@sshindel
You asked me to rant, so here it is.
The original EPCOT Center told a story. And, while it may not have been "official", I'm quite sure that WED/WDI planned it that way at least during the initial blue sky design process.
The difference between it and a Castle Park, and why it was so groundbreaking (and still is unique) is that it had an overarching theme with a grander purpose than just to entertain. It's arguable that IoA, with it's unofficial "Literature" theme is a similar concept, but with a different core.
So, that said...the story was simple (and forgive me for repeating what I'm sure many already noticed for themselves).
Futureworld was about WHERE we are going, and World Showcase is about celebrating who we were going WITH and honoring the cultures of the world on our "Spaceship Earth". Otherwise, why actually staff it with people FROM that country? It's a cultural experience. Yeah, some say it's whitewashed, but then again would you really want to see the dirty bits when honoring the best aspects of unique cultures is the point?
So, overarching story told, Futureworld told a more specific story with each pavilion. I'm going to stick with the original ones, not Wonders of Life, because I think Wonders of Life, while a neat pavilion, didn't really "fit" with the side of Futureworld it was placed (rather, I think it would have been better on the life sciences side, in between the Land and the Sea).
Your journey begins with Spaceship Earth, where you learn how humanity has used communication to advance society and improve the standard of living throughout history. It's emphasised how important communication is for our future (and not just communication technology, but the messages involved, hence why the final message is so important, and ties together Futureworld with World Showcase, which you get to later in the day).
From there, you go to the Communicores, which show off cutting edge CURRENT technology. Communicore East should be focused on (imho) hard sciences, and serve as a gateway to the pavilions behind it, and Communicore West should do the same for Life Sciences. It was never exactly like that, but that's how I think it should be done. However, it was more like that at one point.
Here, I'll show how. These are the "old" attractions for East and West respectively.
East
EPCOT COmputer Central with the backstage computer area show. Astuter Computer Review then later Backstage Magic.
SMRT-1
Great American Census Quiz - What was "tech" about this was HOW the data was collected and presented
Manufactory - Touchscreen american flags and other stuff
Get Set Jet Game - Load Luggage onto Airliners using touch screens.
Compute a Coaster - Design your own roller coaster in then unique CAD/3-D software
Travelport - This was a plug for vacation destinations, and didn't really fit with what I thought the theme should be, but was still neat. Much better than the IBM exhibit with it's touchscreen monoliths that's in West today.
Electronic Forum with the News Choice Theater and the Future Choice Theater
Energy Exchange with a giant model of deep sea drilling, a Blowout Preventer (hehe, after the Gulf, I bet Disney is glad that isn't there anymore), Oil Shale, a Coal Locator game, Energy facility models, all highly detailed, a Video Bicycle (a similar attraction found its way into the Life pavilion later), a Driving Machine focused on fuel efficiency, and a Hundred Watt bulb that you could power yourself using a friction crank, solar cells and various terminals that presented information about Energy creation.
Stargate Restaurant (now Electric Umbrella, I believe). Beverage Base was rolled up into that as well, I believe.
Centorium - The shop...but two stories back then.
West
West served less as a gateway to the ecological sciences of it's side, but it was still presentation based around tech (not a line of Xbox and Playstations, a fire video game, a boring IBM Monolith exhibit and a game about how to save and invest money...even though I love my Piggy Banks, they don't belong in Communicore necessarily!)
West had...
Futurecom with the Information Fountain, Age of Information, a Microchip demonstration, the Intelligent Network was a fiber map of the US (imagine a map of the INTERNET using Akamai technologies!), Teleconferencing.
Expo Robotics had robots that would either sketch a picture of you or would airbrush t-shirts that you could buy.
It also had Outreach that would talk about future plans and concepts, and the Teacher Center which had educational materials. Most of that space is basically closed to the public or is a meet and greet now.
So, all that said...as you pass through the "gateway" that was Communicore to EPCOT East or West, you were taken into a smaller story.
East was about hard sciences. Energy production was how we have, do and would power our SSE in the future.
I'll skip over Horizons for a moment...because it should be the LAST ride you do in Futureworld, but I'll get into that in a few lines.
World of Motion was about how, like we learned the impact and importance of communication in SSE, Transit is equally as important.
Now, considering the old rides used to take about 30 - 45 minutes AFTER waits, it was time to munch. So, we come to Odyssey. Nothing special here, but it could be revived to be something special.
So, you make your way over to the Life Sciences (for lack of a better term) side.
The Sea introduces you to the wonders of 3/4 of our earth, and how, like space, it's just as much a new frontier for us to expand, responsibly, into and harness for the betterment of humanity and our SSE (seeing a trend here?)
The Land does the same with the remaining 1/4 of our earth, and it's rather sad the ride has been cut down over the years. The reason why, as many put it, it looks like a food court shopping center is because it's supposed to be (imho) a celebration of ecological farming techniques and environmentally responsible, yet healthy, foods. I think it should go back to that (a celebration of food). Sourin' is neat, but doesn't fit with the current movie. And the Lion King movie is a joke. Entertaining, but it's also darkly amusing that it's about the ecological destruction caused by a destination amusement park / resort complex.
They also could add more exhibits showing the ecological initiatives of WDW, it would do well to take up the walls upstairs which are bland...
But, back to the "story".
So, so far we've explored all aspects of our SSE. We've seen how communication is what separates man from beast (I use that loosely), we've seen how we are able to harness energy and transit to improve our world. We've been informed how important taking care of the two main parts of our earth "our Land and our Sea" can be properly harnessed, but must also be cared for.
So, what's left? How do we get to the "great big beautiful tomorrow?"
Imagination. That was the role it played in the story. You have to think outside the box. And, no question is stupid unless it is one not asked. And, it did this in a whimsical way that reached out to dreamers and doers (and future ones) alike.
But, that leaves the opus. Once we've applied all we learned through these pavilions, once we consider their message, what does our future look like?
And, that's where Horizons comes in. If we can dream it, we can do it. History has shown it, and out future is bright if we choose to make it bright. (oddly, the core message of the Tomorrowland movie, and why I linked it yesterday).
From this point, it's time to transition and celebrate who we are embarking on this grand journey with.
And, that's the message of World Showcase.
Anyhow, I've gone on long enough...but, I think if they embraced this story again, and brought it back to the forefront, it would help "fix" EPCOT.
Sorry so long!
