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Word on the street is that Epcot’s Character Spot, the meet
and greet spot for Mickey in the gang located in the Innoventions West
compound, is shuttering soon, possibly as soon as this weekend, for a massive
retooling. Reports are listing February as the current target date for
reopening, allowing more than three months for reworking the area. I, for one,
think this change is long overdue.
The Character Spot has always felt out of
place in Future World, or ill-conceived at the very least. The cut-out scenes with cartoonish characters and
scenarios never seemed to fit in with the messages of Future World. Whether you view Future World as the embracing of today's technology or the hope for better
tomorrows, the Character Spot enbraces neither of these. If Epcot wanted to play up the toon side of the
characters and not the Epcot side of this meet and greet, it should have been
located in the Imagination pavilion, and not in such a central location.
Epcot has been shamed by the recent openings of the Town
Square Theater and Pete’s Silly Sideshow in the Magic Kingdom, showing how to
introduce characters around a central theme that plays well with the other
attractions in the area. Character Spot has always felt like a way to shoe-horn
characters into Future World, and this refurbishment is, hopefully, a way to
end that pattern. If I were making these changes I would offer up a few
different ways to move forward.
Give the characters matching outfits that play up the idea
of the future. Bring back rainbow Mickey and the silver suits for the rest of
the gang? No, but you can come up with a futuristic story that they can all be
dressed for.
Move the characters to different pavilions. Make Goofy and
mechanic and give him a corner of the reimagined Test Track. Make Minnie and
astronaut and place her in Mission: SPACE. Donald gets wet in scuba gear at The
Seas. And you really want to make people smile? Give Mickey and Dreamfinder
outfit and station him in Imagination! While we’re at it, can we bring back
some sort of Figment meet and greet?
Last, and not precisely least, if you are going to keep the
characters in the current Character Spot location, make it feel like Epcot.
Place them in front of backdrops of various Future World or World Showcase
pavilions/skylines and add in a few appropriate props.
I am personally glad to see the Character Spot closing in
Epcot. Between all the messages to choose from in Epcot, and the progress being
made by Imagineers on the meet and greet set-up, I can only begin to imagine
what is possible for characters in Epcot!
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3 comments:
But.... this is the last place in the parks where you can meet them in their traditional, original costumes. I would be sad to have NO opportunity for those pictures. And it seems the trend is to theme the spot AND the costumes, so I think you are right that the costumes will likely change :(
I like your idea of moving the meet and greet into the Imagination Pavilion. That makes total sense, and would help drive more guest traffic toward that ride.
They won't give Donald more than one location at Epcot. He already appears at Epcot in his Caballero costume.
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