Captain EO Vs. Tomorrowland: Finding the Differences

As many of our Readers know, Captain EO "temporarily" left the Magic Eye Theater at Epcot (and Disneyland in California) and was replaced by a sneak peek of one of Disney's upcoming live-action movies, Tomorrowland.

While the switch was done in just a week, quite a few minor changes are visible to Guests, especially to those who are more familiar with the area (we are aware that many are not fans of the Imagination! pavilion as a whole). Let's see...

First of all, the stand-by sign of Captain EO has been completely removed and replaced. While the temporary Tomorrowland sign does not look as nice, the logo and font used are pleasing to the eyes.

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The Captain EO poster was still in place until a few days ago, having the Tomorrowland poster covering it. When it got dark, Cast Members noticed that Michael Jackson's face was visible through the Tomorrowland poster due to the lights behind the sign. This got fixed very quickly. True story.





The warning signs have been replaced by generic signs featuring the Magic Eye Theater. We will add photos of the updated signs in the next few days (we apologize for not having taken any photos of them):





The Captain EO sign above the entry doors has been removed as well, while the FastPass+ and Stand-By signs are still in place (we noticed that the FP+ sign is also not covered despite the fact that the Tomorrowland preview does not offer the FastPass+ service. It might have been covered by now).

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The lobby is the area with the biggest changes. In fact, all the posters, signs, and logos on the walls have been replaced with much more elaborate artworks showing the fictional Tomorrowland. Guests can spend quite a few minutes examining the imaginary places that might be seen in the movie.

In addition to that, after years of silence, an absolutely outstanding musical score can finally be heard in the lobby. When Captain EO was around, the lobby was a desolate place where Guests could hear absolutely nothing (it was relaxing, I guess...). With the addition of this fantastic score, this particular area of the attraction has become a much more appealing place. What a difference music can make!

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The Captain EO poster has been replaced. The new one is presented by the Magic Eye Theater:

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The large Captain EO logo that was formerly located near the merge point has been removed and replaced by a round Tomorrowland logo. You can still see the triangular shape of the old sign on the wall, which has left a mark that has not been painted over. Not a very good show, but... that's how it is.

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No more 3D glasses. Cast Members are definitely happy. They now have much more basic spiels and they do not have to stack glasses at the end of each performance. That's surely a nice change of pace:



The pre-show area has not changed much, aesthetically speaking. The old (and tired) Captain EO pre-show video has been replaced by a very cool countdown that includes three one-minute interviews (around 10:30, 7:20, and 5:10 on the countdown clock) that share some interesting information about Walt Disney, the New York World's Fair, and EPCOT.

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In addition to that, a very nice jet pack suit was on display on the stage located at the end of the room.  Sadly, it only last one single day. The display had to be removed due to the lack of a sprinkler system above it (the display used lights that might have generated a fire in case of overheating).



The main theater got a completely refurbished sound system, a new HD projector, and some fixed show elements. Sadly, the floor motion is still a hit-or-miss (it's getting way too old), and the water effect are nonexistent. The preview itself is outstanding, and will be very appreciated especially by theme park fans. When the floor does move, the whole experience gets even better. We do not want to spoil anything, so we will not provide any information about the preview itself. It's a surprise.

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And that is all for now. Thank you for your support, and see you again real soon!

PHOTOS BY: Alex, Official Orlando Theme Park News Team Member and Photographer.