EPCOT Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

V

V_L_Raptor

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
He was a public employee of Disney. He wasn't secretly on their payroll.

What you said is like saying Iger is a shill. Or like saying the hired actors in a commercial for Disney are shills.
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He was absolutely a public employee of Disney. No one's disputing that. Trouble was, he first came on the scene claiming to be an Imagineer, and... well. It was more like being associated with Imagineering would've made him an "Imagineer," because he was more a shill for carpet design references than he was an effective participant in creating anything of substance in the parks.

The title shouldn't be an idle thing to throw around social media, but there he was.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
V_L_Raptor said:
He was absolutely a public employee of Disney. No one's disputing that. Trouble was, he first came on the scene claiming to be an Imagineer, and... well. It was more like being associated with Imagineering would've made him an "Imagineer," because he was more a shill for carpet design references than he was an effective participant in creating anything of substance in the parks.

The title shouldn't be an idle thing to throw around social media, but there he was.
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He is an actual Disney Imagineer. Up on the higher rungs, too.

His floor obsession is probably more related to stuff he can talk about because it's not spoilers for what they're actually doing.

It seems that Disney PR was 'helping' him with his Insta posts, but, he's a real, high-level Imagineer. He was at the time of the EPCOT refresh and still is (unless he was laid off recently, AFAIK).
 
V

V_L_Raptor

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
He is an actual Disney Imagineer. Up on the higher rungs, too.

His floor obsession is probably more related to stuff he can talk about because it's not spoilers for what they're actually doing.

It seems that Disney PR was 'helping' him with his Insta posts, but, he's a real, high-level Imagineer. He was at the time of the EPCOT refresh and still is (unless he was laid off recently, AFAIK).
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And that's what I mean by "reeled in." Marketing/PR "helped," right up until they didn't, and he disappeared from the socialsphere as the voice of the EPCOT refresh, well before its "completion."
 
Sir_Cliff

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
I don't think it's hard to understand why people are excited about/happy with the current EPCOT -- it's certainly better than what's been there for most of this century, and that's all many people ever experienced.

I think it's still significantly worse essentially across the board than the EPCOT that existed at its best (the attraction lineup today is much weaker and probably has less capacity too, for one), but EPCOT at its height was the best theme park I've ever seen. That's a high bar to clear, and no other park (Disney or non-Disney) has done it -- plus it's been gone for nearly 30 years.
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I feel pretty much this way. As a relaunch of Epcot, this seems very slight and, I think, ultimately falls short of propelling Epcot into a bold new era that can compare with the park during it's initial 10-15 years.

That said, it is a lot better than it has been for the past 20 years or so in many ways. Most of the improvements are aesthetic, but I'll take them as that whole central spine had become so mutilated over the years with ill-conceived attempts to make it more 'colourful' or 'dynamic'. So, I find it hard to understand people declaring Epcot dead to them as a result of this project when it's mostly made the park at least a little more pleasant. I do wonder to what extent it is people who grew up with the 90s version that limped through the first decades of the twenty-first century who are upset that their nostalgia for that version of the park has been swept away.
 
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J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
Sir_Cliff said:
I do wonder to what extent it is people who grew up with the 90s version that limped through the first decades of the twenty-first century who are upset that their nostalgia for that version of the park has been swept away.
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I honestly think there are two distinct generational clusters. There are those who lived through original EPCOT and legitimately miss the one-of-a-kind thing it was on opening day, and then there are those who mistook its millennial husk for some sort of unique Disney aesthetic once people forgot what the 80s and 90s looked like.
 
tparris

tparris

Well-Known Member
You’re telling me they can’t even remember to take the stickers off the signs after they open the place??? (Photo from just now)
IMG_1408.jpeg
 
Sir_Cliff

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
James Alucobond said:
I honestly think there are two distinct generational clusters. There are those who lived through original EPCOT and legitimately miss the one-of-a-kind thing it was on opening day, and then there are those who mistook its millennial husk for some sort of unique Disney aesthetic once people forgot what the 80s and 90s looked like.
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I get that impression, too. It's particularly apparent when you see people mourning the loss of the "theming" of Mouse Gear or the original Club Cool with the ice cave and snow mobile out front.
 
trainplane3

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
dreamfinding said:
Don’t touch the trains.
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Trains were on the chopping block with the Brazil project. Though they were very aware of how much guests love them so there was a decent chance they'd return elsewhere. But as far as I know, they were more concerned with Brazil being built and the trains would be a "bonus" afterthought.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Henry Mystic said:
Besides the back of the Festival Center and losing FoN, every change made to FW was a massive aesthetic and functional improvement.
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No it wasn’t, but there you go. This whole project has been a disaster once you get past the lack of tombstones.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that. I have a feeling we’ll agree to disagree on this.
 
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Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
No reason they couldn't just be relocated with an even better train layout. The one they have is fine, but they could do much better...and the Germany attraction could be a train ride through the German countryside...which might be a little better than the boat ride that was originally planned...
 
Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
No it wasn’t, but there you go. This whole project has been a disaster once you get past the lack of tombstones.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that. I have a feeling we’ll agree to disagree on this.
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I agree. But, even to play devil's advocate, I think it's tough to argue this isn't "development by committee" or, more simply, disjointed. Epcot feels like a Powerpoint made by 5 people and slapped together at the last minute. The biggest loss is a park that had the most cohesive, overarching theme into one of the most disjointed (both at the park and "land" level). When they were doing bandaid fixes over years, I can see how it can get that way (looking at you Tomorrowland...). But, this just had a massive, park-wide overhaul. And, it made this aspect worse, not better.

I think there are other criticisms to be made, but I find it very difficult to argue against that.
 

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