World Discovery
EPCOT is in the middle of a makeover, and the newly named “World Discovery” neighborhood is one of the epicenters of the excitement. While this area was all abuzz last Autumn with the opening of Space 220, the real excitement that has been brewing is the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction, due to open Summer 2022. While the rumors and sneak peaks have kept the anticipation at its peak over the past year or so, visitors can now see the attraction coming to life behind the construction barriers.
During my last visit, I had to make a quick detour to Guest Services because my named had rubbed off the back of my Annual Pass. Along the way, I cut through World Discovery, as the quickest route from the the Creations shop (where’d I’d discovered the smudge). Looking up and seeing this view, with Spaceship Earth on the left and the Cosmic Rewind building on the right, I really liked the geometric/organic play happening: the geodesic perfection of SSE and the graduated and brutalist edges of Cosmic Rewind (formerly Horizons), with the trees and clouds in between. I think my favorite part is the rounded shadow cutting into the sunlit facade of Cosmic Rewind, adding the the depth of field and messing with how the eye sees the painted gold accents. The shadow itself is an illusion as well, resembling the shape of SSE, but more likely coming from the edge of the building that houses Guest Relations. It just goes to show how meticulously the Imagineers develop the details of these parks, each shape and corner living seamlessly in harmony with the next.
For this shot, I adjusted the exposure to brighten the shot, but also deepened the contrast and pulled back the highlights, shadows, blacks and whites to keep it from being too bright. I clarified the lines just a touch, and bumped up the vibrancy of the color palette, warming everything just smidge. Not pictured, of course, are the construction barriers that kind of ruin most vantage points. Also not pictured is the action shot of a monorail train breaking down the middle of the shot, which thinking back I wish I would have stood and waited for — because that would have been awesome. Oh well, maybe next time.
