keith_h 420 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 How is someone worth a salary of $50 to 100 million dollars a year? They aren't. Usually the higher the pay package the poorer the performance. Of course it isn't going to change anytime soon with the way the executives stack themselves across each others company boards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Avatab.... Steve 124 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 After the Apollo program ended in 1972, we have never left earth orbit; we've accomplished pretty much nothing. Today, we can't even launch our own astronauts into space. Double Bingo!! My school projects were on Apollo and the Moon Landings. My heroes were the Astronauts, and as I learned more, the Engineers behind them. It was an amazing time and I am so grateful to have been alive for that. I am still wondering how in the hell we went from that high point to bumming rides from the Russians to get to our own space station......... I wish my kid could grow up with that same sense of wonder and expectation. One of the reasons we want to homeschool is to keep him immersed in a positive outlook for our country's past and most especially its future for as long as possible. One thing we will do is make sure we spend time at what is left of the EPCOT-that-was. Horizons and Wonders of Life might be gone forever but SE, Imagination, Energy still have value for soul-stirring ideas. IMHO corporate greed is a symptom of societal decline rather than a cause. There are many political arguments to be made about how we got here, but it seems we can all agree that things just aren't right somehow. And that is what is happening at EPCOT. It's lost its way and is trying to be all things to all people, which never works. It started as a reflection of society's hopes and now it is reflecting our society's naval-gazing Here's hoping that it AND we regain the sense of why it was built in the first place. Hopefully before it becomes just another set of rides to be checked off that days list....... keith_h and djsamuel 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Orlando Theme Parks News2 hrs ·We are finally able to confirm that Innoventions West will indeed close in May. Replacement still unclear. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orlando-Theme-Parks-News/139138469436695?fref=nf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Avatab.... Steve 124 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Replacement still unclear. Chances that it will be Star Wars and/or Frozen related? 100 percent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Double Bingo!! My school projects were on Apollo and the Moon Landings. My heroes were the Astronauts, and as I learned more, the Engineers behind them. It was an amazing time and I am so grateful to have been alive for that. I am still wondering how in the hell we went from that high point to bumming rides from the Russians to get to our own space station......... I wish my kid could grow up with that same sense of wonder and expectation. One of the reasons we want to homeschool is to keep him immersed in a positive outlook for our country's past and most especially its future for as long as possible. One thing we will do is make sure we spend time at what is left of the EPCOT-that-was. Horizons and Wonders of Life might be gone forever but SE, Imagination, Energy still have value for soul-stirring ideas. IMHO corporate greed is a symptom of societal decline rather than a cause. There are many political arguments to be made about how we got here, but it seems we can all agree that things just aren't right somehow. And that is what is happening at EPCOT. It's lost its way and is trying to be all things to all people, which never works. It started as a reflection of society's hopes and now it is reflecting our society's naval-gazing Here's hoping that it AND we regain the sense of why it was built in the first place. Hopefully before it becomes just another set of rides to be checked off that days list....... Excellent post. To show how much Epcot has changed, before Innoventions, there was Communicore East and West. In Communicore East, where Mouse Gears is now (which takes up a lot more area of the building than the previous store), you could go to an area and pick up free issues of Discover magazine, get various science related pamphlets, get help researching various Disney related science subjects related to horticulture, engineering, etc. Our daughter would get in there pretty much every month to get the latest issue of Discover, other technology/science related publications and any info she needed for a school project. Nothing remotely like that now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Chances that it will be Star Wars and/or Frozen related? 100 percent. I'd take Star Wars. They could do something cool and science-y, space-y, technology-y with that, which would fit with the whole Future World thing. Another Frozen anything, short of a display on Cryogenics featuring Walt himself... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Avatab.... Steve 124 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Excellent post. To show how much Epcot has changed, before Innoventions, there was Communicore East and West. In Communicore East, where Mouse Gears is now (which takes up a lot more area of the building than the previous store), you could go to an area and pick up free issues of Discover magazine, get various science related pamphlets, get help researching various Disney related science subjects related to horticulture, engineering, etc. Our daughter would get in there pretty much every month to get the latest issue of Discover, other technology/science related publications and any info she needed for a school project. Nothing remotely like that now. I had forgotten about the Communicore's but now that you say it I remember going there in high school and using the giant AT&T phone to call home with LOL! I also remember other companies sponsoring exhibits and showing off their latest and greatest. :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 More from Orlando Theme Park News... Orlando Theme Parks News13 mins · Innoventions West closing date (85% confirmed): May 1, 2015. You have a little more than a month to experience one last time the Great Piggy Bank Adventure, Where's the Fire, and Think by IBM. And in answer to someone asking about the Character Spot... Orlando Theme Parks News It will be moved to a new location, possibly within the park (no location has been confirmed at this time). https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1092951890722010&id=139138469436695¬if_t=notify_me Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 To make it look more techie, the Frozen cast will dress in Buzz Lightyear inspired spacesuits! Can't have too much of a good thing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 With thanks to Mary Anne for the heads up, Chip & Company is reporting a closing date of 4/30... Have you heard the news Chip and Co fans? Innoventions West at Epcot is set to close on April 30, 2015. “We’ve reached the end of our sponsorship agreements with the exhibitors in Innoventions West and will temporarily close the space in early May to begin preparing for a new experience,” a Disney spokeswoman said Friday. All three exhibits located inside Innoventions West (Think, presented by IBM; The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, presented by T. Rowe Price; and Where’s the Fire?, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance) have reached the end of their sponsorship agreement with Walt Disney World and are being removed. http://www.chipandco.com/innoventions-west-epcot-set-close-april-209414/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 With thanks to Mary Anne for the heads up, Chip & Company is reporting a closing date of 4/30... http://www.chipandco.com/innoventions-west-epcot-set-close-april-209414/In other words, nobody is willing to pony up any money, so let's shutter the building till we can get some poor sap to put some more money in there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Kinda sounds that way. As quickly as anything technology-related changes these days, I'm not sure a sponsorship is even worth it for companies. By the time they got an attraction put together and installed, it might already be outdated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 With thanks to Mary Anne for the heads up, Chip & Company is reporting a closing date of 4/30... http://www.chipandco.com/innoventions-west-epcot-set-close-april-209414/ have reached the end of their sponsorship agreement with Walt Disney World and are being removed.Sort of like MGM and HS? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 We were in there a few days ago and most of the people that were in there (including us) were trying to escape the hot florida sun. It does not surprise me that they have possible plans on closing it but I would prefer that they at least open something/or introduce something else before closing another attraction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Wait, is the Character Spot different from the Disney Visa Character Meet and Greet? I am getting all muddled and trying to figure out how this will effect my 5/1 Epcot touring plans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Wait, is the Character Spot different from the Disney Visa Character Meet and Greet? I am getting all muddled and trying to figure out how this will effect my 5/1 Epcot touring plans. Yes- two separate things in different buildings. Character Spot is not in Innoventions West. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Yes- two separate things in different buildings. Character Spot is not in Innoventions West. TCDOkay, cool. Thank you for the info! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Family of Bears 98 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Rip piggy bank adventure. Bella will be crushed. I gotta get my hands on one of those banks... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Troll 67 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Right, and the original spirit was to evoke a World's Fair, like the 1964 fair in NYC that Walt contributed so much to. Only American society is too shallow, dumbed down and self-centered for anything cerebral like a World's Fair these days. There hasn't been a World's Fair in the US in over 30 years....and I doubt we'll ever see one again. Some would argue that, with all the innovation and information shared instantaneously on the internet, the need for a World Fair or Expo is no longer there. But strip away the Kardashians, US Weekly, TMZ crap from U.S. online volume, and there isn't much left. It's not that the internet has replaced the need for a World Fair. It's that we are too stupid to appreciate one. I'm going to go ahead and go against the grain on this one (who, me?!?). I think the Future World part of Epcot was a bad idea from the get-go. Anything that themed on a vision of the future is bound to become dated in ten years or less. Notice I used the word "themed." Here's the problem Epcot Future World faces, as I see it: We've seen the future. We're living in it. I believe we've hit the glass ceiling of human advancement. When Walt conceived EPCOT, what consider today to be passe was then science fiction. There's an episode of the Andy Griffith Show that's in heavy syndication rotation today where Andy asks another character, "Do you think men will ever walk on the moon?" Now we think about men on the moon and we think, "Been there, done that." When people suggest we land man on Mars, I ask, "What the hell for? To find some rocks?" Spend several trillion dollars to land a man on a distant planet for what? A vanity project? The things from Star Trek that were achievable have largely been achieved. The handheld flip communicator? Got 'em. The handheld computer? Got 'em. Space stations that orbit the earth? Got 'em. The other things from science fiction like the transporter beam, traveling faster than the speed of light, traveling to distant planets across the galaxy, and having long distance conversations from one planet to another are all science fantasy, not science fiction, as they are all mathematically impossible. In the 1960s/1970s there was lots to dream about -- wireless phones, video phones, 3D TVs, super handheld computers, TVs with thousands of channels, a worldwide computer-connected network, space travel, digital money, monorail mass transit, robots that land on other planets...but today? Got 'em all. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...and it ain't really all that exciting. Mass transit sucks, and by and large, the only thing the worldwide computer-connected network is good for is videos of girls being naughty, cat videos, and partisan political misinformation. So I say it's time to take the wrecking ball to Future World and put something fun there in its place. Like rides. Lots of 'em. With high re-ride value. And real animatronics, not manikins with a computer monitor for a face. Because let's face it -- Splash Mountain and Big Thunder kick ass, while Spaceship Earth and Ellen's Energy Adventure are only good for one thing -- a nap. Goodbye, Innoventions, no one will miss you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 When I was in school in the mid-seventies, i remember a class discussion about man landing on Mars. The teacher explained that we could never do this, as the time it would take for a rocket ship to reach Mars was longer than the average human life span. That same trip can now be accomplished in less than a year. (http://www.universetoday.com/14841/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-to-mars/) You say: When people suggest we land man on Mars, I ask, "What the hell for? To find some rocks?" Spend several trillion dollars to land a man on a distant planet for what? A vanity project? Well, why did we go to the Moon? All we did there was to collect rocks. Saying man has hit the glass ceiling of human advancement is short sighted and depressing. I believe the technical advancements seen in the last 30 years have shown us limitless possibilities of mankind. When Walt envisioned Epcot, I don't think anyone anticipated that technological advances would suddenly speed up the way they have. But I still believe we should challenge the generations to come to think bigger and better. I say, "Long live Future World and the dreams it represents!" Oh, and if it weren't for the worldwide computer-connected network, there would be no Fiends. The Fiends have been a huge blessing to me and my family and I thank God for them and the world wide web. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Troll 67 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 When I was in school in the mid-seventies, i remember a class discussion about man landing on Mars. The teacher explained that we could never do this, as the time it would take for a rocket ship to reach Mars was longer than the average human life span. No offense and with all due respect, but whatever teacher told you this in the mid seventies was a nitwit, as we already proved in 1965 that rocket launched vehicles could arrive at Mars in a year or less when we sent Mariner 4 to Mars. Launched in 1964...got there in 1965. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Need some new fun ideas for "Future World" that won't be passé in 5 years? 2 words... Dr. Who :drwho-smiley: Yeah, yeah, I know... a bit of a stretch and not a Disney franchise. I'm just making the point that there are still plenty of WAY-future thinking ideas that aren't necessarily out of the question for Future World. Besides, if we're talking science fiction vs fantasy, I don't think it needs to be one or the other. It's WDW, plenty of fantasy to go around. And who knows what will be achievable in 10 or 20 years? I'm sure plenty of people didn't believe "communicators" and this thing we call the interwebz would ever be real things back in the 60s and 70s. Why not dream a little? Especially in the theme park. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Mass transit sucks, and by and large, the only thing the worldwide computer-connected network is good for is videos of girls being naughty, cat videos, and partisan political misinformation. What about the hamster dance and pinterest! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Troll 67 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Why not dream a little? Especially in the theme park. Well, I think that's essentially what I'm saying -- get away from trying to showcase and/or exhibit the coming technology of tomorrow (which has all been realized) and instead make it more about science fantasy/space opera a la Dr. Who or Star Wars or Star Trek. In other words, shift from education/information to fun. Because let's face it -- humanity will never travel to other planets...not in the "go and come back" travel sense portrayed in Star Trek or Avatar. Not possible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Well, I think that's essentially what I'm saying -- get away from trying to showcase and/or exhibit the coming technology of tomorrow (which has all been realized) and instead make it more about science fantasy/space opera a la Dr. Who or Star Wars or Star Trek. In other words, shift from education/information to fun. I'd be good with that - not that that factors into the equation at all. Something along those lines would still fit with the whole Future World theme, and probably have a much longer shelf life than some of what's been tried in the past. The trick is somebody coughing up the cash to do it. It probably means Disney moving away from the corporate sponsorship model and doing it themselves. That sounds big. And expensive. And hey, if they can throw a few rides in the mix, great! But personally I'd like to see the overall theme stay the same vs something totally new, unless it was something truly new and different, and not just a rehash of something either Disney or some other park has already done. Oh and by all that is holy and good in the world, please nothing Frozen! :banghead: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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