I first went to WDW in 2014, which seems to be a controversial era in the Parks. My next visit was in 2019 and I enjoyed it a LOT more, but I wonder what experiences others had. During this time, the entire Disney Springs was behind walls, making it a pretty bad experience, and the area in front of the castle was, too. In retrospect I could have picked a better time. I remember Frozenmania was running wild but there was ZERO merch in the parks- they had rules that nobody could buy more than 1 Frozen anything, and the line to meet Anna & Elsa routinely hit THREE HOURS all day long! They got a hero's welcome whenever they showed up in the parade, lol.
I remember doing EPCOT in 1.5 days, which was just enough time to do everything once. I remember a rotating house indoors showing the amenities of the future, some kind of future showcase with technology, like a rotating single-seat arcade type ride with video screens? A lot of buildings that were just halls of stuff- I recall seeing Aurora with no handler talking to a fan who was just going on and on, haha. It was raining outside so a lot of halls were packed and characters were stuck in there.
This was likely before they got rid of a lot of the Future World stuff, as none of it was there when I returned. I've watched some YouTube videos since, discussing that EPCOT was showing its age at this point and desperately needed some rebranding, as it was getting the rep of "the park that bores kids". It's obviously added more and more stuff each year since, but altered the whole front area in the process.
I remember the days were pretty packed (I did two MK days, 1.5 Epcot, 1 AK & 1 HS, with 2 Universal days), with enough time to do everything, and going around with a "Hidden Mickeys" book, so I clearly had time to spending doing "whatever" inessential stuff, too.
But I do recall this sense of "everything changing" with a lot of stuff down, and when I came back in 2019 it seemed a lot more full, forward-moving and entertaining. By that time the Royal Friendship Faire had become a thing, giving fun castle shows. Though I miss 2014's pricing! It was something like $90 USD a night at Pop Century! Less than half of what it is today!
What did you all think of the parks around then? Were they thought of as crumbling/needing new stuff? Was EPCOT dull or in need of fresh things?
I remember doing EPCOT in 1.5 days, which was just enough time to do everything once. I remember a rotating house indoors showing the amenities of the future, some kind of future showcase with technology, like a rotating single-seat arcade type ride with video screens? A lot of buildings that were just halls of stuff- I recall seeing Aurora with no handler talking to a fan who was just going on and on, haha. It was raining outside so a lot of halls were packed and characters were stuck in there.
This was likely before they got rid of a lot of the Future World stuff, as none of it was there when I returned. I've watched some YouTube videos since, discussing that EPCOT was showing its age at this point and desperately needed some rebranding, as it was getting the rep of "the park that bores kids". It's obviously added more and more stuff each year since, but altered the whole front area in the process.
I remember the days were pretty packed (I did two MK days, 1.5 Epcot, 1 AK & 1 HS, with 2 Universal days), with enough time to do everything, and going around with a "Hidden Mickeys" book, so I clearly had time to spending doing "whatever" inessential stuff, too.
But I do recall this sense of "everything changing" with a lot of stuff down, and when I came back in 2019 it seemed a lot more full, forward-moving and entertaining. By that time the Royal Friendship Faire had become a thing, giving fun castle shows. Though I miss 2014's pricing! It was something like $90 USD a night at Pop Century! Less than half of what it is today!
What did you all think of the parks around then? Were they thought of as crumbling/needing new stuff? Was EPCOT dull or in need of fresh things?
