News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[James Alucobond]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the Festival Center plan either.

My biggest problem with the current plan is the loss of a show fountain.

One of my main issues was that it seemed to cut off that side of the park even more. Like, if you didn't know to "board" the flyover marked here, you basically had to circle around behind the Festival Center to enter it. As with Journey of Water, the plaza-facing portion just seemed to be a wall of trees. At least the current plan maintains some symmetry and allows for better flow from both sides.

 

[Tha Realest]

From former Imagineer Jim Shull. Ouch.

That could be artwork for any promised mixed-use development in the country. Heavy “our town’s getting a Splitsville!” energy here.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Didn't they add a bunch of basement expansion stuff underneath as well? Not saying they couldn't have done all the work and kept the communicore as it was but I'm sure the bean counters figured it was more cost effective to tear down and redo vs retrofit that part of the old buildng for what they wanted. Or maybe not. Regardless I like it.

No, the basement was not expanded. In no iteration of this project has anything required demolition.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The entire EPCOT project is baffling. Imagine being in charge of redoing the park, and your first instinct is to demolish Communicore West rather than upgrading Imagination; or WOL; or M:S…or building a brand new pavilion.

All that $$$ spent and literally no capacity added. I really don’t get it.

After 4 years of construction and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, Future World is mostly the same as it was in 2019.

That's crazy.

 

[Dunston]

This is like watching a Defunctland video bungle of project mismanagement in real time lol. Jim Schull burn is the cherry on top.

Hot take though, the Communicore Buildings looked like 80's malls or airports too! I know many hated the Coffee Table Building, but that had some kind of sense of wonder. this band-aid does not.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Didn't they add a bunch of basement expansion stuff underneath as well?

Well... there was one issue that needed addressing that required a complete emptying of the EPCOT utilidors...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Now we know that not only will JoWIbM be completed this Fall, but the entirety of the hub will, too...

Fall will also see completion of the new World Celebration neighborhood. As the hub of the park, it will feature different gardens that change with the seasons. It will also be home to the new Communicore Plaza and the new Communicore Hall, the latter offering a place to meet Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. World Celebration will also anchor the park’s renowned festivals. It is also where guests will discover Dreamers Point, an inspiring overlook showcasing a statue of Walt Disney called “Walt the Dreamer.”​

Experience #AlltheDisneyThrills at Walt Disney World Resort - Disney World Press Room

New experiences and returning favorites for the whole family to enjoy take center stage throughout 2023 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2023) – In 2023, Walt Disney World Resort is the place to embrace thrills of all kinds. Exciting new experiences to celebrate this year include one of the...

wdwnews.com

 

[Dunston]

JoWIbM

Huh?

 

[Nunu]

Huh?

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.

 

[MrPromey]

I think it looks like the high end retail built into the side of a stadium. Or at Disney Springs,

I agree - seeing the thumbnail of the outside before reading, I thought it was something coming to Disney Springs.

It's not future world anymore so... I guess they don't feel obligated to give it any real theme park theme.

 

[MrPromey]

It was torn down with the expectation that the elevated Festival Center would be erected in its place, so I doubt they initially bean-counted for this scenario specifically.

That said, I'm glad the Festival Center didn't happen. Shull's recent post denigrates the current plan while a past post seemingly lauded the site plan that included the Festival Center, but that version seemed far more disruptive to the flow of former Future World. It made more of an architectural statement, but it seemed like a nightmare to navigate.

Plus, the best parts of it looked like they'd have been turned into an upsell/private event space very quickly for much of the time, given the general trajectory of Florida opperations.

 

[monothingie]

 

[MrPromey]

After 4 years of construction and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, Future World is mostly the same as it was in 2019.

That's crazy.

Still mostly void of things to do in the middle - yup.

Except the selfie taking spot with a new statue of Walt gazing proudly at a park he had nothing to do with and never expressed any sort of desire to build while alive.*

Wait, are we still getting the tree of life, light, non-culturally-appropriaed-hipster-hopes-and-dreams or whatever it was going to be called?

I can't remember if that's still on or if it got canned along the way, too.

*we all know what actual EPCOT was supposed to be. I'm pretty sure he'd be ed if he knew they named a theme park after that instead of following through with completing his final big project.

 

[MrPromey]

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.

"Inspired by Moana" is really feeling like an understatement, give what we're seeing now that it's getting closer to completion.

They've shown a lot more Moana "whimsy" with no mention of the formerly promised water cycle edutainment stuff.

Makes me wonder if they're just hiding that part, if plans have changed, or if they first presented it that way so curmudgeons like us would feel like some part of the old idea of Epcot was still being held onto with this addition/replacement.

 

[OvertheHorizon]

I feel like if we can't have a constantly rotating exhibit of futuristic technology in the park

THIS... it would be so easy to do. Kind of a mini ongoing version of what happens at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Surely Disney could convince a dozen companies to set up booths (perhaps in the unused health pavilion) and rotate exhibits annually.

 

[mightynine]

THIS... it would be so easy to do. Kind of a mini ongoing version of what happens at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Surely Disney could convince a dozen companies to set up booths (perhaps in the unused health pavilion) and rotate exhibits annually.

I used to think that, but IMO, that kind of idea died once said companies could make their own content and distribute it easily on the internet. It's easier for them to "show off" that way rather than an exhibit at Disney.

I do think it's a missed opportunity to make a STEM-focused pavilion based on the Imagineers' work, however. Joshie showing animatronics off by SXSW - something like that would've worked to keep Epcot close to its theme and made it "more Disney."

All in all - and this has been mentioned before by others - a ton of money has been spent on Epcot, and it's probably no better with its overall theming issues, and I'd argue it's worse than before.

Unless you believe the theme of the park is "The Walt Disney Company's Treasure Trove of Intellectual Property", which it appears to be for all parks now. Which is a shame to me because I think it hurts the variety the parks once had.

 

[UNCgolf]

I used to think that, but IMO, that kind of idea died once said companies could make their own content and distribute it easily on the internet. It's easier for them to "show off" that way rather than an exhibit at Disney.

I don't think it has died, mainly because there's a big difference in getting to see (and possibly/hopefully use) something in person than watching a video on the Internet.

That's one of the reasons big trade shows and expos still exist.

 

[mightynine]

I don't think it has died, mainly because there's a big difference in getting to see (and possibly/hopefully use) something in person than watching a video on the Internet.

That's one of the reasons big trade shows and expos still exist.

Good point. I'm probably over-thinking it - Disney just didn't want to have to worry about keeping things fresh, based on what Innoventions looked like in the end.

 

[UNCgolf]

Good point. I'm probably over-thinking it - Disney just didn't want to have to worry about keeping things fresh, based on what Innoventions looked like in the end.

If they had the overall Marvel rights, a Stark Expo would have been the perfect use of those rights at EPCOT (and really the only good use I can think of). It would have the IP nexus necessary get approval.

I'm still glad they don't have most of the Marvel rights, though.

 

[SplashJacket]

I used to think that, but IMO, that kind of idea died once said companies could make their own content and distribute it easily on the internet. It's easier for them to "show off" that way rather than an exhibit at Disney.

I do think it's a missed opportunity to make a STEM-focused pavilion based on the Imagineers' work, however. Joshie showing animatronics off by SXSW - something like that would've worked to keep Epcot close to its theme and made it "more Disney."

All in all - and this has been mentioned before by others - a ton of money has been spent on Epcot, and it's probably no better with its overall theming issues, and I'd argue it's worse than before.

Unless you believe the theme of the park is "The Walt Disney Company's Treasure Trove of Intellectual Property", which it appears to be for all parks now. Which is a shame to me because I think it hurts the variety the parks once had.

They did allocate a substantial portion of the wish’s kid’s club to an imagineering area, so probably more plausible than we think