Rumor Wonders of Life getting an attraction soon?

[Kman101]

Currently it’s between a full pavilion overhaul (like 1994 and 2005) or just the ride and the theatre. Up to now I’ve not heard of IP for the ride (!)

At this time a new Harvest Theatre film is proposed for around when Rat opens. Boat ride has now moved to TBA.

That's good! Glad to know bugs aren't invading. But it'd be an easy overlay should they so choose. I was expecting Flick's Living with the Land if they want to be really cheap they could move tough to be a bug there and instead develop a new theater show for Tree of Life. The theater needs an overhaul anyway ... but good to know it could be IP free. Seems a bit surprising!

 

[WowFactor]

Wonders won’t be full of queue space. Well, not the majority of it.
The Energy building use is beyond sad. So short sighted and poorly planned. If there’s one saving grace is that it’s not being pulled down.

Just to clarify, several times I like your posts because of the information, not the content of it
Thanks for your awesome video. It's funny to see how subtle it was to use the "exit thru gift store" concept back that days.

 

[Kman101]

Let me also add that currently this pavilion won’t see any significant internal changes of use until around when the new ride next door opens.

Makes sense. We know they need to work their tails off adding things but they can't do everything at once. I imagine it's plans are in the process of being worked on and going through the usual back and forth?

So we shouldn't be looking for any announcement next year They have enough on their plate I suppose. But as long as they follow through with said plans I'm OK with them waiting (depending on said plan, of course). I just dread the "waiting" thing. We know they have a problem sticking with investing in WDW.

I know you can't say but my thoughts were either Inside Out or moving Figment there and replacing Figment with Inside Out. But it seems unnecessary to go through all that work. Just put in an Inside Out ride, update Figment, and boom, done. Is there any IP on their radar that maybe we haven't thought of? They don't seem to be in any big rush to use WALL-E or Big Hero 6, things that could actually fit (with their IP mandate, I mean).

 

[SosoDude]

Also is it just me or does the Animatronic Army led by Captain Cortex from Brain Command (Now known as Cranium Command) remind me of The Gremlins from the 1943 children's book written and published by Roald Dahl made during World War 2? I remember The Gremlins were planned on getting their own film by Disney but got scrapped. I feel like these characters from Brain Command might had been inspired by The Gremlins.

The gremlins were featured in the video game Epic Mickey.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Imagine a completely refurbished Energy attraction. Even using Guardians if they had to. State of the projection and audio. 3D movies, 3D cyc dioramas with projection effects. Dimensional projections of prehistoric creatures flying through the cyc painting skies, using the 3D glasses in the dimensional diorama. Wrap around, seamless 3D theatres. Restored animatronics. New visual effects. New, state of the art travelling theatres.

But what do I know (my dreaming, nothing official!)

Why didn’t they go this route? Was it because they didnt want guest on an attraction for 45 minutes and not spending money? Or guest don’t have the attention span to stay on a ride for that long?

 

[marni1971]

Why didn’t they go this route? Was it because they didnt want guest on an attraction for 45 minutes and not spending money? Or guest don’t have the attention span to stay on a ride for that long?

Because they didn’t ask me?

Seriously, I believe they wanted something new, hip, marketable and cheap to maintain. Like GMR, they had to spend money. So they took this route.

Just maybe they didn’t plan on so much money.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Yep. Although The Land is a mess because of the food court and Soarin, IMO. Something's gotta give there. It's not a pleasant pavilion anymore.

What movie is going into the theatre??

 

[Kman101]

Because they didn’t ask me?

Seriously, I believe they wanted something new, hip, marketable and cheap to maintain. Like GMR, they had to spend money. So they took this route.

Just maybe they didn’t plan on so much money.

But will they learn their lesson that this isn't always the way to go?

 

[Kman101]

What movie is going into the theatre??

We don't know. @marni1971 suggested a new film is planned for (possibly? maybe?) around when Rat opens (not sure if he meant to open by or be announced). I guess if it goes according to plan, and we know how those go.

I'm assuming you mean Harvest Theater, right? The one that's now sitting empty.

 

[marni1971]

What movie is going into the theatre??

We don't know. @marni1971 suggested a new film is planned for (possibly? maybe?) around when Rat opens (not sure if he meant to open by or be announced). I guess if it goes according to plan, and we know how those go.

I'm assuming you mean Harvest Theater, right? The one that's now sitting empty.

Right now, the proposal is something earthy and environmental. Possibly with some IP. Think Circle of Life for modern audiences.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

We don't know. @marni1971 suggested a new film is planned for (possibly? maybe?) around when Rat opens (not sure if he meant to open by or be announced). I guess if it goes according to plan, and we know how those go.

I'm assuming you mean Harvest Theater, right? The one that's now sitting empty.

Yes, I just saw those comments. Epcot really has the most potential out of the parks to make the biggest impact. The infrastructure is there and the building are waiting to get refreshed.
The theatre better keep the carpet walls!!

 

[Kman101]

Right now, the proposal is something earthy and environmental. Possibly with some IP. Think Circle of Life for modern audiences.

I'm at least glad they're thinking something that fits (albeit with a loose IP tie-in of course). It really seems like they're stuck in the middle of wanting to do things "right" but being demanded to include IP in order to actually get anything done.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Right now, the proposal is something earthy and environmental. Possibly with some IP. Think Circle of Life for modern audiences.

seems like that would fit better at AK

 

[Kman101]

seems like that would fit better at AK

That was my thought too. Move the bug movie to The Land and put a new show in the Tree of Life. But I guess they have different plans.

 

[Bender123]

I'm at least glad they're thinking something that fits (albeit with a loose IP tie-in of course). It really seems like they're stuck in the middle of wanting to do things "right" but being demanded to include IP in order to actually get anything done.

No reason both IP and quality ride cant coexist, just the issue seems to be where they are putting the rides. Take Frozen and drop it in Fantasyland and we are all raving that its a classic. Rat is one of those rides where the IP fits perfectly with the surrounding theme. Nemo fits the theme, but its just a bad integration of the IP into a perfect situation. Then there are rides like JII that just fail as rides, themes and everything else, even without a movie IP.

 

[Kman101]

No reason both IP and quality ride cant coexist, just the issue seems to be where they are putting the rides. Take Frozen and drop it in Fantasyland and we are all raving that its a classic. Rat is one of those rides where the IP fits perfectly with the surrounding theme. Nemo fits the theme, but its just a bad integration of the IP into a perfect situation. Then there are rides like JII that just fail as rides, themes and everything else, even without a movie IP.

I've been saying the same thing as you, no reason both can't exist. The problem is the location in a lot of instances, but also the execution. As you said, Nemo fits the theme but it's a bad integration of the IP (I think poor use and the idea of an "IP mandate" is why some resent IP so much, not that quality can't exist, we just don't often get it). Same as UP into Flights of Wonder. It works and fits, but they just wanted to shoehorn the characters in place. It felt like they had a totally IP free show in mind and then made it Disney Junior with birds. But it's not the worst in the world, they just could have done a lot better.

I mean, Inside Out and Incredibles get re-themed attractions on a pier. It's sad.

You've been saying what I've been trying to say for the longest. IP doesn't "have to be" the end of the world, but the main problem is execution. It's often lazy and shoehorned when it doesn't have to be.

I'm all for Rat in France. I know some aren't but I thought it was the perfect fit. I'm also all for Mary and Coco. We all want non IP rides as the first choice, but it doesn't have to be 'sky is falling'. The problem remains in the execution. As you said, if Frozen were in Fantasyland it wouldn't get nearly as knocked.

EDIT: It's why I've been pushing Big Hero 6, Inside Out, WALL-E, as IP's that could easily work in Future World, paying homage to the past while offering a new experience tied to an IP (I've even come around to using bugs in The Land). We'll see how they handle Guardians. Maybe they've learned their lesson? But they still try to be lazy so I can't trust them 100%, lol.

 

[Mat Cauthon]

Why didn’t they go this route? Was it because they didnt want guest on an attraction for 45 minutes and not spending money? Or guest don’t have the attention span to stay on a ride for that long?

Oh man!!! I read the bold section above as "Was it because they didn't want guest on guest attraction for 45 minutes" and about spit water on my screen! I thought wow, there must be some crazy insider stories about UOE. Time to put my reading glasses back on to clarify things I see a bit more.

 

[Robbiem]

I've been saying the same thing as you, no reason both can't exist. The problem is the location in a lot of instances, but also the execution. As you said, Nemo fits the theme but it's a bad integration of the IP (I think poor use and the idea of an "IP mandate" is why some resent IP so much, not that quality can't exist, we just don't often get it). Same as UP into Flights of Wonder. It works and fits, but they just wanted to shoehorn the characters in place. It felt like they had a totally IP free show in mind and then made it Disney Junior with birds. But it's not the worst in the world, they just could have done a lot better.

I mean, Inside Out and Incredibles get re-themed attractions on a pier. It's sad.

You've been saying what I've been trying to say for the longest. IP doesn't "have to be" the end of the world, but the main problem is execution. It's often lazy and shoehorned when it doesn't have to be.

I'm all for Rat in France. I know some aren't but I thought it was the perfect fit. I'm also all for Mary and Coco. We all want non IP rides as the first choice, but it doesn't have to be 'sky is falling'. The problem remains in the execution. As you said, if Frozen were in Fantasyland it wouldn't get nearly as knocked.

EDIT: It's why I've been pushing Big Hero 6, Inside Out, WALL-E, as IP's that could easily work in Future World, paying homage to the past while offering a new experience tied to an IP (I've even come around to using bugs in The Land). We'll see how they handle Guardians. Maybe they've learned their lesson? But they still try to be lazy so I can't trust them 100%, lol.

I agree and don’t forget IPs like Ludwig von Drake, Bunsen and Beaker even Yoda. If they were used in the right way they could add to Epcot rather than dilute it

 

[ShoalFox]

Seeing clean footage of the pavilion still feels like it's still open despite knowing it's closed.

I feel this way every time I watch videos about Wonders of Life. It seems like it's still there, and then I have to remind myself it's been gone for 11 years...

 

[Haymarket2008]

Right now, the proposal is something earthy and environmental. Possibly with some IP. Think Circle of Life for modern audiences.

That sounds Epcot-y to me! And a possible, not definite IP inclusion? I’ll take it.