News Reflections of Earth confirmed to be replaced by Harmonious

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But here's the thing Wendy, what worked in 1971 may not and often times does not work today. Now I grew up in my family's restaurant, so yeah we gave the customer what they wanted even if we thought it was tasteless water down junk because well, that's what puts money in the coffers.

I doubt putting characters in Epcot somehow turns it into Mk but the reality is, little girls want to see Frozen character and they want to see them in EVERY park.

Now what is going to be interesting is if the show has any iota of ip or character voices, faces or anything it, it will get panned here. so pretty much it's a zero sum game.

If I didn’t know you better...I’d say that you think Kardashian “entertainment” makes sense to you for Disney parks?

 

[eliza61nyc]

Minions are up the road at Universal

lol, thanks dude
some time we need to relax and laugh.

 

[eliza61nyc]

If I didn’t know you better...I’d say that you think Kardashian “entertainment” makes sense to you for Disney parks?

Don't say that out loud, mama Kardashian will make a way to do that.
actually I'm not advocating for any thing but I also understand the concept of giving the crowd what they want.
And I can't get mad at the Kardashian, without a spec of talent they are selling their products to millions of consumers.
Now you folks can talk about artistic yada yada yada and "imagineering" until the cows come home but the Kardashians have found a way into the fabric of this country. lol I admire that.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Just FYI, not sure if it's been mentioned yet..... I've been told the torches around WSL will be removed, drastically modified, or reduced during this change. I really hope that doesn't happen.

That will be very disappointing. Ive enjoyed the look and the ambiance those torches add to the area. The blowing out the torch flames was a nice touch to start the show. Illuminations has had a great run and brought us wonderful memories to our EP trips. Lets hope the replacement will be much grander in sounds, sights and thrills.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Absolutely? Does anyone ever wonder why frozen is in World showcase? That's an honest question, I don't know. I figure very simply Frozen was a runaway hit and the mouseworld is capitalizing off of it.

Maybe folks today don't want to be edutained? Why is Disney going full steam on IP stuff? It can't be just to annoy folks here.

It's like you said, it's easy and profitable (but also lazy) to spoon feed the people what they want right at this moment.

Long term, I'm not convinced it's the best approach. Great entertainment companies develop original concepts, weak ones regurgitate what is working at the moment.

Do people not like edutainment? I don't buy that. I don't hear a lot of people complaining that "Living with the Land" or "Spaceship Earth" aren't enjoyable attractions.

If characters and thrills are what the people want, why is Epcot so dependent on food festivals to get bodies in the park?

As audiences, we need to be more open to different things, and public reaction is absolutely to blame to some degree. Look at Disney's movie output: Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and live-action remakes.

It feels like they are very reluctant to deviate from what works, and who can blame them? When an original film (i.e. Wrinkle in Time) doesn't do well, but Marvel and Star Wars are hugely profitable, what else would they do?

As for Frozen in Epcot, I think it was simply that they wanted to build something quickly. It's cheaper and quicker to use an existing facility, and Frozen doesn't feel completely out of place in Norway.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

actually I'm not advocating for any thing but I also understand the concept of giving the crowd what they want.
And I can't get mad at the Kardashian, without a spec of talent they are selling their products to millions of consumers.
Now you folks can talk about artistic yada yada yada and "imagineering" until the cows come home but the Kardashians have found a way into the fabric of this country. lol I admire that.

The problem is that if Disney sinks to that level of “lack or quality”...they’ll never survive.

All the mouse ear wearing dust huffers here laugh, patronize, and sleep on the pillow of a false believe that their brand is “indestructible”...

But indestructable brands fail...and they have done so kinda shockingly in the fallout from the 20th century...

It’s not that kids won’t like Mickey anymore...it’s that societies and cultures tend to move on - often without notice.

Walt Disney believed a foundation of top notch quality was his “insurance” policy....and unlike many of the walt references you see based on false nostalgia...that one still applies. More than ever.

Crap is crap...quality is quality. Don’t dabble in both.

 

[TwilightZone]

And that's called Hyperbole. Yes I recognize that little girls are not the only ones visiting Epcot. thanks, I wouldn't have figured it out.

ok since the art of taking a sentence and the extracting it to the circumstances seems to be a lost art, isn't that still on the sat? lets break it down.

Children of all ages, shapes, sizes, ethnicity, sex and demographics like to see the characters every where and since most parents want to keep the little minions happy, it isn't surprising that Disney makes an effort to give the public what they seem to want.

A true statement, but I will add this to the IP discussion.
I think it says a lot that my favorite ride as a kid was soarin'. Not peter pan, not winnie the pooh, not buzz lightyear. Soarin' over california the most non IP ride ever made.
Now, just a hunch, but this could be the same for a bunch of other kids too, even if the ride isn't soarin' it could be pirates or haunted mansion.

 

[rle4lunch]

I am not a fan of ROE.

Spoiler: before it's said

View attachment 314744

You're not alone.

 

[mikejs78]

Man I hope it's not movie music. That will be so dumb.

They tried that once before. It didn't go over well.

That’s a “tad” different than 15 minutes of projection Disney sing along.

Oh I agree, I'm just saying that IP in an Epcot nighttime spectacular isn't unprecedented. I'd prefer something more along the lines of RoE 2.0 myself, but there's a huge continuum between no IP and an HEA-clone Disney sing-along. It depends if the characters are a supporting role or the main event. If the show is about the characters, it will be a failure in my book. If the Characters are used to tell a story that is a uniquely Epcot story (with Epcot-like music, not Disney Movie's greatest hits), it could still be a very well-done show. Given that IP is likely a given at this point, I'm hoping for the latter, but expecting the former.

 

[brb1006]

Another thing I will say is that Epcot at night will not be the same. Between the torchlight illuminating the walkways, and the preshow music loop playing, it made for a quintessentially Epcot experience. I am (pleasantly?) surprised that the changeover would be overnight, although the new show debuting during Food and Wine seems a bit odd. Sure it is not pulling the numbers that it used to, but there are times when Epcot hurts far worse (cough, the Summer of Diet Epcot, cough).

Hearing the preshow music starting as the torches light up and sometimes move in sync to the music still gives me chills. Especially when you see it in person.

 

[montyz81]

I I’ll any of the current show carry over? Or, is it a wholesale change? @marni1971?

 

[brb1006]

But that was with awful Eisner...who had to go for sit com bob...remember?


As an extension course...I’m gonna do a follow up lecture called “what would Roy think?”

Because it’s also not a coincidence that the hard core nickel and diming didnt go off the rails until Roy E and to a lesser extent Diane Disney died.

I think that’s a kinda sad epitaph.

Sure Eisner is infamous in the Disney community. But I will give the Eisner era credit for actually making Disneyland and Walt Disney World actually look exciting and did great marketing campaign during the 1980's till 2005.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Sure Eisner is infamous in the Disney community. But I will give the Eisner era credit for actually making Disneyland and Walt Disney World actually look exicting and did great marketing campaign during the 1980's till 2005.

No doubt that he had to go...he had become stale and had gutted the management ranks due to “ego preference”...and they have honestly never recovered.

That has caused problems ever since and why we find a situation where a subpar Hollywood guy - iger - is lauded because they have nothing underneath him. Absolutely nothing. That problem hasn’t been solved.

But...on other boards back then...I said that there was a price to be paid losing Eisner. The reality is that he catered to those that post on Disney board...the real fans.

He valued them and always built to try keep them. But he ran out of gas.

 

[EvilChameleon]

Thinking about it, since the change is going to happen overnight.. I can't see them getting rid of the torches, since it will take much more than a night to get rid of them. This isn't like Wishes to Happily Ever After where the only thing really changed was projection technology. Illuminations has set pieces. The globe. Barges. Inferno. Torches. Sea wall launchers. Etc.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Hearing the preshow music starting as the torches light up and sometimes move in sync to the music still gives me chills. Especially when you see it in person.

Completely agree. The atmosphere before the show and after the show are my ideal versions of World Showcase. Most of that is in the music, but the lighting, torches, etc all produce something pretty special.

 

[brb1006]

No doubt that he had to go...he had become stale and had gutted the management ranks due to “ego preference”...and they have honestly never recovered.

That has caused problems ever since and why we find a situation where a subpar Hollywood guy - iger - is lauded because they have nothing underneath him. Absolutely nothing. That problem hasn’t been solved.

But...on other boards back then...I said that there was a price to be paid losing Eisner. The reality is that he catered to those that post on Disney board...the real fans.

He valued them and always built to try keep them. But he ran out of gas.

Here's an example of the Eisner era of Disney that I really loved. Just look at these ads and promotional videos for the 100 Years Of Magic Celebration in 2001 and 2002. They all felt charming, welcoming, and had heart.






Even the 100 Years of Magic theme tears me up.


This is the type stuff I miss from today's Disney marketing team (Especially in WDW ads). It feels soulless compared to the 1990's and early 2000's era where it felt genuine and touching. Same with today's Park Planning Videos that are inferior to the ones made in the 1990's and early 2000's.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Thinking about it, since the change is going to happen overnight.. I can't see them getting rid of the torches, since it will take much more than a night to get rid of them. This isn't like Wishes to Happily Ever After where the only thing really changed was projection technology. Illuminations has set pieces. The globe. Barges. Inferno. Torches. Sea wall launchers. Etc.

Change overnight isn’t what it seems...

They could do massive work/construction and take pieces out before the “changeover”

The last month or two of RoE could just be a shortened version with the barges...and at 9:15 one night they sail them out back and scuttle them while they play taps

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just look at these ads and promotional videos for the 100 Years Of Magic Celebration in 2001 and 2002.






Even the 100 Years of Magic theme tears me up.


This is the type stuff I miss from today's Disney marketing team (Especially in WDW ads). It feels souless compared to the 1990's and early 2000's era where it felt genuine and touching.

I assume that’s because that marketing department is gone...it cost money.

Some of that is legit...as the internet, death of print, and on demand broadcast/streaming has changed advertising forever...

But it’s also “efficiency” that makes your company more weak...streamlining and cost accounting where you lose more than the sum of the parts.

 

[rle4lunch]

A true statement, but I will add this to the IP discussion.
I think it says a lot that my favorite ride as a kid was soarin'. Not peter pan, not winnie the pooh, not buzz lightyear. Soarin' over california the most non IP ride ever made.
Now, just a hunch, but this could be the same for a bunch of other kids too, even if the ride isn't soarin' it could be pirates or haunted mansion.

But it's an IP for the California tourism commission. Lol. I'd say the new inferior 2.0 is less corporate than 1.0.

 

[brb1006]

No doubt that he had to go...he had become stale and had gutted the management ranks due to “ego preference”...and they have honestly never recovered.

That has caused problems ever since and why we find a situation where a subpar Hollywood guy - iger - is lauded because they have nothing underneath him. Absolutely nothing. That problem hasn’t been solved.

But...on other boards back then...I said that there was a price to be paid losing Eisner. The reality is that he catered to those that post on Disney board...the real fans.

He valued them and always built to try keep them. But he ran out of gas.

Let's be honest, Eisner was at his best when Frank Wells was still alive.