News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

Horizons1

Well-Known Member
I agree with this.

While I really liked the original Communicore buildings as part of the whole beautiful design of original EPCOT (with the pools, palm trees, etc.) it makes far more sense to tear both down than to only remove one. The remnants of the original design doesn't work any better with one building than it would with none, so why not get rid of both? I don't understand leaving one standing.
I don’t really think the people managing this project do either. I think they’re just moving along without much thought. When it’s all complete they’ll stand back, look at it, and say “maybe we shouldn’t have done that”.
 

sedati

Well-Known Member
No it didn't. You weren't supposed to be able to see all of Future World and for good reason. It would have looked terrible to walk past Spaceship Earth into the center of the park and see every pavilion in Future World around you like a gigantic field; I have a hard time believing anyone thinks that would have been better.

The original EPCOT spine was incredibly well designed, and one of the reasons so many people absolutely loved the park. It only stopped working because Disney stopped putting anything interesting in those buildings -- but even then the design itself was still good (at least until they turned the center into a huge concrete expanse).
A gigantic field would be bad, but why is the assumption that this central area had to be this gigantic array of post-shows and well-groomed plazas? The park's true attractions are laid out along the out edges of an hourglass whose interior spaces could house entire theme parks (one's with better layouts and mercy on your feet.)
Epcot broke the mold, but not in any good way. There's no real transition from parking lot to world of the future. The park's centerpiece isn't in the center. Its center is a fountain plaza that offered little sense of time, place, or direction. The bulk of this park is and has always been massive amounts of pleasant spaces with nothing in them. The array of walkways and planters that make up Future World East and West could fit another respective Communicore crescent within each. What's worse, you could literally fit another entire Communicore within the massive gap between it and the lagoon. Is that good design? How long does it take to get from Imagination to Canada or TT to Mexico? What do you encounter along the way?
Once there, you've become trapped in a literal loop. It's all laid out so linear that there's little sense of discovery or exploration. Just a series of themed cul de sacs wrapped around a massive body of water.
Certainly any good park needs some nice "inbetween" spaces, but I think Epcot Center over did it.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
A gigantic field would be bad, but why is the assumption that this central area had to be this gigantic array of post-shows and well-groomed plazas? The park's true attractions are laid out along the out edges of an hourglass whose interior spaces could house entire theme parks (one's with better layouts and mercy on your feet.)
Epcot broke the mold, but not in any good way. There's no real transition from parking lot to world of the future. The park's centerpiece isn't in the center. Its center is a fountain plaza that offered little sense of time, place, or direction. The bulk of this park is and has always been massive amounts of pleasant spaces with nothing in them. The array of walkways and planters that make up Future World East and West could fit another respective Communicore crescent within each. What's worse, you could literally fit another entire Communicore within the massive gap between it and the lagoon. Is that good design? How long does it take to get from Imagination to Canada or TT to Mexico? What do you encounter along the way?
Once there, you've become trapped in a literal loop. It's all laid out so linear that there's little sense of discovery or exploration. Just a series of themed cul de sacs wrapped around a massive body of water.
Certainly any good park needs some nice "inbetween" spaces, but I think Epcot Center over did it.
None of these issues you have are being fixed. If anything there will just be more nothingness you have to walk through.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
None of these issues you have are being fixed. If anything there will just be more nothingness you have to walk through.
Well, the "open space" leading to Seas is getting some interactive theming (yeah, I know, "but the IP!"). Imagination has some good theming leading up to it with the reverse waterfall and laminar fountain hops.

It'd be nice if the other pavilions would also ditch the generic landscaping in place of better theming that leads one to the entrance.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
A gigantic field would be bad, but why is the assumption that this central area had to be this gigantic array of post-shows and well-groomed plazas? The park's true attractions are laid out along the out edges of an hourglass whose interior spaces could house entire theme parks (one's with better layouts and mercy on your feet.)
Epcot broke the mold, but not in any good way. There's no real transition from parking lot to world of the future. The park's centerpiece isn't in the center. Its center is a fountain plaza that offered little sense of time, place, or direction. The bulk of this park is and has always been massive amounts of pleasant spaces with nothing in them. The array of walkways and planters that make up Future World East and West could fit another respective Communicore crescent within each. What's worse, you could literally fit another entire Communicore within the massive gap between it and the lagoon. Is that good design? How long does it take to get from Imagination to Canada or TT to Mexico? What do you encounter along the way?
Once there, you've become trapped in a literal loop. It's all laid out so linear that there's little sense of discovery or exploration. Just a series of themed cul de sacs wrapped around a massive body of water.
Certainly any good park needs some nice "inbetween" spaces, but I think Epcot Center over did it.

That's a fair position. I don't personally agree with it (I loved the design of EPCOT, which I think is obvious -- the feeling of spaciousness between the pavilions is something I like and helps keep the park from feeling so congested), but it's all subjective.

I don't see how what they're doing now is going to improve on that at all, though. Even if you think those were flaws in the original design, it's not easily fixable without redoing almost the entire park. The things they are currently doing may actually what you're complaining about worse.
 

sedati

Well-Known Member
That's a fair position. I don't personally agree with it (I loved the design of EPCOT, which I think is obvious -- the feeling of spaciousness between the pavilions is something I like), but it's all subjective.

I don't see how what they're doing now is going to improve on that at all, though. Even if you think those were flaws in the original design, it's not easily fixable without redoing almost the entire park. The things they are currently doing may actually what you're complaining about worse.
It won't hide what I do love. Communicore was nice, but I'm looking forward to the views created in its absence. I think Spaceship Earth is going to shine from the west side of the park.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
It won't hide what I do love. Communicore was nice, but I'm looking forward to the views created in its absence. I think Spaceship Earth is going to shine from the west side of the park.

Won't that depend on what they build in its place? I'm not sure we have any idea of how big Journey of Water will be -- I assume it will be smaller than Communicore, but who knows what exactly they're planning.

My understanding is that they're not going to build anything in the other section for the moment, but that won't last forever. Something will be built there eventually.
 

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
Won't that depend on what they build in its place? I'm not sure we have any idea of how big Journey of Water will be -- I assume it will be smaller than Communicore, but who knows what exactly they're planning.

My understanding is that they're not going to build anything in the other section for the moment, but that won't last forever. Something will be built there eventually.
we all know how that goes. Hey maybe a put put, that should be cheap enough for them, and the golf balls could resemble spaceship earth!
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Latest Innoventions West demolition photos


Epcot_Full_40736.jpg
 

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