News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

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doctornick

Well-Known Member
You know, I would just add that I hate people talking in absolutes and being pedantic about their beliefs. There's no "right" approach to a theme park and there can be reasonable arguments for most any entertainment choice (you don't have to agree with the arguments, but that doesn't mean they have no validity).

To me, both the arguments of "characters have no place in Epcot and are an anathema to the ideals of the park" and "kids can't possibly enjoy boring old Epcot unless they add characters they already know" are both ridiculous extremes.
 
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Admiral01

Premium Member
monothingie said:
You know my young nephew who is a big Pixar fan rode the Living Seas with Nemo about a year ago, and you know what he loved it. He was fascinated by what he saw and really engaged with the rest of exhibits and wanted to learn more. I'd call that a success I don't see why there is the need to go off the wall when an attraction is overlaid or linked to a certain piece of IP IF IT IS DONE WELL.

Quoting the EPCOT Dedication "May Epcot Center entertain, inform and inspire. And, above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere."
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And for every little kid who rides Nemo, there is an entire family like mine which will no longer set foot in the pavilion due to Nemo and his friends being inserted in a totally non-creative way. I'd call that a failure. We gave it one try, we hated it, and so we will never ride it again. My family sees Nemo as the character that killed The Living Seas.

I'm glad your nephew enjoyed it. I really am. My hope is that, as he grows, he isn't bored by pavilion's lack of creativity like my whole family is. The Seas is my definition of IP being inserted in the worst possible way. Retelling a movie about a lost fish doesn't make for a good EPCOT attraction, nor does it instill a sense of belief and pride in our ability to shape the world. All it is is a Pixar movie compressed into a 5 minute ride...
 
HauntedMansionFLA

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
One would think that each attraction could be closed to be fully upgraded with state of the art, 21st century AA to reach its full potential. Start with the weakest attraction (Ellen's Energy) and go from there. They can spread out over multiple budgets which they like to do and bring this park back to its potential.
 
Walt 1901

Walt 1901

Active Member
I wonder if increased investment in the park has anything to do with ESPN subscriptions falling to 2006 levels and the Chinese economy faltering. Disney may need the park to generate more revenue finally. Iger has lived on raising the stock price with the success of ESPN and the other IP's that he has purchased. Hollywood Studio is finally getting is much need revamp. maybe its time to revamp the mess that is EPCOT.
 
DarthGrady

DarthGrady

Active Member
I'm only three days older than EPCOT Center itself, and I've been going since I was a young child. I saw it in its golden years. I saw it slowly start to fall apart during the 90s, and I've seen the constant decline ever since. Each new revision being a dumbed down version of what it replaced.

They say it's to make the park more family friendly, but I'm not buying it. Even as a child, EPCOT Center was my absolute favorite. It was different and intelligent. It didn't have the faux-happy pretensions of MK. It had an actual purpose, interesting things to see and do. Some of that still remains, but it's slowly dying amid cheesy cartoon overlays and pointless festivals.
 
GhostHost1000

GhostHost1000

Premium Member
Admiral01 said:
And for every little kid who rides Nemo, there is an entire family like mine which will no longer set foot in the pavilion due to Nemo and his friends being inserted in a totally non-creative way. I'd call that a failure. We gave it one try, we hated it, and so we will never ride it again. My family sees Nemo as the character that killed The Living Seas.

I'm glad your nephew enjoyed it. I really am. My hope is that, as he grows, he isn't bored by pavilion's lack of creativity like my whole family is. The Seas is my definition of IP being inserted in the worst possible way. Retelling a movie about a lost fish doesn't make for a good EPCOT attraction, nor does it instill a sense of belief and pride in our ability to shape the world. All it is is a Pixar movie compressed into a 5 minute ride...
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Very true but love it or hate it they may never have brought back the ride within the living seas if it weren't for the nemo theme. Who knows
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
giphy.gif

I'm going to avoid commenting my opinions about how I feel about the presence of Disney characters in Epcot for now. Things are starting to get a little heated.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
You know, I would just add that I hate people talking in absolutes and being pedantic about their beliefs. There's no "right" approach to a theme park and there can be reasonable arguments for most any entertainment choice (you don't have to agree with the arguments, but that doesn't mean they have no validity).

To me, both the arguments of "characters have no place in Epcot and are an anathema to the ideals of the park" and "kids can't possibly enjoy boring old Epcot unless they add characters they already know" are both ridiculous extremes.
Click to expand...
No characters isn't some after the fact decree by fans, it was one of the design guidelines for the park.
 
DDLand

DDLand

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
Following this formula you have now narrowed the Epcot's target demo to middle aged men. The only reason why you see children, and women, or younger adults on SSE or UOE is because it's a break from the heat or the rain.
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I do have to laugh at this. You're saying women don't appreciate Science, History, and Imagination? Those things should and can be for anyone, or at least most should have the literacy to understand a captivating presentation that really tells a story.

Think of the ambition of SpaceShip Earth. Telling the story of how we communicated from the dawn of civilization. That's powerful stuff and they execute in a fun and exciting way. Compare that to the story Nemo tells...

SpaceShip Earth is more ambitious. They're not even in the same ball park.
 
Smiddimizer

Smiddimizer

Well-Known Member
DarthGrady said:
I'm only three days older than EPCOT Center itself, and I've been going since I was a young child. I saw it in its golden years. I saw it slowly start to fall apart during the 90s, and I've seen the constant decline ever since. Each new revision being a dumbed down version of what it replaced.

They say it's to make the park more family friendly, but I'm not buying it. Even as a child, EPCOT Center was my absolute favorite. It was different and intelligent. It didn't have the faux-happy pretensions of MK. It had an actual purpose, interesting things to see and do. Some of that still remains, but it's slowly dying amid cheesy cartoon overlays and pointless festivals.
Click to expand...

I would argue that the EC you described is dead, been dead for a while, dead and buried, dead Jim dead. Which is actually kind of a blessing if there's nowhere to go but....
 
Gabriel Rovira

Gabriel Rovira

New Member
Every single living thing that existed in the 80s that made this park unique is gone.
Spaceship Earth has been neutered, Universe of Energy altered, Living Seas replaced with Pixar, Horizons replaced with a spinning death trap known as Mission Space, and finally worst of all, Maelstrom..an original attraction replaced with...FROZEN.....The worst of the worst. Now Captain EO is gone soon to be replaced with more Pixar. Epcot is officially..a cartoon park. toontown 2.0
 
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doctornick

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
No characters isn't some after the fact decree by fans, it was one of the design guidelines for the park.
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Guidelines change and evolve. Just because something was the plan in 1982 doesn't mean that the company needs to slavishly follow the same plan for the rest of time.
 
DarthGrady

DarthGrady

Active Member
Smiddimizer said:
I would argue that the EC you described is dead, been dead for a while, dead and buried, dead Jim dead. Which is actually kind of a blessing if there's nowhere to go but....
Click to expand...

First off, LLAP! :D

Of course you're correct, I've made that same point as well. I don't have a problem with the park progressing, that's the mission of Future World. The problem is that they've totally forgotten that the point is to "edu-tain". The attractions should have evolved from their original designs instead of being diluted to the point of irrelevance.

There is nothing to learn from the Nemo overlay, or the Three Caballeros, or Frozen ruining the Maelstrom. It's just mindless toadying for families with small children, and there's already a park (a few actually) for that. There are so many great possibilities for everything in EPCOT, they just have to stop thinking of it as an extension of MK.
 
PorterRedkey

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Gabriel Rovira said:
Every single living thing that existed in the 80s that made this park unique is gone.
Spaceship Earth has been neutered, Universe of Energy altered, Living Seas replaced with Pixar, Horizons replaced with a spinning death trap known as Mission Space, and finally worst of all, Maelstrom..an original attraction replaced with...FROZEN.....The worst of the worst. Now Captain EO is gone soon to be replaced with more Pixar. Epcot is officially..a cartoon park. toontown 2.0
Click to expand...

I believe Maelstrom opened in July 1988, years after the park opened. However, I do agree that Epcot's uniqueness is gradually slipping away year after year with rides that simply try to entertain, rather than educate, inspire and entertain. Personally, I enjoyed the edutainment offering from early EPCOT Center as a kid and I know many peers who did as well.
 

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