Epcot (General Discussion)

[Disneyhead]

Dr. Strange doesn't really lend himself to a restaurant. Then again, neither do the Guardians. Whole rumor seems out of left field, but it's out there.

When I thing of a Dr. Strange restaurant I think of Yak & Yeti.

 

[Nick]

I know this is a popular school of thought, but I don't really agree. If by "slaughtered," you mean "needlessly replaced attractions that didn't need replacing," then yes, absolutely.

However, the replacement attractions for Imagination, World of Motion, and - eventually - Horizons all still fit the theme of Future World. We can argue about the overall quality of those attractions in terms of their execution, but nobody has to do convoluted mental gymnastics to make rides about space flight, automobiles, and imagination fit in with what Epcot is/was supposed to be.

The real thematic compromises began in a modest way with Nemo and Gran Fiesta Tour (the fundamental attractions are still about what their home pavilions purport to be about), accelerated with Frozen (only a vague connection to its home pavilion), and are poised to fully break the mission of the park with Guardians.

I can agree with your points to an extent, I guess I just don’t have a connection to Epcot like I do to DAK for example. I never got to experience EPCOT Center.

So that makes me a hypocrite, yeah.

But the writing has been on the walls as far as Epcot’s mission for awhile. If it comes to having a half-baked park that barely sticks to a mission statement or one that breaks the statement but provides a lot more to do, I’ll choose the latter every day of the week.

 

[captainmoch]

If Strange does come to WoL... I wouldn't be surprised if by 2030, Future World East is just a makeshift "Superhero Land" using more and more non-contract characters. That would be... er, interesting to watch unfold...

 

[ChrisFL]

Hmm...Dr. Strange....magic and mysticism into a restaurant.

Are they going to dig up the old concept for the David Copperfield restaurant that was supposed to be built in MGM Studios?

Anyway, given the choice of having a Dr. Strange attraction in Epcot (sorry, IMO doesn't fit) and having it replace Tower of Terror....I'd actually choose Tower of Terror. If Disney is dead-set on getting rid of the CBS contract for Twilight Zone for something else that is

 

[belloq87]

If it comes to having a half-baked park that barely sticks to a mission statement or one that breaks the statement but provides a lot more to do, I’ll choose the latter every day of the week.

That shouldn't be the choice, though. To me, neither of those are satisfactory options. Celebrating the natural world and human achievement in science and culture and offering new, fun, exciting attractions do not need to be mutually-exclusive concepts.

Anyway, given the choice of having a Dr. Strange attraction in Epcot (sorry, IMO doesn't fit) and having it replace Tower of Terror....I'd actually choose Tower of Terror. If Disney is dead-set on getting rid of the CBS contract for Twilight Zone for something else that is

If they want to bring Doctor Strange to Walt Disney World, I think the easiest fits would be in either Adventureland or Animal Kingdom. Take the framework of something like Mystic Manor, retrofit the storyline to involve either Strange investigating mystical activity in the jungle (if in Adventureland) or protecting an animal-based mystical artifact (if in Animal Kingdom), and you're on your way.

 

[Jones14]

I’d think that the restaurant would be Marvel-themed on the whole, rather than directly tied to Dr. Strange.

 

[Nick]

That shouldn't be the choice, though. To me, neither of those are satisfactory options. Celebrating the natural world and human achievement in science and culture and offering new, fun, exciting attractions do not need to be mutually-exclusive concepts.

It shouldn’t be, but by this point, nothing is going to get approved that truly fits Epcot’s mission statement anymore. It’s all about IP and moving merch so I’m just being realistic. I don’t necessarily like it, but we aren’t going to change the direction these parks have taken on.

There’s virtually no going back the way the company sees it. And as long as they continue to make money and GSAT scores are high, they won’t change.

 

[Mad Dog]

Yes, I agree. The old Epcot is gone forever. They're just going to add things to the mix to bring in more attendance & revenue. The only real theme will be the festivals and the countries, though less authentic, and more entertaining, on that end.

 

[belloq87]

I could respect all this if Disney was up front about it.

"After many years of taking a hard look at Epcot, we don't think it works anymore in the way it was originally meant to. So here's what we're going to do about it, and here's what we think is necessary to give the park a new identity. We hope that you'll give us a chance to prove that Epcot's next era will be a worthy - and, yes, different - successor to the ambition and scope of EPCOT Center."

I just want to know what Disney wants this park to be. And I want them to stop the charade that everything they've done to the park is totally in line with its founding ideas.

 

[GAcoaster]

^ That would be admitting defeat. They are infallible (despite many short lived attractions that were definite misses).

 

[Galaxy Defender]

I just want to know what Disney wants this park to be. And I want them to stop the charade that everything they've done to the park is totally in line with its founding ideas.

Very profitable. The rest is just details.

 

[Nick]

I could respect all this if Disney was up front about it.

"After many years of taking a hard look at Epcot, we don't think it works anymore in the way it was originally meant to. So here's what we're going to do about it, and here's what we think is necessary to give the park a new identity. We hope that you'll give us a chance to prove that Epcot's next era will be a worthy - and, yes, different - successor to the ambition and scope of EPCOT Center."

I just want to know what Disney wants this park to be. And I want them to stop the charade that everything they've done to the park is totally in line with its founding ideas.

Agreed. It's a bit of a slap in the face seeing them justify GotG because Peter Quill "visited EPCOT Center when he was a kid".

Quit with the BS.

 

[SeventyOne]

I’d think that the restaurant would be Marvel-themed on the whole, rather than directly tied to Dr. Strange.

Other than Guardians and Dr. Strange--arguably the two most disparate IPs in the Marvel Universe--they don't have the rights to anything featured in the MCU, i.e. anything popular.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Other than Guardians and Dr. Strange--arguably the two most disparate IPs in the Marvel Universe--they don't have the rights to anything featured in the MCU, i.e. anything popular.

Yeah, outside of those two, it's not that much to begin with. The only other property that could work, is BH6, due to the return of that IP but in TV form, but even then, BH6 wasn't that big of a bit though when it was in theaters.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I know this is a popular school of thought, but I don't really agree. If by "slaughtered," you mean "needlessly replaced attractions that didn't need replacing," then yes, absolutely.

However, the replacement attractions for Imagination, World of Motion, and - eventually - Horizons all still fit the theme of Future World. We can argue about the overall quality of those attractions in terms of their execution, but nobody has to do convoluted mental gymnastics to make rides about space flight, automobiles, and imagination fit in with what Epcot is/was supposed to be.

The real thematic compromises began in a modest way with Nemo and Gran Fiesta Tour (the fundamental attractions are still about what their home pavilions purport to be about), accelerated with Frozen (only a vague connection to its home pavilion), and are poised to fully break the mission of the park with Guardians.

I HATE the "well it was ruined in the 90s!" argument for Epcot for those reasons plus these

1. EPCOT was "ruined" shortly after opening by having a damn circus in Future World as a short sighted attempt to increase attendance
2. During the time frame many quote as Epcot being "slaughtered" it ignores the MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION, one of the most Epcot ass things ever and it was well done.
3. Just because mistakes were made before doesn't mean we should throw the baby out with the bath water. It's lazy and pessimistic to go "oh well it wasn't totally perfect before, EFF IT".

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

I HATE the "well it was ruined in the 90s!" argument for Epcot for those reasons plus these

1. EPCOT was "ruined" shortly after opening by having a damn circus in Future World as a short sighted attempt to increase attendance
2. During the time frame many quote as Epcot being "slaughtered" it ignores the MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION, one of the most Epcot ass things ever and it was well done.
3. Just because mistakes were made before doesn't mean we should throw the baby out with the bath water. It's lazy and pessimistic to go "oh well it wasn't totally perfect before, EFF IT".

Yeah, I'd say it was generally when Eisner got his fingers into EPCOT with things like the circus, the celebrity-based attractions at Energy and Life, the downgrade from CommuniCore to Innoventions, etc.

 

[Nick]

You can’t throw the baby out with the bath water if the baby is gone. You could argue they could try to bring the baby back, but they have no desire to.

Again, I’m just being realistic here. Hell, there’s worse things to worry about... like how WDI has been talking about ripping out the inside of SSE. Or the Hotel that is going to be placed over the entrance. And how Figment likely won’t survive a Imagination overhaul.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Sticking to a theme decades later when you want to expand, change and improve can be a tough thing. To me there are portions of the front of Epcot that look like they're stuck in the 70s.

I would prefer that Figment was simply updated. I like the character. He's one of the most interesting characters of all the Disney parks

 

[hishedale]

Yeah, I'd say it was generally when Eisner got his fingers into EPCOT with things like the circus, the celebrity-based attractions at Energy and Life, the downgrade from CommuniCore to Innoventions, etc.

UoE was actually pretty good though.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

UoE was actually pretty good though.

Original Energy was fantastic, Ellen had some great elements but became dated very quickly.