Look how crowded Future World used to be

[Mista C]

Horizons and World of Motion... two very sore subjects that make me so mad!

I absolutely do not understand why WOM had to go away. The ride was a freakin look back at the history of motion... the only future part was at the very end of the ride. This would have stood as one of the greatest WDW rides of all time. I never waited longer than 5-10 minutes to ride it, it had that awesome beginning curved outdoor incline that allowed you to relax and take in the sights of Epcot, and it was long. Very long. And had great A/C! What could ever get outdated about a ride that looks back on history?!?! Horizons, as much as I loved that ride, at least makes a little bit of sense because it was entirely based in the future and would have gotten dated fast, but getting rid of WOM is just beyond me. With the amout of space that they have, they couldn't have built TT from scratch somewhere else?

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Growing up, my parents and I would head down between Christmas and New Year's and this was NORMAL, every day. In fact, year after year we'd heard about them "setting new attendance records." Cars absolutely packed EPCOT's lots to the back (and then some). Waiting in line for an hour, hour and a half was also normal.

Oddly enough, today, you can barely get people to even look at Innoventions or Imagination, etc. Most people pack into FW now, because at least that's still got some mojo left.

Sad.

 

[George]

I sooooo remember the lines outside Imagination like that. We were what was the equivalent of FL resident seasonal passholders then: Three Season Salute. In the days when the 3 slowest months of the year truly were dead (think walk-on BTMRR mid-afternoon on a Sunday) Imagination would command these switchback lines out the front of the building.

I did that every year in high school (85-88), so if you were every annoyed by a group consisting if half a dozen young metal heads, I apologize.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I did that every year in high school (85-88), so if you were every annoyed by a group consisting if half a dozen young metal heads, I apologize.

You'd have had to been annoyed by the preteen hooligans dropping red hots from the sky buckets and scooping all the silver change out of the fountains.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

Cool video but at the same time they year has to be taken into consideration. With the internet now it is so easy to stay up to date with the latest technology that the whole concept of future world has to be changed. People aren't wowed by anti-lock brakes anymore (though they are a really great safety technology). The area dedicated to showing off future tech is outdated, so people have no need to go there. I'd argue if they brought in companies (such as Sony, Microsoft, and Apple) to set up interactive pavilions of their cutting edge tech and showing off prototypes then they'd see a large increase in people flocking to see what is going on.

After all, when you're going through a store the first thing you do is play with the displays, but there are no displays or tech worth playing with at EPCOT, and even the new Test Track has a severely outdated computer program for riders to make their own car (come on, the graphics look like late 90s early 2000s and the program is slow).

Also, I don't know about back then but now there are empty buildings, like that one behind Test Track that is basically just used for the outside bathrooms, and it's kind of depressing to have this giant building for nothing.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

People aren't wowed by anti-lock brakes anymore (though they are a really great safety technology). The area dedicated to showing off future tech is outdated, so people have no need to go there. I'd argue if they brought in companies (such as Sony, Microsoft, and Apple) to set up interactive pavilions of their cutting edge tech and showing off prototypes then they'd see a large increase in people flocking to see what is going on.

Yes, but what you have to remember is that EPCOT Center was designed to do exactly what you suggest. Most of the Pavilions included an expensive, extensive "History of Topic X" attraction (an attraction that would require very little changes over time because history doesn't change) and a small "Future of Topic X" area that was designed to be constantly updated and changed as technology changed. The problem is Disney sat on their hands and rarely updated these areas; they should have made a concerted effort to add something and remove something once a month - so that these whole areas (Communicore, the post-show of WoM, Imageworks, the greenhouse in Listen to the Land, almost all of the Wonders of Life and the Living Seas) were almost completely different every 12 months.

Also, I don't know about back then but now there are empty buildings, like that one behind Test Track that is basically just used for the outside bathrooms, and it's kind of depressing to have this giant building for nothing.

That's the Odyssey restaurant. Except for possibly the Electronic Umbrella and the American Pavilion, it was likely the most popular place to eat in the entire park for its first decade. And yes it's fate is depressing, but that's on Disney.

 

[Clowd Nyne]

Future word? More like Past World! ;P. Am I right? Update the dang thing! No no no wait! Oh crap they're just gonna reskin test track again .

 

[copcarguyp71]

Future word? More like Past World! ;P. Am I right? Update the dang thing! No no no wait! Oh crap they're just gonna reskin test track again .

At least TT overlay was an effort...like it or not it WAS an effort. Imagination, The Land, UOE and save for the sad Nemo redo Seas are all in need of some effort. You can't make everyone happy but at least trying shows intent to deliver an improved experience.

It was a great day when Omnimover systems were necessary due to attendance.

 

[Glasgow]

Cant blame everything on disney. A lot of the issue is that society has changed. You cant wow people with technological advancements as easily as you used to, for many reasons too nunerous to list. I think the overall model at "FW" needs to change. People are fickle .. we all are, to a certain extent. Which is exactly why new attractions need to be based on concepts instead of just content. Do you still watch an old outdated movie even though its full of old jokes, expressions or clothing? Do you play old video games even tho the gfx stink, soley because the gameplay is still so right? Its the underlying core message and presentation that keeps you coming back. Leave innovation to Innoventions and bring back originality and longevity to the rest of FW.
This is one of the reasons that TT lasted for 14 years and TT2.0 will likely last half of that.
Change the model, WDW. Bring back originality.

 

[ryan1]

I don't mind the Nemo overlay of Seas but I wish they could have kept the movie but made it optional and the Hydrolators (my favorite thing in all of EPCOT growing up). That's all I miss really. Crush is cute and fun for little kids and they didn't really mess with the aquarium exhibits.

I must have been lucky and had our yearly and sometimes twice a year family Disney trips in the 80's and early 90's during the slow periods because I don't remember ever seeing those types of lines at EPCOT. Mid 90's on we had annual passes so we never went during peak times on purpose. The most crowded I've seen Epcot has been during the cheerleading competitions.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't mind the Nemo overlay of Seas but I wish they could have kept the movie but made it optional and the Hydrolators (my favorite thing in all of EPCOT growing up). That's all I miss really. Crush is cute and fun for little kids and they didn't really mess with the aquarium exhibits.

I must have been lucky and had our yearly and sometimes twice a year family Disney trips in the 80's and early 90's during the slow periods because I don't remember ever seeing those types of lines at EPCOT. Mid 90's on we had annual passes so we never went during peak times on purpose. The most crowded I've seen Epcot has been during the cheerleading competitions.

I can remember a couple of lines in the 80's and early 90's. One was SSE and the other was Horizons. Other then that rides like WoM and Energy and Imagination were people eaters. Lines moved quickly when there were lines, but mostly it was, at most, a 5 minute wait for omni-movers. Energy took in large amounts at each showtime. I think that was about every 15 minutes. The cheerleading competitions that I remember were held at Disney/MGM in the Indiana Jones area. When those competitions let out, there were massive people roaming about.

 

[Clowd Nyne]

At least TT overlay was an effort...like it or not it WAS an effort. Imagination, The Land, UOE and save for the sad Nemo redo Seas are all in need of some effort. You can't make everyone happy but at least trying shows intent to deliver an improved experience.

It was a great day when Omnimover systems were necessary due to attendance.

I make fun, but truly TT2.O is pretty cool. I would just like to see them use some of that dead space behind it.

 

[Gullywhumper]

Now Imagination has a wait time of five minutes. Sad

 

[BJones82]

So the parks are not as busy now as then... Park attendance in 1990 (the peak year agreed by most before the 4th gate & the general consensus of when this video is from roughly) was 33.7 million guests (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1994-11-13/news/9411120998_1_walt-disney-disney-world-attendance) in 2012 the guest attendance for the same three parks was 38.5 million people up almost 5 million people. Adding on the 4th park it is at 48.5 million people (http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-...tion-park-attendance-report-now-available.htm).

You can have whatever opinion you want about rides changing or being replaced but the facts are more and more people are going regardless of what you think so looking at it on a holistic level they are doing the right things to keep people coming back.

Also there are a lot of inovations now that keep the crowds spread out a lot more which are not limited to extra magic hours, and FP+ and the whole MM+ or My Disney Experience and free WiFi throughout the parks. This is all in place so they can track and support the crowd levels better at the parks.

I also agree with other peoples posts on here about more people staying on property. Now Disney offers benefits such as extra magic hours and Dining plans to encourage people to stay on property which eliminates a lot of the use of the parking lots because of transportation provided by the resort.

I loved Disney as a kid and still love it today and cannot wait for my next trip

My Next Trip to Walt Disney World  

 

[portorleans13]

To be honest, after our last trip in May, my family and I have decided the only thing we really will go to Epcot for is World Showcase. Future World was highly boring, uninteresting, and outdated. I would love to see some major refurb soon to make it more current.

 

[fireworksandfairytales]

I just completed eight months of working at Epcot on my college program and not even on Fourth of July was it that busy. That was a really cool video to see! Thanks for posting!