Mission: Space - New Horizons?
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What else is required? As I mentioned earlier, the buzz on the web has spoken extensively about the almost mythical Project Gemini as a $600 million fix for an ailing EPCOT. This description is way off the mark. Gemini was instigated as a “blue sky�? exercise for unassigned imagineers. They were asked how they would improve EPCOT’s attraction roster. Most concepts were simply fantastical, but others had merit.
However, Gemini has simply succeeding in exasperating the problems, as by concentrating on Future World, they have ignored the World Showcase, which is no longer a major draw for most guests. The world is geographically smaller today than the late seventies when EPCOT was designed. Now, EPCOT guests can experience countries like France, Germany and Japan for themselves; travelling is no longer a luxury of the rich alone. The crux of the problem is that no significant development has occurred since the inauguration of Norway in June 1988. There is nothing new on the horizon. The majority of pavilions are filled with stores and restaurants, serving goods and cuisine that can be bought in most major cities that guests call home.
World Showcase needs a new draw. The opportunities are boundless from either a new pavilion dedicated to a new country or continent to an E-ticket for an existing representative. Projects that never saw the light of day, such as the Mount Fuji coaster would be perfect to pull guests around the World Showcase. In addition, EPCOT should be the focus for Annual Passholders with its vast array of fine dining options and special events. The Flower & Garden and Food & Wine Festivals held annually in the spring and fall respectively should just be the tip of the iceberg. Celebrate major holidays and events for each country with the relevant pavilion decorated appropriately with live music, special foods and other forms of entertainment. Public Holidays such as Canada Day and Bastille Day should be reason enough to bring locals into the park to taste different foods and experience another culture without even needing to leave Central Florida.
In addition, EPCOT requires a new parade urgently. Waiting is not an option. A popular parade can have guests lining the streets for hours in preparation. It is also encourages park hopping, boosting attendance in the latter parts of the day. By keeping the parade to the confines of the World Showcase and held late in the day (say, 6pm), guests will be locked in for the entire day and it is probable that they would then visit the nearest country. Afterwards, guests are more likely to visit the pavilions, eat, drink and shop. It would also have a knock-on effect to IllumiNations. An existing parade such as the wonderful (and sadly defunct) Disney’s ImagiNations parade from Paris would be a perfect instant addition, with giant floats, visible around the lagoon, filled with Disney characters. This is where characters belong. This is more likely to capture the imagination of families than the butchered Tapestry of Dreams, that was patchy in performance and lacked any emotion or excitement for kids. It was a poor, diced version of the far superior Tapestry of Nations offering for the Millennium.
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Pessimism aside, there is hope for EPCOT. As with all ailments, recognising that there is a problem was the first step for Brad Rex’s team at the park. The second step for EPCOT was Mission:Space, an original WDI attraction that is unlike any other experience that guests will have encountered. The third step is continuing the development with other appropriate projects. However, the current desire to clone attractions across all four resorts must be stifled immediately. Soarin’ is a phenomenal show, wholly appropriate for Disney’s California Adventure and a vast contrast for EPCOT. The technology already exists and if WDI believe that a Florida version is necessary, then at least create a new visual display for this park. The same is true for StormRider, which has been proposed for a new weather pavilion. This Tokyo DisneySea attraction is well executed, but would be just another simulator ride for a park that already has one that is no longer popular in the form of Body Wars. WDI resources and WDW expenditure would be more efficiently utilised by improving the existing facilities. Introduce new mini-adventures to Innoventions (like more CAVE demonstrations and even that wonderful Meeko audio-animatronic that was temporarily introduced at DCA) that will bring guests into these vast spaces. Re-jig the Living Seas, by introducing Nemo and his friends on an extended Seacab ride to the “ocean floor�?. Reinvigorate the Wonders of Life with new shows and an updated ride, as Body Wars is not (and quite frankly never was) cutting-edge technology. Audio-animatronic rides are no longer popular with the average guest, but the technology can still serve as an educational tool for new developments when coupled with new innovations. Quite simply, the possibilities are endless.
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My passion for EPCOT remains unwaivered. I just hope that at least one imagineer and one park executive share my passion for a park that has not even scratched the surface of its full potential. My EPCOT may not be Walt’s vision of a city of tomorrow, but I am sure he would have been pleasantly surprised by the wonderful showcase for culture and technology that Card Walker oversaw and subsequently opened in October 1982.
Anyone want to guess which park I will visit first on my next trip to WDW in October?
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-- Posted August 15, 2003
-- Story by Lee MacDonald
-- Pictures by Lindsay Cave