See. I knew he couldn’t stay away after that big announcement.
If EPCOT Center never became what "Walt wanted," it became something close to what Walt might have loved. In its slow transition to "just Epcot," this extraordinary place of hope, vision and community became nothing more than another place to build mundane attractions, then populate them with the latest Disney cartoon creations. EPCOT Center lost more than some capitalization and a word, it lost its soul and became an MBA-bearing marketer’s dream. Its size and scope meant more retail space for the latest all-alike Disney products, its complex attractions became nothing more than acreage on which new, cheaper rides and shows could be built, further improving OI and revenue.
With Epcot’s 25th Anniversary finally being given its due, a rumored name change back to EPCOT Center and the departure of some key management seen to be in the way of restoring EPCOT’s original vision, it is more important than ever to keep the pressure on with examples of what made the original EPCOT work and what can be done with the current version to bring back some of that excitement and feeling.
It’s nice to have you back Epcot Central. (Read)
thank god.
As a late-commer to being a Disney fan, I am unsure of this. Epcot is my most favorite them park – THIS Epcot, not EPCOT nor EPCOT Center. It is this Epcot that became the 3rd or 4th most popular theme park in the world, so obviously a lot of people share my love for the place in its current form.
And I disagree with the statement that it has become nothing more than “.. retail space for the latest all-alike Disney products, its complex attractions became nothing more than acreage on which new, cheaper rides and shows…” Mission Space and Soarin’ are not cheap. They certainly are memorable enough that Soarin’ became the most favorite ride anywhere in WDW, according to the Zagat survey. So where are the “cheap rides and shows”? Finding Nemo? Turtle Talk with Crush?
And can someone please define clearly this “Epcot soul” that I keep hearing about? Is it the vision that Walt had before it was built, the vision the the Imagineers had after it was built during the early years when it was called EPCOT Center, or what? It was NEVER in the form that Walt envisioned when it was finally built and opened. So is this what people missed, something that was never there in the first place?
Zz.
the original epcot vision was walt’s vision of it being it’s own community
I know, but was that vision ever realized? I don’t think so. Walt didn’t envisioned “Future World” being merged with the World Showcase, did he?
So what are people wanting Epcot to go back to? Walt’s original vision that was never built? The version of EPCOT Center that was actually built back then? What? What is it that this “soul” that they want to resurrect?
Zz.
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