Does Epcot Need Saving?

**mark** · 05-19-2008, 05:42 AM

What does my favorite Florida park need to get better? I was spending some considerable amount of time thinking about this over the weekend.
It is a terrific park that does need some TCL. My ideas are now on my blog, but what do you think?

**Mr. Yippie** · 05-19-2008, 05:46 AM

In my opinion, World Showcase will always and will be the heart and soul of Epcot. The one that keeps beating!

Even if they didn't update it, it would still be great in 2 years, right?

What matters are the beautiful scenery, friendly people, culture and good food. Not AA's, and special effects.

**mark** · 05-19-2008, 05:51 AM

I agree to a point- WS is the heart of Epcot if FW is the brain!- but if you put in AAs and special effects, keep them in good working order.

**speedemon** · 05-19-2008, 10:01 AM

I feel like futureworld is too spread out and that I am never able to ride everything... I'll be spending more time there on my next vacation.

**KingEric** · 05-19-2008, 10:09 AM

EPCOT has gotten a TON of TLC the past few years!

2007- The Seas with Nemo and Friends, The Gran Fiesta Tour
2005/2006 - Soarin'
2004- Mission: Space, Turtle Talk with Crush

Not to mention updates to:
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
O' Canada
Reflections of China
Numerous great additions to Innoventions

Also you get the extensions of the great festivals Flower & Garden, then Food & Wine!

Really I think the park has recieved a tremendous amount of attention in the past 5 years!

This is just my observation.

**Lindsy1052** · 05-19-2008, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by OFTEric

EPCOT has gotten a TON of TLC the past few years!

2007- The Seas with Nemo and Friends, The Gran Fiesta Tour
2005/2006 - Soarin'
2004- Mission: Space, Turtle Talk with Crush

Not to mention updates to:
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
O' Canada
Reflections of China
Numerous great additions to Innoventions

Also you get the extensions of the great festivals Flower & Garden, then Food & Wine!

Really I think the park has recieved a tremendous amount of attention in the past 5 years!

This is just my observation.

I totally agree with Eric. Epcot has done a lot the past 5 years to bring more people there. Now, with some of the new attractions, I feel there is more appeal to the kids also. I always had a hard time getting my kids to go there, they said it was "boring". With the new additions, now they like going there.

**Ghostbuster626** · 05-19-2008, 11:56 AM

yes it needs helping. The park used to be good up until the mid-90s. It used to have a cohesive theme and look and now its all mismatch charecter tie-ins here, generic thrill rides there. Nothing Spectacular.

Imagination, Energy, and Wonders of Life needs replacements or updates. World Showcase needs more rides and countries, and that graveyard out fronts got to go.

**kcnole** · 05-19-2008, 01:05 PM

Epcot is currently in the best shape its been in in a while and I don't think it needs saving, but there are some things that need to be done to make it perfect, most of them in Futureworld. I'll start my list from the easiest to fix and most likely to be implemented and then move down to some more pipe dream things.

SSE is great up until the ending. At the very least they need to finish whatever it is they have planned with the triangles, fix the curtains, cover the chicken wire, and get rid of all the visible construction. At best, redo the ending.

Innoventions needs a great deal put into it. I'm interested in this new storm show. I'd also like to see the big house of the future that DL is getting.

Journey into Imagination needs its much talked about refurb to truly make this a class ride again instead of the joke that it currently is.

Now we're getting into the more distant things.

Ellen's energy adventure needs a major refurb. Its really starting to feel dated and to be honest its just a boring attraction. I like that its still educational and a long attraction but it focuses far too much on movies of dated characters.

We need a brand new pavilion for where Wonders of Life used to be.

I'd also like to see at least one new ride (a C ticket is all I really want) for World Showcase.

If all those things would be done then Epcot could be as perfect as its going to get.

**MJMcB** · 05-19-2008, 01:08 PM

To me, anothe country or 2 will add some juice to the place

**mark** · 05-19-2008, 04:33 PM

Good thoughts!
I still think it is a great park- but FW is far from futuristic in any form. Maybe it is just too big a park to feel cohesive anymore?

**MJMcB** · 05-19-2008, 04:40 PM

I saw an old model where the island sperating england and france contained a replica of Sydney's Opera House. Add Brazil and Russia

**horizonsfan92** · 05-19-2008, 05:13 PM

I don't know about needing to be "saved" more like "taking time to find itself".

What current day Epcot needs is a little bit of the best from both the past and the present. The best of both worlds (like the song

). Imagine it, AA filled-dark rides alongside TT and M:S. Oooh, sounds like heaven to me.

By having a little bit of both, you get a better-rounded experience.

They have the room to do this (without removing much), they just seem unwilling to do so.

**tasman** · 05-19-2008, 06:07 PM

I appreciate all the attention Epcot has gotten in the last few years, but as others have already pointed out, Future World has lost its sense of purpose. Initially it was about exploration and discovery, now it's just a mish mash of thrill rides and movie tie-ins. Here is my ideal future world (in clockwise fashion):

Journey Into Imagination...bring back the original! That they mutilated one of WDW's true unique classics is nothing short of a crime. Throw away HISTA and bring back Magic Journeys.

I want to be Soarin' over the World, not just CA.

I actually like the Seas update; wouldn't change much.

Give SSE a proper ending (I think the current ending is fun, just not timeless or inspirational).

I don't care much for Universe of Energy...even less so with Ellen's sarcastic humor. For me it's a shame they decided to destroy Horizons and Wonders of Life, instead of this snoozefest (honestly, they just built it for the dinosaurs...and now dinos have a new home at AK). I would build a new pavilion here.

Mission Space...if Jim Hill is to be believed, an earlier idea for the main attraction here was a "spacewalk" in which guests would float through space using a kuka-arm mechanism. Personally I think that would be massively better than a nausea-inducing centrifuge.

Test Track...lengthen the speed portion of the ride; add theming to the speed portion of the ride. If they could somehow integrate scenes from World of Motion into the queue for this ride, I think it could live up to being "edutainment" and not just "entertainment."

Just my $ 0.02.

**MJMcB** · 05-19-2008, 06:17 PM