A press release on an exciting new weather safety exhibit coming this summer to Epcot’s Innoventions can be seen at this link. This is yet another part of the complete overhaul of Innoventions exhibits that we mentioned a few months ago here on WDW News Today. We will have more information on this upcoming exhibit as it becomes available.
According to some of our sources here at WDW News Today, the permit filed for “Imagination Demolition” is only part of the routine refurbishment now going on inside Epcot’s Imagination pavilion. However, we are still hearing that some of the folks from Walt Disney Imagineering are using this opportunity to survey and plan future attraction development inside the building. While a new attraction may or may not be on the near horizon, there will certainly be something new to see in the Imagination pavilion within the next 3-4 years. Stay tuned to WDW News Today and the WDW News Today podcast this week as more information becomes available.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Jan. 28 PRNewswire- Spaceship Earth, the iconic centerpiece of Epcot, relaunches in February with changes and refinements installed during more than seven months of construction and detailing. Presented by Siemens, the relaunched Spaceship Earth looks on the outside like it did when Epcot opened a quarter century ago. But on the inside, Spaceship Earth has undergone changes since summer 2007 that will treat guests to an innovative “interactive” attraction with many new scenes, new costumes and set decorations, new lighting and special effects, a new musical score and narration, and a totally re-themed interactive post-show.
On a trip through time inside the Spaceship Earth attraction, guests discover how each generation of mankind has invented the future for the next generation, and how the spirit of innovation has moved people from caves to the cosmos. During the journey, new scenes depict: a family in the late 1960s viewing the moon landing on television; a massive, two-story computer room of the late 1960s with reel-to-reel-computers; a garage of the early 1970s where the “personal computer” is born; and a “tech tunnel” in which guests become part of a digital data stream. Even scenes that guests have experienced since 1982 have been touched by the project. “Practically every Audio-Animatronics figure in Spaceship Earth has been updated in one way or another,” said Show Producer Bob Zalk of Walt Disney Imagineering. “To make the figures more realistic, they’ve received a makeover of everything from their hair to their costumes to their movements.” Meanwhile, the makeover of the narration and music benefited from some “star power”:
— The new narration is delivered by English actress Dame Judi Dench, who earned an Oscar as best supporting actress in 1999 for her role in the motion picture “Shakespeare in Love.” While Dench delivers the ride vehicle narration in English, guests can also choose five other languages for their vehicle, a Disney “first” – French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
— The new musical score was composed by Bruce Broughton, who has won a record 10 Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy during a career writing in every medium – from theatrical releases and TV feature films to the concert stage and computer games. A 62-piece orchestra and 24-voice choir brings his latest composition to life. As the ride-through adventure nears its finish, interactive touch-screens in the ride vehicles light up with a series of questions, soliciting guests’ preferences concerning things such as where they’d like to live and work in the future. Then guests are treated to a personalized view of themselves in their idyllic future.
When guests disembark the time travel experience, they are invited to visit “Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow” presented by Siemens, where interactive exhibits bring to life the ideas and technologies Siemens is developing to help make the world a better place for the future. The space is filled with fun, interactive games and displays that showcase innovative technologies. Here, guests step into the world of tomorrow and glimpse the future of medicine, transportation and responsible energy management across the globe. Project Tomorrow includes:
— Body Builder, a 3-D interactive game that enables users to assemble a digital human body, simulating the Siemens technology developed to perform remote surgeries. — Super Driver, a driving simulation video game that showcases motor vehicle accident avoidance systems developed by Siemens.
— Innervision, a view into the future of medical diagnostics in the home.
— Power City, a game that demonstrates how to manage power in a growing city. Epcot is the Walt Disney World discovery park, where guests are immersed in a celebration of both technological accomplishments and international cultural achievements.
The 305-acre theme park encompasses two unique worlds — Future World and World Showcase — with attractions, shows, entertainment, dining, shopping and architectural wonders. Epcot is part of the 25,000-acre Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, Fla. For more information, guests may call 407/824-4321 or visit http://www.disneyworld.com/.
Siemens AG is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $107.4 billion in fiscal 2006. Founded 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas of Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $21.4 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens’ worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 480,000 people in 190 countries.
We may have seen the end of the  Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction at Epcot according to a shocking new permit filed recently. The permit is for “Imagination Demolition”; take the name for what its worth. The scheduled one month refurbishment of the attraction that started today, may be something much bigger. We may finally have confirmation of a major refurbishment for the Imagination attraction that has been anxiously awaited for some time. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today for more on this breaking story as it becomes available.
Random news from around the Walt Disney World resort:
-The new Monsters Inc. meet and greet location near the Backlot Tour is now open. The former location behind the ABC Theater has been stripped of all Monsters Inc. signage.
-Mater and Lightning McQueen from Cars are now appearing in front of the Pixar Place construction wall facing the Backlot Tour. The automotive duo will find a new home along with some other Pixar characters when Pixar Place opens in Spring 2008.
-The Dreamfinder and Figment meet and greet characters at Epcot may make their triumphant return by the end of the summer, all depending on when the attraction closes for it’s HUGE refurbishment. The Journey Into Imagination with Figment attraction is currently closed so that Imagineering can survey their future job site.
While Tony’s Town Square Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom and the new and improved Playhouse Disney Live! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios re-opened today, some other attractions have been shuttered for refurbishment. Among the latest attractions to close for refurbishment are Journey Into Imagination with Figment at Epcot, Imageworks at Epcot, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures at the Magic Kingdom. These new attraction closures come in addition to ongoing refurbishments of Splash Mountain, The American Adventure, and Journey Into Narnia. Remember, you can always check our attraction closures page to see what refurbishments are occurring now and in the future.
The new interactive game in the Spaceship Earth: Project Tomorrow post show area, named Innervision, is now open. We do not have any idea at the moment what this new Siemens sponsored game at Epcot entails, but we will inform you as more about it becomes available.Â
The Wonders of Life was finally removed from seasonal activity on DisneyWorld.com, but the reason will only be for it’s demise. From February 1, 2008 forward, the pavilion will no longer be officially referred to as the Wonders of Life. In addition, control of the pavilion has been handed over to Walt Disney World Special Events. During the 2008 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, the following events will now take place in the pavilion:Â
It looks like our assessment of the now extinct Future World pavilion was correct, but the idea of a replacement now may be further off than once thought. Other projects at Epcot, such as the addition of new pavilions to World Showcase, fixing the Imagination Pavilion, and upgrading Test Track’s ride system and technology is most likely where Epcot’s budget goes to work next.
I have been receiving a lot of emails lately about the Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot. Many readers have brought to my attention that it is no longer listed as a closed attraction after January 31, 2008. Let me sadly state that the reason for this is that the attractions inside the pavilion will be gutted over the next few months. The pavilion may once again open as a home to events for the Food and Wine Festival in 2008, but the attractions inside will be gone by then. The pavilion has been in seasonal operation for years now and the attractions haven’t seen use since the 2006 Holiday Season. Walt Disney Imagineering has a few ideas on the table for the pavilion, but the current building will not be demolished until a plan is finalized.Â
It has just been announced that both Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Imageworks at Epcot will be closed from January 28 to February 24. While some minor refurbishing will be done, there will also be testing of some new effects for a BIG planned refurbishment of the attraction in the coming year. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available on this in the coming weeks.
