Is Disney going too far with IP makeovers and becoming anti educational with their rides?

[old lady]

The Norway pavilion and other attractions in the Animal Kingdom and Epcot and other parks has some educational shows and rides, but now it looks like the parks have abandoned that for IP makeovers and promoting films that are popular to replace older rides. Has this gone too far? Should they be making new rides not just making overs?

 

[glassslippergirl]

Interesting question. Lets’s face it. WDW rides have always been focused on entertainment over education. To say that one goes to WDW for the educational aspects is a stretch. That said, the first time I rode the reboot of Test Track, my reaction was that they took out everything close to educational and replaced it with a sleek look. This stands out most to me in the rooms that used to be for “testing” the effects of heat, cold, and corrosion. There is literally nothing in these rooms today except for sleek blue lighting. And this was not even an IP makeover (though it looks a little Tron-esque). Assuming that education and entertainment were once equal missions of Epcot, it does seem like they are skewing toward the entertainment part.

As for the IP, they do have a much wider pantheon to draw from today than they did when Epcot or even AK opened. You can’t blame Disney for wanting to showcase what they have in their parks. Does it seem a bit haphazard now? Yes, but I haven’t seen the finished product— meaning the whole new realization of Epcot. I thought Pandora in AK was a crazy idea, but they made it work.

 

[holden]

I wouldn’t call them anti-education. They are just using what they have. Look at Universal. Every ride there is based on IP.

Would I love to see the EP rides of old? Sure! But that might be because that’s what I grew up with. Today’s generation is different. Making as much $ as they can is the bottom line, not educating.

 

[Kevlar10]

Most people go for the themed rides. When my children were younger, they loved the educational attractions. We spent so much time at the “piggy bank” and body wars that I had to force them to do other attractions. We still went back on our last days because that’s what they liked most. Now that they are older, they love the themed attractions. I would like to see Disney keep the educational attractions or continue to build more but I love riding the themed rides with them as well. We do go to Colonial Williamsburg every couple of years so I get my “educational” fix there. Bottom line, Disney is about building their brands and as long as it’s done well, I’m okay with it.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

Personally I found the attractions at Epcot completely boring when I was a kid. I went back last month as an adult and found the park much more entertaining. For example, I thought the Frozen themeing to the old Maelstrom ride was a huge improvement. I don't go to Disney World to learn, I go to have fun!

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Disney is first and foremost a company concerned with making money for their shareholders... as a teacher i can safely say that education is not usually financially profitable for those doing the teaching (but it is rewarding in other ways).

I understand the nostalgia for the “original” epcot but lets not forget how that park struggled in the early years. Were the classic edutainment rides fun? yes... did most ppl want to ride them repeatedly? no. The ip overlays saved/ are saving epcot... If epcot had stayed in its original form we might have seen another euro disney disaster.

Also back in the 80’s disneys movies were an embarassment and the co. was not in a great financial position. The changes have allowed us to continue to enjoy much of epcot rather then it being closed.

I disagree entirely with AK i find it more educational then before, especially the safari now that the fake elephants are gone... we are passholders at our local zoo and AK consistently remains our favorite experience on wdw peoperty, I learn something new everytime we visit