Epcot - Future World, how did it get so screwed up?

[tstidm1]

Universe of Energy should be much shorter. The 45 minute length is what makes it a must avoid for me. I really hope that gets to be much shorter (closer to 20 minutes). I wish Imagination and SSE had more to it especially the ending third of SSE. It makes me wonder whether they tear down alot of Future World at some point in the next 10 years to re do it to be IP's.

 

[kbelle8995]

I wish they would put Dreamfinder back in JII and for Goodness sake DO NOT GET RID OF FIGMENT.

Also I think even though FW could stand some TLC, it's still my favorite park and an area I still find fun. Yes it is in much need of TLC but not as much as DHS. It is unlikely to happen given the amount of things that Disney has on the planning boards

 

[MrKnight]

Pete just mentioned this thread on the Daily Fix!

 

[RedAngie]

Epcot is basically a large outdoor bar and restaurant in an awesome park like setting; I suspect it's very profitable that way.

And the very high cover charge sure helps the bottom line.

 

[tlmadden73]

It was cool for me as a kid in the 80s ..

Then technology outside the park outgrew the "future" in the park. Museums have outpaced Epcot at showcasing science and technology in fun, interactive ways.

Just like the whole "making of movies" theme became outdated in MGM Studios, the whole "edutainment" part of Future world needs to go and be rethemed.

Tear the whole thing down and make a Disney version of Sea World .. a gigantic aquarium/aquatic park that is like Animal Kingdom.

I've always thought World Showcase was boring and while is a great place to shop/eat .. shouldn't be part of a theme park. There was just nothing to do for your typical theme park guest there. 2 rides and a few boring movies? A very expensive and outdated museum.

 

[buccikulju]

The writing was on the wall when they unceremoniously murdered Horizons. Why? Why? Why? It makes me sad. It was probably the only thing I liked in Future World back in the day. I thought it was so cool. I mean, how could Disney get rid of the sequel to Carousel of Progress?! I firmly believe Walt would have loved it. I read an article that said that Horizons was in many ways, the heart and soul of Epcot. Ah well. Lots of bad choices were made in the 90s.

 

[tlmadden73]

The fact is .. Disney doesn't care.

Tons of first timers will come to Disney .. spend at least one day in every park (no matter what is in it) (thus spreading out the crowds among four parks) and have a decent time no matter what us that have been there many times "remember" what is was like.

Disney has no reason to re-imagine or update the park with the type of cost they are doing with Star Wars Land or Toy Story land as long as Epcot draws (and holds) crowds with Soaring, Test Track and the festivals at World Showcase. Add in the new Frozen ride and A&E M&G .. Epcot will begin to draw the families with toddlers crowd away from MK that has been avoiding it for years.

I think Epcot will see a HUGE dip in attendance once Pandora and DHS lands open .. and then maybe they will do something to spruce it up .. but like DHS .. they will let it die a slow death .. maybe redo another attraction .. add another festival (Christmas around the World festival?) before doing something drastic.

 

[ratt1345]

It would be nice to see Epcot brought back to life in a hands-on, interactive, fun, educational way (ex. Frozen Ever After? Sorry, has no place in Epcot).

I agree on both things. Yes, the original things they had in '82 maybe outdated, but you could do similar things with today's technology. As for Frozen...that should be over in Magic Kingdom.

 

[DiannaVM]

Growing up we didn't dwell in Future World all that much when we would go to Epcot so my memories of it are very vague, but attraction-wise I believe they have done well. I haven't ridden JII since I was maybe 5 and honestly have no inclination to, so I can't have a say on it.

What I will say about Future World is that there is still alot of potential to go back to its glory days with an updated take. I remember one of the last times I went to Epcot with my family (in the early 2000's) before my latest trip, we basically just walked past FW after we were done riding SSE, but I could see all the exhibits (i.e. the house of the future, etc) and I was so interested to look at and experience everything. On my last trip there, my DH and I were at Epcot at rope drop which meant we had a lenghty wait to get into World Showcase, so we took some time to look around in FW (particularly Innoventions) and I was disappointed at the sub-par exhibits and just the overall feel of it. I remember it being alot interesting, and maybe its just my memories fooling me. And I know it wasn't part of it but I miss the Wonders of Life Pavillion so much! I think that is a Pavillion they could've easily kept up if they had had any interest in actually keeping it updated.

And I rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends for the first time and it was one of the most disappointing rides in WDW. DH and I walked out of it vowing to never go on that again.

 

[labattblue]

The 50th anniversary of WDW is 5-1/2 years away. I'd like to think that with Pandora being completed in 2017, and hopefully TSL & SWL by late 2019(at the latest?), that something can be done to improve at least a part of FW in time for the 50th.

 

[anniemae]

The fact is .. Disney doesn't care.

Tons of first timers will come to Disney .. spend at least one day in every park (no matter what is in it) (thus spreading out the crowds among four parks) and have a decent time no matter what us that have been there many times "remember" what is was like.

Disney has no reason to re-imagine or update the park with the type of cost they are doing with Star Wars Land or Toy Story land as long as Epcot draws (and holds) crowds with Soaring, Test Track and the festivals at World Showcase. Add in the new Frozen ride and A&E M&G .. Epcot will begin to draw the families with toddlers crowd away from MK that has been avoiding it for years.

I think Epcot will see a HUGE dip in attendance once Pandora and DHS lands open .. and then maybe they will do something to spruce it up .. but like DHS .. they will let it die a slow death .. maybe redo another attraction .. add another festival (Christmas around the World festival?) before doing something drastic.

I felt this way for a while. I think they are trying to spread out the crowds.

 

[PerfessorZ]

As others have alluded to, the problem is that FW was built with a permanent World's Fair feel to it. These days, technology evolves so quickly that showcasing the latest and greatest can only happen for a short window before it becomes outdated and comparatively low tech. Disney would have to really speed up the process from concept to implementation, and it seems like they're unable or unwilling to do that, with or without corporate sponsors.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Blame the enormously profitable festivals. As long as those are going on with people willing to pay admission to eat and drink, why should they fix FW? Frozen will make it a must-do for all the littles, possibly a two-day park depending on the tiering. If they aren't fixing it, it probably doesn't need fixing from a profitability standpoint.

 

[lugnut33]

Strap in, here we go:
1. Re-imagineer the entrance to get rid of the tombstones. So terrible looking and unaesthetically pleasing. I loved the old entrance with the tall palm trees and statue in the fountain.
2. Go back to the original idea that had a people mover running through Communicore. Within Communicore you could have interesting displays from universities around the world (I'm stealing this idea from another Dis'er)
3. Revamp Ellen's into a ride about energy alternatives... or it could be made into a ride about the history of earth. That way you can keep the amazing dino scenes. I love the length of the ride.
4. Take the long ago forgotten body pavilion and turn it into a pavilion about our universe. Have an attraction hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson about the amazing breakthroughs in astro physics. Imagine the cool things you can do with black holes, worm holes, bubble universes, speed of light, time, atomic particles, etc.
5. I'm OK with Mission Space and Test Track.
6. Knock down the old Odyssey restaurant and build a new triple decker restaurant with windows facing the beautiful gardens and water. What a wonderful place to sit and have lunch or dinner.
7. I love the Fountain of Nations, don't change a thing. So nice to sit there and take in a water show and listen to the music. Maybe more benches all around would be nice.
8. Imagination Pavilion has unlimited potential, just use your imagination and it would be better than what's there now.
9. Land Pavilion stays with the same attractions, but update the Living With The Land ride and the show with Timon and Pumba.
10. Not sure what to do with the Seas pavilion. It's a monolith that would be difficult to replace. It feels tired and old inside even though the attractions themselves are pretty good.

 

[DiannaVM]

4. Take the long ago forgotten body pavilion and turn it into a pavilion about our universe. Have an attraction hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson about the amazing breakthroughs in astro physics. Imagine the cool things you can do with black holes, worm holes, bubble universes, speed of light, time, atomic particles, etc.

YES! I would love to see a pavilion like this!

Actually, its kind of funny you should mention this, because responding to this thread earlier I was going to say that they should've put Star Wars stuff at Epcot rather than DHS. I know this has little correlation with what you said, but it made me think of it. I am not a Star Wars fan, but if they wanted to spread out the crowds, putting Star Wars in Epcot in my opinion would've been a good choice.

 

[Stefecatzz]

I love Epcot for the WS, Soarin & I do love Figment. But I agree that much of it just needs to be updated in order for it to become worth spending more time there again.

 

[rteetz]

The 50th anniversary of WDW is 5-1/2 years away. I'd like to think that with Pandora being completed in 2017, and hopefully TSL & SWL by late 2019(at the latest?), that something can be done to improve at least a part of FW in time for the 50th.

It likely wouldn't be anything major. It would have to involve innoventions since there isn't much of anything there right now.

There have also been rumors for years of a new illuminations. It's possible that comes about by the 50th.

 

[rteetz]

Blame the enormously profitable festivals. As long as those are going on with people willing to pay admission to eat and drink, why should they fix FW? Frozen will make it a must-do for all the littles, possibly a two-day park depending on the tiering. If they aren't fixing it, it probably doesn't need fixing from a profitability standpoint.

Bingo!

 

[goofy4tink]

I own dvc at BWVs. I bought there because it was so easy to get to EPCOT...our favorite park...and to DHS. I was at BWVs for a week, returned home on Sunday.
I went to FW once, just once. Rode SE, Universe of Energy (to kill time until the next FP), TT. Nothing else....not even a stop in MouseGears! That's a first.
WS? Not much better. Had a open 90 mins, dd hadn't been there (since her last trip 8 yrs ago), so walked through, from GB, to Mexico and finally France. We stopped in each country long enough for dd to take a selfie in each country. And for me to buy my caramel apple in Germany!! No movies, nothing. She said she had seen them all before.
We returned another night to see IllumiNations. I have never spent so little time in EPCOT!

There is a lot of room for improvement, that's for sure.

 

[gdrj]

While the commitment to DHS(SWL & TSL & ???), and AK(Pandora, Rivers of Light, etc..) will be great, Epcot, specifically FW is a train wreck. Compared to when the pavilions first opened...

What say you?

Lack of corporate sponsor's willing to fork over money IMO is one reason for the Future World's feeble resemblance of the future. With technology changing so quickly I'm not sure anyone is willing to invest. Also corporate America has changed a lot since EPCOT opened with multiple economic downturns.

Also from a Disney perspective, using Horizons as an example. When it closed, it pretty much sat with no usage. Over the past years it has grown to be used for Food and Wine and the Flower and Garden Show. Both uses are more filler than substance for the area.

I think the Disney bean counters looked at exhibits closing from big to small and noticed no negative impact on attendance or revenue. So they saw no reason to invest. No reason spend millions when we were still willing to spend our money there. I mean to have Captain EO comeback 14 years after it closed the first time (Yes I know it came back after his death) was just pathetic.