Then and Now - WDW Comparison Photos

marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
What is different today is Communicore. That is were new items and prototypes of possible future technology was showcased and set the tone for the entire park. Horizons, at least at the time, was about the only one that primarily focused on the possibilities of the future. Let's look at it. Starting with Spaceship Earth... Almost all the history of communication up to the time that was currently the present with a dissertation about how much further this was going to go, but, not with a lot of specifics until the technology actually did exist. Then, World of Energy.. nothing more then Exxon talking about how great they were at making life better for all of us by telling us where fossil fuels came from and how they are obtained today. Wonders of Life... No future unless you thought we really would be shrunk down to microscopic size and sailed through the bloodstream to fix internal problems (in other words just an entertainment Sci Fi show) or Cranium command another interesting show but dealt with how things work, not how they will work. That along with current ways of keeping fit or explaining how the body works. Horizon... I already covered as being mostly futuristic. World of Motion... a funny look at the history of transportation ending in a line of current GM vehicles and perhaps a concept car to look at on the way out. The Seas... A great representation about the importance of the seas and some of the things that we were learning about how we are connected to the sea and how it affects us now. The Land... not a lot of emphasis on the future at all. Almost everything presented were presently current technologies, even with the boat ride that seemed futuristic to those of us that hadn't seen how it worked, it was still actually actively used methods, just not by regular folk. Imagination... A wonderful show, especially the beginning of Journey, but, quickly sent us to what Imagination currently had given us and a vague promise of what is still ahead. The only thing that one might possibly call futuristic was Capt. EO and seriously, that was just another musical Sci Fi movie. All other displays were current technology in entertainment mode.

Most of the feel of futuristic came from the association with the name. EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow), but it wasn't like that except in pieces of Communicore in my memory. The name was a tribute to Walt. Now that is not to say that what was there wasn't great because it was, but, it never really was what it was advertised as except in our minds.
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Let's agree to differ with your airbrushed version of the parks past :D
 
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Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Let's agree to differ with your airbrushed version of the parks past.
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That is what I remember of it... what is different through your eyes? Remember I also capsulized for space, but, essentially that is what I actually experienced at those attractions, not what the background might have been, the thinking might have been or what the intent might have been. I had no way of knowing those and had to go by my first impression and you only get one of those. If I forgot crucial details, then refresh my memory, because other then the more extensive space scene on SSE, I remember nothing that stood out as future (other then Horizons). Since I didn't have the extensive historical background on the parks that you have, I would have to guess that the vast majority of the guests didn't either and therefore might explain the decline of popularity that the park experienced. I still liked it, a lot, but, by the late 80's I had pretty much tired of the message. I also generally think that it was creatively better then what we have today and the fact that in that vain Disney lagged so far behind creatively, that they went from being the innovator into the not even trying to catch up with the world mode.
 
S

Sonic Sunglasses

Well-Known Member
MinnieM123 said:
For once, I think I actually like the newer version better than the previous one. (I still haven't seen any of this in person, but from your photos, I think the silver/blue colors blend in nicely with the Tomorrowland theme.)
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I have to agree. The new colour scheme feels more "otherworldly" whereas the previous look felt more like part of Thunder Mountain had wandered off to Tomorrowland to have a peek.
 
invader

invader

Well-Known Member
WDWtraveler said:
Thirty-first photo pairs: Here are three additional photo pairs before and after the Tomorrowland rock re-painting.

Then: July 2016. Bridge entrance to Tomorrowland.

View attachment 180090

Now: Nov 2016.

View attachment 180091

Then: July 2016. Close-up of rocks on left side of bridge, between Stitch's Great Escape and Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. The trees and vegetation on the right side of the photo are on the "island" under the center of the bridge.

View attachment 180092

Now: Nov 2016. Much of the vegetation has been removed and replanted. The trees and bushes on the "island" under the center of the bridge were removed when this photo was taken in November 2016.

View attachment 180093

Then: July 2016.

View attachment 180094

Now: Nov 2016.

View attachment 180095
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Meh...
tomorrowlandfrontbefore.jpg
 
WDWtraveler

WDWtraveler

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thirty-second photo pair. Then: February 2009. Downtown Disney West Side. This was before Splitsville. The balcony was part of the Virgin Record Store.

IMG_0276 Feb 2009.JPG


Now: January 2017. Obviously, Splitsville occupies this building. The two tall palms next to Wolfgang Puck's outdoor dining area are gone now. Although the Splitsville sign obscures the elevated train track behind it, you can see the pavement has been changed to reflect that addition. Wolfgang Puck's building is a different paint color.
28 Jan no 2 2017.JPG
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Thanks for the latest photo pair. Looks like the House of Blues (the part above the awning area, that shows the name) is also a different color now (more brown, versus a reddish brown back in 2009). I think both are o.k.

I kinda like the yellow for Wolfgang Puck's in the earlier photo, though. Looks a bit more cheery, IMO. Not sure why they removed the 2 palm trees, in the present photo.
 
Launchpad McQuack

Launchpad McQuack

Well-Known Member
I agree that the new Tomorrowland paint job looks better than the Frontierland look of the old paint. Also, we were pushing our one year old daughter around in the stroller a couple weeks ago, and she kept pointing to the blue Tomorrowland rocks saying "Elsa's castle!" so we got an added attraction for her out of it.
 

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