Wonders of Life & Mission Space Sightings

[MikePezz]

Hello everyone,

Yesterday morning, I visited EPCOT on the last day of a short WDW getaway.

While waiting for our Test Track fast pasess to activate, our group walked over to Wonders of Life.

On the way we saw castmembers at the entrance of Mission Space. It appeared as if the cast members were getting trained for the attractions operation.

We continued over to WOL just to get out of the heat. As we were leaving, I noticed two men in suits (and disney name tags) standing at the top of the ramp as you enter/exit. One said "He's late" while the other replied "He'll be here. He had to get the prints from his car."

While leaving the pavilion, we passed a gentleman (dressed down compared to the other two) walking up the path towards the building. He had two large binders, and blue prints folded (not rolled) under his arm. I could see from the upfacing blue print that the plans were of the WOL pavilion (specifically, I saw the pure and simple snack bar labeled in the drawing--that was the section of the building showing).

Has anyone heard the WOL will be the next pavilion to receive an update? Changes for a new sponsor perhaps?

[EpcotRanger]

And wait till you see the costumes.

[Peter Pirate]

Mike, great rumor! This is the type of thing I love to hear about...It keeps us "glass half full" types going, ya know?

ER, what does that mean? (sorry if I missed something).

[EpcotRanger]

The costumes for Mission Space are pretty cool...er but will be hot in the summer time for those poor folks.

[Another Voice]

Ahhh…how fine the line between "glass is half full" and "clutching at straws" is – 'tis a fine one and a difficult width to measure.

[HorizonsFan]

Not so difficult...
It's about the same width as the line between "glass half empty" and "Nothing to be done; all is darkness. End of play."
;)

[Peter Pirate]

Voice, so in your opinion it isn't worth being optimistic? Geez Louise, I could spend all of my time worrying about wars, corrupt politicians, SARS, nuclear proliferation, AIDS, our rapidly dwindling water supply, my now teenage daughter or since it is nearly June, Hurricanes...

But I chose to respond to an actual upbeat rumor because this is the kind of thing when placed on top of E:E, M:S and Philharmagic makes me believe the end may not be so close...

Besides, the DIS is the 'rose colored glasses' site isn't it? :rolleyes:

[laceemouse]

Mike, all I can say is WOW!!! Great detective work gumshoe! I would love to get a look at those blueprints! While I admit to being an eternal opptomist reguarding most everything, we must all remember that Disney is neither broke nor stupid. They will always be doing at least a little something to keep the "mouselovers" like us coming back! BTW, who is the new WOL sponsor? We have always enjoyed everything in there, with the exception of me and Body Wars, my tummy can't take it! Keep up the good work Mike, this is what the rumor board is all about..Lacee

[Another Voice]

"Voice, so in your opinion it isn't worth being optimistic?"

Not if it comes at the price of being delusional.

Go back a year from today's date and you'll see all kinds of postings about "I just saw some guys with clipboards over at The Land and so that means that Project Gemini is a greenlight and that Soaring will be here any day and won't it be great when Stormrider opens in The Living Seas and isn't this the sign that the big turnaround has started at the Epcot and I can't wait until I get there so I can buy all the new pins for all those wonderful new attractions.

Go back a year from that and you'll read "I just talked to a friend who knows someone who just talked to a monorail driver and they heard they saw balloon back behind the Pirates building and that means that Fire Mountain must be greenlite because there was someone with a tie and that can only mean they are buying that laydown coaster which has got to be because of Atlantis and so you can see the volcano from the Poly and I better book a room know because everyone is going to go there right now because the ride like almost finished."

And I've got worries too – everything from friends and family being shot at in various parts of this planet to figuring out what I've done this week in my girlfriend's eyes (as opposed to what I did last week) to being harangued for the past three days because I refuse to let the production pay $15,000 for an actor to have his "energy realigned". I need happy thoughts too.

I just like to keep my reality as real as possible. I'm sorry, but if "I saw some guys with a binder" is a cause for great joy than you must go cationic with bliss whenever you buy a lottery ticket. I walked through Epcot plenty of times with binders and blueprints and plans and all kinds of neat stuff. You know what that really meant…I had to be in another building.

This is the News and Rumors board. Those two are related – or at least they should be.


P.S. Whatever happened to all that joy surrounding Beastly Kingdom? If I remember correctly it and 'Mission: Space' was a sure sign paradise had arrived on earth. And wasn't Dino-Rama acceptable only because BK was just around the corner?

It's fun to be the kid with his nose pressed up against the candy store's window and get all gushy about what treasures may show up next – but it's much more interesting to know what's really happening in the kitchen.

[mitros]

:( Wow, doesn't take you guys long to get sarcastic. Must every post turn into a debate? :confused:

[DisneyKidds]

Had the opportunity to stroll by M:S yesterday to get a look. Not much to say. I did notice that the signs for the various queues were up, and the attraction has been designed with a single rider line. Glad to see Disney think ahead on that one, unlike they did on Test Track. Regarding the Test Track single rider line, I was glad to see that it actually now goes thru the main queue area so you get to see all the "stuff" they have. When you used to go in the side door and directly to the briefing room you missed all the detail of the main queue.

[EpcotRanger]

That is the one cool thing about Mission Space. It is the first ride to designed with Single, Standby and Fastpass lines in it. Also, they have blockaded the paremeter around Mission Space. Something must be going on soon.

[Peter Pirate]

Bad day M. Voice? Sorry about that.

But where did you get your idea that I'm delusionally thrilled about any of this? This is Disney I'm talking about. A place I go for joy and, for awhile at least, something I could discuss for joy. Whether Disney falls or flourishes, whether Katzenberg is hero or villian, whether Eisner is big cheese or krafty con man really mean nothing to me beyond the keys on my computer pad.

I like to discuss Disney for fun and your thoughts are just as relevent as mine (much more to most people around here) but it's certainly no picnic for me to share my thoughts knowing I'm only going to receive angst in return. I've been gone for a long while and thought that with the advent of the antagoinst only site it might be ok to return for some pleasant debate & discussion. Perhaps I was wrong.

As to this discussion, sure my rumor joys are thwarted more than come to fruition. But I'm thrilled about 'M:S', 'E:E', 'Philhar' & 'Mikes' rumor here, as this is a second rumor (I remember your earlier post, Scoop). WoL needs work and would certainly make this corner of Epcot a gem.

PS I wish someone would hear a rumor about 'Living Seas'!!!

[EUROPA]

Wait..I'm lost what the rumor again about WOL? That someone saw a drawing with a snack stand?

[EpcotRanger]

It is actually just an inqury about what he "saw". He saw Wonders of Life blue prints so he was wondering what was going on in there. And not trying to judge your creditbility MikePezz, but if they were standing in the entrance of Mission:Space you must have superman vision cause that is easily 50 or so feet. Making it hard just to see about what the blue lines form or read any text. Again I am not saying your wrong, but I do enjoy a good rumor of sorts.

[MikePezz]

Geeze, I am sort of sorry I brought this up.

I was not infront of Mission Space when I saw the blueprints. I saw the blueprints as I was walking out of WoL (the man carrying them was right next to me coming in the other direction). He stopped briefly to get a better grip on the items he was carrying, and that is when I saw the "Pure and Simple" counter service layout on the blue print.

I am not saying it was for a renovations. I am not saying it was for a new sponsor. I simply asked if anyone had HEARD anything that could explain what I saw.

For Pete's sake.....

[Peter Pirate]

Mike, don't be too frustrated. Many of us truly appreciate your commets and I hope someone out there has more of an explanation for us!

[raidermatt]

I am not saying it was for a renovations. I am not saying it was for a new sponsor. I simply asked if anyone had HEARD anything that could explain what I saw. This was not lost on everyone. Thanks for passing on what you saw.

Heir Pirate, I think the problem does not come from what Mike posted, but rather from when we try to translate it into a reason for optimism (or pessimism for that matter). It is what it is, something somebody saw and was wondering if there was more info on. There's a million reasons some guys could be looking at blueprints, which I think is what AV was pointing out.

Now, our esteemed Scoopster seems to have knowledge that this is indeed part of some pre-planning for a possible thrilling up of WoL, pending the success level of Space. Could be interesting, but even that rumor is pending the success of Space, which hasn't opened yet. Also, what defines success in this case? Further, its sounds as if it is assumed that if Space is a success, its because its a thrill ride, hence the "thrilling up" of WoL... Too many variables to even think about throwing this in the "optimistic" pile, dontcha think?

Scoop, the WoL possibility flies in the face of Jim Hill's past comments that WoL could end up shutting down if Project Gemini moves forward in some way, shape or form. (After all, he did get the "Scoop" on the Pal Mickey / Destination Disney thing! ;) )

Is there anything you know and can share about the status of Project Gemini? Is it all still pending what happens with Space? Also, any idea what the success criteria are?

(BTW, sorry I missed out on meeting you at the BW Bakery. Hope you had or are having a good trip.)

[Peter Pirate]

Matt, no doubt that I'm projecting quite a lot here but hey, I always do. But in my eyes this is just another bit of positive chatter and sure we're gong to hear a lot more (Voice told us this was the season) but still talk is good, IMO, some of it is bound to get real consideration.

I'm happy you had a good trip. Sorry I couldn't meet you. Truth be told I was in Vero and almost made it over but it got held off until tomorrow. Will be flying into Oakland on Thursday - try to keep the fog away!

[raidermatt]

Sorry you couldn't make it over, oh Bucaneer from beyond... (I have no idea what that means, it just sounded good)

Keeping fog out of Oakland is a possibility, but keeping it out of SF is another story altogether.... I'll see what I can do.

[HorizonsFan]

I refuse to let the production pay $15,000 for an actor to have his "energy realigned".
:rolleyes:
I used to work for a crochety old actress/saloon singer/producer who ran a SPT house in North Texas. Someone asked her once, "what do you do to get into character?"
She replied, "Honey, I just put out my cigarette and walk onstage."
Whatever happened to actors like that?

[Another Voice]

"Whatever happened to actors like that?"

There's the old story that back when Dustin Hoffman was filming The Marathon Man he stayed up three days in a row and refused to shower or eat so he could "get into" the torture scene he was about to film. The day of the shoot, Lawrence Olivier shows up after a weeklong party about town. Hoffman, trying to impress Olivier, described in brutal detail everything he suffered so he would be "right for the moment". Olivier looked down at Hoffman and said, "My dear boy, why don't you just try acting? It's so much easier."



In much the same way (trying desperately to make a smooth transition) the effort to make the jump from "I saw a guy with blueprints" to "I'm going to buy me a new pair of rose colored glasses" is just plain too hard. There's nothing at all wrong with being optimistic, but it just seems easier to generate that emotion from something substantial.

Disney has been peddling 'Wonders of Life' for several years now. It started right after it became clear MetLife wouldn't renew its sponsorship. 'Life' has a long and sordid history; it's well known that the Big Guy doesn't really like the pavilion's subject matter (apparently all that science stuff is boring). Everyone knows they'd be no problem just gutting the building and starting from scratch, just like they did with the maltreated 'Horizons'. There is nothing that sparks the drive at WDI more than an empty building.

Lot's of really great things can happen, but maybe it's my threshold is higher or I'm just a slimy evil vampire with a heart of black coal, but I can't see people getting worked up because someone walked into a building wearing Khaki Dockers. As for blueprints – I was there when they were actually building the show sets for 'The Incredible Journey Within'. If they can kill a project already under construction, the chances of a sketch making it into the 'Life' pavilion seem somewhat problematic.

[Demosthenes]

Originally posted by Another Voice
As for blueprints – I was there when they were actually building the show sets for 'The Incredible Journey Within'. If they can kill a project already under construction, the chances of a sketch making it into the 'Life' pavilion seem somewhat problematic.

Fair enough; but, it doesn't startwith drawings. If people are reviewing prints, there is at least some consideration for change beyond some sort of brainstroming session. Some progress has been made beyond an idea. That does constitute a rumor worth investigating. FWIW, it sounds to me like what is being reviewed is a make-over of a snack stand. That is gardly something worth jumping up and down about in my opinion. But maybe there is something else to this.

[raidermatt]

Again, the difference of opinion isn't with the investigation or discussion of the rumor, but with it being used as a genuine reason for optimism.