I have read many times over the years (and extremely frequently of late) that technological advancement moves at a pace too fast for the original concept of Future World to work. I would like to present a rebuttal.
Disclaimer: At no point will I argue that Future World could have been kept current while spending $0. At no point will I argue that Future World could be designed in anyway to make it a "set it and forget it" proposition. At no point will I argue that pavilions should never be changed/rebuilt/re-themed etc., I only argue that keeping them current is not impossible. With (at least some of) the potential straw-men out of he way...
General Premise: Many of the pavilions were designed in such a way that there was a strong focus on history (knowing where you've been helps you to know where you're going) that would rarely need to be tweaked. In addition, the main "future" scenes of many pavilions still have not been realized. While the rides/movies would need to be updated, the general theme is almost timeless. In addition, the rate of monumental change (while more rapid than in the past) is hardly break-neck.
Pavilion by Pavilion Analysis
Spaceship Earth/Communicore/Innoventions: I have lumped these together for ease, and also because there has actually been at least limited success in the attempts to keep them current. Spaceship Earth is primarily a historical review, so it has aged rather well. While it can be argued that the updates have had varying value, they have managed to keep the displays of technology more or less up to date. This has been somewhat simplified because the attraction was designed so that most of the ride is a look back, and the exit into the Communicore/Innoventions plaza area was designed to be the showcase of more cutting-edge stuff.
It is that area that ages very quickly and must be carefully curated to ensure it stays relevant. Most would agree that this has mostly been a failure. However, the failure has not been due to impossibility. Every year, CES and other expos do exactly what Innoventions was built to do, so the concept can succeed. Why we haven't seen demonstrations of automated drones delivering packages, 3D printing and other technological showcasing is not because it can't be done.
Universe of Energy: This one is structurally one of the easiest to have kept current. It was built as a set of movies book-ending a large diorama. Until fossil fuels cease to play a large role in energy production, the dinosaurs will not be out of date. Updating movies to reflect technological advancements in energy (which moves significantly slower then, say, communication) is far from impossible.
Wonders of Life: While a little late to the game, this pavilion was incredibly modular. Almost all of the exhibits/movies could easily be swapped out. The simulator could be changed as well. Cranium Command would probably be the most difficult to update, but even that is a timeless concept, so it wouldn't have to be a complete rebuild. If anything, we are more concerned about "health" now than when it opened.
Horizons: Once again, this attraction began with a look back, which isn't going to need much refreshing. We still haven't achieved anything close to Brava Centauri or Sea Castle. An argument could be made that we have made some significant advances in desert agriculture, but still not to the level of automation depicted in Mesa Verde. Admittedly, micro-processors (as an amazing feat as it is) are not cutting-edge enough that they need to be marveled at on an OMNIMAX, but again, it's just a movie. The futures presented in Horizons have not been eclipsed, even with our rapid advancement.
World of Motion: This ride was almost entirely a history lesson. The primary technological showcasing came during the post-show. The post-shows were designed to be swapped out with different concept cars and what not. Even decades later, manufacturing robots are still evolving and many people haven't seen them up close, so you could make an argument that some of the old parts could even be kept and just slightly updated. That is all far from impossible.
Imagination: Nothing should need to be said about this. Imagination is the root of all advancement and is inherently timeless. If we were to ride the original today, we might expect better animatronics or lighting, but thematically, nothing would be dated. People still daydream about theater, science, nature, etc.
The Land: This pavilion is probably the closest to its original state as any of them and has again aged fairly well. The boat ride just needs updated spiels to match updates to the greenhouse and lab and it will stay current indefinitely. Changing out the movie showing in the theater is again not an impossible task.
The Living Seas: I'm not sure what could be considered dated about the concept of a seabase, we still don't have them. Aside from stating that we've spent more time on the moon than at the extreme depths of the ocean (which may still be true, I don't know) I don't think anything about ocean technology has outpaced the presentation of the pavilion. Obviously there is room for updates about cool discoveries and new species (exactly what the module design of the seabase is suited for) and those things would be awesome, but I don't think that technology has left the Living Seas concept in the dust.
Conclusion: Overall, the pavilions seem designed to be able to handle technological advancement very well. The primary rides of each pavilion are mostly history lessons and serve to set the mood for further exploration of the topic. That further exploration is closer to where the attraction meets current technology, but almost exclusively took place in post-shows and side attractions within pavilions. The futures displayed have, for the most part, still not been achieved. The technology on display is about huge leaps forward and important milestones. Technology moves fast, but not that fast. The internet certainly needs to be included in an attraction about communication, but the internet continuing to get faster doesn't really reach the same level as its creation.
Pavilions need to be updated to reflect groundbreaking technologies, not the update of the latest iPhone. Keeping the original pavilion designs on pace with true milestones would not have been impossible.
Disclaimer: At no point will I argue that Future World could have been kept current while spending $0. At no point will I argue that Future World could be designed in anyway to make it a "set it and forget it" proposition. At no point will I argue that pavilions should never be changed/rebuilt/re-themed etc., I only argue that keeping them current is not impossible. With (at least some of) the potential straw-men out of he way...
General Premise: Many of the pavilions were designed in such a way that there was a strong focus on history (knowing where you've been helps you to know where you're going) that would rarely need to be tweaked. In addition, the main "future" scenes of many pavilions still have not been realized. While the rides/movies would need to be updated, the general theme is almost timeless. In addition, the rate of monumental change (while more rapid than in the past) is hardly break-neck.
Pavilion by Pavilion Analysis
Spaceship Earth/Communicore/Innoventions: I have lumped these together for ease, and also because there has actually been at least limited success in the attempts to keep them current. Spaceship Earth is primarily a historical review, so it has aged rather well. While it can be argued that the updates have had varying value, they have managed to keep the displays of technology more or less up to date. This has been somewhat simplified because the attraction was designed so that most of the ride is a look back, and the exit into the Communicore/Innoventions plaza area was designed to be the showcase of more cutting-edge stuff.
It is that area that ages very quickly and must be carefully curated to ensure it stays relevant. Most would agree that this has mostly been a failure. However, the failure has not been due to impossibility. Every year, CES and other expos do exactly what Innoventions was built to do, so the concept can succeed. Why we haven't seen demonstrations of automated drones delivering packages, 3D printing and other technological showcasing is not because it can't be done.
Universe of Energy: This one is structurally one of the easiest to have kept current. It was built as a set of movies book-ending a large diorama. Until fossil fuels cease to play a large role in energy production, the dinosaurs will not be out of date. Updating movies to reflect technological advancements in energy (which moves significantly slower then, say, communication) is far from impossible.
Wonders of Life: While a little late to the game, this pavilion was incredibly modular. Almost all of the exhibits/movies could easily be swapped out. The simulator could be changed as well. Cranium Command would probably be the most difficult to update, but even that is a timeless concept, so it wouldn't have to be a complete rebuild. If anything, we are more concerned about "health" now than when it opened.
Horizons: Once again, this attraction began with a look back, which isn't going to need much refreshing. We still haven't achieved anything close to Brava Centauri or Sea Castle. An argument could be made that we have made some significant advances in desert agriculture, but still not to the level of automation depicted in Mesa Verde. Admittedly, micro-processors (as an amazing feat as it is) are not cutting-edge enough that they need to be marveled at on an OMNIMAX, but again, it's just a movie. The futures presented in Horizons have not been eclipsed, even with our rapid advancement.
World of Motion: This ride was almost entirely a history lesson. The primary technological showcasing came during the post-show. The post-shows were designed to be swapped out with different concept cars and what not. Even decades later, manufacturing robots are still evolving and many people haven't seen them up close, so you could make an argument that some of the old parts could even be kept and just slightly updated. That is all far from impossible.
Imagination: Nothing should need to be said about this. Imagination is the root of all advancement and is inherently timeless. If we were to ride the original today, we might expect better animatronics or lighting, but thematically, nothing would be dated. People still daydream about theater, science, nature, etc.
The Land: This pavilion is probably the closest to its original state as any of them and has again aged fairly well. The boat ride just needs updated spiels to match updates to the greenhouse and lab and it will stay current indefinitely. Changing out the movie showing in the theater is again not an impossible task.
The Living Seas: I'm not sure what could be considered dated about the concept of a seabase, we still don't have them. Aside from stating that we've spent more time on the moon than at the extreme depths of the ocean (which may still be true, I don't know) I don't think anything about ocean technology has outpaced the presentation of the pavilion. Obviously there is room for updates about cool discoveries and new species (exactly what the module design of the seabase is suited for) and those things would be awesome, but I don't think that technology has left the Living Seas concept in the dust.
Conclusion: Overall, the pavilions seem designed to be able to handle technological advancement very well. The primary rides of each pavilion are mostly history lessons and serve to set the mood for further exploration of the topic. That further exploration is closer to where the attraction meets current technology, but almost exclusively took place in post-shows and side attractions within pavilions. The futures displayed have, for the most part, still not been achieved. The technology on display is about huge leaps forward and important milestones. Technology moves fast, but not that fast. The internet certainly needs to be included in an attraction about communication, but the internet continuing to get faster doesn't really reach the same level as its creation.
Pavilions need to be updated to reflect groundbreaking technologies, not the update of the latest iPhone. Keeping the original pavilion designs on pace with true milestones would not have been impossible.
Technology does move too fast! You replace one new idea, and then less than a year later there's a new idea to replace it ( Apple products especially and cell phones!)
