Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald takes over the creative direction of Epcot

[Over the Horizon]

To me, Epcot was a place of wonder when I was little. Horizons gave me so much hope for the future and drove me towards my love of technology, space, the future, my obsession with Star Trek and a lifetime of yearning for what is to come. There needs to be a ride like Horizons again because that felt like the very heart of what EPCOT was built for.

I don't feel there is a need to get rid of the Disney characters from EPCOT, but there should NOT be rides that are tied into characters. Nemo destroyed Living Seas. It offers no value to the pavilion. I can understand if it brought people in, but has there EVER been a line for that ridiculous ride? I used to love the hydrolater. I really thought I was going under the sea to a sea base when I was a kid. It was so wonderful. Now, I just walk through the automatic door through the gift shop whenever my wife and I want to look at the dolphins.

I was upset to lose WoM. TT was an interesting addition and I even enjoyed it for what it was. Now, it is just a horrible fake Tron ride with cheap neon etched cardboard cutouts. There is nothing to give any inspiration or fun. It is just something you have to suffer through to get to the end where you go on the high speed loop outside, nothing more. At least the original had a story line and felt more interactive with the handling tests, the hot and cold room, etc.

WoL. What a gem that was. CC was pretty cool and I loved Body Wars. It is so useless and so far removed from the WS to be a Festival Center.

Odyssey. What the heck? It is right next to the WS. That should at the very least be a Festival hub so that we can have something in place for the WoL pavilion.

The Land is pretty cool still. LWTL is still an enjoyable ride and Soarin would be cool if it had a better video. It feels so out of touch being all about CA when you are in Florida. The Circle of Life show is ridiculous and it is an insult that they replaced KK with it.

Imagination. I loved Dreamfinder and Figment, such a great ride and it really instilled a sense of wonder. Now it is just obnoxious and stupid and I rarely see anyone in or on that ride. Capt Eo? I love the 80's, but that is just a no no. That is really a case study in everything that was terrible about the 80's.

I used to love SSE. The end is so pitiful. Such a shame and could so easily be fixed.

CC. I remember feeling like I was in the most awesome science museum ever. Innoventions is an abomination of the original feel of the CC.

UoE. One of the biggest debates in the global consciousness right now is energy production and future sources of clean energy. An update to this pavilion should be a no brainer, even to a 5 year old. Let's get some current people to talk about solar, wind, fusion, antimatter, carbon collection, hybrid and EV transportation alternatives, etc. Come on.

And for god sakes, where are all the trees and flowers? Is the future according to Disney a parking lot with bland gift shops everywhere and $6 Budweisers? When I picture a future city center, I picture clean architecture that is at harmony with the nature around it. I picture beautiful trees and plants that allow for a healthy environment. I picture solar, wind and renewable energy around me. I picture a monorail that isn't 10 years past its end of life and better ways to move people around the hub other than walking across a sprawling concrete wasteland.

Sorry this post was so long. I just had to get 20 years of disappointment off my chest. I loved EPCOT, it defined the way I thought about life. Now, it's just another park to visit for the afternoon.

 

[sshindel]

The Land is pretty cool still. LWTL is still an enjoyable ride and Soarin would be cool if it had a better video. It feels so out of touch being all about CA when you are in Florida. The Circle of Life show is ridiculous and it is an insult that they replaced KK with it.

I agree with this post pretty much in it's entirety. I just wanted to nit-pick one tiny thing.
Circle of Life replaced a different film, Symbiosis, in the Harvest Theater.
KK was located where the entrance to Soarin' currently sits. Kitchen Kabaret made way for Food Rocks, which then made way for Soarin'. Personally, I'd take KK over Soarin every single time.

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

It occurs to me that the original idea of EPCOT is rendered impotent by the internet. Back in the early 80's when it opened it was one of the few places on earth where you could come and see things like they had there. Now days we see things on the internet the first day they come out. All of us have devices in our pockets that are more state of the art than the vehicals that went to the moon. I'm not sure what Technology Disney can bring into EPCOT that might fascinate anyone for more than a month?

 

[dstrawn9889]

To me, Epcot was a place of wonder when I was little. Horizons gave me so much hope for the future and drove me towards my love of technology, space, the future, my obsession with Star Trek and a lifetime of yearning for what is to come. There needs to be a ride like Horizons again because that felt like the very heart of what EPCOT was built for. THIS

I don't feel there is a need to get rid of the Disney characters from EPCOT, but there should NOT be rides that are tied into characters. Nemo destroyed Living Seas. It offers no value to the pavilion. I can understand if it brought people in, but has there EVER been a line for that ridiculous ride? I used to love the hydrolater. I really thought I was going under the sea to a sea base when I was a kid. It was so wonderful. Now, I just walk through the automatic door through the gift shop whenever my wife and I want to look at the dolphins. THIS

I was upset to lose WoM. TT was an interesting addition and I even enjoyed it for what it was. Now, it is just a horrible fake Tron ride with cheap neon etched cardboard cutouts. There is nothing to give any inspiration or fun. It is just something you have to suffer through to get to the end where you go on the high speed loop outside, nothing more. At least the original had a story line and felt more interactive with the handling tests, the hot and cold room, etc. 188 AA's in 30 show scenes, to NO AA's BAD SHOW

WoL. What a gem that was. CC was pretty cool and I loved Body Wars. It is so useless and so far removed from the WS to be a Festival Center.

Odyssey. What the heck? It is right next to the WS. That should at the very least be a Festival hub so that we can have something in place for the WoL pavilion.

The Land is pretty cool still. LWTL is still an enjoyable ride and Soarin would be cool if it had a better video. It feels so out of touch being all about CA when you are in Florida. The Circle of Life show is ridiculous and it is an insult that they replaced KK with it. Kabaret was the queue area on Soarin now, it was always a theatre

Imagination. I loved Dreamfinder and Figment, such a great ride and it really instilled a sense of wonder. Now it is just obnoxious and stupid and I rarely see anyone in or on that ride. Capt Eo? I love the 80's, but that is just a no no. That is really a case study in everything that was terrible about the 80's.

I used to love SSE. The end is so pitiful. Such a shame and could so easily be fixed.

CC. I remember feeling like I was in the most awesome science museum ever. Innoventions is an abomination of the original feel of the CC.

UoE. One of the biggest debates in the global consciousness right now is energy production and future sources of clean energy. An update to this pavilion should be a no brainer, even to a 5 year old. Let's get some current people to talk about solar, wind, fusion, antimatter, carbon collection, hybrid and EV transportation alternatives, etc. Come on.

And for god sakes, where are all the trees and flowers? Is the future according to Disney a parking lot with bland gift shops everywhere and $6 Budweisers? When I picture a future city center, I picture clean architecture that is at harmony with the nature around it. I picture beautiful trees and plants that allow for a healthy environment. I picture solar, wind and renewable energy around me. I picture a monorail that isn't 10 years past its end of life and better ways to move people around the hub other than walking across a sprawling concrete wasteland.

Sorry this post was so long. I just had to get 20 years of disappointment off my chest. I loved EPCOT, it defined the way I thought about life. Now, it's just another park to visit for the afternoon.

 

[sshindel]

It occurs to me that the original idea of EPCOT is rendered impotent by the internet. Back in the early 80's when it opened it was one of the few places on earth where you could come and see things like they had there. Now days we see things on the internet the first day they come out. All of us have devices in our pockets that are more state of the art than the vehicals that went to the moon. I'm not sure what Technology Disney can bring into EPCOT that might fascinate anyone for more than a month?

EPCOT was never about technology though. It was about the drive towards the future. Technology did do some of the heavy lifting, but if you look at what each of the original pavilions tried to do, it was never just displaying new cutting edge technology. It was educating people, through views at history, to reach and dream for a better future.

 

[doctornick]

Storm rider isn't very good actually

Can't be worse than the nothing at WoL currently.

 

[Kman101]

I think the only reason most are using Storm Rider (which isn't a great attraction from what I can tell, though I haven't actually experienced it) is because the company likes to copy rides and save on costs. And considering Body Wars was a simulator, it makes the most sense. I think they could personally do a lot better but it's surprising that they never bothered to consider this (or they could have, I don't know).

 

[CDavid]

I guess I'm in the minority at least on these boards but I don't want WDW to bring back anything except MAYBE the adventurers club. I've ridden SSE at least 15 times and frankly it was cool back in the day but I don't want to ride it again in ANY form. Same thing with the universe of energy, Journey into Imagination and it's a small world in MK. But then again I don't want to see the remake of the Amazing spiderman 2 either. I like fresh entertainment. I don't like reading the same book 10 times over and over and I don't want to watch the same movie 12 times either. Gut those stale attractions and bring in some fresh stuff. Get back to the original idea of EPCOT yes but a modern 2014 version not the 80's. I don't hear anyone on here asking for Microsoft to bring back the old Atari games to play on the XBOX?

The difference is that you can still play your Atari games if you want; Nobody came along and demolished (Horizons) or gutted (World of Motion, Journey into Imagination) the console to replace it with a completely different experience.

Spaceship Earth is hopefully safe, but please, please may they fix or restore the ending. You can provide 'fresh entertainment' in a theme park setting without necessarily tearing down or completely gutting the existing experience. Perhaps a better analogy is your local movie cinema; You don't want to see the same movie 10 times, so they are constantly introducing new movies - but they don't demolish the theater and start over.

It occurs to me that the original idea of EPCOT is rendered impotent by the internet.

You can't ride the internet. Nor can you experience shows, exhibits, and entertainment in quite the same manner as actually being there.

I think the only reason most are using Storm Rider (which isn't a great attraction from what I can tell, though I haven't actually experienced it) is because the company likes to copy rides and save on costs. And considering Body Wars was a simulator, it makes the most sense. I think they could personally do a lot better but it's surprising that they never bothered to consider this (or they could have, I don't know).

If you're thinking they could use the Body Wars sims, those are in Hong Kong...

 

[Kman101]

EPCOT should have staples like every park does. Spaceship Earth (mostly) remains one of those. Like others have said, no one wants to see Pirates ripped out or Haunted Mansion ripped out for a poor replacement (I don't mind Test Track, Mission:Space is alright, but WOM and Horizons, updated with new tech and animatronics could easily still have a place). No one wanted to see SSE get that coaster or whatever (well I'm sure some did/do) that was planned for that Project Gemini (which had SOME good ideas, specifically more foliage from what I recall).

That's not to say things need to continue living in the past, but the rides were removed or demolished because they just didn't want to bother updating them, to put it very very plainly. (And supposed maintenance costs, and the lack of sponsors, which now sounds ridiculous).

I think there could have been a place for the older attractions as well as the new attractions that they put in their place. But the mentality at the time was, rip out the old for something new instead of additions.

And if they had actually put any amount of care into JII, no one would be complaining about it. It's not about folks upset that things are updated, it's because they're poor updates. JII especially had that charm and quality about it that it SHOULD have been a long-term staple with very little change. There was just no need for that.

 

[dstrawn9889]

You can't ride the internet. Nor can you experience shows, exhibits, and entertainment in quite the same manner as actually being there.



If you're thinking they could use the Body Wars sims, those are in Hong Kong...

broken down for parts... really, 20 year old pods being reused after dismantling and moving across an ocean?(never understood how anyone would think that rumor could be true)

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

EPCOT was never about technology though. It was about the drive towards the future. Technology did do some of the heavy lifting, but if you look at what each of the original pavilions tried to do, it was never just displaying new cutting edge technology. It was educating people, through views at history, to reach and dream for a better future.

I agree with what you're saying. The problem comes from "EDUCATION" POC and the HM are purely entertainment therefore they do not get stale over time whereas SSE is mostly Education and does after a few rides. TT is a blend of EDU and ENTERTAINMET so it doesn't get stale.

 

[sshindel]

I agree with what you're saying. The problem comes from "EDUCATION" POC and the HM are purely entertainment therefore they do not get stale over time whereas SSE is mostly Education and does after a few rides. TT is a blend of EDU and ENTERTAINMET so it doesn't get stale.

What gets stale is a personal thing for each person though. I enjoy SSE just as much as HM. I would still be enjoying the heck out of Horizons just as much (more actually) than POC if given the opportunity.
It's a delicate balance, sure, to ensure the attraction is timeless enough to not need updating every 2 years when technology moves forward, but that just needs to be taken into account upon design of the attraction.

 

[Over the Horizon]

I agree with what you're saying. The problem comes from "EDUCATION" POC and the HM are purely entertainment therefore they do not get stale over time whereas SSE is mostly Education and does after a few rides. TT is a blend of EDU and ENTERTAINMET so it doesn't get stale.

The old TT may have had some educational value, but the Tron update of TT pretty much took the educational parts out in favor of non scripted random neon cut outs.

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

Honestly, The incessant demand on here to bring back old attractions is very tiring and if TDO gave in to the ridiculousness of it, we would all still be riding mission to mars in the MK. I know, I know that would be very pleasing to some of you.

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

What gets stale is a personal thing for each person though. I enjoy SSE just as much as HM. I would still be enjoying the heck out of Horizons just as much (more actually) than POC if given the opportunity.
It's a delicate balance, sure, to ensure the attraction is timeless enough to not need updating every 2 years when technology moves forward, but that just needs to be taken into account upon design of the attraction.

and BTW i hear that is the real purpose of the Magic Bands.... beginning in 2015 i will be able to program my band so when I ride SSE i get the Slash mountain version via all the screens fitz is bringing in LOL

 

[Texas84]

To me, Epcot was a place of wonder when I was little. Horizons gave me so much hope for the future and drove me towards my love of technology, space, the future, my obsession with Star Trek and a lifetime of yearning for what is to come. There needs to be a ride like Horizons again because that felt like the very heart of what EPCOT was built for.

I don't feel there is a need to get rid of the Disney characters from EPCOT, but there should NOT be rides that are tied into characters. Nemo destroyed Living Seas. It offers no value to the pavilion. I can understand if it brought people in, but has there EVER been a line for that ridiculous ride? I used to love the hydrolater. I really thought I was going under the sea to a sea base when I was a kid. It was so wonderful. Now, I just walk through the automatic door through the gift shop whenever my wife and I want to look at the dolphins.

I was upset to lose WoM. TT was an interesting addition and I even enjoyed it for what it was. Now, it is just a horrible fake Tron ride with cheap neon etched cardboard cutouts. There is nothing to give any inspiration or fun. It is just something you have to suffer through to get to the end where you go on the high speed loop outside, nothing more. At least the original had a story line and felt more interactive with the handling tests, the hot and cold room, etc.

WoL. What a gem that was. CC was pretty cool and I loved Body Wars. It is so useless and so far removed from the WS to be a Festival Center.

Odyssey. What the heck? It is right next to the WS. That should at the very least be a Festival hub so that we can have something in place for the WoL pavilion.

The Land is pretty cool still. LWTL is still an enjoyable ride and Soarin would be cool if it had a better video. It feels so out of touch being all about CA when you are in Florida. The Circle of Life show is ridiculous and it is an insult that they replaced KK with it.

Imagination. I loved Dreamfinder and Figment, such a great ride and it really instilled a sense of wonder. Now it is just obnoxious and stupid and I rarely see anyone in or on that ride. Capt Eo? I love the 80's, but that is just a no no. That is really a case study in everything that was terrible about the 80's.

I used to love SSE. The end is so pitiful. Such a shame and could so easily be fixed.

CC. I remember feeling like I was in the most awesome science museum ever. Innoventions is an abomination of the original feel of the CC.

UoE. One of the biggest debates in the global consciousness right now is energy production and future sources of clean energy. An update to this pavilion should be a no brainer, even to a 5 year old. Let's get some current people to talk about solar, wind, fusion, antimatter, carbon collection, hybrid and EV transportation alternatives, etc. Come on.

And for god sakes, where are all the trees and flowers? Is the future according to Disney a parking lot with bland gift shops everywhere and $6 Budweisers? When I picture a future city center, I picture clean architecture that is at harmony with the nature around it. I picture beautiful trees and plants that allow for a healthy environment. I picture solar, wind and renewable energy around me. I picture a monorail that isn't 10 years past its end of life and better ways to move people around the hub other than walking across a sprawling concrete wasteland.

Sorry this post was so long. I just had to get 20 years of disappointment off my chest. I loved EPCOT, it defined the way I thought about life. Now, it's just another park to visit for the afternoon.

Great post, but anyone who buys Budweiser at Epcot should be perma-banned from said locale.

 

[Over the Horizon]

It isn't so much bringing back old attractions as advocating that Disney understand the meaning and message of the past attractions. Nemo doesn't do anything for the Living Seas experience. MS is pretty much old after the first couple of times you ride it. There is a reason it perpetually has a 5-10 minute "wait" time. The new Figment is just lost. Odyssey and WoL are basically empty and useless buildings. There is so much potential, but instead of a new Horizons style experience, we will probably end up with a new Smoking area with a beer and pretzel cart and a few cardboard walls with Perry the Platypus painted on it.

 

[Texas84]

Honestly, The incessant demand on here to bring back old attractions is very tiring and if TDO gave in to the ridiculousness of it, we would all still be riding mission to mars in the MK. I know, I know that would be very pleasing to some of you.

To replace Stitch? Absolutely.

 

[asianway]

Honestly, The incessant demand on here to bring back old attractions is very tiring and if TDO gave in to the ridiculousness of it, we would all still be riding mission to mars in the MK. I know, I know that would be very pleasing to some of you.

Mission to Mars > Mission Space

 

[Matt_Black]

The old TT may have had some educational value, but the Tron update of TT pretty much took the educational parts out in favor of non scripted random neon cut outs.

Which wouldn't be bad if they actually made any references to TRON, instead it's just random neon. Get Bruce Boxleitner to narrate the darn thing. The first thing I want to hear when I get in that car is a hearty, "Greetings, Users!"