they did it at Hollywood Studios with the entire backlot, and really impacted the theme of the park. So, it's possible. Crazy if they did it though.

 

[gerarar]

Honestly that site is only useful for up-to-date information like photo updates, park information, etc. Which I primarily use them for.

Stuff like this is a big whoaaaaa.

 

[Spash007]

The responses on twitter are really entertaining. Seems to me like some people were discussing additional rethemes and someone mentioned the additional cost of keeping the UoE building rather than tearing it down. I doubt the Land and the Seas were even discussed in full.

 

[DeletedAccount55555]

Any takers on how long before it's walked back.

Genuine question: Has he or his site EVER issued a correction for a substantive factual mistake? Like when he reported Rafiki's Planet Watch was closing forever and in reality it was moving to seasonal operation?

I really, really wish the Disney fan community was more discerning about how it repeats rumors. Instead they're often presented as definitive fact, and then people get angry when they later turn out not to be true and refuse to let go of the initial report. Like Hoot Gibson's secondhand, unsourced claim that Buzzy was taken by Imagineering, still repeated as fact after OCSO has said he's been stolen and it's still an active investigation.

The very nature of theme park rumors means plans can and often do change. It's the lack of acknowledgment and explanation when the original information was wrong that really bothers me.

 

[Spash007]

Genuine question: Has he or his site EVER issued a correction for a substantive factual mistake? Like when he reported Rafiki's Planet Watch was closing forever and in reality it was moving to seasonal operation?

I really, really wish the Disney fan community was more discerning about how it repeats rumors. Instead they're often presented as definitive fact, and then people get angry when they later turn out not to be true and refuse to let go of the initial report. Like Hoot Gibson's secondhand, unsourced claim that Buzzy was taken by Imagineering, still repeated as fact after OCSO has said he's been stolen and it's still an active investigation.

The very nature of theme park rumors means plans can and often do change. It's the lack of acknowledgment and explanation when the original information was wrong that really bothers me.

TBH I believe they either change the stories, or delete them so they can't be referenced. A while back when he posted something ridiculous, I made a comment saying it was clickbait and he gave me the honor or replying asking for an example of when he was wrong. I was looking for some of the stories regarding Stitch from a year or so earlier, and couldn't find them.

Plus he has a ton of fans out there that take anything he says as gospel. If he makes a mistake, they just like getting information and defend against any people saying otherwise.

Oh, and they now apparently screen comments to not include any that argue the validity of his claims. I apparently got myself blocked from commenting on the actual site haha

 

[Moana76]

As one of WDWMagic's resident Research Scientists, I, too, was surprised by this rumor, particularly about The Seas. Dr. Heidi Harley, Professor of Psychology and Director of Environmental Studies at the New College of Florida, has been maintaining a successful cognitive psychology and comparative cognition research program at The Seas, focused on cognitive processes in dolphins. Dr. Harley regularly presents at distinguished conferences, noting the partnership with The Seas team and showcasing the learning and problem solving facilitates. Given the success of her research program, I had always assumed that Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment team was grateful for her scholarly contribution because it can be included in the AZA accreditation (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) that covers non-human animal programs at Epcot and Disney's Animal Kingdom park, Jambo House, and Kidani Village.

It's good to hear that Dr. Harley is still at Epcot! I took her Animal Language Research class and got to go to a presentation on the dolphin language program back in the 90's.

 

[NemoRocks78]

 

[RSoxNo1]

@marni1971, this is a quote from The Seas survey thread back in October

There’s a proposal to add to the pavilion. None of these, and maybe not IP driven either.

Are we still looking at a possible non-IP addition to The Seas?

 

[imarc]

What they removed at DHS was peanuts though.

Good grief.

 

[GlassHalfFull]

I legit cracked up when I saw this. Are they going to get Wreck it Ralph himself to hold Soarin’ steady while they demolish the rest of the Pavilion???

Please don't kill me, but a point of clarification.. the Soarin' Building is 100% separate from the rest of the pavilion as it currently sits. It's not out of the realm of possibility that the pavilion could be demolished and not require herculean effort for Soarin' to be supported.. It is currently only connected with a single hallway for the entrance/exit for the queue. While this does NOT prove that what he is saying is correct, let's not act like that was the most egregious part of his claim.. It would actually be very easy to connect to that back area by the figment bathrooms that noone visits.. I have included a very "photochopped" overhead for clarity via Google Maps.

 

[Lamp]

 

[imarc]

Those big red arrows are really gonna mess up traffic flow in the park.