EPCOT to become “more Disney”

[Jatoas]

It's Danish folk tale but Norway was a part of the Danish empire from 1523 to 1811. This is likely when the Ice Queen fables and culture (trolls, north men, Sami people) filtered down to Denmark. The setting is Northern Denmark (Norway) as Denmark is flat and not very snowy and the finn character is more evidence of this (as finland is next to Norway (not Denmark), especially the further North in Norway you go).

Norway was then transferred by Napoleon due to Denmark being on the losing side of the war to Sweden (which had installed a French general of Napoleon as the Swedish King). So by 1844 when Denmark's Hans Christian Anderson revived the Ice Queen story, Norway was no longer part of Denmark. However, Hans' childhood, Norway would have still been under the rule of the Danish overlords.

So yeah, this is a Norwegian story, as Hans is pretty specific on his locations. The Little mermaid is supposed to be set in Denmark.

Great and thank you for your information! I am familiar with modern Scandinavian History i.e. post 1815, being married to a Swede. But thank you I did not know this and I wish Disney would somehow incorporate this information into its ride!

 

[JC1984]

Great and thank you for your information! I am familiar with modern Scandinavian History i.e. post 1815, being married to a Swede. But thank you I did not know this and I wish Disney would somehow incorporate this information into its ride!

I have never seen Frozen. Don’t know if that is a blessing or a curse.

 

[Pooh's World]

Great and thank you for your information! I am familiar with modern Scandinavian History i.e. post 1815, being married to a Swede. But thank you I did not know this and I wish Disney would somehow incorporate this information into its ride!

Interestingly enough there are two Mickey like Cultural icons that have a connection to Sweden.

1. Moomins (Moomin Troll) was created by Tove Jansson, who is part of Finalnd's Swedish Speaking Minority. (Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish because Finland used to be a Swedish colony until Russia took it over in 1809)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomins
The Moomins are popular world wide with
a Moomin World Theme Park in Finland:
https://www.muumimaailma.fi/https://www.muumimaailma.fi/
and the Moomin Valley Theme Park that opened in Japan in 2019:
https://metsa-hanno.com/en/
2. Drutten och Gena

Which were IP that Sweden stole from the Soviet Union's Mickey Mouse, Cheburashka and Gena and was popular in Sweden.

Drutten and Gena (Sweden)

Cheburashka and Gena (Soviet Union/Russia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheburashka

 

[Tomh]

Bob Chapek mentioned this the other day on the Q1 Earning Reporf that the current construction and attractions being built are to make EPCOT “more Disney and family friendly”.

I think that could mean that they are looking at the "family friendly" end of things... in turn means more relatable "Disney" things for the kids to see and enjoy... bring more families into Epcot...
Over the last few years, Epcot has sorta become the party park... "Drinking around the World"... especially once it get's later in the day and moving towards dinner time. I'm not saying I don't enjoy having some adult beverages around the world showcase in moderation... but over the last couple of years, on the weekends sometimes it's like a frat party, or club behavior... we have seen people wasted out of their minds, I found a young woman passed out in the restroom stall, people throwing up over the fencing, passed out on benches, or on the ground... We are locals and go all the time, so we see a bit more than the usual guest..

I'm no a local, but we have seen our fair share of that, not even during the festivals. I can only imagine it gets worse during food and wine. Generally, when planning Epcot days, I try to avoid the weekends, just for that reason. My wife will enjoy an adult beverage or two during our full day at that park, but I agree 100%, it is nice very Disney like when your teenage daughter returns from the restroom telling stories about the women passed out in the sink, and puking on the floor.

Clearly, Disney needs to do something to reign the park in a bit if they want families to continue visiting it. I'm not a huge fan of IP everywhere, and especially not when it displaces wonderful culture. I enjoy Frozen Ever After, but I am saddened by the loss of the Maelstrom, and wish that Frozen Ever After had been an addition to the park instead of displacing something else. Ratatouille I am fully behind, they are adding an attraction where there wasn't one before. There is some educational value in that it may teach kids to really enjoy good foods, and possibly even awake and interest in cooking.

Guardians of the galaxy, I am not as supportive of, unless they manage to present that in a way that continues to teach about energy.

I guess, for me at least, I am ok with IP if it is done in such a way as to continue the legacy of the park being an educational park, and is done without removing the beauty, and culture that the park presents now.

Getting the party scene, drinking till you puke theme under control wouldn't be a bad idea either. I don't mind people drinking, but paying as much as we do to go to Disney, and then watch people barfing, or have their drinks spilled on us as we walk by, etc. We can go to Six Flags and get that experience for a lot less money. There is room to improve, and I hope they do. Epcot is my absolute favorite park.

 

[JC1984]

I'm no a local, but we have seen our fair share of that, not even during the festivals. I can only imagine it gets worse during food and wine. Generally, when planning Epcot days, I try to avoid the weekends, just for that reason. My wife will enjoy an adult beverage or two during our full day at that park, but I agree 100%, it is nice very Disney like when your teenage daughter returns from the restroom telling stories about the women passed out in the sink, and puking on the floor.

Clearly, Disney needs to do something to reign the park in a bit if they want families to continue visiting it. I'm not a huge fan of IP everywhere, and especially not when it displaces wonderful culture. I enjoy Frozen Ever After, but I am saddened by the loss of the Maelstrom, and wish that Frozen Ever After had been an addition to the park instead of displacing something else. Ratatouille I am fully behind, they are adding an attraction where there wasn't one before. There is some educational value in that it may teach kids to really enjoy good foods, and possibly even awake and interest in cooking.

Guardians of the galaxy, I am not as supportive of, unless they manage to present that in a way that continues to teach about energy.

I guess, for me at least, I am ok with IP if it is done in such a way as to continue the legacy of the park being an educational park, and is done without removing the beauty, and culture that the park presents now.

Getting the party scene, drinking till you puke theme under control wouldn't be a bad idea either. I don't mind people drinking, but paying as much as we do to go to Disney, and then watch people barfing, or have their drinks spilled on us as we walk by, etc. We can go to Six Flags and get that experience for a lot less money. There is room to improve, and I hope they do. Epcot is my absolute favorite park.

I feel the same way about Guardians and don’t see how they can keep it educational but hope they put some spin on it to make it that way.

 

[Farro]

I swear to you, Frozen II is a great movie! Beautiful songs.

I can't wait to ride Frozen, we missed it last trip so will be our first time riding. Does it belong there? Honestly, I dont even care.

 

[JC1984]

I swear to you, Frozen II is a great movie! Beautiful songs.

I can't wait to ride Frozen, we missed it last trip so will be our first time riding. Does it belong there? Honestly, I dont even care.

It looks fun. Just don’t know if I need to watch the movie to understand the ride. I have 2 boys so no one ever was interested in watching it. I guess that will probably change in about 4 weeks when my daughter arrives in the world.

 

[Farro]

It looks fun. Just don’t know if I need to watch the movie. I have 2 boys so no one ever was interested in watching it. I guess that will probably change in about 4 weeks when my daughter arrives in the world.

We dont even have kids. The ride is scenes from first movie, but you can just ride and enjoy I'm sure..

If you saw Tangled or Moana, I'd put Frozen II up there with those. I think it's better than the first.

Tangled is probably my favorite princess movie.

Coco is my favorite out of all the movies, which is why I'd welcome a Coco overlay in Mexico boat ride.

 

[markb681]

The difference is Vegas is an Adult destination, that is it's core.

WDW is a family/kids destination. Always has been.

But what's wrong with having 1 out of 4 parks geared more towards adults? I've lived in Orlando for almost 30 yrs now and have taken my daughter since she was a baby...but now she is 24 and on her own....why can't I have fun at EPCOT without kids? I know for a fact she goes all the time to just eat/drink and walk around EPCOT....IF u have small kids then take them to MK....that's what its for!

 

[JC1984]

We dont even have kids. The ride is scenes from first movie, but you can just ride and enjoy I'm sure..

If you saw Tangled or Moana, I'd put Frozen II up there with those. I think it's better than the first.

Tangled is probably my favorite princess movie.

Coco is my favorite out of all the movies, which is why I'd welcome a Coco overlay in Mexico boat ride.

I just watched Tangled the other night. I like Moana and so do my kids. So I am excited for the Moana attraction.
Why I do love Three Caballeros. I also enjoy Coco so I would love to see something with Coco added to Mexico even if it meant redoing the boat ride.

 

[Pooh's World]

But what's wrong with having 1 out of 4 parks geared more towards adults? I've lived in Orlando for almost 30 yrs now and have taken my daughter since she was a baby...but now she is 24 and on her own....why can't I have fun at EPCOT without kids? I know for a fact she goes all the time to just eat/drink and walk around EPCOT....IF u have small kids then take them to MK....that's what its for!

Not disagreeing with you but when Chapek says making EPCOT more "family friendly", I take it that means taking small kids to EPCOT.

 

[LovesTimone]

I'm no a local, but we have seen our fair share of that, not even during the festivals. I can only imagine it gets worse during food and wine. Generally, when planning Epcot days, I try to avoid the weekends, just for that reason. My wife will enjoy an adult beverage or two during our full day at that park, but I agree 100%, it is nice very Disney like when your teenage daughter returns from the restroom telling stories about the women passed out in the sink, and puking on the floor.

Clearly, Disney needs to do something to reign the park in a bit if they want families to continue visiting it. I'm not a huge fan of IP everywhere, and especially not when it displaces wonderful culture. I enjoy Frozen Ever After, but I am saddened by the loss of the Maelstrom, and wish that Frozen Ever After had been an addition to the park instead of displacing something else. Ratatouille I am fully behind, they are adding an attraction where there wasn't one before. There is some educational value in that it may teach kids to really enjoy good foods, and possibly even awake and interest in cooking.

Guardians of the galaxy, I am not as supportive of, unless they manage to present that in a way that continues to teach about energy.

I guess, for me at least, I am ok with IP if it is done in such a way as to continue the legacy of the park being an educational park, and is done without removing the beauty, and culture that the park presents now.

Getting the party scene, drinking till you puke theme under control wouldn't be a bad idea either. I don't mind people drinking, but paying as much as we do to go to Disney, and then watch people barfing, or have their drinks spilled on us as we walk by, etc. We can go to Six Flags and get that experience for a lot less money. There is room to improve, and I hope they do. Epcot is my absolute favorite park.

I agree completely with your assessment... I to miss Maelstrom, and I wish Frozen would have been addition. I would like to see more additions to the different countries as well... Japan and China need some type of ride to punch up these areas... and England needs something done for sure... there is so much potential and really plenty of room for the original concept to shine through and still have some IP rides thrown in...

I am excited to see how everything comes together...

 

[Pooh's World]

Not disagreeing with you but when Chapek says making EPCOT more "family friendly", I take it that means taking small kids to EPCOT.

Just to add, I also think the catering to adults, food and wine festival, etc were just to fill EPCOT since out of the 4 parks, EPCOT was probably the least busy without some kind of pull.

If you think about it the food and wine food carts canibalize their sit down restaurants at EPCOT because there's less of a reason to eat there if you can just grab something at the $8 food cart to tie you over till you go offsite for dinner.

But as they put in more and more IP kids rides, those rides in itself will draw kids/families and then they can get rid of the food carts/food and wine/adults which will lead to more profit for the sit down restaurants in all the countries.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I feel the same way about Guardians and don’t see how they can keep it educational but hope they put some spin on it to make it that way.

And it doesn't even need to be in your face educational like a lecture or anything, but as long as it keeps that sense of discovery and wanting you to explore more and, for lack of a better term, make you think, then I think it is fine (and it might be about energy it might be about the big bang and the universe as a whole and our place init, etc.). That is what I love about EPCOT, that it invites you to explore and think more about things after experiencing it - hope they keep that aspect (and may ways to do it)

 

[BrianL]

And it doesn't even need to be in your face educational like a lecture or anything, but as long as it keeps that sense of discovery and wanting you to explore more and, for lack of a better term, make you think, then I think it is fine (and it might be about energy it might be about the big bang and the universe as a whole and our place init, etc.). That is what I love about EPCOT, that it invites you to explore and think more about things after experiencing it - hope they keep that aspect (and may ways to do it)

I agree. They have kept a sorta educational value at most of the rides, maybe except Soarin' really. They're not a full lecture anymore, but the pre and post shows do add scientific context, like at Mission: SPACE and Test Track, at least a little. For Guardians, they could be on a quest to find an energy source for space travel and compare that to real-world examples, etc. It's not too hard. I don't think every ride at Epcot needs to be 100% educational start to finish.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Fascinating thoughts, info and ideas here about Epcot.. I'm glad this thread is picking up again.

It's interesting to ponder what "Future Epcot" (!) will be.

...I am excited for the Moana attraction.
Why I do love Three Caballeros. I also enjoy Coco so I would love to see something with Coco added to Mexico even if it meant redoing the boat ride.

The Moana attraction looks like it could be really good (sounds like it kinda fits with what TheMaxRebo wrote immediately above) - especially if, as a walk through, they filter people through in numbers according to capacity like on actually rides, so that guests can properly see and enjoy it all.

I haven't seen Coco - am I missing out?

 

[Tink-osophy]

I agree. They have kept a sorta educational value at most of the rides, maybe except Soarin' really. They're not a full lecture anymore, but the pre and post shows do add scientific context, like at Mission: SPACE and Test Track, at least a little. For Guardians, they could be on a quest to find an energy source for space travel and compare that to real-world examples, etc. It's not too hard. I don't think every ride at Epcot needs to be 100% educational start to finish.

Yes.

Plus, when it comes to kids (and I know these attractions aren't just for kids - they're for the rest of us, too ) but when it comes to kids, how much they get from these experiences relies, in good part, on how the adults with them encourage and support their engagement.

 

[BrianL]

Fascinating thoughts, info and ideas here about Epcot.. I'm glad this thread is picking up again.

It's interesting to ponder what "Future Epcot" (!) will be.

The Moana attraction looks like it could be really good (sounds like it kinda fits with what TheMaxRebo wrote immediately above) - especially if, as a walk through, they filter people through in numbers according to capacity like on actually rides, so that guests can properly see and enjoy it all.

I haven't seen Coco - am I missing out?

Yes! Definitely yes. It's a great movie, beautifully animated and it will make you - it's one of Pixar's best, though a tad long inthe run-time.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Just to add, I also think the catering to adults, food and wine festival, etc were just to fill EPCOT since out of the 4 parks, EPCOT was probably the least busy without some kind of pull.

If you think about it the food and wine food carts canibalize their sit down restaurants at EPCOT because there's less of a reason to eat there if you can just grab something at the $8 food cart to tie you over till you go offsite for dinner.

But as they put in more and more IP kids rides, those rides in itself will draw kids/families and then they can get rid of the food carts/food and wine/adults which will lead to more profit for the sit down restaurants in all the countries.

Interesting thoughts. We really don't know, do we! We need a fly on the wall at Disney Central!

 

[Tink-osophy]

It looks fun. Just don’t know if I need to watch the movie to understand the ride. I have 2 boys so no one ever was interested in watching it. I guess that will probably change in about 4 weeks when my daughter arrives in the world.

Congratulations. Wishing her a smooth arrival.