lebeau
Well-Known Member
True. It has some very limited educational value. More than Soarin', but that's not saying much.
And that's fine. I'm not claiming Epcot needs to be educational. But let's not pretend like it's something it's not.
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Was EPCOT Center really boring?
- Thread starter comics101
- Start date
True. It has some very limited educational value. More than Soarin', but that's not saying much.
And that's fine. I'm not claiming Epcot needs to be educational. But let's not pretend like it's something it's not.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Now we are 100% on the same page!
muse1983
Well-Known Member
Walt would have been dissapointed in EPCOT from day one merely because it wasnt what he had envisioned.
Look, I am a child of the 80's and I loved Horizons, World of Motion etc but I sometimes find some of the complaints on here to be simply people who hate it when their childhood is tampered with. I can agree to a certain extent but we all must remember that with time things have to progress and change for new generations. If it was up to some of the people on the forums Epcot would still be a park full of nothing but 80's technology and dated (to todays generation...yes that would still be awesome to us) attractions. Sure, Epcot isn't exactly moving at lightspeed and I would love for it to portray more of it's original vision but I see a light at the end of the tunnel here and am hoping that more love will be shown to the park in the next 10 years.
Look, I am a child of the 80's and I loved Horizons, World of Motion etc but I sometimes find some of the complaints on here to be simply people who hate it when their childhood is tampered with. I can agree to a certain extent but we all must remember that with time things have to progress and change for new generations. If it was up to some of the people on the forums Epcot would still be a park full of nothing but 80's technology and dated (to todays generation...yes that would still be awesome to us) attractions. Sure, Epcot isn't exactly moving at lightspeed and I would love for it to portray more of it's original vision but I see a light at the end of the tunnel here and am hoping that more love will be shown to the park in the next 10 years.
MansionGoer13z
Active Member
Not ashamed but most likely disappointed with what became of future world. However, I do think he would love the World Showcase.
To kids of today it would seem it.
Back in the day, no. Expansion and attendance figures back this up.
Back in the hey day, imagine a park with Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Everest and Splash Mountain. Throw in Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Indiana Jones adventure and you`ll get some idea how reveloutionary the rides were.
Back in the day, no. Expansion and attendance figures back this up.
Back in the hey day, imagine a park with Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Everest and Splash Mountain. Throw in Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Indiana Jones adventure and you`ll get some idea how reveloutionary the rides were.
ElvisMickey
Well-Known Member
For me, it was never boring. I'm more bored with Future World now than I was at 7 years old back in the 80's. Loved Spaceship Earth, Horizons, World Of Motion. Granted, I've grown up to be someone who likes to learn, to read about history, stuff like that. So maybe my interest in those things started at a young age. I love old EPCOT. Still love EPCOT in general, but definitely miss the older attractions. However for little kids or adults who have no interest in learning, history, culture...I can see how EPCOT may bore them.
It used to be my favorite park. Now I find that I actual resent what it has become whenever I'm there. I don't go nearly as often as I used to because of it. Who wants to be equal parts sad/angry when they are on vacation?
To answer the question about "What would Walt think?" ... it's my personal opinion that most Disneyphiles automatically associate whatever they think, themselves, to what they assume Walt would have thought. And with that self-reflection understood, I think Walt would have loved the original Future World and would now walk around the park saying "Why is that closed?" and "How did that change improve upon the overall themeing of the land?" and "Is this even the 'communication' pavilion anymore?"
To answer the question about "What would Walt think?" ... it's my personal opinion that most Disneyphiles automatically associate whatever they think, themselves, to what they assume Walt would have thought. And with that self-reflection understood, I think Walt would have loved the original Future World and would now walk around the park saying "Why is that closed?" and "How did that change improve upon the overall themeing of the land?" and "Is this even the 'communication' pavilion anymore?"
googilycub
Active Member
Yes, yes it was.....To quote Homer Simpson as he is in an airplane landing over Epcot, "it is even boring to fly over"
blueboxdoctor
Well-Known Member
Well, answering the first question, the park is half boring. There is basically a ton of open area in the front with a few things scattered here and there. As someone else said, test track is an giant advertisement that's somewhat dated. The center building, think it's Innovations, isn't all that innovative, and they seem to struggle in keeping it up to date. What they should really do is get companies to have their own areas in it so they can supply it with their most current products.
The Land isn't bad, and it has Soaring which is neat. The clam ride in the aquarium is simply boring, and if you have to wait in its giant line you will be disappointed (so just walk in the gift shop exit to skip it). There are a few other things in the front that some people may like, they're just not my thing. Oh, and the big, unused building next to test track I'm sure they could open into something sort of interesting.
So the front of the park is rather boring, mainly because it's so large with little to do between each attraction.
The World Showcase is where EPCOT shines. Sure, the countries may not be fully authentic or whatever, but they are rather nice to walk through. I just suggest not eating in the French restaurant, it wasn't that good.
Ultimately, if you're going to EPCOT to be wowed by a "community of tomorrow" then you're out of luck. There is still plenty to do in the Showcase area that definitely makes it worth going to, and they cleverly make you at least walk through the front to get there.
The Land isn't bad, and it has Soaring which is neat. The clam ride in the aquarium is simply boring, and if you have to wait in its giant line you will be disappointed (so just walk in the gift shop exit to skip it). There are a few other things in the front that some people may like, they're just not my thing. Oh, and the big, unused building next to test track I'm sure they could open into something sort of interesting.
So the front of the park is rather boring, mainly because it's so large with little to do between each attraction.
The World Showcase is where EPCOT shines. Sure, the countries may not be fully authentic or whatever, but they are rather nice to walk through. I just suggest not eating in the French restaurant, it wasn't that good.
Ultimately, if you're going to EPCOT to be wowed by a "community of tomorrow" then you're out of luck. There is still plenty to do in the Showcase area that definitely makes it worth going to, and they cleverly make you at least walk through the front to get there.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
EPCOT Centre was the most awesome, exciting, fresh, stylish thing on the entire planet. It had a true 'WOW!' factor. In 1983 one looked at EPCOT the way one now looks at some developments in Dubai. The world's largest private construction site.
Not until the Oriental Land Company went all out with DisneySea did a non-castle park attract as many visitors as EPCOT did. To this day, for nearly three decades, the attendance figures of 1980s EPCOT Centre remain unmatched by any theme park anywhere in the world, except for the castle and Disneysea parks.
Not until the Oriental Land Company went all out with DisneySea did a non-castle park attract as many visitors as EPCOT did. To this day, for nearly three decades, the attendance figures of 1980s EPCOT Centre remain unmatched by any theme park anywhere in the world, except for the castle and Disneysea parks.
Crockett
Banned
^ I completely agree. Having visited 8 Disney parks across the globe, Epcot still remains entertaining and like none other. For those who truely appreciate innovation, culture, creativity, and are not afraid to learn a thing or two while on vacation...Epcot will never be a boring place to visit. If someone's idea of entertainment involves high-speed thrill princess fantasy with sprinkles on top and every ending is happily ever after, while learning is for losers...then they'd be better off keeping with other parks. (And making my wait for Soarin' that much shorter). :animwink:
Would Walt himself be disappointed with Epcot? I doubt it. Especially the original version of the park. Even though a theme park setting was never his idea for Epcot, I'm sure he'd find it acceptable. His original concept for Epcot was to be a community, not a theme park. Something along the lines of Celebration meets the Jetsons. But I don't see Walt raising too much of a fuss over what the park stands for.
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
Yes its always been crap. Education for morons.
ThinkTink721
Well-Known Member
Epcot is my kids' favorite park & they are ages 8 - 12.
Mine is still the MK!
:wave:
Mine is still the MK!
:wave:
JustInTime
Well-Known Member
Your theory has some holes in it. There was not a lot of non-castle Disney Parks prior to DisneySea anyway. And we still only have 5 non-castle parks.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
Non-castle parks before DisneySea
Epcot
Disney-MGM Studios
Animal Kingdom
DCA
Despite all of the problems that Epcot supposedly had, attendance I don't believe has ever dropped below MGM or Animal Kingdom.
Here is my take on it.
Some people go on vacation to NOT think, to have a relaxing vacation in a fantasy world, or caring about the real world. Also, that they have to take something away from a theme park attraction more than just a good time. Understandable.
There's also another thing that could have happened. Imagine that you're only visiting EPCOT Center once, say in 1984-85...your family hops on all of the Future World attractions:
Horizons
World of Motion
Spaceship Earth
Journey Into Imagination
Listen to the Land
All of them are slow moving "dark rides" with audio animatronics...picture being overrun by all of that in the morning and lets say you don't even get to communicore to check out the interactive games, and go to World Showcase afterward, those dark rides in the front of the park would probably all start to blend in together in your mind.
In other words, I think back in the day, it was more useful to have repeat rides to really get a feel for what you were seeing, and understand it more...more time to take it all in.
misterID
Well-Known Member
The one big thing that hurt EPCOT is that it didn't have a wide variety of rides. It didn't have a Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. Instead of creating thrill rides they decided to replace existing attractions and convert them into thrill rides, when they could have co-existed. EPCOT has lost a lot because of it. It wasn't a teen-friendly, thrill ride enthusiasts park by any stretch. AT ALL.
If they could have added a Space Mountain 2, like in Paris, it would have done a lot to help EPCOT's reputation as a "boring" park, or at least made it more appealing to teens. And before anyone misreads what I said, SM2 would have been in EPCOT and the original SM would stay in MK. Not moving or replacing the ride... originally DLP's SM2 was going to have a Horizons ride built with it.
And I don't buy that they would need big refurbs every 18 or so months. WOM wouldn't have needed big, constant refurbs, when it didn't really deal with the future at all, except the very end. And there was nothing dated about it. It was actually pretty inspiring.
Horizons could have used one huge refurb that could have really helped it for a decade or more. Again, technology never caught up with Horizons, like some people like to say, unless I've missed the news that people are now living in Space colonies and underwater cities. It could haven been more themed to SPACE and Jules Verne and wouldn't have lost anything. The OMNIMAX screens could have been updated to show anything. Yesterdays visions of the future was a great part of the ride, too.
The sad thing is, they still don't know what to do with EPCOT.
And the omnimover system was great. There was never a long wait, no matter how long the line was.
If they could have added a Space Mountain 2, like in Paris, it would have done a lot to help EPCOT's reputation as a "boring" park, or at least made it more appealing to teens. And before anyone misreads what I said, SM2 would have been in EPCOT and the original SM would stay in MK. Not moving or replacing the ride... originally DLP's SM2 was going to have a Horizons ride built with it.
And I don't buy that they would need big refurbs every 18 or so months. WOM wouldn't have needed big, constant refurbs, when it didn't really deal with the future at all, except the very end. And there was nothing dated about it. It was actually pretty inspiring.
Horizons could have used one huge refurb that could have really helped it for a decade or more. Again, technology never caught up with Horizons, like some people like to say, unless I've missed the news that people are now living in Space colonies and underwater cities. It could haven been more themed to SPACE and Jules Verne and wouldn't have lost anything. The OMNIMAX screens could have been updated to show anything. Yesterdays visions of the future was a great part of the ride, too.
The sad thing is, they still don't know what to do with EPCOT.
And the omnimover system was great. There was never a long wait, no matter how long the line was.
wdwfan4ver
Well-Known Member
I liked the old Epcot as a whole. I first went to WDW in 1991 as I was entering 7th grade later on in the same and I loved it the first I went there. The same thing was true with my younger brother in 1991. I came from a family that loves to learn. Not every one is like that.That is what the old EPCOT was. Most of the stuff from the old EPCOT the whole family enjoyed as I was growing up.
I remembered a lot of my classmates at the time didn't like EPCOT at the time my mom won a trip in 1991 and looked at WDW as whole at the time as boring. The closest thing EPCOT had for a thrill ride in 1991 was Body Wars and Mealstrom. People from my age group were entering the age of being on thrill rides and some already started going on them matter of fact. There was a Six Flags of America about 90 miles from where I live growing up. There was a bunch other problems beside thrill rides for people not liking EPCOT in 1991.
Part of the problem with the old EPCOT was some of the attractions or pavilions were subjects that were people don't like as whole in the United States. A lot of people didn't like History or geography in United States back when I was growing unlike me and it is true to this day. I came from a family that loved history growing up and it was odd at the time.
Health was another subject EPCOT touch on at the time for Wonders of Life and that subject wasn't taken seriously in school by a lot of students as whole. That was another problem.
I don't like EPCOT as much as I used to. World Showcase is still great, but Future World is mess in some ways. Test Track and Mission: Space were needed at the time. Wonders of Life turning into a convention center for meetings and other things isn't what that area should be used for in EPCOT. The only part of EPCOT Disney is concerned with seems to be World Showcase. Captain EO is only a short term answer by Disney because they don't what to replace Honey I shrink the Audience with. Imagination had been changed 2 times during the time Eisner lost his touch.
There had been new restaurants, and shops in the last year or so. This year, the store in China is getting a refurbishment.
I remembered a lot of my classmates at the time didn't like EPCOT at the time my mom won a trip in 1991 and looked at WDW as whole at the time as boring. The closest thing EPCOT had for a thrill ride in 1991 was Body Wars and Mealstrom. People from my age group were entering the age of being on thrill rides and some already started going on them matter of fact. There was a Six Flags of America about 90 miles from where I live growing up. There was a bunch other problems beside thrill rides for people not liking EPCOT in 1991.
Part of the problem with the old EPCOT was some of the attractions or pavilions were subjects that were people don't like as whole in the United States. A lot of people didn't like History or geography in United States back when I was growing unlike me and it is true to this day. I came from a family that loved history growing up and it was odd at the time.
Health was another subject EPCOT touch on at the time for Wonders of Life and that subject wasn't taken seriously in school by a lot of students as whole. That was another problem.
I don't like EPCOT as much as I used to. World Showcase is still great, but Future World is mess in some ways. Test Track and Mission: Space were needed at the time. Wonders of Life turning into a convention center for meetings and other things isn't what that area should be used for in EPCOT. The only part of EPCOT Disney is concerned with seems to be World Showcase. Captain EO is only a short term answer by Disney because they don't what to replace Honey I shrink the Audience with. Imagination had been changed 2 times during the time Eisner lost his touch.
There had been new restaurants, and shops in the last year or so. This year, the store in China is getting a refurbishment.