EPCOT then and now, and coming soon, your thoughts & memories

[Punkrockbebop]

So, this weekend, as I mentioned in another thread, my BF showed me the most fantastic coverage of Spaceship Earth (as well as every former version of that ride) by MartinsVidsDotNet on YouTube. Every aspect of every part of the ride and the Communicore area is thoroughly covered. You can really get sucked into a serious rabbit hole on that channel, which appears to exist solely for the sake of documenting everything that Disney World used to be, every change that was made, in painstaking detail, and how it all evolved (or devolved, as the case may be). We also watched some other videos about other areas and rides in Epcot which all together, really gave me a picture of what the park used to be. It was a holistic and intelligently interrelated conceptual evolving whole, once upon a time, which was interactive and educational in many aspects and not just a passive experience of riding and drinking and consuming. Then, over time, presumably as people’s attention-spans have diminished (let’s face it, the rides and films were far, far longer, the interactive games and areas required more of you, etc), and technology evolved, the park changed and was broken up into fragmented shells of its former self, like a fragmented neighborhood that lost it’s soul. Look, for instance, what the expansive Imagination Pavillion and the Journey Into (your) Imagination was vs the annoying cartoon and gift shop it is, now. Amazing.

I still want to dive through the content to excavate what Epcot used to be, the Epcot I never got the chance to see. I’m fascinated by history and origins. I’m also interested in people’s storys and memories of being there and what it was like, through their eyes.

So far, from what we’ve watched together, we agree that the one of the only things that improved over the years of change, IMO, is the Spaceship Earth Ride-through. The two original versions were dry and lifeless. The third (Jeremy Irons) version had a lot of awkward moments, especially toward the end, and the music didn’t quite work, and is even creepy in spots, leaving you with a feeling of remoteness. The best version is the latest version, with the stirring and emotionally engaging score, combined with the inspiring and witty narration by Judy Dench, and with new scenes in the computer area and improvements in the animatronics. All of these scenes cumulate into in the moment where the musical score swells, the ride cars swing backward and the bright earth is revealed to us, which actually brought a tear to my eye when I first experienced it. You are further brought into the story by participating in the fun interactive choose-your-path video as you descend. This version feels expansive to me, and leaves me with a feeling of hope and connectedness. I hope the new version will be even better, as knowing this version is being changed forever makes me feel very sad.

Having seen the concepts for the renovations to the park, I would love to believe that the new concepts for Epcot will bring back a cohesiveness to the park that has been lost over time, and won’t dumb it down further. I hope.

It would be so interesting to hear others thoughts and stories and thoughts about Epcot, new and classic.