News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

CastAStone

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
AJDMB05 said:
This is honestly my biggest issue with the way the parks are headed. All this "more timeless, more relevant" talk, I don't think Moana is going to be remembered by many in the top 10 of Disney/Pixar movies ten years from now. This just doesn't feel like it's going to work for very long after it's built.
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Josh Hendy said:
I agree about Moana ... far from a classic IMHO. To me, Atlantis is a similar film story wise, but better in almost every way.
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Hard disagree on Moana...it’s not Frozen or Lion King but it’s definitely at least Aladdin - the kids who grow up with it will cherish it forever.
 
tparris

tparris

Well-Known Member
trainplane3 said:
And some more pictures are out:
epcot-pin-central-tarp-shade-umbrella-removed-6.jpg

blogmickey.com

Future World Pin Central Shade Structure Removal Begins at EPCOT

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond
blogmickey.com blogmickey.com
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It cracks me up how people call it a “shade structure” when it provided as much shade as club cool does now
 
SeaCastle

SeaCastle

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
I never really understood the hate for the tarps.
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Just thinking through this a bit beyond the complaints about clutter-- the tarps made sense to folks like me who grew up in the 90s with the tarps and other additions that have certainly aged by now. (For the record- I'm pro-wand and anti-tarp!) Gonna be an armchair architect here but the tarps and 1994 changes to EPCOT are contextual with the architectural shifts you saw in the 80s and 90s. There was a move from the stark and bold shapes of Brutalism and modernism to the postmodern revivals. Eisner favored Michael Graves who was a well known postmodernist architect. This time period was when we saw the Swan and Dolphin, Tomorrowland '94, Downtown Disney West Side, etc. Those additions, however garish they appear now, were timely at one point, and covering up Spaceship Earth with a wand and the Plaza with tarps and cr*p did have a logic to it.

The park design traditionalists now are folks who either visited and remember the parks as they were originally designed, or are fans who grew up with the cr*pification and then learned and aspired to the logic of the original designs that they never experienced in person because of their age. The late 2000s-2010s have had a prevailing cultural theme of nostalgia and authenticity, so the return of EPCOT to its decluttered and stark shapes seems like a natural progression just like the additions did back then. The difference, I think, is that Disney Parks are now tagging along on today's trends rather than defining and anticipating them.
 
Epcot82Guy

Epcot82Guy

Well-Known Member
@realBobChapek I totally understand and agree. My emotions are ones of frustration and even anger and disgust. In other words, feeble attempts at grasping at control of a ship that has likely sailed into very dull waters. I know it's a subconscious attempt to not let the reality (which you have so well stated) sink in.

I was thinking about it last night. I think I would be more ok if they did the IP shift fully. The part I hate the most is how the layers of theme and attention to details at all level no longer matter. While I would miss Epcot Center, having each WS pavilion showcase countries and the beloved Disney stories they inspired would be better than this mess. At least it would be a coherent, stated theme. I just see it eroding all around WDW, and it is taking away what made the Parks my favorite place in the world. And, to tie it back, leaves me with Sadness distinctly at the control panel (IP tie in intentional).
 
Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
realBobChapek said:
*Bob Chapek mode deactivated*

I try to keep my opinions to myself regarding this project so I stay "in character" ;), but I wanted to reply to this. I feel the exact opposite about this project. I feel almost no emotion at all. I've been a lifelong Disney parks fan but watching Future World die a slow death with almost nothing of value replacing it has made me numb to any enjoyment of following Disney news. Epcot used to be my favorite park, but I find it appalling that they tore up the entire center when the Innoventions buildings could have been repurposed. I feel so bad for the families that save money for years to go to Disney, only to be greeted with this mess. And the issue is it shouldn't have been left to rot for the past 10 years to bring us to this point, so the executives have nobody to blame but themselves.

I don't buy the narrative that guests only care about IP. I suspect the reason IP is being pushed so much is because it brings in more money for the shareholders because of familiarity. When I was growing up, Spaceship Earth was my favorite ride. I remember going in the Communicore/Innoventions buildings and seeing all sorts of unique exhibits that disappeared over the years. Call me a weird kid, but I loved all the "original" stuff just as much as the character rides and the meet and greets that I *had* to visit. But sadly all of that is gone now. Kids today will never get to experience a lot of the things I'm grateful I was able to see and do. WDW was always my favorite vacation destination, but now I'm pretty much over it.

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Could not agree more...There were a million ways to fix the decline of EPCOT without tearing it down... A million ways to add more without replacing...IP can work if done correctly, but it seems like the ship is being steered by a group of people that never understood EPCOT and never liked it...What a shame...
 
SoFloMagic

SoFloMagic

Well-Known Member
**Absurdly negative post warning**

I don't usually post negative stuff here, but I went to Epcot today, and I gotta say (at the risk of sounding like katiebug)- this park is a joke right now. Worse than studios was. I love epcot, and have enjoyed going through the transition up to this point, but today was just too much. No bathrooms (so massive lines at the one that was open, overcrowded paths with 7-foot walls on either side of you. A maze to follow as you wind around guest relations and into another maze in FW East.
Not to mention the staffing cutbacks... only running 4 sets of touchpoints at the entrance. Regal Eagle already not paying someone to manage mobile order and had it turned off.

I don't understand why they didn't first demolish all of innoventions West and replace with a temp path (a la tombstones) and close the center and Innoventions east. Then at least guests have something other than a maze. Once Mouse Gear and QS food are redone, open those and part of the center and build Moana and the table. I guess they really needed it done by 2023 instead of 2024.
 
J

Josh Hendy

Well-Known Member
Gotta say, it took some doing to take a stupendous, awesome theme park fully loaded with tons of attractions and a huge, loyal fan base and billions of dollars of accumulated revenues and decades of stellar profits ... and then through neglect, inattention, carelessness and penny-crunching, turn it into the biggest mess in WDW.

I know the mess is temporary but come on ... this was a great theme park from opening day, not a hastily thrown-together improvisation with a bad layout like Disney-MGM was.
 

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