Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[gerstlaueringvar]

Those who love Epcot classics need to know that they will never ever come back. But good thing is, GotG can have a crap ton of cameos that nod to Horizons, Universe of Energy, Wonders of Life, etc while the GotG IP impresses new generation guests and sells merch to make use of the space much better than the outdated current ride. I'm just thinking like this because a rumor is saying it will have a background of or be themed to Peter visiting EPCOT as a kid.

Edited July 16, 2017 by gerstlaueringvar

[robbalvey]

I think the makeover of Future World will help bring events like Food & Wine and Flower & Garden into those areas, and since those events now are in the park nearly half of the year and getting more and more crowded every year, I think that would be a great way to expand them.

[bert425]

the promo art for Future World is gorgeous.

 

I'm wary about going back to Magic Kingdom complex in Orlando since all the high-tech upgrades (we're not techies at all. . and last time we were there it was still paper fast passes. . . pre magic bands).

 

but yeah, we're absolutely going to be going back by 2020 to check out all the changes.

 

2020 is my target plan now

[robbalvey]

I'm wary about going back to Magic Kingdom complex in Orlando since all the high-tech upgrades (we're not techies at all. . and last time we were there it was still paper fast passes. . . pre magic bands).

It's easy. Everything is done on your smartphone and the options just keep getting better and easier to manage!

[Philrad71]

I think the makeover of Future World will help bring events like Food & Wine and Flower & Garden into those areas, and since those events now are in the park nearly half of the year and getting more and more crowded every year, I think that would be a great way to expand them.

 

The future additions look great!

 

I would fully approve of Food & Wine and Flower & Garden expanding into those areas - that would be awesome!

[Nrthwnd]

the promo art for Future World is gorgeous.

 

I'm wary about going back to Magic Kingdom complex in Orlando since all the high-tech upgrades (we're not techies at all. . and last time we were there it was still paper fast passes. . . pre magic bands).

 

but yeah, we're absolutely going to be going back by 2020 to check out all the changes.

 

2020 is my target plan now

 

Judging by all the planning and building going on, AND that it'll be WDW's 50th Anniversary in 2021...why not plan for 2022?

We are! And 2022 will be our 50th Anny, so that's our possible plan for now, for that year. And during EPCOT's

F&W Fest, too. But... we're also considering Paris and Amsterdam for 2022, as that's where we went for our 30th Anny.

And then we'd do WDW in 2023, which isn't too bad in planning ahead.

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by Nrthwnd

[CanobieFan]

The new Future World looks great and is much needed.

 

However, I have a quick question, as I can't seem to find the answer anywhere...

 

What's going on with Imagination and when are they closing Universe of Energy?

[Simipour'sTrainer]

Please tell me I wasn't the only one who hopped out of his seat when they announced that Ratatoutille was coming to the France pavilion in Epcot!

 

Also I get there are mixed reactions to Guardians being in Future World, but honestly anything that isn't the Ellen's Energy Adventure ride is great in my book!

[Nrthwnd]

^ It's a great ride over in Paris. And I wish people would stop judging it, compared to Mystic Manor in HKDL, Pooh in TDL, etc. Every trackless ride that Disney creates is ultimately different (to a point) than the others. Ratatouille happens to involve screens and set pieces. And it's a great ride, IMhO. Good for EPCOT to get a version of it, for France.

[KBrylczyk]

^ While you're not wrong, it's still sad to see what Disney is capable of with the tech and then not use it to the fullest extent. Personally I've never been on Ratty in Paris (mostly because I have no want to ever return to that hell) and I feel like anything in the World Showcase is an improvement. They could install a Wacky Worm and I'd be happy. I love Epcot but the Showcase for YEARS had next to no pull for children outside of their parents dragging them along. With Frozen and now this things will finally change.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Totally agree with the "they could do more" for a ride like this. But, with all the $$$$$ being poured into all these upgrades, rebuilds, new stuff, etc., I figured they might add a copy of something that's in another Disney park, to save a bit of $. In this case, it's Ratatouille.*

 

 

*And you'll get to ride it, without having to go to your "Hell" of DLP, heh.

 

EDIT to add: Actually, I am hoping that they maybe throw in some kind of "surprise scene" in Ratatouille, that isn't in the Paris version. Who knows?

[Bubba]

^ It's a great ride over in Paris. And I wish people would stop judging it, compared to Mystic Manor in HKDL, Pooh in TDL, etc. Every trackless ride that Disney creates is ultimately different (to a point) than the others. Ratatouille happens to involve screens and set pieces. And it's a great ride, IMhO. Good for EPCOT to get a version of it, for France.

Considering the rumor of the Battle Escape Attraction & the Mickey ride are both using simlar trackless technology, I think Ratatouille will be great coming as it is. I'm sure the other two rides will be using more physical sets, so having a screen-based variation of the trackless ride will add variety. I don't think World Showcase needs a Mystic Manor or Pooh right now, just some nice rides to fill in the the long void of attractions in WS. Future World has the attractions but they are stale, I'd rather the budget be mostly used in this area to "wow" up this area. Budget exists, and this ride will perfectly complement the area without putting a dent in the budget. I'm sure the Mickey ride & Battle Escape Attraction will be more appropriate to spend Mystic Manor money, as expectations will be more grand with both rides being the headliners of their own lands.

 

If they are to be using IPs for the Future World redo, which I'm sure they are, I think it has great potential. A very basic retheme of the Seas building to the Marine Institue from Finding Dory and adding a gorgeous Stark Expo pavilion while just reusing the Star Tours vehicles once the land opens, would be wonderful, budget-concious & relevant additions I'd welcome. I think stark would look great where Wonders is, as with the new Guardians ride it will the unofficial Marvel corner of the park. I'm just excited Epcot is getting some love period!

[Canobie Coaster]

I'm interested to find out more details what type of ride Guardians will be, but I'm definitely in favor of that replacing Ellen's Energy Adventure. I tried it for the first time a few years back and while it was ok, I wouldn't rush back to do it again because of the amount of time it takes up and how there are better rides.

[Nrthwnd]

...Considering the rumor of the Battle Escape Attraction & the Mickey ride are both using similar trackless technology...

 

Just to comment on this. I didn't realize that the M&M's Runaway Railway could be trackless. I was under the impression, by the description of the attraction, that you "walk into the screen," and "board Goofy's train"...that it's some kind of indoor coaster attraction.

 

Just me, trying to figure it all out,

 

EDIT: I just found the Caption under the art concept...

 

Guests will step into the screen of a Mickey Mouse short and get on the train piloted by Goofy in this attraction...

 

"The train" could be individual ride vehicles, I suppose. But this attraction is surely to be a mass mover of some kind, yes? No?

Like the "audience cars" were in the The Great Movie Ride? And note, the Marquee for this attraction will become the new "Sorcerer's

Apprentice Hat" Icon at the end of that Main Street.

[robbalvey]

^ It's a great ride over in Paris. And I wish people would stop judging it, compared to Mystic Manor in HKDL, Pooh in TDL, etc. Every trackless ride that Disney creates is ultimately different (to a point) than the others. Ratatouille happens to involve screens and set pieces. And it's a great ride, IMhO. Good for EPCOT to get a version of it, for France.

Yeah, I have to be honest, I thought it was a "good" ride, but not "great." I'd give it a solid B. The thing is, once you've been on Mystic Manor, Pooh, or even Aquatopia it's hard not to compare it, because you see other (read: better) examples of what that ride technology can do. And while I appreciate what the ride is, and I enjoyed it ever time I rode it, there is part of me that can't help but to think the same thing as I do when I ride the SeaWorld Antartica ride "Wait, you mean to tell me you spent all this money on a super expensive ride system only to put me in front of a giant movie screen???" To be honest, I shouldn't compare that ride to Antarctica because the Ratatouille ride is at least GOOD where the SeaWorld ride is not!

 

Here's a complete POV of the Paris ride:

 

It's pretty much exactly as it shows in the video. Not a bad ride by any means, but not Disney's crowning achievement either.

[Nrthwnd]

^ How about, it's a great ride, but not the greatest trackless rides of Disney's?

 

(When I rode Ratatouille back in late 2015, I did do the Single Riders Queue, five times in a row!)

[BlahBlahson]

I hope they add some special touches to the Orlando version of Ratatouille. Pooh is 17 years old now, they should be able to build something on par with it at this point.

 

But who really cares with Tron, Guardians, Battle Escape, Mickey Railway, Millennium Falcon, New Broadway style MK show, Gondolas all on the way. This announcement was BONKERS. And Nintendo Land will be opening at the same time, and hopefully Skyplex. And Great Wolf Lodge. And probably 3 other things. Orlando is on fire.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I'm still going crazy in my head for what YEAR to really come to WDW and experience it all,

the best ways possible. And include Universal, and Orlando/Florida in general....

 

You are very lucky indeed, to be so close to it all.

[robbalvey]

But who really cares with Tron, Guardians, Battle Escape, Mickey Railway, Millennium Falcon, New Broadway style MK show, Gondolas all on the way. This announcement was BONKERS. And Nintendo Land will be opening at the same time, and hopefully Skyplex. And Great Wolf Lodge. And probably 3 other things. Orlando is on fire.

This is actually my thought exactly. What's sort of interesting is that had Ratatouille opened like NOW (or maybe even before Flight of Passage to be honest) people would be like OMG THAT RIDE IS AWESOME! GO WDW!!! But after Pandora and all those other attractions it's still going to be GOOD but it will most certainly not be the cream of the crop anymore.

 

I'm not disappointed by it's arrival, not by any means. And it will most certainly complement and INSANE amount of stuff happening at Walt Disney World let alone all of Orlando. (And have we heard any more possible rumors on the RMC Gwazi lately???)

[DirkFunk]

Unless I'm confused here and missed something, Ratatouille is replacing nothing. This shouldn't even be a "no harm, no foul" thing. It's a fresh ride. Don't people want rides? Isn't that the point of going?

 

As for EPCOT:

 

Walt Wanted to build a city/industrial park/business incubator using other people's money, kicking out anyone who wasn't working, and controlling the minutiae of people's lives. Then he died almost 51 years ago. Fifty. One. Years. Ago. There is no EPCOT as he envisioned it and never will be. There are plenty of things like what he envisioned in part, but practically none in full because there is no actual commercial demand for it. What there was demand for was a theme park.

 

E. Cardon Walker thought it would be a good idea to take the business model of Tomorrowland, Walt's "Permanent World's Fair," and expand it into an entire park. Why? Because corporations and countries could be convinced to spend really large sums of money to help him build it and save bucks on Disney's end. Now 35 years or so later, the world is different and the ROI for that kind of advertising is gone. No one wants to display their new tech at Disney first instead of CES or whatever. Why should Disney be building rides that question the existence of Global Warming on behalf of Petroleum companies? How is it Walt's Dream to take money from General Motors so they can construct a cartoon world in which mass transit is uniquely awful and the automobile is the only thing synonymous with freedom? It's nonsense and the Disboyz (and galz and other non-binary genderz) twist themselves into pretzels so that they can tell you that new rides and a new focus are terrible and that crass commercialism this time is actually wonderful, but terrible when its Starbucks. These people are the goddamned worst. The worst. It's philosophical masturbation intended to communicate to you that they are smarter than you because they aren't having fun on rides at an amusement park.

[Morgan]

Ratatouille is definitely a good ride, and will be a great compliment to the World Showcase. I've not done Mystic Manor or Pooh so I can't really make the comparisons between them, but if you take the ride on its own merit, it is a fun and impressive ride. Yes it's not particularly ground-breaking, but there are some clever features that do make it that bit special. Another point that while it does rely on screens for portions of the ride, I think at least these fit in fairly well and include sections that would be extremely difficult to replicate within physical sets, also the large scale of the screens help keep the illusion that you have been shrunk down to the size of a rat.

 

Regardless, I'm more excited for Guardians as it is an original ride, so I'm sure it's going to be an impressive concept whatever it turns out to be, but unfortunately I think I'm going to miss it on our next planned trip in 2020 along with most of the other announced additions.

[Garet]

Don't get me wrong I'm excited for this, but as I said in my earlier post, a few friends of mine came away from it in Paris thinking it was good but weren't really overly bothered about going to line up for it again, I think they talked more about the actual restaurant than the ride.

 

I've never been to Epcot so not sure on space compared to Tokyo's expansion for Fantasyland, and I know all rumours pointed to it being Ratatouille, but I was kind of still holding out hope it would be a copy of TDL's Beauty and the Beast. Maybe I'm silly for hoping on a copy of a ride that hasn't even opened yet but most things that come out of TDL are always amazing. Is Ratatouille still a huge name in the U.S.? Beauty and the Beast has always been big here but I barely ever here Ratatouille mentioned.

[johnychen]

Just had a crazy thought for a great video idea. Perhaps Robb can do another video like when Maelstrom closed for the Great Movie Ride and Ellen's Energy. Instead of Anna and Elsa it would be Mickey and Minnie and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

[KBrylczyk]

Just had a crazy thought for a great video idea. Perhaps Robb can do another video like when Maelstrom closed for the Great Movie Ride and Ellen's Energy. Instead of Anna and Elsa it would be Mickey and Minnie and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

While it'd be hilarious, you can easily get away with that on Maelstrom because nobody rode it and it was easy to get a boat to yourself. Universe Of Energy fits like 50,000 people into one tram.

[SharkTums]

^&^^

 

Exactly. We actually talked about that, but we don't want to be one of those people/sites that ruins the ride for everyone else talking and playing during the filming. Now granted, I think we'd be making the ride much better for those people, it's still not right!