Once upon a time there was an Epcot Center in Florida that had a sleek untarnished Geodesic Sphere at its entrance. It was a spartan, simple and singularly proud statement.
Once the year 2000 hit a giant Mickey Arm was installed beside it with the year 2000 emblazoned across the top. All signs pointed to only a single years run. But, no, somewhere somehow the bureaucrats in control decided to throw the words Epcot up there and it's been there ever since. It has since come to symbolize everything that's wrong with the Disney Parks. It's cheap, it's tawdry, it's out of place, it's cynical, loud and loathsome.
Chapters could be written on exactly why this is such a catastrophic mess but for now I'll only bring up one idea. Look at the original picture of Spaceship Earth and the palm tree plantings. Immediately viewers register a sense of scale. This deceptively simple structure is huge, towering well past the trees. Throw that Mickey Hand up and all sense of scale is tossed.
For the new forces that will come into being at Imagineering: Please, get rid of this monstrosity. It's an easy first fix and will send the right message. Epcot Center is a showcase for future progress, not a cynical cheap carny funfair interested in merely selling more Mickey Plush. And for the record, Mickey never wielded a wand in the Sorcerer's Apprentice either.
