Will Epcot be pronounced dead soon?

[POLY LOVER]

I loved Epcot, the world showcase and education involved were always my favorite. But the main problem with Epcot is that its not making them any money, only during the festivals really. Not only that but Epcot doesnt have the sponsors the other parks do to fund Future World like they used to. Also, I think it was very stupid of Disney to get rid of the original Imagination ride along with a few others, I love Mission Space and Test track but they need to update the Imagination ride, make it better and build a new Horizons ride somewhere. Honestly I think Disney should have just built a Fifth theme park and update the ones they have now, but I understand that costs alot of money.

Let's face it education bores America. Sad

 

[POLY LOVER]

Theme parks, and not just Disney, have to operate with a balance of theme and practicality to provide for the needs of the guests. The theme is very well maintained by the external components of MSUSA. Other then that theme has no other purpose other then what would seem to be a museum like recreation of everything. That would be complete theme but lacking in the realities of the needs of guests that very much live in the 21st century. Without that balance the appeal would be lessened considerably. You may not like Starbucks (personally, I have no use for it either) however, many do appreciate it being there. It is a compromise between the past and the 21st century. I can assure you, from reading things from Walt Disney, that he did not want a museum.

You are correct about EPCOT being far from Walts Image. It isn't at all Walt's image. He wanted a city not a theme park. The WS was a different desire and in it's time would have been completely self sustaining, not in todays world however. People travel more, have access to the internet and TV and are exposed to other places on a daily basis that didn't exist back in Walt's day unless you were enormously wealthy.

As far as Future World, that was a convoluted idea on how to connect EPCOT and Walt's memory to a theme park. It was new and different, but, if you allow yourself, with the exception of a few things it is much more future now then it was back then. What was Future about Energy. What was future about The seas. What was future about the Land.They were all established things in a form or the other that were today, not tomorrow. The only one that came close was was Horizons. Even Imagination was a lecture on the possibilities that the imagination can and does create, but, it didn't project anything serious that didn't already exist. In many ways EPCOT was more designed for kids then even MK. MK was and is much more of a fantasy, amusing and fun place, but, not a whole lot was there to educate and show kids what they could expect in the future or what happened in the past in any reality. Epcot taught them things that they did not know and tried to present it in an entertaining way.

If as adults, we didn't already know about that stuff, we must have done a lot of daydreaming while we were in school. I don't remember learning anything at all that I didn't know before I got there. I was 35 when it opened. Married with two kids, I think that qualifies as grown up. I enjoyed it, but, I never learned anything that I didn't already know.

I understand all that and it's pie in the sky to think we can resurrect Walt. However I do demand that they are good custodians of his parks, ideas and quality. That doesn't take anything but caring and understanding of what they are in charge of. Walt created quality movies and parks regardless of the cost because he knew it would result in profits. The old saying you have to spend money to make money.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Let's face it education bores America. Sad

Yep sad. We are more interested in the fact that some rich spoiled brat can sit a champagne glass on her than how energy impacts our lives.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I understand all that and it's pie in the sky to think we can resurrect Walt. However I do demand that they are good custodians of his parks, ideas and quality. That doesn't take anything but caring and understanding of what they are in charge of. Walt created quality movies and parks regardless of the cost because he knew it would result in profits. The old saying you have to spend money to make money.

Good, because that is what I wish as well, but, that isn't what we were talking about. We were discussing how Main Street according to you, I believe, was totally destroyed in theme and substance because Starbucks is in the beloved old Bakery location. I was saying that in spite of theme, for it not to be nothing more then a museum it must maintain that balance between fantasy and answering to the needs of the majority of the current guests. I'm saying that is what Main Street does pretty well. There is nothing inside the walls of the outside facade that are things that one would see in the turn of the 20th century Main Street. Workable balance! Walt would not be offended by that at all. He did it himself.

 

[KrazyKat]

danyoung56 took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[RoysCabin]

Honestly, I don't buy the concept that somehow the current generation of people are only interested in celebrity gossip or what have you; that's been around a heck of a lot longer than any of us would care to believe.

I think the problem is a lot more simple: the current air among big businesses is to not take enormous risks, because your next two quarterly earnings reports are the most important thing in the world, even greater than long term planning and forethought. This means that the ability to overlay an attraction rather than build a new one is valued (money saved), plus the long lines you can generate become something nice to have in newspapers, because you know people will overlook that the lines are long because you either allowed too many other attractions to rot in the meantimes (as in EPCOT), or because you simply don't have the necessary amount of attractions to handle the crowds (Studios). It's less a big sociological decline, and more the nature of modern corporate thinking.

As for old and new rides, I'm with those saying that Horizons and Imagination could have been kept, though Horizons would necessitate at least once a decade aesthetic updates (it DID look "too 80s" by the time the late 90s rolled around, let's be fair), while Imagination would simply require updated AAs and some theater effects. I keep saying it, but those rides, along with SSE, should have essentially been to EPCOT what Pirates, Mansion, and the Mountains are to MK. Then you could tinker around with the pavilions around them and not have people TOO upset, since they'd know the core "heart" rides/attractions are still there.

 

[rk03221]

People arent buying tickets to epcot because of ellen, they are buying them for rides like frozen. Money talks

 

[Matt_Black]

Honestly, I don't buy the concept that somehow the current generation of people are only interested in celebrity gossip or what have you; that's been around a heck of a lot longer than any of us would care to believe.

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."- Socrates

 

[POLY LOVER]

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."- Socrates

Yes every generation thinks the new generation is going to be the end of the world. It only works because we forget our history and what it was like back in the so called good old days. If you research those good old days you find they were not so good.

 

[Matt_Black]

Yes every generation thinks the new generation is going to be the end of the world. It only works because we forget our history and what it was like back in the so called good old days. If you research those good old days you find they were not so good.

Or, to quote The American Adventure Experience, "The Golden Age was never the current age."

 

[Goofyernmost]

Or, to quote The American Adventure Experience, "The Golden Age was never the current age."

It helps that we all have a built in defense mechanism that allows us to mostly forget the unpleasant after time and only remember the good stuff. That makes most everything in the past seem pretty good.

 

[Matt_Black]

It helps that we all have a built in defense mechanism that allows us to mostly forget the unpleasant after time and only remember the good stuff. That makes most everything in the past seem pretty good.

I don't. When I see people wax nostalgic for the 80s, I can't help but remember the AIDS panic, the fear of possible nuclear war with the USSR, the open homophobia (as opposed to the mostly veiled homophobia we have now), etc.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't. When I see people wax nostalgic for the 80s, I can't help but remember the AIDS panic, the fear of possible nuclear war with the USSR, the open homophobia (as opposed to the mostly veiled homophobia we have now), etc.

Must be just me, because I lived on the south gate of Plattsburgh Air Force base during the Cuban crisis. PAFB, a SAC base, had a massive number of B-52's armed with Nuclear Weapons. This was real time, scary time and possible instant death for those of us that were within 50 miles of that place. I still wax nostalgic for the 60's and never even think about that high alert, prepare to meet your maker time unless we discuss stuff like this and then I had to think back at what decade it was in. I guess my brain tries it's best to protect me. You should have a talk with yours.

Just taking that one time and now that you have opened those gates of all the things that happened in that decade that were beyond awful, The Cuban Crisis, Kennedy assassination, I had both my Grandmothers pass away within 6 months of each other, my father lost his job and we had to pull up roots and move to another state, Bobby Kennedy killed, Martin Luther King killed, Riots all over the place, Kent State, Walt Disney dying, My all expense paid trip to Vietnam, the things that jump into my mind first when you mention the 60's are I got my drivers license, my first car, went on my first date, had my first drink, High school and college graduation. Obviously, those bad things are locked away somewhere in my mind and can be released when called upon to do so, however, they are not the first things that come to mind.

 

[The_Jobu]

So in conclusion...

EPCOT is still my favourite park.

 

[Matt_Black]

Must be just me, because I lived on the south gate of Plattsburgh Air Force base during the Cuban crisis. PAFB, a SAC base, had a massive number of B-52's armed with Nuclear Weapons. This was real time, scary time and possible instant death for those of us that were within 50 miles of that place. I still wax nostalgic for the 60's and never even think about that high alert, prepare to meet your maker time unless we discuss stuff like this and then I had to think back at what decade it was in. I guess my brain tries it's best to protect me. You should have a talk with yours.

Just taking that one time and now that you have opened those gates of all the things that happened in that decade that were beyond awful, The Cuban Crisis, Kennedy assassination, I had both my Grandmothers pass away within 6 months of each other, my father lost his job and we had to pull up roots and move to another state, Bobby Kennedy killed, Martin Luther King killed, Riots all over the place, Kent State, Walt Disney dying, My all expense paid trip to Vietnam, the things that jump into my mind first when you mention the 60's are I got my drivers license, my first car, went on my first date, had my first drink, High school and college graduation. Obviously, those bad things are locked away somewhere in my mind and can be released when called upon to do so, however, they are not the first things that come to mind.

I see it as appreciating what I have now. For starters, despite what everyone claims, animation is SO much better now than in the 80s. Heck, it was lightyears better in the 90s.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I see it as appreciating what I have now. For starters, despite what everyone claims, animation is SO much better now than in the 80s. Heck, it was lightyears better in the 90s.

Can't say I don't agree with any of that. Just saying why we always look back at most times past as better then today and sometimes it is nothing but perspective.

 

[rk03221]

Also the "good ole days" might be great for some, but just remember that back in the day that African Americans and others were still segregated, gays could not get married etc. So yea it might've been great for a lot, but not all. Also when I worked at Disney it was always the older people who always felt entitled and so on. Just sayin

 

[S 2]

Let's face it education bores America. Sad

Don't mistake the loud empty noise as representing the majority. . .

Epcot is what it is and, unless they also change the name and rebrand it, (why would they). Not even the biggest corporate/shareholder puppet in even in the worst post-apocalyptic scenario would do that because it would be bad for the bottom line. Personally would like to see EPCOT be Disney meets museum, and stop trying so hard to be comfortable for toddlers.

I didn't like the news of them throwing GoTG into Future World it sounded haphazard and opportunistic, but Disney constantly surprises and impresses me. If I didn't know the movie and we just heard of a ride called "Guardians of the Galaxy" coming to EPCOT, I would get super excited. Think about the words, Disney could theoretically create a great ride with this theme, one in which the guest leaves feeling aware of climate change and pollution yet optimistic about their part in the Earths future AND wanting to see next movie (no, I'm not saying the next movie should be about saving the earth from pollution)...

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

The only 2 good things that came to Epcot within the past 20 years were Soarin, Reflections of Earth but I liked the old show just as much maybe more.

 

[The_Jobu]

The only 4 good things that came to Epcot within the past 20 years were Soarin, Reflections of Earth but I liked the old show just as much maybe more.

What are the other 2 good things?