www.thinkingofyoupostcards.com/runtime/play/?Guestcode=KQAQKEE1FTPT4Q
there's a nice little bit of dancing by yours truly if you beat it!
This is the type of thing we need more of at Innoventions. It's fun, it gets people interested in technology and it gets the sponsors name out there (not that anyone hasn't heard of IBM). I say this because over the past few years Innoventions has become, well, disappointing. The whole idea of the Innoventions pavilions is to showcase the wonderful advancements in technology being made today. What has been showcased over the past few years? Playstation 2, velcro, a big garbage truck, etc. Even the segway exibit is getting old as people are generally starting to realize Segways aren't all that practical (I'm still a pretty big fan of walking, how old fashioned). The key rule Disney should have learned when they completely remodeled Tommorrowland back in '98 is that the future is constantly changing, and if not constantly upkept, showcasing the future soon becomes showcasing the past.
Speaking of upkeep, Epcot needs some serious work in other areas as well.
Exhibit A: The Imagination Pavilion
It's hard to tell in this picture (as well as any I've found online), but it's just dirty. This is something you'd probably understand my meaning more when you see it in person at Epcot. When I was a kid i remember it being a magnificent beacon of intrigue. The windows shimmered in the sun and at night lights were shot out from the inside. Now it just looks kind of gross. I mean it looks like one of those attractions from a World's Fair that hasn't been used in decades. It looks like it may have been impressive at one time but everyone just lost interest. Granted I would say washing those windows must be extremely difficult work, but come on this is Disney we're talking about. Good show is so important.
And don't get me started as to what the pavilion houses. Journey into Imagination with Figment, a once great ride that, upon being renovated, taught us the meaning of the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" And Honey I shrunk the audience: a 3-d show twice as out of date now as Captain Eo was back when they decided to kick out Michael Jackson for Rick Moranis.
Exhibit B: The Poopy Smell
Thanks to Epcot I now understand that the future stinks. Seriously. In the Coca-Cola cool station one detects the the faint aroma among the carbonated, sugary beverages of sewage. When they exit this building out the back and decide to cut through the adjoined building to the right (perhaps taking a shortcut to that run down Imagination place) it gets worse. Much worse. It smells like 20 fat dudes had diarhea and all decided to use the same bathroom. The first few times I walked through here I figured "oh it's just a sewage problem, this is Disney they'll take care of it right away." 2 years later and everytime I stop by it smells like the wrong end of an elaphant after thanksgiving dinner. Granted I could avoid this area all together. But I shouldn't have to! This is Disney we're talking about! They should find the source problem and fix it! Besides, it's also pretty fun to lead unsuspecting victems into the dump gauntlet.
I ask you, Epcot, is this really what the future holds? An ever present dump smell? After all the acheivements mankind will make could we never find adequite waste management techniques? Have we evolved to a state in which our sense of smell is no longer mandatory so our bodies get rid of it?
I know I'm probably being harsh. Epcot can, and probably should be, the best of all 4 parks at Walt Disney World. Maybe it's time for some fresh blood in management to get the ball rolling and reach that potential. Clean up some of those buildings, fix the sewars, and for goodness sake do SOMETHING with the Odyssey. Until then I guess I'll just keep a nose plug handy and squint my eyes often while I'm there.
No comments:
Post a Comment