Please Put Epcot Out Of Its Misery!

[CarolynU]

I really enjoy Epcot. I love MS orange and can ride it again and again. It's my second favourite ride on property, my first being TOT.
The other rides I'm happy to do, and enjoy seeing the manatees, and just soaking up the atmosphere. It really doesn't bother me that I've done them 100's of times before and they may be a bit tired I just relax and go with it.
I then feel more than happy to stroll around WS taking in the entertainment, even though it's mostly the same entertainment I've seen before. Actually where they have replaced the acts The Dragon Acrobats, and the BI for example I actually wished that they hadn't, but that's just me. I love my old favourites.
Eating and drinking is fun, and you can't beat a bit of Illuminations to finish the night off. In fact bring back Tapestry I say!

 

[Gmouse]

I agree about Captain EO and a couple others at Epcot. To say it needs to be demolished it a bit much. Aren't all 4 parks completely different from each other??? Some love this one.. and some hate that one. No one will ever be completely 100% satisfied ANYWHERE. We just have to have a lil variety
As far as the comment on living with the land- that is my kids and one of our favorite rides there. It's all about what's keepin us alive- FOOD! You would be suprised at the children that have no clue where there food comes from...they think it's all from a box or drive thru. That's why they are excited to see Living with the Land. We enjoy it very much, even though there are no loops and flips, or yeti or dino trying to bite our heads off
Soarin- if I had never seen comments before about the dirty screen/not HD and all that...I would have never noticed it. We just take in the ride.
We live in a SPOILED country.....let's just all be thankful we even GET TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!

 

[wcw57]

this is degenerating! how fascinating!!!!!!!

mousemerf: do not discount the "old boy" aspects of these boards...you will see multitudinous responses to a question posted today which garnered only a few quick replies when posted by someone else a day before....

it is hard to figure out sometimes....

that is not to say that your post wasn't intriguing...maybe people would have reacted more if you had included Stitch or smoking in your thesis


anyhow, now back to your regularly scheduled discussion..........

 

[Julie711]

EPCOT is a half day park for us. We don't think Soarin' is anything special. We ride Test Track, Spaceship Earth, shop, check out the fountains, take pictures (see siggy), and get out of there

I love the look and feel of Future World, but it doesn't have that much to offer (We don't care for the Nemo Ride, Mission Space, Imagination - ugh). We've just scratched the surface at World Showcase - frankly, I think of it more for adults. Our kids have no interest in shopping and eating around the world - so except for Maelstrom and The Three Cabbaleros, we'll save it for an adult trip.

 

[bmalonef45]

I have to agree that Future World now seems to be too much of a look back. I understand that they can't redo something every year to stay ahead of the pace of technology but it is called FUTURE world. Walking around the different buildings you can't help but feel like you are in the 80s.

As for the rides I somewhat agree. Soarin is still one of our family favorites but we've always been amazed that they don't take the opportunity to grow this ride with different themes. Correct me if I'm wrong but there are other places in the world that people would wait in line for hours to fly over. The possibilities are endless. Think about what they did with Star Tours add some variety to Soarin and definitely update it to better quality video/projection... just not during one of my trips!

Test Track was also a favorite of ours. Hoping the refurb makes it even better. Some of the other shows mentioned could sure be upgraded. I like Ellen but it seems that since she's still alive they could hire her to update that ride fairly easily. They continue to raise ticket prices so I think they should continue to upgrade the attractions.

However like most posters on this board we've been to WDW many many times so we notice things like this. To the first time visitors Future World probably blows their minds or at least impresses them for a few minutes. I hope Disney continues to listen and makes the changes needed. It won't stop us from returning but we'd sure enjoy the updates.

 

[MickeysBFF]

Yeah I hope Future World is their next major renovation and not(shudder) Avatarland.

 

[maxiesmom]

A film on the glories of France that was done in the 70's? really, Mickey can't afford to send one of his pals from DLP and take some recent pictures?
An Imax film that is dirty, some times skips? From a company that has film studios and tv studios?. A theme park that is supposed to represent the "future" and yet they pull out an out of date Michael Jackson monstrosity? Heck, at least go to redbox and get that release of his last tour. jeez.

So maybe the title is extreme but the tone of the thread has been on point.

I so agree with you about the France film. And the one for Norway too. Their clothing looks so out of date that you can't help but notice the film is not terribly recent.

I think the Michael Jackson movie was put back in play right after his death. But I think most of us are over it now, so they really could put HISTA back, or maybe a new show.

 

[meggiebeth]

I have to admit I would like to see some more rides in Future World. For us, apart from Soarin' and Test Track, what else is there? The other attractions, for us, aren't as impressive. I love World Showcase but as for Future World, I do think it needs to be improved. IMO all other three parks have more than two 'main' attractions. We have found that the queues at Epcot tend to be longer than at some of the other park's main rides, like Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain.

 

[mousermerf]

I so agree with you about the France film. And the one for Norway too. Their clothing looks so out of date that you can't help but notice the film is not terribly recent.

I think the Michael Jackson movie was put back in play right after his death. But I think most of us are over it now, so they really could put HISTA back, or maybe a new show.

And the Norwegian people have heavily lobbied to have their film replaced - even offering a film their tourism board produced to replace it. Disney refused to install it - since it was avialable outside the park and not exclusive. Instead, Disney wanted the government to pay them to produce a new film at WDI themselves to the tune of several million dollars, and the Norwegian government feeling that a waste of money refused to pay.

Thus the project didn't happen.

It's really a sad state of affairs.

 

[lisajl]

Sorry, but I think your family misses a lot! My family loves Epcot, and not just the World Showcase.

You seem to forget that Soarin is a fairly recent (and huge) addition to Epcot. Spaceship Earth was recently redone, and Nemo was added to the Seas ride. Plus they are updating TestTrack (hence the singers). Do they need to do more? YES! But they haven't been ignoring Epcot. Far from it.

ITA. We love Epcot. We love Figment, too. To one other poster on here..they did change figment. I don't think it was for the better, but my DD loved it at the time. It is a bit weak now, but the nostalgia is wonderful!

 

[jcvalenti]

How funny different everyone's perceptions can be.

Epcot has been my favorite park since 1984, and is the favorite park of both of my kids (Ages 12 and 6 now), as well as their 5 similarly aged cousins. When we do our Disney trips, we're usually in the parks for 9 or 10 days, and spend at least half of most days in Epcot.

Yes, Future World needs some work. It's lost its way a bit, and does have a lack of attractions ... but the World Showcase is just fantastic. Nothing better than a sunny stroll with the family from country to country, sampling food and drink from around the world while just having a good time. It's like a giant worldwide Renaissance Faire, and the wide open space is a welcome respite from the crowds at the other parks.

For the record, I would love to see Disney pour some money into Epcot - add a couple more countries, update Soarin' and add one or two big attractions in Future World to renew it's purpose and stop it from being "A look back at what we thought the Future would be 30 years ago" ... but I would hate Epcot if it were just a collection of rides to rush to like the other parks.

 

[mousermerf]

How funny different everyone's perceptions can be.

Epcot has been my favorite park since 1984, and is the favorite park of both of my kids (Ages 12 and 6 now), as well as their 5 similarly aged cousins. When we do our Disney trips, we're usually in the parks for 9 or 10 days, and spend at least half of most days in Epcot.

Yes, Future World needs some work. It's lost its way a bit, and does have a lack of attractions ... but the World Showcase is just fantastic. Nothing better than a sunny stroll with the family from country to country, sampling food and drink from around the world while just having a good time. It's like a giant worldwide Renaissance Faire, and the wide open space is a welcome respite from the crowds at the other parks.

For the record, I would love to see Disney pour some money into Epcot - add a couple more countries, update Soarin' and add one or two big attractions in Future World to renew it's purpose and stop it from being "A look back at what we thought the Future would be 30 years ago" ... but I would hate Epcot if it were just a collection of rides to rush to like the other parks.

Well, if they can stick to the original vision it wont just be a collection of rides jammed together. World Showcase can grow through pavilion - which would have dining, shopping, and attractions. Same for Future World.

It's onl recently that they really started putting ride-only attractions into Future World.

 

[katallo]

I know they are changing test track, but the films in Epcot are sooo outdated. It's a shame they don't update and improve because IMO Illuminations is still one of the best shows. We still are amazed at how many areas have been empty for years, example, the upper part of Canada.

 

[mousermerf]

I know they are changing test track, but the films in Epcot are sooo outdated. It's a shame they don't update and improve because IMO Illuminations is still one of the best shows. We still are amazed at how many areas have been empty for years, example, the upper part of Canada.

Well the upper part of Canada wasn't originally part of the pavilion - the pavilion only opened with the mezzanine shops, the film, and "buffeteria" where Le Cellier is (same name, but "buffeteria" and universally hated, i might add). EDIT: Well, it was "there" but there weren't any shops or anything - there was just the same empty buildings like there are today.

The Provinces shops opened later and for a time in the mid-90's when they were planning the change-over to the current Le Cellier steakhouse they planned to make the space that became the Provinces shop into a bar akin to the one now in Mexico and the one coming to Italy. That building across the path also was supposed to become something - it actually never got finishing being built - again, Eisner cut the funding. It doesn't even have a real backside behind the facade.

The Provinces shop did poorly and got shut down, as we all know, and nothing has been put up there to replace it. Perhaps in the future they'll revisit it the concept of the bar since Mexico is doing well and Italy is adding the tapas/bar too.

 

[DOOM1001]

Hey don't knock Epcot,they may have just closed Test Track but today they opened the Vision House,it evens out,right??OK obviously the one thing I'm seeing is that Epcot,DHS and AK need major replacements or additions to the parks,MK obviously with the new Fantasy Land is doing something about it but the other three parks need major things NOW,things like refurbishing Test Track or Big Thunder although needed just aren't going to create the changes the parks need,Avatar at AK isn't even in the radar as there was talk of that not even going to happen or getting pushed back.Closing major rides most of the year just brings out how much help the parks need.I was just in Epcot and Test Track is the one ride I always ride no matter if I'm only there for 2-3 hours,now what!!!Look at Universal and Sea World creating Antarctica and probably what looks like London Potter with a major new ride and even a Hogwarts Express connecting the other Potter area in IOA.Disney needs to kick it up a notch.

 

[Dznefreek]

There will always be people who love/hate an attraction/park. That is what makes us individuals.
One size does not truly fit all . . .
If you are really that underwhelmed; don't go. It really is just that simple . . . .

 

[KigerKat]

I haven't read through all the replies, but I do agree on many points.

Soarin does need to be updated a bit, or at least make it digital and get a new screen. The current screen is dirty and stained and the film is extremely grainy. We road this at DL/CA in December, and it was so much better! Right away, we noticed the film didn't have all those wiggly black specks all over it.

I'm glad to hear that TT is getting refurbished, although I don't know the controversy over it.

EP does have a lot of great restaurants, so that's probably why people would choose to eat there over other parks. But I do agree that WS is more of an attraction for us than FW is. Yes, we'll ride TT and Soarin, but we'll spend about 80% of our time in WS.

We mostly like to walk through, browse the stores and see all the different shows and street performers in WS while we wait for our FP return time on either TT or Soarin.

 

[goofyernmost]

Let's see...

Spaceship Earth...reborn for the forth time. Basically the same ride now as originally with the exception of the backward downhill portion. I have enjoyed them all (liked the Walter Cronkite version the best) and I find that the interactive "cartoon" scenes are fun. And they include a picture of me. What could be better then that?

Innovations East or West....Always has been a place to go to get out of the rain...nothing else really. Never have been impressed with them. Huge waste of space in my mind.

The seas has been partially redone to include Nemo and restart the ride through the aquarium. Other then that it always has been a sleeper.

The land has added Soarin'. Without photo's it is tough to tell what else has changed.

Imagination has replaced a wonderful original ride with one that is a couple of miles below it in quality and entertainment. They have put in a dead pop stars old film in place of an outdated, but at least entertaining, HISTA. (we'll call that a fail)

Universe of energy was upgraded a few years ago to Ellen's and even though it is aging the facts within the show are still actual and beat the heck out of that 45 minute long Exxon commercial that was the original.

Wonder of Life...well, just another epic fail...pass that one buy. (not that you have any choice)

Horizons...gone but not forgotten. Replaced by an extremely high tech Mission Space that once it lost most of it's stigma as a kid and old person killer is quite a good attraction.

World of Motion....gone and almost forgotten...replaced by Test Track that was originally hated due to 1) it replaced WoM and 2) it took an additional 18 months after projected opening to actually open...currently causing an uproar because they are changing it again and didn't tell anybody.

Canada...recently updated it's 360 degree movie but apparently no one noticed.

United Kingdom...got rid of the "Beatles" for a general British Invasion show.

France...Original film that many people are upset with, but I have no idea why. It is a beautiful film with beautiful music and IT IS TIMELESS! A few have commented on the "fashions" being out of date. Give it a few minutes, they will be back in vogue.

American Adventure...slightly changed after 9/11 but basically the same as the original. Possibly the best auto-animatronic show on the planet. The mechanics involved with making that work alone is mind boggling.

China...recently updated their film...again no one noticed.

Norway...same old boat ride. An oldie but a goodie.

Mexico...Originally Small World on Quaaludes...now still boring and they have added Donald Duck and Friends. Didn't really improve it, but didn't hurt it that much either.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

No doubt Future World is lame and to put singers at Test Track is laughable. But the World Showcase is still enjoyable and where else can you drink around the world. Oh yeah, IMHO Duffy is silly and Captain EO is old and tired. With that being said we will be there in 2 days and will love every minute.

They removed the Christmas lights at Epcot, The Wonder of Lights & what did Epcot replace them with?? Singers.

They close down Test Track until Dec 1st & what do they do? Get more singers. Do they get a special rate on singers or something? The BEST part of Epcot at Christmas was the dancing arch of lights to the majestic Christmas music!!!!

 

[disneybirds]

We didn't really like Epcot the first time we went, but as the girls have gotten older we enjoy it more and more. We love being able to walk into Epcot at night from Beach Club and head to a few countries. We also love Soarin and TT, but it will be closed in June.