Do you think you will ever enjoy Epcot again??

Heppenheimer

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
FettFan said:
The princesses need to gtho.
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Circa 1989 when I ate at the Akershus, I remember two things distinctly:

1) The food, although unfamiliar, was one of the best meals of my childhood. I've since visited Norway several times and not enjoyed a meal that tasty.
2) The restaurant was half empty.

Circa 2011 when I treated my nieces to a lunch at Akershus now with princesses:

1) The food was still good, but a little more "safe" this time.
2) Every table was occupied.

Answer for Disney? The princesses stay.
 
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Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
SteveAZee said:
Oddly, this is what I miss the most about the past of Future World... not really the content of the rides (I know, blasphemy) but the long story-telling approach in general.
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Same here. I am really hoping that the new Rise of the Resistance attraction in SW:GE can bring it back.

While I love thrill rides, my inner ear has a very different opinion that only seems to be getting worse with age.
 
KCheatle

KCheatle

Well-Known Member
I've never stopped enjoying Epcot. Sure, there are things I miss or would change, but it's still an amazing experience no matter how you cut it. The parks needs to change because all parks need to be updated over time. Epcot is in that growing phase right now, and I'm thankful it is. During this time, there will certainty be frustrations and impatience, but what comes out on the other end will be great. When Disney imagineers create, rarely do they disappoint.
 
Marc Levin

Marc Levin

Active Member
HoldenC said:
Considering the only Epcot I have known is the 2008 to present Epcot, which I used to love but now find dull, I have no reason to doubt I will enjoy whatever it transforms into. I just hate so much I never got to experience the real EPCOT Center.
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Apart from Maelstrom now being the Frozen ride and them having ruined Journey into the Imagination, it's not much different to my memory of visiting there as a kid in the late 80's, so based on how little it's actually changed since then your experience is probably pretty close to what it was originally, give or take a few details!
 
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Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
For me, it's not so much an issue of "is there anything I still like in the park", it's "why visit this one over any other Disney, Seaworld or Universal Park?" What does current or future Epcot offer that DisneySea, Disneyland Paris or Islands of Adventure doesn't?

The number 1 thing Epcot has over the rest is the selection of dining options and the attractiveness of World Showcase, which would be fine if this were an actual mall, but given the cost of admission I don't feel like paying that much to visit and then spend even more money on increasingly expensive restaurants. Character meet and greets and rides based on movies? Don't Magic Kingdom and DHS have that too?

I would probably enjoy Epcot a lot more if I had a Florida Resident or After 4pm AP, where I could just stop by for an evening once a month and enjoy walking around, but paying full price for every visit makes it unappealing in its current state. I'd like to visit one more time to see the new Circle-Vision movies and see some older favorites (like The American Adventure), but I'm not in a rush to do so.
 
polynesiangirl

polynesiangirl

Well-Known Member
I'm really surprised at how many posts I've seen lately saying the food used to be more authentic/adventurous/better quality. Don't get me wrong -- I probably just don't remember because I was little and a super picky eater who wouldn't have eaten anywhere adventurous back in the 80s, but I feel like at least since the late 90s, the food selection/quality, at least at sit-down restaurants, has gotten better? I thought the general consensus years ago was that all Disney food was pretty crappy. I feel like it's at least gotten slightly better? 🤷‍♀️ Now I really want to get my hands on old EPCOT menus, hahaha!
 
Queen of the WDW Scene

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I'll be enjoying it next week.
Also while there are changes that I'm not happy with their are also changes that I am happy with so I'll also enjoy it in the future.
 
Heppenheimer

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
Maybe "better" isn't the best term in all cases, but early Epcot attempted to introduce cuisines that were not particularly well-known at the time to the average Disney guest. Perhaps it was the novelty of being able to eat all those different types of food in one place. It was more the sense that Disney was trying to introduce people to new food, rather than just pushing the old familiars. And above all, Epcot probably stood out because the food almost everywhere else on the resort at that time was a great example of why the term "amusement park food" has such a negative connotation.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
Things in the 80s that made EPCOT so impactful

- Future World full of mind boggling attractions full of future optimism and advanced stuff
- World Showcase full of "life size" environments to explore and see like you've never seen in a book
- World Showcase full of so many unique different dining experiences

Fast forward to 2019
- Everyone has the internet in their pocket and can browse the REAL life destinations on a whim.. in many forms, not just books
- Everyone has 500+ channels of TV full of shows about all these foreign places and documentaries as much as you can consume
- Everyone has had a decade+ of endless cable shows taking you everywhere
- Many places have similar life size, or better, reproductions of such places
- People travel a lot more and many have actually been to these places
- Most towns and cities have everything from Korean BBQ to Mongonlian food now - It's no longer just Shakeys.. and varied food is common place now

Result: World Showcase is a fancy mall now - not a destination unlike anything you've experienced elsewhere

- FutureWorld is mostly tired pavilions that people only do because they are there, or have a FP, instead of walk out of inspired
- Communicore and the entire futurism idea of FutureWorld is dead
- You probably have an aquarium in a major city near you better than TLS
- The Land is just where people goto to ride Soarin'
- Imagination is 1/3 of itself and a bore
- Thrill riders like test track and M:S - but just compare it to their favorite carnival rides
And people look at SSE as what 'disney used to be'

Most people spend a few hours in FW and then are ready to go somewhere else.. checkbox done. "are there any more FPs available for soarin' ?"

That's what is holding EPCOT back.

FW has become where people go for a few rides.. and WS is where people go to get overpriced sample sized food plates in an overbuilt mall.
 
Polydweller

Polydweller

Well-Known Member
I was there at the opening and it has never stopped being my favourite park. I can’t see any reason why it won’t continue to be in the future.
 
KeithVH

KeithVH

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
Things in the 80s that made EPCOT so impactful

- Future World full of mind boggling attractions full of future optimism and advanced stuff
- World Showcase full of "life size" environments to explore and see like you've never seen in a book
- World Showcase full of so many unique different dining experiences

Fast forward to 2019
- Everyone has the internet in their pocket and can browse the REAL life destinations on a whim.. in many forms, not just books
- Everyone has 500+ channels of TV full of shows about all these foreign places and documentaries as much as you can consume
- Everyone has had a decade+ of endless cable shows taking you everywhere
- Many places have similar life size, or better, reproductions of such places
- People travel a lot more and many have actually been to these places
- Most towns and cities have everything from Korean BBQ to Mongonlian food now - It's no longer just Shakeys.. and varied food is common place now

Result: World Showcase is a fancy mall now - not a destination unlike anything you've experienced elsewhere

- FutureWorld is mostly tired pavilions that people only do because they are there, or have a FP, instead of walk out of inspired
- Communicore and the entire futurism idea of FutureWorld is dead
- You probably have an aquarium in a major city near you better than TLS
- The Land is just where people goto to ride Soarin'
- Imagination is 1/3 of itself and a bore
- Thrill riders like test track and M:S - but just compare it to their favorite carnival rides
And people look at SSE as what 'disney used to be'

Most people spend a few hours in FW and then are ready to go somewhere else.. checkbox done. "are there any more FPs available for soarin' ?"

That's what is holding EPCOT back.

FW has become where people go for a few rides.. and WS is where people go to get overpriced sample sized food plates in an overbuilt mall.
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I almost couldn't have said this any better. Don't forget the other things that have been lost in the last 20 years like Showcase Buses and major Holiday decorations. The wide open spaces that are now occupied EVERYWHERE by those d_mn food service huts.

I wonder if all those saying how happy they are remember (or even know) what it was like. Yes, I do get that crying in your beer for what has been lost isn't worthwhile. But the park has become the poster child for the Peter Principle.

And the sad fat is that the park COULD be so much more. The park didn't get this way by accident.
 

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