A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[marni1971]

To be fair, original Future World was all Omnimovers, boats, or moving theaters. While I couldn't (and can't) get enough of lengthy rides like they had in the original Future World, I notice a lot of folks on here cite that as a fault. Also, even with the hourly capacity that OG Future World had, it still wasn't enough to prevent massive lines at least the first year EPCOT Center was open. It was insane.

I really miss it.

Remember the park didn’t have all that capacity when it opened. And was far more popular than expected.

No Wonders, no Horizons, no JII ride, no Seas. No Expo Robots and for the first few months a collection of temperamental E tickets.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

And so became fastpass.

Fastpass killed the Disney theme park experience.

 

[trainplane3]

Remember the park didn’t have all that capacity when it opened. And was far more popular than expected.

No Wonders, no Horizons, no JII ride, no Seas. No Expo Robots and for the first few months a collection of temperamental E tickets.

And we all know how much JII ate up when it came to lines, especially when it opened:

(And that was 1987, which says a lot)

 

[brb1006]

And we all know how much JII ate up when it came to lines, especially when it opened:

(And that was 1987, which says a lot)

Don't forget this video from 1989 during Epcot's heyday.

 

[lazyboy97o]

And we all know how much JII ate up when it came to lines, especially when it opened:

(And that was 1987, which says a lot)

LIES! Photoshopped lies! Everyone knows EPCOT Center was a complete failure that nobody was interested in, that nearly sank Walt Disney Productions. Clearly they are in line to meet a princess. Praise be to Epcot for saving Disney!

 

[trainplane3]

Don't forget this video from 1989 during Epcot's heyday.

And the best thing to remember, most of those were omnimovers. Those lines probably never stopped moving unless a ride broke down. But for some reason, we have FP+ for omnimovers now?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Don't forget this video from 1989 during Epcot's heyday.

Would you look at the lines for those old, long, and boring omnimovers (and moving theater)??? Good thing Disney has moved away from those stale people-eaters that no one rode and replaced them with much shorter rides with FastPass...

I would love to know what time of year that video was shot. And hearing cuts of the Jack Wagner EPCOT Center monorail audio again?? Ahhh...

 

[Bairstow]

Would you look at the lines for those old, long, and boring omnimovers (and moving theater)??? Good thing Disney has moved away from those stale people-eaters that no one rode and replaced them with much shorter rides with FastPass...

I would love to know what time of year that video was shot. And hearing cuts of the Jack Wagner EPCOT Center monorail audio again?? Ahhh...

It says August of 1989, so peak season during a period of historically low gas prices- a very good time to be a vacation destination.

 

[HauntedPirate]

It says August of 1989, so peak season during a period of historically low gas prices- a very good time to be a vacation destination.

Ah, I see that now that I went to YouTube. I wonder when in August, since schools in the south are back in session in early to mid August traditionally, leaving late August as a somewhat-slower time. And yes, I'm also old, I can remember the cheap gas prices back then. Filling up for roughly $.80/gallon... That was the summer I started my first real job.

 

[marni1971]

Would you look at the lines for those old, long, and boring omnimovers (and moving theater)??? Good thing Disney has moved away from those stale people-eaters that no one rode and replaced them with much shorter rides with FastPass...

I would love to know what time of year that video was shot. And hearing cuts of the Jack Wagner EPCOT Center monorail audio again?? Ahhh...

I recall queuing in the switchbacks down to the Imag bathrooms and back in June 1990.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

And so became fastpass.

Would Disney dare experiment with not using FP+ For attractions in the future??

 

[marni1971]

Would Disney dare experiment with not using FP+ For attractions in the future??

I’d be surprised if they did. It’s now pretty much engrained in the parks and attractions infrastructure.

 

[Irie]

And so became fastpass.

...and yet I spent more time shopping before fastpass. We would ride the rides and view the attractions in the morning, eat lunch, ride some more, and then shop our way out of the park on our way back to the resort for a shower before dinner. Shopping was just as much part of the experience of WDW when each shop was themed differently and had unique merchandise.

 

[geekza]

...and yet I spent more time shopping before fastpass. We would ride the rides and view the attractions in the morning, eat lunch, ride some more, and then shop our way out of the park on our way back to the resort for a shower before dinner. Shopping was just as much part of the experience of WDW when each shop was themed differently and had unique merchandise.

The problem is that, although you and I (and others) enjoyed the unique shops, they make far more money from the homogenous shirts, toys, and overpriced mouse ears that are in multiple shops around the property. It's all about the bottom line now.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The problem is that, although you and I (and others) enjoyed the unique shops, they make far more money from the homogenous shirts, toys, and overpriced mouse ears that are in multiple shops around the property. It's all about the bottom line now.

This is only true if you use Paul Pressler’s mall-based business model. There was no huge jump in sales of merchandise. Instead it was just spread out into more spaces. Individual square feet went from experience to revenue producing, but the parks as a whole did not generate more sales. By this same logic all of the rides and shows should be removed and replaced with stores selling plush and even just a $1 in profit from sales meets this deceptive line that “it’s more profitable now.”

 

[lazyboy97o]

It says August of 1989, so peak season during a period of historically low gas prices- a very good time to be a vacation destination.

That’s an original dismissal of EPCOT Center’s success.

 

[geekza]

This is only true if you use Paul Pressler’s mall-based business model. There was no huge jump in sales of merchandise. Instead it was just spread out into more spaces. Individual square feet went from experience to revenue producing, but the parks as a whole did not generate more sales. By this same logic all of the rides and shows should be removed and replaced with stores selling plush and even just a $1 in profit from sales meets this deceptive line that “it’s more profitable now.”

I'm not saying I agree with the choice, but that was why it was made. Do we have hard data on retail sales within the parks? I'm just curious.

 

[Pixieish]

I'm not saying I agree with the choice, but that was why it was made. Do we have hard data on retail sales within the parks? I'm just curious.

But wouldn't it make sense that someone walking back through the park to purchase a specific item they saw in a specific store is likely to spend more money because they saw more merchandise on the way and way back than they would have otherwise?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

This is only true if you use Paul Pressler’s mall-based business model. There was no huge jump in sales of merchandise. Instead it was just spread out into more spaces. Individual square feet went from experience to revenue producing, but the parks as a whole did not generate more sales. By this same logic all of the rides and shows should be removed and replaced with stores selling plush and even just a $1 in profit from sales meets this deceptive line that “it’s more profitable now.”

For context
http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-forgotten-shops-of-adventureland.html

 

[Hakunamatata]

I’d be surprised if they did. It’s now pretty much engrained in the parks and attractions infrastructure.

Like a virus that changes the structure of the dna it affects.....or something like that.