While no details were provided as of yet, Bob Chapek alluded to an overhaul of Epcot at Walt Disney World today at the Destination D event.
Chapek stated that he was telling Imagineers to “dream big” in fixing the park. Bob also stated that changes and additions will be “Disney, timeless, relevant, and family friendly”. He also stated that Epcot would remain true to its original vision.
More details will be shared at a later time, Disney was not ready to talk about the project just yet.
Wow, great news Disney
Disney listening to fans! I must be dreaming!
You’re no dreaming. Just based on history it is just propaganda. Unless they fired a HECK of a lot of their management who would never let this happen the way he’s selling it.
senior management report to Iger who report to the board who report to the stockholders….so firing senior management won’t help at all…they do what they are told from higher ups…I wish we lived in a world where money didn’t rule everything but we don’t so lets stop pretending we do.
This is why capitalism sucks. Wall Street can go crash like 1929 again.
Yea, not biting on the ‘promises’. Disney hasn’t changed anything in years who’s primary goal wasn’t sales or cross promotion or cut staffing needs. I love the Disney brand, and will believe this one when I see it. Once it hits the politic swamp of WDW Florida management, it will be trimmed to the bone. I vision anything not a revenue center being removed if they do anything at all. Disney Springs has made our need for Epcot diminish. Restaurants at both places run by 3rd party, but Disney Springs the 3rd parties run it, not Disney. Much better. That said, Chapek PLEASE prove me WRONG on this one. :)
Agreed….it is time to drain the swamp!
To believe this will be a step in direction that improves anything for a guest or fellow D23 member requires that Florida has legal marijuana. Wait. that happened! :) I sure hope I’m wrong too, and Disney pulls of one that makes their Florida and California theme parks in line with the rest of their business.
So by Trump’s definition of that statement: “Don’t change anything after telling everyone what they wanted to hear”
Article isn’t about US president…move on…
Disney makes great movies, but SUCKS at theme parks. Why not build a new park before renovating this dinosaur? And recent renovations haven’t been that impressive. In last decade, they changed movie at Soarin’ and overlay in Maelstrom to sell Frozen merchandise. They’re not doing well. They wonder why their stock sucks.
Another stupid comment by Larry, Thanks we can always count on dumb comments by you
yes there theme parks suck so much that they are the most popular in the world… Stock prices are largely unchanged recently.
Put Don Jr. in charge! He’ll show those eastern elitist fruits what’s what! Make EPCOT great again! Bigly!
No, let Asia run our parks and only consult Disney. THEN I’d believe something great will come of it.
Those clowns couldn’t even get the security clearance for the Club Cool
Don Sr. was always saying “big league” (I had subtitles on a few times while watching him talk – he doesn’t pronounce or enunciate very well sometimes), not “bigly.” Anyway, good luck to Epcot.
This will either be the revival of EPCOT Center, or the final nail in the coffin. Either way, at least the park will finally get some attention.
So true Corbin! I pray for the revival, but Disney hasn’t even hit the ball in a while, much less gotten on base with their theme parks. They definitely can make it worse on refurb. btw, you’re cute :)
The sponsorship model is already dead for at least a decade. Its a revival of a new Epcot. The name shouldn’t be remain Epcot either.
The final nail in the coffin? It’s not exactly on the verge of shutting down. The only thing they’ll do is make Food and Wine last from September 16th to September 15th.
It is actually underperforming to their expectations by far. I know you stand in huge lines to pay premiums, but their expectations on your spending are enormous. Disney isn’t happy with their theme parks division. Don’t believe me? Look up the annual report meeting info that is public. I can only imagine what they say behind closed doors. Problem is..they’re missing the point…when they cut experience to the guest, they lose in the end too, just like us fans.
I think this imminent announcement was pretty obvious considering how long they have been putting off new projects at Epcot. Typically when you don’t see a park get a real new attraction for so long its because they’re holding out for a major re-invigoration of some sort (as evidenced previously with MK, DTD, AK, and DHS, all of which didn’t get changed for a long time then started building a lot at once).
Ummmm, I’d like to believe you Jeff. But I have a brain and eyes to see what Disney has done lately. Their refurbishments have all been to cut attractions and make stores, very little added real estate for enjoyment sake, if any. ALL of the refurbs you mention of were primarily restaurants and stores. Hopefully I’m wrong here and this guy can Chapek can clean house and make change. I really would like to see some breath put into the parks.
Not really Jeff. They put in new movie and redid Norway ride (albeit, neither a new attraction). They have shut down more rides in Hollywood Studios than they will replace. That’s not progress.
They have shut down all those attractions at DHS to replace them with Toy Story & Star Wars Land, both of which have “rides.”
They redid Maelstrom into Frozen because they already had billions of dollars planned for new attractions over the next decade and couldn’t add another major new land, but they wanted a Frozen ride, so Maelstrom got the axe. It also brings a ton of people to Epcot. Big deal.
Nope, incorrect. Each area gets one ride. The rest is stores in food. Won’t even replace what they took away Jeff. They redid Frozen to sell merchandise, and there is ZERO budget for “new”, much less a billion dollars. You need to get into rehab for your drug problem if or your head out of your rectum.
wrong wrong wrong…they already have stated that each new themed land will get 2 rides… not one, nice try troll
And on top of that why shouldn’t parks get rid of attractions that are outdated and suck? That is progress.
You missed the point. Removing Stunt Show and Back Lot Movie Tour with Catastrophe canyon and replacing it with baked potato stands with Star Wars theme and Disney run restaurants and stores isn’t progress to most. If they redo Epcot, Soarin’ and Test Track may go, in interest of something that sells Disney merchandise, that won’t be progress, and is conceivable with current WDW mindset. I like Disney too much for that to happen.
oh really??? what did they close in DHS?? lights motor and backlot tour… one was a show the other was a backlot tour of a closed studio…..not very fun…each land will have 2 signature rides,so they are replacing 2 rides with 4..hardly seems like 4 is less than 2 but maybe my math is wrong and in some weird world 4 is less than 2.
It would certainly be awesome to refurb Epcot but if they aren’t releasing any “real” info then I’d rather they not say anything. Epcot has suffered for so long. Future world is really just soarin and test track. The other rides are just fill. Journey, universe, living seas and spaceship earth all need overhauls, BIG overhauls. Body wars has sat closed for years and years. I’m not holding my breathe but I’d truly be happy to one day see this amazing park get some love from disney and bring it back to what it was supposed to be!
#RebuildHorizons
#pleaseno #outwiththeoldinwiththenew
#outwiththenewbackinwiththeold
#REBUILDHORIZONS !!!
#NotHappeningIfItDoesntMakeDisneyMoreMoney
Doesn’t make Disney more what? If you’re going to be snarky, at least complete your sentence.
this is a refreshing update, Epcot is my favorite park! fingers crossed
Thanks Disney PR intern!
The comments on this site never fail to amaze…….
The wasted time to post something about comments when brining nothing to the conversation never fails to amaze.
Took me 2 seconds to write that comment. But nice try…
Ha!
That took 1 second, I win the speed posting contest!
But only half a second to prove you’re a dumb, thoughtless idiot! Congratulations.
“dumb, thoughtless idiot”…how petty and weak. Recognizing that 95% of the comments on this site are ‘the sky is falling’ is “dumb”? Just a simple observation that proves itself time and time again. Thus, “the comments on this site never fail to amaze”. You’ve all proved my point.
If people are so miserable with the Disney product, perhaps their time and money is better spent on other things.
I hope Chapek is right, but he really doesn’t have the authority or budget to do it. I’m all for out with the old, and in with the new, but I fear their “refurbishment” might kill more rides and attractions, and more stores and eateries, if it happens at all. Many past managers said new countries to be added. All BS in the end, they used one of the spaces for a meet and greet for Frozen.
‘He also stated that Epcot would remain true to its original vision’, which basically means that external companies need to sponsor and pay for the renovation……
This about when sponsorship was King at EPCOT Now think about when it went south? Trump will make EPCOT great again!
EPCOT is the place to go…during the food and wine festival. I found myself there nearly my whole stay because of it and will only plan my visits during that time frame.
I do think it needs a face lift though I hope they keep things the same as well. It’s not Epcot without the ‘big golf ball’, Illumination (or some huge night show), and the nations of the world. I do think more rides need to be added around the nations, Imagination needs to be reworked or at least go back to the original ride, and redo Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure (love the concept, hate the time it takes)
I love Soarin, Test Track, and Mission Space.
I’d be happy it they would just put in a few trees. The place is nothing more than a brick oven.
Oh they have trees, just look for the smoking areas.
That fat bald loser Chapek needs to get off Walt’s lawn and never show his face again. If Disney really wants to fix Epcot, they can bring back an all new Horizons and Dreamfinder. As for World of Motion, that’s tough because the original Test Track was a learning experience as well. Take Epcot back to its roots and push edutainment. To those who complain they don’t want to learn while on vacation, you’re a major part of the reason why this country lags behind the rest of the world in education and its your fault. Walt famously said “it’s kind of fun to do the impossible” and “if you can dream it, you can do it.” I have full faith that an Epcot filled with educational attractions could work today. Who says learning can’t be fun?
Ill have to agree with you. I remember being 9 years old and LOVING Epcot during my first visit. So much to learn! So much to explore and see! And now is just… yay for Nemo, yay for the Spaceship Earth and done. Bring back those learning centers! I’m not a eat/drink around the world person, but I used to love being able to explore the countries! Bring more cultural experiences! More countries! They don’t even have to do much, just do more of what they did in the past.
Wow you must have been a boring 9 year old.
I probably was. I was a nerd. I am a nerd. But 16 years later after that first visit I am not a doctor who can afford to three or more (international) visits to WDW a year. And my love for Disney started back then. But interactive learning is hype right now, it should be explored.
Now*
I don’t HATE Nemo the way some do but I wouldn’t mind if SeaBase Alpha returned. At the very least the Living Seas pavilion stile does have some educational aspects. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a British Invasion exhibit in the UK with statues of John, Paul, George, and Ringo outside and a replica of Freddie Mercury’s statue in Montreaux overlooking World Showcase lagoon. Frozen Ever After belongs in New Fantasyland, too.
Sorry. That Epcot is dead. Figment should not be revived. Imagination is an insult. Horizons can never return. Edutainment is not working anymore. No one pays for a dumbed down 3rd grade lesson. It’s boring. They need to theme Future World as fully realized lands instead of stark modern structures. You say if they can dream it, then you won’t let them. They can’t be boxed in.
Shame on you. That Epcot is far from dead and not only could be brought back, but it could work too. None of the messages back then were “dumbed down,” the messages today are. I’d pay to learn any day of the year. It’s people like you that are contributing to ignorance and stupidity in this country. Horizons absolutely could return in a new form and the original Imagination would still be a hit today.
You’re being contradictory. You say you’ll pay for the messages as if they are educational, yet also call people ignorant and stupid if they are unwilling to learn. Give people some credit for not buying into your idea of Epcot before Disney sinks millions of dollars into remaking the park. Imagination wouldn’t be a hit. The original never had a line beyond a 5 minute wait. Horizons wasn’t any more popular. They are a waste. It’s time to move on. Disney should continue to preserve their original classic attractions like Spaceship Earth, but that’s about it.
Who gives a **** if those attractions didn’t have long waits? That just means less time in line for me and others who want to be inspired. If I ran Disney, Epcot would go back to its original mission and purpose and to make sure people like it, I’d have Imagineering develop brainwashing technology for the attractions so that guests would be zombified and brainwashed into liking it. I’d literally take over guests minds, forcing Epcot’s mission on them against their will.
You’re a scary person. You’ll brain wash people? That’s the opposite of inspiring people. You’re sick too. Dumb and arrogant.
So true! USA is becoming the dumbest and fattest nation on Earth sadly. Look at some of the comments! People arguing how amazing Disney is with their theme parks, when the same idiots have been jipped off for the last decade plus, without even knowing it as Disney cuts EVERYTHING to the bone. Same fools keep saying over and over about new areas, updates to parks, when no new experience has been added that isn’t a sales point to rip them off. What about a fun ride like Haunted Mansion? Maybe Expedition Everest? Anything for learning like the original Epcot. Oh yea…NONE of those have transpired since Bob Iger in office. Brazilian and other visitors have excuse to come, they get offered amazing deals to travel here. In some cases, half priced tickets to WDW if they stay on property, and even that at reduced rate and free food while here. Amazing.
People are willing to pay to see Epcot that mainly has the Food and Wine. This is their decision and so what? It doesn’t matter. Learning exhibits don’t matter anymore. If you’re not happy, you don’t have to go. WDW is worth an once every 5 year visit anyways so there’s little money lost if you don’t visit much.
JimV, so you don’t care about the potential the parks could be, or how now it’s a lousy food and wine event and nothing more, some do, thus their posts. your recommendations of when and how often people should visit are also kinda lame.
Peter: stop complaining. Epcot is doing fine. It’s potential is whatever they decide. It isn’t more of what it was. Stop imagining it is a bigger deal than the lofty lame concepts it was before.
I loved that…I know this is a old thread but I want to make people aware that Walt Disney was reincarnated…a book is being written called “Behind the Souls Looking Glass.” Bob Chapek actually stole my idea for naming the new Star Wars land…Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. Proof will be in the book. I posted it on their FB page & my FB page as documentation (my account is no longer open due to security issues but I took pictures)…2 months later Bob Chapek announced the name and gave me…the soul of Walt Disney no credit. Bob Chapek will be exposed for stealing ideas from me and passing them off as his own…I have also sent the Disney family proof.
Over my dead soul will this man become CEO after Bob…he will be exposed as a fraud.
I may not run that company in this life…but I have some strong soul guides around me who are not going to allow this..and my story will be heard.
Walt Disney was reincarnated on Feb 15, 1976 (Lillian Disney’s Bday) almost 10 years after his death in Alameda Ca. and was born with the last name Donald. Disney is located on Alameda Rd/ Buena Vista. He is now a woman and had 3 children born 12/05/03 (his bday)~12/30/99 (his older brother Ray’s bday & the day Charles Mintz died who stole Oswald) and another child born 09/5/96 which is Frank Thomas Bday and Oswald’s bday)….this is also her brothers birthday as well born 9/5/84 her fathers name is also Tommy Frank (Frank Thomas backwards). Also her cousin was born 2/10 5 days before she was born in 1976 and that Bob Iger’s birthday. Her father in this life was born on
Feb 16,1947…that is the day that Sharon Disney died. She also lost a boyfriend from a drowning on 2/2/94 and Ray Disney’s wife Meredith died 2/2/98~Feb 2, 1928 is also The day Charles Mintz signed a 3 year agreement with Universal to use Oswald the Lucky Rabbit without Walt’s involvement aka the day Oswald was stolen
Unfortunately, she also had a slip and fall accident 3/4/14 that left her with the same cervical and spinal issues as her past life as Walt from a Polo accident. Four months before this accident Diane Disney died of complications from a fall. 3/4 is also the birthday of Frank Wells and the death date of Art Babbitt. March 4, 1927 is also the day Walt signed his contract with Charles Mintz in 1927 for Oswald.
Also her son born 12/30 was born at Queen of Angels in Hollywood one block from Rays insurance company coincidentally.
A book is being written on the reincarnation of Walt Disney titled “Behind the Souls Looking Glass.” Disney lawyers were informed Dec 2, 2017 of this book and to bring forth all documentation to be verified…yet the company is having a hard time dealing with this. They have really disrespected the soul of Walt Disney unfortunately. Reincarnation has not been proven so this book will be sufficient evidence that it exists. She was also able to go back and link together 7 previous lives she lived prior to Walt which will be quite a shock when this book comes out when people see what she discovered. Her mothers side of the family and mothers maiden name originate out of Kilkenny, Ireland…where the Disney’s migrated from as well.
The soul of Walt Disney is horrified at what has happened to the company and has disowned it as well as any connections to the DeMolay and Freemasons which helped finance the company through Bank of America. Roy was the 33 degree Freemason who handled all the finances (Walt was in the DeMolay just clear this up from the rumors)…
All of this will be brought to light in the book…as well as all the documentation that will be verified and double checked for authenticity
The soul of Walt Disney watches everything and reads everything that everyone says and most people are unaware of it until this book comes out.
EPCOT – Every Park Changes Over Time
#MEGA (make Epcot great again)
Is it bad that it’s the first word in the quote that scares me?
“Disney, timeless, relevant, and family friendly”
The word “edutainment” or even educational were also conspicuously lacking.
tl;dr – Despite the complaints of old farts, Chapek’s new Epcot will be a group of random IPs because that is what is profitable.
On some other boards, Chapek’s renovation of Epcot is called “IPcot” for IP or intellectual property. Let me summarize what I see as two sides to this issue. The first are people who want to see EPCOT Center return to its former glory as a place where the dreams of the Future World and the promise of global cooperation are Showcased around the World. Essentially, a permanent World’s Fair. They want Disney to double down on finding corporate partners, making Innoventions/CommuniCore a place where new technologies are constantly being showcased so that people get excited about the progress of humanity. And it there are some Mt. Fuji Roller Coasters they will not complain either. The problem with this is that people don’t necessarily come to Walt Disney World to be inspired. They often come to be entertained. The massive cost and overwhelming nature of a DIsney vacation, often involving as much planning and training as a Navy SEAL mission makes taking the time to admire theme, ambience, and hope for the future secondary to the next “can’t miss” experience.
This brings us to the second side of the issue, who want to see their favorite world’s brought to life. These are the people who love Universal’s wait-4-hours-to-then-get-to-go-into-a-claustrophobic-nightmare-bottleneck-where-family’s-are-lost-forever-to-then-wait-3-more-hours-while-frogs-sing-at-you-to-go-on-a-ride-land, er, I mean the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They want deep immersion into their favorite movies. This is clearly what the market seems to want. Just as with the glut of sequels, prequels, and remakes, it is MUCH easier and more profitable to look to nostalgia and brand recognition that to push new ideas. Thus an Epcot renovation will not bring back Horizons or Wonders of Life, but will rather use those pavilions as mini-immersion lands – a place to go into, say, the Death Star and go on a single ride with lots of shops and meet-and-greets. Much like Universal, these will be geared to IPs du jour, to be cycled out when they are no longer hot. Given Disney’s desire to spend as little money as possible doing as little innovation and repair as possible while charging as much as possible, this may be a slow process, but will still happen. Against this are those who look back to Walt’s vision of EPCOT as a city of tomorrow (or at least a World’s Fair) and who want that immersion to tie into the original purpose of the park. These people fear that Magic Kingdom, Epcot, whatever Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and even Disney’s Animal Kingdom will all become essentially none distinct in terms of the overall theme of the park. They will all be places where these IPs-du-jour butt up against each other with little rhyme or reason, the only difference between which IPs are found in which parks. Gone also would be original attractions like Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room, Harambe Village, Figment, etc. – those only work to sell nostalgic T-shirts and comics, not to draw people into the parks.
Ideally, a new Epcot would feature more IPs bringing people into a greater appreciation of the world around us – inviting us to share with our favorite characters the promise of technology or the richness of human cultures. The first scenario, while perhaps preferable for most old Disney diehards, seems very unlikely, and the second seems to be the most profitable, and therefore the most likely. This what happens when the “Roy Disneys” of the bottom line win out of over the “Walt Disneys” of imagination despite the cost. And it was the imagination that built the theme parks and the company in the first place…
I enjoy the material this site provides. I’m a disney fan and always have been. I was 5 years old when Epcot open, I was there, and it was and still is my favorite park. Now I do understand that Disney is lacking in the thrill ride department, but that is not why people go there. Disney has a special quality that no other park supplies. If I want to go on thrill rides I’ll go to Cedar Point, I only live an hour from there. If I fly to Florida for Disney I want the feelings I had when I was 5 to come back to me and my child. Now I don’t want the same attractions I had when I was 5, but the wonderment and excitement should walk hand and hand with the nestalga. Epcot is not gone and can be the flagship park it once was. Will it happen over night, no. Will it happen before it’s 50th anniversary, let’s hope so. All great things take time, let’s be patient and see what happens. New fantasyland took 5 years and was a great addition to Magic Kingdom. Give them some time. The comments on this site amaze me, everyone claims to be a Disney fan, but only have negative things to say. People claim that these new additions are only gift shops, restaurants and nothing special or awe inspiring, yet the aren’t even open for anyone to experience. Stop the negativity and give them a chance. Disney fans should have imagination and hope for the future. Stop the negativity and bring back the 5 year olds that lives deep inside all of us. Thank you.
Goofy213, you do not sound like a fan of Disney AT ALL. You sound like you work for WDW, encouraging the REAL fans to accept less, accept declining services and value, and to just hand over their wallet and shut up. It is NOT NEGATIVITY to report that Disney has ignored it’s customers, and really over cut the staffing, attractions, areas, lack of growth and all very transparently. This didn’t used to be the case, and ironically, WDW made Disney more money when their focus was not on individual inches making profit as they new managers do. Every second of every inch is monitored for profitability and efficiency. How much value or enjoyment for guests is lost, and younger guests who don’t have grandparents who take them on the legacy of when it was much better aren’t returning. It has nothing to do with thrill rides. It has to do with a business management style that only sees Disney characters, rides, and customers as dollars in their theme parks. Nothing more. You mention how long it takes for new area to be built, 5 years, bad news, this is also to extract more money out of guests, and they were forced to do this by competitor parks going and getting all the PR. All the AK, Studios improvements are being dragged slowly, and add NO new space to the park, in fact, they will cut overall number attractions to add stores! Until they get a lot of management fired, including Chapek, Epcot improvements will not have the benefit of us fans in mind. STOP POSTING ON A FAN SITE WHEN YOU’RE NOT A FAN! Thank you.
How is your reply of a fan? You’re a disgruntled critic. Do fans ask for the firing of Disney management? Do fans pay for trips that you later complain about? Worse is you make the people that have no problem going seems like they are doing the wrong thing. No one cares about how the park is staffed or if their wallets are made lighter.
Yes, he sounds like a fan to me. A lot of their management sucks to be honest. If you don’t care how the places you visit are staffed, how they cut corners in safety, what’s open or closed, that they charge you more for less, than you are just an idiot. That has nothing to do with Disney.
I don’t care. You’re the idiot if you think anything you say matters one bit. A fan doesn’t run the company. Anything you think that matters really doesn’t. That has nothing to do with Disney but your idiotic thought process.
AMEN . Nice post Goofy 213.
I totally agree with you! I just found out about this site a couple weeks ago and love it. But I don’t like all the negativity going around in these comments. I know Disney has made quite a few mistakes with their theme parks over the years, and I’m disappointed in that too. But I think there should be a hope that Disney will do the right thing to Epcot. I think Disney should get opinions from their fan base Like people who comment on this site, then Disney might realize the importance of keeping the parks to walt’s vision.
Either you’re Disney Public Relations, or a total freakin’ moron who’d buy ocean front property in Kansas at twice the price and stand in a 3 hour line to do it.
Welcome Seth! The issue you’re missing is what you interpret as “negativity” are the people who actually want more of what you want…”walt’s vision”. The people who are running the theme parks HATE Walt’s vision. It may win in the long run, but they’re paid on month to month profits only. Chapek doesn’t gain anything long term. That’s why some of the more critical folks here are actually fans, and it’s not negavitity to me.
See here’s the problem with your outlook vs the “negativity” that you’re seeing here. You think that Disney is some sort of charity that wants to do nothing but spread joy and happiness throughout the world. If you really want to have hope for the new EPCOT project, just look at the original concept work for New Fantasyland, what imagineering wants and plans for never gets built because it doesn’t improve the bottom line. Disney is a publicly traded company, when I was in business school the thing they preached over and over again was that the #1 goal of a publicly traded company was to make the stockholders money. I do agree with you on the negativity in a certain sense because everyone here is quick to blame management and Iger, but ultimately all they’re doing is what the board of directors and the stockholders want, because otherwise those managers would be out of a job. It’s like demanding a fast food worker be fired because they have to charge you for an extra dipping sauce, they didn’t make that rule, but they’ll sure as hell get fired if they don’t enorce it. As I constantly say on here, if you want to have any impact on Disney, you have to become a stockholder because that’s the only way you can help ensure they’ll keep Walt’s vision.
You’re post is somewhat true..but here’s the missing link…wait for it….. Disney has a CEO who 99.9% cares about their media. Bob Iger literally despises the theme parks. Disney will make more money off of just Frozen merchandise worldwide this Christmas than all their theme parks will make all year combined, and for little to no hassle. Here’s the missing link. The parks, EPCOT included, aren’t supposed to be just a cash cow. They’re supposed to generate a feeling, an experience, a destination that makes people WANT to see the movies, and buy the stuff. Sure, it’s always been a business, but a shitty run one in this division. In Bob Iger’s not caring, he put some not fore thinking bozos (Chapek is just one in a line of them) who’s only responsibility is “efficiency” and making the biggest bang for the buck, every second, off of every square foot. The stockholders don’t have a say. But are doing ok cuz of media, the WDW parks have been sucking wind from their loss of focus for a decade or more now.
Is that true that they make more off frozen merchandise? That is pretty sad in my opinion. With what’s been happening in the last 10 years or so with the parks, do you think there is any hope left?
Its very true. You can read the stockholder stuff that’s public. There’s hope, but probably not until new management comes in who see’s the parks as a way to build brand loyalty, while making some money, and not a way to simply count dollars spend per person per second.
#MostAccuratePostEver I work at WDW in Florida and am a Disney freak. They have such unrealistic goals for us in efficiency, sales, and how many people we can put through rides and stores based on our staffing being lowered constantly. That’s all they care about at every level. Sure, we’re supposed to smile and be nice, and if see something that might give the brand a bad name, report it (though little ever done but smoke and mirrors). There is NEVER a concern expressed about how true it is to Walt’s vision. NEVER a concern about the enjoyment or safety or experience for an individual guest. They only care about complaints that result in a loss of money.
I want to see them upgrade parks, and won’t lie, making money is important, but you’re post …stockholder…is very accurate from my perspective on the inside. Don’t take my post as a Debbie downer, just as a CM freak who knows we can do SOOOOOO much more. We have in the past, and could again if allowed by the corporate gurus. Right now if EPCOT redone, I’d be very worried it would be all for profit, and would expect some closure of attractions and even more entertainment than we have left. Disney lover in me hopes I’m proved wrong one day. Disney PR FYI reads this board, just not anyone high enough to make any changes. Only to post here positive messages. If you have LEGITIMATE park concern, demand money back, it’s all the higher ups will ever see.
Tangled Is far better than Frozen and deserves a chance far more than Frozen, which was a really bad film. If Tangled and even Zootopia were given a much better chance in the parks, they’d be enormous successes. But Chapek hates those films and he is the Joseph Goebbels to Iger’s Hitler. Put someone in charge of the company who cares more about imagination and innovation than short term profit and the parks would be much better off.
WWWD, you’re mommy should take away your keyboard and drugs.
I hope this means more lands in world showcase and not another pavilion conversion like they did with Norway. and also an embracing of the science & Tech side of Futureworld.
If Epcot (Center) is “reimagined”, I just hope they keep this Disney quote in mind (if they do it will be alright) – “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”
His comments couldn’t get more vague. Yeah we know it needs to get done, we’re listening to you, so I am here to announce we are going to refurbish the park but I am not going to give details, no dates, ride announcements, nothing but the same old Disney Management rhetoric. Thank you, we’ll keep taking your money, keep coming to the park as crappy as it is, and we’ll just make the Flower & Garden & Food & Wine 6 months each so they are longer a special events
Yea, I first heard this news and got excited, then remembered this is same guy who has promised many things. They close more than they open sadly. I know a few areas of other parks being renovated, but the more that leaks, the more it’s going to be very popular for people wanting to buy and stand in lines for things, not ride or do things. There’s hardly a company out there giving less for the more that you pay the Disney in Florida. (Their overseas parks excluded) Disney needs to overhaul Walt Disney World staffing AND how the compensate them…all based on short term profit, which makes them cheapen out. They don’t really care about long term. Disney World Park management doesn’t really give 2 hoots about “Disney” nor entertainment/education/value/corporate gain. Their profits are based on short term profits only.
Those of you saying negative things here should be ashamed of yourselves and need to shut up and stop being wrong! ?
Thank you for your input Disney PR person. I am so ashamed of myself for not drinking the pixie dust laden Koolaid and and praising Disney for everything that they do for me. I will thank them by blindly throwing money at them without ever questioning their logic and intentions. Thank you for setting me straight.
Philip, stop whining. Not becoming.
Tell me about it. I’d like it better if they stop having comments here. This isn’t a forum, but a post. It’s alright to express your opinion, but not to the point of being pessimistic and rude to others. I’d hate to see ‘fans’ like this on smaller blogs.
You must be a Trump supporter, you’re too thin skinned to respect other people’s opinions so you’d rather there be no way for them to express those opinions. Who cares if they’re being pessimistic? It’s still an opinion and they have a right to express it regardless of if you agree with it or not. Nobody makes you read the comments, if you have such a problem with them, read the post and then stop scrolling. I’m sure in a few months you’ll be able to go running to your supreme leader Trump and say that this site is harboring Mexicans, Muskims, and other “bad hombres” and he will have this site shut down.
Philip is a known troll. There’s NOTHING negative about being honest. Don’t If you don’t like the comments, STOP COMING TO THIS SITE, just like you haters keep saying if you don’t like how Disney gives you less for more money, stop going there. We don’t need you here either. Some of us are fans and like the parks, but not how they’re being pushed down the drain.
and theres nothing unintelligent about having a different opinion but ill just sip my tea…
Yea, but nothing really intelligent about people whining about fans who are critical of some of Disney’s careless work (and lack there of).
I’m going to tell you people a little something my uncle told me when I was complaining about star wars episode 1. “To be a true fan you have to love it all, take the jarjar’s with the Obi Wan’s, and have faith that there are better things to come.”
Now first of all, they’re adding in new gift shops and restaurants in all the parks to squeeze more money out of customers, in the meantime they’ve WIDELY expanded those food offerings from the chicken nuggets and personal pizzas of my childhood. Now when I go to Disney I get a chance to eat a myriad of things I would never get to try where I come from. For both rides and gift shops they’ve created some phenomenally immersive experiences, and yes, the primary purpose is to make money, but most of their restaurants are overcrowded and I’m all for adding more of them so I get the chance to actually eat in one of them instead of waiting two hours and opting out for a hotdog.
Second, people are beating to death the idea that WDW keeps cutting back rides and other free-with-entry experiences to make a quick dollar. I disagree with that. In recent years they’ve added free christmas entertainment at Disney Springs, and this year added a cutting edge new light show. You don’t even need a ticket for Disney Springs. They’ve taken Hollywood Studios (And btw, do NOT get me started on people complaining about DHS becoming a vessel for IP’s, that is LITERALLY what the park was created for) and bulldozed some of the worst pure cash cows and are adding in a toy story land and a star wars land that both promise to be insanely good, adding 4 new rides between them, and considering that DHS really only ever had 4 rides at most, this is a huge improvement for them that completely fits their movie theme. In the mean time they’ve had to make some show closures but it’s shortsighted not to realize it’s because of construction logistics. Moreover they’re getting rid of star wars weekends which has become completely bastardized in the last 5 or so years, and thank god for that. If new fantasyland is any indication of things to come I’m all in. They took one ride away and added two more in the style of old wdw, plus a realy great interactive experience with Belle. The completely adorable but modern little mermaid ride, and a slightly more fun snow white update that again, had really good theming. They even themed the bathrooms to look really magical and that is again, a free thing. They’ve been adding interactive games to the ques to entertain guests who have to wait, which again-are magical little extras. Sorcerers of the magic kingdom was still free last time I went unless you wanted add on’s as well. They’ve added all kinds of new entertainment at the resorts that are free of charge, like movies on the beach and piping the firework music out to you. Now I can enjoy wishes in full effect with a drink in my hand from the beach without having to buy a ticket. Sure they’re adding more pay for experiences, but they’re adding them because people want less crowded experiences. I pay for MVMCP every year because with half the lines I know I can ride all the rides I care to in 5 hours instead of paying for a regularly priced ticket, and I fail to see where that’s purely to make money when it clearly has a lot to offer in the way of guest experience with extra characters, extra shows, and free goodies for half the price of regular admission. Animal Kingdom is continually getting better and better, taking away what was once an oversized character meet-and-greet and turning it into the land of fantasy animals it was always supposed to be by using an IP (which is IMHO a better concept than finding sponsors and seeing FEDEX and KODAK freakin everywhere) that has a strong focus on conservation and cultural appreciation- the hallmark of AK, and while epcot has fallen dramatically in the last decade, I for one am really excited to see what they have in store. They can ruin it by making everything character and thrill-ride-centric, but I’m more apt to believe that just like New Fantasyland and DHS, that they’re going to keep with the spirit of the park and find a way to marry EPCOT’s true vision with some Disney characters and magic sprinkled about. Afterall, while cutting back on sponsors something has to fund them and IP’s are profitable.
I’m not going to change anyone’s mind but Disney wanted his parks to be a living breathing experience. He was never against IP’s, some of his greatest films were IP’s like marry poppins and winnie the pooh, and few films really didn’t come from someone else’s stories. Even the “original rides” everyone loves and adores were based largely on segments from his television shows. Disney World is going to keep changing and if they ever REALLY start to lose business they’ll change things again, but from my point of view as a lifelong Disney World fan, they have their peaks and troughs, but they’re a billion times better than any other park on the planet and I’m always excited to experience something new, even if I don’t like it in the end. Eventually all the Stitch’s Great Escapes close down afterall (and thank god for that). True fans don’t have to love it all, but they have to accept it and appreciate it for the growth it brings.
P.S. Not Disney P.R., but I wish, they didn’t hire me. Shameless plug- Disney- There’s more where that came from and I’ll work for tickets wink wink.
P.S.S. this was written in stream of consciousness so please forgive the grammatical errors.
You must live on drugs kid. If you aren’t intelligent enough how you’re being given MUCH less for MUCH more money, you’ll be the victim of many of scams in your lifetime kid. Did you see the article about new tents at Magic Kingdom to escape the chaos? THIS is what EPCOT becomes, we’re screwed. And current Disney management…this IS what it would become.
Thanks for demeaning my intelligence by saying I’m a kid based on my opinions. Law degree holder over here. Not a kid. Been going to Disney since 95. Had’t seen the tent thing, but frankly, you’re the unintelligent one for not understanding how a business works and appreciating how much Disney does for it’s guests in comparison to literally any other theme park. You don’t have to rent the tents. They’re not forcing you to, nor are they taking away any guest experience in lieu of the tents, so I don’t see how it has an effect on any of my points. The parks are getting more crowded, they’re sinking money into updating the parks you love to bellyache about instead of building new ones, and they’re offering people who don’t like crowds a respite-at a price. Not really that ridiculous, but if you hate Disney so much, PLEASE, stop going. One less person I have to wait behind for btm
I think Rasheed went light on you. Theres not a chance you’re education made it past the 5th grade, much less law school based on your posts, and especially lack of insight kid. Give us a break. Same on your thin argument about if you don’t like it, don’t go. We can say the same for your arguments here, one less idiot who thinks everything Disney does is for them, or that they’d actually give you free tickets for your idiotic rants. We’re not impressed. Get in rehab and back in school WDW #1 fan.
WDW #1 Fan…you say you haven’t seen the tint think and you’re writing like a schizophrenic off his meds. you don’t sound like a Disney fan. It’s fine if you disagree, but when you haven’t even seen it and bitching like a little kid who got his candy taken away, you lose credibility form me. And if you don’t like other peoples posts, stop reading them! You don’t need to visit this site, just like you say people don’t need to visit the park.
That said, I’m ALL for improvement of Disney. Especially EPCOT, which after Disney Springs came, we seldom visit, because we mainly went for restaurants and atmosphere. Springs bests EPCOT in both of these. Chapek is historically an over-stater and underperformer for Disney. Just sayin’. If he’s running the show, any inch of that park that doesn’t make money is on the chopping block. NOT what a fan would want.
darn autocorrect, meant you say you haven’t seen the “the tents” before your rant, not sure how computer changed that to “tint think”
How is it going to keep to the vision of the original Epcot? They already ruined it with Frozen and the upcoming Guardians. Because nothing says EPCOT like Frozen and Marvel.
I’m hoping the guardians thing is still just a rumor, but Frozen was probably the biggest misfire they’ve had recently and it was BIG. I mean, other than the pull of frozen fans, its basically rocket rods all over again. It doesn’t fit and it doesn’t work. Arrendale or however you spell it =/= Norway.
Yea. Disney has mostly had misfires lately. Not just Frozen. You DO NOT SOUND LIKE A FAN by the way, how you stand behind their cutting measures as improvements in so many posts.
Good point Jeff. Got me thinking, what has Disney come up with in a number of years that wasn’t bought from other peoples creativity? Would Marvel or Pixar have gotten to where they were if Disney had come up with it, or would the managers have beat it into the ground on short term profit requirements, and not thinking long term. Maybe we should hire people who came up with Pixar and Marvel to design the parks, in EPCOT mindset and goal of course, with goal being long term success and people lining up to get in. Disney never got the complaints years ago that it does now. But, never deserved them before.
True Phil. Only lines now are when they close 80% of the entrances, and run rides and restaurants at half capacity (unknown to guests) to save on labor costs. I cannot think of anything that Disney created, yet not bought from someone else. And usually when Disney get’s it lately, it gets same theme they bought churned and beat to death, and growth of new ideas stops. I’m sure creative folks in Disney are stiffled and shut down by the accountants, who very obviously have taken 100% control. I don’t think there’s a company in America who cares less what their customers think than Disney. It’s banker ran. I think optimistically, it will change! It will have to. Generation today not so impressed by it as their parents were.
Love that statement. Hope Disney does the right things and trusts the bottom line to take care of itself as a truly quality product will.
Yes, hope is a wonderful thing! We hope ISIS ends world hunger, might happen one day. Historically they don’t operate like that and have their own interests in mind only. Unfortunately Disney has lately only looked at their bottom line lately. It’s scary to think what they’d do if refurb it under Bob Iger in my single opinion. If we never thought we’d miss Michael Eisner, this is a time we’d like him back, he was kind to theme parks and their attendees!
I haven’t ready every single comment yet but why all the naysayers…Disney f***** up with DCA in it’s first incarnation and spent a lot to fix it . Why not wait to see what they plan with EPCOT ? Are you naysayers already tearing into Pandora at DAK and Cars and Star Wars at the Studios ? I’m not sorry at all with my analogy but it’s like complaining about a birthday gift when not only is NOT your birthday but you have no idea what the gift is is and besides …what kind of jerk complains about a gift .. you didn’t pay for it. Keep it or give it away and move on.
I hope in saying to Imagineers to “dream big,” he’s giving them the creative freedom they so deserve (and probably want) in finally producing attractions and experiences that don’t have to be based on branded material. My worry is that the park will only stay true to the original vision in promoting prominent companies’ new ideas and will feel like one giant commercial convention instead of it being a place of wonder and imagination. Spaceship Earth is a masterpiece of Imagineering. I hope they keep the park in that spirit. Imagination meeting innovation. Not just promotion. We shall see… we shall see.. I can also envision them changing the entire to park to one big Stark Expo and defending it by saying “Stark Expo is based on the two New York World’s Fairs and so is still in the tradition of Epcot while being ‘family friendly.'” Sounds crazy, but we’re living in an age where they honestly thought changing one of the most popular and well loved attractions at DCA was a good idea. But time will tell. I’m sure more details will be announced at the next D23.
I hope they keep the infotainment in EPCOT. Future World should have lots of interesting VR to play with, innovative architecture and AI demonstrations.