News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[UNCgolf]

Pandora, Carsland, galaxy’s edge?

Joe Rohde was in charge of Pandora and he's gone, but it was very well done and it's not like he designed it on his own. Hopefully some of the other people involved are still there and will follow his lead.

Galaxy's Edge is a disappointment -- it's certainly not bad, but it's not the incredible experience they were hoping for. It pales in comparison to Diagon Alley in basically every way beyond the headlining attraction. To be fair, though, some of that could be attributable to management (cutting the third ride, the kinetic energy, etc.) and not on the people who designed it.

I haven't seen Cars Land in person so I don't have a strong opinion on that (seems to be quite good, though), but Toy Story Land is another recent addition that's an outright design failure.

 

[_caleb]

I wonder why Disney doesn’t change the name of Epcot. Even the name sets expectations they’re not even trying to meet.

 

[Horizons1]

I wonder why Disney doesn’t change the name of Epcot. Even the name sets expectations they’re not even trying to meet.

Not really. At one time this was true, but now EPCOT is just as synonymous with Disney as it could be. They’ll change the font and logos every 20 years or so, but the name, aside from dropping Center, will remain the same.

Plus they’ll keep the name EPCOT because anytime they throw in more IP or beer they can quote Walt about how EPCOT would be ever evolving as a way to justify their poor planning and choices.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Not really. At one time this was true, but now EPCOT is just as synonymous with Disney as it could be. They’ll change the font and logos every 20 years or so, but the name, aside from dropping Center, will remain the same.

Plus they’ll keep the name EPCOT because anytime they throw in more IP or beer they can quote Walt about how EPCOT would be ever evolving as a way to justify their poor planning and choices.

“By far the most exciting part of our Disney World project is our imitation of Universal Studios. We call it Epcot, E-P-C-O-T. Experimental Park Copying Other Things.”

 

[Horizons1]

“By far the most exciting part of our Disney World project is our imitation of Universal Studios. We call it Epcot, E-P-C-O-T. Experimental Park Copying Other Things.”

Walt also loved water tacos and ruined sight lines that only exist within the realities of the telephoto lens. If you watch his EPCOT film from 1966 he talks about it.

 

[_caleb]

@marni1971’s changed his avatar and now I’m worried.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I wonder why Disney doesn’t change the name of Epcot. Even the name sets expectations they’re not even trying to meet.

Because as much as Disney would insist otherwise, "EPCOT" is still a recognized brand and unique Disney word that has been consistently used for 40 years and it would be difficult from a practical standpoint to switch to something else entirely. That's why they just make revisions (dropping Center, adding '94, switching from upper case to lower case etc) instead of replacing it wholesale.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I haven't seen Cars Land in person so I don't have a strong opinion on that (seems to be quite good, though), but Toy Story Land is another recent addition that's an outright design failure.

Cars Land is almost 10 years old at this point. Calling it recent is a bit of a stretch.

 

[champdisney]

Galaxy's Edge is a disappointment -- it's certainly not bad, but it's not the incredible experience they were hoping for.

Not the incredible experience we were hoping for.

Galaxy Edge sucks and I absolutely love Star Wars!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

We've had two, new, high profile attractions open within the last 6 months. Both of which were anticipated to be top tier work from their respective companies, who had enormous amount of support, both financial and creative and...they both disappointed.

Even in Japan, Universal Creative and WDI are still falling short with Mario Kart and BatB. Doesn't give me high hope for the future.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I know many in this thread have their various degrees of disappointment when it comes to this overhaul, with some outright hating everything, but when does it come to you saying enough is enough and stop visiting the park, or WDW as a whole, completely? Have any of you actually contemplated this?

I certainly don't think this way. Just curious as to if people are serious when they say that they're done with EPCOT. It's easy to become jaded, I get it, but I still am cautiously optimistic when it comes to what will happen. There's some additions I like, some I don't, and some I'm largely indifferent towards. The changes to the hub seem unnecessary. They're not inherently bad ideas, but the hub was never the problem the park had, in my opinion. At least we can almost all agree that the entrance is a vast improvement.

At this point I don't really get excited for new additions, so my attitude now is more like "enjoy it while you can".

So the question for me would be "is there enough of old EPCOT [or some other park] still left to make me want to go back?".

That's tough to say, especially with Disney's outrageous ticket prices. You're now guaranteed to pay $100/day, even with a 4 or 5 day pass. That's hard to justify to see a handful of attractions, or to then pay another premium to eat at certain restaurants.

But I also worry that what I like won't be around for much longer. Do I fork over the cash just to go back to see them one more time? Do I justify keep going back just for that "one more time" in case it really is?

 

[techgeek]

Because as much as Disney would insist otherwise, "EPCOT" is still a recognized brand and unique Disney word that has been consistently used for 40 years and it would be difficult from a practical standpoint to switch to something else entirely. That's why they just make revisions (dropping Center, adding '94, switching from upper case to lower case etc) instead of replacing it wholesale.

If I took a survey of random EPCOT park guests, what percentage in 2021 do you think would be able to tell me what the word means or parse out the acronym?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If I took a survey of random EPCOT park guests, what percentage in 2021 do you think would be able to tell me what the word means or parse out the acronym?

They know what EPCOT is, even if only on a superficial level.

If they change the name, you now have to spend time communicating what it is to every potential customer, travel supplier or relevant third party. That's easier said than done after so many decades.

Previous park name changes have been relatively simple for this reason. Going from "Disney-MGM Studios" to "Disney's Hollywood Studios" or "Euro Disneyland" to "Disneyland Paris" kept the key words in place. They're still referred to as Disney Studios and Disneyland.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I guess they could always rename EPCOT to "Pearl Milling Park".

 

[Horizons1]

If I took a survey of random EPCOT park guests, what percentage in 2021 do you think would be able to tell me what the word means or parse out the acronym?

They don’t know the acronym, they just know the word. The acronym doesn’t really play any sort of role in the park today anyway.

 

[brb1006]

@marni1971’s changed his avatar and now I’m worried.

You know something's wrong when Martin suddenly changes his avatar from this.

To this.

Really tells you about the current state of Epcot and the future of Walt Disney World.

 

[UNCgolf]

Cars Land is almost 10 years old at this point. Calling it recent is a bit of a stretch.

I was calling Toy Story Land recent, not Cars Land. I only mentioned Cars Land because it was in the post I was responding to.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

They know what EPCOT is, even if only on a superficial level.

If they change the name, you now have to spend time communicating what it is to every potential customer, travel supplier or relevant third party. That's easier said than done after so many decades.

Previous park name changes have been relatively simple for this reason. Going from "Disney-MGM Studios" to "Disney's Hollywood Studios" or "Euro Disneyland" to "Disneyland Paris" kept the key words in place. They're still referred to as Disney Studios and Disneyland.

They could just change it to.......

It'll draw in the guest without question....

 

[marni1971]

Cars Land is almost 10 years old at this point. Calling it recent is a bit of a stretch.

And was designed 16 years ago.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

This is why I so dislike the term “theming” as used by both fans and the industry. It reduces the experiential content to a layer that is just slathered on top that can be switched out with anything else and it over emphasizes quantity, as in “this attraction has so much theming.” In the best themed experiences as much as possible everything is an expression of the theme. The Pirates of the Caribbean queue music you mention was theming as it was designed for that experience. This is not just an issue of language but is also how work is now done. The Forrest is now missed because there is over specialization where every tree is it’s own isolated silo.

I feel similarly about the word "detail". Remember when they tried to push "The King's Bookends" from the animated Cinderella as a feature of Princess Fairytale Hall?



How embarrassing. As if a few call-back knicknacks make the experience any more meaningful than the actual Dark Ride it replaced.

I won't pretend detail isn't an essential element to a successful Disney attraction, but true detail lies in generating a rich, whole, bespoke experience and serving that experience both structurally and topically. It's not about mere decor.

A few handmade sprinkles on a store-bought cake isn't "detail", and certainly doesn't make for a memorable dessert.