Missing the Epcot Sign.

[NJ2Boardwalk]

We just got back roughly a week ago and finally saw for myself that the sign was gone. I didn't want to believe it, but when I saw it I had to. I think the sign was also a part of Epcot's symbol, not just Spaceship Earth. Does anyone feel the same way?

Here is what I'm missing.....
http://www.mydisneyworldinfo.com/images/Epcot.jpg

[kadesha]

I feel the same. I loved the wand! I will miss it when we go back in November. :( We are the minority though, most people hated it and are glad it's gone.

[epcot.girl]

The first time I went the wand wasn't there. I much prefer Spaceship Earth without it - as it was meant to be.

[xDressedinlove]

I miss it too =[ I didn't like when it said '2000' but I liked it this way.

[Dolce27]

At first I really did but lately I've been seeing some nice pictures taken with Spaceship Earth and the lack of hand/wand is growing on me.

[Neesy228]

I miss it too =[ I didn't like when it said '2000' but I liked it this way.

Ditto:sad2:

[frdkngcbra]

Do not miss the wand at all. It wasnt there when it was built, doesnt need to be there now. Kinda like the cake castle, somethings should not have been done

[Skylarr29]

I like it better without the wand. It didn't make much sense.... just a random floating arm. Now if they would have added Mickey ears to Space Earth I could dig that.

[bookmama]

http://www.gifmix.net/3d-smileys/sad-3d-smilies/0002.gif (http://www.gifmix.net/3d-smileys/)

That always made me feel like I was really in epcot. I thought it was just the wand, not the whole thing!

[Strangeite]

I am so glad it is gone. I hated that wand with a red hot loathing that seethed deep in my soul. I thought it was ugly, poorly done and in bad taste.

[maxiesmom]

I have to disagree. I am so glad that ugly wand is gone! Spaceship Earth is beautiful in its unadorned form. I have no idea why they thought the wand added anything to it. You don't have a big sign on the castle saying "Magic Kingdom."

My trip last October when they first took the wand off, I took about a gabillion pictures of Spaceship Earth. It is so pretty, it doesn't need all that stuff on it.

Now if they would only get rid of the tombstones out front, Epcot would be back to its former glory.:wizard:

[BillSears]

I have to disagree. I am so glad that ugly wand is gone! Spaceship Earth is beautiful in its unadorned form. I have no idea why they thought the wand added anything to it. You don't have a big sign on the castle saying "Magic Kingdom."

My trip last October when they first took the wand off, I took about a gabillion pictures of Spaceship Earth. It is so pretty, it doesn't need all that stuff on it.

Now if they would only get rid of the tombstones out front, Epcot would be back to its former glory.:wizard:

:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Now if we could only get rid of that darn hat!

[jayandstacey]

The underarm odor on that side of spaceship earth was getting pretty bad. It was time.

[karibritt01]

I loved the wand. Disney is about magic and whimsy, and I thought it fit in perfectly. I never loved the "golf ball" look of Spaceship Earth, and I think it is very boring without the wand. But I guess it fits in better with all the golf courses Disney is now promoting in their WaterPark and More package....

[ChrisFL]

I loved the wand. Disney is about magic and whimsy, and I thought it fit in perfectly. I never loved the "golf ball" look of Spaceship Earth, and I think it is very boring without the wand. But I guess it fits in better with all the golf courses Disney is now promoting in their WaterPark and More package....

Magic Kingdom is about magic and whimsy, not Epcot! Walt Disney represented many things, and although EPCOT Center was not the city he planned, it was very similar to what he wanted for a futuristic world's fair...and that didn't include Mickey & the gang.

So saying that it's "more" Disney than what Walt himself wanted is not being aware of history.

[karibritt01]

Epcot has always had Journey into the Imagination... which was even more whimsical in its original form. Nemo and Turtle Talk are very whimsical. Epcot has always had character appearances in the WS. Didn't they at one time have a red bus with characters? (Been a long time since I've seen it, and can't remember where it was.) But, my comment did not refer to Epcot as a separate entity, but as a part of WDW as a whole. And lets not forget that "it all began with a mouse."

[ChrisFL]

Epcot has always had Journey into the Imagination... which was even more whimsical in its original form. Nemo and Turtle Talk are very whimsical. Epcot has always had character appearances in the WS. Didn't they at one time have a red bus with characters? (Been a long time since I've seen it, and can't remember where it was.) But, my comment did not refer to Epcot as a separate entity, but as a part of WDW as a whole. And lets not forget that "it all began with a mouse."

Nemo and Turtle Talk are also not what I consider true to the ideas of the original Epcot. When EPCOT Center first opened, the red buses were used for guests to get around WS.

Future World was designed to have a very clean, symmetrical appearance and with very organized shapes and presence. The wand ruined the original architecture. It was ok for 2000 but it overstayed it's welcome. Not to mention that from the Universe of Energy side it looked horrible.

[Robo]

Now if they would have added Mickey ears to Space Earth I could dig that.

You say it there, it comes out here-

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/RoboWDW/Silly%20Stuff/SSE-Ears-3.jpg

[KatMark]

Count us in on ones who miss the wand. We are so glad we got that final picture in front of Spaceship Earth with the wand...we won't get a picture this year...just not the same.

[Rustysmom]

Never saw the wand, never want to see the wand. I like Spaceship Earth the way it was meant to be.

[shellbelle]

My family misses the wand!!!

We were there when they were taking it down last July. My kids were so sad.:sad2:

[ChrisFL]

Why don't they just put it over Cinderella Castle and change the name on the sign? Or over The Tree of Life? Would that also be good?

[shellbelle]

Why don't they just put it over Cinderella Castle and change the name on the sign? Or over The Tree of Life? Would that also be good?

:confused3

[karibritt01]

Why don't they just put it over Cinderella Castle and change the name on the sign? Or over The Tree of Life? Would that also be good?

No, but I didn't hear any complaints about Wendy, John, and Michael flying around the spires. And no one has complained about Tinkerbell flying from the castle. And are we actually hinting that the tree of life looks realistic? They are all beautiful, and without a doubt magical.

[rie'smom]

For many years, the symbol of Epcot was SE. That was the symbol that I missed and I'm so happy that it's back.
The designers at WDW should leave both SE and Cinderella's castle alone and I wouldn't complain if they took that giant wizard's hat away at the Studios.

[fla4fun]

No, but I didn't hear any complaints about Wendy, John, and Michael flying around the spires.

No, the golden trinkets were OK, but that huge "mirror" they stuck on the front of the castle was a monstrosity.

The problem with the mirror, and the wand, was that they ruined the perspective of the building they were supposed to be enhancing. At Epcot, the focus became the wand, not SSE as it should be. SSE looked diminished beside the wand. The mirror on the castle was totally out of proportion, and made the castle look much smaller than it was designed to look. I won't even get into the "cake" debate.

I didn't "hate" the wand - but I'm not disappointed that it's gone.

[centurythree]

Unless we're talking about architecture/design buffs, I'm confident that people's feelings about the sign are very closely related to when they first saw Spaceship Earth. If you first saw it without the sign, the sign looked like a fun temporary measure, silly, or worse. If you first saw it with the sign, it was simply part of the building.

From a design perspective, the wand was simply a disaster.

[Minniekins]

.......
Here is what I'm missing.....
http://www.mydisneyworldinfo.com/images/Epcot.jpg

I loved the wand. Disney is about magic and whimsy, and I thought it fit in perfectly. I never loved the "golf ball" look of Spaceship Earth, and I think it is very boring without the wand.....

I agree! We loved the wand and mickey's gloved hand! We really missed it last Nov and are disappointed that it's gone for good. Almost can't believe. :sad2:

[centurythree]

The more I look at that picture the more surprised I am that Disney put it up even as a temporary thing for 2000. I'd never noticed the "corrogated cardboard" look of the inside of the arm. I'd also forgotten about the exposed steel beams . . . I guess if you're just throwing something up for a year, you definitely do spare the expense.

[SurfinTX]

We just got back roughly a week ago and finally saw for myself that the sign was gone. I didn't want to believe it, but when I saw it I had to. I think the sign was also a part of Epcot's symbol, not just Spaceship Earth. Does anyone feel the same way?

Here is what I'm missing.....
http://www.mydisneyworldinfo.com/images/Epcot.jpg

I always had a feeling I was staying at an old Holiday Inn. :rotfl:

[CanadianGuy]

Moving this one over to the Themeparks Community Board.

Thanks!

Knox

[mikkiwikki]

VERY Thankful the wand is gone. it was an atrocity.

Why not have a HUGE MICKEY face peeking out from behind every park icon.
Whimsical? I beg to differ

"Out, d$mned spot! out, I say!" - Macbeth Act V, Sc. I

Here is some information about the original concept of epcot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epcot

I doubt Walt's "utopian city of the future" involved a big mouse hand.

[karibritt01]

that huge "mirror" they stuck on the front of the castle was a monstrosity.

I have to agree with you there (galls me to do it! :laughing: ) The mirror was hideous, and I'm glad that is gone!

I won't even get into the "cake" debate.

I actually liked the cake from a distance. (Don't throw fruit, please!) Up close it was awful. From a distance it was pretty. Now I would NEVER have wanted it to stay that way... but I did enjoy seeing it while it was there.

I really just like that Disney is continually changing things. If nothing ever changed, then the park would get stale and fade away.

[stopher1]

Personally I hated that thing, so I'm glad it's gone. I much prefer it the way it was originally intended to be. The imagineers usually do a bang up job creating wonderfully memorable icons all by themselves, and really don't need "help" from marketing folks who want to "gimmick" the icons up with some additional junk.

I hated having the castle covered up with junk too, and I hate the giant Sorcerer's hat at the studios.

In my book, seasonal overlays are okay (like adding a Christmas tree to your living room, or red, white and blue flags or bunting to the front of the house for the 4th) because they are usually gone in a couple weeks...6, 8 or 10 tops - but these things that are designed to be there for a year and a half "promotion" (a la the Millenium celebration [Epcot's wand], Disneyland's 50th that was celebrated at WDW for some reason [the bling/mirror combo on MK's castle] and the current YOMD [junk EVERYWHERE]) and then get extended for 1, 2 5+ years living well past their inended lifespan - come on. Yuck.

[tink,too]

I too prefer SSE without the arm/wand but didn't mind it being there at first. As it was only meant to be there for the millennium celebration, I wasn't too fussed about it, but after a while, I wanted it outta there!

I am also in the minority of liking the cake castle - but again as temporary decoration for the 25th only. Luckily that one didn't hang around too long.

We didn't make it over to the US to see the "gold highlights" added to the castle but through seeing photos etc, I did like what they did with the spires, but was a bit confused about what the mirror thing was all about. :laughing:

The occasional temporary adornment to the park's icons is fine with me - it makes it easier to tell which trip certain photos are from :rotfl: but as long as Disney remembers that they should be TEMPORARY, I'm good. :goodvibes