The hideous millennium wand and dismembered Mickey Mouse arm that’s clung to the side of EPCOT’s geodesic sphere for the last seven years is finally coming down. It has been reported that Siemens, the new sponsor of the attraction, made a request that it be removed as part of the current Spaceship Earth rehab.
In case you’d forgotten how fantastic it used to look, here’s a reminder. This is a promotional slide from Walt Disney World in 1982, courtesy of Jeff B on Flickr:
Take a look at this fantastic version of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror from Walt Disney World’s MGM Studios in Florida. It’s created wholly with Garry’s Mod and Half-Life 2! I think this is the file here. (via The Disney Blog)
The Walt Disney Company have just released their latest annual report, containing all sorts of numbers and junk that mean absolutely nothing to me. What is interesting, though, is that there’s a section within it entitled “Dreaming” which contains an array of concept art.
Concepts include “Carland”, a covered “urban entertainment center”, a new theme park, a “Pirate-themed adventure” (I wonder if this is linked to the Tom Sawyer island overhaul), a Monsters Inc. attraction and a new “night-time water spectacular” (a suggested replacement for Fantasmic, perhaps). (via The Disney Blog)
Forgotten NY: Forgotten subway signs, advertisements, cemeteries, signs and more. Remnants of years past peeking through to today. (via Design Observer) | Comments (0) »
Another favourite blog of mine is EPCOT Central. Like, the Re-Imagineering blog, it borders on the cynical “they don’t make them like they used to” side of critical journalism, but often raises some very important points on Epcot’s current lack of direction.
They also uncover some fantasic gems, like these brilliant videos from a more enthusiastic age. Sure they’re a bit cheesy now, but they only emphasise how revolutionary Epcot was back in the early days when Disney didn’t feel the need to pump the park full of Disney princesses, thrill rides and inappropriate merchandising.
From the press release: “Designed by the award-winning London Eye architects, husband and wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield. At 183 metres high and with the observation pod rising to 139 metres, the i360 will be Britain’s highest observation tower, taller than the London Eye (at 135m).”
During contruction, the West Pier debris (inluding the collapsed centre section) will be removed but the shell of the main body will be kept intact. The attracton is scheduled to open in Summer 2008.
Sometimes bordering on the obsessively skeptical, Re-Imagineering is a great blog about the shortcomings of Disney theme parks today. The latest post, “Communi-clutter“, features a comparison of EPCOT Center’s Communicore of the 80s/early 90s and Epcot’s Innoventions of now. Same place, different time.
It’s clear that the practice of dumbing down and cheapening what were (and still are, underneath) fantastic architectural statements by The Disney Company is sadly now incredibly commonplace.
Three new WTC Towers were announced yesterday to compliment the Freedom Tower. From BBC News:
“The tallest of the skyscrapers, and the last to be built, will be topped by four diamonds that will point towards the memorial park from any vantage point in the city, architects say.
Designed by Lord Foster, the diamonds will light up lower Manhattan at night.
Lord Rogers’s building will be more slender and designs show it featuring four 100ft (30m) spires - one at each corner.
Fumihiko Maki’s minimalist fourth tower will be covered in perforated aluminium, making it the lightest of the skyscrapers, according to its designer.
The landmark buildings are intended to complement Freedom Tower - which at 1,776ft (541m) is set to become the tallest building in the United States.
All building work on the site is due to be completed by 2012.”
