It's odd. It seems almost everyone here sees that Epcot is suffering (other than a few comments earlier about how attendance was fine there and they would leave it alone because of this).
I can't argue with the fact that money is better spent on Future World. But uh... Disney doesn't have such a great record with the concept of "future". Tomorrowland is a good example. I'm speaking totally out of conjecture here, as I have never seen Stitches Escape or Monsters Laugh floor.. but they don't have the best reputations around. Looking back at the early history of
Disneyland, future world was primarily a showcase for vendors. Monsanto, the house of the future, chemical companies, plastics - you know, back when they could say we would all be living like the Jetsons in the far flung year of 2015.
I don't know as much about Epcot as I do about Disneyland, but it does seem they have had trouble keeping sponsors. Whether its the governmental sponsors at some of the showcases or the corporate sponsors in futurworld. One might argue they don't need sponsors when they are charging daily prices of $100 per person, but if the business model is built that way, then so be it.
I don't think Disney had any reason to revamp anything for the past 10 years. What competition did they have? Where else was a family going to take their kids? 6 Flags isn't even in the same ballpark as Disney, and they were going bankrupt left and right. Universal was sitting on 2 parks that were fairly outdated themselves. In 2005 Universal Studios was pretty beat up. And IOA hadn't changed much at all from the day it opened (apart from shutting the boats and the interactive tricertops down).
maybe I'm wrong, but I think harry potter changed everything. When Wizarding World opened it brought so much money to Universal that it totally changed their business plans. The theme parks became a cash generator rather than just a big gift shop. Suddenly the resorts were packed, merch was flying out of the park, and people were flying in from across the ocean. Then came Diagon Alley. And all of this was built in the time frame of new fantasy land and a mine train.
Disney would have had to be blind to not see what was going on just down the interstate. Harry Potter, Simpsons, Transformers, and now a new King Kong all in a matter of a few years. The new JP & Kong movies are bound to help rebuild interest in that section of IOA as well. Suddenly it wasn't enough to just keep serving up DHS as it stood. Or to let Epcot leech off of the world showcase to stay relevant. Universal is expanding, and they are expanding fast. A new waterpark is in the works, rumors of a sea world acquisition, they bought Wet N Wild last year, they have several resorts currently planned in addition to their new Cabana Beach resort, and they have committed to a brand new attraction every single year with another giant in park expansion on the table and a know plan for a third gate (set for 2020).
If you look at the rest of the Disney corporations actions for the past 10 years, it is clear they have been focused on IP's and movies. They have literally saved Marvel from itself (there was a time when Batman was the only comic book movie worth a damn), they got the rights to use Spidey back, they have seemingly unified the Star Wars fanverse after Lucas did his best to run those into the ground, and their original IP's (along with Pixar) are as popular as their 1990's golden age.
I totally agree that the frozen boat ride and soarin's new screen are temp fixes. They simply can't afford to ignore the park. And I think the big picture, as illustrated above, shows why.
As far as the notion that the Frozen ride is 3 years too late? Hate to break it to you, but Ariel was about 20 years late... and that ride seems to be doing just fine. I'm sure that girls who loved Ariel went through a phase where they didn't think she was cool anymore as well. But guess what? They grew up, and they love it again. For all the talk of "my daughter is already over it"... well, all the anecdotes in the world do not change the fact that Disney is a sea of blue elsa dresses right now. And has been for over a year.