Epcot Re-Imagined Part 3: Innoventions

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

Editor’s Note: This series is a look at how one staff member would re-imagine Epcot pavilions. Previous articles in the series can be found here.

We now move away from Imagination to the center of Future World, where there has been a noticeable absence of kinetic energy in the area, ever since Innoventions East and West were mostly closed down.

This absence has been felt for quite some time now, ever since Disney opened Epcot Character Spot in 2007, which took up a significant chunk of what used to be space taken up by Communicore, an original Epcot attraction which lasted until 1994 when it was replaced by Innoventions.

Now, since it is permanently closed, Innoventions is just empty space in two giant buildings, hence the reason why in the new renderings for Future World that were revealed to the public at the Parks & Resorts Panel at the D23 Expo showed the two pavilions completely destroyed.

This also included MouseGear, the flagship Epcot store, and Electric Umbrella (one of two counter-service restaurants in Future World), Club Cool, the Fountain View, and Innoventions Plaza, which includes Pin Central and the wait time boards.

Most importantly, the plans might spell the end of the Innoventions Music Loop, one of the greatest compilations of Disney Parks music ever!

Before that area is no more, I’d like to throw an idea of mine into the mix, a plan that revitalizes Innoventions and the surrounding areas. The two attraction/exhibit buildings would continue to be called Innoventions, since it still sticks with the new theme.

The facade of both structures will be given a facelift, with a completely new color scheme, with blues, greens, purples, blacks, and neon, similar to that of Test Track, shown below.

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The internal building structure will be unchanged, but the new color scheme and logo will be very noticeable throughout both buildings. The logo from the original Innoventions, the hand holding the lightbulb, will be re-used, but instead of having two colors for East and West, the blue color wave will be the only one used.

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Tom Morrow 2.0 will not be returning to this version of Innoventions, unfortunately, but instead, a new version of SMRT-1.

The exhibitions in the new Innoventions will take up the existing attraction space in both buildings.

As for the attractions themselves, there will be many new exhibitions with the biggest corporate sponsors currently: Tesla, SpaceX, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.

Much like my idea for the new Wonders of Life, incorporating the newest technologies into said exhibitions would attract so many people. Things like VR, smartphone technology, augmented reality, robotics, and touch screen demonstrations would do the trick. I mean, if kids could be entertained by a human art farm exhibit, these ideas should surely bring in more guests.

It’s really tough to specifically think of every new exhibition that will be included. However, with the sponsors that were previously given, you should be able to get a good idea of what will be coming into the space.

One thing I distinctly remember from Innoventions was the video game wall right near it where the former Segway exhibit. The new Innoventions will keep the video game wall, with updated Xbox One, PS4, VR, and Nintendo Switch titles.

There will be subtle nods to Communicore in both buildings, with the original logo incorporated in mosaics and collages, very similar to what was done with the World of Motion logo in the new Test Track.

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As for the rest of the space taken up by the two buildings, MouseGear will be given a facelift, with a completely redesigned interior and a new logo.

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Club Cool and Fountain View will be left unchanged because riots would ensue if Disney got rid of a Starbucks and Beverly, specifically Beverly.

The Electric Umbrella will also be completely re-designed, but the 2nd floor and the wall carpet will be untouched and will stay off-limit to guests, out of nostalgia.

The space that was previously taken up by the Epcot 25th Anniversary Gallery will be replaced with an art gallery celebrating the past, present, and future of Epcot. Pieces within the gallery will circulate and be replaced from time to time. The timeline will stay and will continue to be updated.

Pin Central will be kept in its current location, but the wait times boards will be removed as they are no longer a necessity.

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Last and most importantly for families, the Epcot Character Spot will stay in its current location, and character meet-and-greets will change periodically as new movies, TV shows, and other events happen.

Unfortunately, this idea is not going to happen with the Future World renderings shown at the D23 Expo, but it’s always fun to dream.

Next time, we will take a trip to try to solve the mess that’s been going on with The Land.

UPDATE: Guests Can Now Take Their Test Track Cars Home at Epcot’s Test Track

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

For the last few days, we have been speculating what the new Stat Stations at the newly renamed SIMporium inside of Test Track will do. Well now we know…

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Guests can scan their MagicBands or tickets at the kiosks and create a custom card featuring the car they built on Test Track. Guests may then purchase this card to take home with them.

Sadly, we don’t have pricing or any additional information yet, but we should soon.

Disney Announces Special Ceremony, Fireworks, and More for Epcot’s 35th Anniversary

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

 

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Disney today announced the many festivities that will be taking place on October 1st, 2017 for the 35th anniversary of Epcot. Here the list of what you can expect:

Commemorative Guide Map – Be sure to pick up a commemorative Epcot Guidemap and Times Guide on your way into the park. They’ll be available at the park’s Main Entrance, at International Gateway and Guest Relations.

Anniversary Celebration – A special celebration will be held at the Fountain View stage at 10:01 a.m. Gather to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Epcot with Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty.

Exclusive Anniversary Merchandise – Guests visiting Epcot on October 1 will have the chance to grab anniversary merchandise as a part of the “I Was There” collection, which has been specifically designed for this year’s milestone. Items in the collection will be available only at a “pop-up” shop (which will be open for one day only/while supplies last), located just past the Art of Disney location at Epcot on October 1. Additional Epcot 35th Anniversary logo merchandise  will be available in select merchandise locations at the park, such as Mouse Gear and on the Shop Disney Parks app. Some of this merchandise was released yesterday and you can see it here.

Special Edition: IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth – Conclude your day at the park by attending a special edition of the park’s nighttime fireworks show, “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth,” which begins at 9 p.m. If you would like reserved viewing for this and a selection of drinks and snacks, WDWCelebrations still has tickets for sale to their Illuminations Dessert Party for October 1st.

PHOTOS: Epcot 35 Merchandise Debuts At MouseGear

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

We made our way over to Epcot to check out some of the newly released Epcot 35th Anniversary merchandise found at MouseGear. Keep in mind this isn’t everything that will be released. Let’s check it out below!

Yellow Figment Epcot 35 Women’s Cut Tee – $29.99

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Epcot 35 Metal Ornament – $16.99

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White Figment Pattern Epcot 35 Women’s Cut Tee – $29.99

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Blue Sport Epcot 35 Unisex Tee – $19.99

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Epcot Center Pavilion Logo Mug – $13.99

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Multicolor Retro Epcot 35 Women’s Tee – $32.99

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Spaceship Earth Epcot 35 Blue Sweatshirt – $34.99

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Grey/Purple Epcot Center Logo Tee – $24.99

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Epcot 35 Visor – $19.99

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Orange Epcot 35 Unisex Tee – $24.99

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Epcot Center Logo Hat – $21.99

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Restaurant Marrakesh at Epcot Now Offering Free Henna Tattoos

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

Families dining at Restaurant Marrakesh in the Morocco pavilion at Epcot can now enjoy complimentary henna tattoos for children ages 12 and under. Children must order a meal to take advantage of this offer.

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Restaurant Marrakesh offers Moroccan delicacies such as roast lamb, shish kebab, couscous, and brochette of chicken. Additionally, belly dancers and live music continue to entertain Guests each evening.

Epcot International Festival of the Arts Expands to Seven Days A Week in 2018

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts will return in January 2018, now available daily to guests rather than just on weekends.

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New for 2018, the Festival will remain open 7 days a week, with various entertainment offerings planned on just the weekends. The event will take place January 12 to February 19, 2018.

For an overview of the entire event (so you can start planning for 2018), please check out our exhaustive review and guide.

Construction Has Begun on Epcot’s Ratatouille Ride for the France Pavilion

WDWNT on September 27, 2017

Walt Disney World has announced that they have commenced with the construction of the Ratatouille attraction for the France Pavilion at Epcot.

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Work began on September 20th, 2017 for the ride that will open sometime before October 1st, 2021. Construction is not yet visible to guests and is only taking place backstage.

The ride, already a popular attraction at Disneyland Paris, was announced at the D23 Expo 2017 as part of phase 1 of the Epcot park overhaul.

The Ratatouille ride will be part of a larger expansion of the France Pavilion that will include new shopping, dining, and more.

REVIEW: Light Lab in Future World, Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2017

WDWNT on September 19, 2017

Welcome to a marketplace review for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2017, taking place in the park from August 31st through November 13th, 2017. This review will cover the brand new “Light Lab”, which is located in Future World West behind Club Cool and Epcot Character Spot. Strangely, this marketplace is split into two, with the 3 specialty beverages and the “glow nut” only available in a specially lit room, while beers are available just outside at a set of counters.

Light Lab

Food:

  • The Glownut (Limited Edition) –  $3.00

Beverages:

  • T=C2: Vanilla Tonic Water and Cotton Candy (non-alcoholic) –  $3.75
  • RGB: Citrus Apple Freeze (non-alcoholic) –  $3.75
  • Bleu Spectrum: Blanc de Bleu Cuvée Mousseuz with Boba Pearls –  $9.00
  • Left Hand Brewing Company Polestar Pilsner, Longmont, CO –  $4.25
  • Playalinda Brewing Company Robonaut Red Ale, Titusville, FL –  $4.25
  • Elysian Brewing Space Dust IPA, Seattle, WA –  $4.25
  • Sixpoint Brewery Mad Scientist Radiant Flux, Brooklyn, NY –  $4.25
  • Founders Brewing Company Green Zebra Watermelon Gose Ale, Grand Rapids, MI –  $4.25
  • Blue Point Brewing Company Optical Illusion IPA, Patchogue, NY –  $4.25
  • Space Flight –  $9.00
    • Left Hand Brewing Company Polestar Pilsner, Longmont, CO
    • Playalinda Brewing Company Robonaut Red Ale, Titusville, FL
    • Elysian Brewing Space Dust IPA, Seattle, WA
  • Light Flight –  $9.00
    • Sixpoint Brewery Mad Scientist Radiant Flux, Brooklyn, NY
    • Founders Brewing Company Green Zebra Watermelon Gose Ale, Grand Rapids, MI
    • Blue Point Brewing Company Optical Illusion IPA, Patchogue, NY

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The Glownut (Limited Edition) –  $3.00

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Don’t let the lighting fool you, this was nothing special. Blue sprinkles and white icing with lighting that any non-DSLR camera simply can not capture doesn’t make this anything different than what it is: a doughnut you can buy at any of the Joffrey’s carts at any Walt Disney World theme park. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t bad, but it’s just an average doughnut that they will have in short supply each day.

T=C2: Vanilla Tonic Water and Cotton Candy (non-alcoholic) –  $3.75

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If you watch the video towards the top of this post, you can watch the “scientists” make this drink, which is pretty fun. Well, I wish it tasted half as fun. It’s basically sugar water. Sure, kids will have fun watching it be made, and it could make for a fun video for your social media account, but you might as well throw it away after that.

RGB: Citrus Apple Freeze (non-alcoholic) –  $3.75

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While this is slightly better, I still would not recommend it. It’s also called a freeze, but did not appear frozen in any way during the first two days of the festival. On top of that, it had no special presentation as they just had a bunch standing by and handed it to me once I presented my receipt. This seems like a waste at a booth with such a unique presentation style.

Bleu Spectrum: Blanc de Bleu Cuvée Mousseuz with Boba Pearls –  $9.00

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Taking a page from the Festival of the Arts, this is a glass of colored champagne with boba balls in it. While there is no straw this time, it’s still the exact same thing. While the boba balls and champagne together make for a good flavor, this isn’t the best way to enjoy them. Drinking it in this way means you are having a bunch of champagne followed by the boba. Not a bad drink option, but there has got to be a better way to ingest it…

Space Flight –  $9.00

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The Left Hand Brewing Company Polestar Pilsner was absolutely terrible, out of the eight people in our group, no one liked it. The Robonaut and the Space Dust were both good, but you can always find the Space Dust IPA at Geyser Point.

Light Flight –  $9.00

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The Mad Scientist Radiant Flux is a fantastic sour beer, the Green Zebra is a decent shandy, and Hoptical Illusion (which can be found at Abracadabar) was pretty awful in my opinion. I’m not sure either flight is worth it unless you really NEED to try all of these for yourself, but as always, you can just get the individual pours as well.

In review, the interior area of Light Lab is wonderfully themed and quite pleasant, it’s just a shame that there is almost nothing worth having from here.

Epcot Re-Imagined: Part 2 – The Imagination Pavilion

WDWNT on September 19, 2017

Editor’s Note: This series is a look at how one staff member would re-imagine Epcot pavilions. Previous articles in the series can be found here.

As I leave the newly-imagined Wonders Of Life, I travel over to a pavilion which has lost much imagination over the years: The Imagination Pavilion.

The attraction has suffered greatly since the removal of the original Journey Into Imagination attraction in 1998.

In its current state, Journey Into Imagination with Figment, it is a shell of its former self, and quite a sad, decrepit shell at that.

There have been long-standing rumors about different Disney IPs replacing Figment. My idea goes one step further: combining an IP with the original Journey Into Imagination attraction.

I’m calling it “Phineas and Ferb Restore Imagination” but this is only a working name for now.

One of the long-standing rumors was that the popular Disney XD animated show Phineas and Ferb would replace Figment, but it never developed further than the rumor stage.

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However, Phineas and Ferb is still a valuable IP that can be integrated into the pavilion to create an original and timeless attraction.

By adding Phineas and Ferb to the Imagination Pavilion, Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure now has a tie-in somewhere else in the park. The attraction will cohesively bring together both story lines.

I’m going to explain the story of the attraction first, before explaining what changes will take place within the pavilion.

The story begins in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, as Phineas and Ferb are trying to come up with ideas for something to do before the summer ends. After the many ideas they’ve already imagined, they come up empty, and give up for the day.

Out of nowhere appears Figment, the lovable purple dragon. Figment greets the boys, who are stunned. Figment tells them that he overheard their conversation and tells them that everyone has a sense of imagination, and no one can ever lose it. The boys don’t believe him, continuing to slouch under the tree.

Figment then tells the boys to hear him out, as he tells stories of his past. He tells them of his keeper, The Dreamfinder. He tells them of the adventures they went on, until one day, when he suddenly disappeared in his Dream Mobile.

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Figment tells them that soon after, Dr. Nigel Channing found him and took him to the Imagination Institute. While Dr. Channing took good care of the dragon, he never felt at home in the institute, so he escaped, trying to find Dreamfinder, and eventually, stumbled upon the boys. Figment then asks Phineas and Ferb to come along with him to find Dreamfinder so that they can all regain their sense of imagination.

While this is happening, Agent P gets word from Major Monogram about Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, who is building an “Un-Imag-Inator” that sucks the imagination out of people. With their imagination gone, they become defenseless against Doof, who is trying to take over Epcot and the rest of central Florida.

The story switches back to Figment, Phineas, and Ferb in their search for Dreamfinder. After some time searching, the trio find him amongst rubble and debris on the second floor, trapped under his destroyed Dream Mobile.

After rescuing him from the rubble, Dreamfinder tells the three that he’s been trapped on the second floor for several decades after his world of imagination was suddenly destroyed. He says that the imagination of the world has been lost, and without his Dream Mobile, he has no way to restore imagination in anyone.

Phineas comes up with an idea to restore the Dream Mobile, so everyone can have their sense of imagination back.

Switching back to Agent P, he reaches Doof’s lair, the World ShowPlace Pavilion, where Doof traps him and tells him an elaborate backstory about when his parents took him as a child to EPCOT Center. While there, he he found the park to be boring, except for Journey Into Imagination, the one attraction he enjoyed. After its closing and its terrible replacement, he was disgusted and vowed to get revenge.

Agent P, of course, escaped Doof’s trap and stops the Un-Imag-Inator from firing onto innocent guests. Instead, the Inator backfires and shoots Doof, who loses his imagination.

By this point, Phineas and Ferb have finished re-building the Dream Mobile, and they, along with Figment and Dreamfinder, restore everyone’s sense of imagination and the ride comes back to life in an extravagant finale where “One Little Spark” is sung by the quartet.

Along with restoring the ride and everyone’s imagination, they also restore the second floor ImageWorks, which is a continuation of the attraction story.

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Regarding the actual attraction building and attraction itself, the exterior will not be changed, except for a new ride marquee. The attraction will use the new trackless ride system, and the ride vehicles will be completely new. All of the existing theming will be removed and replaced with theming using colors and patterns from the original attraction.

This attraction will be longer in both track length and ride time compared to the current iteration. The current ImageWorks and part of the shop on the first floor will be removed to accommodate the lengthened track.

The show scenes will all be physical show scenes with audio-animatronic figures for whatever characters will be in each scene. There will be a new Figment animatronic, keeping to the same style, but with the newest audio-animatronic technology. The audio system in the attraction will also be replaced with new surround-sound technologies.

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The Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge on the second floor will be removed and a completely new ImageWorks will be built with state-of-the-art interactive experiences for guests of all ages to enjoy, and possibly, a new Rainbow Tunnel.

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The exit gift shop and bathrooms will be renovated and updated to match the new theming and color scheme of the pavilion. The original Journey Into Imagination music loop will be brought back. Also, the area formerly known as Figment’s Place will be used as a Phineas and Ferb meet-and-greet, but there will be no walking Dreamfinder or Figment.

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Also, the former Magic Eye Theater will be converted into queue space since the existing ride and queue footprint will now all be used by the ride. As an added bonus, utilizing the theater space for the queue means it will be indoors and thus air-conditioned.

There is virtually no chance that this will happen, but it’s fun to imagine about what could be.

Next up: The former Innoventions/Communicore buildings.