The brutal truth of where EPCOT is headed...

[FettFan]

You must've missed this little beauty...

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Wait so they're evicting the Phoenicians in favor of Moana?

 

[Beacon Joe]

TDO doesn't see the guest as a future producer, but as a current consumer.

Dang, that's a heck of an accurate summary.

Late 80s / early 90s EPCOT played more of a role in my eventual educational and career path than anything else.

 

[ColdSarsaparilla]

Wait so they're evicting the Phoenicians in favor of Moana?

I don’t think we know where in the ride Moana will take residence, but, as Chapek says, “more Disney.”

 

[danlb_2000]

It's not discussing its whining. Would you like some cheese.

The op's post is far from whining, It's a very well written an thoughtful assessment of the past, present and future of the parks.

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I hope the next “redo”, years down the road, will be to do Epcot over and Revive the originals. Go retro, so to speak. Ah, a girl can dream.

 

[NickPytlinski]

Everything has to move on and evolve, even if it is to suit the more recent consumers.. im sure epcot taught us this.
i dont mind the change. something new

 

[eliza61nyc]

Ho

The change in Epcot is just one part of how Disney's attitude towards its guests has changed.
In its prime, Epcot Center was about the guests being presented scenarios that were going to change the way we would live and work in the future.
Key word there: "WORK".

I hold Horizons to be the key attraction.... by tying the themes of all the other pavilions together, Horizons was essentially the heart of Future World, and showed how we would be working and producing for ourselves utilizing the newest advancements in technology.
We saw desert farming with the help of robotic harvesters and genetic manipulation, underwater schools and communities that focused on kelp harvesting and underwater research, and both mining and crystal growing in space.

Epcot as originally envisioned wanted to show the guests where they would be going.



Current Epcot doesn't really give a spit of where you're going....just as long as you browse the gift shop before you leave.
TDO doesn't see the guest as a future producer, but as a current consumer.

I think we can also see shades of this in the Imagination Pavilion....the original ride was about exploring the products of the imagination.....visual arts, performing arts, literature, mathematics, and science.
Modern Imagination presents three of the five senses, before playing the song over and over and presenting you with fifty animatronic Figments before going to browse and buy Figment merchandise in a Diet Cola version of the Imageworks.

Because that's what we are. this economy is based on "consumerism". we left any other model behind decades ago.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Ho


Because that's what we are. this economy is based on "consumerism". we left any other model behind decades ago.

Did any of the Horizons fans on this website not notice the none-too-subtle point that the future was being brought to you by amazing new GE consumer products? Marketing tie-ins were a huge part of original Epcot (Kodak, AT&T, General Motors, Exon Mobile, Kraft, GE) and even the original Tomorrowland in California (ie, look up "Monsanto House of the Future). If anything, Disney has toned down the sponsor marketing over the years.

 

[The_Jobu]

It is a sad state of affairs, but the silver lining is that the legacy of epcot forces them to at least pay lip-service to the ideas that made it such a special and unique park. Without that, they would love to just rip it up and turn it into IP Bonanza Land (more so...).

 

[JustAFan]

At the risk of sounding rude and minimizing other's opinions (which is absolutely not my intent), I'll just say that if there is any park that would be more susceptible by change by definition, it would be Epcot. Epcot has never been what Walt imagined (not sure that would've worked anyway), but they have had plenty of elements that encourage experiment, exploration, education, etc. They still have those. I understand MK purists, even AK and HS purists I guess, but Epcot should change. If it stays true to it name, it's experimental and of tomorrow. Expect change. Of course, we romanticize the past, but Epcot shouldn't stay stuck in the past, in theory or application.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

EPCOT Center jumped the shark long ago... Everything in this pictures sums it up nicely:

 

[DryerLintFan]

I welcome IPs in EPCOT, especially if they can help kids explore the world. If Nemo gets kids excited enough about sea life that they want to take a break from theme park rides to check out an aquarium, all the better. I think if they do this well, it can be amazing.

Beats just walking around shopping in an international mall.

 

[ppet]

There are only two states you can be in growing/changing or dead/dying. I'll take growing changing any day. With that said I'll probably shed a tear at the passing of SSE. That is my favorite ride in all four parks.

 

[ppet]

The announced changes to SSE don’t imply a massive rebuild.... it sounds like tweaking and modernizing to me with the same ride system, same track, but with reimagined scenes and dialogue.... which sounds great IMHO.

I fear what those tweaks might be. probably because of my lack of faith in the current group. But please let Rome continue to burn. That smell says I'm at WDW better than just about anything else. Not including Dole Whip

 

[StarshipDisney]

I just believe they need to change the name. There is nothing "Experimental"; "Prototype"; "Community"; or "Tomorrow" about where this park is headed.

 

[po1998]

P.S. there WILL be more World Showcase Pavilions... the (mistake) tweet from the University that announced their alumnus was traveling to Brazil to recruit staff for Disney gave that away...

I haven't followed the Brazil Pavilion thread closely, but why would any Brazilians be recruited now, for a pavilion that is probably at least 3 years away?

 

[FQL]

EPCOT CENTER was a place that inspired and informed all who chose to visit there. I miss the inspiring, and if we can dream it we can do it atmosphere. EPCOT was a special place, and now it will be just another theme park. I had hoped that EPCOT would return to its former glory, but now its officially dead. The new EPCOT will have beautiful new additions and wonderful new restaurants and shops, but inspiration is no longer its core mission, the new mission is $12 beer and a luxury shopping mall.

 

[HansGruber]

I will say a lot of the interactive activities that you encounter upon ride exit are in complete disrepair.

My kid tried designing a virtual Figment and email it to himself via one of those terminals and we had to use 4 different terminals before we could find one with a properly working keyboard. The photo booth was broken. Half of the steering wheels are non-functioning on the racing games after Test-Track.

Sucks, I really enjoy those sort of things.

 

[Disstevefan1]

At least we can breath a sigh of relief that Chapek didn't shoehorn Coco into the Mexico Pavilion.

And they're leaving their dirty hands off of the Land pavilion and Spaceship Earth as far as we know, right? Right?

At D23 there was a big guitar leaning against the Mexico pavilion in the model (is this a hint Coco is coming?) . YES SSE will be down for a couple of years, it was just announced at D23.

I think (hope) the land is staying the same.

 

[Rupert901]

Epcot is headed the post 2014 California Adventure route: random non-cohesive IP park where the nominal theme is either entirely ignored or justified by the thinnest of pretexts (ie: some random Guardians of the Galaxy character mentioned Epcot in a comic book once therefore the GotG ride belongs in Epcot.)