Mouse Extra

One of the more underappreciated parts of Epcot is Innoventions. For most guests, its the two buildings you walk through to go from Test Track to Soarin’, fastpasses in hand. Or the home of Mouse Gears. Or just the place they keep the bathrooms. But there are some interesting things at Innoventions. I loved the area where you can see posters and concept art from the early days of EPCOT Center, for example.

 
 
Orlando Attractions Magazine published some concept art for a new attraction at Innoventions called the Sum of ALl Thrills that will be coming soon. It is Disney’s first attempt at the robotic arm type simulator. Accordinl to the article, guests will design a ride for a roller coaster, jet plane, or bobsled. The arm technology is similar to the one used to control the angler fish at Nemo & Friends during the ride portion of the Living Seas. Hopefully, it won’t suffer from the same technical difficulties. That fish never seems to be working.
 
The attraction also sounds an awful lot like CyberSpace Mountain at Disney Quest. But that attraction is outdated. The visual graphics are ancient so at the very least, this should be a step up in that department. It also should add some thrills to Innoventions. This maybe something the guest will seek out. And as the introduction of new technology, it could be a surprise hit, like Turtle Talk was initially.

John Frost of the Disney Blog reported late last week that the long anticipated Tequila Bar will be opening at the end of this month inside the Mexico pavilion at Epcot.  It will be called La Cava del Tequila and it will open its doors on August 28.

Guests visiting La Cava del Tequila will have the opportunity to enjoy over 70 types of authentic tequila from several major brands, ranging from the simplest to the rarest of them all, aged to perfection and made from the finest distilled spirits from the Agave Plant. A Tequila Ambassador will be on-hand to educate Guests on the history of Tequila making and its rich Mexican heritage.

Exotic and unique-blended margaritas will be served introducing a variety of flavored salts, spices and tropical fresh fruits masterfully prepared by experienced mixologists.

The plan also calls for a small Tapas-style menu as well, which would really add a nice reason to sit and hang around for awhile, rather than just grabbing a margarita in a plastic cup and moving on to Norway.

Now, I am not much of a tequila fan.  I guess there is just too much Irish in me for that.  But this sounds like a really terrific addition to the Mexico pavilion and the experience for adults at Epcot.  There are no character or movie tie-ins with this addition.  It is just a great way for adults to get out of the way of runaway strollers for a little while and enjoy a very popular piece of Mexican history and heritage.

Since EPCOT Center’s opening, Disney has been looking for ways to make the culture and cuisine heavy World Showcase more accessible to children. They have added a ton of character meet-n-greets. They threw in a small flume ride when they contructed Norway. They created the kidcot craft tables. All of them are fairly successful. And now they are bringing an animated star from the Disney channel lineup: Kim Possible

World Showcase seems an ideal place for kids to jet-set around the world as secret agents. Guests get Kimmunicators at certain kiosks. These interactive devices, presumably stemming from the My Pal Mickey tech, will guide guests throughout World Showcase on some sort of treasure hunt to find items. The whole idea is to stop villians from taking over the world, an admirable goal for certain. Each country will feature a unique mission. The countries involved are apparently Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. Here is the report from redorbit.com

I must say that I find this to be a unique and possibly interesting addition to World Showcase. Its a great way to involve the kids while not intruding on the more adult ideals of the area, such as the shopping, architecture and food. Its apparently going to begin later this year.

Today’s update is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Sometimes I report or write about something on this website that makes me want to go out and by a plane ticket to Orlando right now.  This is one of those times.  Disney announced yesterday that some of the stars of one of my favorite television shows, “The Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel, will be appearing inside the Norway pavilion in Epcot in mid-July.

Here is part of the press release…

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Norway pavilion at Epcot will host Sig Hansen — one of the featured stars on the popular reality series on The Discovery Channel, “The Deadliest Catch” — for an in-park appearance July 10-13, 2008. Hansen will appear inside The Puffin’s Roost, the pavilion’s merchandise location, each day. He will be joined by his brothers, Edgar and Norman Hansen, who also appear on the show.

A fourth-generation Norwegian fisherman, Sig Hansen is the captain of the Northwestern, one of the crab-catching vessels on “The Deadliest Catch.” He, Edgar and Norman own and operate the Northwestern. Based in Seattle, Wash., the Hansens have fished together for nearly 20 years.

Yes, I am a “Deadliest Catch” junky.  I can’t get enough of it and can’t stand that it only airs about a dozen times a year.  The visuals from this show are mind blowing and the work these guys do is downright crazy.  New episodes air Tuesdays at 9pm ET, but re-runs seem to be on every day while the show is in season.

Why couldn’t they make this appearance when I am there??

Maya Bell from the Orlando Sentinel has a terrific story about a new attraction coming to Epcot’s Innoventions later this summer.  It is called “StormStruck: The Tale of Two Homes” and it is a look at what to do to be safer during a hurricane. 

StormStruck, an immersive digital surround-sound-theater experience, is based on what happened to these two houses — and is designed to show homeowners that they can make their own homes safer: not by teaching the nitty-gritty of safe construction, but with a little Disney drama.

…According to a Disney description, exhibit visitors will don 3-D glasses and watch as their “safe house” is lashed by a hurricane and begins to break up around them. As the eye of the storm hovers overhead, they’ll race against the clock to decide how to rebuild the home more safely.

I will be totally honest with you.  I am one of those people that walk past Innoventions and barely ever go in, no less walk through the exhibits.  But this looks intriguing enough to make me want to give it a try.  Perhaps coming in to see StormStruck may make me want to look around at the rest of what is offered in the old Communicore, another place a barely even went.

I do find it interesting that Disney has chosen a hurricane as the subject of the next addition to Innoventions.  It goes without saying that hurricanes have been one of Disney’s most difficult problems when it comes to getting people to central Florida during the offseason.  You would think they would want to stay clear of any talk of the destructive force of these storms.  But I applaud them for the effort.

Hidden inside Innoventions, just around the corner from the Epcot Character Spot, is a new and probably short lived gem of Walt Disney World.  It is called the Epcot 25th Anniversary Gallery, and it explores the history of this wonderful theme park.

The gallery has the words “Creating the New World of Tomorrow” above its entrance and it features a visual history of Epcot Center.  It is chock full of artifacts, models and concept drawings.  All of which are serious eye candy for the Epcot lovers and especially heartwarming for the purist.

You’ll find some great artifacts and even a wonderful collection of some of the very first merchandise sold at Epcot Center…

Those of you out there, and I know there are quite a few, who miss the classic Future World attraction Horizons may just shed a tear when they see this display case dedicated to the extinct attraction…

And these photos just scratch the surface.  It is not a big room, and they could probably make it three times as big if they wanted, but it is till a great walk down memory lane.  The next time you are at Epcot, get yourself out of the blistering heat or passing shower and take a look inside Epcot’s 25th Anniversary Gallery.  If you are a lover of Epcot, you will not be disappointed.