Do you care about Epcot's 25th?

[dxwwf3]

Just filling up the empty hallway in Innovention West behind the Fountainview and Club Cool with concept art, models, and videos of the opening days glitz would make many people very very happy.

Exactly

 

[speck76]

Just filling up the empty hallway in Innovention West behind the Fountainview and Club Cool with concept art, models, and videos of the opening days glitz would make many people very very happy.

then where would they house the Festival Center during F&G, or the wine tasting rooms during F&W?.....

 

[dxwwf3]

then where would they house the Festival Center during F&G, or the wine tasting rooms during F&W?.....

There's a crap load of room in Epcot. I'm sure they could think of something. Or if they feel that those events don't specifically bring a ton of people into the park.....they could do away with them :animwink:

 

[speck76]

325 THOUSAND dollars for the crown worn in the publicity photo for YOMD's and then stuck in a glass case of the Cinderella suite wasn't a waste of money?

yes....it was

 

[Xadllas]

Well Im sorry WDW shouldn't be conservative(sp?) in which you seem to be by how you look at things they do. Disney already went cheap for a long time but I hope that time is over. And Epcot deserves more than a small pin from the pin celebration for WDW's 35th.

 

[wdwmagic]

92% of the 160 participants in the poll are voting for a celebration to mark the 25th. Epcot was and is one heck of an achievement to pull off, and I am certainly in favor of it having some time in the spot light to mark the occasion.

 

[tirian]

The vision and purpose of WDW as a whole has remained constant. The only thing at Epcot that has remained constant is the fact that is still is actually a theme park. The vision of Epcot today is nothing like the idealistic vision that EPCOT Center presented in 1982

With my logic, while a theme park has existed on the site of Epcot for 25 years, the park we know as Epcot TODAY is a theme park that is really only 9 years old. Perhaps next year we should celebrate the 10th anniversary of Epcot.



#6 is key....

May I respectfully disagree by pointing out that Epcot was, by its very nature, supposed to change over time. Although two of the changes (Horizons and Journey into Imagination) were detrimental, the others have helped Epcot remain relevant. The park was never supposed to evoke a sense of nostalgia; that's the Magic Kingdom's job. Epcot's purpose is to inspire.

Perhaps the best tagline would be as follows: "Celebrating 25 Years of Inspiration, Culture, and Vision."

That way, WDW marketing could neatly gloss over their missteps, and focus only on the successful changes to the park.

 

[tirian]

I don't hate EPCOT Center....I just have the ability (unlike most people here) to understand why it had to change, and accept that it will never again be the way it was in 1982.

If the "celebration" is not going to significantly increase revenue for the park, the money should be better spent on something that will increase revenue (like fixing MGM)

I agree that it doesn't need to be a huge celebration; I'd be thrilled to see the park refurbished, a new attraction announced for WoL, and the wand GONE.

 

[dxwwf3]

Perhaps the best tagline would be as follows: "Celebrating 25 Years of Inspiration, Culture, and Vision."

That way, WDW marketing could neatly gloss over their missteps, and focus only on the successful changes to the park.

Perfectly stated.

I agree that it doesn't need to be a huge celebration; I'd be thrilled to see the park refurbished, a new attraction announced for WoL, and the wand GONE.

I think most people feel the same way. Almost nobody thinks this should be a huge celebration with tons of money poured into it with a national marketing campaign. It doesn't even have to be the main celebration of the resort. Just do something nice for the fans and give back to those that helped make the park what it is today. If Epcot had failed, WDW as we know it would not exist.

 

[speck76]

Well Im sorry WDW shouldn't be conservative(sp?) in which you seem to be by how you look at things they do. Disney already went cheap for a long time but I hope that time is over. And Epcot deserves more than a small pin from the pin celebration for WDW's 35th.

I really think you have no idea what you are trying to say

 

[speck76]

92% of the 160 participants in the poll are voting for a celebration to mark the 25th. Epcot was and is one heck of an achievement to pull off, and I am certainly in favor of it having some time in the spot light to mark the occasion.

8% of the participants actually have some sort of business sense, and are not just fanboys getting moist over the thought of 1982 EPCOT Center being celebrated......


next....PLEASE!

 

[speck76]

May I respectfully disagree by pointing out that Epcot was, by its very nature, supposed to change over time. Although two of the changes (Horizons and Journey into Imagination) were detrimental, the others have helped Epcot remain relevant. The park was never supposed to evoke a sense of nostalgia; that's the Magic Kingdom's job. Epcot's purpose is to inspire.

Perhaps the best tagline would be as follows: "Celebrating 25 Years of Inspiration, Culture, and Vision."

That way, WDW marketing could neatly gloss over their missteps, and focus only on the successful changes to the park.

I completely agree with you.....the point is that the VAST majority of the ppl here want 1982 EPCOT Center to be celebrated, and as Epcot was, as you stated, supposed to be ever changing, they tend to bash every change as being off from the original vision....when in reality, it is only off from their warped sense of reality.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

8% of the participants actually have some sort of business sense, and are not just fanboys getting moist over the thought of 1982 EPCOT Center being celebrated......


next....PLEASE!

True. We should listen to them. After all, those with said "business sense" brought us the prevention of DL from ever being built, the original EuroDisney, and DL pre-HCOE. I am not trying to downplay the logic of it. I'm saying that there is a large amount of loyalty and vision that comes from going outside the spreadsheets. The problem is that business sense does not mean corporate sense always. It is two different sides, and the vision that it takes to guide both is different. IMHO, Disney's success was founded upon the former. The fact it is now required to sit in the latter is causing many problems.

But, this is a debate upon which people sit on either side. It is like politics, so I can easily accept to agree to disagree on the development issues.

 

[ZapperZ]

A fairly simple little poll...

Do you care about Epcot's 25th anniversary? Would you like to see Disney celebrate it at the park?

I've been chatting away on various websites and gotten the impression that folks at at other Disney resorts (TDL and DLR for example) think nothing of Epcot's 25th and don't think it should be celebrated at all - and their opinion seems to mesh with that of corporate Disney.

So, do WDW fans or Disney fans in general care about or want to see a celebration of Epcot's 25th Anniversary?

Coming back to the original question, I've decided that I will be delaying one of my regular trips to Epcot this year to coincide with Epcot's anniversary. This is without having any information from Disney if they're going to be doing anything special on that day. I'm guessing that the very least, they'll be releasing commemorative pins, but I sincerely hope they'll do something more. Either way, I plan on being there this year on that date.

So yes, the bottom line is, I do care about Epcot's 25th, and I hope Disney does too.

Zz.

 

[EpcotMark]

8% of the participants actually have some sort of business sense, and are not just fanboys getting moist over the thought of 1982 EPCOT Center being celebrated......


next....PLEASE!

Well, at least its only eight percent. Thank God others are able to have a higher awareness than just a simple business sense.

 

[mousermerf]

8% of the participants actually have some sort of business sense, and are not just fanboys getting moist over the thought of 1982 EPCOT Center being celebrated......


next....PLEASE!

Speck,

From a business standpoint, I can look at this poll and say that I have a group of people more then willing to buy my product if I choose to sell it, then another smaller set that isn't going to dislike my product and send me nastey letters and leave my other services over it (the 8%) and then less then 3% (one of which was an admitted mis-vote) who don't think I should offer the product who might be turned-off by the celebration and offerings.

So, if Epcot has new tours celebrating its history, that's profit. Also the merchandise, people wont not enter the stores because of it - except maybe a tiny fraction.

An exhibit would probably garner turnstile clicks, and lets face it - what are the chances that the people who don't want to see it done are even going to be in Epcot?

And presented properly, I've swayed even the most cranky WDW-hating DL AP-holders to think that some nice retro-Epcot swag would be fun to own, and that it might be nice to visit Epcot during the big event - if there is one.

 

[wdwmagic]

8% of the participants actually have some sort of business sense, and are not just fanboys getting moist over the thought of 1982 EPCOT Center being celebrated......


next....PLEASE!

You have a real attitude. If anyone disagrees with you, you just dismiss it along with some insults. This is not what this forum is about. Either have some respect for the people here or go elsewhere.

 

[sissa216]

Perhaps the best tagline would be as follows: "Celebrating 25 Years of Inspiration, Culture, and Vision."

Totally agreed!!
And, having been born in 1983, I can hardly include myself in those who want to freeze time in 1982 and bring back the EPCOT of the past :lol:

However, I would love to see a celebration of the park's history and spirit. The past park that I really never got to knew, which emerged into the past park that I grew up with, and slowly growing into the park that so many millions love today.

 

[Enderikari]

Speck,

From a business standpoint, I can look at this poll and say that I have a group of people more then willing to buy my product if I choose to sell it, then another smaller set that isn't going to dislike my product and send me nastey letters and leave my other services over it (the 8%) and then less then 3% (one of which was an admitted mis-vote) who don't think I should offer the product who might be turned-off by the celebration and offerings.

I would agree with your logic, except for one problem... You may have 90% of the public who voted in this poll agreeing there should be some sort of celebration... A total of 160 people at the time I am looking at it. But, those people are already disposed towards buying the product (visiting the parks). And people on the board tend towards the people who have historically visited WDW, and support the older vision of Epcot.. Which means most of the people would vote for having a huge 25th celebration...
But, in the grand scheme of things, the 160 people who are coming to WDW anyway are not necessarily the group which Disney has to market to... Merf, with all due respect, Disney has your money. How many times a month do YOU visit a Disney Theme Park? How many people who voted to have an Epcot celebration have a trip planned in the next 10 months?

So, if Epcot has new tours celebrating its history, that's profit. Also the merchandise, people wont not enter the stores because of it - except maybe a tiny fraction.

Eh, tours are not as inexpensive as you would have folks believe. Trust me, the cost of getting a tour of the ground, and the operating expenses are higher than a lot of people expect

 

[pheneix]

A 25th anniversary celebration of Epcot makes sense in my mind, but solely because I see it as an opportunity for Disney to market themselves to different demographics than the status quo, which is something Disney needs to DESPERATELY start doing if they want to change the shift of tourist dollars shifting to the west coast and abroad instead of Orlando. Epcot is Disney's best change to go after a broad swath of different demographics that would otherwise spend their money at the beach or in Las Vegas. A big marketing campaign just for the park seems like a waste, but when you have something like an anniversary you have a foundation to build an effective campaign upon.

With the year of a million dreams going down in flames as the days go by, its not impossible to see Disney grab this bull by the horns and run. Of course, doing so would be an admission of failure on the part of Jay Rasulo and his puppets, which I don't see that ego-maniac ever doing. I really hope Bob Iger sees the long term picture and dismisses the current management in the coming weeks.