Am I the only one dreading some of the changes to Epcot?

World_Showcase_Lover007

Well-Known Member
No, there's many others. Then others get offended by this and come in to the thread to defend the changes. It usually comes down to the people who hold Epcot to an ideal vs the people that just want to have fun. There are many threads discussing this, you should join in the conversation there, this one is likely to be deleted.

Thread police on patrol...heaven forbid an OP opens a thread based on free will instead of where the thread police mandate it be.

I think this is a lovely spot for an ‘Epcot changes’ thread. I’d like to see more threads actually.
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
Thread police on patrol...heaven forbid an OP opens a thread based on free will instead of where the thread police mandate it be.

I think this is a lovely spot for an ‘Epcot changes’ thread. I’d like to see more threads actually.

It's impressive that you created this entire fictional narrative to describe my post. Your skills are wasted here, Disney needs you in imagineering.

Bright suns!
 

reptar77

Well-Known Member
I love you changes, it is really needed. I'm just not looking forward to the mess getting there. It seems like there is construction construction everywhere you turn.
 

Orangeanna

Active Member
Really looking forward to the changes. My only fear is they pull a "toy story land" cost cutting job. I don't trust them as much as I use to. They seem to cut corners wherever they can these days. As long as they stay true, largely, to the concepts we've seen it's going to be beautiful and very exciting. Fingers crossed!
 

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes, I’m dreading it.

Sure, Epcot needs change but I’m not sure the Chapek-inspired plans are it. When you start knocking down buildings that are iconic and original to the park, you better be sure with what your doing. And these guys ain’t got a clue.
I’m surprised they didn’t just keep the current buildings and reface them. Besides the narrow space from the fountain stage there’s allot of dead space already as it is they can fill up. Innoventions just needed some TLC.
 

bryanfze55

Well-Known Member
No, there's many others. Then others get offended by this and come in to the thread to defend the changes. It usually comes down to the people who hold Epcot to an ideal vs the people that just want to have fun. There are many threads discussing this, you should join in the conversation there, this one is likely to be deleted.

A bit condescending, methinks.

I think intellectual curiosity is important.

I also think the expectation of fun is completely fair when you’re paying $130 per person to get in.
 

EPCOT View

New Member
I’m surprised they didn’t just keep the current buildings and reface them. Besides the narrow space from the fountain stage there’s allot of dead space already as it is they can fill up. Innoventions just needed some TLC.
They could have just reverted the buildings back to their original form. Return the exterior to the original color scheme and remove the stickers blocking out the windows. Let people see inside the buildings, make the inside of Innoventions West open plan. Disney could have used it for TED talks. As they use the American Gardens Theater for seasons of music concerts they could have used the Innoventions buildings for a season of talks on any number of science subjects.
 

SirWillow

Well-Known Member
I've got mixed feelings.

Epcot was in desperate need of attention, and much of it needed an overhaul and new life added to it- Wonders of Life, Innoventions, and Universe of Energy were in particularly bad shape, and other areas needed a touch up and additions as well. So that being done I think is wonderful and long overdue.

Where I get hesitant is that I don't feel the additions are in keeping with the permanent World's Fair overview of the park. I'm not liking the total loss of Innoventions East instead of it being revamped (sorry, it just looks off balance to me) and not sure that it's "replacement" is a great fit. Still having a hard time seeing GoG fitting in the theme of the park. It just feels very haphazardly thrown together without a good tie. Needed yes, but not focused. But we'll see when it's done. it's possible I'm completely off base on that- I hope so.

On the other hand, I'm loving the additions to the World Showcase, and kind of hope they do a bit more in that direction at some point- like bring back the lost ride in Germany, bring in a nice attraction for Italy and some other things like that.
 

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disney thinks they can just sell anything. Bob Chapek has me ticked off when he said the fans asked for these changes and there delivering. I’ve been in the look along with many of us and I heard more fans saying they just want Epcot back at its former glory.
 
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Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
They could have just reverted the buildings back to their original form. Return the exterior to the original color scheme and remove the stickers blocking out the windows. Let people see inside the buildings, make the inside of Innoventions West open plan. Disney could have used it for TED talks. As they use the American Gardens Theater for seasons of music concerts they could have used the Innoventions buildings for a season of talks on any number of science subjects.
They tried something akin to "TED talks at Disney" in the 90s with the Disney Institute. It went nowhere, and that's why we have the Saratoga Springs resort today.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
I've got mixed feelings.

Epcot was in desperate need of attention, and much of it needed an overhaul and new life added to it- Wonders of Life, Innoventions, and Universe of Energy were in particularly bad shape, and other areas needed a touch up and additions as well. So that being done I think is wonderful and long overdue.

Where I get hesitant is that I don't feel the additions are in keeping with the permanent World's Fair overview of the park. I'm not liking the total loss of Innoventions East instead of it being revamped (sorry, it just looks off balance to me) and not sure that it's "replacement" is a great fit. Still having a hard time seeing GoG fitting in the theme of the park. It just feels very haphazardly thrown together without a good tie. Needed yes, but not focused. But we'll see when it's done. it's possible I'm completely off base on that- I hope so.

On the other hand, I'm loving the additions to the World Showcase, and kind of hope they do a bit more in that direction at some point- like bring back the lost ride in Germany, bring in a nice attraction for Italy and some other things like that.
When Walt first dreamed up Epcot, the buzz from the much-loved (if not financially successful) 1964-65 World's Fair was probably still palpable. But when was the last time a World's Fair captured the public's attention? The last one I even remember hearing about was Knoxville in 1982, and that one pretty much flopped. I had to look up the topic on Wikipedia to even realize that these events still existed, although they're now mostly branded as "Expos", and have morphed less into lavish events for the general public and more into specialized business-to-business gatherings.

So with the lure of World's Fairs gradually fading from public consciousness, I'm not sure it makes sense for Disney to continue to invest in the concept, anymore than it would to base a park on something like a medieval market fair, or the world of vaudeville theater. I'm sure those of us who visited in Epcot in its 1980s glory days will always view it with nostalgia, but I can no more see this as a continuing viable business venture than bringing back the Monsanto House of the Future to Tomorrowland. At least old Epcot had a good, long run. The same can not be said of what was once Disney MGM Studios, whose original concept ran out of steam within a few years of its opening.
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
A bit condescending, methinks.

I think intellectual curiosity is important.

I also think the expectation of fun is completely fair when you’re paying $130 per person to get in.

I should have emphasized the word "just" to make my point a bit clearer.
 

ChrisFL

Premium Member
I apologize, but this is going to be a long post. I have gone through my thoughts as an EPCOT Center fan...from practically Day 1 when the park opened, I was 4 years old and my father was working in the central computers area (like you saw in Astuter Computer Revue/Backstage Magic).


There have been a LOT of emotions going around from people who are taking this time....at the loss of a barely used ex-Communicore building to vent their frustrations at the lack of original vision of EPCOT Center and what we're getting next.


So let's take a look at that further.

First, I want to start out by saying I do feel like things we grew up with when we were very young have an overwhelming impact on our emotions if they get changed later on. That is part of why some are massive Star Wars fans, Harry Potter fans, etc. Many of them saw those films when they were 8, 10, 12 years old, etc. and it was very impacting to them as one of the early memories of a big phenomenon.

EPCOT Center was the same way for a group of people, although probably not as big a group of people as many of us would like to think.

People who have ever been to EPCOT Center in the first decade or so....did you ever mix up which scenes were in which ride? Did you think one scene from World of Motion was actually in Spaceship Earth? Because I did. It's one of the issues with the original park. The vision was great, it was stellar...but it was full of omnimovers with somewhat similar themes in parts.

Let me be clear The loss of Horizons and Journey into Imagination WERE the loss of the heart and soul of the park, no question, but let's go over the attractions and their evolution.

Mission:Space is a semi-decent attraction on its own, pales in comparison to the awe inspiring futurism of Horizons but more tangible I guess? I do wish Mission:Space had more educational aspects to it, but the post show isn't terrible and does have some activities for kids.

Imagination with Figment - A very bland ride that might be fun for smaller kids, but pretty low budget and lacking 90% of the charm and visuals of the original. The theater has never had a GREAT film in there to begin with...so meh.

Spaceship Earth has always been mostly very good. I find it ironic that people are lamenting any changes to it soon as people really didn't like what happened on the iteration we have know. I guess it's uncertainty about the unknown changes coming up.

The Seas - I really hate losing the Seabase Alpha theme, however the aquarium and exhibits are mostly intact...I just wish they put more emphasis on exploring those areas when people get off the main ride, or promote people not going on the Nemo ride through the exit if they just want to see the aquarium.

The Land - Living with the Land is 90% intact and doesn't show any sign of going anywhere. New film coming that will improve things I think. Soarin' is a great addition, and no, I don't miss Food Rocks....Kitchen Kabaret however....

Test Track - Still the same sponsor after all of these years, and IMO it holds up quite well as an Epcot style attraction. YES, I prefer 2.0 to 1.0 which was very dated and noisy. That doesn't mean they can't improve some things about 2.0 which are pretty dull, especially the middle "tests" which don't really do anything. The car creator graphics could be improved as well.

Universe of Energy now Guardians - I don't think they were going to keep that elaborate ride system forever, for a 38 minute slow moving dinosaur attraction when they have another much more thrilling Dinosaur ride at DAK. I know, I know, that's only one part of a much longer experience, but it might just have been designed for a different era of guests.

Wonders of life/Play pavilion- WOL has been closed for a long time and no chance of it coming back. Body Wars was very rough and never lived up to the quality of Star Tours for most guests. The other attractions were nice, but I'm interested to see what the Play pavilion will be like, it seems more like an Innoventions style area actually.

Innoventions - The thing that hasn't been great since the 90's other than a few cool points like the House of the Future on and off, the Segway test rides and the Sum of All Thrills. Things like these kept it somewhat interesting, but still wasn't incredible.

World Showcase hasn't really lost much of anything except Maelstrom and the old Mexico ride...not a big loss. I don't like IP being added, but it is what it is.


So I would say that Spaceship Earth, the Land, The Seas, Mission:Space and Test Track still keeps somewhat of the original vision of EPCOT Center and are decent to good attractions, and 95% of Wold Showcase still does. Imagination COULD if it was a better attraction, the Play pavilion COULD be also, we have to wait and see, Guardians is the odd one out.

That's why I'm keeping out the doom and gloom of people who's nostalgia tinted glasses are on a little bit too tight.
 

MAGICFLOP

Well-Known Member
Epcot was in desperate need of attention, and much of it needed an overhaul and new life added to it- Wonders of Life, Innoventions, and Universe of Energy were in particularly bad shape, and other areas needed a touch up and additions as well. So that being done I think is wonderful and long overdue.

Agreed, I actually was going to post a thread in here a few years back telling my story of actually seeing a family walking in that section..

But EPCOT is getting further away from the world's fair theme into more of movie based theme
 

sedati

Well-Known Member
All that old depth and thoughtfulness hurts my brain.
410120
 

THEMEPARKPIONEER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I apologize, but this is going to be a long post. I have gone through my thoughts as an EPCOT Center fan...from practically Day 1 when the park opened, I was 4 years old and my father was working in the central computers area (like you saw in Astuter Computer Revue/Backstage Magic).


There have been a LOT of emotions going around from people who are taking this time....at the loss of a barely used ex-Communicore building to vent their frustrations at the lack of original vision of EPCOT Center and what we're getting next.


So let's take a look at that further.

First, I want to start out by saying I do feel like things we grew up with when we were very young have an overwhelming impact on our emotions if they get changed later on. That is part of why some are massive Star Wars fans, Harry Potter fans, etc. Many of them saw those films when they were 8, 10, 12 years old, etc. and it was very impacting to them as one of the early memories of a big phenomenon.

EPCOT Center was the same way for a group of people, although probably not as big a group of people as many of us would like to think.

People who have ever been to EPCOT Center in the first decade or so....did you ever mix up which scenes were in which ride? Did you think one scene from World of Motion was actually in Spaceship Earth? Because I did. It's one of the issues with the original park. The vision was great, it was stellar...but it was full of omnimovers with somewhat similar themes in parts.

Let me be clear The loss of Horizons and Journey into Imagination WERE the loss of the heart and soul of the park, no question, but let's go over the attractions and their evolution.

Mission:Space is a semi-decent attraction on its own, pales in comparison to the awe inspiring futurism of Horizons but more tangible I guess? I do wish Mission:Space had more educational aspects to it, but the post show isn't terrible and does have some activities for kids.

Imagination with Figment - A very bland ride that might be fun for smaller kids, but pretty low budget and lacking 90% of the charm and visuals of the original. The theater has never had a GREAT film in there to begin with...so meh.

Spaceship Earth has always been mostly very good. I find it ironic that people are lamenting any changes to it soon as people really didn't like what happened on the iteration we have know. I guess it's uncertainty about the unknown changes coming up.

The Seas - I really hate losing the Seabase Alpha theme, however the aquarium and exhibits are mostly intact...I just wish they put more emphasis on exploring those areas when people get off the main ride, or promote people not going on the Nemo ride through the exit if they just want to see the aquarium.

The Land - Living with the Land is 90% intact and doesn't show any sign of going anywhere. New film coming that will improve things I think. Soarin' is a great addition, and no, I don't miss Food Rocks....Kitchen Kabaret however....

Test Track - Still the same sponsor after all of these years, and IMO it holds up quite well as an Epcot style attraction. YES, I prefer 2.0 to 1.0 which was very dated and noisy. That doesn't mean they can't improve some things about 2.0 which are pretty dull, especially the middle "tests" which don't really do anything. The car creator graphics could be improved as well.

Universe of Energy now Guardians - I don't think they were going to keep that elaborate ride system forever, for a 38 minute slow moving dinosaur attraction when they have another much more thrilling Dinosaur ride at DAK. I know, I know, that's only one part of a much longer experience, but it might just have been designed for a different era of guests.

Wonders of life/Play pavilion- WOL has been closed for a long time and no chance of it coming back. Body Wars was very rough and never lived up to the quality of Star Tours for most guests. The other attractions were nice, but I'm interested to see what the Play pavilion will be like, it seems more like an Innoventions style area actually.

Innoventions - The thing that hasn't been great since the 90's other than a few cool points like the House of the Future on and off, the Segway test rides and the Sum of All Thrills. Things like these kept it somewhat interesting, but still wasn't incredible.

World Showcase hasn't really lost much of anything except Maelstrom and the old Mexico ride...not a big loss. I don't like IP being added, but it is what it is.


So I would say that Spaceship Earth, the Land, The Seas, Mission:Space and Test Track still keeps somewhat of the original vision of EPCOT Center and are decent to good attractions, and 95% of Wold Showcase still does. Imagination COULD if it was a better attraction, the Play pavilion COULD be also, we have to wait and see, Guardians is the odd one out.

That's why I'm keeping out the doom and gloom of people who's nostalgia tinted glasses are on a little bit too tight.
I always thought all 3 rides were one big ride until I rode Spaceship Earth one day and wondered where those scenes went, I thought the underwater city was on Spaceship Earth and to be honest I thing they should combine all 3 into one and have at least one ride about progress and the future. Now there’s going to be none. Shouldn’t a ride about story telling be in Journey into Imagination?
 

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