Gary Sinise will not be returning as CAPCOM in the relaunched Mission: SPACE attraction at Epcot when it returns August 13th, a role he has had in the ride since it opened in 2003. American actress Gina Torres will replace Sinise in completely new attraction pre-show videos.
Gary Sinise essentially playing his role from the film Mission to Mars in the spiritual sequel, Mission: SPACE at Epcot.
Gina Torres has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as Nebula), Xena: Warrior Princess (as Cleopatra), the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, Alias (as Anna Espinosa), Firefly (as Zoe Washburne), Angel (as Jasmine), 24 (as Julia Miliken), Suits (as Jessica Pearson), The Shield (as Sadie Kavanaugh), and Westworld (as Lauren). She starred opposite Chris Rock in the feature film I Think I Love My Wife, as Carla in the independent film South of Pico, and she reprised her Firefly role in its feature film sequel Serenity. Since 2011, she has had a main role on the USA Network series Suits as Jessica Pearson. She and real-life husband Laurence Fishburne played a married couple on the NBC television series Hannibal.
Actress Gina Torres
You can always relive the classic pre-show experience and attraction through our video below:
Annual Passholders can collect complimentary buttons at Epcot during the 2017 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.
Buttons featuring Remy from Ratatouille will be distributed to Annual Passholders at the Festival Center in Future World when guests present their valid pass.
The 2017 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival kicks-off August 31st, 2017.
Our latest photo report brings us to Epcot as we countdown to the extinction of the Universe of Energy, the start of the Food and Wine Festival, and the relaunch of Mission: Space…
If you open the front door to the space, you are greeted by a screen telling you that it is closed and will not reopen.
We have a video and photo tour in case you never were able to experience the Siemens VIP Center:
VIPs of course could get “back-doored” onto Spaceship Earth.
The Siemens and Disney contract is set to expire September 30th, 2017, so expect the references to the company to vanish and Project Tomorrow to close by then.
Feel The Flow, Here We Go…
With the Universe of Energy closing forever on August 13th to make way for the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster ride, Disney has stationed a PhotoPass photographer outside of the building.
As we near the closing, guests are certainly showing up in larger numbers to say goodbye…
The bridge from Odyssey to Mexico has seen better days…
The repainting of the exterior of the Mexico pavilion continues, but apparently Disney isn’t happy with what they did. Above, you see blue paint starting to ascend the structure last week.
This week, the blue paint moving upwards on the structure vanished.
Work continues on Choza Tequila, now set to open during the Food and Wine Festival.
Some lovely new booths for the festival have popped up, like this one in Africa.
This new Italy booth is rather nice as well. Don’t forget that the Festival kicks off August 31st. And no, that’s not a typo… and I’m upset that it’s not (I don’t want to stand outside and eat hot food in August).
Club 33 preparations have moved into the lobby of the American Adventure.
The Chat Lounge will not return to the Food and Wine Festival this year as a result (also, it appears Chase is no longer a sponsor anyway).
The Torii Gate in Japan was repainted recently and is looking great!
The remodeling of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Japan continues…
The pearl jewelry area in the store was moved to a new location that is quite nice.
A new jewelry area has opened further into the store.
They were sold out of Yunker, probably because we ate it on the last WDW News Tonight.
Over in MouseGear, there is some new apparel to be found.
The Electric Umbrella has begun to offer mobile ordering.
Push and Pull
In what is becoming a more regular occurrence, we witnessed monorail teal getting towed through Epcot a few days ago…
As most of you know by now, Epcot, especially Future World, is scheduled to undergo quite extensive and expansive changes over the next few years. While Disney Imagineering is re-imagining the park as we speak, I thought I would re-imagine the park myself.
This series will start in Future World, slowly making its way to World Showcase, as I will re-imagine all current pavilions in both sections. With that being said, let’s start this series by looking at the former Wonders of Life pavilion, now often repurposed as the Festival Center.
The Wonders of Life is my favorite Future World pavilion, past or present. I believe that it is the best attempt and the best representation of the Epcot vision of edutainment and the future. Its message of health and the human body was so well integrated into the pavilion.
Wonders of Life opened to the public on October 19th, 1989, and was sponsored by MetLife. The 100,000 sq. ft. pavilion housed two headline attractions: Body Wars and Cranium Command, as well as several smaller attractions: Frontiers of Medicine, Wonder Cycles, Sensory Funhouse, Coach’s Corner, The Making of Me, Goofy About Health, and The Anacomical Players Theatre. Additionally, there was a store (of course), Well & Goods Limited, and a counter-service restaurant, Pure & Simple. Below, you’ll find videos of the past experiences the pavilion offered, just in case you forgot what they were or never got to see them. This will help set the stage for the changes I will be pitching.
MetLife pulled its sponsorship in 2001, and as a result, the pavilion became a seasonal offering in 2004, eventually closing forever on January 1st, 2007. Instead of doing anything with the pavilion, it was essentially left abandoned. As you are well aware, it didn’t stay abandoned for long.
Later in the year, it was repurposed as the Festival Center for International Food & Wine Festival, eventually also finding use for the Flower and Garden Festival. Any signage was removed, painted over, or covered to hide as reference to what once was. The external ride buildings were abandoned after the four motion simulators of Body Wars were removed.
As it stands today, Wonders of Life is a shell of its past, but that doesn’t mean its glory days are gone forever.
The Wonders Of Life
The question still remains: What would be required to re-imagine Wonders of Life for the present time?
Simply bringing it back to what it used to be cannot happen (as much as us Epcot fanboys would want it to). Instead, in my re-imagining plan, Wonders of Life would undergo a massive transformation so that it can properly enter the 21st Century.
The carnival-style concept will be scrapped. The entire interior will be given a face lift, including a new paint scheme, with blues, reds, purples, greens, and neon outlines. The DNA tower will stay out front, but the archway sign will come back along with the second iteration of the sign which will be located in a planter in front of the walkway to the pavilion.
The pavilion’s new sponsor will either be another life insurance company, like Voya, or it will be a major medical/healthcare or pharmaceutical company like CVS or Pfizer.
ATTRACTIONS
Body Wars: Though the four simulators from the ride have been completely decimated, the queue and loading areas are still somewhat intact. Disney’s patented ATLAS (Advanced Technology Leisure Application Simulator) was used in Star Tours in 1987 and then Body Wars two years later. I have no doubt that Imagineering is up to the task of building a brand new simulator ride system. Along with new simulators, the queue and loading areas would be updated to reflect the changes in the simulators. Instead of updating the original ride film picture, a completely new film will be directed. Disney can even incorporate an IP into the attraction by using Baymax, your personal health care assistant from Big Hero 6. If not, cast relevant, popular actors and actresses to keep interest for the attraction high. All of this will generate big crowds for what was the first-ever thrill ride in Epcot.
Cranium Command: Other than the attraction marquee signage being removed, the queue and show theater haven’t been touched, so it should be easy to renovate. The show ran into a problem as it became time capsule of the height of 1980s comedy due to those who were cast for the attraction. The original actors reached their height in the 1980s, most due to Saturday Night Life, but the cast was never updated from the original, which led to its downfall. The solution for the longevity of the revival of this attraction is simple: continuously update the show cast with relevant actors and actresses. Disney can go even further by internally marketing IPs by using actors and actresses from popular Disney films. If the cast is continually updated, the film stays fresh for newer generations of park guests.
The Making of Me: This show, narrated by comedian/actor Martin Short, was controversial to say the least. The show theatre is still intact, and it will be easy to re-purpose. Instead of keeping with the childbirth them, a new film will be shown, one about the anatomy and development of the human body. The film’s narrator will be Benedict Cumberbatch, simply because of his Oscar-nominated role as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The theater itself will be updated with a new projection and sound system.
Goofy About Health: The show’s original theme about living a healthy lifestyle, is one that should be taught. The problem is that the original show is outdated by 2017 standards, but the show building is still intact. The new show will be a completely new and original 10-minute film, set to style of the classic Goofy cartoons. The physical set will be taken out in place of a giant video screen. The new film, titled “Goofy About Health,” will highlight the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through the clumsy, but lovable Goofy, just like the original.
Sensory Funhouse: The Sensory Funhouse was a great place for kids to roam free. However, it is simply outdated by today’s standards. The re-imagined Sensory Funhouse will be uniquely different and immersive, even more than its predecessor. These new experiences, like VR and digital scent technology, among other things, will truly amaze those who interact.
Coach’s Corner: The way for this smaller attraction to have any staying power is to have relevant professional athletes teach kids. For example, have Mike Trout or Bryce Harper show kids how to hit a baseball, have Russell Wilson and Odell Beckham Jr. show kids how to throw and catch a football, and Steph Curry show kids how to shoot a basketball. If you continue to update the coaching videos with relevant players who kids like, this attraction will continuously have long lines.
Frontiers of Medicine: It is important to inform about the advances that are currently being made in the areas of medicine, and science related to the body. The way to keep this attraction current is to update the different exhibitions within the attraction with touch-screen interactivity. The more that the guests can do within the attraction, the more likely they are to spend more time in that attraction, and hopefully, they will take something away from what they looked at.
Wonder Cycles: There are two ways in which this attraction can be updated: change the destinations people are biking through, and implement new visual technologies, like VR. Those are simple and easy updates that will make the younger demographics enjoy the attraction more while also getting physical exercise.
Anacomical Players Theatre: While this played an integral part in the original pavilion, though it did end several years before the entire pavilion closed, the concept of the original show doesn’t fit the new pavilion concept well enough. Unfortunately, it won’t be coming back in the re-imagining. The show building will be taken down to allow for an expansion of the Sensory Funhouse. While Sensory already takes up a significant part of the pavilion, the expansion of the play area is where the new VR experience will take place, keeping the theme of interactivity.
DINING & SHOPPING
Well & Goods Limited: The pavilion’s flagship store will continue to sell pavilion and Epcot merchandise, but the store’s footprint inside the pavilion will expand. The interior of the store will be completely new and re-designed.
Pure and Simple: The seating area will be renovated and updated. The menu for the counter-service will essentially stay the same, serving a plethora of healthy food choices and of course, the iconic Wonder Waffle and the hot and cold toppings bar. Anything for the Wonder Waffle.
Who knows if this will happen, but it’s fun to think of what could be.
Well, that’s my plan for the Wonders of Life! Next time, I’m going to help Figment out in the Imagination Pavilion…
We have already previewed two batches of merchandise that will be released to celebrate Epcot’s 35th anniversary this October (which can be seen here and here), but now we have even more of the merchandise line to share with you today.
While we don’t know the edition size or exact release dates of these pins, we do know they will be released on or around the anniversary date of October 1st, 2017.
The always popular hinged pins that open into three parts will be making an appearance as well.
The above pin and below boxed jumbo pin should be released on October 1st, 2017 (for obvious reasons).
The Spaceship Earth pin comes in the above box and will be rather large in size.
Among the other items being released are a keychain, magnet, and mug.
Epcot will celebrate its 35th anniversary on October 1st, 2017. No official events have been announced by Walt Disney World at this point, nor has any of this merchandise we have previewed.
Walt Disney World will be lifting block-out dates in August on annual passes that would not typically allow entry to the parks during this time so that guests may say goodbye to two classic attractions.
While we don’t have the exact dates yet, Disney should be distributing that information to guests later this week. The adjusted block-out will allow these guests to enter Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios to ride the Universe of Energy and the Great Movie Ride one last time. Of course, guests will get to experience other things in the parks as well, not limited to these rides.
UPDATE: Silver and Weekday Select Annual Pass will have access to all 4 Walt Disney World theme parks starting August 1st. Weekday Select passes still will not admit guests on weekends, however.
The Lights of Winter were a staple of Holidays Around the World at Epcot for many years. These illuminated arches danced to holiday music on the bridge between World Showcase and Future World, long before even the Osborne Lights were synchronized to music.
Since being retired back in 2009, many Epcot fans have lamented the loss of these arches, mostly because Disney simply never replaced them with anything. The bridge has been barren ever since, remaining dark during the holiday season over the last eight years.
So it is very interesting that there is a pin being made for Holidays Around the World 2017 that features the long-lost Lights of Winter from Epcot’s past:
While the pin design could just be for nostalgia, it does seem strange to make an item dated for 2017 based on a past offering from eight years ago.
So, while there is no other evidence of their return, the existence of this pin does raise some questions. Disney has yet to formally announce the entire Holidays Around the World lineup for 2017 as of yet. And, the bridge where the arches once resided looks like it will be gone in the not-too-distant future thanks to the overhaul of the park that is on the way. Could this be a final farewell for the Epcot holiday offering and the park that once was?
When Mission: Space returns to Epcot in a few weeks time, gone will be the Orange and Green Team mission names, replaced with new monikers that will reflect the variations in the two versions of the ride.
The reanimated classic version, or Orange Team mission, will be renamed “Mission: Space – Mars”, while the completely new family-friendly version will go by the name “Mission: Space – Earth”. The new names reflect the destinations of the two different versions of the ride.
You can read much more about the update of Mission: Space here.
Starting August 13th, Epcot will relaunch the Mission: SPACE attraction with a brand new experience and an enhanced version of the “classic” ride.
The revamped Orange Mission, or Mission Space – Mars, has been enhanced with new HD video produced by the folks over at ILM.
The family-friendly Green Mission, now known as Mission Space – Earth, takes you on an exciting orbit around Earth. On this new adventure, you’ll take in sites like the Hawaiian Islands, Italy’s “boot” and the Northern Lights—as seen from space, of course—before finally landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In addition to all the “mission” updates, Walt Disney Imagineering has also made this attraction more family-friendly. As we reported a few weeks ago, Disney today officially announced that the height restriction will be changed for the Green Mission side with the addition of new “X-2 booster seats”, allowing children 40-44” to ride.
Mission Space relaunches August 13th, 2017, which is also the last day of operation for the nearby Universe of Energy.
The Fountain View Starbucks located in Future World at Epcot regularly changes up their specialty cupcake seasonally, so for the Summer season, they now have an Orange Creamsicle Cupcake. It looks pretty interesting, so we decided to try it.
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake, $5.99 at the Fountain View Starbucks at Epcot
So, how was it?
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake – $5.99
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake, $5.99 at the Fountain View Starbucks at Epcot
The cupcake is vanilla, featuring an orange-and-vanilla flavored icing, as well as a custard filling that has an orange peel zest.
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake, $5.99 at the Fountain View Starbucks at Epcot
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake, $5.99 at the Fountain View Starbucks at Epcot
Wile I’m personally not one for orange-flavored desserts, this one is absolutely incredible. The custard makes this quite special, and the cake was soft and fresh. The icing can be a bit much at time, but nothing you can control by eating this with a fork and controlling your icing distribution. Yes, I do take cupcakes this seriously as it is my job to do so.
Please do yourself a favor if you are visiting Epcot anytime soon and pick this cupcake up for a snack, especially if you love orange-flavored treats.
