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Epcot Replacing IllumiNations with more Disney Bullshit

AndreGX

GameXplain
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
1,815
San Francisco
In case you haven't seen it, IllumiNations is an award-winning nightshow at Epcot in Walt Disney World and is considered by many to be one of the best night shows in the world. Taking place in the World Showcase Lagoon, it celebrates the creation of Earth and the eventual rise of the nations that brought, as the recreations of the nations light up around the lagoon itself. It's a show unlike any other.

And now it's being replaced with more Disney bullshit.

An exciting announcement we've been waiting for regarding the new nighttime shows at Epcot just came out from Destination D! Bob Chapek has shared an update on the new permanent show set to open at Epcot in 2020 as part of the multi-year transformation of Epcot.

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The new nighttime spectacular, called "A Celebration of Disney Music," will show how Disney music inspires people around the globe, and will feature large floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, kites with special effects, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics, and lasers.
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What better way to celebrate the nations and cultures of the world than by showing how Disney's central to it all, right?

At least we get a fitting funeral for the park's concept out of it:

In another announcement that will please long-time Epcot fans, there will be a limited-time experience, called "Epcot Forever," which will debut in fall 2019 and will feature classic Epcot tunes. As we reported earlier, this will replace IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth until the new nighttime spectacular debuts.
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The new show may be quite good! But what it won't be is an appropriate replacement for a defining show that once upheld higher ideals. I realize IllumiNations wouldn't have lasted forever, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been updated or replaced without shoehorning Disney IP where it doesn't belong.

Oh, I can also exclusively reveal the original working title for the new show:

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TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Fucking not my Disney
Someone go resurect Walt to save this company from its own bullshit.

Surprised they didn't inject marvel and starwars into it.
 
BDS

BDS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,845
Extremely hot take: Epcot is the worst Disney park, is increasingly poorly-fitted to the rest of the theming of the rest of the parks, and needs a complete overhaul like this to stay competitive.
 

Deleted member 1086

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,796
Boise Area, Idaho
it's almost like Disney is a big soulless money making machine or something

(I have bought a good amount of Mickey's 90th Birthday merchandise the past few months so I'm part of the the problem)
 
OP
OP

AndreGX

GameXplain
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Oct 24, 2017
1,815
San Francisco
BDS said:
Extremely hot take: Epcot is the worst Disney park, is increasingly poorly-fitted to the rest of the theming of the rest of the parks, and needs a complete overhaul like this to stay competitive.
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Even most Epcot fans would agree, but shoehorning Disney's IP into every corner of the park isn't the appropriate way to go about a decade or two of neglect

But that's Iger's MO.
 

sapien85

Banned
Nov 8, 2017
5,427
BDS said:
Extremely hot take: Epcot is the worst Disney park, is increasingly poorly-fitted to the rest of the theming of the rest of the parks, and needs a complete overhaul like this to stay competitive.
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Epcot is the only interesting part of the park if you're not a big Disney fan or a kid.
 
Silver-Streak

Silver-Streak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,007
I was there at the end of October. Illuminations is still rad, and I was glad to be able to see one of its final showings before they gut it.

EPCOT is weird. Disney doesn't seem to know what to do with it since they shut down Innoventions. I'm of the belief they should triple-down on making it tech/science focused rather than making it character focused. We'll see how it goes.
 
Neo0mj

Neo0mj

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,273
Didn't they also do this with It's a Small Word? I went to it a few years ago and was surprised by how they added a bunch of Disney characters to it.
 
bear force one

bear force one

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,305
Orlando
Thank God. It's been boring and technologly stunted forever. We leave as soon as the lights dim.

Most locals will be thrilled.
 
spookyduzt

spookyduzt

Drive-In Mutant
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,835
The tribute to classic Epcot Center sounds like a way better replacement than that Disney music idea that's coming after. I like illuminations, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. If Wishes could get the axe, anything can. I'm still sad the Electric Light Parade is gone for good.
 
TDLink

TDLink

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,411
Illuminations is a fantastic experience. It's so good. Sad to see it go (though I knew it was coming). It doesn't really bother me that they are making a Disney focused show instead of celebrating the world or whatever... because I doubt any show could surpass Illuminations.

I need to try to get to Epcot and see it one last time... not sure I'll be able to though :/ At least we'll always have the soundtrack.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,897
Boo. While I'm glad that something substantial is being done for Epcot's nighttime offerings, this sounds like a total downgrade and the final nail in the coffin of what Epcot's vision once was. Oh well, hopefully they at least make it less mechanically problematic than World of Color so it can at least run regularly without huge maintenance blocks all the time
 
Quixzlizx

Quixzlizx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,591
I haven't been to Disney World in a long time, but Epcot was always my favorite park, and Spaceship Earth was my favorite ride (especially on a hot summer day).
 
Marshall

Marshall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,977
Ugh. Epcot is the one Disney park where you can sort of escape that stuff. Next, they'll probably replace Japan with the Frozen castle or some shit.
 
TheDinoman

TheDinoman

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,092
Dipro said:
Very outraged that disney puts disney in their disney.
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There's nothing wrong with having attractions based on Disney's popular IPs, it's just that most of us miss the days when imagineers were actually allowed to create attractions based on you know, their imagination, and could stand on their own and not be tied down to the latest Marvel/Pixar/Star Wars flick, stuff like Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Alien Encounter and what have you. It's especially hurt Epcot the most.

Expedition Everest was like pretty much the last big hurrah of non-IP based attractions, at least in Walt Disney World. Then the Bobs (Iger and Chapek) took over.
 
FreezePeach

FreezePeach

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,811
Will be sad to see it go but its been around for a long time now and a new change is good as far as im concerned. Im sure they will still utilize all the great country buildings around the lagoon.

Best times at epcot was when they did that parade of nations thing. Huge parade around the entire park with good music and great shows. Probably cost a fortune on top of the already expensive fireworks.

Epcot food and wine is always fantastic as long as you have the monies.
 
CannonBallBob

CannonBallBob

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
732
We're still paying for the sins of Michael Eisner under Bob Iger.

Part of EPCOT's problem is the same as Tomorrowland. It's hard to envision the future, and then a few years later everything looks really dated.

Disney is taking the easy route and going with IPCOT and IPLand. I'm not sure how to feel, but I do know Mission Breakout was a good replacement at DCA. I enjoyed it more than their crappy Eisnerfied Tower of Terror.

I do miss original concepts at Disney parks that don't involve IPs. I wonder when the next time we'll get something like Test Track, Mission: Space, or something like Mystical Manor.
 

Deleted member 32561

User requested account closure
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Nov 11, 2017
3,831
It depends on how the IP is used, imo.
If it's just a Disney lights/fireworks/water show, then... yeah fuck that.
But if it uses Disney characters to help tell a story about world and cultural unity and technology, it could maybe be good.

I just hope the upcoming Epcot overhaul gives some love to WS outside of a Brazil pavilion. IMO every pavilion ought to have some form of attraction, even if it's just a Circlevision type deal.

Epcot also remains my favorite of the WDW parks. It just feels... comfy. I don't know. MK is always packed to the brim, Hollywood Studios feels a bit confused, and Animal Kingdom, while SPECTACULAR... is just too muggy. All the plants'll do that I guess! So I'm excited to see neglected parts of the park get needed upgrades and updates. Really hope the Primeval World segment of Universe of Energy gets reused somewhere....

Marshall said:
Ugh. Epcot is the one Disney park where you can sort of escape that stuff. Next, they'll probably replace Japan with the Frozen castle or some shit.
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I mean, Frozen has presence in Norway already, in a way that's avoidable enough if you have no interest. Again, I think it depends on how the IP is used. Shame Akershus is exclusively a princess buffet instead of at least offering one mealtime for Norwegian cuisine, but it was that way since before Frozen.

Big Hero 6 was brought up as a potential Japan addition, but, that's distinctly set in San Fransokyo, not Japan. Even Frozen has an excuse for being in Norway as Arendelle is specifically based on Norway. San Fransokyo is... AU San Francisco. It wouldn't really work unless it drew more from the comics which I can't see happening. As of now there really isn't a Disney IP that'd work in Japan, for better or worse.
 
Lump

Lump

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Oct 25, 2017
15,957
My favorite part of IllumiNations is how the post-fireworks song (where everyone is encouraged to leave the park now because it's closing) sounds like "Ohhh get out, oh get out get out, away away" played 50 times back to back. It had to be intentional.
 
Silver-Streak

Silver-Streak

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Oct 25, 2017
3,007
Admiral Woofington said:
Epcot is Disney for adults if you actually go there to eat food from around the world and beer. At least I remember they served beer, maybe I'm misremembering.
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Having just been at the food and wine festival at EPCOT, there's more alcohol there than all of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, and that's saying something.
(I don't drink but usually travel with those that do. They had a great time. The food at EPCOT is always amazing, and the food and wine festival has a ton of new/creative stuff)
 
Zoso

Zoso

Member
Oct 27, 2017
249
IllumiNations is still the best fireworks show Disney has ever done. I was hoping they'd update it with new effects. Shame it's going away entirely for what looks to be a World of Color-inspired show filled with Disney characters that has little to do with Epcot. But really, the original Epcot Center mission has been dead for years now and Disney has shown it has little clue what to do with it. So it's not a big surprise. Oh well, "Epcot Forever" could be a neat placeholder show.

However, I'll give them some credit -- Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom proved that Disney can still do some pretty awesome non-IP based shows when they want to. That show, while not perfect, is quite ambitious and doesn't rely on cheap character tie-ins. Having said that, I won't be surprised if in a few years Rivers of Light is gone and some stupid Lion King or Jungle Book show takes its place because RoL scored poorly among children.
 
Linkura

Linkura

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Oct 25, 2017
19,943
Epcot is a big fat fucking mess. Been skipping it on my recent trips and haven't missed it. Will probably get a hopper in a couple years to see the Ratatouille ride and then go somewhere else the rest of the day.
 

JealousKenny

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Jul 17, 2018
1,231
There is a massive disconnect between what WDW Magic, Disboards, etc.... fans like and what the people attending the park like. For the most part IP shoehorning is panned on the fan boards but the records show when IP are shoved somewhere it drives people to that area. For example the Sea Pavilion saw massive increases in visits when Nemo was pushed there. The Norway pavilion was a ghost town until Frozen was put there. It's as if when people go to Disney World they are very interested in attraction that's showcase Disney characters.

Illuminations was getting stale so Ill reserve judgment until I see the new show.
 
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AndreGX

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Oct 24, 2017
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JealousKenny said:
There is a massive disconnect between what WDW Magic, Disboards, etc.... fans like and what the people attending the park like. For the most part IP shoehorning is panned on the fan boards but the records show when IP are shoved somewhere it drives people to that area. For example the Sea Pavilion saw massive increases in visits when Nemo was pushed there. The Norway pavilion was a ghost town until Frozen was put there. It's as if when people go to Disney World they are very interested in attraction that's showcase Disney characters.
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You don't think both of them being two decades+ old with no meaningful updates before then had anything to do with it?

Disney can drive traffic without relying solely on IP as a crutch and compromising what made the parks unique in the first place. The Bob leadership just doesn't give a shit
 

JealousKenny

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Jul 17, 2018
1,231
AndreGX said:
You don't think both of them being two decades+ old with no meaningful updates before then had anything to do with it?

Disney can drive traffic without relying solely on IP as a crutch. The Bob leadership just doesn't give a shit
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I can't tell you enough how much I heard complaints from guests asking where are all the Disney characters when I was visiting Epcot of old. Now if me, as a guest got tired of hearing it, I know the message hit the Disney brass loud and clear. The original idea of Epcot was cool but it just wasn't sustainable, the IP had to come in eventually, the guests demanded it. The days of Disney just doing things and hoping the guests love it are over, they are 100% business now and that means IP.
 
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