News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[Ayla]

And *controversial opinion* but I think it's great they're trying to make Epcot appeal to the younger crowd; I just wish they were going about it in bit more thoughtful manner. But yeah, this "it's pathetic and offensive Disney is creating something for kids and not my grown adult self" is so embarrassing and entitled.

I think becoming an uncle last year really changed how I feel about children

Not surprisingly, you totally misunderstood my post.

 

[SaucyBoy]

Not surprisingly, you totally misunderstood my post.

There was nothing to understand since, not surprisingly, it was nonsense as usual.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

to leave WOL empty is a sin

If only they had a ton of dinosaur fossil replicas and dinosaur statues that were about to become “homeless”…

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

And *controversial opinion* but I think it's great they're trying to make Epcot appeal to the younger crowd; I just wish they were going about it in bit more thoughtful manner.

This is precisely it. There was plenty about EPCOT which inherently appealed to audiences of all ages. Take The Living Seas for example, the whole show about descending into an underwater research base, the grand reveal of traveling under and into the aquarium, being able to walk around Seabase Alpha and see all the marine life, etc.

Much of that experience is still there today, but so much of it has been diminished because of how "kiddified" its become. Does it appeal more to children? That's debatable, but it certainly appeals less to the older demographic. Creating exclusively child focused areas like Journey of Water and the Play Pavilion (RIP) is one way to make your park more kid-friendly, but there really would not be as strong of a need if they simply focused on more experiences for all ages.

The way to "fix" EPCOT's "unfriendly to kids" problem was to take things which didn't work for all ages, like Universe of Energy, and make them more appealing to a broader group. Unfortunately their solution there was to take an experience open to children, regardless of whether or not they would engage with the subject matter, and turn it into something that simply isn't available for much of the younger crowd as a whole.

 

[Bocabear]

That! Exactly

 

[osian]

I know we all like to say Disney is for the young and the young at heart, but you do know the parks are primarily for that first part, right? Outside of the fanatics there aren't many regular people planning WDW trips that don't revolve around their kids. I would hope they are thinking about how they can appeal to a 13 year old when designing things.

Designing something that appeals to 13 yr olds and younger doesn't mean excluding older people. The original EPCOT was cleverly desgned to appeal to a wide range, for the whole family. Families include people of all ages. They should be thinking about how they can appeal to all ages, not just 13-yr olds and younger.

 

[aladdin2007]

Amen to that. I believe they originally had 19 plots for countries. However, they've used up two of those to expand Norway / Frozen and to expand France with the Ratatouille ride. Six spots remain (including where the once planned Africa pavilion became only a refreshment spot). I'd love to see India, Greece, and Brazil for starters.

Not exactly, if they really wanted that one it can be done away with and used for what it was originally intended, an actual pavilion.

 

[pigglewiggle]

I hesitate to ask this, but are there any plans for a bar in the garden area? I only ask because we would probably enjoy sitting there at night with a glass of wine.
Where else can we get one near there? Or is walking one over from World Showcase the only option?

 

[James Alucobond]

 

[TheEPCOTHistorian]

Where else can we get one near there? Or is walking one over from World Showcase the only option?

Connections serves:

Acrobat Pinot Noir
Broadside Cabernet Sauvignon
Hess Shirtail Creek Chardonnay
Rainstorm Pinot Noir Rosé

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I hesitate to ask this, but are there any plans for a bar in the garden area? I only ask because we would probably enjoy sitting there at night with a glass of wine.
Where else can we get one near there? Or is walking one over from World Showcase the only option?

As another poster mentioned, Connections has a few options. I would imagine that come festival season (95% of the year) there will be a booth or two in this area that will have wine options

 

[ohioguy]

What I wanted more than anything for a "New" Epcot? A new country added to World Showcase. I was disappointed to say the least.

It's soooooo long overdue. Brazil is the best option, since they have nothing representing South America.

 

[flyerjab]

It's soooooo long overdue. Brazil is the best option, since they have nothing representing South America.

Could not agree more. If they announce a new country Pavilion at D23 this year I will obviously be ecstatic. It will also show me the level of concern they have regarding Epic Universe.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Could not agree more. If they announce a new country Pavilion at D23 this year I will obviously be ecstatic. It will also show me the level of concern they have regarding Epic Universe.

I'm finding the framing of Disney's plans almost exclusively through the lens of Epic Universe very reductive. It seems if they do anything, they're petrified about the impact of Epic Universe. If they don't, Disney is paralysed by arrogance, fear, incompetence, or something else as they watch the existential threat of Epic Universe draw ever-closer.

Personally, I suspect Disney's bigger concern in the immediate term is addressing the impacts of their own actions or lack thereof rather than responding to Universal. In particular, they need to combat the lack of capacity that has resulted from under-building, making the park experience so dependent on planning and apps such that it is less intuitive and relaxing, and the growing narrative that a Disney vacation is not just too complicated but too crowded and expensive.

I'm not saying Disney is not at all concerned about the impact Epic Universe could have on attendance, I just suspect they are not nearly as concerned as many on here are imagining. A bigger concern for Disney is consumer sentiment turning against them.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Disney:

Our number one concern is the lack of capacity in our parks!

Our solution?

Take one of our highest capacity attractions offline for nearly two years, spend tens of millions of dollars to retheme one of the world’s most popular attractions, reopen with exactly ZERO additional capacity.*

Oh, and completely shutter the entire Wonders of Life pavilion.

And, Stitch Encounter…

Done.

* This refers to Splash Mountain for those that need clarity.

 

[flyerjab]

I'm finding the framing of Disney's plans almost exclusively through the lens of Epic Universe very reductive. It seems if they do anything, they're petrified about the impact of Epic Universe. If they don't, Disney is paralysed by arrogance, fear, incompetence, or something else as they watch the existential threat of Epic Universe draw ever-closer.

Personally, I suspect Disney's bigger concern in the immediate term is addressing the impacts of their own actions or lack thereof rather than responding to Universal. In particular, they need to combat the lack of capacity that has resulted from under-building, making the park experience so dependent on planning and apps such that it is less intuitive and relaxing, and the growing narrative that a Disney vacation is not just too complicated but too crowded and expensive.

I'm not saying Disney is not at all concerned about the impact Epic Universe could have on attendance, I just suspect they are not nearly as concerned as many on here are imagining. A bigger concern for Disney is consumer sentiment turning against them.

I completely agree with your post. One thing new for me here is me finally complaining about things. I was a pretty devoted Disney fan. But cost and the removal of things has finally pushed me across that line.

I do think that Disney needs to address some of their own internal issues. The increased cost of staying on property, cost of the parks, cost of food…I could keep going. On the flip side is the constant removal of things: loss of true magic hours, no more magic express, DAK open half the day, loss of night time entertainment at DHS and DAK. They keep taking away while greatly increasing all costs. Then Iger returns, laments about cost increases to the consumers, and then keeps increasing prices anyway! Add to all of this the cost of Genie+, and yes…I absolutely agree with you.

I was only pointing out the fact that with the recent loss of their mojo in the Orlando theme park space - proxy fight, local government issues, painfully slow return from Covid - they now have a brand new park down the road, and UNI is clearly going all in with this one. More Harry Potter AND Nintendo? I think thus new park will garner some response.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'm finding the framing of Disney's plans almost exclusively through the lens of Epic Universe very reductive. It seems if they do anything, they're petrified about the impact of Epic Universe. If they don't, Disney is paralysed by arrogance, fear, incompetence, or something else as they watch the existential threat of Epic Universe draw ever-closer.

Personally, I suspect Disney's bigger concern in the immediate term is addressing the impacts of their own actions or lack thereof rather than responding to Universal. In particular, they need to combat the lack of capacity that has resulted from under-building, making the park experience so dependent on planning and apps such that it is less intuitive and relaxing, and the growing narrative that a Disney vacation is not just too complicated but too crowded and expensive.

I'm not saying Disney is not at all concerned about the impact Epic Universe could have on attendance, I just suspect they are not nearly as concerned as many on here are imagining. A bigger concern for Disney is consumer sentiment turning against them.

It also ignores two things about Universal, one positive and one negative. The negative is that they’ve fumbled the opening of Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay. Their track record hasn’t been great in that regard.

The positive, the huge thing they did, the thing that defied not only Disney”s assumptions but general wisdom, they grew the Orlando market. That has been their huge success. They didn’t just peel people away from Walt Disney World, they attracted new visitors. Epic Universe being a truly epic success would do this again but it would mean less of a negative impact on Disney.

 

[SplashJacket]

Disney:

Our number one concern is the lack of capacity in our parks!

Our solution?

Take one of our highest capacity attractions offline for nearly two years, spend tens of millions of dollars to retheme one of the world’s most popular attractions, reopen with exactly ZERO additional capacity.

Oh, and completely shutter the entire Wonders of Life pavilion.

Done.

I don’t know where the sentiment that Test Track has a good capacity is coming from.

Its real world operations has a potato throughout.

It’s also an incredibly mediocre experience and/or thrill ride. Fails on all fronts in 2.0. Excited for the update so maybe I’ll get interested in the ride again.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

I don’t know where the sentiment that Test Track has a good capacity is coming from.

Its real world operations has a potato throughout.

It’s also an incredibly mediocre experience and/or thrill ride. Fails on all fronts in 2.0. Excited for the update so maybe I’ll get interested in the ride again.

I was referring to Splash Mountain (thought that sarcasm was clear enough, but apparently not)

The capacity issue is across all four parks (and Test Track is clearly not one of the world’s most popular attractions).

But that only reinforces the point - Test Track, Frozen, etc - no new capacity added.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Or makes this the official start date of a new festival to be named later? Long live FestivaCOT.

Food and wall festival