News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Does that column have a purpose?
Why, yes! It hearkens back to Walt's original plans for EPCOT Center, and Zach and his Imagineering team used that as inspiration for this totally re-imagined space. They will also use immersive storytelling to transport guests like never before! (Hey, I really can use a bunch of buzzwords and say absolutely nothing as well! 😂 )
 

imagineer97

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Some photos of the Guest Relations area from today


Epcot_Full_47431.jpg
Does anyone know what became of the remnants of the video dinner reservation stations, where you would make dinner reservations over a "video phone?" It was still there about ten years ago, but I fear this is the nail in the coffin for it.
 

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what became of the remnants of the video dinner reservation stations, where you would make dinner reservations over a "video phone?" It was still there about ten years ago, but I fear this is the nail in the coffin for it.
Those were demo'd when they built the bypass path.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Why, yes! It hearkens back to Walt's original plans for EPCOT Center, and Zach and his Imagineering team used that as inspiration for this totally re-imagined space. They will also use immersive storytelling to transport guests like never before! (Hey, I really can use a bunch of buzzwords and say absolutely nothing as well! 😂 )
you forgot to use "Activate" in that word salad... you must Activate your spaces...lol
 

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
That's fine. I get people are frustrated and that you and many others here on these forums are quitting Disney or cutting back on Disney. Thats cool. Maybe Disney will take notice. Maybe it will help facilitate the changes you and others are looking for. My only point is that the majority do not look at Disney as critically as we do here. I wager the majority that continue to go probably have no or very a very vague idea who Bobby C even is. They don't pay attention to their political views or see bulbs out in the parks or know the path of Cosmic Rewind track by heart without even been on the ride. They continue to go. We can talk about the park reservations being full is really Disney hiding numbers, or that the resorts being highly occupied is Disney hiding numbers. The fact is that people continue to go, new and old fans alike. And Disney is still raking it in. They will not lose their fans. Even with inflation and soaring prices, people will find a way to go.
But - almost the opposite is also true: the majority of WDW visitors don't know all the details of how to tour WDW as effectively as we do.

I've been to WDW with 1st timers and talked to WDW novices, even many folks who have visited a number of times just not very often.

They find WDW's rules baffling.
 

kalel8145

Well-Known Member
But - almost the opposite is also true: the majority of WDW visitors don't know all the details of how to tour WDW as effectively as we do.

I've been to WDW with 1st timers and talked to WDW novices, even many folks who have visited a number of times just not very often.

They find WDW's rules baffling.
True. I guess when we have "grown up" with the system and its changes, its easy.
 

vikescaper

Well-Known Member

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
That Guest Relations sign that was removed is from the 1994 Innoventions Overhaul correct? Does anyone have pics of the original 80s sign?
I don't think GR existed inside the park until 1994...I just looked at a 1991 map on Google and the only Guest Relations was the one outside the front gate..
 

Movielover

Well-Known Member
Another nail in the coffin.

I would still pay top dollar to have access to the old computer central area just to see it before its all gone too
Ah yes. Using video phones from the 90's to make dinner reservations was certainly a vital part of the Epcot experience in the 2020's.

What? they hadn't been used since 1999 and the structure was literally sitting there unused ever since? Yes I can certainly see how this is the nail in the coffin for Epcot.
 

montyz81

Well-Known Member
But - almost the opposite is also true: the majority of WDW visitors don't know all the details of how to tour WDW as effectively as we do.

I've been to WDW with 1st timers and talked to WDW novices, even many folks who have visited a number of times just not very often.

They find WDW's rules baffling.
Because the general public now visits WDW like they visit Universal or Six Flags. Unfortunately, the current day Imagineers are building the parks with that in mind. There is very little thought to story, and I don't mean story in an individual ride; I mean story from the entrance to the property right up to when you sit down on the first ride in any park. Mainstreet is a prime example; the names on the windows are meant to be the opening credits like in a movie. It gives you that sense of starting the emersion. Think about Epcot today; there is no cohesion (or continuity, as they say in the movies) when you walk from SSE to GoTG. It will worsen when you walk from SSE past the Moana fountain and into Communicore Plaza. It is just broken no matter how you look at it. WDW guests that become fans now are unfamiliar with the total immersion concept of the early parks because Disney's commitment to Walt's original intent is so lacking now. As Imagineers like Zach Riddley become more dominant in the company, we lose more and more of what Walt started with each new experience created. I have said it before, I have always feared that the further we are from Walt's death, the more Disney as a company turns into any other entertainment company. That special sauce that Walt and the original Imagineers brought to the movies and parks is lost in the sea of instant gratification of the newer generations building movies/parks and the consumers experiencing it.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Of course they don't want to spend money to staff it, but with all the new reservations for rides, park admission etc, they could really use live people accessed on videophone to help navigate their complicated system...Not everyone wants to spend every minute of their day on their phones planning what their next move is...missing everything around them but the phone screen.... This to me is the real downside of the Fastpass Plus/Genie systems... no spontaneity... no relaxation...it has become a sport..."Scoring" fastpasses to rides...
 

mysto

Well-Known Member
Yes I can certainly see how this is the nail in the coffin for Epcot.
Wait, EPCOT has a coffin! How come I didn't know? Old timers like me would like to visit and pay our respects. Are the nails labelled? There must be a lot of nails in it. Will it be displayed at dreamer's point?

I can't believe they aren't promoting this on the side of Chicago busses, what a missed oportunity. No wonder Disney can't make any money.
 

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