Evolving Epcot and new rides

[artemis908]

I am planning a trip to Walt Disney World next year. I am an adult with no kids and have been going to WDW for the past 28 years. It was a big part of my life growing up and continues to be part of my adulthood. I have always been a Disney fan and still watch the movies and animated features.

I have been thinking about all of the changes and new rides being added and noticed a theme - they are all based on movies.

This in particular disappoints me when I see a movie focused ride like Guardians of the Galaxy replacing an educational ride like Universe of Energy. So I started to think - why does it bother me? I mean I was never a smarty smart kid growing up and kids don't like to learn on vacation, right?

Growing up I was never a kid that got good grades or did well in school. I always did badly with tests. But I loved Epcot. Science and History were my worst subjects in school and yet Spaceship Earth was my favorite ride. Why? Epcot taught me to have fun while learning something I didn't know. It made space, biology, history, mechanics, technology - all fun to me. But slowly those types of rides are being replaced by movie focused rides. And it feels like with those rides we see losing innovative story telling. Even look at the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean - two rides with such unique storylines they made movies out of them.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same way and I know Disney is just a company doing what every company does - looking for ways to make more profit - but sooner or later Disney is going to just be a different version of Universal Studios and I am hoping Disney will eventually learn from fans like us that isn't necessarily the right direction to go.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I can see where you are coming from, and I always loved math and science, so I enjoyed Epcot when I was a teenager. I still enjoy Epcot now, but I am waiting to pass judgement after everything is complete. The problem with Epcot is that a lot of the rides are/were sponsored by a corporation and Disney has been having issues with funding. I believe I heard that Siemens is dropping sponsorship of Spaceship Earth, so I can see where Disney is coming from, but I will miss the educational aspect of Epcot. I'm just hoping they also do something with the Wonder's of Life pavilion.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

"May EPCOT Center entertain, inform, and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere."

That's from the dedication plaque, and sets out EPCOT's original mission: entertain, inform, and inspire. Inarguably, the original EPCOT Center did that. It wasn't just about learning things, there was a key narrative running through most of the attractions - inspiration and optimism. But they weren't perfect. They probably leaned a little too far in the "inform and inspire" direction, especially for most current guests. (Well, and guests then, too, if you look at revenue/attendance in the early '80s.)

But today's attractions seem to lean too far in the "entertain" direction. Test Track is certainly entertaining, and offers a little information, but it's hard to say it inspires. Soarin' offers entertainment, and some travelogue-style information, but inspiration? That inspiration is why fans of old-school EPCOT love it so. It was different, in a tangible way. It could be again, but probably won't.

Why? Well, the park is overdue for a renovation, and according to the chairman that renovation will be "more Disney, more timeless, more relevant, and family friendly." Who knows what that means. But I don't think we'll ever get back to the heady, optimistic future that EPCOT Center gave us. You'll never convince the shareholders that it's "entertaining" enough for today's guests.

ETA: That's not to say that Epcot is going to a "bad" park or that it won't be fun and have redeeming value in the future and that I won't keep going and enjoying my time there. It's just that it's going to be different from what it was.

 

[FCDub]

The amount of people who feel as though the parks are straying away from their original vision, or whatever they might think, is infinitely tiny compared to the amount of people who just want to ride fun attractions.

The larger group will win out. The smaller group doesn't have to like it, of course, but they should accept it sooner rather than later.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I love Epcot. It is why I fell in love with Disney. I remember being in the Magic Kingdom in the summer of 1980 and seeing the EP model on Main St. My jaw, literally, dropped. I remember first visiting and making dining reservations in Communicore. I remember Kitchen Kabaret! That being said, I don't mind seeing Epcot evolve. Epcot is not what Walt Disney envisioned it would be. And, though it was his dream to build it and really one of the big impetuses for building all of WDW, his true vision for EP never happened. So, because of that, I guess I don't mind that the park has evolved. I also think, with the speed in which technology changes nowadays, there is no way they could truly keep up or even be on the forefront of innovation anymore. By the time they installed the newest, most innovative thing, it would become obsolete. I understand why the IP attractions are coming to the park. At the end of the day, it's a publicly traded company that has a duty to make money for its shareholders. If Guardians of the Galaxy will pull in more people than a severely outdated ride about energy, then so be it.

 

[dreiwhit]

I went to Epcot for the first time as 44 year old adult. Being middle aged, i'm not one for thrill rides anymore and I can't do roller coasters or bounce me around type rides (like Star Tours) anymore due to my lower back.

So I tend to go more for the sedate and geeky learning rides. I like to learn new things. So I really hope that there will be more attractions that have a fun focus on learning, not just rides taken from Disney movies. But sadly, Disney's recent trend at Epcot isn't to be creative or imaginative. Its to take a IP that they already own and stick a ride in there based upon it. Ratatouille, Frozen and the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster comes to mind. There's so much science and learning related they could do, but I don't think they want to do it.

And, my kids (15 and 10) both love Epcot for the same reason as I do. Not all teenagers and pre-teens think Epcot is boring.

Even though its still our favorite park, I can see a day in the future where we sadly skip Epcot.

 

[loves to dive]

Doesn't really bother me too much, I'm still bitter about them changing Figment so anything else they do is water off my back. Seriously, it makes sense if they can't get sponsors to just use their own property. I've been going to WDW for over 30 years and still go at least once a year so I've seen a lot of things change through the years. I just take it all in stride, as long as they have world showcase I'm good. I will say, we were there last week and were happy as larks that they had moved Frozen out of the church in Norway and changed it to an exhibit about Norse Gods. It was very interesting and fit much better for me. Off topic sort of but I'm also still bitter they took out GMR to replace with a MM ride. I know it's all about the mouse but HS was one of our favorite parks because there was a lack of kid's stuff there. Oh well, I'll get over it.

 

[KenHutch]

Well I may get stoned for this but I am looking forward to the new stuff at Epcot. We did not start going until 2006 and with the exception of Figment (her favorite thing in Epcot) she was incredibly bored. And this is from a girl who is planning a career an electrical engineer. Remember Disney has to get enough people going to Epcot to justify an Epcot.