"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

[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!

[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

[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". 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". 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]

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.