What is the future of EPCOT?

[lockedoutlogic]

or a mouse's ransom as it were......something they can certainly afford.

Here's one thing I'm sure of from personal/professional experience:

Disney is CHEAP.

All public companies are...too much money coming in the door and everyone wants more than their share...

What gives Disney a pass/shield is that they are inconsistently so...which investors hate.

They raise the price of a room at the grand Floridian $100 night on Monday...and on Tuesday are looking to strip whatever they can out of the room and shrink housekeeping to cut costs...

...but then give a couple of nuts a billion dollars in animal kingdom to build something that still to this day 50% or more of their diehard fans are still scratching their heads about...

Weird

 

[Josh Hendy]

...but then give a couple of nuts a billion dollars in animal kingdom to build something that still to this day 50% or more of their diehard fans are still scratching their heads about...

Weird

Since we never heard of any fancy or complicated business deals or creative financing associated with Pandora (e.g. Cameron found the money and paid for it himself), I think we can credit the Avatar anomaly to a one-time spasm of panic over Harry Potter land which Disney quickly regretted.

IF ONLY they would have more spasms like that. But with some kind of sane appreciation of the theme and branding of their individual parks and lands ...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Since we never heard of any fancy or complicated business deals or creative financing associated with Pandora (e.g. Cameron found the money and paid for it himself), I think we can credit the Avatar anomaly to a one-time spasm of panic over Harry Potter land which Disney quickly regretted.

IF ONLY they would have more spasms like that. But with some kind of sane appreciation of the theme and branding of their individual parks and lands ...

100%...

Though I still think there's some sort of longterm deal...like his production company pays operational costs...there's something there

Even in panic...there's still a blood in the water instinct Disney can't shut down.

Funny how the last couple notable "panic" projects were both in animal kingdom...and both went to the clown prince of imagineering?

Lest we forget...Everest was hurriedly greenlit by Eisner during the first year of his stock holder revolt when he needed to make a splash?

 

[freediverdude]

Epcot doesn't seem to mean anything anymore- might as well change the name to Magic Kingdom South.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Epcot doesn't seem to mean anything anymore- might as well change the name to Magic Kingdom South.

The model seems to be "3MK + AK"

 

[DisneyPigFan]

They could extend the USA bit, and have a bit for each state, which would be interesting for those of us who are not from USA?
Then separately have more other countries, so a USA showcase AND a World Showcase?

There's no room for each of the 50 states to be represented. Plus there's really not THAT much unique and different about EACH and every state. The US is pretty darn homogenized. Plus the american adventure is like american revolution era philadelphia, no resemblance to america as it currently is.

 

[mshanson3121]

I agree that Epcot needs some serious help. I think it needs more help than Disney will ever put into it. I think Epcot definitely needs more/better rides, which would really help spread out the WDW crowds better, since Epcot is very large and can handle a higher volume than say HS or AK. To me, ideally, they would add a couple new countries with a good ride in each that ties into the themeing of the country. Then basically give all of Future World a massive overhaul. They need to bring the Imagination pavilions back to life and make them engaging hands on exploration/learning areas - areas that parents can take their children and the kids will want to lose themselves there for an hour or two. Kids generally love science when it's exploration based - so give it to them, with a cute Disney twist of course. Open a theater and have Sorcerer Mickey do an interactive magic show. Make Epcot more interactive.

 

[gwek]

I would be happy to see changes to Epcot. I like the park, but have somewhat mixed feelings on it. Personally, I don't care what Future World is called or whether the moniker is accurate... I find it to be a FUN part of the park.

The World Showcase, on the other hand, is a bit dry. Some great restaurants (although if I really want foreign food, I can go to an appropriate restaurant here at home) and certainly some very beautiful scenery, but I do to Disney to EXPERIENCE things, not look at things. I want rides, shows, interactivity. Disney delivers on that better in the other parks, in my opinion. I love Mexico and used to like Norway (haven't been there since the re-vamp), but after that, I can't disagree with John Pinette's description of "Epcot Death March."