Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[SharkTums]

^^I have to be careful with a big Japan trip this year again to budget for as well!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Well, Japan will do you in, ea$y.

[BelizeIt]

Even if someone isn't a religious person, Disney certainly acknowledges that many who visit their parks are......So whether you believe or not, at least Disney supports everyone. Be it religious or not, gay or straight, etc... When you enter the Disney kingdom you get to ESCAPE into a magical world, free from politics, agendas, and the stress of most our lives....Thank God this Oasis from our reality exists. Walt created something wonderful for all of us to enjoy.

[Sluggo77]

Looks like another great Disney event. Thanks for sharing!

[robbalvey]

Looks like another great Disney event. Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome! We had a lot of fun and will be going back again on Monday!

[Nrthwnd]

omg Between this Festival, and the Food & Wine Fest a month or so earlier, the decision is

going to be tough to pick between the two, when we finally plan the future WDW trip.

 

But I'm still leaning towards the more "festive" Festival.... like now, lol.

 

The Halloween Events in Disney Parks, I have actually visited during a couple of the TPR

Tours, back in the past. Once for Tokyo, once for HKDL, and on my own in DLR back in 2016. I

think I am "Hallowe'en-ed" out, heh. Holiday Events/Decorations/FOOD/Drink would be a nice change.

[jedimaster1227]

August 13th, 2017 saw the closure of Epcot's Universe of Energy (alongside the closure of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios) along with the opening of the new Mission: Space. The park is currently undergoing a multi-year transformation that will update the park with significant new attractions featuring popular characters in family-friendly experiences.

 

The Universe of Energy opened with Epcot on October 1st, 1982 with the first-of-its kind traveling theater technology, one that was used only once more for The Great Movie Ride. The original version of the show (featuring a more educational approach) ran from 1982 until 1996 before Ellen's Energy Adventure took over the pavilion from 1996 to 2017.

 

Ellen's Energy Adventure was another one of those often under-appreciated attractions. Many considered it to be unpopular due to the fact that it rarely had a wait time but that was attributed to the ride's insanely high capacity. The ride has since closed to be replaced by a new Guardians of the Galaxy-themed coaster but I figured I'd compile a few photos I took from the ride's last day of operation (as well as including a look at the new version of Mission: Space's Green Mission that opened that same day).

The mirrored tile and solar panels of the Universe of Energy pavilion were always a notable statement for the building's design.

Time's almost up...

Vehicles moved in the rotating theaters in unison but dispatched in trains of two through the dinosaur portion of the ride.

These two along with many other dinosaur animatronics throughout the ride were originally designed for the Ford Magic Skyway attraction at the 1964 World's Fair. Those animatronics were later relocated to Disneyland as a part of the Primeval World portion of the Disneyland Railroad. These same dinosaurs were built again for the Universe of Energy and the Primeval World portion of the Western River Railroad in Tokyo Disneyland.

Jar Jar Binks?

Dive! Bill! Dive! Bill! Dive! BILL!

Einstein is nowhere, relatively speaking.

The answer for Final Jeopardy.

Just needed to figure out how to use this clicker-thingy.

Alex Trebek: "Once again, the answer is: This is the one source of power that will never run out. Time's up, players. Let's see how well you did. Judy, we'll start with you. You wrote down ... nothing."

Judy: "That's correct, Alex, because there is no answer."

 

Alex Trebek: "Well, actually, you're wrong. Let's take a look at your wager. Oh, that's too bad. You risked everything you had, and that means you lose $17,800, and you wind up with nothing. Let's go down to Ellen now, and see what she came up with as the response to our Final Jeopardy clue. Ellen?"

Ellen: "Uh, what is brain power, Alex?"

 

Alex Trebek: "You are correct, and your wager? You too risked everything, but you double your score to $35,600. That makes you, Ellen, our new Jeopardy! champion. Congratulations."

The pre-show carried the same multi-screen format as the ride films.

I was always a fan of the writing and wit of the show.

A dream sequence!

Definitely old school Jeopardy!

Alex Trebek, Stupid Judy, Albert Einstein and Stupid Ellen. (All character names from the ride's story.)

The piggy bank? No, the BIG BANG!

The reveal of the dinosaurs with the dramatic lighting against the mural walls of the pavilion's ride path were pretty excellent.

Sunrise came quickly in this scene...

Jeopardy! Announcer: "Be sure to join us tomorrow, as Jeopardy! dream sequence week continues."

Ellen: "So, that's how I became an energy expert. Again, expert may not be the exact right word. More expertish. Anyway, I've gotta go. LOOK OUT FOR THE DINOSAUR! Ha ha ha, kidding. I'm a kidder. Bye bye now."

One final look at the Universe of Energy building... It will look considerably different when the pavilion opens with the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction.

Over at Mission: Space the attraction reopened from a brief refurbishment with a new Green Mission film, a reanimated Orange Mission film and an entirely new set of pre-shows.

Here is the new logo for the Green Mission that includes an orbit of Earth.

Here is the Orange Mission logo, with this mission still sending guests to Mars.

The queue has been updated slightly with some new imagery...

As well as updated entrances for each of the missions.

A look at the Green Mission entrance.

There's a new Capcom which sadly means, no more Gary Sinese... Or rather, almost no more Gary Sinese.

There is still a reference to lunar orbital insertion.

The new Green Mission, less-intense ride experience has been designed to be more accessible to younger guests and new booster seats have been designed to allow the youngest guests reaching the new minimum height restriction to ride.

In a few moments of the pre-show experiences some of the original animation from the attraction can be seen (along with a watermark in the bottom right hand corner of the archived video that features the Horizons logo).

There's a new Flight Commander too.

As well as a new pre-boarding video for the Green Mission side, now instructing guests on how to use the new booster seats on the ride.

During your flight around Earth you see the Aurora Borealis.

And as you approach your return to Florida, you can see a hurricane in the gulf.

Still not as smooth a landing as intended...

But congratulations, you made it!

[Dombot]

Wow, four months later? How bad is your procrastination Adam?

 

Cool pics. I really liked UoE, sad to see it gone. Insanely hyped for the new coaster though.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Those Horizons Easter eggs in Mission: Space are pretty great, I like the new preshow videos much more than the original version.

[jedimaster1227]

^^You don’t realize how many photos I accumulate between trips that have to be pared down for these reports... 7000 from the Shanghai/Tokyo honeymoon, close to 700 between the dessert party and closing night of Great Movie Ride and another couple hundred from this day that I was at Epcot... Plus a ton of other little visits and trips that I haven’t posted yet (like my Disneyland photos from the D23 Expo trip). Needless to say it takes some time while still juggling all of my other obligations to get these together but I’m glad to see you are enjoying the end result!

[robbalvey]

Ellen's Energy Adventure was another one of those often under-appreciated attractions.

it was just bad. Much like when Busch Gardens Tampa closed Gwazi, the overall quality of attractions at Epcot actually INCREASED when Ellen's closed. Yes, it was that bad.

[robbalvey]

Wow, four months later? How bad is your procrastination Adam?

Please tell the audience when the last time YOU contributed a photo trip report to the forum was...

[Dombot]

Wow, four months later? How bad is your procrastination Adam?

Please tell the audience when the last time YOU contributed a photo trip report to the forum was...

...that's fair.

[prospekt88]

Is anything being done with the SBNO buildings around Future World (Wonders of Life, Honey I shrunk the Audience, Odyssey)? Was just wondering with them building over older attractions (Maelstrom, Universe of Energy), and them building new structures completely (Ratatouille, Space Station Restaurant), are there plans in place to do anything with these mostly unused spaces? I understand they use these spaces seasonally for a variety of different things, but nothing permanent coming that I've heard.

[Dombot]

Is anything being done with the SBNO buildings around Future World (Wonders of Life, Honey I shrunk the Audience, Odyssey)? Was just wondering with them building over older attractions (Maelstrom, Universe of Energy), and them building new structures completely (Ratatouille, Space Station Restaurant), are there plans in place to do anything with these mostly unused spaces? I understand they use these spaces seasonally for a variety of different things, but nothing permanent coming that I've heard.

I could see WoL being turned into the Space Station restaurant. I'm pretty sure the Magic Eye Theater is being used for the Pixar Short Film Festival, although someone told me that shut down...

[jedimaster1227]

Is anything being done with the SBNO buildings around Future World (Wonders of Life, Honey I shrunk the Audience, Odyssey)? Was just wondering with them building over older attractions (Maelstrom, Universe of Energy), and them building new structures completely (Ratatouille, Space Station Restaurant), are there plans in place to do anything with these mostly unused spaces? I understand they use these spaces seasonally for a variety of different things, but nothing permanent coming that I've heard.

 

There aren't really any buildings that are Standing But Not Operating in Future World year round at the moment... Wonders of Life and Odyssey are both used regularly during the park's festivals (Food and Wine, Flower and Garden, Festival of the Arts and Festival of the Holidays) and they are often used as private event spaces. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (the Magic Eye Theater) is now operating daily as the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival (after its extended run of Captain EO concluded a few years ago).

[CoasterInk]

When was the last time spaceship earth got an update? Seemed older and more out of taste than usual when I rode it recently.

[robbalvey]

When was the last time spaceship earth got an update? Seemed older and more out of taste than usual when I rode it recently.

What was in bad taste about it???

 

Personally I think Spaceship Earth looks the best it has ever with all the more recently added animatronics and the touch screen ending. Yes, it's been almost ten years, but I think it still holds up.

[CoasterInk]

The majority of the ride holds up... I love the ride as it is my 2nd favorite in Epcot, but the touch screen part of the ride seems incredibly out of date (Guess I'm just used to todays tech). Also, I've always hoped they would do something else with the lights at the end of the ride... they are cool don't get me wrong, but they could do something better with the space.

[robbalvey]

the touch screen part of the ride seems incredibly out of date

Really!?!? Those screens are still very high resolution even for being 9 years old and the animation is super cute and fun. I don't even see it being "incredibly" out of date at all. I mean, one of my MacBookPro's that I use every day is only 2 years younger than those screens, and I'm going to assume that Disney used the highest-end tech possible at that time considering they were going to be touched thousands of times per day, so really I don't think they are that out of date at all!

 

I honestly don't get where you're coming from on this one.

[Bubba]

the touch screen part of the ride seems incredibly out of date

Really!?!? Those screens are still very high resolution even for being 9 years old and the animation is super cute and fun. I don't even see it being "incredibly" out of date at all. I mean, one of my MacBookPro's that I use every day is only 2 years younger than those screens, and I'm going to assume that Disney used the highest-end tech possible at that time considering they were going to be touched thousands of times per day, so really I don't think they are that out of date at all!

 

I honestly don't get where you're coming from on this one.

I have to agree, although I barely had my first Epcot visit two years ago so I have nothing to compare it too. I love the huge globe in the lobby once you exit the ride as it shows where everyone is visiting from. My family thought it was pretty cool, and I made the most atrocious face ever for the video that had us laughing. The word dated didn't pop in my head at all. I could see people wanting them updated especially if you visit often, but I don't think they are dated.

[jedimaster1227]

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/d23j-update-guardians-of-the-galaxy-at-epcot/

 

Minutes ago at D23 Expo Japan, we shared a first look at Epcot’s highly-anticipated “Guardians of the Galaxy”-themed attraction – and yes, it’s a roller coaster!

 

With the “Guardians of the Galaxy”-inspired coaster, we’re going big. This one-of-a-kind family attraction will be one of the world’s longest enclosed roller coasters when it’s added to Future World at Epcot. It’ll feature a unique story currently being created by Walt Disney Imagineering and include a new innovative ride system that’s guaranteed to “wow” guests.

 

The “Guardians of the Galaxy”-inspired coaster is part of our ongoing work to transform Epcot into a place that’s more family, more relevant, more timeless and more Disney. “As we build upon its core mission of optimism and hope to inspire the world, the real will become fantastic and the fantastic will become real—in whole new ways at Epcot,” Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, said.

 

The attraction will open in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort in 2021. Keep checking the Disney Parks Blog for future updates.

[coasterbill]

the touch screen part of the ride seems incredibly out of date

Really!?!? Those screens are still very high resolution even for being 9 years old and the animation is super cute and fun. I don't even see it being "incredibly" out of date at all. I mean, one of my MacBookPro's that I use every day is only 2 years younger than those screens, and I'm going to assume that Disney used the highest-end tech possible at that time considering they were going to be touched thousands of times per day, so really I don't think they are that out of date at all!

 

I honestly don't get where you're coming from on this one.

 

Obviously I have a full trip report coming eventually where I'll probably go into a little more detail but I will say that we rode Spaceship Earth expecting it to be totally dated and corny since I hadn't been on the thing in decades and I knew it was very old but I was pleasantly surprised. I think the ride is holding up fine. We really enjoyed it.

 

What did they have on the final descent of the ride before they had these touch screens? It's been so long since my last ride on it (prior to our ride in January), that I don't even remember.

[cfc]

the touch screen part of the ride seems incredibly out of date

Really!?!? Those screens are still very high resolution even for being 9 years old and the animation is super cute and fun. I don't even see it being "incredibly" out of date at all. I mean, one of my MacBookPro's that I use every day is only 2 years younger than those screens, and I'm going to assume that Disney used the highest-end tech possible at that time considering they were going to be touched thousands of times per day, so really I don't think they are that out of date at all!

 

I honestly don't get where you're coming from on this one.

 

I always thought they were going for a "retro" Tomorrowland look with that animation, which doesn't go out of style. I like it.

Edited February 12, 2018 by cfc

[jedimaster1227]

^There were previously some small additional show scenes with static sets that you'd pass by. Honestly not a huge loss compared to what was there before.