Why is there not more love for the Original EPCOT Center in today’s media?

[TrainsOfDisney]

If meet and greets and disney influence makes WS unserious then it hasn’t been serious since the mid 80s.

When did the meets start in world showcase?

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

When did the meets start in world showcase?

Mid-80s when Eisner was in charge. But the characters were typically dressed in appropriate attire that fit the themes of each pavilion.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Keeping WoM and Horizons would have gone a long way towards keeping enough of the old Epcot alive.

The other major factor was that the timing was perfect. After the more downtrodden vibe of the 70s, America was moving into the much more optimistic 80s. The park solidified a vision that human ingenuity and technology were taking us into a better era and exciting future. I was truly captivated as a child there, particularly by Future World.

I’ve often said that JII and Horizons were the heart and soul of EPCOT Center. Not that I don’t still enjoy the last two originals but it hasn’t been the same in what feels like forever.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

I’ve often said that JII and Horizons were the heart and soul of EPCOT Center. Not that I don’t still enjoy the last two originals but it hasn’t been the same in what feels like forever.

Def a big part of the heart & soul that are missing. It’d add SO much more balance back to the park just by bringing those 2 attractions back while tastefully enhancing them w new tech & spfx. Like The American Adventure for instance. That was updated tastefully.

 

[Brer Panther]

I've heard it said that Journey Into Imagination was the one ride in the pre-1990s EPCOT that felt timeless and would still hold up today with minimal updates.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

That and just adding more of those original touches in how the pavilions were initially designed. Like the moving mobiles & Walter Peregoy murals in The Land pavilion. Possibly also bringing the “Listen to the Land” theme back to the boat ride thru. And things like the animated chariot & the “Tomorrow’s Child” song back in Spaceship Earth. Little charming touches like that, that were so special to those attractions in the past.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Def a big part of the heart & soul that are missing. It’d add SO much more balance back to the park just by bringing those 2 attractions back while tastefully enhancing them w new tech & spfx. Like The American Adventure for instance. That was updated tastefully.

There is no "big part" - They were the heart and soul of EPCOT Center. The park, as it was originally designed and built, died when they were removed.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Is there love for any Disney park in the media that doesn't have a castle in it? I really can't think of any second gate (or beyond) that gets that much attention in any iteration.

I think the long and short of it is EPCOT is not Magic Kingdom so it as a park is already at a disadvantage when it comes to longterm discussion and documentation, especially about it's history (which I don't think most folks outside the fandom would find very interesting in the first place).

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I wonder if part of the issue is that Disney doesn’t follow through with the the “new” theme and they cave?

For a moment - DCA looked like it was going in a really good on theme direction correcting mistakes but staying on theme and then we got Pixar Pier and a Guardians tower and Spider-Man.

What’s interesting to think about - use the current bones of Epcot to restore it. Like take the entire structure of guardians and make it universe of energy. Take the ratatouille ride and make it an original Epcot style experience where you see France…

And yes…. Take the current luminous tech. And bring back illuminations!

Sorry for the blue sky dreams

 

[HMF]

To think they thought EPCOT needed a DCA / WDSP style complete makeover. And to add insult to injury replaced it with garbage too.

Iger learned completely the wrong lesson from the DCA re-do. The original incarnation failed because it was essentially Six Flags on a Disney budget. It wasn't because of lack of characters and IP and as I have said a thousand times Cars Land was successful because even if the Cars characters never appeared in the land at all it would still work as a nostalgic route 66 tribute whether it was tied to an IP or not and that's why what is happening at MK's Frontierland (assuming it will still be called that) is so misguided never mind whatever the other three parks are supposed to be right now.

Disney California Adventure

Failure, Success, and Back to Failure

vocal.media

 

[HMF]

Until then, Disney could do no wrong with me, an untouchable institute 4until well into my adulthood. Like having to watch your childhood idol turn into a substance abuser.

Or being in an abusive relationship.

 

[HMF]

Mid-80s when Eisner was in charge. But the characters were typically dressed in appropriate attire that fit the themes of each pavilion.

Exactly, it was one thing to have the characters meeting and greeting outside in the park. Having them actually IN the attractions on the other hand. The only time the IP formula worked really was ironically "Circle of Life" since it supported the overall theme of the pavilion and it was one part of a larger concept unlike what Nemo did to the Seas eleven years later. The irony of the fact that Circle of Life ended up being replaced with the non-IP "Awesome Planet is quite amusing given the overall direction of the park right now.

 

[HMF]

Is there love for any Disney park in the media that doesn't have a castle in it?

That was a large part in the downfall of pretty much all the secondary parks.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

That was a large part in the downfall of pretty much all the secondary parks.

That's worthy of a thread. Or a Disney book.

Of the six non-castle parks, four within fifteen or so years of opening had a complete make-over and rebranding. Three even being renamed and rethemed. Why?

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Or being in an abusive relationship.

Getting too serious for a Disney gà board!

Good for a healthy sense of perspective though. If I'm traumatised, well into my twenties, by my favourite theme park being changed, then I grew up sheltered and protected. First World problems.

But dammit, EPCOT meant something in my life, my secret garden, my paradise. I have seen the world, the pyramids in the central American jungle, the savanahs of Africa, every city and temple of art in Europe, I've walked the Great Wall and the rice fields of Java, and I still call EPCOT the most beautiful place on earth.

 

[FiestaFunKid]

I've heard it said that Journey Into Imagination was the one ride in the pre-1990s EPCOT that felt timeless and would still hold up today with minimal updates.

While there is exactly zero chance they bring back my beloved WoM or Horizons (I am not even confident the current crop of imagineers are capable of building that level of animatronic scale in consistent working order), it is at least not out of the realm of possibility they revamp Imagination to something closer to the spirit of the original. If they decide to keep the pavilion theme/Figment, it does open that door for this, as Dr Channing will definitely be pushed into a long overdue forced retirement.

 

[HMF]

That's worthy of a thread. Or a Disney book.

Of the six non-castle parks, four within fifteen or so years of opening had a complete make-over and rebranding. Three even being renamed and rethemed. Why?

For DCA the reason is obvious. The others, not so much.

 

[HMF]

Getting too serious for a Disney gà board!

Good for a healthy sense of perspective though. If I'm traumatised, well into my twenties, by my favourite theme park being changed, then I grew up sheltered and protected. First World problems.

Oh, trust me. There are FAR more important things I worry about on a daily basis these days.

 

[HMF]

While there is exactly zero chance they bring back my beloved WoM or Horizons (I am not even confident the current crop of imagineers are capable of building that level of animatronic scale in consistent working order), it is at least not out of the realm of possibility they revamp Imagination to something closer to the spirit of the original. If they decide to keep the pavilion theme/Figment, it does open that door for this, as Dr Channing will definitely be pushed into a long overdue forced retirement.

I am actually somewhat optimistic about the possibility of a better Imagination in the vein of the original. It would be far easier to market to the average consumer these days than something niche though great like Horizons or WOM.

 

[donaldtoo]

I first visited WDW/EPCOT Center on our honeymoon in December of 1988. My wife had visited WDW once before in 1986. We were both 26 years old, at the time. Disney-MGM Studios was still under construction, as was the WoL pavilion, and the Norway pavilion had opened in May of ‘88.
I had done almost zero research on the park before our honeymoon, but Carolyn (my wife) already loved it based on her ‘86 visit, and I fell in love with it, too…!!!
MK was/is great, but we had also already visited DLR several times between us, so spent the majority of our time in EPCOT.
We wouldn’t get back to WDW until 2001, unfortunately…careers, had 3 children (special needs son in the middle), family commitments, etc. Y’all get the idea.
Anyway, we were definitely sad about many of the changes that had been made to EPCOT Center by then, especially since our children wouldn’t be able to experience much of what we did.
We all realize change happens, and the future is one heckuva’ tough thing to predict or keep current, but it doesn’t make it any less sad, in many ways.
After that 2001 family trip, I got into Disney (especially the parks and Imagineering) quite a bit, and did a lot of reading/research.
The original (as in what got built) iteration of EPCOT Center was quite the accomplishment, considering the circumstances and era…!!!