Oh FFS.... its a **** theme park.
If Epcot was curing cancer, I might care more about this. Instead its a 2nd rate dark ride that is in dire need of repair as it is. Its short, has no story and a grand total of four scenes.
Righteous indignation aside, I'm done caring. People are selfish. They only want the parks in their own image.
And fwiw World Showcase Players, one of the original shows at Epcot, closes on Thursday 9/25.
Sure, Epcot is just a theme park, but it is a theme park which once aspired to loftier goals than just amusement rides or even the themed environments of the Magic Kingdom. The loss of Maelstrom
and the long-time entertainment are
both travesties which further compromise what's left of the park's original purpose. Indeed, both events occurring so close together just reinforces the extent of the decline.
People keep asking where all the love for Maelstrom was before the announced/rumored closure, but it is equally valid to ask where all the criticism and poor opinions of the ride were before now, too. The general concensus seemed to be Maelstrom was a nice little ride in a World Showcase very much lacking in proper attractions; Posters certainly weren't loudly pronouncing its shortcomings to all who would listen. Every attraction probably has its fans, and you would expect them to stand up for a personal favorite which is endangered, but much of the criticism - even where accurate - is misplaced. It is, as you state, in too many ways a "second rate dark ride", has always been much too short, and begs a refurbishment. But that's not the point.
The real problem lies in what is to replace Maelstrom - Frozen, set in a fictional country amongst the nations of the Earth in World Showcase. That has absolutely nothing to do with the relative merits of the Maelstrom attraction or what any of us think of it personally, nor anyone's opinion on what direction park development should take; The thematic inappropriateness of Frozen in Norway is based on a standard set by Disney itself back in 1982. If the attraction were being shuttered to construct a new Norwegian boat ride on the scale of the Western River Expedition, I doubt there would be nearly the debate.
I just like the improv comedy. Its the one thing that can watch at Epcot that will always make me laugh.
Beyond that, it would take a lot of beer to explain the thought processes. Mostly the abhorant hypocrisy of the epcot fanboiz that are bemoaning this change but are perfectly fine with cutting original entertainment that have been here since Day 1. (WSP & Fife/Drum)
What irritates me is that it seems like everyone is cranky because the changes Disney is proposing doesnt fit their vision of what this theme park should be. People rally around the cries of original Future World attractions like Horizons, WOM, Imag part 1, and scream ad nauseum about cutting original things but when it comes to Entertainment, they have no problem with it. There appears to be a giant double standard with that part of the fanbase and it just irritates the hell out of me.
There any many of us, I believe, who have a huge problem with the entertainment cuts - for a multi-billion dollar company, how much money can they really save changing a few entertainment groups in a theme park? It's a ludicrous way to manage such a successful enterprise. Granted, Maelstrom has sort of stolen the thunder, and while I'm sure there are some posters who don't care about either (the level of ambivalence in this country is scary - on far more important topics!), that doesn't make the cuts in entertainment any more palatable. The general decline in standards, and management practices which often seem hilariously out of touch, is just appalling.
(And by new, I mean joined since the the Adventurers Club/Comedy Warehouse were shut down--which is pushing 6 years, so a lot of you probably missed that Internet meltdown. But it makes the current EPCOT situation look like nothing.)
