News Test Track to be reimagined

[OptimusPrime]

“Keep IP out of Epcot” is one of the many statements made by Disney Adults who are culture blind and think that the parks are theirs.

At the end of the day, it’s foolish to say this, along with some other classics I’ve seen on this forum like “Marvel has no place in the parks.”

These parks are for families. Yes, they have offerings to appeal to those like us, but at the end of the day it’s elitist to say these things.

Families have expectations of what they will see when they go to Disney. Right now, those expectations include Frozen, Moana, Guardians of the Galaxy, catch my drift? These people want to go to Disney to see what their family currently loves.

What most forum members want is to go to exactly what their childhood was. They would rather alienate the family audience coming to see Elsa and Star-Lord so that they can see an outdated energy lecture and a hodgepodge Norway boat ride.

IP free Epcot doesn’t work today because audience taste changes. And this isn’t a “general audience is getting dumber” thing. This is simply how times change. Disney is in the home now more than ever whatnot with how cheap DVDs have gotten and especially now with Disney+. Previously, seeing original characters such as Figment, the Country Bears, or even for many Br’er Rabbit, was part of the Disney experience, as it is a similar feeling to seeing a new Disney movie in theaters. You go to the theater and you meet Aladdin and his Genie, just as you go to the park and meet Dreamfinder and Figment.

Nowadays, Disney’s brand is built heavily around the characters you know. Yes, new characters get popular, but they become popular via cultural osmosis as opposed to people going to experience the new Disney adventure. This is how Encanto got so big.

So now, the expectation with Disney is that you’re going to see your family’s favorite characters. You’re going to see Tiana, Anna, Star-Lord. Because that’s what Disney is to that family.

Also I just wanna say I don’t agree with the company’s decision to go this direction. As much as I personally prefer Guardians and Frozen to their previous offerings, I do overall want original stuff and a chance to meet new characters.

This is just an observation I’ve made about families and Disney’s relationship with the average household.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Keeping IP out of Epcot was something the creators of the park decided upon quite adamantly when they first built it. It was something that was brought up in advertisement as a positive in fact. Wanting the park to have its own unique identity that wasn't reliant on existing Disney characters and providing a break from the chaos next door. There was about a year or two after opening that they didn't even have meet and greets. Eisner killed that mandate when he was made CEO however.

To reiterate something I said the other day in the Cars thread, never forget that adults are the ones who actually work to make the money and purchase Disney tickets, not children. At bare minimum, their opinions are at least as important as children, and in most cases they are more important. Kids don't tend to have high standards and are happy with even low quality products that many adults don't enjoy.

EPCOT was also very much loved by children as well. Including child me in the early 90s. The park was also enormously successful in its heyday, literally keeping the company afloat while their film studio was collapsing and the financial vultures were trying to take over. For people who are singularly character obsessed, there are literally three other parks where you can find them around every corner. EPCOT was a refreshing break from that loud cartoonish chaos.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Keeping IP out of Epcot was something the creators of the park decided upon quite adamantly when they first built it. It was something that was brought up in advertisement as a positive in fact. Wanting the park to have its own unique identity that wasn't reliant on existing Disney characters and providing a break from the chaos next door. There was about a year or two after opening that they didn't even have meet and greets. Eisner killed that mandate when he was made CEO however.

To reiterate something I said the other day in the Cars thread, never forget that adults are the ones who actually work to make the money and purchase Disney tickets, not children. At bare minimum, their opinions are at least as important as children, and in most cases they are more important. Kids don't tend to have high standards and are happy with even low quality products that many adults don't enjoy.

EPCOT was also very much loved by children as well. Including child me in the early 90s. The park was also enormously successful in its heyday, literally keeping the company afloat while their film studio was collapsing and the financial vultures were trying to take over. For people who are singularly character obsessed, there are literally three other parks where you can find them around every corner. EPCOT was a refreshing break from that loud cartoonish chaos.

Again. What do most adults want to see? Star Wars. Marvel. Their favorite characters growing up.

And when the adults are paying, they are paying because they want to see a smile on their child’s face. To them, the excitement their child gets when they see Elsa is worth the price of admission.

There is a reason Lightning Lanes to meet the princesses in the fairytale hall sell. There’s a reason the Boutique is popular. Parents are spending their hard earned money to see the most important thing in their life make memories.

And Disney movies are generally enjoyed by everyone. The bond that the family shares because they all love Encanto, and now they get to go to the parks and ride through Casita. Or a family who loves Guardians to death and gets to go on an adventure with Quill and the gang.

I am completely aware that 90’s Epcot was loved by children. But again, AUDIENCES CHANGE. And as for “kids will consume anything” Disney is still giving them good experiences.

Frozen Ever After is better than Maelstrom (Frozen knows what it wants to be)
Guardians is way better than Energy.

Epcot got its terrible renovations in the 2000’s with Imagination, Space, Nemo, and might as well rope in TT2. But it has been up ever since. You can’t speak on the adult experience because adults that are paying are the same adults who rated the Great Movie Ride low enough to get it ripped out. Because adult audiences and Disney adult audiences are different.

You’re so attached to your own bubble that you can’t think of how normal people think.

I know that my wants for the park are very different from the general public. And there’s a point where you have to sit down and realize that these decisions aren’t for us. They are for the majority. We are the minority.

90% of people didn’t care Splash was changing because there is still a big drop at the end. 95% of people don’t care that Guardians doesn’t fit some chronically online nerd’s staunchly outdated idea on what Epcot is supposed to be.

 

[jmuboy]

After 28 years, the canopy is finally gone.

View attachment 812032
View attachment 812033

“It’s fun to be free …. Of the CAN-No-Pee!”

 

[osian]

Some of it was marketing driven but a lot of the stuff people didn’t like was part of a fairly serious and widespread design trend called Memphis.

It was out of place at EPCOT because the architecture was distinctly modernist and Memphis was a strongly post-modern style.

I hadn't heard of Memphis before, so I've just looked it up and....yes, looks very familiar!

 

[Rhinocerous]

Time to put the money where it needs to really go -
Pavillions and Attractions that matter and awe, educate, and most of all INSPIRE the next generation of dreamers and doers.

Didn't you hear? We have a statue for that now.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Didn't you hear? We have a statue for that now.

They'll be removing that statue since they're cancelling him.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Didn't you hear? We have a statue for that now.

You mean the crapper in bronze?

 

[Mike S]

As a kid one ride I always wanted was a magic carpet through the Cave of Wonders because it was something familiar and cool looking.

Literally had no effect on my hype for Expedition Everest. “Ooooh, a new mountain!!!” If you build a good ride, they will come. Especially with a powerful marketing department like Disney’s. They could put it everywhere, even sneak peaks on Disney +.

 

[Quietmouse]

As a kid one ride I always wanted was a magic carpet through the Cave of Wonders because it was something familiar and cool looking.

Literally had no effect on my hype for Expedition Everest. “Ooooh, a new mountain!!!” If you build a good ride, they will come. Especially with a powerful marketing department like Disney’s. They could put it everywhere, even sneak peaks on Disney +.

To be fair Everest is a giant Himalayan mountain roller coaster. The idea sort of sells itself.

But if it was tied with a popular/beloved Disney ip would the ride get longer waits or would there be higher level of merchandise sales attached ?

My best guess is probably.

From a business perspective, what Disney is currently doing with the ip mandate makes 100 percent sense.

Not that I’m the biggest fan of the concept, but that it simply makes sense on the business operations side of the coin.

 

[larryz]

But if it was tied with a popular/beloved Disney ip would the ride get longer waits or would there be higher level of merchandise sales attached ?

 

[danlb_2000]

I hadn't heard of Memphis before, so I've just looked it up and....yes, looks very familiar!

If you remember the 80's then you know what Memphis is even if you didn't know that was what it was called.

 

[larryz]

My take: Epcot was the Imagineers' sop to Walt Disney's (the man, not the company) dream of the REAL "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow."

They knew Walt's dream was highly implausible if not outright impossible, so they built E.P.C.O.T.* to represent the technologies and knowledge Walt's dream city would need to come to fruition. (Besides, he was gone and didn't sign the paychecks any more, so they could basically do what they wanted.)

That turned into Edutainment, which worked just fine until sponsorships started drying up and the education system started teaching tests and the Internet made available to everyone everything, everywhere, all at once (not a plug for the similarly named movie).

So as the Epcot kids started growing up, they got bored with Epcot -- having seen it all before -- and asked the serious question, "Why is there a Disney park without any Disney in it?"

And the managers, who by now were all MBAs instead of artists and imagineers, agreed, seeing $$$ in adapting the park to the new audience.

So if they're re-re-reimagining Horizons into Test Track v3, no biggie. If they throw a couple of Cars cars in there, well, it's a natural fit, isn't it? Or if Tesla buys into it with some money and cars, what would be the harm?

Of course, if Tesla joins in, they'll have to make Goofy the main character.

* Every Penny Collected Off Tourists

 

[Gusey]

As someone who visited Epcot for the first time in the 2000, I was bored. World Showcase was mainly shopping, documentaries and at the time 2 rides. Future World leaned too heavily into the education side so much that we went on Ellen's Energy Adventure, walked through the chaos of Innoventions expecting a ride then went straight to World Showcase before eventually seeing Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It wasn't until the addition of Nemo that we went to the Seas pavilion, and that encouraged us to look at the other pavilions in Future World. It was the injection of IP that actually made it worth visiting these areas of the park, especially now for my family who regularly skip Small World, Figment and Tom Sawyer Island for being too boring

 

[zipadee999]

As someone who visited Epcot for the first time in the 2000, I was bored. World Showcase was mainly shopping, documentaries and at the time 2 rides. Future World leaned too heavily into the education side so much that we went on Ellen's Energy Adventure, walked through the chaos of Innoventions expecting a ride then went straight to World Showcase before eventually seeing Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It wasn't until the addition of Nemo that we went to the Seas pavilion, and that encouraged us to look at the other pavilions in Future World. It was the injection of IP that actually made it worth visiting these areas of the park, especially now for my family who regularly skip Small World, Figment and Tom Sawyer Island for being too boring

I think 2000 was a tough time for Epcot. Horizons was gone, JII was gone, and WOM was gone. SSE and Test Track were the only two headliners in future world. Energy was hit or miss after its overhaul, we were stuck with Journey into YOUR Imagination, and Soarin’ was barely even an idea yet. While WoL and the Seas were still operating in their original forms, I wouldn’t call either of them headliners like I would Horizons or JII.

 

[Gusey]

I think 2000 was a tough time for Epcot. Horizons was gone, JII was gone, and WOM was gone. SSE and Test Track were the only two headliners in future world. Energy was hit or miss after its overhaul, we were stuck with Journey into YOUR Imagination, and Soarin’ was barely even an idea yet. While WoL and the Seas were still operating in their original forms, I wouldn’t call either of them headliners like I would Horizons or JII.

Exactly, that's why I don't have the nostalgic love many people have on these boards because I never experienced those. And the newer generations of fans simply don't have the same nostalgic connections to the original park Ips. For many newer generations, Disney Parks should be filled with Disney Movies and Disney Characters

 

[Gusey]

According to your profile…you weren’t “bored” if you visited in 2000…you were learning how to use the potty

I think you need to understand that people can be born in the 1990S and still be a child in the 2000S. I'm not going to dox my age on here, but I was definitely beyond "potty" age in 2004/5. Either way, my age should not negate my perspective of visiting the parks in the 2000s and this is the kind of gatekeeping that makes it hard to discuss anything on these boards

 

[osian]

If you remember the 80's then you know what Memphis is even if you didn't know that was what it was called.

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Remember the 80s? I WAS the 80s!

 

[ChrisFL]

Some of it was marketing driven but a lot of the stuff people didn’t like was part of a fairly serious and widespread design trend called Memphis.

It was out of place at EPCOT because the architecture was distinctly modernist and Memphis was a strongly post-modern style.

Other than the interior of WoL, I don't know what else in EPCOT could be considered Memphis. WoL was HEAVILY Memphis inspired though.

Edit: Also the Swan and Dolphin hotel since it was Michael Graves...directly part of the Memphis Group

Here's a video about the Memphis Group if anyone is interested:

 

[OptimusPrime]

I feel like my comment wasn’t really about transformers

Yeah you name dropped Epcot I’m dense but I’m not illiterate