Does anyone know why Epcot has sponsors for their rides?

[OKW Lover]

Kodak used to sponsor Imagination. When they pulled out, there went the dreamfinder and the wonderful ride.

Kodak was still the sponsor when they did the first disastrous remake.

 

[lilpiglet97]

Early concepts for Space Mountain had it planned as a ride through the inside of a computer in order to pitch it to a computer company for a sponsorship (don't remember who it was supposed to be off the top of my head; I believe I read that story in The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at its Peak).

The other one I can recall is that I would swear that Dinosaur was originally sponsored by McDonalds, back when it was still Countdown to Extinction. I remember seeing little golden arches on the walls of the hall leading out of the preshow theaters. That was ages ago, though, so it's possible I'm imagining things.

Early concepts for Space Mountain had it planned as a ride through the inside of a computer in order to pitch it to a computer company for a sponsorship (don't remember who it was supposed to be off the top of my head; I believe I read that story in The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at its Peak).

The other one I can recall is that I would swear that Dinosaur was originally sponsored by McDonalds, back when it was still Countdown to Extinction. I remember seeing little golden arches on the walls of the hall leading out of the preshow theaters. That was ages ago, though, so it's possible I'm imagining things.[



I know this has nothing to do with Disney sponsors, but I saw you're going on a Disney cruise next week. We will be on the Fantasy on the 20th. What ship are you cruising on?

 

[BonnieA]

Kodak was still the sponsor when they did the first disastrous remake.

Well now I can see why they pulled out. Bad decision with that remake.

 

[YawningDodo]

I know this has nothing to do with Disney sponsors, but I saw you're going on a Disney cruise next week. We will be on the Fantasy on the 20th. What ship are you cruising on?

I'll be on the Magic -- and don't scare me like that; I still have nearly two weeks to finish my costume!!

 

[StrawberryChan]

part of epcot's sponsorship deals was to support the idea of promoting future technologies: a lot of companies, such as general motors (world of motion and test track), general electric (horizons), kodak (the imagination pavilion, moreso the 3D movie magic journeys), bell system, AT&T, siemens (spaceship earth and in the latter case illuminations), hewlett-packard (mission space before it relaunched), united technologies (the living seas pavilion), metlife (the wonders of life pavilion), exxon (universe of energy before ellen), kraft, and nestlé (the land pavilion) either formerly have or currently sponsor future world attractions

that also included communicore, which was renovated into innoventions; it was basically a parade for corporate sponsorships, and in particular the sega sponsorship back in the '90s was a favorite

as mentioned previously, there's also companies that sponsor individual world showcase pavilions. it was their intention to originally have each country's government sponsor each pavilion, but as of now only morocco is directly government-sponsored. food is also a major part of epcot's sponsorship, with companies like kraft and nestlé as mentioned, as well as coca-cola, chiquita, and obviously the park-wide coffee stands of starbucks and joffrey's

back when the park was first opened, the sponsorships were also used to cover the park's astronomical construction and maintenance fees; epcot was one of the largest projects disney had undertaken at the time, and even now it's still the second-biggest park next to animal kingdom. as time went on, they were able to recoup the fees and afford losing these sponsorships, but as a result the park became a bit depreciated without companies checking up on maintenance. (notice how some of future world's recently sponsored rides, such as spaceship earth, mission space, and test track, are among the most well-maintained)

basically, it was a win/win since disney got the money to build major attractions, the companies were advertised to people from across the globe, and guests got a high-quality experience as a result

 

[FastPasser.]

but as a result the park became a bit depreciated without companies checking up on maintenance.

With all due respect, I think it was for other reasons.

notice how some of future world's recently sponsored rides, such as spaceship earth, mission space, and test track, are among the most well-maintained

I haven't noticed that.

 

[Crystal824]

Yes, and I think they used to sell McDonald's fries from one of the of the kiosks in Dinoland. There are red, yellow, and white pipes in the loading area that I think still have the chemical formulas for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise as part of the sponsorship.

Restaurantosaurs used to be a McDonalds, and they had a cart that sold McDonald's fries in Dinoland. Dinosaur was sponsored by McDonalds too. I remember it used to say over and over in the que...brought to you by a generous grant from McDonalds. There was also a cart in Frontierland at MK that sold McDonald's fries.

This was during my CP, and I worked at AK. One of my roommates worked at Restaurantosaurs. She used to say, I came on the CP to work at McDonalds

 

[clippers6]

Not just China. A similar contractor runs the restaurants in Mexico. They also operate the restaurants at Coronado Springs Resort and the bar at Frontera Cocina (Disney Springs).

The thing about China is the company seems to do nothing else. The company running Mexico is the same family that ran the original San Angel Inn plus several other restaurants in WDW as you mentioned. Italy was run by the company that invented Alfredo sauce before they were replaced by Patina which has multiple restaurants across the country. France is a company started by famous French chefs. Japan is run by a Japanese department store company.

I guess China (and maybe Morocco) are profitable enough for a company to exist solely to run the handful of restaurants there even though they’re among the easier reservations in Epcot.