News for The Land @ Epcot

[Hippychickali]

Well, I think it's apparent that the Land Pavillion is going through some major changes to make way for Soarin'. Many people, however, have suggested that the Land will be no more. I've just heard some news that contradicts this suggestion. I have heard that the Land Pavillion is receiving a makeover to become the Land Travel Agency. The post I read on another mb said that Disney plans to rip out the existing Sunshine Fun Fair and all the decor including the famous balloons hanging from the ceiling. Living with the Land will not be removed but recieve a cruise line overlay instead.

What do people think of this idea? Has anyone heard anything else about this?

Ali

[Chuck S]

The "Travel" themeing sounds interesting, but I'll really have to see it before I know if it was an "improvement" over the ecology themeing of the pavilion. I've heard the balloons are disappearing, too. It seems they would fit into a "travel" theme better than the current theme...go figure.

Either way, Soarin' will be a wonderful addition to EPCOT.

[wtg2000]

I just hope that the Land ride stays basically the same, especially the depictions of the rain forest, prairies, etc.

[rocketriter]

For years I considered the boat ride--with real science--to be one of the best things at Epcot. But when we went on it a couple of months ago, the narration had been hopelessly dumbed down ("There are some pumpkins. There are some tomatoes.") and the intellectual appeal was gone. I'd rather see them screw a measurable IQ back into the ride than demolish it.

[ChrisFL]

Hearing directly from a CM who works at the Land about a year ago, he was upset that the balloons were in great disrepair and the way they used to "float" up and down was maintained so badly that the state forced Disney to stop using the mechanisms.

Because of this, I would not be surprised at all if they are removed entirely.

[CrazyaboutMickey]

I've seen a lot about this re-do of the land pavillion. I'm not sure what to make of the "travel agency" theming. I'm having a hard time picturing this. I just hope they focus on the beauty and diversity of the planet and I'm with Rocketriter in hoping they will maintain/restore the Land boat ride itself. This is a special ride and I think it carries an important message. It would be a shame to "dumb it down" or commercialize it in any way. While we're on this subject..I seem to remember a different theme song or different rendition a number of years ago. Am I wrong in that?

[Chuck S]

CrazyaboutMickey,

The song for the Land boat ride used to be Listen to the Land, back when the pavilion was sponsored by Kraft/General Foods.

When Nestle took over sponsorship, the pavilion went through a minor rehab, and the boat ride was renamed Living with the Land, and the original theme song was dropped.

Kitchen Kaberet was replaced by Food Rocks about this time, as well.

[CrazyaboutMickey]

YES! Thanks for clearing that up! I knew there was another song. We really liked that. I guess we're a little corny, but I thought it was better then. Was it a copyright issue or something that required them to change the song when they changed sponsors?

[Chuck S]

I doubt it is a copyright issue, Disney (or one of their operating companies) should own most of the in park music rights...in fact Listen To The Land was featured on several Park cassettes and CD while it is being used at the Land. It was just part of the overall makeover for the new sponsor.

[safetymom]

The Land is supposed to be themed like a travel agency. Soarin will be themed like an airport where you will "go" to the areas mentioned in the bldg and shown on the screen.

Not sure what will happen to the ride but I had heard that the Behind the Seeds tour was supposed to come back.

Soarin is a great ride.

[MrsJ Henry]

you are not alone. I used to like that song also. It really stuck in your head!! :cool1: :cool1:

[Donald's#1Fan]

What am I missing in trying to figure out how a travel agency is supposed to make me think of "the Land" and the agricultural theme, don't get me wrong, I'm not down on a change, one is sorely needed, but just how does this fit and if they are going to make the entrance area a cruise ship overlay, wouldn't that fit better over at the living seas not the land. Sorry, just very confused with this proposed theme change.

[safetymom]

Not sure how they are going to make Living with the Land fit in. It isn't going to be a cruise ship overlay but themed like an airport.

[daber]

I really hope they keep the Sunshine Fair. It's one of the best spots to eat in Future World.

[All Aboard]

Just make believe, you're a tiny little seed...

[dmfuru]

a tiny little seed that’s reaching up to meet your need

[Horace Horsecollar]

What am I missing in trying to figure out how a travel agency is supposed to make me think of "the Land" and the agricultural theme, don't get me wrong, I'm not down on a change, one is sorely needed, but just how does this fit and if they are going to make the entrance area a cruise ship overlay, wouldn't that fit better over at the living seas not the land. Sorry, just very confused with this proposed theme change.
Yes, I agree completely. I've read the travel agency and travel port rumors, but I think these rumors are either wrong or at least incomplete.

Sure, you experience the "Living with the Land" ride from a boat -- but the point of the ride has nothing to do with boats, and certainly nothing to do with cruise ships. It's about plants and farming. The ride could just as easily have been an Omnimover ride (although I like the sensation of floating through the ride).

Yes, I believe the parts of the rumor that say that there will be major changes to the interior of the Land pavilion. For one thing, the pavilion will need to be able to handle the large crowds that Soarin' will attract. And I won't be surprised if there's an effort to improve the flow between levels, tie the three attractions together better, and replace the food court with a more efficient quick service facility. But the "travel agency overlay" doesn't make much sense.

[wtg2000]

I hope that if it is indeed themed like an airport, that it is a very special airport and not like the one many of us have just come from in downtown Orlando! One rumor said it would have faux-security gates. If true, I don't think that's a fun idea. Do we have to show I.D.?

[eternaldisneyfan]

Cranium Command is one of our favorite shows. Please tell me it is staying!

[safetymom]

Cranium Command is not in the Land. CC is open on a seasonal basis in the Wonders of Life pavilion.

[daber]

Cranium Command was not in the Land but in Wonders of Life, which is closed indefinitely.

[wtg2000]

>Cranium Command was not in the Land but in Wonders of Life...

You're thinking of Cauliflower Command. It kind of looks like a cranium.

[Aisleleven]

Ironically, Agriculture in the state of Florida is a $9.9 billion dollar a year industry...after 9/11, Agriculture surpassed tourism as the number one industry in the state...I think it would just be silly for Disney to get rid of the "homage" to agriculture completely...It's an integral part of the parks...imagine what Disney would be like with little or no landscaping...

JMHO

[WDWHound]

The Balloons are already gone. We were there just a few days ago and they had vanished.

[All Aboard]

With the right amount of faith...

[dmfuru]

and the right amount of earth... :flower1:

[SueM in MN]

You'll grow to see the sunshine on your day of birth.
Let's listen to the Land we all love......

[mochabean]

Cranium Command was not in the Land but in Wonders of Life, which is closed indefinitely.

Apparently it is opening Dec 18th for the Christmas peak period.
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/rehabs.htm

[GrimGhost]

No on has yet mentioned the "Circle of life-an ENVIRONMENTAL fable"....I love this, especially the queue area, on the tv's they play a series of environmental facts and quotes from young Americans regarding being ecologically sensitive. It's really nice.

This certainly does not fit in with a travel agency. I don't mind change necessarily either, however this sounds a bit commercial and cheap.

[sarhenty]

here, here!

travel agency and living with the land, really doubt it! Unless imagineers were snoozing on this one!:confused:

question: where exactly would the "Soarin" attraction be located inside the pavillion? :listen:

[safetymom]

Soarin is located in a building behind the Land. The entrance to the attraction is in the Land.

[sarhenty]

Thanks safetymom,

Would you happen to know where inside exactly? I hope they don't change the living with the land ride :sad1: ...

[OnWithTheShow]

The entrance and exit area to Soarin will be where Food Rocks and the Land gift shop used to be.

[sodaseller]

It looks like the original Future World is a thing of the past. Living Seas is becoming Nemo Land, now the Land is losing it's theme

[Beca]

I could see if they were trying to switch the land from the futureworld section, to the world showcase section. Since Soarin' sits right behind Canada...maybe they're just trying to "transition" this pavilion to more of a "World Showcase" themed one.

Also, it could become a "discover our LANDS" pavilion. I would be sad to see the land go, but...better to change it than close it (as seems to be happeneing a lot in Epcot).

:wave:

Beca

[ChrisFL]

The Balloons are already gone. We were there just a few days ago and they had vanished.

Yep, I was there last week and noticed they were totally gone.

I really wonder how they're going to handle the lines for Soarin', unless there's a big area for the line outside of the Land main building and in the Soarin' building.

[letfuller]

The Land is one of our favorites and we really enjoyed taking the back stage tour. I just don't know if I could tell DH that his beloved 'Land' will be gone.


~Linda

[Easyrider]

When we were their last week i talked to a CM that was working in the Land and was told the ballons would be back and the dining area would be changed. The entrance and exit area to Soarin will be where Food Rocks and the Land gift shop used to be.

[mitros]

They are planning on removing the fountain and the various eaterys downstairs and replacing them with a new huge restaurant.

[Disney_Queen34]

I think a travel agency theme would be great! Although I do agree that Living with the Land might not fit in with that. I also think that Living with the Land is one of the best Epcot attractions as it offers real science!

[Tara8595]

Anyone have the inside track on that? Planning to come in May, but I don't want to come too early and miss it. Is it the belief of most that it will open May 5 to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of DL?

[mickeyfantroy]

I was there Sunday and surprised to see TL closed and a construction wall around the entrance. From what I could see over it the concrete has been ripped up.

[jiminy14]

Visited the Land on our Christmas vacation and can confirm that the balloons have been removed and the ceiling repainted blue with white wisps resembling clouds. I spoke with a CM at the Garden Grill and asked about the Sunshine Food Fair. She told me that the fountain and all existing food structures will be removed. Where the fountain was, they plan to build an open-air kitchen with various food stations. You will be able to order your food and watch it being prepared. She confirmed that that there would not be a full service restaurant downstairs as that would take away business from the Grill (I assumed this meant that the Grill was not being replaced).

[tjkraz]

Anyone have the inside track on that? Planning to come in May, but I don't want to come too early and miss it. Is it the belief of most that it will open May 5 to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of DL?

The Land should re-open in March, and testing of Soarin will begin soon after. Their goal is to have the "Grand Opening" of Soarin on May 5th, but the ride will likely be open to the public ahead of that date.

[Luckymommyx2]

I can't wait to hear some first-hand reports! I'm having a terrible time trying to figure out what everything is supposed to look like after the renovations. I liked the Sunshine Food Fair. The last time we were there it was pretty quiet and gave us a nice escape.

tjkraz...looks like we'll be there at the same time!

[mitros]

Just got back, The Land is closed, and so far, they have not opened Wonders of Life to take up the slack.

[aesalsa]

My DH is VERY disappointed that The Land will be closed during our visit. I really hope they do not do away with "Living with the Land." As many have already stated, is was real science--DH and I really love it. I've visited, but have never eaten at The Sunshine Food Fair (?). I really LOVED the balloons and was hoping I could take pics of them pre-renovation--oh well :worried:.

I too think that Soarin' sound like a great and much-needed E-ticket type of attraction. Walt Disney himself wanted EPCOT to be a place that does change from time to time (but I don't like too much change ;)).

:wave2:

[magicmouse2]

Sorry if I have missed this but has the Garden Grill restaurant closed ?

[tjkraz]

Sorry if I have missed this but has the Garden Grill restaurant closed ?

Yes. The entire pavilion is closed now through mid-March. Garden Grill will then re-open. Sunshine Season Food Fair will be replaced with a redesigned counter service restaurant of some sort. And the entire pavilion is getting re-themed and "tweaked" to help the flow of the additional traffic that Soarin will generate.

[mitros]

The Living with the Land ride will still be there, but the fountain is being removed as well as the food court.

[CTXRover]

The Land pavilion will reopen as what hopefully will be considered an improved pavilion, not a ruined pavilion. The Sunshine Food Court is being removed and replaced with an eatery that will now sit in the middle of the pavilion, replacing the center fountain and featuring an "open" kitchen with several different stations that you can hop between. It will be set up though so that there is only one area to pay at vs having to visit each stand and pay separately at each as before....what they will offer isn't known yet.

The balloons are currently sitting in the paint and prop dept. at MGM and can be seen on the backlot tour. They are being completely repainted into a Four Seasons theme with obvious depictions (a large snowflake for winter, a large flower and butterflies for Spring, Leaves blowing around for fall, a giant sun for summer,etc.). It is believed that they will be re-installed then in this format (some pics were taken and posted over at laughingplace.com last week).

The pavilion will also undergo some needed update in look and traffic/crowd flow...especially to accomodate the crowds that will enter to ride Soarin'. New ramps, elevators, etc. will be installed to ease guest flow through the pavilion.

The main waiting area/queue for Soarin' is a new, separate area that was built to connect the Soarin' show building and the current Land Pavilion with the entrance and exit in the area that Food Rocks was. There is hopefully enough queue line in this "connector" building to prevent any crowds from overflowing into the food court area.

Living with the Land boat ride will not change beyond some possible sprucing up, the Circle of Life movie is expected to remain unchanged and the Garden Grill will remain after a full rehab.

The Land is not being lost or destroyed, don't worry. Hopefully we will all agree the pavilion is much better after its rehab...expecially since its first major E-ticket will now be part of it (Soarin'). What exactly it will look like, I have no idea, but I've heard concept art that was seen by a lucky few appeared promising (complete with the balloons and all)....the final theme is up to a debate, some say a Travel Agency, other say an Airport theme, others say it will be a theme more centered around "the Land" with palm trees and such inside...we'll have to wait and see :)

[mitros]

ANY indication at all that they may return the Garden Grill to a regular menu eatery as opposed to the "buffet" that Nestle put in after taking over from Kraft? We really miss the old restaurant. We have only eaten there twice since it was taken over by Nestle. Before the change, we ate there every time we went to Epcot. Another question comes to mind, will the Land, including Soarin', be totally sponsored by Nestle?, or will there be a different sponsor for Soarin'. Which leads to one more question: who's name is on the Disneyland version of Soarin'?

[CTXRover]

It looks like the original Future World is a thing of the past. Living Seas is becoming Nemo Land, now the Land is losing it's theme

I don't necessarily think so. I think the Land will be better than it was when it reopens. No official word from Disney has indicated what new theme, if any, the Land pavilion will have after it opens. Rumors out there range from an Airport to a Travel Agency to one that will have an even greater inspiration from the "land" itself. Each one of these rumors were started from people claiming to be "in the know"...so anything is still possible.

I'm not sure if you've been in the Living Seas since some of the Nemo enhancements, but if you haven't, let me tell you they are very well done, and tastefully so. It is finally turning into a pavilion worth entering again, imo. I've never seen kids of all ages as energized in the LS as I did on my past trip in a LONG time. All of the new areas are wonderfully done, with a strong focus on education still, but presented in a much more entertaining way. Bruce's Sub house is great for learning about sharks, the Nemo and Friends area is equally wonderful to not only let kids see the real animals, but also you'll find yourself learning some new info along the way....and Crush the Turle show is a true treat and example of modern Imagineering at its best. I feared it would seem like Nemo "invaded" the LS when I first heard of the Nemo additions...but they have done a very nice job on it and I commend them for great new areas that still keep the main theme of Seabase Alpha very much alive.

[safetymom]

I don't remember seeing a sponsor on Soarin in CA.

It is to be themed as an airport. The idea being that you are going to visit the places shown in the movie. That is how the CA movie will make sense.

[CTXRover]

ANY indication at all that they may return the Garden Grill to a regular menu eatery as opposed to the "buffet" that Nestle put in after taking over from Kraft? We really miss the old restaurant. We have only eaten there twice since it was taken over by Nestle. Before the change, we ate there every time we went to Epcot. Another question comes to mind, will the Land, including Soarin', be totally sponsored by Nestle?, or will there be a different sponsor for Soarin'. Which leads to one more question: who's name is on the Disneyland version of Soarin'?

The signs for Soarin' on the construction walls say "presented by Nestle", so I imagine they will remain the sponsor of the pavilion and the new ride, but don't know for sure.

[mitros]

I have not been to the Living Seas for a couple of months now, are the Sea Cabs still walled off? That was quite unattractive, which is one of the reasons that we stopped going there. It was getting rather lame. The last time I was excited about The Living seas was when they filmed an episode of Thunder in Paradise there.

[CTXRover]

I don't remember seeing a sponsor on Soarin in CA.

It is to be themed as an airport. The idea being that you are going to visit the places shown in the movie. That is how the CA movie will make sense.

I've heard credible info that the area where Soarin' is will have an airport theme to justify why we are flying "over the land", but the pre-show video has been re-shot and the queue area will have a greater focus on the biospheres of the Earth and different Land topographies as per a Disney press release vs DCA's queue where the focus is on the history of aviation. There are conflicting rumors though that the ENTIRE pavilion will get an airport theme....which I don't believe is true considering the Land pavilion also features a boat ride and a environmental film.

[CTXRover]

I have not been to the Living Seas for a couple of months now, are the Sea Cabs still walled off? That was quite unattractive, which is one of the reasons that we stopped going there. It was getting rather lame. The last time I was excited about The Living seas was when they filmed an episode of Thunder in Paradise there.

Unfortunately, no, the seacabs are still gone. They still dump you off the hydrolators near the gift shop which is tacky and dumb, but overall the entire pavilion has gotten some needed TLC over the past year.

[mitros]

Not to be a pain with all of these questions, but when you say the Sea Cabs are gone, do you mean gone gone, or are they just still covered over by that wall? {We go to WDW 3 or 4 times a month, you would think I should know :confused3 these things!}

[CTXRover]

Not to be a pain with all of these questions, but when you say the Sea Cabs are gone, do you mean gone gone, or are they just still covered over by that wall? {We go to WDW 3 or 4 times a month, you would think I should know :confused3 these things!}

Just gone behind a construction wall still. The wall is themed enough so it looks a little like a real wall in the pavilion, but its still just that plywood type construction wall from the look of it. In other words, I wouldn't say the sea cabs are gone forever, but there is still little indication of them reopening anytime soon (although I really think they need to).

[raidermatt]

Maybe someday Disney will have the resources necessary to address such problems.

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

I just can't wait (to be King..sorry had to...) to see the changes! I'm sure it'll be all good!

[Theultimateparkhoppe]

Maybe someday Disney will have the resources necessary to address such problems.


Where is that picture taken it is beautiful

[lucky_bunni]

It really sickens me that they are destroying The Land's beautiful landmark fountain. I never missed a visit to that fountain; It was my favorite. Couldn't they incorporate it in the new design in some way?

[raidermatt]

Where is that picture taken it is beautiful

Thank you. Its the tent in Toontown. I took it from the exit stairs coming off of Goofy's Barnstormer.

[peter pan217]

ain't there a soarin at disneyland? it will be cool

[safetymom]

Yes Soarin is at Calif. Adventure in CA. It's a great ride.