Epcot at 30: How to Bring Epcot Back

A couple of years ago, long before the raging success of the newly imagined Disney California Adventure 2.0, I wrote on The Walt Disney Company's struggles at the Disneyland Resort. My emphasis: what had to be done to bring the second park there to worthiness in carrying the Disney name. It's now in vogue to bash Walt Disney World and its upkeep, lack of cutting edge plans and additional investment of cash in order to compete with Universal Orlando and Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey... and everything to come. Truth is, the criticism of the Florida sprawl is entirely justified. Especially at Epcot.

What can Disney Imagineering do to revitalize Epcot? Plenty, as we shall see. All it takes is a dose of cash, vision, and some imagination!

 #1- Develop a Vision for the Park or Go Back to the Old One

Dear Accounting Budgeteers: If you're going to keep throwing character additions and move tie ins to the park, just do it, and get it over with instead of pretending. Stop keeping us fans hoping for more. But there's a better plan, a doable plan that will increase your revenues. Focus on what Epcot has always does best, that is educate guests in a charming and awe-inspiring way. 

There's certainly enough companies out there that could offer a perspective to pull this off while also feeding cash into the company's accounts. Let's start with an easy and most discussed company, Apple.  Want to revitalize the Imagination pavilion? Here's your perfect fit.  Even folks that are not fans of the products must admit Apple pours on the pizazz. What stories could be told? What new characters could be imagined? Want to bring back the Image Works in a big way and please your sponsors? No brainer. The tie-ins are endless. Can't go there? If you want to continue in the kid friendly zone, tap into Crayola or Fisher-Price. 

Beyond Imagination, perhaps the U.S. Government could use a boost in its reputation by sponsorship. Work with them on Energy. Let them show off how they spend their billions in tax revenue on building a green future for America. Perhaps a medicine and science exhibition that features attractions where we could be inspired to think about the future of health and wellness. 

The point is, inspire us to think and to dream again. The Imagineers could do this if given a fair chance. You know I'm right, don't you? It's ok to admit you have an ego problem...

 #2- Make It Beautiful Again

 The park used to be stunning to look at, and I'm not just talking about World Showcase.  Once upon a time, Future World was also lovely to see. Water flowed in different areas, giving this part of the park a pleasant feeling. Lush landscaping existed beyond that found in the Land's signature greenhouses. There seems to to be an ongoing case of "lowest maintenance is the best landscaping". Very sad. The future should feel welcoming, but the revealed masses of late 70s and early 80s architecture makes the place feel tired. Plus, it needs a good resurfacing and some paint. This includes the monorail tracks. Disney's aborted Project Genesis had many good elements to it. It's time to revamp the area. Hide the stroller parking, throw in some cafe tables on the exterior sides of Innoventions, make it a people pleasing space. And get rid of the tombstones at the entrance to the park.

World Showcase is not without its troubles in this department. I'm happy to see new restaurants and small shops, (not so happy about Disney Vacation Club buildings), but they come at a price. And its usually the green spaces and gardens or open vistas that disappear. Mexico feels less exotic now. Just one example.


 #3- Honor the Culture
Treat the sponsor countries of World Showcase with some dignity. There's lots to eat and buy, but the attractions are lacking both in upkeep, number, and in the representation of their citizens and culture. 

I'll harp on this now and each time it comes up: Mexico is not best represented by three Disney cartoon characters. Bring back El Rio del Tiempo. If you really want the Three Caballeros, use them in a smaller, secondary attraction, a theater show for the kids. The room is there for more build out. Treat your guest countries, whether they are still official sponsors or not, with respect. Perhaps you will win some of them back. Would you put a cartoon Paul Bunyan in the American Adventure? No, it is not a suggestion. This goes for non-cartoon characters as well. Please say goodbye to Martin Short in Canada as well.

#4 - Time for Something New

Not to be dramatic, but what has it been, twenty years since Morocco and Norway debuted? Twenty years?!? Open land exists all throughout the entire section of the park. Part of the reason the Food and Wine Festival is successful is due to the fact folks like to experience the foreign and the unique. For some, it's even better than having to actually travel there. Infrastructure is already in place for attractions in Germany, Japan and others. Use it. Go ahead, give us hotel rooms above the attractions if you can't help yourself, but give us something new. This is one area where the possibilities are truly almost endless.

Adding new countries and attractions will also give you an excuse for more retail. Let's be honest. People like to shop in World Showcase as well as eat there.  It's a win-win situation as long as you don't stuff it with character merchandise found elsewhere in the park. 

Time for new entertainment as well. As much as I adore Illuminations, it's had its run. Bring back the buskers and performers that were all over World Showcase. Add musicians to Future World. Why do you think the area has to be without them? The future is not without live musicians. There's more that can be done beyond the standard meet and greets. Epcot, of all the Disney parks, should be the most unique in the entertainment department. 




#5 - Dazzle, Don't Pacify, Don't Pander

It's pretty evident that Disney parks are facing some very successful competition by the little wizard that could down the road. As beautiful as the Magic Kingdom's new Fantasyland will be on the outside, the attractions themselves are pretty uninspired on the inside. (The Little Mermaid is more than a "C" ticket as some would claim, however.) The point is, stretch yourselves when you develop a plan for Walt's most ambitious project turned into a theme park. Just the concept of Epcot deserves more than something designed to enhance capacity. If the brilliant Disney Imagineers cannot build on the theme and deliver an experience that wows, the park will continue to be a shadow of what it was.

These suggestions should be just the beginning for a park as splendidly conceived and originally executed as Epcot.  Your guests deserve more, and it is time to deliver.

(Photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Epcot at 30: Just Imagine

Half way through our look back and forward at Epcot at 30 years, let's take a short break and look at what could have been. All is takes is some imagination and money.

You could almost subtitle this post as "Dream EPCOT Center" because there is so much that could have been done to refresh the park instead of trying to re-energize it by adding thrills at the cost of theme integrity. But we armchair Imagineers don't really have to live in the real world and balance the financial risks with the practicalities of life. Still, let me dream a bit...

A quick look at Future World shows the company understood there needed to be some alteration to keep the audience interested. In contrast to the choices made, it should have been possible to add to the pavilions instead of just replace old favorites. Add the thrills for a younger crowd mix, but respect the origins. Epcot could have become a three day park! And it is a park in which my guess is it holds the highest revenue earnings in shopping and in the restaurants. Win-win.

Like many of the older original Audio-Animatronic attractions, the signature Spaceship Earth would have seen benefit from a few well placed A-100 figures new to the ride. The dazzling effect of perhaps a new A-100 Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa would have made guests do a double take. Especially those who made the journey a must do every visit. Throw in just a couple more, and the attraction feels frsh and first class once more. The truth is, without any constant changes to this attraction, it runs the risk of becoming the Adventure Thru Inner Space of Epcot, ie the make out spot.

In my dream EPCOT Center, Horizons would still be around but also freshly updated. There was no need to tear it down to build Mission: Space. Why couldn't the updated older attraction dump guests into a waiting area with real live options like space travel (door one to a separate entrance to Mission:Space), desert excursions (door two to something like a Test Track), a third door to another destination, and the last to exit the pavilion. Of course, Test Track and Mission:Space could also have been accessible from their own entries as well. It would just tie everything together while allowing Horizons to really take you somewhere. 

There's no excuse for the other Future World spaces to become "tooned" in order to be relevant, specifically the Land, the Living Seas, and Universe of Energy. These themes should be able to successfully encompass new thoughts and discoveries. Nor was there any need to tear down old attractions instead of adding new ones to the mix. This would please old school purists and also bring in new fans. 

The same could be said for Imagination. To an EPCOT fan, deconstructing it into what it is today by removing Dreamfinder and turning Figment into a small little pest is akin to removing one entire act from Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean, removing the Auctioneer, and inserting screens to simulate fire and other effects. It just shouldn't be.

In contrast to what the suits understood about Future World needing change, they seemed to think it was alright to let World Showcase stagnate, resting on the Old World charm. There seems to be one inherent problem with this section of the park besides so little attractions being added: transportation. It could be fairly easily solved with some money and creativity. Why not create a pseudo but functional version of the Metro from Paris? Allow guests to enter stations which lead them to trains to move around the park more easily. Imagine being able to depart from a station hidden toward the back of Germany or Japan and find yourself moments later in the backstreets of China or the United Kingdom pavilions. Guests could be dumped into the shopping districts while the actual tunnels the trains travel through could also offer above or below ground visual delights. It's as if the Walt Disney World Railroad was launched into the future.

And about those never built countries- really? No excuse except for wanting to make a buck by not spending. In my dream EPCOT Center, we'd find the Netherlands, Russia, Egypt, Peru, India, and more. And yes, guests would find hotel rooms above the shops and restaurants a la Westcot. The gondolas of Italy would be put to use. That Rhine River Cruise would be built, and we would be able to Meet the World in Japan. You would find a family friendly version of Moulin Rouge in France, tea ceremonies in China and Japan, and a small Harrod's in the U.K. Add an elegant American restaurant instead of just a fast food location, by the way.

The possibilities are endless, but the stories continue. Next two days: Why Epcot can never be what it once was and why it can. Come back as we conclude our week long look at the most forward looking of Disney theme parks.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Epcot at 30: First Time is the Charm

There's an old saying that there's nothing like your first time. It happens to be true when I speak about our first visit to EPCOT Center. In an unexpected twist, it almost instantly became our favorite Disney park. 

Back then, World Showcase opened the same time as Future World, so we entered the park and almost walked right past Spaceship Earth and directly to the Mexico Showcase. Of course, we were not immune to the charms of the future as portrayed by Disney. In fact, I remember clearly just staring at the huge silver sphere. Couldn't take my eyes off it, but I had to get to the World Key Information Stations inside Earth Station to book meal reservations. 

We had to wait a bit, but we made ourselves busy by watching a terrific kaleidoscope of images previewing the wonders we'd soon encounter.  Just the presentation and the surrounding area felt fresh, optimistic, and inspiring. We made our way to the front of the line and to the screen. 

This truly was a touch of the future. In fact, in 1982 touch sensitive computer screens were something of a rarity. The Bell System (at  divestiture the attraction would then be officially sponsored by AT&T, the company I worked for at the time) and its branch Bell Laboratories really were bringing us the future of communication. Moments after a young woman came too the screen to help us with our meals choices, we were on our way. 

Deciding to bypass Future World for the time being, we strolled into Mexico.  It and China next door just seemed to beckon us compared to Canada and the United Kingdom. The lone pyramid and the small cantina gave us no hint to what we about to see.

Until the changeover from El Rio del Tiempo to the Gran Fiesta, the sights, sounds, and feel of Mexico made it our favorite place in all of World Showcase. I won't bore you with the details of El Rio del Tiempo, but I will tell you, we were enchanted by it and wished it had lasted even longer than it did. (If you want to see lots of art and images plus links to video etc, just search on the site for "Cinco de Mayo" or go here for one of many posts.) Having been to Baja California, Mazatlan, and Acapulco, I have aways had a soft spot for the country. The old boat ride gave the pavilion a touch of glamour and mystery that the new version replaces with cheap marketing. It's too bad. We wandered around inside the moonlight, so glad we were returning for lunch.

Naturally, we followed along the promenade and continued on to China. For younger readers, it's important to remember that at the time, few people were given the ability to travel to this country, thereby making a visit to a fairly accurate representation of the landmarks of the country all the more alluring. This was only enhanced by the nationals who were privileged to work there. And there were no Disney themed items to be found in the shops of World Showcase, only authentic goods right from the countries represented. It was as close as an authentic experience a traveler could get without hopping on an airplane. Needless to say, we were again stunned by the beauty of the landscaping and architecture, thrilled by the 360 movie, Wonders of China.

Making our way around, we stopped at Germany and Italy, winding up at the American Adventure. We very impressed by the show, (Disney always makes you proud to be an American) but disappointed there was nothing else to represent our country. The view back to Future World and Spaceship Earth- wow, the park was huge.

We chose to head back toward Mexico for lunch as we had waterside dining reservations at the San Angel Restaurante.  It was dark, cozy, romantic- and we so enjoyed the margarita, queso fundido, and our main course. It was my first taste of Mole Poblano and not my last. We ended our lunch with another cruise on the river, then headed back into Future World.  

By this point in time, the crowds were heavy back in the other end of the park, and it was fairly easy to get to the big ticket attractions of Future World.  First stop, Journey Into Imagination. My father-in-law worked for Kodak at the time and for his entire career, so we had heard great things about what Disney came up with. In a word, magical! Figment and Dreamfinder were delightful and will always be the "hosts" of the park.  (I cannot tell you what a bastardization of the original attraction this new version is. You'd have to experience it to know.)  before I became a collector of sorts of Disney park memorabilia, I purchased a Figment of my own. I have him to this day. Magic Journeys in 3D (a new thing!) was a great second attraction to the pavilion, and the Image Works was just plain fun. We stayed almost two hours- something you could not pay me to do now.

"Just make believe you're a tiny little seed..." The Land is our favorite of the original Future World attractions that are still in the park. Up until the point Horizons debuted a few years later, this is where the future was in Future World. The Listen to the Land boat tour was the perfect way to share the latest in farming technologies to the public. "Edutainment" at its best. The film Symbiosis was preachy at times, but the cruise through the greenhouses made learning fun. Kitchen Cabaret brought it home for the kids. The silly presentation about nutrition, while enjoyable, was not on par with the much better Audio-Animatronic musicals found in the Magic Kingdom. However, it wasn't meant to be a headline attraction either.

Starting with the following morning when we would return for a second full day at EPCOT Center, breakfast at The Good Turn would become a tradition until it became too expensive or too difficult to book. We always enjoyed the warm Florida sun streaming through the greenhouse dome, and intentionally stretched our meal time long enough to rotate into the darker showroom of the boat cruise. It's in the hidden places such as this that Future World has its own unique charms. The future should be warm and hopeful, and it always was in the way Disney chose to present it upon the park's opening.

The Living Seas wouldn't come until later, so we stumbled through Communicore (now Innoventions). We passed through both East and West, and decided to make that area part of the next day. We were among those to vote for The Person of the Century poll. Kind of a fun thing to throw in there. My bet was Disney didn't like the results, and the show- and announcement of the winner- soon disappeared.

A journey on Spaceship Earth was a perfect way to continue our trip. It was very impressive, and I was pleased to see my employer was represented by such a fine attraction. The changes over the years have not taken away from the grandeur. After all, what can compete with a trip through the globe? 

In quick time, we went into the Universe of Energy. It's inherent surprises did the trick they were designed to do, but it was next door's World of Motion that we loved. 

Let me be clear- I love old school Audio-Animatronic adventures like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. They rely on story to bring the thrills and surprises. World of Motion easily held its own with these classics. From the train being held up (in a nod to the never built Western River Expedition) to the policeman on motorcycle behind the billboard, the attraction built to a grand finale- a ride through the city of the future. Humorous, informative and repeatable. (Gary Owen's narration was incredible in his signature style.) Motion became a three ride attraction for us, and we did it again several hours later after nightfall.  

Upon exiting and knowing the song "It's Fun to Be Free" by heart, we stepped into the Transcenter for the Bird and Robot / The Water Engine show followed by the automotive displays, a nice nod to the sponsor. 

I'm all for thrill rides-  and I love Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- but there is something about these older lengthy and leisurely attractions like those mentioned above that really take you out of present day reality and into another realm. This is something Disney does better than just about anyone, but this fact about immersion is almost lost on the current batch of Imagineers... and park guests trained to run from ride to ride! Without the balance of all kinds of attractions, the audience is limited. This is why parks like California Adventure 1.0 and Animal Kingdom are not as popular as they could have been. 

Evening meant a return to World Showcase starting with Canada. The signature attraction, "Oh, Canada!" had nothing on its Chinese counterpart. This was not the case when we viewed "Impressions of France".  Superlatives are not enough, so Imagineers and Budgeteers, isn't it time to update the film and give it a technology upgrade as well? It's a masterpiece. So is the pavilion it is built around. A late night stroll through "France" and then around the promenade basking in the glory of a beautiful Florida evening was the perfect way to end our first visit to EPCOT Center. 

We'd do it again the next day by starting in Future World and then working our way through World Showcase, starting with Canada this time. From here on out, Epcot would always be a two day visit. The changes over the years would not always please us, but this one single theme park is the reason I return to Walt Disney World.   More tomorrow...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

An Interruption in Our Epcot 30th Coverage

Please forgive this cutting in on the Epcot 30th anniversary celebration dance. Just have to mention this article - with photographs - I just read. Many people I know do not seem to believe that Christians are persecuted in this day and age. Well, that's not the case. This recent article describes persecution (execution) of Christians in Egypt and Yemen. I can't close my eyes to this any longer. Warning: explicit photograph...  Go here for the article.

Epcot at 30: Past, Present, Future

On Monday, Epcot celebrates its 30th birthday. Next week, I'll present a series of articles covering the park in its present and past state and why it can never return to its former glory... and why just maybe it can. Come back Monday- and every day all next week!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)