-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Rumor Wonders of Life getting an attraction soon?
- Thread starter Bacon
- Start date
mikejs78
Premium Member
Epcot's peak attendance was when out early something original and different. It started to decline as the classic attractions were replaced/updated to be made more 'relevant' with celebrities and character IPs. Attendance has been bolstered a little with the festivals, but Disney knows that isn't sustainable.
Summary: People aren't necessarily clamoring for more IPs in Epcot. They just know what is there now isn't satisfying, and they compare it with something that is (MK) and so they say Epcot needs to be more Disney. Yet history shows that Epcot at its best does attract crowds.
brb1006
Well-Known Member
@MisterPenguin should edit in Olaf in the corner somewhere.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
I really wasn't trying to say they didn't attract a crowd. I'm well aware of how popular Epcot was. And how much I personally love the original attractions they had even if I was too young to remember most of them. I appreciate what was there and personally I feel like they should still be there (along with some added thrills).
I'm also well aware it's Disney pushing the IP mandate and they insist that is what guests want. But I do feel a large section of the visitors to the parks now are conditioned to expect IPs. I'm not sure why people keep taking my posts as supporting this when I don't, I'm just talking about how I see it and why they're doing what they're doing. I just don't hate every IP used (though I'd agree many aren't used correctly and a few just don't fit).
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
Remember when?
Maverick9t
New Member
Isn’t this where the space themed restaurant is going?
Nope , thats going adjacent to the mission space show building
Kman101
Well-Known Member
But some of us don't feel like some of them are going in the wrong park, so (I'd hope people are aware I don't agree with Frozen and Guardians and Nemo is Seas is terribly weak) .... Just because I don't mind certain IPs going into Epcot doesn't mean I'm not aware of the ridiculous IP mandate (Flights of Wonder to UP just proves it). Just because I talk about how I see how things are doesn't mean I agree with everything. I've said it before but If I were in charge Epcot's Future World would go right back to where it was in it's glory days. I'd do that but I still wouldn't hate Ratatouille coming to World Showcase, or Coco going into Mexico, or Mary in UK or Inside Out and Big Hero 6 into Wonders of Life. If they weren't attached to feature films the attitude towards them would be different. I respect the no characters mandate and I respect wanting to keep it that way but it's not a reality at this point in time, so I've come to adjust my thoughts regarding Epcot.
I want Epcot to be what it was and could be again. But what about those guests who just didn't get to experience that? I'm not saying they want IP everywhere but what are they to make of what is known as Epcot? It's a real shame Future World is a hodgepodge mess. Personally I'd keep the IPs out of Future World. I really don't mind venturing to France and then being able to visit with Remy (at least the theater is staying!), but I know the idea of that just doesn't make sense to some people. I don't really find it "wrong" and it's kind of hard to always be told it's wrong. I respect wanting to uphold Epcot to what it was but there's not a lot of respect for those who view it a little differently. IMO. Not really saying from you, though. You're always a gentleman and respectful.
EDIT: And respect goes both ways. I know there are some posters who lecture the Epcot purists on their inability to change, etc. (which isn't what it's about, it's not about "hating any change" and they don't seem to understand that). I also think those that can't understand and respect those who remember Epcot as it was need to do some research on what Epcot was. They'd realize what they missed out on and why you and others don't like the current direction.
But Epcot purists also kind of need to understand many view the park differently too. It's not their fault. It's the company's fault.
Last edited:
Everyone will think differently. It’s clear the two Bobs do too.
Nicely put.
Let me add I’m happy for the Paris Frozen project. Right location, well executed.
EOD K9
Well-Known Member
And nobody worries about upsetting a droid.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Although the changes made to Epcot, initially didn't help attendance I feel that the timeline is a bit off there. The classics were dying off before many of those change ever happened. There was more to the decline then just changes. I was and still am a major fan of EPCOT, but, even I was getting board with the classic rides and had started to re-experience them less and less. The lines out the doors of Imagination and Horizons had long since stopped happening. The only one that I didn't get sick of wasn't there long enough for me to get sick of and the was WoM. I don't know how anyone could think that Energy wasn't improved by the change to Ellen due to the fact that previous to that it was nothing more then a gigantic infomercial for Exxon. If one thinks that Ellen is a snooze fest then the original was more of a coma inducer.
In my opinion it was more the change of desire from the guests and taking awhile for Disney to figure out the most logical direction to go. To me it is that to think keeping the old that wasn't supporting itself, no matter how good we thought is was, is not in anyone's best interest. The current demand is of the use of IP's, something that everyone can identify with. Two years from now, who knows? It might be something completely different. EPCOT was great. Hell, I'm great, but, am eventually going to die off. It is the cycle of life and it applies to entertainment venues as well as people.
CanadianGordon
Well-Known Member
It's a shame they have such a huge building that isn't used properly. Very bizarre.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
This screams of someone fishing him.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Ed Film created several fan made blueprints. Here's what he did for Epcot:
http://www.wdwthemeparks.com/news/2014/09/07/disney-blue-prints-epcot-part-1
http://www.wdwthemeparks.com/news/2014/09/07/disney-blue-prints-epcot-part-2
http://www.wdwthemeparks.com/news/2014/09/07/disney-blue-prints-epcot-part-3
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I think the approach to IPs in EPCOT should be, "if the movie doesn't exist could we sell this idea as a pitch for the park". I think I'd buy Ratatouille as a pitch for the France Pavilion, and Coco for the Mexico Pavilion. I'd buy Inside Out as a Cranium Command type attraction and even Mary Poppins in the UK.
What really bothers me is the publicly stated change from making the real into fantasy. At both the D23 Expo in Anaheim and in Japan, they said Epcot will be where the real becomes fantasy and the fantasy becomes real. The second part of that essentially defends Fantasyland being in Epcot.
mikejs78
Premium Member
The quote was fantastic, not fantasy. That *could* be ok if interpreted correctly, although I don't think it will be.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
As nice as those are, they seriously need upscaled. 1200x780 isn't exactly high res. And that surprises me since they were only posted in 2014.
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
One wonders if anything original, massive and impressive like The Haunted Mansion or Pirates would ever be built in a Disney theme park today. The answer is probably "no". Bob Iger is focused on branding and merchandise. To him, the parks are just places to push those elements. Damn sad if you ask me.
mikejs78
Premium Member
Mystic Manor?
Yes, I've seen those. But, none of them are for WoL pavilion. Thus, my comment that it's odd that all the pavilions of WS have blueprints you can find on the internet, but not so for WoL.