EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
I loved the original Epcot Center and thought Kitchen Kabaret was uhmmm...... ok not great.
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News New Park Entrance coming to Epcot
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
sedati
Well-Known Member
Well, it wasn't a headliner, but I think it rounded out a park that needed this type of attraction. I dare say losing this left a bigger hole than some of the larger attractions in this regard. Hopefully future plans will include some sort of sit down family attraction that goes beyond films.
And while I'm thinking about it (as I pull up the music to listen to) this had some really interesting AAs. For a park that had so many animatronics, most were realistically rendered. Beyond art style, I'd say this attraction pushed the concept of 3D physical animation forward by the ridiculous things it chose to depict. Mr. Dairy delivered a remarkable range of motion and expression considering he was a living milk carton. While the Boogie Woogie Bakery Boy was a simple figure, the way he moved made him seem like he was actually being puppeted- I can only imagine something like a kuka arm below him. Mr Eggs was fascinating just in how he'd been balanced on three very small sticks (two legs and a cane) that not only moved his body, but must have held wiring and whatnot for his animated face, hat, and bow-tie.
Fun songs, no IP, and no one in my family ever fell asleep during it which could be a problem at Epcot.
You're probably not alone in your opinion however- beyond year one I don't recall it playing to a packed house, but I do feel it suffered from poor placement.
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Tom P.
Well-Known Member
It depends on what you mean by the "original vision" for Epcot. Are you talking about the original vision that Walt had for EPCOT before he died? Or are you talking about the original vision for EPCOT Center as implemented when it opened in 1982?
I would argue that the true original vision for EPCOT -- the one outlined by Walt in the years before his death -- was impractical and unworkable. As interesting as the idea might have been, I don't think it could have ever worked. And the company, well before the evil Iger years, seemed to agree to since there was never actually any attempt to make that vision a reality. So, in that sense, I would call the original vision for EPCOT unsuccessful and say that it's never coming back.
On the other hand, I think the original vision for EPCOT Center as it was built and opened in 1982 was a good one, and folks who claim that the park was not successful in the first decade following its opening are indeed ignorant of history. I do not believe that we could ever go back to exactly what EPCOT Center was in the 1980's. I do think the concept needs some updating for the modern guest. And I also do think there is room for Disney IP in the park as well. But I agree with you that what Disney has done here, in providing "a modern version of original Epcot" is a good thing, and I'd like to see more along those lines.
sedati
Well-Known Member
(Warning- this post is a ramble, and is mostly based off personal experience which makes it irrelevant. Feel free to skip it. It's late and loud snow plows are keeping me up.)
What Disney park isn't popular? A poor performing Disney park still lands in the top 25 worldwide.
I mean, DHS experienced only a minor dip in 2017 with half the park shuttered, no new offerings, and fresh competition from it's sister parks and beyond. Still very popular. But did it deserve to be?
I'd never argue against the numbers, but...
There was a palpable buzz when the 21st century arrived in 1981. My neighbors, classmates, people who weren't previously interested in visiting a Disney park, all were intrigued by this new and unique offering. I'm sure many have noticed people around you who have never mentioned interest in Disney or theme parks that seem to be buzzing about "Star Wars Land." I'd say it was like that, but on an even grander scale. My family went down the following summer, but by then most people I knew who'd expressed interest had already been. And as a child who read every article I could find on the park and watched every broadcast hyping it up, was shocked when most came back and all they could offer up was "it was OK." When pressed for more info I got comments on how spaced out everything was, how expensive everything was, and how little shade there was. I'd say it was akin to waiting fifteen years for a new Star Wars film, only to hear the first Phantom Menace reviews are "Meh."
We went and I had a blast regardless. And we went back every couple of years as many others did as Florida became firmly established as a reliably enjoyable family vacation. So, I don't think crowds waned much at all, but I think how those trips were spent may have changed. I think many things became one-and-dones. I think most exhibit areas, or basically all of Communicore became nothing more than a shelter from the heat or rain. While on our first trip where we popped into every single World Showcase store, we later skipped entire countries as they had little to offer a family that wasn't there to shop, and had our main meals outside the parks due to cost.
I think Epcot was incredibly ambitious, and deserves all the credit in the world for trying to be as different as possible from the Magic Kingdom. I can see now there were problems born out of that need to be different- so much of what Disney had learned about park design, flow, and visual cues, were abandoned to serve this new concept. Clearly they had a plan for how to adapt to the future, but it was a costly and flawed plan that relied too much on outside partnerships. Change came slowly and what came first didn't seem to be going in the right direction. For as heralded as it is now, I don't ever remember a line for Horizons or Living Seas that wasn't in the single digits. Oddly, I do remember long waits for Body Wars which is odd as everyone here seems to have hated it (yes capacity and hourly throughput are important factors, but they do little for perception of popularity.)
You know what's happened since and yet the park is still popular. I enjoy Soarin and Test Track, and actually love Mission Space. The park survived the asinine wand and continues to live even with the open wound that is the horrible Imagination abomination. The park is going to change a lot. It has already lost Martin's love. And it will still be popular. And to go back to my first point, they could probably do nothing and have an only slightly less "popular" park.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
A permit was filed today for "Project G: 200D-1 Enabling Works at North Pathways. Includes sitework, demo, hardscape and landscaping. The address "1400 Avenue of the Stars #A" is associated with Innoventions East. Contractor is Whiting Turner and it has the default one year expiration date.
Creathir
Premium Member
Here we go!
G stands for Gamma.
Why Gamma? I dunno. Maybe it was thefourth third option that got picked.
Why Gamma? I dunno. Maybe it was the
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danlb_2000
Premium Member
Gemini?
Bender123
Well-Known Member
Project Guardians of the Galaxy...that's two Gs right there.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Gamma would be third. Alpha, Beta, Gamma. . .
Oops, got my delta and gamma reversed.
Bender123
Well-Known Member
Popular, yes...But that doesn't mean it was a universal love, either. It always was the "other park" that you went to when mom and dad got tired of the MK and before they dropped you off at the Fiesta Fun Center for their night watching "Broadway at the Top". I think there is a gap in understanding the difference between well attended and well understood.
Of course its all subjective opinion, I loved original Epcot, but there wasn't an immaterial number of people who found it tough to like. It wasn't exactly a park that screamed "accessibility", in the mental sense, as a ride like Space Mountain. It was a cerebral park that catered to people who, on the majority, are not cerebral.
It was a park that was almost too on topic for its own good...like the really smart kid in class that people think is weird, because he is way too mature for the rest of the class to understand.
Ill never forget having an argument with a neighbor, when I was a kid, because his family went. They spent two days at Epcot and he found it to be dull. I found It to be amazing. Different strokes for different folks...
That can be said about anything.
HMF
Well-Known Member
Exactly. It is impossible to please everyone all the time.
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hpyhnt 1000
Well-Known Member
G for "gutting" seems pretty accurate to me. "Garish" also springs to mind (certainly describes the current paint job of the Communicore buildings).
HMF
Well-Known Member
If Inno East indeed stays. I hope a new paint scheme is in the works.
peter11435
Well-Known Member
I think this particular permit is only for the Leave a Legacy area.
Clamman73
Well-Known Member
Gamora
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
So you experienced Kitchen Kabaret which, wile using dated animatronics by today's standards, was far, far superior to Food Rocks in design, setup, and execution.