What Happened to EPCOT?

[JungleSkip]

Okay...just checked out Orlando Theme Park News' new EPCOT update...and the place looks PATHETIC overall.

Mission: Space's facade is deteriorating.

Image Works and Innoventions seem like half abandoned areas.

The Imagination Pyraminds are grimy, as is Spaceship Earth.

Sure, Test Track is coming...but man, Future World is a MESS.

 

[maxairmike]

Innoventions should be helped by the addition of IBM's Think exhibit, which will hopefully be in place by next summer. If that doesn't happen, I will be very disappointed.

 

[jtsalien]

They don't care anymore. WS is the moneymaker.

 

[ReelJustice]

TDO happened. /end thread

 

[JungleSkip]

They don't care anymore. WS is the moneymaker.

Oh but they do. There are some in management fighting RSR coming to DHS because they know it'll kill EPCOT.

 

[Hatetofly]

Oh but they do. There are some in management fighting RSR coming to DHS because they know it'll kill EPCOT.

This is exactly why I have no respect for TDO. They have let their product go so stale a once flagship park in the line up is fighting against a sister park to get an expansion. How sad is that! Should of been investing capital rather than sticking the money in your pockets TDO.

 

[Blastiel]

To put it in persepctive as an international visitor coming over for 12 days, travelling 5000 miles and trying to squeeze everything in I feel somewhat saddened to say that Epcot is actually considered as something we could "skip" when putting together a timetable.

 

[UNIrd]

Is it bad that I thought this thread could have been resurrected from any point in the last 3-4 years?

 

[Blastiel]

A friend of mine described Epcot as "It's that place with a massive golf boll, no rides and themed restaurents all servering "insert countries name" burgers."

 

[rhino4evr]

would have to agree that it's the least interesting park in WDW, mainly due to the lack of exciting rides. Part of me thinks they should just close Future World, and expand World Showcase to make it the "new" shopping and dining district, because that's all it basically is now. The only reason people go to Epcot these days is to drink alcohol, and buy stuff made in China, from the China pavilion.

 

[JungleSkip]

A friend of mine described Epcot as "It's that place with a massive golf boll, no rides and themed restaurents all servering "insert countries name" burgers."

would have to agree that it's the least interesting park in WDW, mainly due to the lack of exciting rides. Part of me thinks they should just close Future World, and expand World Showcase to make it the "new" shopping and dining district, because that's all it basically is now. The only reason people go to Epcot these days is to drink alcohol, and buy stuff made in China, from the China pavilion.

See, I can't agree there aren't good rides there, because there are. The problem is the wasted space within the pavilions, and the overall grimy look of the place.

And I have to disagree about the burger comment. EPCOT's food is by far the best in theme parks, IMO.

 

[Teebin]

I am pretty shocked to see the beautiful Mission Space facade going to pieces. What's with the crappy replaced tiles on the red sphere? The black mold on SSE is shocking although it is so high up I am not convinced that people notice. From its inception, Epcot has been a hard to define quandary for anyone and everyone. That said, it is so unlike the company to let outward appearances become so run down. Yet it is consistent with another thread on here.

 

[maxairmike]

I wonder if I was seeing the black mold last week when, from out it World Showcase, it appeared that SSE had lost its tiles on the top and it was just the metal framing? It was a very odd sight, to be sure.

EPCOT is, for me, a very interesting park, and my favorite of the 4 WDW parks. It is very park-like in World Showcase, and I very much enjoy that aspect of it.

 

[Jakemeister]

I wish I could have experienced the EPCOT of the 80's. I love World Showcase and I think it's awesome, but it's depressing to me seeing footage in these rides from the 80's. Technology for farming has obviously came a long way since 1982 yet that footage is still in Living with the Land. France has obviously changed a lot in the past 30 years but once more...

You want to talk issues with Epcot that's my issue. You used to actually be able to take things away from Innoventions, it's always been a corporate sponsor self plug but never to the extent it is now. Future World has so much wasted potential and while I like the notion of Epcot from the 80's and how fresh it must have felt and how you actually got this sense of learning from it I don't want half of Future World to literally be 80'sCot (with no updates to attractions since) and half of it to be 00'sCot.

 

[Hatetofly]

I am pretty shocked to see the beautiful Mission Space facade going to pieces. What's with the crappy replaced tiles on the red sphere? The black mold on SSE is shocking although it is so high up I am not convinced that people notice. From its inception, Epcot has been a hard to define quandary for anyone and everyone. That said, it is so unlike the company to let outward appearances become so run down. Yet it is consistent with another thread on here.

Any pics of this or a link perhaps?

 

[JungleSkip]

Any pics of this or a link perhaps?

http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.com/2012/08/future-world-update-imagination-changes_7978.html

Bottom of the page. And there's more ghetto-ness on the other parts of the updates as well.

 

[Hatetofly]

Thanks Skip! Really just sad how bad that looks.

 

[YETI PINTRADER]

My hope is that after Test Track more love goes around to the rest of the park, especially where inoventions is concerned.

 

[Scarletwebslingr]

What/who is TDO? I'm terrible with acronyms.

 

[CraigM]

What/who is TDO? I'm terrible with acronyms.

Team Disney Orlando.