Epcot named worst tourist trap in Florida

[Macca250]

WDW may be showing it's age in places (looking at FW) BUT even those areas that are showing their age still make up the best theme parks on the planet.

I understand why EPCOT and DHS are drawing criticism these days, but as a destination, WDW (including theme parks, resorts and everything else) remains my favourite place to visit. I'll still folk out thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles to get my fix as not much else compares... certainly wouldn't call anything inside those purple gates a tourist trap! Anyone who does, sadly doesn't 'get it' and I feel sorry for them as they're missing out!

 

[MisterPenguin]

Funny thing Business Insider...

If you search for "Epcot" on their site, there are plenty of articles in which Epcot is referred to as a perfectly fine place to visit. So, those articles contradict the one in question.

But more importantly, why is "Business Insider" running articles like the ones you can find on any blogger site? I could see if they were discussing the business side of running a park, but they're also running articles about consumer experience.

So, my take away is that Business Insider is about... everything and anything.

Wonder if there's a journal dedicated to business somewhere...

 

[disney4life2008]

I would agree with the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I am a movie fan and this was cool to see, but after 5 minutes I was ready to get out of there.

Lol i thought i was the only one. Looking at stars on concrete when I can do so much more in la lol. But la has a lot of traps anything around Chinese theater and Kodak. Its a rip off times Square. Which is also a trap but times Square is simply amazing.

 

[OvertheHorizon]

Unfortunately this is slightly accurate. Imagine how this park looks to guests who visit for the first time? World Showcase is beautiful but Future World is awful. I can only imagine how it's been doing in Guest Feedback. I don't quite agree with drunkards stumbling around but I know some people have hangups towards this.

While I agree that Future World needs help, in the last year I've taken visitors to Epcot that have never visited it before (I moved to the Disney area a few years ago). We did Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin' and the Living With the Land boat ride. The visitors were totally enchanted. NOTE: I did not take them to Energy, Imagination, or The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

 

[Kman101]

Lol i thought i was the only one. Looking at stars on concrete when I can do so much more in la lol. But la has a lot of traps anything around Chinese theater and Kodak. Its a rip off times Square. Which is also a trap but times Square is simply amazing.

Having seen both, I agree. It was a bit overwhelming at the Chinese theater to see so many harassing "characters". It was bit more "fun" in Times Square and they didn't seem as sketchy and as pushy. They're both nice to see to say you saw them though ... but people should be aware of the realities of them. Times Square/Broadway was just fantastic to be around and in. I had a great time there. There's so much more to see and do in California than the touristy spots but again it's nice to see them if you know what to expect.

 

[Kman101]

While I agree that Future World needs help, in the last year I've taken visitors to Epcot that have never visited it before (I moved to the Disney area a few years ago). We did Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin' and the Living With the Land boat ride. The visitors were totally enchanted. NOTE: I did not take them to Energy, Imagination, or The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Nemo really isn't awful but it's a shame they didn't do more with it in the ride. It's cool to see the projections in the tanks but that's about it ... but Epcot does have a nice lineup in Future World if you get past the tombstones and ugly paint job and tarps.

 

[OvertheHorizon]

Nemo really isn't awful but it's a shame they didn't do more with it in the ride. It's cool to see the projections in the tanks but that's about it ... but Epcot does have a nice lineup in Future World if you get past the tombstones and ugly paint job and tarps.

No one has complained more about the "tombstones" than me, second only to the complaints about the paint job on communicore (What were they thinking?). Both of those things have to give first time visitors the wrong impression. The original Living Seas was stimulating to the mind - really made you think about the two-thirds of this globe covered by water. And I still recall learning (which I never had in school) that all the water has been here since the earth first cooled. It just keeps evaporating, turning into clouds, becoming rain, freezing into glaciers, etc. I don't mind that Nemo and Friends are used to tell a story... but I wish they were telling the story about the Seas, instead of a rehash of the movie.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Coral Castle.......Gatorland......Key West Trolley...... Monkey Jungle...........Defuniak Springs..........Butterflyworld...............Miami Seaquarium.............Wonderworks............Mel Fishers (KW)......Navy Seal Museum (FP)......Swimming Hall of Fame......Kennedy Space Center......Cape Canaveral Light House.......St George Street (St Augustine)......Bayside.............Ybor.........Sawgrass Mills.............Orlando Premium Outlets........Vineland Premium Outlets.....pretty much All Outlets.......................... I gotta stop, getting a headache.

Ok...Yeah!...............let's go with Epcot..........

Whoever wrote the article is an Idiot.

 

[MisterPenguin]

St George Street (St Augustine)

That's what Epcot needs! A haunted ghost story tour! They could go through the remains of WoL!!!

 

[tractor tipper]

Took my 19 yr old nephew to WDW and Uni for his first visit. His favorite of all the parks, EPCOT. HS probably would have been his favorite but all movie making was gone. He can't wait to go back when Toy Story and SW are open. We will have to change MK to one day and HS to two days.

 

[Parker Clan]

We love Epcot!! We were just talking yesterday about how we hope they don't change it too much

 

[FigmentJedi]

.Kennedy Space Center.......

With all the updates they've been doing recently to their visitor complex, Kennedy Space Center is more Epcot-y then Epcot has been in years

Shuttle Launch Experience>>>>>>>Mission Space

 

[tissandtully]

BI likes to make fun of Disney a lot, it's a bunch of young city dwellers who think it's weird for adults to like going to WDW.

 

[Creathir]

Coral Castle.......Gatorland......Key West Trolley...... Monkey Jungle...........Defuniak Springs..........Butterflyworld...............Miami Seaquarium.............Wonderworks............Mel Fishers (KW)......Navy Seal Museum (FP)......Swimming Hall of Fame......Kennedy Space Center......Cape Canaveral Light House.......St George Street (St Augustine)......Bayside.............Ybor.........Sawgrass Mills.............Orlando Premium Outlets........Vineland Premium Outlets.....pretty much All Outlets.......................... I gotta stop, getting a headache.

Ok...Yeah!...............let's go with Epcot..........

Whoever wrote the article is an Idiot.

Those morons have probably not even heard of any of those.

"Let's just pick the top tourist attraction in each state and dump all over it..."
"Yeah, that will make a GREAT article!"

 

[Princess Leia]

Personally, my family really liked Foamhenge... It was free, and we were able to recognize it for what it was: giant blocks of foam made to look like Stonehenge.

I'm taking offense to the inclusion of the Christmas Story house and the Magnificent Mile on this list too.

 

[G00fyDad]

I enjoyed seeing the Alamo, but what I think throws a lot of people is that they see this picture and imagine it out in the un-spoiled prairie.....

View attachment 212003

but in reality, if you turn 180 degrees...

View attachment 212004

I know right? Way back when I was going through the Security Forces Academy in the USAF we took base leave one day and went into San Antonio just to see this place. We were pretty blown away by how small it was. It was still neat to see it but we had more fun down on the Riverwalk.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

One quote from the article explains everything: "The experiences at each country in the park focus only on the most basic stereotypes of each culture, and the few rides this park has are disappointing to most children."

Another journalist idiot (like most journalists nowadays BTW and not only in the USA) that believes that "Disney parks are something for children" To dumb or lazy (most probably BOTH) to do some most basic research, otherwise he would have found out quickly that EPCOT was designed and built as the more adult park in WDW and is NOT a "kiddie park".

 

[tissandtully]

If anyone remembers "Xanadu: The Home of the Future" that was in Kissimmee, that is the true definition of a tourist trap. I went there in the late 90s and they said the big trend in the future was going to be microwave ovens, lol.

 

[Kman101]

The problem is so many people just see WDW as "kiddie parks". I know some people think they're advertising better than they used to and that may be true but what would you get from them zooming in on a 7 year old and no one else? (On one hand it's a great marketing tool, on the other, they aren't doing their parks justice and appealing to teens and adults, not that they think they need to as long as the Super Mom Planners are around). I heard the planning DVDs have improved and they are starting to try to appeal to adults again.

 

[KrazyKat]

Where's the voting?

Two journalists?

Yeah, Dumb & Dumberer