Just today, Orlando Theme Park Zone came across an remarkable concept on an decade-old favourite “married” to Pixar’s Coco. The graphic design team at Parkineer produced a spectacular overlay that could work perfectly in place of the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros (Gran Fiesta) currently housed in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World.
In the 12 years of operations, even following the addition of new animatronics, Gran Fiesta has somewhat declined in its popularity. The attraction sees minimal wait times and most boats are half full if not all together empty. But the main reason for the change! Epcot is currently undergoing an historic transformation, so the change seems to make sense. Do it now instead of never!
The Coco overlay would allow the use of the current boats and ride layout decreasing the construction costs1 and permits… This re-theming would only need set pieces and relevant animatronics placed in the ride building…
1: It can be determined that the costs involved would be the animatronics.
…With that being said, let’s talk about the potential ride through!
As the boats rounds the bend in front of where the Mayan Temple currently is you will see Santa Cecilia, Mexico where Miguel lives. Decorated with memorials and Day of the Dead tributes, you’ll be involved in the atmosphere from the Pixar movie with a subtle acoustic guitar version of Remember ME playing in the background as you make your way towards the Santa Cecilia Cemetery.
Just around the corner, heading towards Ernesto Dela Cruz’s Tomb, you will be surrounded by silhouettes and a handful of audio animatronics paying tribute to their loved ones. It’s crucial to note that the tomb is replacing the entrance to the old Mayan temple.
Following the entrance to the tomb is the Flower Bridge which, using projection mapping and forced perspective, will illuminate the boat and surrounding scenes pushing the boat over the bridge and over to the City of Dead. The water would glow orange, and flowers would be falling from the walls using state of the art mapping to make it look like you were encompassed by the orange petals.
Once you enter the City of Dead, which would be the Small World Room, you would be surrounded by skeletons and characters from the movie. The finale of the ride would be Hector and Miguel on stage singing Remember Me as you round the corner and make your way towards the unloading station. The concept art for the ride can be found below:
Credit: Parkineer 
Credit: Parkineer 
Credit: Parkineer 
Credit: Parkineer 
Credit: Parkineer
Do you like the idea of a Coco-based ride in Epcot? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Parkineer, Just Disney, Blog Mickey
