Rumored new pavilion at Epcot

[Robert Ruffo]

This:

Double-u double-u double-u dot slimeworld dot org, forward slash strange forward slash (had to write out address as though telling it to you on the phone because I am not yet able to post links here)

...website describes one of the most popular pavilions at Epcot's little-know predecessor, which closed the year before Epcot opened, Man and His World. It saw more than 2 million visitors, which is a lot for a pavilion in a cultural theme park you have probably never heard of, open only 3 months per year, in a city (Montreal) filled with a zillion other things to do.

I have always thought it would make a perfect addition to Epcot as a theme for a new Future World pavilion.

Apparently several current imagineers agree, and were big fans of the pavilion as children. I really hope something comes of this, I can only imagine how cool Epcot's version would be, even though I was not born in time to ever see the original in person. It fits perfectly into the Ray Bradbury-like spirit of Future World at its purest.

Info comes from not altogether unreliable source (she was right about Maelstrom and Frozen a full year before it was announced).

What do you guys think?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . It fits perfectly into the Ray Bradbury-like spirit of Future World at its purest . . .

1) Future World hasn't been Ray Bradbury-like for ages.
2) Future World hasn't been "future" for ages.
3) Without a MAJOR sponsor for a new exhibit, do not expect one.
4) Disney does not pay for its own exhibits - they want others to do so.

 

[DanBoris]

This:

Double-u double-u double-u dot slimeworld dot org, forward slash strange forward slash (had to write out address as though telling it to you on the phone because I am not yet able to post links here)

...website describes one of the most popular pavilions at Epcot's little-know predecessor, which closed the year before Epcot opened, Man and His World. It saw more than 2 million visitors, which is a lot for a pavilion in a cultural theme park you have probably never heard of, open only 3 months per year, in a city (Montreal) filled with a zillion other things to do.

I have always thought it would make a perfect addition to Epcot as a theme for a new Future World pavilion.

Apparently several current imagineers agree, and were big fans of the pavilion as children. I really hope something comes of this, I can only imagine how cool Epcot's version would be, even though I was not born in time to ever see the original in person. It fits perfectly into the Ray Bradbury-like spirit of Future World at its purest.

Info comes from not altogether unreliable source (she was right about Maelstrom and Frozen a full year before it was announced).

What do you guys think?

If the source knew about Maelstrom a year before it was announced it was likely a lucky guess. The Maelstrom re-do was announced 9/12/2014, so a year before that would have been over two months before Frozen was released and before Disney knew how big a hit they had on their hands.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I think that if you weren't scared of your own board reputation, you would have posted this under your real board nic instead of making up an alias (thus giving you at least 2 which is against board policies, BTW) to post this. Either this or you are a troll.

You asked what did we (implying I) think.

 

[tiggerdad]

2) Future World hasn't been "future" for ages.

Agreed...even the ducks waddling around the place are more up to date

 

[doconeill]

It wasn't a "little known" predecessor to Epcot. "Man and His World" was the theme of Expo 67 in Montreal, which was extremely successful when it opened. After Expo 67 ended, "Man and His World" continued in the summer for a number of years as its own thing, although little was done to maintain it (the structures were not designed to last) and the various pavilions deteriorated. In fact, several of the buildings would be featured in SF TV shows due to their futuristic and abandoned looks.

I don't know what the attendance was actually like, but it paled in comparison to Expo 67 itself, which saw 50 million visitors over its six months and was the second largest ever in attendance. Canada only had a population of 20 million at the time.

It would not be wrong to think of Expo 67 (and other similar World's Fairs - most notably the 1964 New York World's Fair, where several attractions were designed by Disney and moved to the parks or used as prototypes for others) as an inspiration for what became EPCOT Center, especially the separate pavilions featuring specific technological themes. EPCOT Center was conceived itself as a "permanent World's Fair".

However, it makes no sense to create a pavilion based on "Man and His World", since FutureWorld as a whole was already similar.

 

[johnvree]

3) Without a MAJOR sponsor for a new exhibit, do not expect one.
4) Disney does not pay for its own exhibits - they want others to do so.

I never get this. Why does Disney need a sponsor to put a new attraction in Epcot? Do sponsors pay for attractions in MK, DAK and DHS?

Attendance at Epcot has been pretty flat; between 2008 and 2013, attendance has grown just 2.6%. Contrast this with Magic Kingdom, which grew 9%, Universal Studios, which grew 13.3%, and IOA, which grew 53.7%. Universal Studios is no doubt going to see a huge jump in its 2014 numbers. I got the attendance numbers from Wikipedia.

I love Epcot and I've never skipped it on a trip. But last trip we spent very little time in FW and next trip we are probably only going to WS. As great as Soarin and Test Track are to us, they are not enough to pull us down to FW for a morning every trip.

I think a lot more people are leaving WDW property to spend two days at Universal Studios. Universal used to be a day trip at best, kind of like taking a break to go to SeaWorld. Now, two days at Universal is barely enough time. This means people are skipping a Disney Park or two. For many, that's DAK because there are so few attractions. Once the Avatar land opens up, DAK will not be skipped by many. And when DHS opens a star wars area (which I know is years away), DHS will be a full-day park. I suspect this means Epcot will become the park to skip.

So you might say that improving Epcot is not going to boost attendance at WDW overall because it will just cannibalize attendance from DHS or DAK. I don't think so. If Epcot becomes a must-see because of another great attraction, I think it will mean less time at Universal, not WDW, for many.

Epcot has a lot of free space -- The old Wonders of Life Building in FW and the Outpost in WS. An attraction and a new pavilion in WS would make Epcot harder to skip.

Alternatively, turn Spaceship Earth into the Death Star and turn FW into Star Wars land. Just a thought...

 

[doconeill]

I never get this. Why does Disney need a sponsor to put a new attraction in Epcot?

Need, no. Prefers, greatly.

Do sponsors pay for attractions in MK, DAK and DHS?

Yes, at least when many were built. Probably less so with MK for the attractions as many were copied/modified from Disneyland and they needed the park to draw people right away.

But at Epcot (really, EPCOT Center), corporate sponsorship was directly involved. And if you look into the history of World's Fairs - especially New York 64, those sponsorships were central to them happening. In many others, it was usually the countries that sponsored the pavilions (perhaps giving the mostly-false belief that the countries directly paid for their corresponding pavilions in the World Showcase), but in the case of New York (which was not sanctioned by the BIE, like Expo 67), it was mostly corporate sponsorships.

So the sponsorships that helped pay for EPCOT Center was in fact keeping with the concept.

That said, the whole corporate financial landscape has changed over the past couple decades such that you aren't likely to see that level of involvement any longer - especially with Disney being one of the largest corporate behemoths there is. Many attractions and pavilions are no longer sponsored and maintained fully on Disney's dime. And the recent expansions/rehabs likewise went on without specific corporate sponsorships AFAIK.