"Old" Epcot vs. "New" Epcot

[Toad]

Over the years, significant changes have occured at Epcot. With the park's 25th anniversary near in sight, I'm interested in knowing what others think about the evolution of Epcot [a.k.a. EPCOT Center]. Has it changed for better, worse, or has it remained consistent in quality and purpose?

[KAJUNKING]

i really love soarin, but imo the old epcot was much better! horizons, the original imagination, communicore, wonders of life, world of motion! EPCOT CENTER ROCKS

[WDWgoofy]

Thanks to Soarin and Mission:Space I can say that I enjoy both the old and new Epcots similarly. Though, I am disappointed that Wonders of Life is gone:mickey:

[poeticeclipse]

i really love soarin, but imo the old epcot was much better! horizons, the original imagination, communicore, wonders of life, world of motion! EPCOT CENTER ROCKS


Agreed! The "old" Epcot Center was at least closer to what Walt originally planned for EPCOT to be. Also, it wasn't taken over by "characters" everywhere. Some rides don't have to have a television or movie character attached. It can just be what it is without having to throw a popular movie characters name into the title. I think it makes some people forget what Epcot is all about.

[jwallace378]

I like the old Epcot. I always liked the "retro-futuristic" feel to it. It was kind of a vision of what people back then thought what the future was going to be like (if that makes sense"

[jclightchasr]

I miss horizons

I never really liked world of motion but I did like it better than test track which is really a snooze fest to me.

I haven't been on MS or Soarin yet but would probably like both of them, actually I'm quite sure I will love soarin.

Very early epcot didn't have Norway If I remember correctly so I wouldn't have cared for that and I believe it was missing the Seas

However It did have the original JIYI with Figment and Dreamfinder which was much better than its two replacements. Also i miss Image Works in this pavillion.
All this said I voted for Old Epcot but I think Soarin will definately bring things up to more of a tie.

BTW is WOL pavillion now officially closed?

[dog-ears]

Although I miss some of the old attractions like Wonders of Life & Horizons like most of you, I still like Epcot just as well as I have in the past. For me, it's the whole park - not just the rides - and I love the countries and feel of Epcot - it is a park like no other! :mickey:

[SpecJoe Magic]

Several years ago I would have definitely answered that it has changed for the worse because it was going through a stage where many things were in the process of changing but weren't complete yet. I suppose that it was unfair to judge it before the new attractions opened, but it was frustrating at the time to visit the park when there were very few attractions open at all. That all happened in the late 90s/ early 2000s. World of Motion had closed in 1996 because Test Track was originally scheduled to open in Spring 1997, but it was delayed by two years. In the mean time, Horizons was left to decay with very little maintenance because they didn't want to spend a lot of money on it when it was slated to be demolished soon to make way for Mission: Space. So, Horizons remained open for an extra two years (it was originally supposed to close in 1997 with the opening of Test Track) until Test Track opened in 1999 (TT seemed to break down more often right after it opened than it does now). That means that between 1996 and 2003, there was a missing attraction (either the current M:S area or the current TT area) on the east side of Future World. The fact that Epcot was one attraction short for several years could have been overlooked but that wasn't the only problem during that time period. Wonders of Life had begun its decline and Journey Into Imagination was changed into the atrocious second version, Journey Into Your Imagination. World Showcase had remained mostly the same during that time period so it was still nice, but it didn't and still doesn't have many attractions so it wasn't enough to carry the whole park. I had lost my affection for Epcot during that time period. What was once a very enjoyable park for me had become a disappointment.

Fortunately, things had begun to change for the better staring with the opening of Mission: Space in 2003. Soarin' followed in 2005 and the Living Seas was overhauled to add the Finding Nemo attractions shortly after that. Now Spaceship Earth is getting a much needed update. I feel that improvements need to be made to the Imagination Institute and the Wonders of Life Pavilion, but Epcot appears to be back on track as a whole.

In conclusion, Epcot is certainly much different now than it used to be, but I believe that its overall quality has remained consistent despite the rough times that it went through several years ago.

[Toad]

BTW is WOL pavillion now officially closed?

I think it's safe to say that Wonders of Life will not reopen. The double helix DNA tower has been dismantled and all signs refering to the pavillion have been removed. From what I've heard, everything has been removed inside except for Body Wars and Cranium Command, which are temporarily boarded up. The pavillion will supposedly be used to host the Food and Wine festival.

[robyn221]

I agree with CajunKing that the "world's fair" feel that the older version of Epcot had is not quite the same, but I'm the first to admit that maintaining that type of concept would be difficult due to the constant updating that would be required to keep it "cutting edge." There were some really cool attractions, like Horizons & Communicore, that I enjoyed a lot and miss now when I visit, but I really like some of the newer rides like Test Track and I am looking forward to seeing how The Living Seas has been updated with the Nemo theming.

Robyn:mickey:

[Polynesian Dweller]

Like others, miss Horizons which was about how the future would look which really represented the idea behind Future World. Also prefered the original Imagination pavillion. However, Soarn' is a great addition and then there is Mission: Space and Test Track. So, there are good things about both and they are about the same for me.

[mttafire]

I prefer the new. Im 37 so i know both old and new EPCOT. I am a firm believer of "change is good".:mickey: Keep looking AHEAD.

[DessertDivaFL]

I prefer the new. Im 37 so i know both old and new EPCOT. I am a firm believer of "change is good".:mickey: Keep looking AHEAD.

I am also 37 and I remember the old EPCOT too. It was nice. I also agree that change is good and I hope they add more countries in the future. How about an another African country, Spain, or Ireland?

[teambricker04]

Hmmm. I was at EPCOT a few times before 96, but to be honest, I don't remember some of it. I did like the Kitchen Caberet better than the lion king thing, but I like Soarin'. I liked the old Imagination, but the updates to Figment and neat. I LOVE the new Nemo stuff in the Living Seas.

Is it just me, or are the only things still in opertation on the other side TT and Mission: Space? Nothing is ever open when I go... not even Ellen and the Dinasours.

I would take EPCOT which ever way... It is my favorite park.

[disneynarula]

The only change I liked was the addition of Soarin. I liked that the whole family could ride on all the attractions together. Now there are too many rides with restrictions.

[LoriMistress]

I like them both the same.

[Gator]

:bored: Zzzzzzzzzzzz...oh, sorry. I must have fallen asleep thinking about Old Epcot. New Epcot is so much better. Better rides, better WS attractions and shows, more Disney character interaction, and I even like the 8 years with the Wand on SSE.

[huzzah4]

My tastes have changed over the years along with the park. When I was younger, I much preferred Future World. I've always been something of a science geek, and with it's displays and educational experiences, FW was absolutely phenomenal for me, whereas World Showcase was commonplace and boring. As I have matured, however, FW has become very dated while WS has opened whole new worlds to me. While I enjoy some of the rides in FW, we normally just ignore the displays, I don't really need to see all of the newest upcoming technological breakthroughs of 1990. I most look forward to visiting all of the different countries for their varied cultural, shopping, and (most importantly) dining experiences.

[IloveDisney71]

I was 11 when Epcot opened and I only visited it twice before I turned 12 and then I didn't get back there until I was almost 30! SO I don't remember the old Epcot at all, but I really enjoy what Epcot is today.

[snifflesmcg]

With the exception of Soarin' and Test Track, I like the Old Epcot better. Some of my all time favs are the "old" Figment ride, Horizons and Kitchen Kabernet.

[RBrooksC]

I went to Epcot twice when it was EPCOT Center and twice it was Epcot. The first time was back in January of 1983. The second was in June of 1989.

I think that while Epcot still isn't perfect and it does take a lot of work to keep things current, I think the current incarnation is a good mix of old and new. A place like Epcot can get stale very fast. At least putting some educational thrill rides into the mix allows them to bring younger people into the park to experience things they may rather bypass.

One of the problems with a place like Epcot is the Imagineers have to be proactive in their upgrades. If not, you could have an attraction go stale and it take several years to get in a replacement. This can plainly be seen with The Wonders of Life.

[Mickie the Pooh]

I was there for the opening, still have the commemortive tickets. and I really miss the OLD EPCOT a lot, it is sad to see what they have deteriorated to over the past few years. So many of the corporate sponsor programs ran out stuff fell into disrepair. It is good to see they are doing some renovations now, but they have a long way to go and I hope they will get back to the basics and give us more pavillions like the originals and not just turn it into a thrill ride park, they have plenty of room for that kind of a park somewhere else.

[Bass T-bone]

I guess it's just that I'm getting older but...

I vote for the old EPCOT!

The old version is closer to the way Walt had invisioned it to be. That is, one of the primary facilities of the park was to EDUCATE. A prime example of the current wayward vision can be found in Universe of Energy. This ride was much more interesting to me back then. I don't require the need to be "entertained through some cute storyline" Give me a ride like the one that you might see at a World's Fair! The dinosaurs in the current ride has almost NOTHING to do with the Ellen storyline... The pre-show of the old version, I think segued perfectly into the animatronic dinosaurs...

[RBrooksC]

If anybody has ever seen the EPCOT video made by Walt Disney, the Disney property and EPCOT were to be a place for people to live and work. There was to be an airport with a monorail system taking people from the airport to the industrial area, EPCOT, and then up to the Magic Kingdom.

EPCOT was supposed to be the utopian city with a high density city center surrounded by apartments, then outside that was the green areas where the parks, churches and schools were located and then outside that was the low density housing. There were to be no cars above ground, on the WEDWay Peoplemovers and the monorail. All traffic would be underground.

When Disney died, the idea of EPCOT was scrapped until the mid 1970s when the idea was revamped into the Epcot Center theme park. This was then conceived as an ever evolving theme park in the guise of a World's Fair.

The fact that they add and subtract attractions is basically the heart of the Epcot concept as it was developed in the 1970s.

Nostalgia is what drives people to like the old one over the new one. Excitment is what drives most people to like the new one over the old one.

What will people say in a few decades when it is in its third incarnation?

[GrmGrninGost]

I like the "old" EPCOT best. Outside of Soarin' I think they have really been going backward the last several years. I loved the old Journey into Imagination, Horizons and Wonders of Life (especially Cranium Command). I still like EPCOT, just not quite as much.

[January-2007]

"Old" Epcot.... Center.....

[Gator]

I like the "old" EPCOT best. Outside of Soarin' I think they have really been going backward the last several years. I loved the old Journey into Imagination, Horizons and Wonders of Life (especially Cranium Command). I still like EPCOT, just not quite as much.

How can they be going backwards with Misson:Space and Test Track and be going forwards with Soarin'? The first two actually are more along the lines of the Science-Furture theme of Epcot. Soarin' doesn't fit as well in future world as it would somewhere else, IMHO. And how is it that so many people loved Horizons and Kitchen Kaberet? Those places are what kept so many people from coming back to Epcot - it made it seem corny and dull.

[Toad]

Certainly the older EPCOT attractions had their flaws. Horizons, in particular, was already showing its age by the time it closed in 1999, and its vision of a future in which everybody wore jumpsuits was becoming somewhat farcical. However, Horizons and other EPCOT dark rides were also incredibly evocative, not only because of their excellent craftsmanship and rich details but because they aspired to provide more substantial experiences than the average 5-minute thrill ride.

Many of the attractions could have been modified to create a greater sense of reality and excitement for visitors, rather than being gutted for technologically advanced but aesthetically sterile thrill rides. At the very least, Disney could have set up some professional movie cameras and filmed these attractions in their entirety, so that future generations could have a clearer sense of what these rides were. Instead, all that remains are mostly photographs, fading memories, and subpar home videos.

Nevertheless, we should probably appreciate what the park has to offer, and keep looking toward the future, but never forget the past. As long as there are people willing to look beyond the surface, EPCOT has the potential to be more than a "theme park," more than another diversion -- rides can thrill and entertain, but they can also further enrich one's understanding of aesthetics and the world, and hopefully motivate people to improve life in this universe.

[Mickey91]

I like the old EPCOT the best. It is ashame Disney is going back to luring guests with thrill rides in the one park that seemed to be a bar above that.

[dumbo ears]

ive only seen the new epcot and from what ive seen i like it. but from what all the good stuff I have heard from the old epcot I think i would like it more if i would have saw it.

[Jeff G]

Epcot's Future World of old was a park where a family could go and enjoy the rides together.

Today little ones can enjoy only a fraction of the rides. Kitchen Cabaret and Food Rocks are gone. TT , MS & Soarin don't cater to younger ones. Basically, if your a family with young kids FW has very little to offer since Universe of Energy & Honey I Shrunk the Audience scare a lot of the kids. That leaves Living with the Land, SE and the Seas pavilion for a family with little ones to enjoy.


Since a good portion of WDW's annual attendance is families, many of which include young children I don't like the trend over the past 10 -15 years where almost all rides that are being added are thrill rides. What happened to dark rides that the whole family can enjoy?

[RBrooksC]

Everybody has to remember that, for as much as nostalgia plays when questions are asked about Epcot, everything boils down to one thing -- attendence. For a while, Epcot had very low attendence. So, Disney gave people what they wanted, the thrill ride.

Now, they did it within the confines of educating people but it still added some action to what could have been seen to things that were very stale and, for many, boring.

I am glad they added Test Track and Mission: Space. I have not yet seen Soarin' but I am sure it is another crowd drawing ride.

Also, these thrill rides are family thrill rides. Even Mission: Space has created a lesser version of their ride so families can ride. Test Track is a pretty tame, albiet exciting, ride that families can go together.

It isn't like Disney is adding rides that are for those who can handle a 400' tall roller coaster like Top Fuel Dragster or Kingda Ka.

[JessicaRabbit]

though I do love Test Track. I miss the old "Journey into Imagination" and "Kitchen Caberet"


Give me a ride like the one that you might see at a World's Fair! The dinosaurs in the current ride has almost NOTHING to do with the Ellen storyline... The pre-show of the old version, I think segued perfectly into the animatronic dinosaurs...

ITA - I liked the "World's Fair" feel of the Old Epcot Center.:mickey:

[2Epcot]

Of course I'm going to say the "old" Epcot Center. I still have many great memories of my first two trips in the 80s. I'm happy with some of the improvements, not happy with others, but have to choose old over new. Now that the wand is gone, it is nice to see a little "old" come back to Epcot.

[amd780]

I wish there was a way to rebuild "old" Epcot alongside of its new counterpart. I love Test Track and Soarin, and the Nemo theme for the Living Seas is adorable. However-- Epcot just isn't the same without the pre-rehab version of SSE, the old JII, Horizons, World of Motion, and Kitchen Kabaret/Food Rocks.

Epcot is, and always has been, my favorite park though--regardless of the changes! :mickey:

[RocknRoller94]

I like the New Epcot mainly for the new rides. TT and MS are my favorite rides there, and the new Figment attraction is much better than the old.( They could Put Dreamfinder back in, though, and the Living Seas was better as it was.)

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

I prefer the new. Im 37 so i know both old and new EPCOT. I am a firm believer of "change is good".:mickey: Keep looking AHEAD.

Change isn't automatically good. Change is simply change.
PROGRESS is good.
And not every change that has been made at EPCOT over the years has been progress.

[cal5755]

There was much to love about old Epcot.....and much to love in the New Epcot. The only way I would never not like it is if they took away SSE. I am sad my kids do not get to see some of the things I did...and I really enjoyed the old figment ride better (or was it just because I was younger??) however now I love Soarin and MS....my kids love TT. I have no problem with change and love seing new things everytime we go.

[Grizz16]

I've read that EPCOT Center may be brought back for the 25th anniversary. I hope it's true.