Reimagining Epcot/Disney

[Goofyernmost]

Hi @montyz81! Um, these are totally my ideas -- l sometime over the past decade you must have come across my posts and became inspired by my ideas and stuff. Regardless, it's nice to meet you. Great minds and all that. LOL.

Anyway, I am so curious about how the Guardians of the Galaxy ride is going to look at Epcot.

This building isn't as ugly as I thought it was going to be. It is somewhat ornate with gold plated features and blue steel piping or whatever. With that said, this architectural style is not at all suitable for Epcot. And, I still balk at the thought of Tron in MK.

Really? What would it take for you to consider something ugly. That makes ugly look good!

 

[Siren]

Really? What would it take for you to consider something ugly. That makes ugly look good!

Hi @Goofyernmost! LOL. You're totally right. It's still ugly but at least it has gold on it. So, it's not as bad as I initially thought -- I think it will look better in person. I just hope that it remains on the west coast.

Initially, I couldn't think of anything from GOTG that would fit in Epcot. But, I just remembered the futuristic city.

This is the city featured in GOTG called Xandar. It could fit in Epcot as a roller coaster/dark ride combo or something. So, I will remain cautiously optimistic.

 

[montyz81]

Hi @Goofyernmost! LOL. You're totally right. It's still ugly but at least it has gold on it. So, it's not as bad as I initially thought -- I think it will look better in person. I just hope that it remains on the west coast.

Initially, I couldn't think of anything from GOTG that would fit in Epcot. But, I just remembered the futuristic city.

This is the city featured in GOTG called Xandar. It could fit in Epcot as a roller coaster/dark ride combo or something. So, I will remain cautiously optimistic.

It looks good, but including an IP from GOTG, without including the idea of Energy/improving how we use Energy/Educating better ways of using Energy, is just not a good fit/look for Epcot. I firmly believe that the original intent of Epcot Center can be maintained if the Immagineers and Disney Corporate spends some money!

 

[Siren]

It looks good, but including an IP from GOTG, without including the idea of Energy/improving how we use Energy/Educating better ways of using Energy, is just not a good fit/look for Epcot. I firmly believe that the original intent of Epcot Center can be maintained if the Immagineers and Disney Corporate spends some money!

Hi @montyz81! Thanks so much for your critique. So basically, you think it needs to be more informational like Test Track. Do you like in design your car part of Test Track?

The new GOTG ride is supposed to be a roller coaster. So, the only way to incorporate the "energy" educational aspect would be in the queue and right after the ride -- just like the Test Track show room and SpaceShip Earth. I think we are on the same page but I still have to get used to the idea of GOTG in Epcot.

And, I still don't know how to incorporate energy into the GOTG ride -- there is nothing from the movie that I can draw from. I totally give up. LOL.

 

[montyz81]

Hi @montyz81! Thanks so much for your critique. So basically, you think it needs to be more informational like Test Track. Do you like in design your car part of Test Track?

The new GOTG ride is supposed to be a roller coaster. So, the only way to incorporate the "energy" educational aspect would be in the queue and right after the ride -- just like the Test Track show room and SpaceShip Earth. I think we are on the same page but I still have to get used to the idea of GOTG in Epcot.

And, I still don't know how to incorporate energy into the GOTG ride -- there is nothing from the movie that I can draw from. I totally give up. LOL.

Well, I think you can. Think of SDMT. IT has a roller coaster element to it. It also has a slow moving aspect to it that lets you take the AAs. In the case of Energy, they could use the AA's perhaps the existing AA's to help you learn more about energy.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I really think that the only way to salvage the innovative vibe of Epcot is sponsorships. There should be company-sponsored exhibits there touting the future of holographic imagery, robotics, and maybe trends like the tiny house movement. Exhibits that aren't necessarily permanent, but are cutting-edge and visionary. That might give Epcot a sense of the immediate and help prevent it from seeming dated, because that's hardly what it's about. That's the trouble with building permanent exhibits there - progress is advancing so quickly that anything that's built will seem dated in a matter of months. Epcot has to be fresh in order to stay relevant.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I really think that the only way to salvage the innovative vibe of Epcot is sponsorships. There should be company-sponsored exhibits there touting the future of holographic imagery, robotics, and maybe trends like the tiny house movement. Exhibits that aren't necessarily permanent, but are cutting-edge and visionary. That might give Epcot a sense of the immediate and help prevent it from seeming dated, because that's hardly what it's about. That's the trouble with building permanent exhibits there - progress is advancing so quickly that anything that's built will seem dated in a matter of months. Epcot has to be fresh in order to stay relevant.

It really doesn't have to be relevant in that sense, what it has to be is entertaining. My everyday life on the planet is relevant in some form or the other. My visits to WDW is strictly something I do to escape relevance. I want to laugh, I want to be surprised, I want to be entertained. Many past things are have/had the ability to deliver on all of those things. Personally I need nothing more.

 

[danyoung56]

Rides like Imagination and Horizons were rides never seen before and had lines that went on and on.

I think you may be mis-remembering. As much as I loved Horizons, it was pretty much a walk-on the last few years. And while the original version of Imagination was by far the best, it was also mostly a walk-on in its final years.

Walt was such a true visionary.

I don't think any discussion of Epcot can include Walt, as the park we got had nothing to do with the city that Walt was designing.

 

[FigmentForver96]

I think you may be mis-remembering. As much as I loved Horizons, it was pretty much a walk-on the last few years. And while the original version of Imagination was by far the best, it was also mostly a walk-on in its final years.



I don't think any discussion of Epcot can include Walt, as the park we got had nothing to do with the city that Walt was designing.

Yea they were walk on as they got older, nobody would argue that. That is where the updating part comes in. The concepts that encompassed each pavilion were timeless in that the message did not need to change only the technology. Horizons could still be relavent but Eisner needed a place to put his shiny new space ride and also deal with the aging Horizons. So rather then update it, it was tore down. The rides would not be walk ons if they were kept to the standard in which they were first built. A concept modern Disney does not understand.

Also, no much of EPCOT Center was not what Walt planned but some of the vision that Walt had certainly inspired the park that opened in 1982. A powerhouse of the future that would display fresh new ideas and would bring people together. Something EPCOT Center did well.

 

[danyoung56]

The rides would not be walk ons if they were kept to the standard in which they were first built.

I can't argue with this.

 

[rob0519]

I really think that the only way to salvage the innovative vibe of Epcot is sponsorships. There should be company-sponsored exhibits there touting the future of holographic imagery, robotics, and maybe trends like the tiny house movement. Exhibits that aren't necessarily permanent, but are cutting-edge and visionary. That might give Epcot a sense of the immediate and help prevent it from seeming dated, because that's hardly what it's about. That's the trouble with building permanent exhibits there - progress is advancing so quickly that anything that's built will seem dated in a matter of months. Epcot has to be fresh in order to stay relevant.

You have to remember, Corporate Sponsorships practically paid for the original version of Epcot. Gone are Exxon, GE, AT & T, Kraft, Kaiser, Dutch Boy Paint, Monsanto, Kodak, Delta, United Technologies and in the MK, Fed Ex.

In these days of corporations concentrating on hitting quarterly numbers set by Wall St. analysts, it would be a really hard sell to shareholders for pumping millions of dollars into sponsoring an attraction at Epcot that did not produce some sort of significant return in sales to consumers. If it was a profitable idea, corporations would be clamoring to provide sponsorship in a location that brings in tens of millions of visitors per year.

 

[danyoung56]

I've got to think that there's still some concrete value to a pavilion sponsorship in the nature of name recognition and promotion. I think it's more of a lack of vision on the corporate side that's keeping them away from sponsoring.

 

[Siren]

Well, I think you can. Think of SDMT. IT has a roller coaster element to it. It also has a slow moving aspect to it that lets you take the AAs. In the case of Energy, they could use the AA's perhaps the existing AA's to help you learn more about energy.

Yay! I love 7DMT -- it's cutting edge and the first ride of its kind. Ever. So, I am excited that Disney is using this platform for the new Epcot ride. And, I really like the idea of using AA's to incorporate an energy theme. But, it seems highly unlikely to happen.

I think Disney will give GOTG the Frozen Ever After treatment. So, the only hope for some kind of "energy" theme will be after the ride.

If Disney had no plans for a GOTG ride, what would else could they do?

I really think that the only way to salvage the innovative vibe of Epcot is sponsorships. There should be company-sponsored exhibits there touting the future of holographic imagery, robotics, and maybe trends like the tiny house movement. Exhibits that aren't necessarily permanent, but are cutting-edge and visionary. That might give Epcot a sense of the immediate and help prevent it from seeming dated, because that's hardly what it's about. That's the trouble with building permanent exhibits there - progress is advancing so quickly that anything that's built will seem dated in a matter of months. Epcot has to be fresh in order to stay relevant.

Very well said. I agree. And, there are so many corporations that I can think of, especially Apple.

I don't think any discussion of Epcot can include Walt, as the park we got had nothing to do with the city that Walt was designing.

Hi @danyoung56! Awww, I totally disagree. Your comment makes me kind of sad.

Walt had a vision for his brand and this included WDW. He had a way of doing things, which was later coined as The Disney Way. If Disney were to totally abandon Walt's philosophy, WDW would go out of business tomorrow.

I've got to think that there's still some concrete value to a pavilion sponsorship in the nature of name recognition and promotion. I think it's more of a lack of vision on the corporate side that's keeping them away from sponsoring.

Very well said. I totally agree. And, Disney can sweeten the deal by giving the Sponsor free convention space and closing one of the parks early for a night and special fireworks.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yea they were walk on as they got older, nobody would argue that. That is where the updating part comes in. The concepts that encompassed each pavilion were timeless in that the message did not need to change only the technology. Horizons could still be relavent but Eisner needed a place to put his shiny new space ride and also deal with the aging Horizons. So rather then update it, it was tore down. The rides would not be walk ons if they were kept to the standard in which they were first built. A concept modern Disney does not understand.

Also, no much of EPCOT Center was not what Walt planned but some of the vision that Walt had certainly inspired the park that opened in 1982. A powerhouse of the future that would display fresh new ideas and would bring people together. Something EPCOT Center did well.

I can't argue with this.

I can, it wasn't the ride that was lacking. It was just as cool when they closed it as when they opened it. Very little of what was shown had actually happened so futuristic it still was. The concept of EPCOT, as much as we hate to admit it, had not resonated with the majority. It was considered boring and something like going to school on a vacation. The same thing happened to Imagination, there was nothing wrong with the show, the reason for it being just wasn't all that popular. Those of us that appreciated the marvel of the engineering, especially in the first part, still found it a great thing to experience, but, there weren't enough of us to keep it going.

Many arguments have been put out there about the people eating capacity. That would be a good argument if the lines didn't run outside the buildings then they first opened. It didn't have a huge return feature to them and now they are gone and they aren't coming back. Hopefully they can transition to something that will bring the early life back to Epcot and make it an entertaining thing, with toned down emphasis on edutainment, and handle the enlightening things in a much more subtle manner.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Tomorrowland. Get rid of that noisy, stinky speedway, and put it in there.

Had to laugh...the very first response to this thread solved the problem with a mic drop. Would have been my call as well.

 

[montyz81]

The rides would not be walk ons if they were kept to the standard in which they were first built. A concept modern Disney does not understand.

Disney Execs, are you listening? Some of the originals that worked with Walt are still around. Talk to them about his expectation for quality.

 

[danyoung56]

Awww, I totally disagree. Your comment makes me kind of sad.

I stand by my comment. Walt had great plans for E.P.C.O.T. After his death, the remaining brain trust turned it all into a theme park, which it was never meant to be. Don't get me wrong - Epcot is my favorite of the parks. But I've always wondered if Walt could have made his futuristic city work.

 

[NutsForFlorida]

All these great ideas for new rides but no really good place to put them? Build a 5th park. BOOM!!! Mind blown! Ha Ha!!!!