Imagination Pavilion News

[Cardinals314]

Imagination CMs have been told that their pavilion will be 'temporarily' be closing this winter. I have no idea why or for how long, but since they don't do refurbs we can rule that out. The unconfirmed news coming from Epcot is that Imagination will actually be shut down for all of next year and Captain EO will be gone for good.

[cousininmiami]

I think Captain EO has served it's purpose and the nostalgia is OK to a point, but not for repeated visits to that movie. I did enjoy Honey I shrunk the Audience a lot, and it would be nice to see that again... however whenever I really like something it seems to disappear! Like Horizon's, World of Motion, The original Living Seas pre-show movie, Cranium Command, and did I mention Horizon's??? Sometimes it seems like they change things just for the sake of changing... I will be missing Journey into Imagination if it's closed

[Amy]

I think Captain EO has served it's purpose and the nostalgia is OK to a point, but not for repeated visits to that movie. I did enjoy Honey I shrunk the Audience a lot, and it would be nice to see that again... however whenever I really like something it seems to disappear! Like Horizon's, World of Motion, The original Living Seas pre-show movie, Cranium Command, and did I mention Horizon's??? Sometimes it seems like they change things just for the sake of changing... I will be missing Journey into Imagination if it's closed

Let's hope they are retooling Journey into something resembling good again!

[GoldenBear]

Speaking of unused pavilions in epcot, are there any long term plans for the wonders of life area? I know they use it during the food & wine festival, but that seems like such a great spot to have left unused for so many years.

[Wizzard419]

That is the long-term plan, for now.

Odds are they are going to basically furlough the pavilion since it is a slow time. DLR does something similar on slow days too, with some rides opening considerably later (or not at all) than the park.

[Len90]

That is the long-term plan, for now.

Odds are they are going to basically furlough the pavilion since it is a slow time. DLR does something similar on slow days too, with some rides opening considerably later (or not at all) than the park.

I would agree with the idea it is going seasonal. However, we all know what happens to stuff once it goes that way. Just think about Sounds Dangerous in recent time.

[yodiwan1]

Where are you getting this info? I have a close friend from high school that works at the pavilion and she said she hasn't heard anything like that. I can't see them taking Figment out of the park. The backlash they got last time was huge.

[Wizzard419]

He didn't say they were taking it out, just putting it on ice for when the crowds are low. Though, considering the low attendance of the pavilion... not sure the backlash would be that huge.

[Len90]

He didn't say they were taking it out, just putting it on ice for when the crowds are low. Though, considering the low attendance of the pavilion... not sure the backlash would be that huge.

To me it might actually make sense if it goes seasonal. Journey into Imagination and Captain EO both don't draw big crowds and the standby times really never go above 5-10 minutes even in the middle of summer.

[Wizzard419]

It also might be a labor heavy pavilion since it is two attractions, stores, and the play area/shop. Which would be fine if it were popular or the shop did a large number of sales.

I can't imagine they would be finding any interested sponsors anytime soon either.

[Brian845]

As long as the jumping fountains are still running during the day. I'd miss those, but the pavilion in its current form I could give or take.

[lonepalm]

This would be a terrible tragedy if they were to leave this pavilion closed for good, a la Wonders of Life. It is bad enough they have an entire pavilion behind the overgrown shrubs and such, but two in one park? In my opinion, I wouldn't mind if they re-imagined the entire pavilion (and I'm a huge Captain EO fan, and I actually like Journey Into Imagination). It is my firm belief that they need to sink some serious money into Epcot (yes, I know, they just completely re-imagined Test Track). Maybe it is because Epcot is my favorite park, but I couldn't imagine two pavilions being closed down to rot. Let's hope it is truly seasonal, or no closure at all!

[cy1229]

I agree, having two empty spaces would spell almost certain doom for Epcot in the long run. Everything is already spread out really far apart to begin with. Add in that Ellen's Energy Adventure is not heavily attended at all, and you have people skipping from SSE to Nemo to Soarin' to Mission Space to Test Track, through the World Showcase for shopping and dinner, and out, in just a few hours. Everyone here knows that there is a lot more to Epcot than that, but we also know what it used to be. There isn't any way that anyone could have predicted the dumbing down of American culture to such a rapid degree that innovation in exploration and technology would become boring and unpopular. However, Disney needs to figure out a way to adapt Futureworld a little faster or stuff will close faster.

And this all saddens me because Epcot is my favorite, too. Cue Wiz telling us all about the butthurt

[Wizzard419]

I think you are giving too much credit to the educational content of Epcot...

Anyway, it does not look to great when large chunks of real estate are closed but have no plans for renovation/replacement. Wonders of life can be somewhat hidden since it is a lower profile building but the imagination pavilion is a little harder to not notice. I wonder if Epcot is also the least frequently updated park since it relies heavily on sponsors. I think at one point or another every single pavilion (both sides) had some form of sponsorship, though most of them left by the time it became viable to promote online.

[Cardinals314]

Kodak was the former sponsor for the Imagination pavilion before it went bankrupt. Test Track had to be updated because GM couldn't sponsor it anymore.