I’m mulling over some thoughts about changes announced to the Disney parks and the reactions of a lot of fans. What do you suppose the reaction would have been to the announcement that Space Mountain was being built if we had Disney message boards in the 1970s? It’s a thrill ride that not everyone in the family can ride together, so it’s bad, right?
How about a Sleeping Beauty branded castle when Disneyland opened, promoting a movie that hadn’t even opened yet?
What would people have been saying when EPCOT Center opened and familiar Disney characters were nowhere to be found?
How about announcing a 45 minute long ride with scary dinosaurs where a petroleum company tries to convince you that fossil fuels are the answer to our future energy needs? That would surely get a standing ovation if there were a D23 Expo in 1979 ('cause there weren’t any problems with oil back then).
I’m not trying to suggest that everything will be perfect and we should just blindly assume that everything Disney does will “magically” turn out great. I do have some legitimate concerns whether the company will deliver what Bob Chapek has promised. It’s a very difficult task, to stay true to a vision for a park that was difficult for those who built it in the first place to wrap their heads around what it should be. Epcot comes with a lot of baggage, because people see it as Walt Disney’s dying wish and many of our first memories of EPCOT Center were at very impressionable ages for us, so it’s easy to remember things as better than they were or overlook beloved attractions that didn’t age well. Most of what I loved about EPCOT Center has been gone for a long time, but that is the nature of trying to capture the future in theme park. The park’s mission requires it to change. The trick in Epcot will be how to rediscover a spirit that seems to have been missing from the parks for a long time. Whether or not that will work remains to be seen, but I do take some solace in the fact that doing so is one of the stated goals of what is to come.
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I agree! I will say that I love the idea of adding the extra restaurant in FW with the Mission:Space attraction. I think that combining those two in one spot may be a fantastic add. Am I stoked about GotG? Not really, but I can see how that could be perceived as in theming with EPCOT in general (and maybe perhaps VERY generally speaking with a broad stroke). I do, however, love the fact that Parks and Resorts as well as Imagineering are working hard to revamp it, and allow it to find it’s place and identity. In my adult years, and I’ve only ever been to Epcot as an adult, that has been missing. I’m not sure it’ll be perfect, and that’s okay. As long as it’s getting the shot in the arm that it truly deserves (and needs), I’m satisfied with that.
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I always enjoy new things, so it’s all good with me.
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I agree with most changes, but they sunk the Nautilus, for Sebastian!
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I miss Horizons ride-as a kid I just thought that was the coolest thing and years later when I saw it was replaced I have to say I was disappointed. But the fact that there is life being breathed back into FW after being forgotten (don’t get me started on Tomorrow Land) with the cool restaurant in “space” and revamping of Green is really cool to me. GotG is not what I imagined Walt had in mind with Epcot but Disney is a money maker now and into promoting their product whilst providing attractions that relate to said product. I am looking forward to something different bc UoE was dated. I will always have a nostalgic feeling knowing what Walt envisioned and it’s disappointing to see it not carried out. But I still enjoy the parks for being different and having enough “old” to remind me of earlier times.
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[quote=“cktba4him, post:5, topic:36387”]
I miss Horizons ride-as a kid I just thought that was the coolest thing and years later when I saw it was replaced I have to say I was disappointed.[/quote]
Horizons was great, though I fear that if it had survived that we might be looking at it like it’s predecessor, Carousel of Progress. Now, I happen to enjoy CoP, but I realize that its appeal is very limited and don’t think it would be very inspirational to kids seeing it today. However, regardless of what might’ve happened with Horizons, I don’t see how Mission: Space really appeals to anyone. It’s not inspirational and I find it boring, though I have some hope the new earth orbital mission might be a little more engaging.
I’ve also given some more thought to Guardians of the Galaxy in the Energy pavilion and came across this in the 1997 Walt Disney Productions Annual Report to stockholders. It’s an early concept for the pavilion, which talks about “racing against the clock in a search for new energy.” Could I see a thrill ride tie-in to that? Yes, I could, so I’ll say I’m more optimistic that there is a way to tie the Guardians to an educational/inspirational message from EPCOT Center’s original concepts.
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It’s misleading to call it Tomorrowland nowadays
I visited Epcot the first year it opened as a child
I vividly remember we wanted to book a meal in a restaurant (this was 35 years ago ish)
And they had terminals inside the “Golf ball” structure where you would make the booking
When you clicked on the terminal you got a video image of the lady you were talking to whilst making the booking
Back then that was mindblowing! Etc
This last trip I remember arriving at Test Track at 9am and it wasn’t working due to technical difficulties. Then we went to buy a bottle of water from one of the outside stalls and the lady couldn’t serve us as her software was down!
I kind of thought this isn’t how tomorrowland is supposed to be!
Lol
The best part of Epcot now is world showcase and the restaurants IMO. The talk was that they are opening a new country by 2021. I think it’s down to Spain or Brazil? Or possibly both of them will be built.
And in the UK Pavilion there is rumour of a possible Mary Poppins themed ride to go alongside a new Mary Poppins film coming out Xmas 2018.
Sounds good but it’s more like disney than Epcot I guess
That’s Futureworld, but you’re right that it isn’t very futuristic anymore. Tomorrowland is in MK, and that’s very dated too.
I think part of the problem is that the future now doesn’t look much different to the present. We don’t expect there to be flying cars in 20 years time like we used to. I think that makes it hard to come up with attractions that are futuristic.
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Even our imaginations have gotten slacker!
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[quote=“interested, post:8, topic:36387”]
And they had terminals inside the “Golf ball” structure where you would make the booking
When you clicked on the terminal you got a video image of the lady you were talking to whilst making the booking
Back then that was mindblowing! Etc[/quote]
The World Key kiosks were great and the dining reservation process was an interesting novelty, but not sure what we really gained from seeing the person on the other end of the conversation (other than getting a peak at the future of communication). I also remember later trips when the hotel concierge was able to book dining reservations, even days into the advance!
This may sound like nothing but I also remember getting in a queue for food, saying what we wanted (hot dog and chips for example) and then it being ready for us later in the queue
It seems like nothing now but I remember back then we were stunned they could do that! Lol
Back to the seeing the person you are booking a meal with on the screen. Amazing back then but it’s never actually taken off has it?
I guess it was just a gimmick after all.
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[quote=“interested, post:12, topic:36387”]
Back to the seeing the person you are booking a meal with on the screen. Amazing back then but it’s never actually taken off has it?
I guess it was just a gimmick after all.[/quote]
Well, the technology was/is real. I can have a face to face conversation with someone using my cell phone, laptop, pc, or tablet now if I wish. At the time, it just didn’t make much sense logistically for Disney parks once the novelty wore off.
