Bob Chapek Confirms Disney Will Overhaul Epcot

[ChrisFL]

Neither? Both? I'm a sucker for things like Golden Dream and Canada (You're a Lifetime Journey), but Walt's vision of E.P.C.O.T. was sheer lunacy. It was a communist Utopia spouted by a man who spent a good chunk of his life denouncing communism.

I feel like people constantly mis-interpret Walt's vision for the EPCOT city, but that's for another thread.

 

[Rich Brownn]

So, let me get this straight...after "Epcot Forever", we're going to get..."IPcot Forever"?

Who wanted this?

View attachment 326824

Intellctional Properties Crammed Over There

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Please, no more schadenfreude, I'm stuffed.

Save room for the tiarmisu

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I feel like people constantly mis-interpret Walt's vision for the EPCOT city, but that's for another thread.

Walt’s city was a crackpot idea and would have failed.

People absolutely hate each other now and don’t want “innovative co-existence”...and we’re supposed to be more “evolved”. It’s been 50 years

 

[Phicinfan]

We are idiots.

This point can’t be stressed enough. I’d go through the list of evidence...but the judge has already ruled in my favor and went to have his liquid lunch already

Its pretty simple, they keep making moves like this and overall parks continue to increase attendance and money. Net, yes we are stupid, since we keep buying what they give us.

 

[prberk]

Okay, I know it's stupid to get emotional over a theme park, but I'd like to share my story too, in remembrance of Epcot. This is going to be a VERY long post, so just keep scrolling if you don't want to read it all

My first visit to this park came in 2007, and I remember next to nothing about it. The ONLY memory I have was going into The Seas, which I believe was still hybrid Nemo/TLS at the time (this was very early into 2007). I forgot about the park and went on with my life, until 2012. This time, my class at school had a field trip scheduled to Epcot. I brought home my permission slip, and my mom was overjoyed to go with me. She bought our tickets, and we went. However, it wasn't the park she knew. I vividly remember this trip, but what I didn't remember is my mom's disgust that she tried to hold in so that I could have my joy. She later told me how much she missed Horizons, although I loved Mission: Space, how confused she was to walk into Wonders with nothing in there anymore, how she missed those Radok screens when we did Ellen, how thrilled she was that I was too short for TT 1.0 (She didn't like it, and was also still upset over the closure of WoM), and above all what really stuck with me was how disgusted she was at Journey. She specifically told me that she remembered how magical it was, and that it was replaced with a toilet on the ceiling. My School left the park at 6 PM, and my mom had been warning me for months that we probably wouldn't stay as long as my school. We stayed and watched Illuminations. It was a magical moment. At the end of the night, I was able to pick one souvenir, and I should've known then that it was a sign of things to come. I walked out of that park with a Figment plushie, and as a happy kiddo. Flash forward to early 2016, and the most unlikely thing draws me back to Disney. I'm scrolling through my YouTube feed and all of the sudden some Urbex videos pop up. I remember specifically ATW's Nick Studios video, and I was so surprised that big companies would leave major pieces of their history to rot. I became highly interested in it. I talked with my mom for hours about how it peaked my interest, and she started spouting names of old attractions that are gone, none of which I knew anything about. I heard "Delta Dreamflight", "Horizons", "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", and more come out of her mouth. I went to sleep, and arose the next day with it still fresh on my mind. My mom told me to pull up a POV of Horizons that morning, and I did. All of the sudden a slew of memories came flooding back to her, and I was stunned by how absolutely magical it looked, even in the 1998 Hi-8 Camcorder quality. We stumbled upon Martin's original tribute, and watched the whole thing. I was captivated. I went on to do my own research, and became absolutely amazed at the park's history. I began to love Epcot, despite not being there for nearly half a decade. I discovered Wonders, Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, Imagination, and the list goes on and on and on. I binge watched all of Martin's tributes, and became a self-acclaimed expert on it. My mom could see it was my new passion, and it just so happened to be one of her former passions. We went to DisneyQuest later that year, and my mom drove me into the Epcot parking entrance, telling the people that she "made a wrong turn" just so I could see Spaceship Earth. A month later we bought an AP, and the history I've read about and seen and have been stuffing my brain with for half a year came to life. I saw Wonders, I rode Energy, I saw the old Horizons planter, I saw TT and recognized the structure of WoM, I rode SSE and pointed out all the remnants, etc. It was magical. I was sparked and inspired by the place, just by seeing the history of the park come to life. Mind you, I was 12 at the time. Sooner or later though, I noticed that Epcot and EPCOT Center are two completely different things, the latter of which was already erased. So I was saddened and hopeful that we could see it return in some form. I was dead wrong. I enjoyed the remnants that were there, but all of the sudden they were disappearing. Innoventions West closed, then Innoventions East. All of the sudden my park was being taken from me. D23 Expo 2017 introduced me to Bob Chapek, and the new Epcot overhaul. I was thrilled! He was going to return the park to it's original vision and fix everything! Then Ellen's Energy Adventure was gone, and so was my Capcom, my last enjoyment factor of Mission: Space. Then SSE lost it's sponsor, and everything started to go downhill. I wondered why he wasn't doing anything to the abandoned buildings, and what GotG had to do with Epcot at all. Then it hit me, that he was lying. I was kinda heartbroken, and then took a minute to realize that my happy place was now a graveyard. This Destination D has finally done it in for me. Once SSE goes down, I don't plan on going back any time soon. I'm sorry Epcot, but you really did make and break me. Epcot gave me a passion for architecture, it inspired me for the future. It meant a ton to me. Here I am today, at 14, STILL A KID, THE TARGET AUDIENCE CHAPEK IS GOING FOR, and I see it becoming Magic Kingdom two. I'm so sorry, but this park was ripped away from me and it just isn't fair. Sorry if this derailed anything, because like eight posts got made in the amount of time it took me to type this. Thanks for listening folks...


(Oh, and before anyone says anything, I'm not 36. I put in 10/1/82 as my birth date because I'm a nerd. Watch me get banned from WDWMagic now over it)

Thank you for that post. I hope someone shows this to Chapek. He and the marketing folks need to understand that they are shortselling the power of imagination and innovation among young people.

EPCOT is an IP itself -- and if they have to involve another "IP," let them use their newly-acquired National Geographic; but no matter what let EPCOT be the glorious place it can be -- not another "Magic Kingdom." We already have one of those.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Okay, I know it's stupid to get emotional over a theme park, but I'd like to share my story too, in remembrance of Epcot. This is going to be a VERY long post, so just keep scrolling if you don't want to read it all

My first visit to this park came in 2007, and I remember next to nothing about it. The ONLY memory I have was going into The Seas, which I believe was still hybrid Nemo/TLS at the time (this was very early into 2007). I forgot about the park and went on with my life, until 2012. This time, my class at school had a field trip scheduled to Epcot. I brought home my permission slip, and my mom was overjoyed to go with me. She bought our tickets, and we went. However, it wasn't the park she knew. I vividly remember this trip, but what I didn't remember is my mom's disgust that she tried to hold in so that I could have my joy. She later told me how much she missed Horizons, although I loved Mission: Space, how confused she was to walk into Wonders with nothing in there anymore, how she missed those Radok screens when we did Ellen, how thrilled she was that I was too short for TT 1.0 (She didn't like it, and was also still upset over the closure of WoM), and above all what really stuck with me was how disgusted she was at Journey. She specifically told me that she remembered how magical it was, and that it was replaced with a toilet on the ceiling. My School left the park at 6 PM, and my mom had been warning me for months that we probably wouldn't stay as long as my school. We stayed and watched Illuminations. It was a magical moment. At the end of the night, I was able to pick one souvenir, and I should've known then that it was a sign of things to come. I walked out of that park with a Figment plushie, and as a happy kiddo. Flash forward to early 2016, and the most unlikely thing draws me back to Disney. I'm scrolling through my YouTube feed and all of the sudden some Urbex videos pop up. I remember specifically ATW's Nick Studios video, and I was so surprised that big companies would leave major pieces of their history to rot. I became highly interested in it. I talked with my mom for hours about how it peaked my interest, and she started spouting names of old attractions that are gone, none of which I knew anything about. I heard "Delta Dreamflight", "Horizons", "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", and more come out of her mouth. I went to sleep, and arose the next day with it still fresh on my mind. My mom told me to pull up a POV of Horizons that morning, and I did. All of the sudden a slew of memories came flooding back to her, and I was stunned by how absolutely magical it looked, even in the 1998 Hi-8 Camcorder quality. We stumbled upon Martin's original tribute, and watched the whole thing. I was captivated. I went on to do my own research, and became absolutely amazed at the park's history. I began to love Epcot, despite not being there for nearly half a decade. I discovered Wonders, Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, Imagination, and the list goes on and on and on. I binge watched all of Martin's tributes, and became a self-acclaimed expert on it. My mom could see it was my new passion, and it just so happened to be one of her former passions. We went to DisneyQuest later that year, and my mom drove me into the Epcot parking entrance, telling the people that she "made a wrong turn" just so I could see Spaceship Earth. A month later we bought an AP, and the history I've read about and seen and have been stuffing my brain with for half a year came to life. I saw Wonders, I rode Energy, I saw the old Horizons planter, I saw TT and recognized the structure of WoM, I rode SSE and pointed out all the remnants, etc. It was magical. I was sparked and inspired by the place, just by seeing the history of the park come to life. Mind you, I was 12 at the time. Sooner or later though, I noticed that Epcot and EPCOT Center are two completely different things, the latter of which was already erased. So I was saddened and hopeful that we could see it return in some form. I was dead wrong. I enjoyed the remnants that were there, but all of the sudden they were disappearing. Innoventions West closed, then Innoventions East. All of the sudden my park was being taken from me. D23 Expo 2017 introduced me to Bob Chapek, and the new Epcot overhaul. I was thrilled! He was going to return the park to it's original vision and fix everything! Then Ellen's Energy Adventure was gone, and so was my Capcom, my last enjoyment factor of Mission: Space. Then SSE lost it's sponsor, and everything started to go downhill. I wondered why he wasn't doing anything to the abandoned buildings, and what GotG had to do with Epcot at all. Then it hit me, that he was lying. I was kinda heartbroken, and then took a minute to realize that my happy place was now a graveyard. This Destination D has finally done it in for me. Once SSE goes down, I don't plan on going back any time soon. I'm sorry Epcot, but you really did make and break me. Epcot gave me a passion for architecture, it inspired me for the future. It meant a ton to me. Here I am today, at 14, STILL A KID, THE TARGET AUDIENCE CHAPEK IS GOING FOR, and I see it becoming Magic Kingdom two. I'm so sorry, but this park was ripped away from me and it just isn't fair. Sorry if this derailed anything, because like eight posts got made in the amount of time it took me to type this. Thanks for listening folks...


(Oh, and before anyone says anything, I'm not 36. I put in 10/1/82 as my birth date because I'm a nerd. Watch me get banned from WDWMagic now over it)

At 14, you are pretty dang smart. Sat here and read that in its entirety and I could picture myself in your shoes.

You hit the nail right on the head. A lot of us feel the same way.

 

[ChrisFL]

Walt’s city was a crackpot idea and would have failed.

People absolutely hate each other now and don’t want “innovative co-existence”...and we’re supposed to be more “evolved”. It’s been 50 years

as a place for Cast Members to live? WDW has that now with College and International Program CM's, it's just much less organized.

I think the primary goals of the EPCOT City project were the city's layout and transportation options, plus the climate controlled downtown area. The rest I think people read too much into.

 

[King Panda 77]

I have no qualms with Rat because nothing of substance is being lost, other than some site lines. Right now my fury is over the fact we are losing Reflections of Earth to yet another greatest hits show, in a park where it absolutely doesn't belong

Well if the last IP stuffed "fireworks" display had of tanked when it replaced an older more emotionaly driven show , maybe ROE would have stood a chance. Instead the uneducated masses have sealed its fate by buying into an IP driven show.

 

[King Panda 77]

If you're referring to HEA, that's a weak argument. Why wouldn't the Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular be full of IP? It always has been. Let's not pretend Wishes or Fantasy In The Sky weren't IP extravaganzas either.....you just couldn't visually see it projected onto the castle.

Not weak in the slightest.
Previous shows were music and fireworks based. The new one is lets slap IP all over the castle( but if we make more loud bangs no one will complain).

 

[King Panda 77]

Music based on recognizable IP. Seriously, just shut up. You're uniformed side is showing.

yes based on IP. But not pasted bang on the castle. After the HS shows HEA was a logical progression. And now ROE is the next obvious target. Don't pretend there is no correlation.


Oh and if i am that uninformed then you know where the ignore button is .

 

[jt04]

Walt’s city was a crackpot idea and would have failed.

People absolutely hate each other now and don’t want “innovative co-existence”...and we’re supposed to be more “evolved”. It’s been 50 years

Not into hate but everything else you say here makes sense.

 

[King Panda 77]

Yeah, the music from all those previous shows were IP based. So, you're argument is crap.

And your argument based on shouting opposing views down and expletive driven outburts is much better ...

 

[Bacon]

I emailed chapek today this is what I said

Hello, Mr. Chapek. I’ve been a Disney fan for as long as I can remember and I love epcot and everything it means. But I can’t help but feel sad when I saw the news that Epcot was getting a new show with Disney’s iconic Characters and stories. Epcot forever feels like a farewell to what we used to know Epcot as. I do realize this email will probably have no impact on the Walt Disney Company’s decision on the matter. But Please listen to what I’m about to say. I stand for Me and countless others online who say Epcot should not be IP based but instead about human advancement and Achievement. Not about Cartoon rats in Paris or a snow queen in Norway or a talking tree and a raccoon in an area about human advancement and what a realistic future could be. Epcot Forever will be a great show. I can bet that now. But it will be the end of Epcot’s story... Epcot won’t be Epcot once Epcot Forever is gone. Please keep Epcot Forever and save the future of Epcot ~ Signed a Shareholder of the Walt Disney Company...

Got a reply this is what it said


Dear ——,

Thank you for your email to Bob Chapek regarding Epcot. Your correspondence was forwarded to me so that I may personally respond to you.

We are very excited for the upcoming additions to Epcot. Although I can also understand your disappointment with the announcements and offerings coming to the Park. Please know when we receive comments from Guests they are taken seriously and shared with various areas of our organization.

Our Guests’ feedback, as well as their continued enthusiasm for our products and services, is very important to us. We genuinely appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us.

Kindest regards,

John Raley
Executive Correspondence Specialist
Walt Disney World Resort

 

[King Panda 77]

Your opposing view held no merit, hence my dismissal. You tried and failed to compare apples and avocados, based simply on your ridiculous hatred of HEA.

Never said i hated HEA. Ever .

 

[King Panda 77]

Oh I remember the threads from a few days ago.

So go ahead and show me the quote where i say i hate it ...

I'll be waiting .

 

[lazyboy97o]

as a place for Cast Members to live? WDW has that now with College and International Program CM's, it's just much less organized.

I think the primary goals of the EPCOT City project were the city's layout and transportation options, plus the climate controlled downtown area. The rest I think people read too much into.

Even the layout and transportation was not a new idea. There really isn't much in EPCOT that was all that radical or has not been done somewhere.

 

[aliceismad]

Even the layout and transportation was not a new idea. There really isn't much in EPCOT that was all that radical or has not been done somewhere.

Agreed. Sure, certain elements of Walt's vision were beyond lofty, but I don't think the original idea for Epcot was "crackpot." Modern urban planning largely focuses on all sorts of mixed-use development and walkable communities, albeit at a (generally) smaller scale than Walt envisioned in Epcot. Infill and mixed-use is more sustainable. And the circular city is a classic city layout. The big issue with Walt's original vision for Epcot is that it asks people give up the level of personal individual freedom that we expect in America (e.g., no ownership of homes/land, minimal automobile use, etc.).

 

[Mike730]

Okay, I know it's stupid to get emotional over a theme park, but I'd like to share my story too, in remembrance of Epcot. This is going to be a VERY long post, so just keep scrolling if you don't want to read it all

My first visit to this park came in 2007, and I remember next to nothing about it. The ONLY memory I have was going into The Seas, which I believe was still hybrid Nemo/TLS at the time (this was very early into 2007). I forgot about the park and went on with my life, until 2012. This time, my class at school had a field trip scheduled to Epcot. I brought home my permission slip, and my mom was overjoyed to go with me. She bought our tickets, and we went. However, it wasn't the park she knew. I vividly remember this trip, but what I didn't remember is my mom's disgust that she tried to hold in so that I could have my joy. She later told me how much she missed Horizons, although I loved Mission: Space, how confused she was to walk into Wonders with nothing in there anymore, how she missed those Radok screens when we did Ellen, how thrilled she was that I was too short for TT 1.0 (She didn't like it, and was also still upset over the closure of WoM), and above all what really stuck with me was how disgusted she was at Journey. She specifically told me that she remembered how magical it was, and that it was replaced with a toilet on the ceiling. My School left the park at 6 PM, and my mom had been warning me for months that we probably wouldn't stay as long as my school. We stayed and watched Illuminations. It was a magical moment. At the end of the night, I was able to pick one souvenir, and I should've known then that it was a sign of things to come. I walked out of that park with a Figment plushie, and as a happy kiddo. Flash forward to early 2016, and the most unlikely thing draws me back to Disney. I'm scrolling through my YouTube feed and all of the sudden some Urbex videos pop up. I remember specifically ATW's Nick Studios video, and I was so surprised that big companies would leave major pieces of their history to rot. I became highly interested in it. I talked with my mom for hours about how it peaked my interest, and she started spouting names of old attractions that are gone, none of which I knew anything about. I heard "Delta Dreamflight", "Horizons", "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", and more come out of her mouth. I went to sleep, and arose the next day with it still fresh on my mind. My mom told me to pull up a POV of Horizons that morning, and I did. All of the sudden a slew of memories came flooding back to her, and I was stunned by how absolutely magical it looked, even in the 1998 Hi-8 Camcorder quality. We stumbled upon Martin's original tribute, and watched the whole thing. I was captivated. I went on to do my own research, and became absolutely amazed at the park's history. I began to love Epcot, despite not being there for nearly half a decade. I discovered Wonders, Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, Imagination, and the list goes on and on and on. I binge watched all of Martin's tributes, and became a self-acclaimed expert on it. My mom could see it was my new passion, and it just so happened to be one of her former passions. We went to DisneyQuest later that year, and my mom drove me into the Epcot parking entrance, telling the people that she "made a wrong turn" just so I could see Spaceship Earth. A month later we bought an AP, and the history I've read about and seen and have been stuffing my brain with for half a year came to life. I saw Wonders, I rode Energy, I saw the old Horizons planter, I saw TT and recognized the structure of WoM, I rode SSE and pointed out all the remnants, etc. It was magical. I was sparked and inspired by the place, just by seeing the history of the park come to life. Mind you, I was 12 at the time. Sooner or later though, I noticed that Epcot and EPCOT Center are two completely different things, the latter of which was already erased. So I was saddened and hopeful that we could see it return in some form. I was dead wrong. I enjoyed the remnants that were there, but all of the sudden they were disappearing. Innoventions West closed, then Innoventions East. All of the sudden my park was being taken from me. D23 Expo 2017 introduced me to Bob Chapek, and the new Epcot overhaul. I was thrilled! He was going to return the park to it's original vision and fix everything! Then Ellen's Energy Adventure was gone, and so was my Capcom, my last enjoyment factor of Mission: Space. Then SSE lost it's sponsor, and everything started to go downhill. I wondered why he wasn't doing anything to the abandoned buildings, and what GotG had to do with Epcot at all. Then it hit me, that he was lying. I was kinda heartbroken, and then took a minute to realize that my happy place was now a graveyard. This Destination D has finally done it in for me. Once SSE goes down, I don't plan on going back any time soon. I'm sorry Epcot, but you really did make and break me. Epcot gave me a passion for architecture, it inspired me for the future. It meant a ton to me. Here I am today, at 14, STILL A KID, THE TARGET AUDIENCE CHAPEK IS GOING FOR, and I see it becoming Magic Kingdom two. I'm so sorry, but this park was ripped away from me and it just isn't fair. Sorry if this derailed anything, because like eight posts got made in the amount of time it took me to type this. Thanks for listening folks...


(Oh, and before anyone says anything, I'm not 36. I put in 10/1/82 as my birth date because I'm a nerd. Watch me get banned from WDWMagic now over it)

Your story is much like mine and I imagine we are not alone. I'm not old enough to have experienced classic EPCOT Center, but the mere remnants that I experienced as a kid in the early 2000's were positively life changing. The stories I've read and videos I've watched of the past have only deepened my admiration for the whole concept of EPCOT and my connection to it.

To some of us, it's clear that EPCOT was not merely a "theme park" but an idea, and a transformative experience like no other. I like to consider us as the "EPCOT Reformed". Though I know that sounds ridiculous (and maybe a bit too religious), I can guarantee that for many people, EPCOT has changed the way they look at the world. It was not a single ride that led to a life changing revelation. Nor was there a revelation to be had on exiting the park at night, but for me the lasting impression of the EPCOT experience was like a slow burning intervention. The impressionable minds of young people, and those who maintain open minds into their adulthood(perhaps especially those who don't) deserve to experience the EPCOT mindset. It is the thought that we who look at the world through EPCOTified minds are a dying breed that saddens me most, that others may never have the chance to look at the world the way we do.

I have many decades of life left to live and when I look to the future, I consider what the world might be like if humanity lived just a bit more EPCOT.

/end drama

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Its pretty simple, they keep making moves like this and overall parks continue to increase attendance and money. Net, yes we are stupid, since we keep buying what they give us.

Lookie there...a bonafide agreement