I'm glad the park is getting this, in a central location no less. The concept of building a "natural" environment in this spot, while still retaining the symmetry of the original building it replaced, is an interesting concept and I'm curious to see how it looks in person from ground level. The park has always suffered from a lack of transitional areas, and while the barren pathways of Future World worked well for 1982 and helped to make each pavilion feel distinct, it's a style that feels almost feels TOO clean for today. Even more so when you consider all the clashing styles that have been attempted over the years.
Areas that have remained untouched since opening day feel more out of place than ever, making a true return to simplicity nearly impossible. That said, maybe that simplicity isn't needed. In fact, it's no longer representative of what we now consider the future to be. A concept that's always morphing too quickly to grasp our heads around, that it maybe shouldn't be represented by something so clear cut and dry. Future World was a successful concept in that each pavilion had it's own identity while still underneath the overarching idea of what "EPCOT Center" was supposed to be as a whole. We can still retain those individual identities, but have them interweave to support the larger idea of EPCOT. I believe Journey of Water is a step in the right direction.
One thing Disney excels at today is landscaping. It's glaringly obvious that EPCOT lacks many of these lush, immersive environments that are present in the other parks. That's not to say EPCOT needs its own Pandora, but rather, the design philosophies of these newer lands should be carried over here on a larger, overarching scale. I don't want to be immersed into the world of a single IP, I want to be immersed into EPCOT, a place that stands on its own. The problem is, it's hard to decipher what that actually means nowadays. Currently, EPCOT's identity is largely focused on nostalgia, and while that often works for the parks symbolism / typography, the same cannot be said for the design / layout of the park itself. Many of the parks original structures have actually aged quite nicely (a testament to how innovative their designs really were), but many of the interweaving elements have not. Architecture today, while admittedly simple in its design, places a huge emphasis on natural beauty and environmental conservation. Future World may technically no longer exist, lifting the burden of staying relevant with the times, but that doesn't mean the park shouldn't continue to evolve with that design philosophy in mind. It makes sense that a modern day "Future World" would be a lot more lush than the one we're presented with currently.
Imagine an Imagination pavilion (ha) where water leaps throughout a colorful field of flowers. Where the glass pyramids seemingly form right out of the ground below while roots and vines creep up the base of the building. Imagine heading towards the Land, only to wander into a forest where the only clearing frames a perfect picture of the glass structure above. This is what "World Nature" should be (and yes I am aware Imagination is not currently a part of that but it could be) with the central spine serving as the perfect transition between the beauty of the natural world and the beauty of the manmade world. There's something to be appreciated in having different styles and materials come together to make up the pre-existing symmetry of the spine. I myself have been wondering if it will be jarring once the walls come down, but I think the variety of styles at play here will actually work in favor of this new direction of the park, with Journey of Water serving as the perfect "gateway" into World Nature.
