News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

TheEPCOTHistorian

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
The old star map with important achievements in the breezeway of CC/INNO West has started being slowly removed.
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Indy_UK

Well-Known Member
So is the Inventions building completely done now? Guest relations is currently getting done but otherwise that side of the park is done (not counting Play Pavilion)

I hope that festival centre doesn't come back they showed off. I thought it looked odd and really, is a festival centre really needed?
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
So is the Inventions building completely done now? Guest relations is currently getting done but otherwise that side of the park is done (not counting Play Pavilion)

I hope that festival centre doesn't come back they showed off. I thought it looked odd and really, is a festival centre really needed?
ONLY if they then remove the festival tent and use the space for attraction expansion...
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
I disagree with this. It looked super modern, and a permanent facility would have been nice versus the impromptu feel festivals have had at EPCOT for decades.

Festivals aren’t going anywhere, and they dug themselves a hole by already tearing down the entire Innoventions West.
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Yes, people have made arguments that the design does not involve an efficient use of the space which may be accurate, but I also thought it at least looked interesting. The broader point, though, is that I'd prefer some kind of permanent festival center than a lawn with more temporary booths, stages, and whatever else they put in for each festival. It's not like the alternatives are this or rebuilding the Communicore building.
 

Indy_UK

Well-Known Member
I don’t feel that building this festival centre would reduce the amount of booths and pop-ups they have. Just more areas to sell crap
 

SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
I disagree with this. It looked super modern.
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Additionally, the festival center's architecture reminds me of Antoni Gaudí's interior for la Sagrada Família in Barcelona where the resemblance between the columns is undeniable.

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In the Art Noveau style, nature's logic serves as the model for architecture and the festival center's design fits the bill by evoking a comparison to a mushroom or tree canopy.

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Interestingly enough, Hector Guimard's Paris metro stations (seen below) and their Epcot imitation also live under the Art Noveau umbrella.

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All in all, simply drawing inspiration from the world's finest architecture does not equate to an exquisite result, though it does suggest taste, careful consideration, and creativity contributed to the final design. Visiting La Sagrada Família instills a far too novel sense of awe and wonder, and as a result, I highly suggest visiting if you can. If not, I just hope one day Epcot's Festival Center comes to fruition so that a personification of Sagrada's architecture exists a little closer to home.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
The Sagrada Família is a neat building and absolutely worth visiting, but I was more interested in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. There are a lot of beautiful old churches in Barcelona.
 

SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
The Sagrada Família is a neat building and absolutely worth visiting, but I was more interested in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. There are a lot of beautiful old churches in Barcelona.
To me, there's nothing like Sagrada Família, and you wouldn't know that from the outside.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia stands as an amazing structure, but I wouldn't classify it as unique. To me, its design is similar to the Cologne Cathedral, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York, or Regensburg Cathedral (pictured below in stated order with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalalia last).

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Obviously, all these structures all vary dramatically in scale, detail, and design and are all worth visiting in their own right and to say otherwise would be ignorant, but they're not entirely disimilar.

La Sagrada Família, however, is dramatically different from anything I've ever seen. Being difference or unique obviously doesn't make a structure superior, but after seeing several of the Cathedrals on the aforementioned list, seeing another likely won't blow your mind, but to me, La Sagrada Família blew my mind.

My mother, a career architect, would likely agree with you. While she was impressed by La Sagrada Família, she prefers Cathedrals built under the gothic umbrella.

I can't say whether La Sagrada Família is better or not, because, objectively, that can never be determined. Ultimately, variety is the spice of life and life becomes monotonous through conformity and repetition, so it's important to travel and experience new places, tastes, and architectures. There's no denying La Sagrada Família delivers in a big way, I just hope the Festival Center, in whatever capacity it comes to frution, can do the same.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Oh, I wasn't suggesting the Cathedral of the Holy Cross was unique in the way Sagrada Família is. Sagrada Família is one of a kind and absolutely worth visiting, as I said -- but it didn't fill me with awe the way older Gothic (and also Baroque) churches do. Even some of the smaller Gothic churches in Barcelona (and around Italy) moved me more than Sagrada Família did, although admittedly they probably received a boost by virtue of me being the only person inside a couple of them since they're not major tourist sites. It's quite something to stand alone inside a structure like that.

St. Patrick's actually doesn't do much for me since it's basically a replica, even though it's a massive structure.

When I saw it in person, the architectural style blew me away not just because it was different but because it left me in legitimate awe. So much thought was put into making every inch naturally sprung up and in a non-deliberate harmony. I still haven't seen anything quite like it.

I'd put it up there with Notre Dame and the Vatican IMO. Not trying to knock the churches you mentioned but they're not on the same level.

I think Notre Dame, St. Peter's (really the Vatican as a whole) and Sainte-Chappelle interested me the most among churches I've visited. Florence Cathedral would probably be fourth on the list.

Sainte-Chappelle isn't as impressive as the others on the outside, of course, but going up the staircase from the relatively nondescript lower chapel and emerging into the upper chapel is just... I get goosebumps thinking about it. The light shining through the stained glass windows is indescribable and photos don't do it justice.
 
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SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
Even some of the smaller Gothic churches in Barcelona (and around Italy) moved me more than Sagrada Família did
Honestly, this type of exploration and travel is usually the best. Stumbling into a small church, alley, or restaurant not included in any online blog or traveling book oftentimes make the best moments of your trip.

It's also why the small details and lesser projects at Disney are still so important. Walking through the trails of Animal Kingdom or doing the Carousel of Progress, while nothing inherently monumental or likely to drive someone to take that vacation in the first place, are extremely crucial.

No one will fly to Barcelona solely to stroll down a random boulevard miles away from the primary tourist attractions, but once you're there, they can make your trip.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
No one will fly to Barcelona solely to stroll down a random boulevard miles away from the primary tourist attractions, but once you're there, they can make your trip.

I was there on a trip with my family (parents, siblings, nieces and nephews), and I spent almost an entire day by myself going to some of those older churches as well as some Roman ruins. It was fantastic.

Also, speaking of going off the beaten path -- a member of my brother-in-law's family lives in Barcelona. He took us to Montserrat one day (which is worth doing), and on the way back we stopped in some tiny little town for dinner. It was one of the best meals I've ever had.
 

SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
I was there on a trip with my family (parents, siblings, nieces and nephews), and I spent almost an entire day by myself going to some of those older churches as well as some Roman ruins. It was fantastic.

Also, speaking of going off the beaten path -- a member of my brother-in-law's family lives in Barcelona. He took us to Montserrat one day (which is worth doing), and on the way back we stopped in some tiny little town for dinner. It was one of the best meals I've ever had.
Hey, I'm down if you are to fly to Europe right now and purposely get lost
 

No Name

Well-Known Member
Can someone explain again why they couldn’t just put a rooftop patio on the innoventions building they tore down?
Aside from the other replies here, the reason is that they think of heavily symmetrical and surrounded space as antiquated. They want to “open it up” and create a “free-flowing design” except I don’t think they’re doing a particularly good job of either. The festival center as a stand-alone building would sit at the center of world celebration, which is off-center from the center of the park. Despite the sloppily-conjured land division they showed at D23 that makes it seem like they’re interested in following the symmetry and balance that’s built into the bones of the park, it would appear that they aren’t.
 

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