Stormstruck attraction at innoventions

[ImaYoyo]

Did a quick look, but has anyone mentioned the stormstruck attraction at Innoventions? The press conference and press release should have been this morning...

EDIT: It was released. Here's the story.

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/15232771/detail.html

 

[bruiser659]

Cool,we need more things to do there.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Cool.Hopefully this hearlds a pavilion to come.

 

[SoFlaDisneyFan]

Cool.Hopefully this hearlds a pavilion to come.

I was about to say the very same thing. I still feel that a well-planned and executed Weather Pavillion would be SO awesome!

 

[Spyne]

Sounds interesting. It'll also be interesting to see once it's there.

 

[JLW11Hi]

That sounds like an eerily relevant attraction. Educating homeowners on disaster preparedness, in central Florida...

 

[KeeKee]

Just to make it a bit easier to get to:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MSNBC.com[/FONT]
New Disney Attraction To Teach Storm Safety

WESH.com
updated 2:05 p.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 6, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Disney announced its latest theme park addition at a ceremony Wednesday. Slated to debut late this summer in Epcot Center's Innoventions complex, StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes will aim to teach visitors the importance of home safety in a fun, interactive way.
"This groundbreaking exhibit represents a milestone in the disaster safety movement," Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), said. "It will save lives and homes by combining fun with education."
Co-founded by FEMA, FLASH is partnering with several other local companies to present StormStruck. Chapman-Henderson views the attraction as a great opportunity to spread the Tallahassee-based company's message of home safety and disaster readiness.
"This is the most significant initiative that we could have dreamed of," Chapman-Henderson said. "It's been tremendous for us."
The attraction will allow visitors to discover what it would feel like to experience severe weather, such as a hurricane. After "the storm," StormStruck will teach guests about weather-related science and cutting-edge technology used to protect homes from a disaster, featuring an exercise in "rebuilding" a home.
Chapman-Henderson declined to get more specific, but said the attraction will be "very fast-paced and very fun."
During the ceremony, Chapman-Henderson and representatives from other sponsors pointed to Tuesday night's severe thunderstorms in Tennessee and Arkansas as further evidence about the need for disaster preparedness. But as Chapman-Henderson said, the greatest challenge has been getting the message out.
"We have never doubted the need for disaster preparedness," Chapman-Henderson said. "And who does it better than Disney when it comes to storytelling?"
The sponsors all said they hoped that this attraction will make a difference in people's lives.
"Educating homeowners about the simple steps they can take to create a safer and stronger home is what this attraction is all about," said Terry Kingsfather, president of co-sponsor Simpson Strong-Tie. "We're proud to be a part of an effort that can help reduce damage to homes all across America."

 

[dandaman]

Ooh. I like.

 

[BrerKev]

I have always been fascinated by storms and weather in general. I agree that a whole weather pavillion could be a great addition in the future.

 

[doop]

Cool, I'd also be very interested in the prospect of a weather themed pavilion.

 

[JennyTablina]

oh man finally some new stuff in Innoventions.

When I originally went like...the first 3 times to Florida, Innoventions was always different every year. Past few years it's been rather drab. I mean, I love toontown tag and I like the little gaming section. But I miss the days when Sega practically owned Innoventions with arcade machihes and Saturns.
I mean of course they couldnt do that now but that idea was a zillion times better than the somewhat dull stuff around Innventions East and West now (though I suppose having the games did make it hard for parents to get kids out of there). But yeah, I hope this is a sign for a new pavillion and hopefully some steps towards making Innoventions relevant again.

 

[CrashNet]

This one is going to be a lot of fun. It will be going where the Forest is now (used to be Forests of our Future.) If they do what they were originally planning, it will be REALLY cool.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Umm...isn't Twister an attraction that shows you what it's like to be in the middle of a storm?

:shrug:

That doesn't really get great "reviews" so why would this be good?

I hope it does well...I personally LOVE Twister and think it's very cool.

 

[JEANYLASER]

That's a great idea for this attraction! and Maybe Disney can help rebuild New Orleans!

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Sounds great. This attraction should really bring awareness to disaster planning.

BTW, why does the article refer to Epcot as "Epcot Center?" Don't these people do any research? Epcot hasn't been named that for over 10 years now.

 

[DisneyDrum]

BTW, why does the article refer to Epcot as "Epcot Center?" Don't these people do any research? Epcot hasn't been named that for over 10 years now.

eh..someone at WESH likes retro Epcot. The only people who'll notice it are us anyway. The actual press release uses proper Disney nomenclature.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Sounds great. This attraction should really bring awareness to disaster planning.

BTW, why does the article refer to Epcot as "Epcot Center?" Don't these people do any research? Epcot hasn't been named that for over 10 years now.

*prays for a renaming*

 

[coilback]

Umm...isn't Twister an attraction that shows you what it's like to be in the middle of a storm?

:shrug:

That doesn't really get great "reviews" so why would this be good?

I hope it does well...I personally LOVE Twister and think it's very cool.

Twister is a VERY lame attempt at recreating a scene in the movie with a very underwhelming "real tornado." It's more or less a very mild Catastrophe Canyon with waaay too much preshow.

 

[will341]

Sounds like a great addition !

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I'm so glad that this is finally brought to light! THIS was the the secret preview I got to see in December! My son and I were walking around EPCOT and outside of the Innoventions, they asked us if we had some time to spend on this. They took us into the employee part of Innoventions, and we went through some cubicles and up the elevator to a conference room. There were 10 of us participating.

We saw a simulation of the storm and the damage from it. Then we had a quiz type thing about what roof type is better, what type of nails to use, etc.

They asked us a bunch of questions about what we liked, didn't like, would change, etc. My son was especially thrilled because he was the only kid and the Imagineers were really interested in what he had to say!

They really didn't tell us how they were going to make this exhibit "magic", but we had all suggested interactive wind, rain, etc where the audience was really part of the storm. The Imagineer smiled when we said this.

It was interesting to see this part of the Epcot. I mean, how many people get to go backstage like that?