News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[TXDisney]

I think it's brilliant for WDW to put more rides in Epcot. Every other park is appealing to kids. Epcot out of the 4 major parks is generally adult based. Which is one of the reasons I love the park. As an expecting parent though I do hope by the time my child hits it's younger years that Epcot is more li oriented. The frozen ride and Nemo ride are great. But I think there needs to be another couple rides for kids. The guardian of the galaxy ride looks like it's going to be a rollerciaster which will certainly help with teenagers.

 

[Bocabear]

I don't think ANYONE has a problem with putting more rides in EPCOT... it is all about how it is done... There are ways to add attractions without ruining the integrity of the park... Guardians Of The Galaxy replacing the Energy Pavilion is not one of them.....UNLESS the new attraction actually has Energy as part of the subject matter... And beyond that, there were always plans to add more attractions to World Showcase that never happened....and SHOULD happen... Before they start destroying the whole mission of the park, perhaps they should first finish building out the original plans for the park... Refresh and repair where needed... (Imagination, Wonders Of Life, Energy) without completely changing the thematic structure of what the pavilions represent...

 

[danlb_2000]

Sure, but, basic principles can be applied to new and different IP's. Many just dismiss it outright because it isn't what we are used to seeing for IP's in the parks. They can be good, sometimes all we have to do is lighten up on the reject all change button and give it a chance.

Sounds like we are debating two totally different points. I have no problem with new IP's, my objection is to how they are being used. I am totally ok with both Frozen and GoTG getting attractions in the park, but I would prefer that is be done in a more thematically consistent way.

Disney isn't the problem. The problem is the kids and teenagers. When I was a kid, I could listen to something like Golden Dream or Energy (You Make the World Go 'Round) and I'd consider it triumphant and inspiring. Play one of those songs for a kid now and he'd probably say something like "cringe" and turn back to his iPad.

I am not talking about content, I am talking about thematic consistency.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

While a maelstrom refresh with an extended track and new show scenes is what we all wanted and would have been a crowd pleaser i you can't deny that by slapping Frozen on the attraction and having anna and elsa show up elsewhere in the pavilion it hasn't tripled the crowds to Norway and most importantly increased demand for supplemental revenue generators Akershus Royal Banquet Hall which has seen demand go through the roof!

But the problem is, no one going there leaves giving a rip stick about Norway anymore. Maybe its just me, but isn't that kind of the intention of WS? I haven't been there in several years so I don't know what all has gone away, but is there anything factually "Norway" left or did they fully MK-ize the space?

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

Been reading both Marty Sklar's book "Dream it, Do it", and the "EPCOT" book over the weekend. I personally want to send a highlighted and underlined copy to IP-ger and Chapek just for enlightenment purposes. Nearly everything happening now (or rumored for the future) is flying close towards being direct opposition to what the park stood for when it was built. Setting aside Walt's "original" vision (which was never built), there is a very evident split in ideologies from what made Epcot successful for its early years to what current management is trying to make it. At one point, Epcot had a mission statement...now I'm not so sure.

 

[wdisney9000]

I think it's brilliant for WDW to put more rides in Epcot. Every other park is appealing to kids. Epcot out of the 4 major parks is generally adult based. Which is one of the reasons I love the park. As an expecting parent though I do hope by the time my child hits it's younger years that Epcot is more li oriented.

So you enjoy Epcot in its current form as it gives adults a break form all the fantasy, yet as soon your child is born it should become another Fantasyland. Got it.

The frozen ride and Nemo ride are great. But I think there needs to be another couple rides for kids

So kids dont enjoy Imagination, Three Caballeros, Soarin, Test Track, SSE, and Mission Space? How is AK any different? Aside from the Safari and the train to RPW, what else is there for one or two year old kids?

 

[Communicore]

They should just do away with FW altogether and focus on F&W, make it a permanent F&W lol

 

[Captain Neo]

Things went down hill even faster when The Three Caballeros got into Mexico in 2007. Now this... This stuff makes me sigh heavily. You don't happen to have a wayback machine do you? Mr. Peabody will maybe let us use his. So sad.....

Why don't you write to Imagineering (Bob Weiss's Office) and Burbank instead of whining on an internet message board?

I'm not targeting you by the way I'm just saying in general

 

[Bocabear]

They should just do away with FW altogether and focus on F&W, make it a permanent F&W lol

Hey, I love F&W...LOVE the Party for ther Senses...like having a cocktail here and there, but that is not my primary reason for visiting EPCOT and I still want attractions and experiences... I think it can do both without becoming The Magic Kingdom...and quite frankly, having a slightly older age skew makes it better... Some parks appeal to some demographics, some parks appeal to others...and that is what makes the resort great... I don't want a homogenized fantasyland in all four parks!

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

I think it's brilliant for WDW to put more rides in Epcot. Every other park is appealing to kids. Epcot out of the 4 major parks is generally adult based. Which is one of the reasons I love the park. As an expecting parent though I do hope by the time my child hits it's younger years that Epcot is more li oriented. The frozen ride and Nemo ride are great. But I think there needs to be another couple rides for kids. The guardian of the galaxy ride looks like it's going to be a rollerciaster which will certainly help with teenagers.

Any ride can be a kids ride if they're tall enough...

OK, seriously though. Its funny you mention Frozen and Nemo and then say they need more rides for kids...what you're really saying is they need more rides based on characters and movies that "kids" are watching at home. I strongly disagree. I was a "kid" when I first came to Epcot and the various rides of the day did more to shape my future than just about anything else.

 

[Bocabear]

Any ride can be a kids ride if they're tall enough...

OK, seriously though. Its funny you mention Frozen and Nemo and then say they need more rides for kids...what you're really saying is they need more rides based on characters and movies that "kids" are watching at home. I strongly disagree. I was a "kid" when I first came to Epcot and the various rides of the day did more to shape my future than just about anything else.

i agree a gagillion percent!

 

[TXDisney]

When I say they need more kid themed rides yes I am talking about character type rides like Frozen and Nemo that are already there. 2 rides isn't enough. A 3yr old can't enjoy Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. They have no interest in Spaceship Earth really. So I think Epcot does need more kid themed rides. I go to WDW once or twice almost every year and have family in Tampa that meet up for a couple days every trip and have seen there kids and my nieces and nephews at Epcot and they just don't have interest in it like they do the other parks. AK is close to this as well, but I think the whole animal theme keeps kids interest while at AK. At Epcot there's nothing really to entertain a child all day. This is fine bc a child should be behaved well enough to allow a day more adult themed then others over a week. But for WDW I think it'd be wise to add some stuff to make q park like Epcot not so bad for a child.

 

[Bocabear]

When I say they need more kid themed rides yes I am talking about character type rides like Frozen and Nemo that are already there. 2 rides isn't enough. A 3yr old can't enjoy Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. They have no interest in Spaceship Earth really. So I think Epcot does need more kid themed rides. I go to WDW once or twice almost every year and have family in Tampa that meet up for a couple days every trip and have seen there kids and my nieces and nephews at Epcot and they just don't have interest in it like they do the other parks. AK is close to this as well, but I think the whole animal theme keeps kids interest while at AK. At Epcot there's nothing really to entertain a child all day. This is fine bc a child should be behaved well enough to allow a day more adult themed then others over a week. But for WDW I think it'd be wise to add some stuff to make q park like Epcot not so bad for a child.

by all means then, let's make sure every offering at WDW will be set to the standards of entertaining 3 year olds....lol If the kids don't find EPCOT interesting at 3 , take them to the Magic Kingdom... Again, I think the original intent was to NOT have every offering at every park skewed to 3 year olds...

 

[montyz81]

I had a thought. You know who we should all blame for this crazy idea of overlaying rides with IPs? Walter Elias Disney.
In all seriousness, I still think if done right, even if Energy has to have a GoTG overlay and possible a thrill ride, why can't you do it while keeping with the theme that Epcot started with. Think of the SDMT. Fast thrill related sections accompanied by slow moving areas where you could use the IPs to teach you about energy somehow. Elements of the original ride could be included as a tribute for example; shape the ride vehicles like the theater cars and paint them purple. Or, take the Dinosaurs from the diorama and fit them into the Dinosaur ride over at AK. This way we can all continue to enjoy some of the current elements of Energy in some way even if only in part.

 

[DznyRktekt]

When I say they need more kid themed rides yes I am talking about character type rides like Frozen and Nemo that are already there. 2 rides isn't enough. A 3yr old can't enjoy Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. They have no interest in Spaceship Earth really. So I think Epcot does need more kid themed rides. I go to WDW once or twice almost every year and have family in Tampa that meet up for a couple days every trip and have seen there kids and my nieces and nephews at Epcot and they just don't have interest in it like they do the other parks. AK is close to this as well, but I think the whole animal theme keeps kids interest while at AK. At Epcot there's nothing really to entertain a child all day. This is fine bc a child should be behaved well enough to allow a day more adult themed then others over a week. But for WDW I think it'd be wise to add some stuff to make q park like Epcot not so bad for a child.

Many 3-year olds enjoy Spaceship Earth. The ride system alone is an adventure for someone that age. It is all how you sell it as a parent.

 

[Earl Sweatpants]

When I say they need more kid themed rides yes I am talking about character type rides like Frozen and Nemo that are already there. 2 rides isn't enough. A 3yr old can't enjoy Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. They have no interest in Spaceship Earth really. So I think Epcot does need more kid themed rides. I go to WDW once or twice almost every year and have family in Tampa that meet up for a couple days every trip and have seen there kids and my nieces and nephews at Epcot and they just don't have interest in it like they do the other parks. AK is close to this as well, but I think the whole animal theme keeps kids interest while at AK. At Epcot there's nothing really to entertain a child all day. This is fine bc a child should be behaved well enough to allow a day more adult themed then others over a week. But for WDW I think it'd be wise to add some stuff to make q park like Epcot not so bad for a child.

I'm sincerely not trying to insinuate anything about the children in your family, but again, I think the mentality that kids are bored at Epcot says more about the state of children than it does Epcot (even though I do think Epcot needs massive change). I also think a kid can enjoy SSE, just depending on how excited the parent is that takes them on board and can use it as an opportunity to teach their children something. Also, I'm not a qualified child psychologist, but I think a 3 year old's perception of what is "good" or not might not be very firmly established yet...its going to largely come from their parental influence.

I was enthralled with Epcot starting at age 4 or 5 and that's carried on to today. Maybe its the rides they had back then (non-character based ones like Horizons, Kitchen Kabaret, TLS, etc) but they fully kept my attention and expanded my understanding of the world I lived in and what was possible for the future. I got my fill of movie-based rides at MK. I think what you're advocating is a shift in purpose for Epcot to make it more like MK 2.0. and while I can respect that opinion, its not one I hold.

 

[bhg469]

I don't think ANYONE has a problem with putting more rides in EPCOT... it is all about how it is done... There are ways to add attractions without ruining the integrity of the park... Guardians Of The Galaxy replacing the Energy Pavilion is not one of them.....UNLESS the new attraction actually has Energy as part of the subject matter... And beyond that, there were always plans to add more attractions to World Showcase that never happened....and SHOULD happen... Before they start destroying the whole mission of the park, perhaps they should first finish building out the original plans for the park... Refresh and repair where needed... (Imagination, Wonders Of Life, Energy) without completely changing the thematic structure of what the pavilions represent...

There you go... Making sense again!!

 

[TXDisney]

I will say the Phineas search thing certainly helps at Epcot.

 

[Virtual Toad]

I think it's brilliant for WDW to put more rides in Epcot. Every other park is appealing to kids. Epcot out of the 4 major parks is generally adult based. Which is one of the reasons I love the park. As an expecting parent though I do hope by the time my child hits it's younger years that Epcot is more li oriented. The frozen ride and Nemo ride are great. But I think there needs to be another couple rides for kids. The guardian of the galaxy ride looks like it's going to be a rollerciaster which will certainly help with teenagers.

As for GOTG (a roller coaster for teens? really?) didn't we go through the whole "hip and edgy" thing with WDW/WDI in the late 90's? And how did it work out? For the record, I have two children and their favorite park at WDW is EPCOT. Except for the rides "designed for kids" which they think are totally out of place. Agree totally with you that EPCOT's appeal is the fact that it's a park *not* "designed for children."

 

[Virtual Toad]

When I say they need more kid themed rides yes I am talking about character type rides like Frozen and Nemo that are already there. 2 rides isn't enough. A 3yr old can't enjoy Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. They have no interest in Spaceship Earth really. So I think Epcot does need more kid themed rides. I go to WDW once or twice almost every year and have family in Tampa that meet up for a couple days every trip and have seen there kids and my nieces and nephews at Epcot and they just don't have interest in it like they do the other parks. AK is close to this as well, but I think the whole animal theme keeps kids interest while at AK. At Epcot there's nothing really to entertain a child all day. This is fine bc a child should be behaved well enough to allow a day more adult themed then others over a week. But for WDW I think it'd be wise to add some stuff to make q park like Epcot not so bad for a child.

Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space are problematic precisely because they're height restricted. But remember, they are all second-generation EPCOT attractions. World of Motion and Horizons were totally family and kid-friendly, attractions which entertained and inspired. The last two things EPCOT needs are: 1) Attractions exclusively designed to appeal to "little kids" and 2) Attractions that are too intense for little kids.

The original EPCOT had family-friendly rides and experiences everyone could enjoy. Modern day Epcot is such a mess in large part because DisCo started designing and building experiences for specific demographics (hip and edgy! for the little ones! princesses!) which as others have said is pretty much the exact opposite of Walt Disney's vision for a place parents and kids could enjoy together.