The Rumor Tracking Thread

[rteetz]

What about Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot? It's D23 expo will make announcement for Epcot Makeover include Guardians of the Galaxy ride will take over Universe of Energy?

We don't know.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Blizzard Beach expansion in the works? Land clearing near the 'closed for refurbishment' red slopes suggests so! (I've created its own thread, but thought i'd share the info here too...)

https://www.disboards.com/threads/blizzard-beach-expansion.3613715/

 

[disneydreamer781]

My daughter and I love it. All we have to do to bring a smile to each other's faces is to start singing "Immaaaagggination."

Are you familiar with the original?

 

[disneydreamer781]

I just wanna know why a ride is gonna take longer than a land...or it feels like it

I'm sure Disney doesn't want to start anything else until SW Land is at least close to completion. I just hope I can hang in there until 2020-2021.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Didn't I read on here that Inside out was not coming to EPCOT? Never mind, I found it myself.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I think we all want a better Figment ride (that he deserves)

YES YES YES! I vaguely remember the whole Imagination pavilion when I went as a child in the mid 1980's. Captain EO, the Rainbow Hallway, all that... it's pretty much most of my memory of EPCOT. I remember my mom allowing me a splurge of buying all the Figment little vinyl figures she could afford (they were like 2-3 inches tall) that came in various themes throughout the park - Space themed, Energy Themed, Imagination Themed, I think there were even World Showcase ones where he was in costume? I only remember a few of them... it was a long time ago! LOL

Figment was ultimately a delightful "secret" character that people only knew about if they went to the "Smart Disney World" as people I knew referred to it. So he was more special in that Mickey can be on everything.... Figment... well you had to experience the wonder that was EPCOT to know about him...

Yes it is all nostalgia but seriously if Disney did it right... he could carry the Park practically again without needing extra boost from IP... he already is a strong IP for that Park...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

YES YES YES! I vaguely remember the whole Imagination pavilion when I went as a child in the mid 1980's. Captain EO, the Rainbow Hallway, all that... it's pretty much most of my memory of EPCOT. I remember my mom allowing me a splurge of buying all the Figment little vinyl figures she could afford (they were like 2-3 inches tall) that came in various themes throughout the park - Space themed, Energy Themed, Imagination Themed, I think there were even World Showcase ones where he was in costume? I only remember a few of them... it was a long time ago! LOL

Figment was ultimately a delightful "secret" character that people only knew about if they went to the "Smart Disney World" as people I knew referred to it. So he was more special in that Mickey can be on everything.... Figment... well you had to experience the wonder that was EPCOT to know about him...

Yes it is all nostalgia but seriously if Disney did it right... he could carry the Park practically again without needing extra boost from IP... he already is a strong IP for that Park...

Funny, I have very similar memories as a kid and I totally remember picking a Figment stuffed animal as my souvenir from the trip

They use Figment a lot (he was all over the Flower and Garden Festival merchandise) so I don't think he is going anywhere as a character - just the current ride is a poor version of the original and there is just so much better technology that could be used to explore Imagination

I also think it hurt when they closed off the upstairs vs when they had the full blown ImageWorks ... I mean, now, outside of the Pixar shorts all you have in the entire pavilion really is a sub-par attraction and the DVC lounge

 

[danikoski]

YES YES YES! I vaguely remember the whole Imagination pavilion when I went as a child in the mid 1980's. Captain EO, the Rainbow Hallway, all that... it's pretty much most of my memory of EPCOT. I remember my mom allowing me a splurge of buying all the Figment little vinyl figures she could afford (they were like 2-3 inches tall) that came in various themes throughout the park - Space themed, Energy Themed, Imagination Themed, I think there were even World Showcase ones where he was in costume? I only remember a few of them... it was a long time ago! LOL

Figment was ultimately a delightful "secret" character that people only knew about if they went to the "Smart Disney World" as people I knew referred to it. So he was more special in that Mickey can be on everything.... Figment... well you had to experience the wonder that was EPCOT to know about him...

Yes it is all nostalgia but seriously if Disney did it right... he could carry the Park practically again without needing extra boost from IP... he already is a strong IP for that Park...

That's the Epcot I remember too First time I went with my parents was in 1989. I remember the Figment vividly, also Horizons and the ride that was in the Seas pavilion. I also had some little plastic Figment figurines and I had a stuffed Figment, which I think is still kicking around somewhere. I currently have a magnetic stuffed Figment in my cubicle at work that has his head poking around the side, although my coworkers enjoy moving him around.

 

[danikoski]

Funny, I have very similar memories as a kid and I totally remember picking a Figment stuffed animal as my souvenir from the trip

They use Figment a lot (he was all over the Flower and Garden Festival merchandise) so I don't think he is going anywhere as a character - just the current ride is a poor version of the original and there is just so much better technology that could be used to explore Imagination

I also think it hurt when they closed off the upstairs vs when they had the full blown ImageWorks ... I mean, now, outside of the Pixar shorts all you have in the entire pavilion really is a sub-par attraction and the DVC lounge

I wish they'd bring the upstairs back to it's original glory. And I loved Image Works. Spent hours as a kid in the Imagination pavilion. I know part of the decline was that Kodak stopped being a sponsor. But think of all the cool stuff they could do now. Get Adobe, with their Photoshop and lightbox software, to sponsor, or Instagram or something. It could totally be awesome again with some investment and imagination

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I wish they'd bring the upstairs back to it's original glory. And I loved Image Works. Spent hours as a kid in the Imagination pavilion. I know part of the decline was that Kodak stopped being a sponsor. But think of all the cool stuff they could do now. Get Adobe, with their Photoshop and lightbox software, to sponsor, or Instagram or something. It could totally be awesome again with some investment and imagination

I hate that the answer to why there is the downfall of original EPCOT is that the sponsors dropped out. I get it, that was the original model, but figure something out - Disney has $.

And that is a great idea to try and get multiple sponsors for parts of a pavilion rather than needing a "Kodak" to sponsor the entire thing

 

[MissGina5]

YES YES YES! I vaguely remember the whole Imagination pavilion when I went as a child in the mid 1980's. Captain EO, the Rainbow Hallway, all that... it's pretty much most of my memory of EPCOT. I remember my mom allowing me a splurge of buying all the Figment little vinyl figures she could afford (they were like 2-3 inches tall) that came in various themes throughout the park - Space themed, Energy Themed, Imagination Themed, I think there were even World Showcase ones where he was in costume? I only remember a few of them... it was a long time ago! LOL

Figment was ultimately a delightful "secret" character that people only knew about if they went to the "Smart Disney World" as people I knew referred to it. So he was more special in that Mickey can be on everything.... Figment... well you had to experience the wonder that was EPCOT to know about him...

Yes it is all nostalgia but seriously if Disney did it right... he could carry the Park practically again without needing extra boost from IP... he already is a strong IP for that Park...

I want that rainbow hallway dangit

 

[MissGina5]

I wish they'd bring the upstairs back to it's original glory. And I loved Image Works. Spent hours as a kid in the Imagination pavilion. I know part of the decline was that Kodak stopped being a sponsor. But think of all the cool stuff they could do now. Get Adobe, with their Photoshop and lightbox software, to sponsor, or Instagram or something. It could totally be awesome again with some investment and imagination

Ok I would LOVE this

 

[disneydreamer781]

That's the Epcot I remember too First time I went with my parents was in 1989. I remember the Figment vividly, also Horizons and the ride that was in the Seas pavilion. I also had some little plastic Figment figurines and I had a stuffed Figment, which I think is still kicking around somewhere. I currently have a magnetic stuffed Figment in my cubicle at work that has his head poking around the side, although my coworkers enjoy moving him around.

I have that magnetic Figment on my refrigerator!

 

[dreiwhit]

Are you familiar with the original?

No, we never saw it.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

That's the Epcot I remember too First time I went with my parents was in 1989. I remember the Figment vividly, also Horizons and the ride that was in the Seas pavilion. I also had some little plastic Figment figurines and I had a stuffed Figment, which I think is still kicking around somewhere. I currently have a magnetic stuffed Figment in my cubicle at work that has his head poking around the side, although my coworkers enjoy moving him around.

My mom got my DD the Magnetic Plush Figment recently! So cute!

Since we were at EPCOT for International Festival of the Arts in Jan 2017, yes I ran screaming to a kiosk for a tote bag (but Mom bought it for me first!)

When mom and I returned to EPCOT sometime in the later 90's, early 2000's, Figment's ride was gone and nearly all mention of him in the Parks was also gone. Back then they did not have the app for the Stores so the very sweet CM's spent an afternoon calling around to all the merchandise places, and allowed us to come to Guest Services and select what we wanted to order, then have it shipped back to our house! So Mom splurged, the biggest splurge I've seen her do in my childhood, she bought two 3 foot Figment plush at $40 each (the last two left in the warehouse we were told) ; one is hers, one is mine...

I also used to have the magnets now that someone remembered them... but they broke apart many years ago.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Just been re-listening to the latest Disney Dish podcast. Forgot to mention something on here. They seem to be pretty confident the Star Wars Hotel is coming... They mentioned the following info;
- Likely site would be the wetlands near to the World Drive entrance to Studios
- 400 rooms to start with
- 2 expansion pads set aside (300 rooms each) if demand is there.
- Experience will be in the hotel and in Star Wars Land (i.e. meet characters in certain locations, do certain things etc.)

Haven't heard anything on this since the survey a few months back, so an interesting development IMO.

 

[rteetz]

Just been re-listening to the latest Disney Dish podcast. Forgot to mention something on here. They seem to be pretty confident the Star Wars Hotel is coming... They mentioned the following info;
- Likely site would be the wetlands near to the World Drive entrance to Studios
- 400 rooms to start with
- 2 expansion pads set aside (300 rooms each) if demand is there.
- Experience will be in the hotel and in Star Wars Land (i.e. meet characters in certain locations, do certain things etc.)

Haven't heard anything on this since the survey a few months back, so an interesting development IMO.

I'm not sold on the hotel. If it would be part of SWL wouldn't they have started it already? I don't see any immediate evidence of it.

 

[jade1]

Just been re-listening to the latest Disney Dish podcast. Forgot to mention something on here. They seem to be pretty confident the Star Wars Hotel is coming... They mentioned the following info;
- Likely site would be the wetlands near to the World Drive entrance to Studios
- 400 rooms to start with
- 2 expansion pads set aside (300 rooms each) if demand is there.
- Experience will be in the hotel and in Star Wars Land (i.e. meet characters in certain locations, do certain things etc.)

Haven't heard anything on this since the survey a few months back, so an interesting development IMO.

Oh my-hope that happens.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

I'm not sold on the hotel. If it would be part of SWL wouldn't they have started it already? I don't see any immediate evidence of it.

Apparently it won't actually be in Star Wars Land, according to what Disney Dish said, it wouldn't actually be in the park. Not sure how they'd keep the immersion though if doesn't have an entrance straight into SWL, but then again, it may well be linked in some way (maybe a Star Wars vehicle that takes you from inside the hotel and into Star Wars Land? Who knows)

I haven't seen anything recently, but think it'll happen at some point - Disney wouldn't go through all the work of creating concept art etc. if it wasn't something they are seriously considering. And tbh, even if it would open with SWL in 2019, IMO it is still possible even though they haven't started it yet - just look at how quickly Universal's Aventura Hotel has gone up (which is a lot bigger than Star Wars Hotel would be too..). I think it is a cool concept, something i've never seen done before, so would be interesting to see how it all works and if the idea works. As with everything, time will tell i'm sure!

 

[rteetz]

Apparently it won't actually be in Star Wars Land, according to what Disney Dish said, it wouldn't actually be in the park. Not sure how they'd keep the immersion though if doesn't have an entrance straight into SWL, but then again, it may well be linked in some way (maybe a Star Wars vehicle that takes you from inside the hotel and into Star Wars Land? Who knows)

I haven't seen anything recently, but think it'll happen at some point - Disney wouldn't go through all the work of creating concept art etc. if it wasn't something they are seriously considering. And tbh, even if it would open with SWL in 2019, IMO it is still possible even though they haven't started it yet - just look at how quickly Universal's Aventura Hotel has gone up (which is a lot bigger than Star Wars Hotel would be too..). I think it is a cool concept, something i've never seen done before, so would be interesting to see how it all works and if the idea works. As with everything, time will tell i'm sure!

Universal moves quicker than Disney tho. I wouldn't mind it happening but I just don't see it opening with the land right now if they haven't started.