mjallemand
Est. 1985
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
I've been listening to a lot of Epcot park music over the last hour while I've been browsing the web, and it gradually bummed me out.
Now, to preface, I'm not quite a child of the 80s. I was born in late '85, so the majority of my childhood took place in the 90s. I've been to Walt Disney World five times in my lifetime: In 1989, 1994, 1997, 2010, and 2012. (At least, I'm certain on the '89, '97, '10, and '12 dates, '94 I'm rather sketchy about. I remember being at WDW when Tower of Terror had recently opened, and Innoventions being a new thing, so I want to say '94.)
With those visit dates, I have memories, vague though they may be, of Epcot in the first half of the 90s. I definitely remember riding Horizons, World of Motion, the Hydrolators of The Living Seas, Body Wars, seeing the food-themed stage shows at The Land, and even some of the pre-Ellen Universe of Energy.
As a kid (and as an adult) I was a huge nerd. I grew up on Beakman's World and Bill Nye the Science Guy, and in general science and space exploration, along with then-upcoming technology fascinated me. I wanted to be an astronaut, at the time not knowing how slim of a possibility it would be. I spent hours at the library, reading every book I could get my hands on involving the future, space, and how the world around me worked. Even in the 90s, the majority of the books I read were written and published in the 80s, so, in a sense, I was a literary and educational child of the 80s.
Considering all of this, Epcot Center fed directly into the imagination center of my brain, and I loved every bit of it. In particular, the 1994 trip was a giant catalyst of this. It was during a time where much of the early Epcot attractions were beginning to be replaced, but overall, the soul of the park still existed.
These days education and imagination have been replaced by thrill rides. History has turned into marketing (Test Track), Science has been turned into Cartoonish fluff (Seas with Nemo) and an imaginative look at the future has been turned into a flight simulator (Horizons into Mission Space).
But possibly the biggest loss, as everyone knows, was Journey Into Imagination. What was once an attraction that outright encouraged the use of your mind has been turned into a soulless factory tour, of sorts.
Does this bother anyone else as much as it does me? Epcot may as well not even exist anymore, because the only attractions that even come close to Epcot's original mission statement are Spaceship Earth and Universe of Energy.
Now, to preface, I'm not quite a child of the 80s. I was born in late '85, so the majority of my childhood took place in the 90s. I've been to Walt Disney World five times in my lifetime: In 1989, 1994, 1997, 2010, and 2012. (At least, I'm certain on the '89, '97, '10, and '12 dates, '94 I'm rather sketchy about. I remember being at WDW when Tower of Terror had recently opened, and Innoventions being a new thing, so I want to say '94.)
With those visit dates, I have memories, vague though they may be, of Epcot in the first half of the 90s. I definitely remember riding Horizons, World of Motion, the Hydrolators of The Living Seas, Body Wars, seeing the food-themed stage shows at The Land, and even some of the pre-Ellen Universe of Energy.
As a kid (and as an adult) I was a huge nerd. I grew up on Beakman's World and Bill Nye the Science Guy, and in general science and space exploration, along with then-upcoming technology fascinated me. I wanted to be an astronaut, at the time not knowing how slim of a possibility it would be. I spent hours at the library, reading every book I could get my hands on involving the future, space, and how the world around me worked. Even in the 90s, the majority of the books I read were written and published in the 80s, so, in a sense, I was a literary and educational child of the 80s.
Considering all of this, Epcot Center fed directly into the imagination center of my brain, and I loved every bit of it. In particular, the 1994 trip was a giant catalyst of this. It was during a time where much of the early Epcot attractions were beginning to be replaced, but overall, the soul of the park still existed.
These days education and imagination have been replaced by thrill rides. History has turned into marketing (Test Track), Science has been turned into Cartoonish fluff (Seas with Nemo) and an imaginative look at the future has been turned into a flight simulator (Horizons into Mission Space).
But possibly the biggest loss, as everyone knows, was Journey Into Imagination. What was once an attraction that outright encouraged the use of your mind has been turned into a soulless factory tour, of sorts.
Does this bother anyone else as much as it does me? Epcot may as well not even exist anymore, because the only attractions that even come close to Epcot's original mission statement are Spaceship Earth and Universe of Energy.
Still love, love Epcot.....Just bring back the tapestry of nations Parade, which I miss very very much.
