Originally Posted By mrkthompsn What I love about EPCOT these days compared to the 1980's: The TREES are HUUUGE! I love that grown-in feeling of the place. It gives a feel of permanence.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA My visit to EPCOT Center in Spring 1986, was one of my favorite Disney theme park experiences of all time. Just one 'wow!' moment after another. It's still my favorite park at WDW.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip My first visit to EPCOT Center was in Fall 1991 and it totally blew me away. I had not even really planned to see the park. I had only two days in Orlando, and was thinking that the MK and MGM Studios sounded like the most fun. My brother, who lived in Orlando, told me I would be making a major mistake. That I absolutely HAD to see Epcot. I'm so glad I took his advice. Even though it has declined from those "glory years", it is still my favorite WDW park also.
Originally Posted By monorailblue My first trip was as a fairly young kid (I think around 11). Future World was amazing.
Originally Posted By dagobert My first visit to EPCOT was in 2008 and then earlier this year. So I don't know how the park was in its glory days back then. For me the park is fantastic. As I said before, Future World needs some improvements, but most of the attraction there are good. Test Track is a lot of fun and I like the new more futuristic version better. Mission Space is also fantastic and it's an attraction you can't experience somewhere else. It's intense, very thrilling and I also like the story. Soarin' is one of the best attractions on property. I just love it. Spaceship Earth is also nice and I wouldn't change it. So there are four wonderful attractions in Future World and compared to the other parks and their lands the ratio good-bad attractions is okay. World Showcase has also some good attractions. I know I'm in the minority, but I liked the boat ride in Mexico. I also enjoyed O'Canada and the China movie. Impressions of France should be updated, but I wouldn't remove it. For me WS isn't about the attractions, it's about hanging out there and enjoying some drinks, strolling through the shops and trying different foods. I guess I have a big advantage over you here, since I can't visit every year. We have been to WDW only twice and so EPCOT and DAK felt new each time. The MK is different, since we visit DLP every year and both parks are similar. To a certain degree that is true for DHS too, due to WDSP.
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl Regarding M:S, there was an article in Popular Science, from decades ago, about somebody -- a science museum of some sort, I think -- building an attraction that was a cross between a planetarium and the old FtttM/MtM, inside a huge, working centrifuge. I took a BSM tour while the M:S cabins were being built, and a few years later, I rode it (it may have been before they offered guests a choice between "centrifuge" and "non-centrifuge" versions, but I definitely rode the centrifuge). I had some difficulties extracting my camera bag from the stowage compartment (and I think I may have lost a lens cap, or at least a lens cap leash). And I definitely miss BW.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn I do have to say, the latest refurb of Spaceship Earth with Judy Dench narration is exceptional. I used to heavily dislike Test Track too, favoring World of Motion instead. But in reality, Test Track is closer to the original concept of the pavilion. I really like how it has been refurbished throughout compared to its original theme. I just wish they'd change the name, and improve the canopy in its front.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Ugh, that Danny Kaye special. Although it did a pretty good job of showing off the entire park and its wide-ranging features, I just never particularly liked it. There's just so much weird stuff in it
Originally Posted By trekkeruss What's interesting about the EPCOT special is when Danny Kaye explains that EPCOT Center is at the center of EPCOT, and that the Magic Kingdom is two-and-a- half miles away, which is also a part of EPCOT; i.e. all 27,000+ acres is not only WDW, but EPCOT.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^Yah, that's always the part that has really made me scratch my head. I can't figure out if he just ad libbed and completely botched it, or if the line was actually written like that. Disney was less tightly scripted in those days, so it could have been written like that, but it seems very odd I've also read that he was very difficult to deal with during the filming of that special, so perhaps it was something he 'added' to the show
