Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/08/14/misney-makeover.html
…
The Universe of Energy, unfortunately, suffered a few technical difficulties on its final day of operation and unexpectedly shut down early
Did the Pirates of the Caribbean eat the tourists?
5 Likes
Every time I rode TGMR, a new part was broken down. And nothing ever seemed to get fixed. I had to sit there and whisper to my kids things like "that car used to drive up from the alley"
It was a little odd that so many features were allowed to fail without repairs. That is more what I expect from Universal, where you have to forensically examine the attractions to try to figure out all the things they did when new.
But the Movie ride could easily have been continuously updated, with segments added or removed to reflect recent films that do not merit their own ride, but are worth exploring.
And the energy ride was not terrible. The technology was interesting, and Ellen’s performance was fun.
3 Likes
Not really a big fan of either ride, but that may be because I’ve only visited WDW in the off-season. Apparently the biggest thing these had going for them was the humongous number of visitors per hour that they could handle. When you have a grumpy kid who is tired of standing in line, a 20 minute wait for Ellen starts to look very tempting compared to more than an hour for Mission Space.
2 Likes
Are the Disney Hollywood Studios classic now? They didn’t even exist when I last went to Epcot.
2 Likes
The Universe of Energy closed permanently? But where will I go in Epcot for an air-conditioned 45-minute nap now?
4 Likes
There’s still the World-of-Vegetables (Living with the Land) boat ride!
Put my kids to sleep every time…
3 Likes
Indeed - but it’s too bright and hard to hide your snoozing from the live boat operator/narrator. TUOE had the wonderful combination of darkness, huge seating areas, and relative quiet (during the non-Jeopardy dino scenes). If I may speak for tired parents generally, it will be sorely missed. 
Sadly yeah, though it’s been in top working order since the Turner Classic Movies sponsorship a few years back. The Footlight Parade intro area has been broken since 1997.
Though I’ve always had a lot of fondness for the ride. It’s always popular, and a great centerpiece to the park. I had held out hope that they would go for a big rehab to fix the broken bits, swap out a few movies, and give it a refresh, but the new ride that’s replacing it (an immersive Mickey ride that’s supposed to make you feel like you’re in a cartoon) sounds pretty terrific.
21 years is still new-ish, I guess, but that’s a long time for a park to have the same ride as its signature centerpiece show.
I will miss it for exactly that reason, as well as the corny dialogue. And the huge massive moving theater. “Dinosaurs are just cool!”
The Universe of Energy has closed completely? Fuck you, Entropy!
5 Likes
Who’s making fun of sustainable energy now?
I think it’s a good move to retire TGMR. I’m looking forward to the Mickey and Minnie ride, and I’m really glad that this will be a ride based on a longstanding Disney institution.
I suppose that my disappointment is that replacing the Energy Adventure with a Guardians ride is another nail in the coffin that EPCOT is supposed to be “educational.” It was always as much propaganda as education, but now it’s just more cross-marketing.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
