Character infusion

To incorporate characters into Epcot, Disney faces a particularly difficult challenge: to retain and explain what makes Epcot different from Magic Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios.

For example, the nature of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride – at least so far! – seems like something that could be placed in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom or Shanghai Disneyland: a high-speed outer space adventure with comic book characters, set in a recreation of their world. (Albeit, that could change if Disney incorporates at least some content into the ride, which we expect they will.)

Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy will be somewhat nonsensically positioned as neighbors with Finding Nemo – a mis-match juxtaposition you'd only expect in the beige soundstages of Hollywood Studios, not in the '80s-stylized pavilions of Future World.

Image: Disney

So how to make sure that Epcot stays Epcot? Here's where our theory comes in:

Assign "ambassadors" to each pavilion. It's not such a wild idea. After all, real World's Fair relied on sponsors to slip their message into the pavilions and draw guests in. Why shouldn't Disney's pavilions likewise be "sponsored" by appropriate, evergreen characters able to slip their messages into the pavilions and act as "ambassadors" to a larger message?

But here's the important part: these characters would neither define, nor obscure the "point" of the pavilions. They wouldn't (and shouldn't!) be present in each ride, show, and attraction within. The point is not to transform the interior of each pavilion into immersive fantasy worlds like Magic Kingdom! These are still "World's Fair" style pavilions, now just with an attached intellectual property for inspiration! Hopefully, adding characters as we suggest below would simply help pull the pavilions back to the roots and unite them once more...!

Not buying it yet? Keep reading...

The Energy pavilion

Focus: Energy resources
Ambassador: Guardians of the Galaxy

Image: Disney / Marvel

This one's written in stone, so let's work off of it.

Marvel's superhero team is en route to Epcot as we speak. One of Disney's first revelations about the new ride was a seemingly innocuous nod that Peter Quill (Chris Pratt's Star Lord) actually visited Epcot back in the '80s when he was a child. Though fans wrote that off as a bit of fan-service meant to quell the anger aimed at yet another lost Epcot classic, the truth is that it's a major hint. The Guardians, it seems, will continue their usual business of breaking the fourth wall, and will probably even note to guests that they know they've overtaken a pavilion at Epcot. 

We can hope, then, that they'll acknowledge that they've landed at a pavilion about energy. ("Yeah, I saw this when I was a kid," we can imagine Peter Quill saying in the pre-show. "It was like, a three hour ride past dinosaurs!") Given that the ingredients are there, it seems possible that the attraction will at least masquerade as a journey through the stars with a purpose. Maybe that purpose will be energy, and guests will disembark knowing a little more about real energy resources. Maybe not. For now, let's give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that – even though Guardians will be the focus – the pavilion might still be Future World's "Energy" pavilion.

The Life pavilion

Focus: Body, mind, and spirit
Ambassador: Inside Out

It's long been rumored that Joy, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust from Pixar's Inside Out  are set to overtake the Imagination pavilion, but in this scenario (that is: unlimited funds and Blue Sky power), we see them as the perfect fit for re-opening the park's forgotten Wonders of Life pavilion.

In fact, couldn't the interior of the hemisphere pavilion literally become the top of a cranium just as in the film? The interior could take on the glowing, mid-century style of the film's "Headquarters," then Imagine if, from that launching point, Epcot finally recieved the epic Omnimover dark ride once planned for the pavilion: The Incredible Human Machine would be a ride through the human body, exploring the wonders of life with massive sets and (of course) a song.

Image: Disney

Avoiding gross-outs and instead playing off the idea of the body working like a machine, this whimsical ride would become a new classic.

Though the Lost Legend: Body Wars has long been scrapped, imagine Inside Out: Emotional Whirlwind, an E-Ticket simulator set in the mind of the film's protagonist – Riley – up to and including her first school dance. With Audio-Animatronics of Joy, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust on-board (perhaps like C-3PO on Star Tours), guests would come along for the ride, piloting Riley in a new-age take on Cranium Command.

Finally, imagine the return of an Audio-Animatronics show to Epcot (after the departure of Food Rocks), but this time it's Body Band Jamboree, an "all-natural" musical revue of organs, each singing of their importance in Country Bear-style seranades. 

The Space pavilion

Focus: Space exploration
Ambassador: Wall•e

Image: Disney

Mission: SPACE might be the only pavilion we'd recommend emptying out to start from scratch. Despite lowering its gravity, guests just never took to Mission: SPACE the way Disney hoped, and plans to clone the ride at each Disney Resort around the globe were quickly kiboshed once initial reviews came out. Mission: SPACE isn't smart enough for Epcot, and it makes up the entirety of what could otherwise be a pavilion of multiple experiences, which is why we'd sooner let it go.

Imagine if, instead, stepping into the pavilion felt as if you were standing on the Axion – the intergalactic vessel from Wall•e. The pavilion would, of course, connect to the new space restaurant under construction, and we're not proposing that that restaurant should now have Wall•e projections outside the windows. Rather, Wall•e is an ambassador to learning more about space exploration. Sure, one such exploration might be an anchoring LPS dark ride called Wall•e: The Stellar Journ•e where guests ride on an 8-passenger trackless, circular vehicle called a Glide•r, traveling through the history of humans' fascination with space, the birth of space exploration, the Space Race, and eventually making it to the stars for a "Define Dancing" ballet across the Milky Way for a look at what our future in space may hold.

The Engineering pavilion

Focus: Engineering design process
Ambassador: TRON

World of Motion was about transportation, so for years and years, we've assumed that's what Test Track is about, too, even if it's focusing on a single, solitary, minute element of transportation. Actually, that might've been true when the Lost Legend: Test Track first opened in 1998. That version of Test Track was exactly what it purported to be: a fun thrill ride casting you as a crash test dummy traveling through an industrial test facility warehouse that kinda-sorta said something about a microcosm of the transportation industry.

Controversial as it may be, I'd argue that the new Test Track is the superior of the two when you consider Epcot's direction. 

The new Test Track – while perhaps a bit too self-serious – isn't really about transportation at all. Rather, it adds in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, simply using the ride itself as a vehicle (no pun intended) to get guests thinking about the engineering design process – design, build, test, redesign.

Naturally, part of that transition was to undo the industrial warehouse vibe of orange traffic cones, reflective signs, and the general malaise of the realities of auto testing in favor of the sleek, digital "SimTrack" where guest-created designs are tested and ranked for their Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness, and Power. That's why, rather than thinking of Test Track as a transportation-themed ride, it's really an engineering-themed ride that's already 90% of the way to admitting its TRON influence and using that influence in its post-show to expand upon the engineering / computer science world it set up.

The Imagination pavilion

Focus: Creativity, art, science, and literature
Ambassador: The Muppets

Image: Disney

If Dreamfinder and Figment don't return (which, by the way, they really should and could, even in this "character-based" Future World), imagine what The Great Muppet Imagination Ride would be like... Let's imagine it's a 12-minute, Audio-Animatronic dark ride with Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Rowlf, Rizzo, and more. Can you imagine hearing the Muppets sing "One Little Spark" as they lead you through realms of Literature, Art, Performing Arts, and Science to collect "sparks" of imagination? Imagine Muppets acting out great moments in story and song, guiding you through the process of inspiration and creativity!

Image: Disney

Naturally, the post-show area (currently the 75% shuttered ImageWorks) would become Muppet Labs, entirely dedicated to hands-on interactive experiences in color, light, sound, music, touch, and more; a playground for creativity and puppeteering. Perhaps the pavilion's 3-D theater could even host a new Muppet*Vision 3D, seemingly forever endangered at Disney's Hollywood Studios and due for a re-write (especially now that Disney owns the Muppets). 

While Dreamfinder and Figment will forever be a piece of Epcot's DNA and are much preferred by most, the truth is that the Muppets might be a spectacular crew to takeover this pavilion in Dreamfinder's absence.

The Adventure pavilion

Focus: Environment, culture, and exploration
Ambassador: Up!

Image: Disney

Since it opened, The Land pavilion has been... well... unusual. Designers initially selected the topic for a pavilion because a logging company was interested, and plans for a grand, glass pavilion celebrating seasons and biomes was drafted. But when the logging company axed their support, Kraft Foods stepped in, requesting that the pavilion be re-cast to talk about agriculture, nutrition, and food (hence, Living with the Land, Symbiosis, and the Lost Legend: Kitchen Kabaret). So for as long as it's been around, The Land hasn't really been about... well... the land.

In this armchair Imagineered version of Epcot, it might be recast as the "Adventure" pavilion, dedicated to exploration and environment. Imagine Soarin': Legendary Journeys as a globe-trotting adventure past the Wonders of the Ancient World... The odd, modern "airport terminal" queue might become a redwood forest leading to a "rusted" old zephyr hangar containing the hang-gliders.

Image: Disney

Meanhile, imagine Living with the Land repurposed as Wilderness Explorations – a dark ride alongside Carl, Russel, Dug, and Kevin as they earn Wilderness Explorer badges by visiting unimaginable natural wonders leading to Paradise Falls – enormous physical sets in those vast Epcot greenhouses! Similarly, the Symbiosis theater could become a live entertainment venue, like Tokyo DisneySea's Hangar Stage.

Re-defining The Land pavilion as dedicated to "Adventure" opens entirely new doors while playing off of the strengths of the pavilion, and having Russel and Carl involved simply lends color and character to the pavilion, even if they're not at the center of every attraction within.

The Oceans pavilion

Focus: Ocean exploration and wildlife
Ambassador: Finding Nemo

Image: Disney / Pixar

Long before Nemo came around, the original ideas for the Lost Legend: The Living Seas pavilion centered around tales of Poseidon, leading guests into a larger-than-life underwater grotto to board Omnimovers for a trip through the oceanic world. Eventually, the pavilion's more epic, mythological cues were downplayed in favor of the Seabase Alpha many of us know, with Hydrolators and (today) cheesy '80s "science lab" decor.

Admittedly, Nemo & Friends was a "cheap and cheerful" way to overlay The Living Seas pavilion with quick intellectual property. And with a simple coat of teal and orange paint, the obviously-80s "Seabase Alpha" became a somewhat-excusable part of the Marine Life Institute. Admittedly, that's a fine overlay and Nemo remains a popular property.

Image: Disney

If you really wanted to re-invent this "Oceans" pavilion, think of what else you could use... It's easy to imagine The Little Mermaid (which practically would just need the pavilion built as originally imagined, just swapping Poseidon for Triton). Think bigger... How could Moana and Maui be an ambassador for the pavilion? How would the Seabase be rethemed for them? Or, how about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? 

A new picture

While each of these pavilions is radically different, and each has a different intellectual property as its "ambassador," they all share something: a commitment to a larger area of science and innovation. In an era without sponsors, the idea of Epcot being a proper World's Fair showcasing the powers of enterprise and the most cutting edge technologies is simply over. But that doesn't mean that the era of being brainy is.

Image: Disney

Future World as a living showcase of industry didn't work.

But by celebrating human achievement and innovation, the park can still be Disney World's "Discovery Park," just with a fresh, evergreen thesis. And best of all, this new strategy unites the piecemeal fixes of the past, re-connecting the pavilions. Animated "ambassadors" revive Epcot's languishing identity, but never overtake the real "meat and potatoes" of what each pavilion should be about; they don't block the pavilion's central message or define it; they support it. That's what makes this park – if characters are infused correctly – different from Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.

Epcot can still educate; it can still inspire; it can still invite. Characters have long been seen as a death of Epcot, but they may be the most realistic path forward for Epcot now...

What do you think? Would bringing characters to Future World make sense, if it's done thoughtfully and if those characters are merely "ambassadors" to a larger picture? Is there a more reasonable way to unite Future World going forward, given that Guardians of the Galaxy may cement characters within the park's northern half forever? What do you hope for Future World?