Epcot (General Discussion)

[Joel]

It will no doubt be a more fun park. Hell, GOTG is practically an addition rather than replacement the way I look at it bc who honestly did UoE on a regular basis (or more than once a year even)?

At the same time, I feel like the park (well, at least Future World) is losing any sense of theme, so that's where I'm most concerned.

Some of us are too young to remember what Epcot was like in it's heyday so this direction isn't as concerning to us. Might explain why Disney doesn't care too much about changing everything. I'm pretty excited about everything that's happening, but I would also be excited for anything to be updated/added to Future World.

 

[Alicia]

Some of us are too young to remember what Epcot was like in it's heyday so this direction isn't as concerning to us. Might explain why Disney doesn't care too much about changing everything. I'm pretty excited about everything that's happening, but I would also be excited for anything to be updated/added to Future World.

I'm already dead inside after losing Horizons and the original Imagination. Anything better than Journey Into YOUR Imagination is fine by me, but that's a low bar.

 

[Joel]

I'm already dead inside after losing Horizons and the original Imagination. Anything better than Journey Into YOUR Imagination is fine by me, but that's a low bar.

Not sure if I ever went on either of those. I was 9 when horizons closed (not sure about imagination) and I'm pretty sure Epcot was the park we visited least back then (not surprisingly).

 

[belloq87]

Epcot may very well be a more fun park in 2022. But it's also (for the most part) going to be just another Disney park if my suspicions are correct. Its unique qualities are either being removed entirely or watered down.

 

[Alicia]

At least Epcot's dual park setup will always be unique. It really is like two parks in one. Even if one side is becoming a midway and the other a food festival, the two theming styles are so different that it'll always be one-of-a-kind.

 

[belloq87]

At least Epcot's dual park setup will always be unique. It really is like two parks in one. Even if one side is becoming a midway and the other a food festival, the two theming styles are so different that it'll always be one-of-a-kind.

You're not wrong. I just fear that one half is on its way to becoming Fantasyland-lite, and the other on its way to becoming Tomorrowland-lite.

 

[Bulldog45]

I never went to Epcot when I was younger; I've just started going the past couple years for food and wine so I'll never know what it was like 20 years ago. So to me, these attractions are a welcome addition. Sorry, I know I'm in the minority here. :look:

 

[captainmoch]

I never went to Epcot when I was younger; I've just started going the past couple years for food and wine so I'll never know what it was like 20 years ago. So to me, these attractions are a welcome addition. Sorry, I know I'm in the minority here. :look:

I feel a similar way, although I still think GOTG is a step too far. It just doesn't make sense under the theme of Future World no matter how you think of it.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Take this how you will, but I think all theme parks are going to start looking similar.

I think there's been a cultural decision that theme parks are meant to be places where you experience the worlds of pop culture. That's what most people think of when they think of theme parks. So, most theme parks are going to look more like IoA with a bunch of themed lands loosely tied together.

 

[Disneyhead]

Take this how you will, but I think all theme parks are going to start looking similar.

I think there's been a cultural decision that theme parks are meant to be places where you experience the worlds of pop culture. That's what most people think of when they think of theme parks. So, most theme parks are going to look more like IoA with a bunch of themed lands loosely tied together.

And people blame Universal/Potter for that, but is has been a known factor since Oct. 1st 1982.

 

[Alicia]

Take this how you will, but I think all theme parks are going to start looking similar.

I think there's been a cultural decision that theme parks are meant to be places where you experience the worlds of pop culture. That's what most people think of when they think of theme parks. So, most theme parks are going to look more like IoA with a bunch of themed lands loosely tied together.

Part of the reason Walt created Disneyland was so guests could enter the worlds of Disney film and TV. Not much different from now really.

We might not think it nowadays, but Frontierland was a way for the fanboys of yesterday to enter the world of Davy Crockett. 'Twas the Star Wars land of the times if you think about it.

 

[shiekra38]

Guys, they just replaced one ride...I mean they still have The Land, Spaceship Earth, Soarin, Mission Space, and Test Track...And World Showcase is certainly not going anywhere, and just getting plussed by new rides...

Every time I walk into Epcot I think to myself "hmm, so this is how Epcot was in the year 2000"...It hasn't changed much, the paint is fading...It's time for a re-fresh...I know many disagree with me, but Epcot still has an edge that no other Disney park has

IPs are easy attractors...It's either that, or another festival

 

[Alicia]

Guys, they just replaced one ride...I mean they still have The Land, Spaceship Earth, Soarin, Mission Space, and Test Track...And World Showcase is certainly not going anywhere, and just getting plussed by new rides...

Every time I walk into Epcot I think to myself "hmm, so this is how Epcot was in the year 2000"...It hasn't changed much, the paint is fading...It's time for a re-fresh...I know many disagree with me, but Epcot still has an edge that no other Disney park has

IPs are easy attractors...It's either that, or another festival

I like the Frozen ride better than Maelstrom. Not everything is as bad as people make it out to be on the web.

 

[Disneyhead]

I like the Frozen ride better than Maelstrom. Not everything is as bad as people make it out to be on the web.

I rode Maelstrom 3 times. Not a big fan. I have ridden Frozen twice with no plan to do it again.

 

[OLSinFLA]

I never went to Epcot when I was younger; I've just started going the past couple years for food and wine so I'll never know what it was like 20 years ago. So to me, these attractions are a welcome addition. Sorry, I know I'm in the minority here. :look:

What you missed... massive themed attractions that lasted 12 minutes or more.... view some of the videos. Its also why there are so few attractions in Future World. For example, if Energy was 45 minutes, and Horizons and Motions were 15, thats an hour on one side just in ride time. Now with GoTG, M:S and Test Track, ride time will be like 16 minutes. It will probably seem like there's much less to do.

 

[Joshua Porter]

I feel like some of the same people that complain about things changing are also the same people that complain about Disney letting things go stale. I think there has to be a happy medium of retaining the true feel of a park and also updating it. Epcot NEEDS work. Granted, as a child I wasn't overawed by it (Epcot), I have to admit. I didn't see the draw of walking around all day in world showcase. However, as I have grown older I have grown to love Epcot as my favourite park because of World Showcase and what the whole idea of Epcot stands for. However, it is still a theme park and therefore it needs to grow or be left behind. It is not the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow that Walt envisioned. It is a theme park. It will still retain that Disney feel as all the parks do. When Hollywood Studios is reborn, it will feel Disney. They have a great way of retaining that magic and I have everything faith that, even if Epcot sways from what it it was originally set out to do, it will still be a great place to visit.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

And people blame Universal/Potter for that, but is has been a known factor since Oct. 1st 1982.

Fans would rather blame Universal and think TWDC has no self determination than believe TWDC just doesn’t care anymore. And I’m talking execs and VPs, not creative. Obviously.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Couple notes...

A) They're afraid of the angry Epcot fanboys enough to even acknowledge they exist. Consider how out of character that is for Disney, and what it must mean behind the scenes if this is the public face seeping through.

B) Everything cycles. This direction, that direction - the good news is that we seem to have finally killed off wiggling seats infront of a big domed screen as the be-all end-all of ride technology. 3D is "meh" and not the main event of a ride anymore, and we don't have to interact by shooting things or having our name plastered within the ride. For every thing, turn turn turn..

 

[Jones14]

Couple notes...

A) They're afraid of the angry Epcot fanboys enough to even acknowledge they exist. Consider how out of character that is for Disney, and what it must mean behind the scenes if this is the public face seeping through.

B) Everything cycles. This direction, that direction - the good news is that we seem to have finally killed off wiggling seats infront of a big domed screen as the be-all end-all of ride technology. 3D is "meh" and not the main event of a ride anymore, and we don't have to interact by shooting things or having our name plastered within the ride. For every thing, turn turn turn..

I don't know about that. Flight of Passage is, at its core, a bunch of wiggling seats in front of a big domed screen, and people (myself included) are losing their freaking minds over it.

 

[WAJAS]

I don't know about that. Flight of Passage is, at its core, a bunch of wiggling seats in front of a big domed screen, and people (myself included) are losing their freaking minds over it.

I think that’s mostly due to a brilliant video accompanying it and the air bladders.