News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
So how would you suggest they do a “boutique hotel” that is “highly themed” (your words, not mine) for Epcot? Genuinely curious, not trying to hammer you. I just don’t see what they could do at this point to make it “special”. They’ve abandoned the original “futuristic” theme for Future World and replaced it with Bob’s Movie IP Inclusion theme. Could they try to go the nostalgia route? Yes, but it would make them look kind of silly in the process.
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I can't speak for that poster, but my idea would be to add a real hotel wing to the existing [fake] Hotel du Canada. You would enter the façade in the park for check-in (in the former gift shop space), have a tea room on the 2nd floor and then a hallway leading behind the pavilion to the actual rooms. All keeping the 1880-1920 Railroad Hotel aesthetic.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Animaniac93-98 said:
I can't speak for that poster, but my idea would be to add a real hotel wing to the existing [fake] Hotel du Canada. You would enter the façade in the park for check-in (in the former gift shop space), have a tea room on the 2nd floor and then a hallway leading behind the pavilion to the actual rooms. All keeping the 1880-1920 Railroad Hotel aesthetic.
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The second floor is about big enough for a tea room kitchen but no tea room. Amongst a multitude of other concerns.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Surfin' Tuna said:
I've posted about that place many times as we lament what has happened to Epcot. It's funny that there was a time when they even got the shops right. It's not just the House of Magic that was a major loss. Damn the Bobs
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The rocket piloted by Figment (which was SO damn cool) would probably spin for 3 weeks, break down, and then sit motionless for 8 years if implemented today.

I still have memories of looking at artwork on the 3rd floor of the Centorium back in the day.
 
Horizons1

Horizons1

Well-Known Member
I found a nice photo of the old entrance plaza. I love how green it is. I believe this is 1997.
77EDF2E3-1E5B-4347-B18A-0D2A35DE8879.jpeg
 
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CastAStone

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
owlsandcoffee said:
One starts to think that the current crop thinks the old folks made these choices by accident. "Why weren't there any roller coasters?" "Can you believe they didn't put any IPs in the World Showcase?"
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I think it’s more that the new crop says “Epcot is about to get passed by USO in annual attendance and IOA isn’t far behind. It’s obviously broken. How to we drastically overhaul it?”.

Y’all call yell and scream for years about how Disney let it get that way, and it is a VERY valid criticism, but it *is* a half empty park with attendance boosted by festivals, not attractions, so I think it’s baffling when people ask “why is Disney looking to make changes”. Its broken! When things are broken people don’t usually make incremental changes or go back to what worked in the past, that’s just not how people think. They make sweeping overhauls.

It’s reasonable to hate the new direction. But I don’t understand how one can’t see why they’re doing it.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
CastAStone said:
I think it’s more that the new crop says “Epcot is about to get passed by USO in annual attendance and IOA isn’t far behind. It’s obviously broken. How to we drastically overhaul it?”.

Y’all call yell and scream for years about how Disney let it get that way, and it is a VERY valid criticism, but it *is* a half empty park with attendance boosted by festivals, not attractions, so I think it’s baffling when people ask “why is Disney looking to make changes”. Its broken! When things are broken people don’t usually make incremental changes or go back to what worked in the past, that’s just not how people think. They make sweeping overhauls.

It’s reasonable to hate the new direction. But I don’t understand how one can’t see why they’re doing it.
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I just find it amusing (albeit sad) that almost every major change Disney has made to EPCOT since the early 90s has made it worse instead of better (I say almost because there are exceptions). Horizons to Mission: Space? Worse. World of Motion to Test Track? Worse -- even if you think the ride is a push or Test Track is actually better, there was still more overall to do in the old WoM pavilion. Imagination Pavilion? Worse. Frozen Ever After? Worse -- again, even if you think the ride is better (I'd say it's slightly worse if for nothing other than thematic consistency but neither are anything spectacular), it really screwed up the Norway pavilion. Living Seas to Nemo? Worse. Obviously closing down the Wonders of Life pavilion entirely and letting it sit there empty was a change for the worse. RoE to Harmonious? Worse, no matter how good the show is, simply because of the awful eyesores sitting in the lagoon all day.

At least the Ratatouille expansion (which doesn't really fit IMO) doesn't actually make anything worse -- it's one of the few exceptions. The addition of Soarin' is probably another. The Play Pavilion will be an improvement over the former WoL sitting there unused (as mentioned above), but it's certainly not an improvement over what was originally there. Guardians will likely be a better ride than the rotting husk of Energy, but it's hard for me to call it a change for the better considering the thematic problems and the gigantic box that's now towering next to Spaceship Earth.
 
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PSM

PSM

Well-Known Member
Horizons1 said:
I found a nice photo of the old entrance plaza. I love how green it is. I believe this is 1997.View attachment 544472
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I probably have a better chance of winning PowerBall, but I always hope to spot myself and my brother when people post 80s and 90s WDW photos.

We used to bring those disposable cameras our parents or grandparents would buy us, but apparently we were too young to realize we should actually take photos with ourselves and family in them. "Look at that cool bench! I'll definitely want to have a photo of that decades from now..."
 

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