EPCOT Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[Sir_Cliff]

Electric Umbrella literally just looked like a 90s movie theater concession area.

Indeed. I sometimes get the impression that a lot of people who consider themselves Epcot purists or at least defenders of the park's original vision are a little unclear about which version of Epcot they are defending. When people decry new additions as seeming too "corporate" and lament the stripping away of the bright colours and "theming" of the 1990s additions like MouseWorks, I do wonder whether they would actually like the original EPCOT Center if it was restored in all its glory.

It all makes some sense as the park only spent about 12 years in its original state and I wouldn't be surprised if most people who now feel nostalgia for Epcot based on their own experiences are remembering the post-1994 version.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

I’m not suggesting Connections is this amazing whimsical space, it has a few things going for it but it could use more color and details for sure. The mural is the best part of it and i think is better than anything that was part of Electric umbrella.

 

[Agent H]

I’m not suggesting Connections is this amazing whimsical space, it has a few things going for it but it could use more color and details for sure. The mural is the best part of it and i think is better than anything that was part of Electric umbrella.
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Fair. Honestly connections is the best of the new buildings.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Indeed. I sometimes get the impression that a lot of people who consider themselves Epcot purists or at least defenders of the park's original vision are a little unclear about which version of Epcot they are defending. When people decry new additions as seeming too "corporate" and lament the stripping away of the bright colours and "theming" of the 1990s additions like MouseWorks, I do wonder whether they would actually like the original EPCOT Center if it was restored in all its glory.

It all makes some sense as the park only spent about 12 years in its original state and I wouldn't be surprised if most people who now feel nostalgia for Epcot based on their own experiences are remembering the post-1994 version.

While I fully see what you are saying, I think it was the intention behind it. There were a lot of weird choices made in both the original park and the 90s version. Of the two, I think the original was more successful, and the 90s choices were loud - but many did have erosion effects.

The thing they both had (especially v1) was vision and cohesion. I can't see how anyone can argue the park still has cohesive vision. Some loose ties around triangles for SSE just doesn't make up for it becoming a hodgepodge. I know most of the people I know actually lament that the most. Had the budget spent gone behind a cohesive vision that kept the actual central theme of the park (i.e. inspiration from human innovation and cultural achievements from the actual, real world), I don't think the outcry would be as loud as it is.

The nostalgia for the old versions is, in many ways, a symptom - not an actual request. A much better version of what could have been today is what is actually desired.

 

[Jayspency]

I’m not suggesting Connections is this amazing whimsical space, it has a few things going for it but it could use more color and details for sure. The mural is the best part of it and i think is better than anything that was part of Electric umbrella.
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I'm gonna come out and say I really like the feel of connections, The mural is amazing and feels very much like Epcot, The open windows akin to the original communicore make it feel much more vast than it is and offer some neat views of world discovery, and its probably where the whole minimalistic design trend of new Epcot feels the most fitting. Which I can't say for the rest of the new hub.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Fair. Honestly connections is the best of the new buildings.

I like Creations, too. There was nothing particularly Epcot about Mouse Gear.

But, the central courtyard is a waste of space and the lighting is unacceptably bad. They also do not seem to have had any sort of vision for Communicore Hall or that stage. We just walk past both. Was the stage supposed to replace America Gardens and show festival concerts? It’s too tiny for that and the airplane landing strip has no seating or slope for viewing. Something tells me the original plan wasn’t the cute-but-forgettable Encanto show and the evening rave that badly clashes with the World Celebration atmosphere.

Was Communicore Hall meant to replace the table festival center? Why hasn’t it done so? Odyssey still feels like more of a festival center.

No vision here. Creative or in terms of function. Journey of Water may underwhelm but at least it knows what it is. I enjoy it as much as Fort Langhorn.

Also, can we talk about how TSI is being run into the ground? Such a sad state last week.

 

[Agent H]

I like Creations, too. There was nothing particularly Epcot about Mouse Gear.

But, the central courtyard is a waste of space and the lighting is unacceptably bad. They also do not seem to have had any sort of vision for Communicore Hall or that stage. We just walk past both. Was the stage supposed to replace America Gardens and show festival concerts? It’s too tiny for that and the airplane landing strip has no seating or slope for viewing. Something tells me the original plan wasn’t the cute-but-forgettable Encanto show and the evening rave that badly clashes with the World Celebration atmosphere.

Was Communicore Hall meant to replace the table festival center? Why hasn’t it done so? Odyssey still feels like more of a festival center.

No vision here. Creative or in terms of function. Journey of Water may underwhelm but at least it knows what it is. I enjoy it as much as Fort Langhorn.

Also, can we talk about how TSI is being run into the ground? Such a sad state last week.

I’d rank the different parts of the project like this. Best. Connections. Love they opened it up to the outside and the mural is cool too. 2. Club cool. Honestly just grateful it still exists. 3. Connections cafe. 4. Creations. Honestly for me this is the definitive example of “the bland gift shop”. 5. Communicore hall. Its first 3 versions were absolutely sucky but I did like the last two versions. As for the stage I like the encanto show but I have to wonder what their plan to do with it after the ride in animal kingdom opens is. Worst. The gardens. Completely and inexcusably bland. A drab looking planter that honestly doesn’t look like anything from the ground. And lighting that is cool… when it works. And dreamer’s point also seems cool in theory but feels really awkward in reality for reasons I don’t even understand myself.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

But, the central courtyard is a waste of space and the lighting is unacceptably bad. They also do not seem to have had any sort of vision for Communicore Hall or that stage. We just walk past both. Was the stage supposed to replace America Gardens and show festival concerts? It’s too tiny for that and the airplane landing strip has no seating or slope for viewing. Something tells me the original plan wasn’t the cute-but-forgettable Encanto show and the evening rave that badly clashes with the World Celebration atmosphere.

That stage area is one of the biggest mysteries to me of the project. In theory, it makes sense to have a stage there for live music during the festivals and particularly to have the viewing area facing out toward Imagination. Perhaps something with enough infrastructure to be above the entertainment on smaller stages at the WS pavilions but not quite at the scale of America Gardens. In general, it would also seem like a nice way to bring the festivals into the central spine area.

The actual stage itself is so tiny, though, with awkward access for the acts and only enough shelter for a relatively small crowd. The positioning is also awkward, being right on the central hub with no barrier such that any sound will blast right into it, but the act and sets all face the other direction.

I guess entertainment now has another space they can use, but it doesn't seem like they really gained much as reflected by the kinds of uses they have been putting it to so far.

 

[Bocabear]

That whole stage thing is ridiculous...it was not designed with any performance infrastructure... not for anything more than the most stripped-down performance or show... It is not a space that could be used in an decent theatrical production... just a platform in a car port. They should build a new stage with proper proscenium, dressing rooms, wings, etc...at the far end of the landing strip...and put some meaningful entertainment there.....and get rid of the DJ rave....

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

Was the stage supposed to replace America Gardens and Festival Concerts?

I wish

 

[Andrew C]

I’m not suggesting Connections is this amazing whimsical space, it has a few things going for it but it could use more color and details for sure. The mural is the best part of it and i think is better than anything that was part of Electric umbrella.
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The mural is the one decent part. Turn the camera around and it is garbage that the mural cannot make up for. Do we really want to settle for, "Well at least it is not out of date 90s tacky anymore." Can we have expections a bit higher than that?

 

[ToTBellHop]

The mural is the one decent part. Turn the camera around and it is garbage that the mural cannot make up for. Do we really want to settle for, "Well at least it is not out of date 90s tacky anymore." Can we have expections a bit higher than that?

Apparently, no, we cannot.

 

[Bocabear]

It is a shame none of the original designers were left to pool from on this project...
I know they have a vast library of discarded concepts from when the park was built.... Maybe they could have spent some time with that material and the original design plans before tearing it apart... The building and Mural are the high points, but the gardens area is just dry and bland.... the planter is a joke... The Creations store is a Target from anytown USA...
Where is the vision....realizing the plans changed midway, it seems like they could not recover from the loss of the table and then cancelled the fountain and wishing tree (whatever that was)... It was like the Imagineering team had absolutely no Plan B....and then corporate continued slashing the budget until there was nothng left to talk about but the flooring materials and coke bottles in the terrazzo... And the worst part was after things started getting better, they never went back and fixed it.... Just left it.
Cancel Carsland completely, reshape the ROA to add a bypass walkway and Build Villains Land behind Haunted Mansion... Add new theming and settings for the Riverboat and put whatever money is saved by canning Cars into fixing EPCOT's core...

 

[mysto]

Before the spine project they were having dance parties on the north side of the fountain. They would slow foot traffic down and get in the way.

I think the stage is meant to move those kind of cutesy fun events out of the way of foot traffic, not house theatrical productions. If they wanted to do that they would build a proper theater off main street, oh wait....

 

[Disstevefan1]

I have wondered if Disney is moving to this sanitized look everywhere (resorts and parks) to lower maintenance costs going forward?

I have always thought the real reason for Tiana was to lower future maintenance cost.

If that was the intention when doing Tiana, it really backfired as we are already seeing maintenance issues in this BRAND NEW attraction! After the fact when you realize they went from pneumatics or hydraulics (like used in heavy equipment) to servos (like used to move a disk drive head) these devices will fail or work intermittently.

Another thing about Tiana, material on the animatronics are already showing wear, tearing etc.! Did they lose the institutional knowledge about materials OR did they have to go to lighter material because they went to servos?

 

[HauntedPirate]

It is both telling and sad that so many who believe Connections and Creations are great never got to experience Communicore East and West in all of their original glory, they only remember the neglected state before they were torn down/"renovated". Or even forget how incredible it was to walk around Innoventions Plaza and listen to that BGM while seeing the Fountain of Nations (when it was working correctly). Were there warts? Sure. Those cursed giant balls in the breezeway, for one. The lack of caring, commitment, and vision by leadership in not fully utilizing the Communicore buildings. But you don't cut off your arm to get rid of a wart on your pinky and replace it with a wooden hook.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It is both telling and sad that so many who believe Connections and Creations are great never got to experience Communicore East and West in all of their original glory, they only remember the neglected state before they were torn down/"renovated". Or even forget how incredible it was to walk around Innoventions Plaza and listen to that BGM while seeing the Fountain of Nations (when it was working correctly). Were there warts? Sure. Those cursed giant balls in the breezeway, for one. The lack of caring, commitment, and vision by leadership in not fully utilizing the Communicore buildings. But you don't cut off your arm to get rid of a wart on your pinky and replace it with a wooden hook.

I remember the excitement of anticipation in trying out all the cool new technology.

Until....

1. It was all outdated. My IBM PCjr had more power and abilities than their displays.​

​

2. With only a few dozen displays and a few thousand guests, you could never get to a groovy new-tech console to try it out because of the lines.​

Quickly outdated and eternal miserable capacity.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The beige and white of new Communicore is horrible. Bring back the bold colors of the original Communicore!!!!...

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I really do miss the future.......

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Electric Umbrella literally just looked like a 90s movie theater concession area.

Pasta Piazza: Hold My Ecto-Cooler!

 

[Centauri Space Station]

The mural is the one decent part. Turn the camera around and it is garbage that the mural cannot make up for. Do we really want to settle for, "Well at least it is not out of date 90s tacky anymore." Can we have expections a bit higher than that?

It’s not just the mural. The floor to ceiling windows and open kitchen is great as well.