JohnD
Well-Known Member
Well, it's not a 4 hour Imagination tour. I was glad I went. Multiple things held my interest. And to settle things, THIS is all I saw of the interior upstairs.
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unDISCOVERed Future World Tour - Recent tours
- Thread starter SMRT-1Michael
- Start date
Well, it's not a 4 hour Imagination tour. I was glad I went. Multiple things held my interest. And to settle things, THIS is all I saw of the interior upstairs.
SnarkyMonkey
Well-Known Member
Well, that certainly is an interesting website. I hadn't come across that one before.
FoozieBear
Well-Known Member
I don't check it often, but this guy is notorious for trespassing into Disney's private property. Certainly not something to endorse, but it was certainly great to see that ImageWorks video particularly to see what has become of the former space.
*SPOILERS*****
Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you on what to expect in case you decide to go on this tour. I went on February 26th and enjoyed EVERY minute of it, i'll explain why. I enjoyed this tour far better than the Keys to the Kingdom tour, as the guide was way more open to answering controversial questions. We got to Epcot at around 8:15 and we didn't have to check in until 8:45. We walked around an empty Epcot for about 15 minutes and checked in at guest relations. Very pleasant. We met our guide, Robert, who has earned the distinguished blue name tag for Walt Disney Legendary Cast Members.
Now, I know A LOT of you are probably wondering about some of the locations they take you to. Being an Epcot Center fan, I was DYING to go back up to ImageWorks, but I was afraid to ask immediately, and decided to wait until later on in the tour.
We started off talking about the history, etc. for about 45 minutes before heading back into the old CommuniCore hallways and learned about the cast members daily routine before heading back onstage into Innoventions where we talked about the Sum of All Thrills and the Vision House. I'll admit this was a little boring because i hate Innoventions for obvious reasons.
We stopped at the Fountain of Nations and learned about it's history (nothing i didn't already know) and we even learned about why they painted the buildings that god awful blue and green color scheme. It was a lame reason, but I digress. I think it's ugly. One fun fact is that there's a weather vane on top of Innoventions that uses a computer to adjust the height of the water eruptions.
Moving on to Future World West, we talked about the Inventors Wheel in the ground before proceeding to The Seas. We went into Coral Reef to learn about this pavilion (NOT the United Technologies VIP Lounge unfortunately). It was after this that we had our first restroom break and I decided to bite the bullet and ask. The worst he could say was No. So i walked over to him and asked if we could PLEASE go up to ImageWorks. Well....
HE SAID YES. "If we really wanted to."
I couldn't contain my excitement, even after he told me he didn't want me to be disappointed that there wasn't anything up there nor did anything work. (I wasn't as I already know it's in disrepair).
We went into the Land, learned about the secrets of the Mural, the old Listen to the Land attraction, Kitchen Kabaret, the design and function of the pavilion. We were then treated to a complementary ride on Soarin. We exited backstage and went in through a door almost near Canada (The door most celebrities use) before going back onstage right into the Theater. No wait! We learned A TON of cool facts about the film which I had never known about. Did you know the hang glider in the film is in fact CGI?
We exited the building where our guide announced (before the official announcement) that Soarin was to get a completely new upgrade with a new theater, film, and digitized to give you random ride sequences. I knew about this prior to this tour, but it was nice to have an official confirmation.
Then, it happened. It was time to go up into ImageWorks. I couldn't believe it. After 10 years, I was going to get to see my favorite place on property. Our guide explained that this isn't "technically on the tour", but if you ask, they can make it happen as long as it's not being used for another purpose. He explained that it closed because people didn't want to go upstairs anymore ( BS if you ask me......) and that there was only one elevator, which didn't meet ADA standards (BUILD ANOTHER ELEVATOR??) He explained that Centorium used to have a second floor and that no one went up there towards the end. Despite me rolling my eyes at that statement, we walked in to the current Imageworks downstairs where our guide explained that it used to be a circular room that was cut in half in order to accommodate the new ride and queue (which we all knew), and that the walls dividing the space are temporary structures that can be removed anytime. We went BEHIND the staircase to the old elevator in the center of the spiral staircase...I couldn't breathe. I haven't been in this elevator since 1998. TO my surprise, IT STILL WORKS! It works perfectly, and we squeezed all 15 people in there, which makes me question why the elevator excuse for closure was even a valid one. All of a sudden, we were up there. The sunlight was gleaming in, the rainbow flags, the Figment purple and blue color scheme was all there. It was like stepping back in time. It was frozen in time. I fought my way out of the elevator to step out onto the worn gray carpet. It still smells like 1998. And boy was it quiet. You could barely hear the activity downstairs. Not a soul up there. We had to stay with the group and walked to the edge where you can see the gorgeous view of Future World (wasn't allowed to take photos). Our guide then talked about a bunch of things not related to the ImageWorks and I didn't even pay attention because I was looking all around in the small amount of time I had. The closed off escalator to the Magic Eye Theater still exists, it just leads down to a small closet with a mop bucket (seriously..) that was once an open hallway. After our guide babbled on about the monorail, etc. etc. He looked at me and told me to follow him into the actual gaming area. Electronic Philharmonic signage is gone, and the pin tables were no where in sight. the other side, with Figments Coloring Book is STILL there. The only thing missing is the paint guns. The Rainbow Corridor is still there. It's just white. The "SENSOR" signage is still there. The coloring books (The things with Dreamfinder on them) all have archive tape on them (Our guide explained that if they were ever taken down from the walls, they would immediately go into archives and NOT be destroyed) Something interesting to note is that to the left of the Rainbow Tunnel there is a partition which leads to a super secret Imagineering Office... hmmmm.
Before I knew it, time was up and it was time to move on. My friend almost had to pry me from the interior of the Imageworks where I gazed up at the second and smaller pyramid. We went down the staircase...so surreal. Our guide talked about something interesting. John Lasseter loves the pavilion. Now we've heard this before on this forum, but apparently, he comes to the pavilion at least twice a year to photograph it extensively and try and figure out how to repurpose it. This led to a light applause from our group. However, our guide hinted that maybe one day it "could" be a Pixar pavilion, which let to groans from the group. One lady even said "As long as Figment stays!!"
Some other interesting things which a lot of us already know:
Before I knew it, we were downstairs...sad.
We moved to Mission: Space, went to the HP Lounge (not that impressive) and went backstage for the rest of the tour.
Our guide talked about Wonders of Life briefly not really indicating that anything is happening there. Oh well. We saw the Test Track maintenance facility as well. We proceeded to the Epcot Cast Building, saw Company D, the cafeterias, the costuming department. Even the character costuming department. We met "friends" of all of the princesses and even got to see some of our favorite characters (if you know what i mean).
Ever wonder what Disney does with those old animatronics like Figment, Mr Mustard (Kitchen Kabaret), and even Iago from Under New Management? They're all here!
We moved behind China, he talked about Frozen coming and how there extending the building to accommodate more ride track, before being dumped back onstage. All in all, well worth the money and was everything I hoped it would be.
Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you on what to expect in case you decide to go on this tour. I went on February 26th and enjoyed EVERY minute of it, i'll explain why. I enjoyed this tour far better than the Keys to the Kingdom tour, as the guide was way more open to answering controversial questions. We got to Epcot at around 8:15 and we didn't have to check in until 8:45. We walked around an empty Epcot for about 15 minutes and checked in at guest relations. Very pleasant. We met our guide, Robert, who has earned the distinguished blue name tag for Walt Disney Legendary Cast Members.
Now, I know A LOT of you are probably wondering about some of the locations they take you to. Being an Epcot Center fan, I was DYING to go back up to ImageWorks, but I was afraid to ask immediately, and decided to wait until later on in the tour.
We started off talking about the history, etc. for about 45 minutes before heading back into the old CommuniCore hallways and learned about the cast members daily routine before heading back onstage into Innoventions where we talked about the Sum of All Thrills and the Vision House. I'll admit this was a little boring because i hate Innoventions for obvious reasons.
We stopped at the Fountain of Nations and learned about it's history (nothing i didn't already know) and we even learned about why they painted the buildings that god awful blue and green color scheme. It was a lame reason, but I digress. I think it's ugly. One fun fact is that there's a weather vane on top of Innoventions that uses a computer to adjust the height of the water eruptions.
Moving on to Future World West, we talked about the Inventors Wheel in the ground before proceeding to The Seas. We went into Coral Reef to learn about this pavilion (NOT the United Technologies VIP Lounge unfortunately). It was after this that we had our first restroom break and I decided to bite the bullet and ask. The worst he could say was No. So i walked over to him and asked if we could PLEASE go up to ImageWorks. Well....
HE SAID YES. "If we really wanted to."
I couldn't contain my excitement, even after he told me he didn't want me to be disappointed that there wasn't anything up there nor did anything work. (I wasn't as I already know it's in disrepair).
We went into the Land, learned about the secrets of the Mural, the old Listen to the Land attraction, Kitchen Kabaret, the design and function of the pavilion. We were then treated to a complementary ride on Soarin. We exited backstage and went in through a door almost near Canada (The door most celebrities use) before going back onstage right into the Theater. No wait! We learned A TON of cool facts about the film which I had never known about. Did you know the hang glider in the film is in fact CGI?
We exited the building where our guide announced (before the official announcement) that Soarin was to get a completely new upgrade with a new theater, film, and digitized to give you random ride sequences. I knew about this prior to this tour, but it was nice to have an official confirmation.
Then, it happened. It was time to go up into ImageWorks. I couldn't believe it. After 10 years, I was going to get to see my favorite place on property. Our guide explained that this isn't "technically on the tour", but if you ask, they can make it happen as long as it's not being used for another purpose. He explained that it closed because people didn't want to go upstairs anymore ( BS if you ask me......) and that there was only one elevator, which didn't meet ADA standards (BUILD ANOTHER ELEVATOR??) He explained that Centorium used to have a second floor and that no one went up there towards the end. Despite me rolling my eyes at that statement, we walked in to the current Imageworks downstairs where our guide explained that it used to be a circular room that was cut in half in order to accommodate the new ride and queue (which we all knew), and that the walls dividing the space are temporary structures that can be removed anytime. We went BEHIND the staircase to the old elevator in the center of the spiral staircase...I couldn't breathe. I haven't been in this elevator since 1998. TO my surprise, IT STILL WORKS! It works perfectly, and we squeezed all 15 people in there, which makes me question why the elevator excuse for closure was even a valid one. All of a sudden, we were up there. The sunlight was gleaming in, the rainbow flags, the Figment purple and blue color scheme was all there. It was like stepping back in time. It was frozen in time. I fought my way out of the elevator to step out onto the worn gray carpet. It still smells like 1998. And boy was it quiet. You could barely hear the activity downstairs. Not a soul up there. We had to stay with the group and walked to the edge where you can see the gorgeous view of Future World (wasn't allowed to take photos). Our guide then talked about a bunch of things not related to the ImageWorks and I didn't even pay attention because I was looking all around in the small amount of time I had. The closed off escalator to the Magic Eye Theater still exists, it just leads down to a small closet with a mop bucket (seriously..) that was once an open hallway. After our guide babbled on about the monorail, etc. etc. He looked at me and told me to follow him into the actual gaming area. Electronic Philharmonic signage is gone, and the pin tables were no where in sight. the other side, with Figments Coloring Book is STILL there. The only thing missing is the paint guns. The Rainbow Corridor is still there. It's just white. The "SENSOR" signage is still there. The coloring books (The things with Dreamfinder on them) all have archive tape on them (Our guide explained that if they were ever taken down from the walls, they would immediately go into archives and NOT be destroyed) Something interesting to note is that to the left of the Rainbow Tunnel there is a partition which leads to a super secret Imagineering Office... hmmmm.
Before I knew it, time was up and it was time to move on. My friend almost had to pry me from the interior of the Imageworks where I gazed up at the second and smaller pyramid. We went down the staircase...so surreal. Our guide talked about something interesting. John Lasseter loves the pavilion. Now we've heard this before on this forum, but apparently, he comes to the pavilion at least twice a year to photograph it extensively and try and figure out how to repurpose it. This led to a light applause from our group. However, our guide hinted that maybe one day it "could" be a Pixar pavilion, which let to groans from the group. One lady even said "As long as Figment stays!!"
Some other interesting things which a lot of us already know:
- The original purple color of the pavilion is called "Figment Pigment". Disney CANNOT paint the pavilion back to the color because it is a color owned by Kodak to this day. (My question.... paint it another shade of purple??)
- When Kodak dropped sponsorship in 2010, The ride was set to close because they weren't going to give up the rights to Figment. Disney paid a high price for the character owned by the bankrupt Eastman-Kodak company. The character is now fully acquired by Disney.
- The rights to use Dreamfinder in an attraction are not yet acquired from Kodak, however.
Before I knew it, we were downstairs...sad.
We moved to Mission: Space, went to the HP Lounge (not that impressive) and went backstage for the rest of the tour.
Our guide talked about Wonders of Life briefly not really indicating that anything is happening there. Oh well. We saw the Test Track maintenance facility as well. We proceeded to the Epcot Cast Building, saw Company D, the cafeterias, the costuming department. Even the character costuming department. We met "friends" of all of the princesses and even got to see some of our favorite characters (if you know what i mean).
Ever wonder what Disney does with those old animatronics like Figment, Mr Mustard (Kitchen Kabaret), and even Iago from Under New Management? They're all here!
We moved behind China, he talked about Frozen coming and how there extending the building to accommodate more ride track, before being dumped back onstage. All in all, well worth the money and was everything I hoped it would be.
Last edited:
Jae99
Well-Known Member
I took my parents on the tour during our trip over the Christmas Holidays. We had Robert as our guide as well. He was tremendous. Our tour was the same on every point. Having not been to WDW in 25 years I found it to be money well spent.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Yep. Had exactly the same tour with Robert in October except for the ImageWorks portion which you were smart enough to ask about.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
I'm torn between this one and Keys To The Kingdom. I did KTTK in something like 2000 or 2001, I wonder if it's changed much since then (and how much I even remember.) I loved it back then and DH has never been, which could make it worth it for me. Plus I love that lunch is included, and we can start as late as 9:30 and not have to get up for some of these 7:30 tours lol. Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion are two of our favorite rides, and I do not remember that part from 2001 at all LOL so that's tilting me towards KTTK also.
In favor of Epcot, supposedly that tour now includes a VIP Nemo section that I didn't see mentioned on this thread. Anyone know what that's about? We are Nemo fans. I would say Epcot is generally a favorite park, but more WS than FW, and for some reason neither of those two tours sound as good a fit for us as KTTK.
We did recently do the Marceline tour - which btw I thought was a great value for the price compared to KTTK, and it was just before the old Snow White ride was taken down, so we were one of the last tours to get to ride Snow White with the lights on - definitely a highlight, and I wonder which one they do now. I also wonder how much overlap there is between Marceline and KTTK that would make KTTK repetitive so soon after Marceline.
Money is an object, so no $200 tours on this trip, maybe next time if we get a lot of Disney points back on the Chase Visa by then.
Thoughts?
In favor of Epcot, supposedly that tour now includes a VIP Nemo section that I didn't see mentioned on this thread. Anyone know what that's about? We are Nemo fans. I would say Epcot is generally a favorite park, but more WS than FW, and for some reason neither of those two tours sound as good a fit for us as KTTK.
We did recently do the Marceline tour - which btw I thought was a great value for the price compared to KTTK, and it was just before the old Snow White ride was taken down, so we were one of the last tours to get to ride Snow White with the lights on - definitely a highlight, and I wonder which one they do now. I also wonder how much overlap there is between Marceline and KTTK that would make KTTK repetitive so soon after Marceline.
Money is an object, so no $200 tours on this trip, maybe next time if we get a lot of Disney points back on the Chase Visa by then.
Thoughts?
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I have no idea what KTTK was like in 2000-2001 but I can confirm that you do ride JC with commentary by the tour guide and you also ride HM bypassing the stretching chamber and boarding through the "chicken" exit. No commentary while you ride that one. You also go backstage behind SplM and Pirates and see where the parade floats are stored. Lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Finish with a tour of the Utilidors under Main Street.
When I did Undiscovered FW, we toured the HP VIP section of Mission:Space. No idea what "VIP Nemo Section" is. You do ride Soarin' (enter backstage between Canada/Imagination and Soarin), tour Coral Reef restaurant, go upstairs in Imagination (just the top of the stairs. I didn't walk around up there), walk behind TT to see maintenance building, and finish up in CM building. Exit "on stage" in China.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Thanks. Just curious, did you prefer one over the other? I think the lunch included with KTTK makes it a better value for roughly $10 more, and more "event-y" (it's our anniversary.)
From the WDW description:
- Visit the VIP lounge at The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
KTTK is a five hour tour where UFW is a four hour tour. You could argue it's lunch time by the time you exit UFW in China. Plenty of places to eat in WS. Regarding VIP lounge, I guess they switch things up on the Epcot tour from time to time. The VIP lounge in M:S could be closed for renovations or something. If KTTK sounds familiar to you and you haven't done UFW, then do that instead. I liked both equally. To me UFW is Epcot's version of KTTK anyway. I heard that they had a tour just of WS but that must have been short-lived. I'm going in November and don't see it listed. I would have wanted to do that.
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Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
The World Showcase one is here:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/world-showcase-destinations/
$109, with lunch.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
JohnD
Well-Known Member
The other day, I couldn't find it on the main Events and Tours page. It's there now: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Regarding, UFW, this was advertised: "Go behind-the-scenes at llumiNations: Reflections of Earth and learn a few of the secrets of the nighttime fireworks spectacular, from technical specifics to its symbolic relevance to Future World." But we didn't do it. Don't know if anyone else can chime in if they did this recently or not.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
So, to help me decide if the VIP Lounge at Nemo is anything to be excited about - can you tell me what the VIP lounge at Mission Space was like?
JohnD
Well-Known Member
So, to help me decide if the VIP Lounge at Nemo is anything to be excited about - can you tell me what the VIP lounge at Mission Space was like?
To be honest, it looked like an airport lounge. It has a bar/kitchenette. Tables and chairs. And a window that looks out on the queue. There are futuristic photos/paintings on the walls. It's neat and all but a lounge is a lounge.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Gotcha. So is that for WDW employees, or special guests or ? Were you able to hang there an order something LOL or just pass through?
JohnD
Well-Known Member
M:S is sponsored by HewlettPackard (HP), so for guests of HP, which I'm sure includes Disney brass.
blueboxdoctor
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link, such a good price, waking up that early may be difficult for me (can't stand mornings on a normal day, let alone vacation where I don't like to see the sunrise) but I think it would be worth it if they let you take pictures along the tour.
blueboxdoctor
Well-Known Member
This is what annoys me about EPCOT and I still see it happening today. These abandoned areas are just sad and what is there for Innoventions now is out dated and depressing. But it is cool that there are videos like this keeping track of these things.