Guardians of the Galaxy is taking over Mission Space. Guardians of the Galaxy is taking over the Energy pavilion. Tron Lightcycle Coaster is taking over Test Track. Tron Lightcycle Coaster is taking over the old Wonders of Life pavilion. [Insert Pixar property here] is taking over the Imagination pavilion.
After introducing Frozen to the Norway pavilion, it's a simple exercise for Disney fans to match the remaining World Showcase pavilions with recent Disney animation franchises set in those countries... or someplace that could pass for those countries.
Heck, for Disney fans, playing the Epcot rumor game is as much a pastime as playing Pokemon Go. Pick a rumor — or make one up! — then throw it up on Reddit for karma, your blog for pageviews, Facebook for likes, or Twitter for retweets. And if you're a real pro at the game, you probably do all those.
But what if you're not into playing games but just want to plan a family theme park vacation? What if you just want to know what's really going to happen with Epcot?
Here's the not-so-secret scoop: Something will happen, but probably not for a while. So it's not worth holding off on a Walt Disney World visit to wait for the next big change at Epcot. Besides, Disney World's got plenty of new stuff coming in the next few years at its other theme parks.
Which is why we believe that Epcot will have to wait its turn for any big new additions or changes. The park did get a couple of significant changes for this summer, after all. Soarin' got its third theater and a new show. And, as we mentioned, the Norway pavilion got that Frozen overhaul, with Maelstrom becoming Frozen Ever After, and the Royal Sommerhus meet-and-greet providing a new home for Anna and Elsa.
If you look at the current decade, the Magic Kingdom got its big project with New Fantasyland, which opened in phases between 2012 and 2014. Disney's Animal Kingdom is the midst of its big project, with its nighttime expansion starting next year and Pandora The World of Avatar opening in 2017. Disney's Hollywood Studios is next after that, with Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land under development, as well as new a new parking lot entry and exit.
So that leaves Epcot.
At this stage, it appears that Walt Disney Imagineering is spitballing ideas for how to refresh Epcot, with the expectation that major construction will begin at Epcot once Star Wars Land is nearing completion at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney would like to have a steady stream of major new projects at Walt Disney World to promote over the next decade, so that the resort isn't caught out with no new rides for years in a row, as it was in the years before the New Fantasyland project. A couple big Epcot projects would fit nicely on that schedule after the Disney's Hollywood Studios lands open.
That timeline gives Imagineering a year or two to firm up plans for what those projects will be. During that time, leaks from Imagineering HQ in Glendale, Calif. will keeping prompting "telephone" games that eventually make their way into Internet rumors. That said, though, Disney's been establishing some patterns with its recent theme park projects and until we see some evidence otherwise, we should expect those patterns to continue at Epcot.
Most importantly among those, Disney now seems focused on promoting and extending its film franchises when developing new theme park attractions in the United States. So it's hard to imagine Disney breaking that pattern by developing new non-fiction attractions not tied to an existing Disney franchise or developing anything based on original fictional IP. Bringing Frozen to Norway wasn't a one-off. It's the future of Epcot, barring the Disney board picking a successor to CEO Bob Iger who decides to switch course from Iger's franchise-focused strategy for the company.
(Fat chance of that happening.)
Also, Disney has shown that it is willing to invest the money to build new attractions from scratch, instead of relying solely on overlays and refurbishments of existing attractions. Frozen-style overlays are the solution when Disney feels like it needs to get something into the parks fast. But for big Epcot projects following the DHS lands, expect new construction — most likely following the demolition of some existing pavilion or pavilions.
That doesn't mean we might not see another franchise overlay before that, though. Think of the timeline again. Pandora's coming next year to Animal Kingdom. But if Toy Story Land isn't going to be ready for 2018, it's conceivable that Disney would decide to drop another Frozen-style overlay in Epcot to fill the gap between Pandora and Toy Story Land for its 2018 promotions. That decision would need to come by the end of the year, so WDI would need to be ready within the next couple of months to move a plan from the spitball stage to actual blueprints. But remember that those plans might never actually come to development, should Disney end up feeling comfortable that Toy Story Land will be ready by 2018.
Then we start the same process in anticipation of Star Wars Land being ready for 2019, or not. Again, if that construction is good to go, there's no need for an overlay. If not... well, maybe there would be.
Assuming all goes well for the two new lands at DHS and they meet their (as yet publicly unannounced) construction deadlines, we are looking at 2020 — at the earliest — for any major new construction projects at Epcot. And it's entirely possible that Disney will choose to give Star Wars Land a couple of years to carry the promotional burden for the resort before moving ahead with any major new capital project. That puts new Epcot projects off until 2021, or until the park's 40th anniversary in 2022.
So there's your context. If things are not moving as planned over at Hollywood Studios, Epcot might be getting a franchise-based overlay of an existing pavilion in 2018 or 2019. But if the DHS lands are opening in those years, some entirely new pavilion or pavilions likely will be replacing an existing Epcot pavilion or pavilions in 2020 or beyond.
And all of this is off the table, of course, if the economy tanks or international tourism to Central Florida continues to decline. But if tourists keeping coming down to Orlando, Disney fans should expect something new at Epcot within the next few years. We just don't know exactly what yet. And, we suspect, neither does Disney.
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I give Disney a lot of credit for all the construction projects, although Epcot is badly overdue. At least the new lands should take some pressure off the endlessly popular Magic Kingdom.
This explains Frozen Ever After, Avatar, Star Wars Land, etc. It's smart business, but the trade off is these parks loose their identities and original concepts in the process.
I don't think people are upset when a Disney IP ends up in world showcase. Having Ratatouille in France for instance makes sense, or having Mulan in China. What doesn't make sense, and causes complaints to be made, is having Arendale in Norway because it is pure fiction and has no connection to that country.
1) Add another theater to Soarin'. Allow guests to choose between "Soarin Around the World" and "Soarin' Over California"
2) Add another track for "Toy Story Midway Mania"
3) Replace "Imagination" with a trackless "Inside Out" ride.
All of these improvements could be made quickly on the cheap. Iger and Chapek should love that.
I get that Disney DESPERATELY needed to get a Frozen ride out quickly, and don't resent the Norway overlay too much. And new rides in World Showcase(which it really, really needs) based on country specific Disney IP is fine, as long as the food, exhibits, and architecture (and beers) strive to stay true to the local spirit of their countries.
A couple of well done new countries could go a long way to increase ticket sales, too.
But please go back to basics for Future World. Take your inspiration from the human spirit for innovation and exploration - Not Disney movie characters thrown in for toy sales on the way out of the ride. Living Seas barely gets a pass, because the aquarium is still fun to look at, and there's lots of educational exhibits to explore once you get done finding Nemo.
But if you are going to replace Ellen's Energy Adventure (please!), then make it something educational and fun. And if Rocket Raccoon has to replace Gary Sinise at Mission Space, that's fine too - but keep it focused on the human desire to reach for the stars. A bit of stunt casting is fine, but I don't need to go in Groot's salad spinner for the sake of going on it.
And the characters of Pixar taking you on a walk through your imagination is a great idea (bring Figment along too, please), as long as the focus of the ride is Imagination, not toys on the way out through the gift shop.
PLEASE return to the basic principles that made the park the third busiest in North America and my favorite. Not some flashy, quick, attention getting, lowest denominator settling, place to go on rides that make you giggle.
That said, I don't understand why everything in every park has to be based on franchises. (There are a few exceptions, but still) I AM NOT criticizing this and I understand it's Disney World but Epcot was always a nice escape from Movie Mania in the other parks. It actually fit in some education into our visit while still managing to be fun.
I wouldn't mind if Disney did SOME franchise-based attractions in the World Showcase, but only if they actually FIT with the country. Movies with an obvious setting in one of the pavilions (like Ratatouille and Mulan) would be cool but knowing Disney when they find a country nothing goes with they will improvise something into it.
To me Disney needs to stick with the theme in Future World as well. Guardians of the Galaxy replacing Mission:SPACE? MS, while still not right on the money, gave a more realistic and interesting approach than an alien ride.
I love how folks slam "who goes on Energy?" when in the middle of summer, spending 40 minutes sitting in a cool building is a great idea. I do agree long past time for an update to it, more on current energy stuff but kids love the dinos majorly so keep them.
Just remember how times have changed, something like Horizons or World of Motion may not go over as well with today's youth but I always loved EPCOT and would like a more "back to basics" approach then franchise links.
Anything both educational and fun is only suitable for an 8 year old. Sorry, what we loved from Epcot of the past was a great memory that doesn't exist anymore. Edutainment doesn't work in today's society.
Epcot is best turned into true theme park with immersive entertaining and thrilling attractions. Frozen Ever After looks great because it was fun, entertaining, had great special effects, and gives the public what it wants... Frozen, Anna, Elsa, and Olaf. What more needs to be said?
The future is more IP and character oriented attractions that doesn't even need to tell a story. People want to experience great moments that give them happiness.
"Height Test balloons were spotted this morning near Future World."
Glad to hear. Epcot is a long term project. They probably see the endpoint of Avatar and Star Wars design and the beginning of construction. Time to design the next big thing in Epcot.
I couldn't disagree more, Anon. Educational and entertaining is very difficult to attain, and always has been. Quick and easy thrills are faster, cheaper, and have a great return on investment - ask any steel coaster park.
But just because it's difficult, doesn't meant it isn't worth doing. In fact, I think we need to see an Epcot that attains the balance between intellectual awe and visceral thrills more than ever.
As for Mulan in China...well, it makes sense. But there is no existing attraction to clone. Not even in Shanghai or Hong Kong, so if they want to do something worthwhile, it'd have to be a major project from start to finish, and I'm not so sure they'd go that far, even though there's nothing to speak of in the China pavilion, and the restaurant's food isn't very...authentic. Maybe just a different region of China than I'm in.
Future World is where the real money needs to be spent. As much as we could wish for new stuff in World Showcase, I'm sorry, but it could go twenty more years with no new attractions and still succeed on the food and drink aspect. Future World however, needs new attractions, and I don't mean overlays. They need to implode what is not called Test Track and Soarin.
As for a previous comment about looking at a map of the WDW property and how much land they have, I do recall somewhere that they've promised to never develop some large percentage of the land, leaving it swampy wetlands and marshes, or whatever. Some kind of environmental agreement? However. They don't need a fifth gate. They just need to make better use of the 4 parks they already have.
The discrpancy in the number of attractions at say...Hollywood Studios compared to Magic Kingdom (or Universal Studios Kingdom, or that matter) is pretty obvious.
I'm glad they're working on fixing their parks. I just hope I haven't died of old age before they finally get around to actually doing something BIG at EPCOT.
I disagree. There needs to be balance in the whole park, which means an equal amount of E Ticket attractions in Future World and World Showcase. I do agree some pavilions need to be imploded. Down with Energy plus the building next door, Innoventions East and West, and Imagination. With Imagination gone, I heard a rumor a water log ride could be designed adjacent to Canada. Add a Mary Poppins ride in UK. Then the Ratatouille ride in France. This should be good enough for ten years and the good thing is they don't need to be updated for content.
The problen with Epcot in general is no traditional carnival style attractions. Demolishing Innoventions means they can put in a carousel, spinning airplane and car rides, and a decent family coaster around the sphere. Add an indoor play area with meet and greets.
"As for Mulan in China...well, it makes sense. But there is no existing attraction to clone."
Not true. Mystic Manor features the Monkey King in the finale. They can clone this ride with some additional exterior and interior changes to emphasize the Chinese aspects without being completely Chinese. Just enough Chinese for an American audience (who also likes their Chinese food American. You might not want real authentic Chinese food for that is nasty and unappetizing.)
However, I don't know why everyone wants Innoventions E/W to leave. We enjoyed these pavilions very much and saw many other people enjoying them as well. Yes, there are science and discovery museums, but those are called "science and discovery museums". A child is much more likely to take part in something like this at Disney World. Also many people don't have these museums at home.
These pavilions make for something to do when all the rides and shows get crowded in the afternoons. It has rest areas, is air-conditioned, and most of all is FUN.
Really? I find that surprising. With sky high prices, I've been assuming Disney was pricing everything for visitors that came from countries with a favorable exchange rate. I'd just assumed they were chasing those foreign visitor pounds/euros/shekels/yuan/etc.
"Add a Mary Poppins ride in UK. Then the Ratatouille ride in France."
I disagree completely. Yes, I'm all for adding new attractions. But original attractions. Nothing based on existing IP. Build something that we've never seen before. Something to which we don't already know the story. And for the love of [pick your deity], no Pixar in Epcot.
I love the idea of Ratatouille and Mulan. Mystic Manor would be great. I'd also love to see Dr. Who dark ride in the UK which can vary the villains each time you ride (who wouldn't want to buy an Adipose!), a Mount Fuji roller coaster, and a table service restaurant in the American pavilion with the best regional food this country has to offer. How about a dark ride in Italy themed like escaping from Pompeii? I'm OK with movie additions to countries if the movies were set in those countries and cover the culture. Add more countries - Greece, Russia, India. For future world, reinvent the original Imagination with Figment and Dreamfinder - same theme but update the ride track (like Mystic Manor). Energy needs a complete updating of the films and Ellen narrative but leave the Dinosaurs. Spaceship Earth could replace the "Earth in the sky" scene with changing Hubble pictures, add a new narrator, update the end scenes of the ride and you've refreshed it. Fix the aquarium to add more sea life including natural vegetation. Who wants to see all of the structure? Fix the end scenes of Living with the Land. BRING BACK THE MUSIC TO EACH AREA. Here's hoping!
-Pat
Let's start with the Imagination Pavilion. I would keep Figment but bring back the original version with Dreamfinder as alot of people love it. And also get rid of the Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival as it is not popular at all. I would love to see One Man's Dream from Hollywood Studios go into this space. I feel like it was Walt's imagination that created Disney as a brand and Epcot was his idea for Florida so it would be a celebration of his thoughts and ideas.
Next we move onto Mission SPACE. This one maybe trickier to get rid of as it still has lines on slow days but it's rather boring, takes too long and is too intense and the green side is not worth it. I would actually dismantle this building and Wonders of Life too and create a new Wonders of Life building that's much bigger.
Now for the new Wonders of Life a Inside Out themed dark ride would fit in rather nicely here as well as a meet and greet for Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong. Also bring back Body Wars.
Next door i would close Ellen's Energy Adventure and open a Zootopia themed simulator. Zootopia is all about the animals coming together and living in harmony. So it's theme may fit nicely into Epcot. I would make it a simulator ride similar to Star Tours where you chase criminals with Nick and Judt throughout Zootopia going to the different districts. And you also feel the effects in the pod too. Like when you go to Tundra Town the pod gets colder, in Sahara Square it gets warmer and so on. And also make a meet and greet area for Nick and Judy and a possible dark ride too.
I would make Innoventions East the new Festival Center.
If all these changes happen then Discovery Worlds Lineup would be
Spaceship Earth
Zootopia Simulator
Inside Out Dark Ride
Body Wars
Test Track
Seas with Nemo
Turtle Talk
Soarin
Living with the Land
Circle of Life
Original Figment
One Man's Dream
Now for World Showcase.
I would build at least one attraction per country.
In France i would build a ratatouille dark ride as it seems to be popular. In Japan i think a Mt.Fuji Roller coaster would be exciting and be themed to a Japan landmark. If they have a space i think a ferrari type speed coaster in Italy would be fun.
This is all i have for World Showcase for the time being
The World Showcase Lineup would be
Gran Fiesta Tour
Frozen Ever After
Reflections of China
Ferrari Coaster
American Adventure
Mt.Fuji Coaster
Rataouille
Impressions De France
O Canada
Illuminations
Let me know what you guys think. I believe with these new ideas that Epcot not only gets some new experiences but also some classic ones so dearly missed.
Imagination needs a new ride, not a warmed over revived ride from the past. Actually, it should just be gone for its quite insulting for guests to be told they don't have any imagination when the truth is the ride is short on imagination.
No more filmed rides. This includes simulators. They are old and tired. One Man's Dream should just be played on Disney's cable channel while staying on site.
Maybe you should propose fun rides instead of trying to revive the old Epcot.
And Anon Mouse i did propose some fun rides. You dont think a Ferrari Hypercoaster in Italy or an Inside Out dark ride would be fun? And how dare you say lets get rid of One Man's Dream. That's a celebration of the man who brought all of Disney World before us so it deserve a spot in the parks. And by proposing bringing back just 2 fan favorites i feel like Epcot would be moving forward while also preserving what made it unique in the first place. And Zootopia would not fit at Animal Kingdom as Zootopia is not even a real place but rather a futuristic society where animals live in harmony. I know in the Lion King they talk but thats actually set in Africa which is a real place. Epcot stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, So why cant Epcot be a place where they have a few Experimental Prototypes?
I don't much care for One Man's Dream. It's weird that you get all defensive about the film, which I've seen and largely don't want to see again. I think there's enough accolades and the film is a rather limited way to celebrate his accomplishments. Attraction space should be scarce, not revealed to be space fillers as so many attractions in Epcot actually is.
Zootopia should celebrate the characters, not represent the land of Zootopia, which isn't easily explained in an attraction. So that's why it should go in Animal Kingdom, which is a zoo although NATAZU (old marketing slogan).
Finally, Epcot needs a name change.
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