Fascinating reviews of EPCOT from 1984 and 1983

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I posted this link in two mammoth threads yesterday, but I thought it deserved its own billing so as not to become lost in a sea of discussion about other topics: https://books.google.com/books?id=A...=PA16#v=onepage&q=epcot a second year&f=false.

The link is to a review of EPCOT written in 1984 and published in the magazine Cruise Travel. Given the many nostalgic viewpoints expressed in these forums, especially where EPCOT/Epcot is concerned, I was curious to find historical assessments that aren't filtered by the passage of time. This write-up, which both praises and criticises EPCOT, is a fascinating and at times amusing read (I love the author's take on "long" waits!).

After posting the link yesterday, I found another review from the same magazine written a year earlier by an author who is much more glowing in his assessment: https://books.google.com/books?id=KTADAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA26&dq="not allowed in epcot"&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q="not allowed in epcot"&f=false. Unfortunately, the piece ends abruptly in the middle of describing World Showcase, and its continuation doesn't appear on the page indicated. (ETA: As kindly pointed out by Animal_Kingdom_09 below, the article actually continues on p. 40.)

If you find anything else of this sort relating to any of the parks, please add it to the thread!
 
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LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Part of me is going "ooh, ouch" the other is going "told ya so".
What can I say, I love looking at the general public's thoughts on stuff like this. : P

To be fair, the earlier of the two articles is full of praise and closely matches the kind of EPCOT love that seems to dominate here. One thing that struck me reading the more critical 1984 piece is the complaint concerning how commercialised the park was. People may decry the current shift towards IP, but the original park's reliance on (and promotion of) corporate interests should not be overlooked.
 

Animal_Kingdom_09

Active Member
@LittleBuford -

The second linked article continues on page 40, not 58 as indicated. As an aside, that magazine has a great review of Song of America. That was one of the first cruise ships that didn’t look like the Love Boat. At a time when the standard cruise ships held 700 passengers, S of A carried 1,200!

Great find on those links.
 

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@LittleBuford -

The second linked article continues on page 40, not 58 as indicated. As an aside, that magazine has a great review of Song of America. That was one of the first cruise ships that didn’t look like the Love Boat. At a time when the standard cruise ships held 700 passengers, S of A carried 1,200!

Great find on those links.

Thank you so much!

And I'm glad you found the links interesting, even beyond the EPCOT pieces.
 

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