Am I the only one to think right now DHS is a better deal than Epcot?

[photogineer]

I keep saying thread comparing DHS to the other parks and saying how it's a shell because of all the things that shut down. Including a thread I saw today about Epcot v. DHS and the consensus seemed to be that Epcot is full of things to do and DHS is empty, and I feel like I must be missing something. Let me preface this by saying Epcot has always been my favorite park but lately I've been feeling like it has little to offer me!

Epcot closures/removals in recent history:

• Innoventions West
• Maelstrom
• Segway tours
• HISTA

Epcot main attractions:

• Spaceship Earth
• Mission: Space
• Soarin'
• Living with the Land
• IllumiNations

DHS closures/removals:

• Backlot Tour
• The original Star Tours, though I like the new one

DHS main attractions:

• Tower of Terror
• Rock'n'Roller Coaster
• Indiana Jones Stunt Show
• Lights, Motor, Action
• Toy Story Mania
• The Great Movie Ride
• Star Tours
• Fantasmic

Now this list was made mostly from memory, so maybe I'm just dealing with perceptual bias, but it seems to me like DHS still has a lot to offer, it also has great restaurants like Epcot, which I didn't include here because I don't have much experience in either parks restaurants.

So, what does everyone else think? Is Epcot really still the winner here? Is DHS really a shell of a park? It feels like they both have a fair amount of stuff to do, but to me I just feel like Epcot is the shell of a park. Especially with the closing of Innoventions West! Let's not even get started on figment...

Adam

 

[WEDWDW]

World Showcase makes Epcot the clear winner IMHO.

 

[kaybird]

Don't know that I can say better or worse. Still love both, and would never miss either one. I'm a big park hopper, and Epcot to studios is one of my favorites!

 

[Jfsag123]

You left Test Track and the Nemo attractions off your Epcot list. Also Figment and EO. I wouldn't consider these major, but if you're including the (highly skippable, IMHO) stunt show in the DHS list, it's worth mentioning. And I think Epcot wins the restaurant war hands down. Bottom line is we can spend 2-3 days in Epcot while struggling to fill up a full day in DHS.

 

[Newsies]

It depends on personal priorities.

For example- I LOVE meeting princesses and I LOVE the idea of traveling to other countries. So Epcot is the winner for me on that front. And while I personally find the dining options at DHS to be lacking, you think that there are other great dining options at DHS. DHS may be the better deal to you and that's great! The best part about Disney is that there's so much to see and do that naming "the best of the best" is all subject to personal opinion.

 

[amg35]

You forgot Test Track for Epcot.

In terms of rides, they are pretty even for me.

Food, drinking, atmosphere, Epcot wins with World Showcase. Plus, the movie in France is one of my favorite things to see.

 

[shaneray]

TOT and star tours are the only things left that interests us at HS. It's a 3 hr park for us now. We need multiple days for everything we want to see, do, and eat in Epcot however.

 

[revdon64]

You also missed the closing of the animation building at HS. That was becoming more popular by the day and now the Hiro/Baymax meet and greet is gone.

I agree with others that there is plenty to do in both parks for my family. I think that Epcot has better dining options, but the food I've had at HS (SciFi, Primetime, Mama Melrose) has also been very good. And if rumors are right, there will be plenty more coming to HS. Really, I think it's comparing apples and oranges. They're both good at wht they do, they ust do different things.

 

[fbb]

LMA alone makes Epcot the clear winner for me, although DHS gained some points by putting American Idol out to pasture.

 

[minnie mum]

You left Test Track and the Nemo attractions off your Epcot list. Also Figment and EO. I wouldn't consider these major, but if you're including the (highly skippable, IMHO) stunt show in the DHS list, it's worth mentioning. And I think Epcot wins the restaurant war hands down. Bottom line is we can spend 2-3 days in Epcot while struggling to fill up a full day in DHS.

The OP also neglected to include Turtle Talk, the Living Seas, SOAT, Ellen, and Journey Into Imagination. Plus American Adventure and the 3 movies and the live performances in World Showcase.

Come on OP, if you are going to argue side by side comparisons, at least start with a complete and unbiased list.

 

[Fizban]

Yes i think you are

 

[Disneylover99]

Epcot wins hands down on restaurants and counter service locations alone.

 

[Sytrace]

I homeschool my kids and so we find ourselves at World Showcase ALOT! We took the "Behind the Seeds" tour a year or so ago and found it wonderful and worth the extra money. My kids are 12 and 13 and so Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space and Living with the Land are the top must do attractions. But they also enjoy the attractions in Mexico, the American Adventure, the market in Morocco and the ambiance in France. Italy is home to one of our top favorite restaraunts, Via Napoli and China has our favorite Nine Dragons. We like Le Cellier also. We like attending the concert series shows in the summer and at the Food and Wine Festival in the fall. Also the Candlelight processional is amazing.

That being said, we also have our favorites at MGM...oops...HS. I am thinking of finding a backstage tour here for the educational value and create a "field trip"
The kids aren't into RNR or TOT at all, but enjoy Star Tours and Indiana Jones (it will be sad when it closes next year) They don't care about Frozen and I can tell you I felt massive relief when they got rid of American Idol. Yikes, only so many times I can handle that.
We love Sci Fi, Prime time café and the yummy candy store on the corner. It brings back memories of walking down MS in the MK and smelling the cookies.
I miss having that little Nestle shop right there. Anyway, I digress.

We can do one visit to HS and be okay for months on end, but we will always make it a point to go to EPCOT.

 

[DisneyFive]

We still prefer HS over Epcot. (Although EP is slowly gaining ground)

HS is not a shell of a park. I think people are just tired of the same shows they've been seeing for years at HS.

Dan

 

[Mom2Stitch]

We do HS in one day and are done-no need to go back. I always plan a day for Epcot and then we end up there multiple times during a trip for meals, which allows us to kind of piece together our WS touring so it's not so overwhelming.

 

[sharona]

As far as rides/attractions go, they are fairly equal, IMO, but the Animation class was our favorite thing at DHS so that very recently tips it toward EP for us. The other thing that I find superior about EP compared to DHS is the layout. I've always found DHS to be a bit awkward to tour. EP can be toured without a lot of backtracking.

 

[itchin2go]

As others have said, World Showcase is the number 1 "attraction" in Epcot for my family. I get that if you don't enjoy World Showcase, you could think Epcot and DHS are equally lacking, or even that DHS comes out ahead. But for us, when you put World Showcase in the mix, there's no contest.

 

[photogineer]

You left Test Track and the Nemo attractions off your Epcot list. Also Figment and EO. I wouldn't consider these major, but if you're including the (highly skippable, IMHO) stunt show in the DHS list, it's worth mentioning.

You forgot Test Track for Epcot.

You also missed the closing of the animation building at HS. That was becoming more popular by the day and now the Hiro/Baymax meet and greet is gone.

Well, I'm not known for my good memory I did forget Test Track, but I omitted Nemo, Figment and EO intentionally since I didn't consider them major, and as I said:

Now this list was made mostly from memory, so maybe I'm just dealing with perceptual bias,

So I suppose that's where my preferences started to override things.

The OP also neglected to include Turtle Talk, the Living Seas, SOAT, Ellen, and Journey Into Imagination. Plus American Adventure and the 3 movies and the live performances in World Showcase.

Come on OP, if you are going to argue side by side comparisons, at least start with a complete and unbiased list.

The point I was trying to make was that for me, I couldn't see how DHS was a shell and Epcot was so amazing, I was looking to see if anyone else felt similarly, clearly you don't, which is cool, every one has their preferences. I was just wondering about the people that shared mine.

We still prefer HS over Epcot. (Although EP is slowly gaining ground)

HS is not a shell of a park. I think people are just tired of the same shows they've been seeing for years at HS.

Dan

There's at least two of us! I guess all the shell talk was eating at me, because for years I've been feeling like Epcot is getting neglected. Closing Innoventions really hurt the park I think, and I can't remember the last time we got a new (original) attraction there, before FLE in MK, what was the last park to get something new? Was it AK with EE? My memory (as demonstrated) is awful.

Adam

 

[photogineer]

As others have said, World Showcase is the number 1 "attraction" in Epcot for my family. I get that if you don't enjoy World Showcase, you could think Epcot and DHS are equally lacking, or even that DHS comes out ahead. But for us, when you put World Showcase in the mix, there's no contest.

Yeah for me, it never did much beyond the restaurants, I'm specifically targeting Flower and Garden for my next trip to try and make WS more palatable for me, and DGF is very excited for it, but it just never did much for me.

Adam

 

[experiment_6two6]

I would have to say HS over Epcot. This is going to make me sound stupid and I'm sure some people will highly disagree with me, but, I hate learning. I go to a theme park to have fun. I don't want to sit down and watch a movie about the heritage of a culture that I probably learned about in High School. If I wanted a learning experience, I'd have gone to a museum. Sorry, not sorry.

Edit: Rereading that it made me sound like I hated learning in general. I think the power of knowledge is an awesome thing. Not when I'm at Disney.