It used to be two full days. To see everything just once. In a toltally immersive, fully cohesive one of a kind park.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Possible Attraction in France pavilion (Epcot) Update - new Attraction Greenlit
- Thread starter doctornick
- Start date
It used to be two full days. To see everything just once. In a toltally immersive, fully cohesive one of a kind park.
You are whittling down the "theme" park experience to just attractions. If you limit yourself to just one aspect, your setting yourself up for disappointment. If your family loves the aquarium, would you not more experiences to share together, as a family, rather than sitting in a dark ride buggy or boat just zooming from one attraction to the next? And dont get me wrong, I love attractions as much as the next guy, but the experience can be so much more unique when you have a good balance of attractions, food and edutainment, which EPCOT did indeed once have.
But the masses with their calcified pineal glands have spoken and only want movie rides that dont bore their kid. If Star Lord does not take up residency at Ellens Energy Adventure, they will be triggered.
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
Really excited for this ride. For my family EPCOT has always been a 1-2 day park (certainly no where near a 1/2 day park). But, I love the balance this will bring by adding another attraction over in France and spreading people out more. I think if the park would change Ellen and Imagination (and the horrible tombstone entrance), the park will be in a good place.
MCast
Well-Known Member
It sounds like the Epcot of yesteryear parallels the Tokyo Disneysea of today in terms of quality and impressiveness.
I'll be shot down by some for this, but I'd say that's a very apt comparison.
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
A picture from the glory days. Now it's just shelves of supplies for le cellier
Attachments
Blipverts.
discos
Well-Known Member
I say give it another 5-10 years and Jackson Square will hopefully be a major part of Hamilton and the downtown core againHowdy Neighbour. Can't tell you how many hours I spent at Jackson Square during my time at Mac. Sadly, for me, it's now just "the passport office".
It certainly wasn't for everyone.
And I've said it before, had nothing changed and we still had the EPCOT Center of 1989 today it would be outdated beyond a joke. But the minimal, haphazard and budget conscious additions since then have watered the park down to a shadow of its former self, with pockets of excellence in a mire of mediocrity.
I've also said EPCOT Center is dead. It's not coming back. But what I hope we do get it something better than Epcot (tm) 2017. And not an MK South. The jury is still out.
We need an EPCOT Center of 2017. Not IPcot. But the latter is coming.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
I agree with this, and would go one step further and say that the trajectory of Tokyo DisneySea mirrors EPCOT of the mid to late 1990s.
Tokyo DisneySea is still exceptional, but the amount of 'toonification that has already occurred is disconcerting. Part of the reason I recommend people visit it sooner rather than later...
Mike S
Well-Known Member
The right answer would be "blessing of size." There's enough space to have multiple different experiences for different audiences. Magic Kingdom for the majority, Epcot and Animal Kingdom for those who want to slow down a bit, and DHS for thrill seekers. At least, that's how I think it should be.
tl77
Well-Known Member
They're getting better at keeping secrets, 2 months out from D23 and nothing new is certain... I think the Beauty and the Beast ride that's planed for Tokyo is the most likely contender for the Paris Pavilion, only because it seems like a much more "timeless" property that they can sell plenty of merch for, like Frozen at Norway it would be a big draw. I don't know that Ratatouille ride/franchise has the same pull or the same "staying power". To me that seems like Mr Toads Wild Ride, it doesn't seem like something kids 20 years from now will know or still care about which is why Mr Toad rode off into the sunset at MK, but the Beauty and the Beast just passed the 20 year mark and their restaurant is one of the most popular things on the property
FigmentForver96
Well-Known Member
The problem with most people is the idea that a theme park is a collection of rides. For many, this means the rides have to fast, attention grabbing and to the point. Yet, EPCOT Center at its roots was a different approach to theme parks. Nothing like it had ever been done, and I can venture to say nothing like it will be built again. Magic Kingdom was already providing the family experience much like it does today. With rides like Space Mountain open the park offered a variety of rides with all your favorite Walt Disney classics thrown in. As a company, Disney knew it needed to offer different experiences as it expanded. What would be the point of building a second park like Magic Kingdom? With the blessing of size, any "Magic Kingdom" style attractions could go in that very park.
Much like how people don't pay 10 dollars per movie to see the same movie, Disney didn't want to charge people same amounts for a similar experience. The park promoted new ideas and it really showed how Disney was more then its characters and properties. It was a company that wanted to showcase ideas like others. Just like how Walt Disney would release shoes that takes about jungles and space and science. The idea of Disney being just a collection of magical characters is a recent idea.
With the help of other American companies, Disney invested over a billion dollars into something that was not a sure thing. If people did not come to see it, then the company could fall apart. They took the risk and mixed magic with reality. People were given a real glance to see where they came from and where they were going. EPCOT Center celebrated true diversity and also togetherness. It taught us that together we could make the future brighter, bolder and smarter. That with imagination we could reach new horizons. Communication and energy would always be evolving and the land and sea were living organisms worth our attention. Epcot now is just a fancy name for a theme park. It has no meaning beyond its name. Large buildings lay closed, reminding those who were fortunate to be there, what was. Great marvels in ride technology were ripped apart and replaced with shorter more simplistic rides. Scripts were watered down to pander to the lower denominator and the idea of inspiration was lost.
EPCOT Center at his birth was not boring. Far from it. Crowds not seen in any other theme park lined the rides for years. It was a symbol, a beacon of light for humanity. A true mark on society that will go down in history for the difference it made and the lessons it taught. It's fall was from the idea EPCOT Center needed to be like other theme parks when all along it was THE theme park. I guess tomorrow's child grew up to be a real b****.
FigmentForver96
Well-Known Member
Rat is a done deal.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I fear that DisneySea is extending the appropriateness of IPs in certain areas (most notably the shops and the new Nemo ride, but I could also argue Toy Story Mania). But everything in DisneySea is so incredibly layered I think it exceeds the original EPCOT in that respect.
For me, the closest stateside park to DisneySea today is the Animal Kingdom. Nothing else is remotely close.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Get out of my head.
DDLand
Well-Known Member
I think of both Disney's Animal Kingdom and Tokyo Disney Sea as the spiritual successors to EPCOT Center. They're all extremely narrative driven parks with a clear message that they are trying to convey. Tokyo Disney Sea and Disney's Animal Kingdom are representative of a more "21st Century" take on the edutainment ideas that EPCOT Center employed. They emphasis personal Adventures that put the guest in the story instead of passively watching.
Tokyo Disney Sea is on its way down the tubes. What a shame, that park just blows your mind. I can only imagine what they'll ruin next.
DDLand
Well-Known Member
Toy Story Mania at Tokyo Disney Sea is one of the greatest failures of theme park design ever. They build a remarkably layered story with levels of depth (no pun intended) that go to extremes, and then they plop down a portal into Andy's Room that has nothing to do with Man's interactions with the Sea and other Cultures.
It is a stain on what I believe is the most impressive themed land ever built (sorry Mysterious Island fans, I got to love the built out architectural environments
).
HMF
Well-Known Member
Personally I would settle for Epcot of 1999, Except for JIYI, The Wand, LaL, ,Millenium Central and (an updated) Horizons would still be open and Test Track 2012.