Is Epcot "outdated?"

[Neverland98]

The reason to update some of the attractions (energy, living with the land, health, etc) is to showcase the FUTURE of these fields. And, yes...future is changing. But the end of the Living with the Land ride describes some "advances in the field..", but they are not emerging methods...they are current practice. The best part of that ride is going through the greenhouse. If the front half was updated/enhanced, it could be a really engaging ride.

 

[Nancyg56]

The reason to update some of the attractions (energy, living with the land, health, etc) is to showcase the FUTURE of these fields. And, yes...future is changing. But the end of the Living with the Land ride describes some "advances in the field..", but they are not emerging methods...they are current practice. The best part of that ride is going through the greenhouse. If the front half was updated/enhanced, it could be a really engaging ride.

I think that one of the reasons my DH and I really enjoyed the Behind the Seeds tour so much was that instead of hearing the recorded speech, we got to engage in a discussion with the tour guide who was able to tell us about advances that are being made currently, not those that have already taken place.

 

[LENNON500]

Nope.....is the Empire State Building outdated? It's a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, pure Disney park and "practically perfect in every way" just like it is.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I think Epcot is outdated in Future World and it needs updates and more attractions instead of just taking something away and replacing it with something else (like they did with Maelstrom - they should have kept that AND added a new Frozen ride if they wanted it).

I still enjoy World Showcase but would like an update to the movies and displays except for China's tombstone warrior exhibit - I really like to spend time looking around there every trip since it seems like I see something new each time.

 

[atp]

EPCOT is my favorite park. I do think some attractions are outdated, but mostly I think it's lacking attractions and rides at the moment and also some rides are desperately in need for a refurb, like Soarin for instance. The movie did things I never thought were possible on a few occasions.

I would keep most of the rides there. I would do something else with Captain EO, add interesting stuff to Innovations East and West, improve or redo the Figment ride and the post ride area, possibly start using the second floor again. If they reverted that ride to what it used be in the early 90s it would be much better than it is now. I would add another country or two to World Showcase, or at least a ride type of thing to one of the existing countries. I would fix Soarin and perhaps add another similar ride elsewhere with a different theme. I would use the Wonders of Life pavilion for something other than Food & Wine. If they did any of the things I mentioned it would already be a big improvement in my opinion.

Most of the other rides and attractions are fine.

However, I can see why they haven't done anything. Why bother when people are still coming? And why bother with actual rides and attractions when you can pretty much fill the park to capacity just by selling guests food and alcohol from around the world? It's a win win. More people come AND they will spend money on all the food and alcohol.

Of course that's not exactly what the Disney parks are about but perhaps they will evolve into something like that. Less rides, more experiences you have to pay for. It seems to be going in that direction, specially with the FastPass+ thing. It would not surprise me if Disney turns all rides into FP+ only soon and you are only allowed a set number of rides each day. Kind of like the old ticket system, except a little bit worse in some ways.

 

[SJMajor67]

If you are going to list attractions that need updating...let's not forget probably the worst offender: the Energy attraction. The current version opened in 1996!

It is amazing to see how closely Ellen's current appearance is to how she looked almost 20 years ago!

Though the attraction is a bit open ended, there have been some exciting advances in the World of Energy in the last 19 years!

I just got back a couple weeks ago and although almost 100% has been the same (been going every year for about 15 years) they did take out Ellen from the dinosaur part, where she was fighting the big snake like creature, and replaced her with more pterodactyls that just make noise. I was disappointed in that, mainly because my fiancé was with us and she hadn't been in almost 10 years, but never on that ride, and she loves Ellen. I was looking forward having her see that because of the comments Ellen makes.

 

[yeheyprincex2]

yes its outdated and some things are so old I have not even bothered to check it out like,Caption EO, Figment ride. I enjoy WS the way it is.

 

[powellrj]

Nope.....is the Empire State Building outdated? It's a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, pure Disney park and "practically perfect in every way" just like it is.

But you aren't paying $100 a person to see the Empire State Building. If it wasn't for the Food and Wine, we would bypass Epcot this year. As it is, we are just going to F&W and didn't even book any Epcot fastpasses.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Nope.....is the Empire State Building outdated? It's a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, pure Disney park and "practically perfect in every way" just like it is.

The topic of the thread isn't about taking away the nostalgia of MK's Main St. I'd agree with you if anyone was talking about removing the pagoda or the stave church. Future World deserves to be about the future. Think about it from a child's point of view. If that part of Epcot depicts the past, what message does it send?

The Empire State Building is surrounded by the most modern buildings in the world (across all Manhattan), and the balance of future and past is what makes the island so iconic.

Early Epcot promised, per a quote from Walt, " If we can bring together the technical know how of American Industry and the creative imagination of the Disney organization - I'm confident we can create right here in Disney World a showcase to the world of the American free enterprise system."

Epcot was also designed to celebrate the classic balance of past and future. It could be SO much more: the promise of 3D printing, the latest in robotics, innovations in solar, etc.

Imagine an Epcot where children could print a toy from their own imagination. Imagine trying the newest electronic prosthetic. Imagine the fun of holding a completely flexible cell phone? Epcot could offer all of the above and more.

The world is full of amazing innovations. When Tomorrowland was young, it celebrated the whole idea of exploring, "If you had wings, you could do many things. You could widen your world, if you had wings." Young Epcot celebrated the promise of the future, and it should again.

 

[atp]

The world is full of amazing innovations. When Tomorrowland was young, it celebrated the whole idea of exploring, "If you had wings, you could do many things. You could widen your world, if you had wings." Young Epcot celebrated the promise of the future, and it should again.

Oh that song...I would pay big money to be able to visit the old Disney again. I remember that on the first two times I visited Disney that's how it was. We saw actual futuristic things, we were wowed by what Disney showed us. It's a feeling I will never forget.

Problem is, things evolved pretty quickly in the late 90s and all kinds of technology was made available to most people and pretty common place so I think now it would be harder and maybe more expensive for Disney to wow us. Or maybe not, because it was probably not easy back then either, and some things are more accessible and cheaper now. Maybe they just don't want to bother with keeping EPCOT as it was promised because it's too much work?

 

[5kidsmommy]

My kids all love Epcot, it is their favorite park. Each trip we spend at least two days in Epcot. I guess it's good there are several parks because not everyone has the same favorite.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Yes.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Oh that song...I would pay big money to be able to visit the old Disney again. I remember that on the first two times I visited Disney that's how it was. We saw actual futuristic things, we were wowed by what Disney showed us. It's a feeling I will never forget.

Problem is, things evolved pretty quickly in the late 90s and all kinds of technology was made available to most people and pretty common place so I think now it would be harder and maybe more expensive for Disney to wow us. Or maybe not, because it was probably not easy back then either, and some things are more accessible and cheaper now. Maybe they just don't want to bother with keeping EPCOT as it was promised because it's too much work?

I think it had a lot to do with losing sponsorship. The company wasn't as solid then as it is now. If I'm not mistaken when Eisner and Wells were brought in there were actually talks about selling off the theme park division. Now there is just a reluctance to actually spend any real money as long as people are still coming in. As evidence from here there are quite a few people willing to accept the state of the park for the sake of a few beers and shops. Until that mindset shifts there is no need for Disney's to.

 

[epcotty]

I think so, if only because many attractions haven't been updated in a long time or replaced

 

[epcotty]

Here are a few ideas I have for Epcot:
1. Add a Mt. Fuji indoor rollercoaster to Japan (was originally supposed to happen, but didn't due to money).
2. Add a nice 10 minute gondola boat ride through Italy, including a small section that takes you out onto the lake.
3. England could really use an attraction that uses an omnimover type of vehicle. Maybe a journey through Mary Poppins world?
4. A new film attraction for the Imagination Pavillion would be nice and not expensive to build. I think one based on Inside Out would be fabulous.
5. Total re-imagination of the Figment ride, with Figment making a rockstar like comeback.
6. Ellen's Energy should be re-done, but keep the dino ride as that's still awesome.
7. Health pavillion needs to re-open.
8. I'd love to see a new attraction open in FW that tackles current day Astro-physics. Could be a ride through a blackhole.

The buildings around FW don't feel old or anything, just the attractions inside of them.

i thought of a gondola boat ride years ago. Also there was supposed to be Rhine River Rapids in Germany, that didn't happen then but could now. And yes on the rest too

 

[kathy884]

EPCOT has an 80s retro feel to it definitely. We only hit the park every 10 years or so, so usually enjoy it since it's been a while. I just did Soarin for the first time two years ago and that was pretty cool. We liked the updates to Test Track also. // Agree that Captain EO is one to skip even when it first opened. And I'm even a Michael Jackson fan -- if it's singing, dancing, and song writing -- but that -- no way. // DS and I to mom/son trips when we go to Orlando. DH hates Orlando and Disney, so our main family vacation is always something else -- summer trips out west to the mountains are a big favorite, and then DS and I usually do an annual mini Orlando trip like three nights / two days -- great fun.

 

[Planogirl]

Nope.....is the Empire State Building outdated? It's a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, pure Disney park and "practically perfect in every way" just like it is.

I bet that they've updated the interior of the Empire State Building. Otherwise, you'd walk in and find typewriters and word processors.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that Epcot is very outdated. It's OK in an attraction like Spaceship Earth for the most part since the focus is the history of communication but the idea of much of anything being futuristic is a bit much.

World Showcase is nice enough but of course not particularly representative of actual countries in some cases. I admire Morocco and Japan though. And I love the pizza and beer.

 

[kandb]

To be honest, I still can't believe they took away the Maelstrom ride. We really loved that ride and watching the movie about Norway. Why would Disney take a ride away when they are so scarce in Epcot to begin with?

 

[tcherjen]

I love EPCOT.... We enjoy world showcase so much.