Norway Pavilion Frozen construction - Frozen Ever After ride

[180º]

That's from August 1989, large crowds and lines for all of the Future World pavilions/rides (all of which were were ridiculous people eaters operating in unison, especially impressive for the park to be so packed).

Yes. Very important. These are nothing like long waits for meet & greets, and EPCOT Center did not suffer from low-capacity. The attractions were not only guest-guzzlers, at any given moment there were tons of people inside these pavilions. People who would otherwise be on the paths. So imagine as many people as you see outside in that video, multiply it by at least two, and you get a pretty clear idea of how popular EPCOT Center was.

 

[ford91exploder]

They go slow because they are ordered to go slow. Spread costs.

But if they really want to get something up and built they can do it in a reasonable time. Normally there's just no sense of urgency with Disney because.... well, people are always going to come.

Until they do not.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think it's actually both issues- that they are ordered to go slow AND that they are simply slow at building compared to the past. Shanghai is struggling along and has failed to meet the deadline already for instance.

S P R E A D T H E S P E N D

 

[AmUK]

Any predictions when this will open ?

 

[Rteetz]

Any predictions when this will open ?

May 1st.

 

[wdisney9000]

Ahhhh, a meme. An enigmatic response to camouflage your inability to validate your claim.

 

[wdwgreek]

And lest people forget or try to argue against that fact, i'll post this again-


That's from August 1989, large crowds and lines for all of the Future World pavilions/rides (all of which were were ridiculous people eaters operating in unison, especially impressive for the park to be so packed). I also personally visited WDW countless times from the early 90's through '97 and similar crowd levels were still seen in busy seasons for classic Future World rides. EPCOT in its original form remained very popular and well loved by guests.

By the mid 90's there were a few things that needed some minor updating here and there (what they did with SSE 1994 for instance was an example of how to PROPERLY upgrade Future World). But nothing so serious that it warranted the complete mess it has been mangled into since the 90's. It wouldn't have been that difficult to keep the park very popular, fresh and up to date.


I'd say it went as far back as 1994 with the loss of the sponsor and choosing not to operate it consistently from then on (it went "seasonal" for a lot of its remaining life and wasn't always open). You can also point to 1994 for the loss of 20k Leagues in MK. But the first major loss for me at EPCOT was World of Motion in 1996. I stopped visiting WDW in 1997 and only rode Test Track in 2010 for the first time, really hate what they did there. Imagination was also butchered in 1998 and I was shocked to see that abomination upon my return as well.

At least Horizons continued to operate intermittently until 1999. I'd say these were remnants of some of the projects intended for "Project Gemini" (which I consider to be a terrible concept personally, thankfully Spaceship Earth was spared such a horrendous fate).

This made me tear up, it looks so fantastic. I was unborn when this was filmed, but if only I was around. Thanks for reminding me the shadow that EPCOT is today. One frozen ride won't fix this.

 

[P_Radden]

And lest people forget or try to argue against that fact, i'll post this again-


That's from August 1989, large crowds and lines for all of the Future World pavilions/rides (all of which were were ridiculous people eaters operating in unison, especially impressive for the park to be so packed). I also personally visited WDW countless times from the early 90's through '97 and similar crowd levels were still seen in busy seasons for classic Future World rides. EPCOT in its original form remained very popular and well loved by guests.

By the mid 90's there were a few things that needed some minor updating here and there (what they did with SSE 1994 for instance was an example of how to PROPERLY upgrade Future World). But nothing so serious that it warranted the complete mess it has been mangled into since the 90's. It wouldn't have been that difficult to keep the park very popular, fresh and up to date.


I'd say it went as far back as 1994 with the loss of the sponsor and choosing not to operate it consistently from then on (it went "seasonal" for a lot of its remaining life and wasn't always open). You can also point to 1994 for the loss of 20k Leagues in MK. But the first major loss for me at EPCOT was World of Motion in 1996. I stopped visiting WDW in 1997 and only rode Test Track in 2010 for the first time, really hate what they did there. Imagination was also butchered in 1998 and I was shocked to see that abomination upon my return as well.

At least Horizons continued to operate intermittently until 1999. I'd say these were remnants of some of the projects intended for "Project Gemini" (which I consider to be a terrible concept personally, thankfully Spaceship Earth was spared such a horrendous fate).

This video just slapped me in the face with sad nostalgia. Just listening to the narrator on the monorail describing the FW attractions melts my heart. This is the EPCOT I remember as a child. This is the EPCOT I miss. Sea Base Alpha and Horizions were so awesome and mind blowing at that time. I feel like both attractions could still have the same appeal today if they had been maintained and updated properly (not re-themed to Nemo). All of Future World had a general theme and purpose that made you leave there feeling optimistic, excited and inspired to do great things.

EPCOT FW is what made me fall in love with WDW in the first place. I have never felt so passionately about a theme park or any place in my life. It's honestly sad and depressing that FW has been neglected by Disney for so long. For all of us that visited it in the 1980s and 1990s as children and got inspired by EPCOT, it hurts so bad to visit it today. I wonder how the imagineers feel that spent years of their lives working on EPCOT Center to only see it these days in the sad condition it's in

 

[JEANYLASER]

Any update for Frozen ever after the ride and the Signage for the ride is up let?

 

[danlb_2000]

Don't know if this was posted in previous pages, but a new construction scrim was up across the entire front facade of the show building last night.

A printed scrim?

 

[JourneysEnd]

A printed scrim?

Nope

 

[montyz81]

And lest people forget or try to argue against that fact, i'll post this again-


That's from August 1989, large crowds and lines for all of the Future World pavilions/rides (all of which were were ridiculous people eaters operating in unison, especially impressive for the park to be so packed)

I haven't seen crowds at UoE and Imagination like this since I went in 1983 and this was 1989. It proves that the original shows were the right shows and should have been updated instead of completely changed. (I believe the UoE story could have been updated rather then changed to the Ellen ride. Ripping out the original pre-show for cheap movie screens was just dumb!)

 

[danlb_2000]

Nope

Ah, ok, I thought they had changed the scrim. This one has been there for at least a week.

 

[JourneysEnd]

Ah, ok, I thought they had changed the scrim. This one has been there for at least a week.

I'm going by the last picture that was posted. If they changed it, somebody post a new picture. . . please.

 

[Cesar R M]

Nope

I guess they ran out of refurb money already ?

 

[Brer Panther]

I haven't seen crowds at UoE and Imagination like this since I went in 1983 and this was 1989. It proves that the original shows were the right shows and should have been updated instead of completely changed. (I believe the UoE story could have been updated rather then changed to the Ellen ride. Ripping out the original pre-show for cheap movie screens was just dumb!)

Well, this IS Disney we're talking about. Their motto is, "If it's not broken, fix it anyway!"

 

[Mike S]

Well, this IS Disney we're talking about. Their motto is, "If it's not broken, fix it anyway!"

Yeti.

 

[JohnD]

Yeti.

That's the corollary. If it's broken, don't fix it.

 

[Incomudro]

As the toonification continues, that jarring thematic changes from outside to inside will be more stark. The example next door in Mexico is a weird and unwelcome mess. Going from a gorgeously themed building inside and out, to a cartoon screen presentation boat ride....hey wait.... that's the new formula.... Nice execution outside, cartoon head snap inside. {sarcasm} Marvelous imagineering and excellent animation truly representing a country and it's people. {/sacrsm}

*1023*

Doesn't bother me.

 

[Admiral01]

You can't complain about cartoon characters being anywhere in WDW, you just can't. They tried that in EPCOT back in the day and people did not like it.
If you are wanting some culture, architecture, and experiences that have less cartoon flavor to them, might I suggest going to NORWAY.
justsayinzall

I've never seen definitive evidence that "people did not like" EPCOT back in the day. I hear that argument used, but never seen anyone produce apples-to-apples comparisons and actual guest feedback where the complaints outweighed the praise. Were there scientific marketing studies done?

Disney made a decision to make changes, many of which have really sucked in terms of the opinion of the population who visited old EPCOT and current Epcot. Imagination, Mexico, Wonders of Life, Horizons, Space Ship Earth, the entertainment in Canada, the beauty of the Communicore Plaza, and the welcoming entrance have all been "changed" but not improved. Norway will soon join this list.

I personally loved EPCOT when it was EPCOT Center. As did my entire family. It wasn't everyone's favorite, but it doesn't have to be. It should be a unique destination. We already have two "magic kingdoms" on this continent, one more in Europe, soon to be 3 more in Asia. The last thing I think we need is another park like that. I want my unique and engaging EPCOT, but that EPCOT is continually being stripped away in favor of cartoony themes that don't belong in the unique EPCOT, not when the Magic Kingdom is just a few miles away...

I do agree with you, however, that seeing the real Norway is much better than visiting WDW. I would also suggest you stop visiting the Magic Kingdom and instead take a tour of Neuschwanstein.