Originally Posted By bayrr326 According to the interview Deb Wills did with Vice President of Epcot, Brad Rex there will be no celebration of Epcot's 25th anniversary. Here is the link to the article: <a href="http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/ep/bradrex.htm" target="_blank">http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/e p/bradrex.htm</a> this really doesn't surprise me at all but it does suck. I guess WDW management just doesn't feel that anniversaries aren't important.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 oops, I guess WDW management just doesn't feel that anniversaries ARE important.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN No they don't anymore.. And just yesterday I received an AP letter from DLP, in beautiful 15th anniversary font and heading, announcing deals for the ocasion. I think it's sad that management at WDW does not see fit anymore to celebrate the resort's many milestones, choosing instead to bribe guests with such ridiculous stunts as "Million Dreams", where few are winners and most go home with nothing special to celebrate and enjoy during their visits, aside from the usual fare.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Was that question serious, sarcastic a comment on your own views about the park? Hard to tell. Anyway, I'm disapointed that there is no celebration planned for Epcots 25th. I'm going this year and I would have liked to see something for such a landmark year. ~Beth
Originally Posted By TDLFAN I am disappointed too Tiggirl (hi!) but hey... we were robbed of WDW's 30th and 35th anniversaries so what else is new in this side of the USA? Thanks God we have DLP's 15th and TDS 5th to help us get over the blues...
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Hi TDLFAN! ) I wish DLP's 15th and TDS 5th would see me through the lack of Epcot celebration, too. But since I have no real hope of seeing either of those resorts in the near-ish future I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through you! ~Beth P.S. Look! I spelled "vicariously" correctly! I think...
Originally Posted By leemac No disrepect to the interviewer (as I have no idea how she "got" this interview - it looks like it was dring the radio broadcasts at the Noodle Station) but I'm very surprised that Brad spoke "out of school" about the upcoming Epcot changes or the 25th. No-one was supposed to discuss SSE/Mexico/Canada at all. One of the driving factors behind the decision to only acknowledge the date (and it will be) was that the refurb schedule is staggered for the next few years and therefore it made very little sense to have a big celebration. Epcot still needs a lot of work and it is coming. I'm kinda glad that there isn't a big hollow celebration. Give us some respite and look forward to DAK's biggie in '08.
Originally Posted By irishfan >>Give us some respite and look forward to DAK's biggie in '08.<< The debut of the long talked about lagoon show perhaps??
Originally Posted By leemac <<The debut of the long talked about lagoon show perhaps??>> No comment. All I can say is that the show will finally "complete" DAK's offerings: 2 of the best E-tickets in Disney history with Safari and Everest, the best daytime parade at WDW for ages in Jammin' Jungle and the best Disney theatrical production ever (in my lifetime) in Nemo. The show will be spectacular and "lagoon show" doesn't quite fit the description.
Originally Posted By irishfan Great to hear Lee. >>The show will be spectacular and "lagoon show" doesn't quite fit the description. << Lagoon show was the first thing to pop into my head, really looking forward to seeing the end result.
Originally Posted By disneyhabit It would be nice to see some celebration at Epcot for all to see unlike the Million Dreams for a few to participate in. Million Dreams is a joke for the masses. I think everyone should be able to enjoy at least something, it was so nice to walk into MK and see the castle dressed as a birthday cake, I know after awhile it probably got tiresome but at least alot of people were able to enjoy something!
Originally Posted By brotherdave That's VERY DISSAPOINTING to hear! Epcot was the first non-Magic Kingdom park attempted by Disney. It's also one of the largest attended parks in the world (within the top 5, I believe). Why on earth won't they at least put some banners up to acknowledge this milestone?! And I can't believe that they won't have souveniers commerating it either! When was Disney known to pass up a way to sell more merchandise???
Originally Posted By DigitalDisney Disappointing, yes. EPCOT Center was a landmark park, and always deserves more attention than it receives. But not having a 25th anniv celebration makes sense from a business perspective. Why would you have an anniversary celebration every year/five years when most of your business isn't local? Unless they add a new attraction/nighttime spectacular for the park's 25th, attendance probably won't go up much. When you get a lot of local business (like every other Disney resort), then you always need new celebrations and parades and events to keep your regular visitors coming back. If they do nothing else, I'd just love to see them bring back flavors of old EPCOT for the 25th: - Tear down the wand (permanently) - Bring back the old navigation signs and logos, and make new logos for the new attractions in the same style - Re-open the Odyssey as a restaurant (and have normal food there too!) - Play the original entrance music - Reopen and promote Wonders of Life - Make part of Innoventions an exhibit about EPCOT That's really all I'd ask for...
Originally Posted By bayrr326 "Why would you have an anniversary celebration every year/five years when most of your business isn't local? Unless they add a new attraction/nighttime spectacular for the park's 25th, attendance probably won't go up much." Uh, WDW used to have anniversary celebrations every 5 years. it has been the last 2(30,35th) that they have completely ignored. And unless i am wrong attendance went up every year they had a celebration.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<No disrepect to the interviewer (as I have no idea how she "got" this interview - it looks like it was dring the radio broadcasts at the Noodle Station) but I'm very surprised that Brad spoke "out of school" about the upcoming Epcot changes or the 25th. No-one was supposed to discuss SSE/Mexico/Canada at all.>> Does Brad need your approval to speak to other webmasters? And is he supposed to blatantly lie to a woman who's site is almost a bible to many WDW vacation planners? The SSE postshow is behind walls ... as is the boat ride in Mexico ... and any CM in Canada will tell you a new film is on the way. Do we have to wait until WDW PR decides to make it official an pretend it isn't happening ... you know like the giant DVC towers about to replace the North Wing of the Contemporary? <<One of the driving factors behind the decision to only acknowledge the date (and it will be) was that the refurb schedule is staggered for the next few years and therefore it made very little sense to have a big celebration. >> In other words, Jay Rasulo convinced Bob Iger that the way to go was a 'Disney Parks: Where Dreams Come True during the Year of a Million Dreams provided those parks are in Florida or California' as part of his globalization BS. Had smarter heads prevailed, Epcot's 25th would have been in planning 3-5 years ago and would have a major campaign of its own. But we all know that's not how Disney operates now. <<Epcot still needs a lot of work and it is coming. I'm kinda glad that there isn't a big hollow celebration. Give us some respite and look forward to DAK's biggie in '08.>> Even as a DAK lover, I see how much more significant Epcot's 25th is than DAK's 10th. Of course, WDW ignored its 30th and (now) 35th anniversaries in favor of gimmicky marketing promos, so again, par for the course.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Does Brad need your approval to speak to other webmasters?>> Not at all. What he says has nothing to do with me. I just find it frustrating when Company executives talk about projects and plans that have not been formally released. Jim Lewis managed to keep his mouth shut about future DVC expansion so why did Brad feel the need to disclose? <<Had smarter heads prevailed, Epcot's 25th would have been in planning 3-5 years ago and would have a major campaign of its own.>> Your opinion. My opinion is that guests are very unlikely to plan to visit for just one park's anniversary at WDW these days. It just isn't going to motivate them to dump on a plane. I suspect we will only see four-park celebrations for a while.
Originally Posted By Indigo <<One of the driving factors behind the decision to only acknowledge the date (and it will be) was that the refurb schedule is staggered for the next few years and therefore it made very little sense to have a big celebration. Epcot still needs a lot of work and it is coming.>> Epcot means more than just the sum of its attractions. This should have been planned for three years ago as a way to reposition the company's second strongest themepark brand and it's only brand uniquely positioned to promote peace and hope for a better world. It's not too late to put something together even if it's smaller than it should be, it's what the park and Walt's vision deserves.
