Thursday, September 27, 2007

EPCOT 25 - Do You Remember . . .

. . . Mickey and Friends in their Future World outfits?

Quintessentially 1980s in style and design, these pseudo-rainbow spacesuits defined the Fab Five when they finally arrived in EPCOT Center after an initial character moratorium when the park first opened.

10 comments:

Klark Kent 007 said...

Just another reason they should have stayed at the Magic Kingdom.

It is too bad they had to cheapen them in this way.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I like their costumes!

Anonymous said...

I COMPLETELY disagree with Klark Kent.

I can't see how this "cheapens" the characters in any way.

Anonymous said...

P.S.: The "they should've stayed in the Magic Kingdom" remark is downright stupid, if you ask me.

Saying that the Disney characters should not be allowed to roam one of their own parks is like telling someone that they can't walk around their own home, even if they own it 100%. Catch my drift?

Johnny Jackhammer said...

Well, the whole rainbow design on Mickey and Minnie is unfortunate, in my opinion. But Goofy looks like he belongs.

I'm not a big fan of the characters being in Epcot except for an occasional element like Goofy About Health. I think that Disney felt they needed to increase the presence of characters in Future World because of the museum/educational feel it had in the first 15 years of operation. Hard to blame them, but I'm nostalgic for the old feel of Future World.

On the other hand, I really like the presence of characters around World Showcase as they correspond to the given country or region. I reckon that puts Mickey in the USA - but please, Mickey, wear the tux!

Thomas Phillip said...

I like Pluto's hat! And the rainbow theme kinda signifys hope,unity, diversity, and being Fabulous!

Anonymous said...

"I like Pluto's hat!"

I was just going to comment on that...not expressing the same opinion. :P I mean really--a pin wheel? This is the 21st century?!

Ha, taken altogether I have to admit they're cute though.

Anonymous said...

Complete Captain EO rip off.

These characters deserved so much better than this. Actually, these characters had no real business in Future World. If they needed to appear to satisfy guest demand, they simply should have appeared as themselves, not in some wretched getups that had ZERO relevance to Future World.

Terrible!

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding, Anonymous?!

Those outfits of theirs weren't "wretched" at all. They were awesome and they have LOTS of relevance to Future World!

And they do so have business being there.

And no matter what outfits they were, those characters are still "themselves" and always will be.

linklewtt said...

I like the presence of characters in Epcot, and I think Disney forgot in 1982 that the Disney parks are for everyone in the family including the smallest children who are more familiar with the characters. The difficult task Disney faces is to engage a variety of ages at once. EPCOT didn't do this, and Disney I think learned their lesson.

As for their costumes, I can understand Klark Kent's objections. While it's obvious that Disney is trying to promote the optimistic future (like Walt himself), I think the rainbows and Pluto's hat in particular take it a little too far. I think it would have been better if they had slightly more stylized costumes that were futuristic somehow, or even space clothes without the rainbows. However, is this the first time we see Goofy without a hat?

This reminds me of Disney's America. When that park was being planned, one objection was that people thought Disney would put a happy spin on serious American historical events. These costumes put that bizarre and overly happy spin on the future.