What In The World Is Going on at HS and EPCOT?

[jensenrick]

As many of you know by my posts here, I am one of the biggest Disney apologists we have. I know I am extremely Disney biased and I'm OK with that. I know most of you are too because you understand why I love the parks so much.

With that out of the way, I was just at Disney last week for 8 days. We had a wonderful time and stayed at Kidani Village in a Villa. For $900/night, I'm not sure on the value and I had some disappointments, but overall it was nice.

Now, on to HS and EPCOT. I remember a lot of stuff being unused, closed, or essentially abondeded, but can you guys help me get a list together of all the closed/unused buildings at EPCOT/HS?

My god, HS looks like a ghost town and it's sad. Building after building, nothing.

EPCOT was more status quo, but it seemed like so much was just dead. It just saddens me to see them allow two parks to whither away while they execute their "big plans."

I have to say, although being perhaps the biggest Disney supporter I know, I am disappointed with HS and EPCOT.

Help me out here:

EPCOT Closed/Not Consistently Used:

• Wonders of Life Pavilion (I don't count special events...it's nothing like it was before)
• Odyssey Restaurant
• Upstairs Imagination Pavilion
• Captain EO's old theater (Some promo Tomorrowland placeholder there now, I consider not utilized)

DHS Closed/Unused

• Backlot Tour
• Building to the right of TSMM (used to be Pirates show)
• Sounds Dangerous building
• American Idol Experience building
• There is another building to the left as you are facing TSMM, help me remember that? Abandoned.
• Streets of New York (let's be real, waste of space...ghost town)

What am I forgetting?

I'd argue DHS is half utilized right now. Between Streets of New York and the closed buildings, it's just an absolute disappointment.

We had a great time with what was there, but WDW seems to be in a state of transition.

What about that theater in the back of SoA that used to show Hunchback, do you count that? Cuz I do.

 

[Chef Mickey]

What about that theater in the back of SoA that used to show Hunchback, do you count that? Cuz I do.

Throw that in as well. With the recent announcement of Toy Story and Star Wars, we can see light at the end of the tunnel for HS. But boy, they took their sweet time and with no timetable, who knows if we'll get it before 2020.

 

[Hockey89]

Ok I have only been to Disney once, and it was with my HS orchestra who performed at Epcot. You all present so much negativity on these boards it makes me feel that our first trip to Disney as a family won't be worth it. It's not just this thread...so much negativity other threads as well. It's fine you all can express your opinions, that's what these boards are for. My kids have never been, (my wife has been multiple times as a young kid), and we have quite a bit of funds invested in this trip...But now I am second guessing myself everyday with these negative threads on here......Well we will definitely go, and I hope you all are wrong. I hope we all have a magical time. It's just now im not so sure we will....

I often find in life you only find things wrong when you look for them. Stop looking so hard?

You will have fun and I always have fun.... Went a ton as a child through HS and took some time off. Been 4-5 times over the past few years and still loved it. BUT They really need to work on Epcot and MGM(HS)... MGM is a half day park now....So is animal kingdom and frankly I can do Epcot in 3/4 of a day.... They just need to add more stuff for people that go often...I'm taken a break for 4-5 years with hope all these changes happen...

 

[blueboxdoctor]

To be fair, Hollywood Studios is getting a major redesign and new, themed areas, so they are addressing the issues there (though I do agree there are way too many empty buildings/areas and it's even more dead at night when the shows stop playing).

EPCOT, specifically Future World, has been a major issue for me for a while now. So many abandoned/empty and under utilized buildings. Even things that are open feel abandoned (that purple dragon ride thing is basically just existing at this point and Innoventions is as far from innovative as possible, and as a result, is completely empty).

As you noted, Hollywood Studios is in transition, as is Animal Kingdom, so they are making progress and I can forgive them for a few years of construction. EPCOT, that park just needs to be used. There's a ton of space, each attraction in Future World feels far too far apart with nothing to do as you walk between them. Which is a shame, since I do enjoy the aquarium and going on that boat ride through the greenhouses (but it would be nice if someone other than GM was involved with Test Track, I find zero enjoyment looking at a Chevy other than it further confirms my decision not to buy one). At least we have the World Showcase, which I still enjoy (usually go to it two or three times when I'm down there).

 

[danyoung56]

Back in the olden days, when the immortal Al Lutz was writing on USENET, he was bemoaning the sad state of Disneyland - closed attractions, rude CM's, bad maintenance and cleanliness, etc. I had grown up in DL as a SoCal boy, but after a move in high school to Idaho I of course didn't get there very often. These articles on USENET were really disturbing me, and I almost didn't want to visit DL on our next family vacation. We did, anyway, and you know what we found? Main Street was still Main Street, the attractions rocked, the characters entertained - in short, it was every bit as magical as it was when I was younger.

Those who visit much more often will usually be the ones having a hard time with any property (and this is not just restricted to Disney parks, either!). When you visit you'll find that everything is just as cool as you remembered it. Are there problems? Of course. Are buildings shut down, attractions closed, maybe a bit of paint curling up? Yeah. But will you still find enough of the magic to make your vacation a fun one? Absolutely!

 

[Baltar]

I must say that the lumberjack show is the worst show ever added to Epcot lol. Losing off kilter for that crap was terrible. Almost as bad as losing the World Showcase Players.

 

[KikoKea]

HS is still worth visiting, but to be honest we only spend half a day there. RnRRC, ToT, Star Tours, and maybe cool off in the Muppets show. With the new areas opening eventually, it will be a terrific park. Sadly, for the moment, it is not.

 

[Mickey5150]

I always find it amazing how people always want to find problems with WDW and want to complain about it. Walt Disney World is a vacation and it is a 100 times better place to be than the reality I have to live in. Rather then spending so much time looking for problems, realize you are on vacation and learn how to enjoy yourself. The more time spent looking for the negative the bigger the impact on your attitude. Smile, it's Disney.

 

[KikoKea]

I always find it amazing how people always want to find problems with WDW and want to complain about it. Walt Disney World is a vacation and it is a 100 times better place to be than the reality I have to live in. Rather then spending so much time looking for problems, realize you are on vacation and learn how to enjoy yourself. The more time spent looking for the negative the bigger the impact on your attitude. Smile, it's Disney.

When families save for months or even years and spend thousands of dollars to visit WDW, I think they are entitled to their opinion about the value of their experience, both good and bad. Not only that, they are entitled to share it with others, just as you shared your opinion.

As for " Rather then spending so much time looking for problems, realize you are on vacation and learn how to enjoy yourself," nearly everyone on this thread has gone to WDW and is planning a return trip. If they did not enjoy themselves there, they would never plan and save to go back. Just because we feel changes would benefit HS, or "complain" as you see it, it does not mean that we do not enjoy it. And, it seems that the WDC also sees the need to make changes at HS- many changes, in fact. They must agree with us!

And, yes, we love WDW- and DL, too! In fact, we are planning trips to every overseas Disney park in our coming retirement and are planning to move to the Orlando area where we can soak up as much Disney magic as we possibly can, smiling the whole time!