News EPCOT's World Showcase concrete improvements move to the Japan pavilion

[HauntedPirate]

I know everyone hates Bob but I’m sure he doesn’t have a clue about the type of pavement being laid let alone using it as a malicious way to somehow screw over guests.

Correct. He stays in his lane and let’s TheZach do that.

 

[peter11435]

funny you ask. why yes there is. because bob the bean counter deems it better to use money to put down new flooring and get rid of perfectly good concrete than increase your magical experience. with the higher cost of everything to you of course. better flooring, higher cost, less magic.

You’re not funny.

Maintenance and upkeep should not criticized

 

[peter11435]

He said “getting rid of perfectly good concrete,” meaning that this was unnecessary expense (and not maintenance).
In my opinion it also moves from colorful and complementary to bland and normal — not what we expect from the experimental prototype community…

The concrete this is replacing was old and in need of replacement. It was not “perfectly good.” As with the concrete replacement project in Morocco and France this is an improvement cosmetically and thematically

 

[Green Fox]

The concrete this is replacing was old and in need of replacement. It was not “perfectly good.” As with the concrete replacement project in Morocco and France this is an improvement cosmetically and thematically

Was it badly cracked, uneven, or somehow otherwise unsafe? Otherwise, why does it matter how old it is? Elsewhere in the world, there are things centuries old that are constructed with concrete.

 

[CntrlFlPete]

Is there a reason for the color change?

maybe it cuts down on cases of the Epcot rash?

 

[peter11435]

Was it badly cracked, uneven, or somehow otherwise unsafe? Otherwise, why does it matter how old it is? Elsewhere in the world, there are things centuries old that are constructed with concrete.

The concrete in a Disney park is not meant to look like it’s centuries or in this case decades old. Take a walk around Epcot and you can see extensive cracking and patching throughout much of the hardscape. It’s absolutely ridiculous that we have reached the point where people are complaining about and questioning maintenance and upkeep. Especially when the finished product is better than what was there before.

 

[casplas]

Real benefit to have around here. Somehow routine maintenance is bad now?

if the concrete were in disrepair, then of course routine maintainenece is good. but the old concrete had nothing wrong with it. except the color. it would be like tearing up your concrete driveway that has nothing wrong with it and replacing it because you don't like the color.

 

[castlecake2.0]

if the concrete were in disrepair, then of course routine maintainenece is good. but the old concrete had nothing wrong with it. except the color. it would be like tearing up your concrete driveway that has nothing wrong with it and replacing it because you don't like the color.

The concrete is almost 40 years old, it was time, should they have waited for it to be full of potholes?

 

[peter11435]

if the concrete were in disrepair, then of course routine maintainenece is good. but the old concrete had nothing wrong with it. except the color. it would be like tearing up your concrete driveway that has nothing wrong with it and replacing it because you don't like the color.

You keep saying that. But It is not accurate to say “the old concrete had nothing wrong with it.”

 

[casplas]

The concrete is almost 40 years old, it was time, should they have waited for it to be full of potholes?

concrete cures for 99 years before it gradually deteriates. having been to epcot plenty of times and being in construction for over 40 years, i can state that because it is true! did you know the dolphins and swans are just styrofoam covered with synthetic plaster? quite an artistic achievement. plus, considering the south does not get the freeze thaw cycle of places further north, concrete and stucco lasts a lot longer. why do you think the roads in the south last so much longer than roads in the north?

 

[peter11435]

concrete cures for 99 years before it gradually deteriates. having been to epcot plenty of times and being in construction for over 40 years, i can state that because it is true! did you know the dolphins and swans are just styrofoam covered with synthetic plaster? quite an artistic achievement. plus, considering the south does not get the freeze thaw cycle of places further north, concrete and stucco lasts a lot longer. why do you think the roads in the south last so much longer than roads in the north?

The concrete was not in good condition.

Having been to Epcot plenty of times surely you’ve noticed the wear and tear. You can even see cracks and patches in some of the pics on this page.

 

[ToTBellHop]

concrete cures for 99 years before it gradually deteriates. having been to epcot plenty of times and being in construction for over 40 years, i can state that because it is true! did you know the dolphins and swans are just styrofoam covered with synthetic plaster? quite an artistic achievement. plus, considering the south does not get the freeze thaw cycle of places further north, concrete and stucco lasts a lot longer. why do you think the roads in the south last so much longer than roads in the north?

99 years with 700 lbs guests, though?

 

[castlecake2.0]

Fanbois “disney doesn’t maintain their parks!!!”

Disney *performs preventative maintenance*

Fanbois “Disney is wasting money!!!”

 

[bpiper]

The concrete in a Disney park is not meant to look like it’s centuries or in this case decades old. Take a walk around Epcot and you can see extensive cracking and patching throughout much of the hardscape. It’s absolutely ridiculous that we have reached the point where people are complaining about and questioning maintenance and upkeep. Especially when the finished product is better than what was there before.

I think the problem people are having is that if there is money available for this type of work why are they spending it on this when there is a long list of other things that the parks need that have a higher priority than this.

I have noticed a lot of places where the concrete has cracked on the corner where to expansion cuts were made. One perpendicular and one horizontal. The concrete will crack in the corner. Disney then cuts out the corner and patches it with new concrete. I don't see this happening in other parks. I suspect that whoever made the saw cuts in the concrete originally, cut too deep which is causing the corner to be a weak.

 

[ToTBellHop]

While it may upset us, infrastructure maintenance is more important than lightbulbs, jumping Br’er Rabbit, or the Yeti.

Of course, they could afford to fix it all. But they simply cannot ignore pathway maintenance, wood rot, etc.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

If the concrete is in bad shape...sure. some say it was fine others it was in disrepair. This being a site were we do notice things like burned out light bulbs...can anyone reference an example of a forum member reporting of or complaining about the concrete in Epcot? If was bad should not be too hard to find one, but can't recall anyone saying anything before.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Count me among those surprised people are upset they're making some effort to add detail to the new concrete rather than just replacing the existing salmon-coloured concrete. They do replace sections of concrete in the park with some regularity, so it's not like this is some unprecedented folly of Bob Chapek. I wish they would do that more at MK: one thing that you notice at DL vs. MK is that even the paving is detailed to the different lands.

 

[castlecake2.0]

If the concrete is in bad shape...sure. some say it was fine others it was in disrepair. This being a site were we do notice things like burned out light bulbs...can anyone reference an example of a forum member reporting of or complaining about the concrete in Epcot? If was bad should not be too hard to find one, but can't recall anyone saying anything before.

Does something have to fall apart before it’s replaced? I can say there have been many mornings I have come into work at epcot where there had been patches of the promenade roped off as they had replaced/repaired a small section of it. Same with “wet paint” signs on items that got a fresh coat overnight. This often goes unnoticed by guests because usually by park open the area has dried and signage is removed. I’m not invested to go digging right now but the “other site” often has pictures in their reports of small squares of pavement ropes off in the mornings that had repairs done overnight and needed a little extra time to dry.

 

[Lilofan]

The concrete was not in good condition.

Having been to Epcot plenty of times surely you’ve noticed the wear and tear. You can even see cracks and patches in some of the pics on this page.

Food and Wine has taken its toll.

 

[castlecake2.0]