Journey Into Imagination: Stepping Tones Concept Art

For all the pieces of concept art I have and have seen, this one was a new one to me. But what a find! EPCOT Center's Journey into Imagination was one of the most beloved attractions of all time and certainly without a doubt, an Imagineering masterpiece. Tony Baxter and team pulled off something not done all too often. They created a brand new ride filled with different moods, everything from charming to suspenseful. I could go on and on about this adventure, but this post is about the concept art for the Image Works and its fun little area, the Stepping Tones.

As with Epcot itself, what guests find in today's Image Works is a shadow of what once was. Imagine if you will dancing and jumping around brightly colored stones in the floor that light up a dimly lit room and play musical notes. Back at the park opening, there was always a crowd waiting to play. And what fun it was! 

Thankfully, the rest of the area was filled with creative games like this. So, unless you wanted to spend hours in the "aftershow" of Figment and Dreamfinder's adventure, you didn't linger too long in any one place. 

If it is done well or even opens at all, I can see the proposed Play pavilion being the spiritual successor to the Image Works. It may be too IP character heavy for my tastes, but it will appeal to today's young kids, especially those who can't ride the nearby Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. But only time will tell.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Cynical Look at New Plans for Epcot

MORE UPDATES: Plans for the new Epcot continue to leak out. I'm naturally very curious as this is my favorite Florida park, but so far, I'm not impressed or surprised. There are aspects I like. (More on that after the announcements on Sunday morning.) Somethings - like a ton of concept art- are left for that time when all the details finally are made official.  

This weekend at D23, the Walt Disney Company will finally reveal its long range plans for Epcot, the second Disney park in Florida and the one that was once the most ambitious. Long ago. Consider me very cynical but also somewhat relieved that they have finally chosen a direction for this long neglected world. But as you will see, this has been coming for years.

With the Leave A Legacy stones moving to a more appropriate place, the new park entrance will be lush, green, and flower filled- including Disney character topiaries to gently remind guests this is not your father's EPCOT Center. Consider it foreshadowing of what guests to the new EPCOT will find inside. 

Anna, Elsa, and Olaf were only the beginning.

On the positive side, I'll admit, the new entrance should be beautiful. It is a warm welcome to a park that introduces guests to a new direction: Magic Kingdom 2.0 is coming faster than us purists would like... but anyone paying attention to the last few years could easily see this coming. 

A new entrance. A new beginning.

A much deeper look at the concept art revealed thus far shows the Imagineers were tasked with creating an Epcot that referenced the past while tossing aside its original mission. Oh yes, we certainly are "On the Brink of New Age - October 1, 2019" as the new EPCOT poster tells us.

The current leadership under Robert Iger has been grooming us to accept and even love these changes for years as one character after another slowly slipped into both parts of the park. 

Future World would no longer be a place of the latest discoveries in science, agriculture, transportation and communication. Now, intellectual properties from the Company's film library would invade those previously almost sacred spaces once dedicated to a fine blend of education and entertainment that one Disney can do. It also does not look like this part of the park will keep its original name. Too difficult to keep up with the future.

World Showcase will no longer celebrate national cultures. Instead, it will now celebrate Disney animation's beloved characters placed in settings that look like where they could have lived. Thankfully, Imagineers set the standard with giving guests recreations of locales around the globe. They have always been romanticized views of the nations, making them a perfect backdrop of the character invasion.

The way things look today, I'll be able to stop going to Disney movies altogether and just visit the World every few years. The attractions here and at the Magic Kingdom and the Studios will give me the full story lines of those films. Money saved. 

EPCOT Center is not gone, however. We'll get references to the first incarnation of it - including all the amazing extinct attractions- in the form of nifty posters and pavilion emblems which are easily turned into pins, coffee mugs, and shirts. It's so easier to sell merchandise that way! I will ask this question: Is it wise to remind guests of what the park used to be about and what was lost in this new direction?

Reminders of the past to sell merchandise
to those who remember the real Epcot Center.

I'm not surprised. Are you? How many times can they give us Figment and Dreamfinder and iconic emblems placed on just about anything that will sell?  

With these premises in mind, let's take a (cynical) look at what's to come:

• Spaceship Earth Revamp- This one scares me. What will they do to this iconic centerpiece of the park, one of the last original EPCOT Center attractions? At least its not the once proposed Time Racers roller coaster!

• Disney's Play Pavilion- The Kid Zone for those who have to have their characters in order to have fun. A chance for executives to push the latest film. Think of it as a constantly refreshed commercial come to life.

• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy coaster- Can you hear the suits in the planning of this one? "Hey Space Mountain is iconic. Let's give them a ride just as exciting but without the exterior architectural elegance. We'll hide the coaster in a huge box behind the original and beautiful Universe of Energy building and hope they forget we've thrown this thing together quickly because its one of few Marvel properties we can use east of the Mississippi." 

One character leads us to another.

• The Journey of Water- Moana takes us on a tour of a children's water maze as you travel towards The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Is it just me or does this piece of concept art remind you of the old Polynesian Village Resort lobby? If built as displayed, it will be a beautiful and relaxing but forgettable experience. How long will the new water features stay turned on?

New Imagination poster.

Photo by Disney Tourist Blog.

• Revamped Journey Into Imagination- Insiders seem to think this could be announced. Kiss those glass pyramids goodbye but see them restore Figment to his playful personality in exchange? The art says the building is staying but Figment returns. Where is Dreamfinder? We will soon find out. 

• Awesome Planet- This film replaces the two previous ones found in The Land. Will it be any good or just a time-filler much like the Pixar Film Festival? Regardless, it can and will be marketed as new. Good enough.

• New wide open spaces-Half of Communicore is gone. The Festival Centers, food booths, gardens, and more shopping take over. Even more dining options are coming. Honestly, I'll say this is a good call. They have not known what to do with this space for the last two decades. The structures will be new and fresh, and the area will feel environmentally rich due to the landscapes. The views will be wide open, and the plus side is we will finally get rid of the most recent awful paint color. 

That round building in the center of both these pieces

was to be the original American Adventure. 

From RETROWDW.

• Bridging Future World and World Showcase- Upscale dining in a building that will be compared to the original plans for the American Showcase. (See above.) Marketing won't miss their chance to point that out. Guests get a prime view of World Showcase from an elevated grass and tree topped new dining patio... with options for the obvious dining packages during the post Illuminations character driven nighttime show. Interesting choice of location but the intent is not surprising.

A new kid's play area.

This "Communicore" aims directly for kids-

with an easy to change out flex space.

What about World Showcase? In order to convince long time fans that Epcot is still about its core mission, they'll finally announce that Brazil pavilion- but without an attraction because its cheaper. Brazil World Showcase style will be just another place or two to eat, shop, and experience local entertainment. As I've said many times before, I do not pay the entrance fees to just enter the park so that I can pay even more to eat there. Give me real attractions, not just more shops and dining options. Give us more than the long rumored Mary Poppins carousel. 

Oh Canada! Isn't it time for a real attraction and not just another remake of the original film? And what about China? The country is rich in lore and legend, and there's even Disney IP to boot. No need to remove one thing to add something else. There is more than enough acreage. 

Does it seem as if every corner of the park will be refurbished and enhanced? It certainly does, but with what paintbrush will they change things? It should be with the heart of the original Imagineers and not those who are ordered to shove Disney related brands into the parks at any cost. 

Please, surprise us and give us more. Give us a reason to believe you suits and Imagineers still understand what this park truly stood for!

Our world is tough, and Disney knows it. So instead of opening doors to advancement for the benefit of all, they are creating doors to character filled experiences which take our mind off our troubles. And a big profit awaits if they pull this off well. California Adventure 2.0 brought in new guests with money to burn. So will the newly re-Imagined EPCOT.

(The top image is a plan from Imagineerlandblogspot.com. Other images copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Sucking the Passion

Isn't it a drag? Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of being with a group of people I really like. A graduation party for the daughter of some friends. Great time was had by most.

But there's always one. One person who perpetually sucks the life and passion out of everyone they meet. Worse than the "Debbie Downer" you can walk away from easily and laugh off. This person drains the life out of you by neutralizing anything that isn't ordinary or expected.

Imagine. Just imagine if Walt Disney has settled for that dissatisfying afternoon at the merry go round with his daughter. Think what it would be like if Steven Jobs passed by some opportunities to change the way a computer was looked at or used. But the naysayers and the status quo believers have been around as long as time!

What about you? Are you the next Jules Verne but afraid to actually write that novel? Could you be another Abe Thiessen (look him up!)? And of course, no one is the next Jesus the Christ, but even the Son of God had his closest friends tell him he couldn't go to the cross the give up his life for a people he loved. But He pressed on- and changed the course of eternity for millions.

So, what about you? Let me challenge you as I challenge myself- don't avoid those who pull you down but do not let them determine your future, your path. Don't let them kill the passion inside of you! Don't let them suck it out until you shrivel up and die. And don't do it to yourself by believing you have no purpose, no power, no course. Or by letting media absorb you into being a spectator in life instead of a participant. God created you. And He knows how you were designed, and in releasing yourself fully to that and embracing it, you'll find life to be all that it should: rich, hard, and rewarding.