Captain EO returns to Disneyland, but will it also return to Epcot? February 24, 2010

Due to the untimely death of Michael Jackson, both Michael Jackson and fans of the Disney movie Captain EO fans have spoken: they want Captain EO to return. Disney executives have honored that wish and has returned to Disneyland’s

Captain EO comes back to change the world at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA

Tomorrowland today. It replaces Honey I Shrunk The Audience.

Among a new generation of Michael Jackson fans, this film has been all but forgotten. Yet, when it premiered, it was a huge event. Many major celebrities of the time including Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Molly Ringwald, Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg and John Ritter as well as members of the Jackson family including sisters Latoya and Janet as well as Jackson’s mother Katherine attended the grand premiere at Disneyland’s Magic Eye Theater on September 18, 1986. The ride closed at all Disney parks by 1998.

One question still remains: will Captain EO return to Epcot?

It should return to Epcot for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that Michael Jackson appealed to everyone. Disneyworld attracts more people from around the world yearly and most of them would love to see the beloved King of Pop sing and dance once again – as Jackson was later more popular overseas than he was in his native USA.

Also, many of those that are visiting Disneyworld this summer, such as myself, would love to see Captain EO once again at Epcot in all its glory. The movie, though cheesy in acting, is still an excellent film when it comes to special effects. The film alone serves as a foreshadowing of other great special-effects films that were later put out by Walt Disney Pictures including the upcoming Tim Burton movie Alice In Wonderland, Toy Story, and Tron Legacy. Disney has probably updated Captain EO by giving it a restoration in both film and soundtrack.

It would be a glowing tribute to bring back Captain EO to Epcot because everyone was sad when Jackson died and it would be a great tribute to have the film play at both Epcot and Disneyworld.

Read the original examiner.com article here.

history surrounding the ride

Changes that should be made at the House of Mouse: Disney January 12, 2010

The other day, I purchased The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010. For those of you that love the Walt Disney Company (like I do), I highly recommend this book because, aside from things like hotel accomodations, it gives a little bit of inside info in regards to the parks and what may become extinct soon.

Reading the book, I could not help but come up with some ideas for the Walt Disney Company.

Disneyworld:

This is one great place that Disney could make some changes.

Epcot:

• Where the Wonders of Life pavillion used to be, make another ride. One idea that would work well would be a 4D spectacular ride called Space Paranoids – based on the 1982 Disney cult classic and video game Tron and the December 2010 release of its sequel, Tron Legacy. It would take elements of the Toy Story Midway Mania ride and expand on them. The preshow area would consist of narration and instruction by a man named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and there you would recieve your 4D helmets which would come in adjustable sizes. The interior of the place would look alot like Flynn’s arcade in the original movie. These helmets would look like the ones in the new movie – complete with surround sound and a clear shield that would show you things such as targets. The preshow area and helmets would be designed by the original Tron designers Syd Mead, Peter Lloyd, and Jean Giraud (a.k.a Moebius). The ride would start off as a virtual track ride where each participant would ride in a light-cycle and would be guided by bit, who can only tell you in yes-or-no fashion whether a data bit is safe to merge with. The second game in the ride would be the light-cycle race, where (in virtual form) the object of the game is to cut off the other light-cycle. The last one standing would be the winner. In the final game, it would be a shooter style game where you shoot down enemy spacecraft. The helmets would look like what is seen in this trailer.

Epcot World Showcase

• Another country needs to be added. My recommendation would be Australia so that you could do the outside exterior of the Sydney Opera House which would house The Rescuers Down Under ride.  There, you could add a Rescuers Down Under-style 4D show where Cody, Bernard, Miss Bianca, and Marahute rescue a red kangaroo from the clutches of fur-hunters. The Sydney Opera House structure at Epcot could also house other live acts such as Austrailian cover bands that would cover such artists such as Rebecca St. James, Men at Work, Kylie Minogue, Keith Urban, INXS, AC/DC, and Olivia Newton-John. As far as retail shops go, a Billabong surf shop would be a great aspect to the Australia pavillion. They would offer shipping of your surfboard or skateboard (should you choose to purchase one) to anywhere in the world. Swim and skatewear would also be sold. Next door there would be a shop where children could purchase toys such as boomerangs, rugby balls, stuffed kangaroos, as well as Mickey and Minnie Mouse dressed up as surfers. For dining, 2 restaurants – one being a fine dining/bar and the other being a quick-service restaurant would be a great choice. These choices would be Uncle Tony’s Kebab’s, an actual fast food restaurant based in Australia that serves kebabs but in this case would also serve vegemite sandwiches, and Quay.
• The Germany Pavillion would have a new live-music act entitled 99 Luftballoons that would play popular music from Germany. Included in their setlist would be the german version of 99 Red Ballons by Nena and both Der Kommisar and Rock Me Armadeus by Falco.
• The England pavillion would lose the cover band “The British Invasion”- a Beatles tribute band in favor of a ride entitled Yellow Submarine – based on the upcoming Disney film of the same title, which has been in talks by Disney for a remake directed by Robert Zemeckis. To replace the cover band, there would be a Top of the Pops-style show that would feature 1 band that would cover lots of British artists and bands such as the Eurythmics, Coldplay, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Oasis, The Clash, Yes, the Who, Queen, Kate Bush, Duran Duran, the Pretenders, etc.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formely MGM studios)

• The Great Movie Ride, while it is a good ride on its own, needs a little updating. It was suggested in the forementioned travel guide that they are thinking of getting rid of the soundstage set for Alien (1979) and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). In place of those soundstages, some suggested great assets to these sets would be the soundstages for Poltergeist (1982), Blade Runner (1982), and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).  Some suggested scenes that could be used would be the scenes from Poltergeist where Carol Ann Freeling is getting messages from the static in the tv and exclaims “They’re heeree!” , the scene where mom gets possessed , or when Carol Ann gets rescued . The most appropriate scene from Blade Runner would be the following scene . Any scene would do from The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
• Get rid of Sounds Dangerous starring Drew Carey. Instead, why not a show about how special effects are done?

The Magic Kingdom

• Get rid of Stitch’s Great Escape. Replace it with a 3D space adventure-motion simulator ride.