Epcot (General Discussion)

[epcyclopedia]

I've always wondered why Disney doesn't use the Millennium pavilion more often for some of these events, I know they get good use of it when it comes to special/corporate events. But for their annual events, it's dreadfully under utilized.

Because having it occupied for the duration of a festival will prevent them from booking events in there. It's used pretty much constantly and for a pretty penny.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Small update...

Cast is being warned of process/procedure for major construction around the park, avoiding backstage photos, etc...

Internal messaging is "Evolving Epcot" and features the Flower logo in various iterations (blueprint version is my fave so far.)

Also, August 7th Electric Umbrella and Liberty Inn get mobile ordering.

The flower, for anyone who doesn't remember it:

 

[belloq87]

Internal messaging is "Evolving Epcot" and features the Flower logo in various iterations (blueprint version is my fave so far.)

Evolving or Devolving?

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

Small update...

Cast is being warned of process/procedure for major construction around the park, avoiding backstage photos, etc...

Internal messaging is "Evolving Epcot" and features the Flower logo in various iterations (blueprint version is my fave so far.)

Also, August 7th Electric Umbrella and Liberty Inn get mobile ordering.

The flower, for anyone who doesn't remember it:

That sure makes it seem like Future World will be going under the knife sooner rather than later.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Figured out what the concept art is depicting with the stuff in the air...

This design studio creates giant moving sculptures that are suspended in midair

 

[ChristopherSE]

Figured out what the concept art is depicting with the stuff in the air...

This design studio creates giant moving sculptures that are suspended in midair

Those pieces are absolutely stunning. I'd love for something like that to find it's way to the new Future World. It for sure mimics that new quasi-organic route they appear to be taking.

 

[epcyclopedia]

A great article that showcases the park on opening day, with lots of good color photos to see how things were designed to look:

Looking Back: Epcot Center, Welcome to the 21st Century (Oct. 2, 1982) | Tampa Bay Times

 

[Alicia]

A great article that showcases the park on opening day, with lots of good color photos to see how things were designed to look:

Looking Back: Epcot Center, Welcome to the 21st Century (Oct. 2, 1982) | Tampa Bay Times

Everything is so clean and shiny!!

 

[Magic-Man]

I like the new epcot vision better than the original version. Don't @ me

 

[epcyclopedia]

I like the new epcot vision better than the original version. Don't @ me

We don't know what the new vision actually looks like though.

 

[Nick]

We don't know what the new vision actually looks like though.

There's a lot of IPs in the new vision as far as I can tell.

 

[epcyclopedia]

There's a lot of IPs in the new vision as far as I can tell.

Perhaps, but it still doesnt tell us the look and aesthetic they're going to go for.

 

[Wesker69]

Honestly... Disney should've incorporated their characters with meet-n-greets & a ride/attraction associated in whatever country they're from a long time ago. If done right, you can easily have that balance of both educational experience & Disney/Character driven fun. Which is what they seem to be doing with Ratatouille.

It'd also give them the opportunity to create rides for characters that don't have rides/attractions in Fantasyland at MK, but do at Disneyland's Fantasyland. Examples- Pinocchio (Italy), Alice in Wonderland/Mary Poppins (UK... although Poppins is rumored), Mulan (China), etc

Sure some characters are already found in their respective countries, but they don't have a ride/attraction. Some might not have a problem with that, but any theme park could always benefit from adding more rides/attractions for guests (especially when they're paying a crap ton of money just to go to said park).

Frozen was not a terrible update to Norway. I don't mind that they added the Three Caballerros to Rio Del Tiempo. Not sure how I feel about Coco taking over.

 

[Nick]

Perhaps, but it still doesnt tell us the look and aesthetic they're going to go for.

I think the Future World aesthetic should look very park-like if that concept art is anywhere close to correct. Of course I'm skeptical that it is, but I would love it to be something like that. It looks much more pleasing to the eye than what they currently have going on.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Concept art that depicts an area at night is a common trick to draw attention away from there being anything of substance in the artwork.

The art shows very little that could become a real "thing" unless they really intend to strip Epcot's core of all essential services and make it a greenscape.

 

[ChristopherSE]

A great article that showcases the park on opening day, with lots of good color photos to see how things were designed to look:

Looking Back: Epcot Center, Welcome to the 21st Century (Oct. 2, 1982) | Tampa Bay Times

I nearly gasped when I got to the end of the article. Admission was $15?? Adjusted for inflation, thats ~$37.50 today. Yikes

 

[belloq87]

We don't know what the new vision actually looks like though.

This is what I was really hoping they would communicate at D23. What is their overarching vision for the park? How do they plan to make Future World (or whatever it ends up being called) and World Showcase feel like they belong in the same park? What is the park's new mission statement, since the one from 1982 is obviously not something they feel is important anymore?

In short, what is this new iteration of Epcot going to be about?

I don't need answers to those questions immediately. I'd just like to know that they've at least got answers to those questions, internally.

 

[bob albert]

This is what I was really hoping they would communicate at D23. What is their overarching vision for the park? How do they plan to make Future World (or whatever it ends up being called) and World Showcase feel like they belong in the same park? What is the park's new mission statement, since the one from 1982 is obviously not something they feel is important anymore?

In short, what is this new iteration of Epcot going to be about?

I don't need answers to those questions immediately. I'd just like to know that they've at least got answers to those questions, internally.

They will do whatever they want and then make up a story that acts like that was always the plan and totally fits. The fans will eat it up because they are hungry for anything new.

 

[OLSinFLA]

My biggest complaint with IPCOT isn't the IPs. Its the loss of huge, sweeping attractions for thrill rides. I mean, look at Universe of Energy, Horizons, and World of Motion. Combined the running time for those
was an hour and 15 minutes (not counting standing in line) Now, before UoE closes, its' 50 minutes. If UoE gets replaced by another 5 minute ride it will be 15 minutes ride time. Its one of the reasons there
were so few Future World pavilions - each was expected to take some time to go through, and they were huge, elaborate productions filled with animatronics and state of the art ride systems in many of them.

 

[graspthesun]

The changes to Future World (adding GotG) along with GE (leaving behind Star Tours) and TSL (leaving behind Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin) just makes me feel like Disney is just haphazardly throwing crap around. They should really try to come up with a cohesive vision for their resorts (particularly DisneyWorld) before breaking ground on 20 projects that just dilute their IPs across 4 parks.

Not to mention that they're just messing up the parks in general. You have GotG (space), M:S (space), TT (cars) on one side of Future World. What doesn't belong? Test Track. They could have had a great space themed section of the park on that side. Then you come back down to earth on the other, but then you have Journey Into Imagination. When the pavilions all operated and had specific themes, you could break it into North and South, East and West, 1 and 2, but you can't do that now and it just muddles the whole thing. Plus, you're competing against your own incomplete idea of what Tomorrowland should be in Magic Kingdom. Again, diluting concepts across parks.

TL;DR - I'd rather see Disney rip down large chunks of each of their parks, even newer attractions, and rebuild them elsewhere in the resort just so they can make their parks more thematically cohesive than deal with this hodge podge of crap shoehorned in where ever there is room.