Is it me, or does Space 220 look a little underwhelming?

[Airb330]

Totally agree with others, it’s a little underwhelming mostly because 1) carpet 2) cramped and restaurant depot tables 3) smaller ‘windows.’

It looked airy in the concept art.

The food will make or break it but (especially with delta) I don’t love the packed tables!

 

[FCDub]

The type of seating is an indicator that this will be either a quick service or 1 pt TS eatery IMO.

It’s been announced to be a fixed-price menu

 

[FCDub]

I swear some of y’all are never happy. People complain they don’t build new stuff, then they immediately complain because they don’t like the carpet and ceiling. Impossible to please.

 

[Jennasis]

Disney could literally launch you into space to dine on the actual ISS and people would still complain.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I swear some of y’all are never happy. People complain they don’t build new stuff, then they immediately complain because they don’t like the carpet and ceiling. Impossible to please.

It's not happy or unhappy - I'm just thinking after the upteenth soda spill or spilled/toddler thrown food/crumbs of the night, would I want to sit down and put my feet under the table into carpet (since I have the awful dining room carpet myself, I own a carpet cleaner, and even with sippy cups and paper plates, you can't imagine how often we were running that machine in my dining room - and it's not like we turn our table 5 times/night, or worry about the noise)...

It's just not smart "kid restaurant" flooring...and then you get into the look vs concept...

I think of carpet in "family oriented" restaurants like I think of carpet in home bathrooms...

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I swear some of y’all are never happy. People complain they don’t build new stuff, then they immediately complain because they don’t like the carpet and ceiling. Impossible to please.

People have a right to express an opinion. Maybe some are “impossible to please” but just as many others are “Disney can do no wrong” and that crowd seems to get pretty bitter when they hear even the slightest criticism of Disney. And it’s not wrong to be underwhelmed given the amount of time and hype surrounding this

 

[tentaguasu]

I swear some of y’all are never happy. People complain they don’t build new stuff, then they immediately complain because they don’t like the carpet and ceiling. Impossible to please.

I hear you, but I'm not usually a complainer. It's not that Space 220 looks like a bad restaurant.

Space 220 looks like a fine restaurant... but one that is a cheaper, worse version of what some of us thought we were going to get. Hence the disappointment.

At this point, it looks like they over hyped and are going to underdeliver. Pleasing people is about setting the right expectations. When you see the awesome concept art and hear that it's going to be a super expensive place (which is what prix fixe means to me), then I have very high hopes. I don't think the place looks bad. But it is disappointing because at this point it doesn't appear close to what the hype/price point suggested it could be.

I think Disney does plenty of amazing things. Let me give you two counter examples, both from the west coast.

I had heard so many good things about Radiator Springs Racers that my hype level was off the charts. I was sure it couldn't live up to the hype. I was wrong, I loved it! That's an example of Disney living up to and even exceeding the hype.

Then take Mission Breakout. Now that I was prepared to hate. I'm a huge ToT fan, and the quick overlay of lower end Marvel junk (I'm not a huge Marvel guy) and a bunch of screens? Yuk. I walked in very, very skeptical.

But then I got on it, and absolutely loved it. LOVED. IT. It might be my single favorite Disney ride. Home run IMO.

So those are examples where I had both low and high expectations, and Disney delivered.

But here, it feels like the opposite. I like McDonalds. I legitimately like it. I enjoy going. But if someone is hyping me on the coolest, most amazing burger place ever, then McDonalds is going to disappoint.

That's what I mean. I feel like we were promised the illusion of being in a space station, and we're getting a Radisson conference room with HDTVs on the wall. A very nice Radisson, but certainly not a space station.

For the amount of money Disney sucks out of us, I want to be blown away. I don't think that's unfair or spoiled.

Nah, I pay objectively stupid amounts of money to Disney. So I expect Disney to give me back stupidly cool stuff in return. That's kind of the trade.

Often they make good. Sometimes they don't.

In this case, for the price of a ticket into Epcot and the (sure to be) obscenely expensive prix fixe menu, I'm perfectly comfortable demanding that they make me believe I'm on a space station. And if they don't, I don't feel too bad calling them out for it, just as much as evangelize to friends about Disney and praise them for things like Radiator and Mission Breakout.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I hear you, but I'm not usually a complainer. It's not that Space 220 looks like a bad restaurant.

Space 220 looks like a fine restaurant... but one that is a cheaper, worse version of what some of us thought we were going to get. Hence the disappointment.

At this point, it looks like they over hyped and are going to underdeliver. Pleasing people is about setting the right expectations. When you see the awesome concept art and hear that it's going to be a super expensive place (which is what prix fixe means to me), then I have very high hopes. I don't think the place looks bad. But it is disappointing because at this point it doesn't appear close to what the hype/price point suggested it could be.

I think Disney does plenty of amazing things. Let me give you two counter examples, both from the west coast.

I had heard so many good things about Radiator Springs Racers that my hype level was off the charts. I was sure it couldn't live up to the hype. I was wrong, I loved it! That's an example of Disney living up to and even exceeding the hype.

Then take Mission Breakout. Now that I was prepared to hate. I'm a huge ToT fan, and the quick overlay of lower end Marvel junk (I'm not a huge Marvel guy) and a bunch of screens? Yuk. I walked in very, very skeptical.

But then I got on it, and absolutely loved it. LOVED. IT. It might be my single favorite Disney ride. Home run IMO.

So those are examples where I had both low and high expectations, and Disney delivered.

But here, it feels like the opposite. I like McDonalds. I legitimately like it. I enjoy going. But if someone is hyping me on the coolest, most amazing burger place ever, then McDonalds is going to disappoint.

That's what I mean. I feel like we were promised the illusion of being in a space station, and we're getting a Radisson conference room with HDTVs on the wall. A very nice Radisson, but certainly not a space station.

For the amount of money Disney sucks out of us, I want to be blown away. I don't think that's unfair or spoiled.

Nah, I pay objectively stupid amounts of money to Disney. So I expect Disney to give me back stupidly cool stuff in return. That's kind of the trade.

Often they make good. Sometimes they don't.

In this case, for the price of a ticket into Epcot and the (sure to be) obscenely expensive prix fixe menu, I'm perfectly comfortable demanding that they make me believe I'm on a space station. And if they don't, I don't feel too bad calling them out for it, just as much as evangelize to friends about Disney and praise them for things like Radiator and Mission Breakout.

Mission Breakout is a great example of the genius of the Disney imagineers at their absolute best, when I see how the younger generation, as in my kids and their friends, who have never heard of the Twilight Zone, love everything about the rethemed ride. We big Disney fans will most often find ourselves praising Disney, because it mostly excels in what it does, but we will not hesitate to criticize it for its admittedly rare missteps.

 

[Uju'sMom]

Yeah, I see your point. Its gonna be the food that sways me.

 

[LiteBrite]

My immediate impression from the video was nostalgic, because it reminds me of Epcot in its early days. I don't know if that's good or bad, but that was my sensory reaction.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

This is probably the source of my disappointment. Here's an early piece of concept art:

The details make a difference. The "windows" are much wider and taller. The seating is more spread out. It's big and open. The bar looks super unique. The "light up" table tops look cool. I know I've mentioned this before and it seems trivial, but look at the ceiling and the floor. In this artists take, they both have a really cool, futuristic vibe. They look like "futuristic space station." But check the instagram video. The carpeted floor and basic ceiling have a Radisson conference room vibe.

I know that concept art will always be different from finished product, but I guess my disappointment is that I think the concept art was possible. OK, more crowded tables, sure, but nothing else here seems like something Disney couldn't do.

Again, sorry to be a downer here, but I guess I was so excited by the original concept that I'm just a bit disappointed that it looks like (though I'm open to being proven wrong) this won't live up to the spectacular image I had of what it might be.

The "concept art" location looks like an amazing place where I might bite the bullet and pay through the nose to get a table. The "Instagram version" is more of a fun place where I'd go for desserts and an appetizer at a normalish price. But as a prix fixe location? I'll think about it, but at this point I can't see myself paying that kind of cash.

There was also updated concept art that was released later showing less impressive windows, seating, etc.

The video seems slightly underwhelming even compared to the revised concept art. But maybe I'm just a victim of being excited and anticipating this restaurant opening over the past 17 years (well, it seems that long, anyway).

 

[tentaguasu]

There was also updated concept art that was released later showing less impressive windows, seating, etc.

View attachment 597811

The video seems slightly underwhelming even compared to the revised concept art. But maybe I'm just a victim of being excited and anticipating this restaurant opening over the past 17 years (well, it seems that long, anyway).

Yep, you're absolutely right. The second concept art is much closer to what they show in the video. I agree that it's still a bit underwhelming (at least that's what it looks like), but it's closer.

But gosh, I really wish they had found a way to make the original concept work in real life.

 

[PaladinButters]

I'm hoping to be distracted enough by the amazing space windows and the hopefully delicious food to notice something silly like a carpet while I'm eating in space.
That being said - please everyone continue to be pre-disappointed so I might actually be able to get a ressie.

 

[gharter]

I still think the photos look really fun.
For us, the menu will be really important. Still, I think we will be there at least once as will be many, many people. The quality of the menu will decide if we go back.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

It reminds me of Rivers of Light, in that after so many delays beyond the original estimated opening, by the time it finally opened, expectations were extra high, and then most of us ended up disappointed.

 

[kylenne]

At this point, it looks like they over hyped and are going to underdeliver.

Did they really overhype this or did y’all, given the fact that folk have been frothing at the mouth for this place to open for like 3 years now (self included tbh).

Personally I’m with the people who felt a nostalgia hit at the IG vid and tbh I would have been shocked if it was priced a la carte, clearly they want to avoid a BOG situation where people are booking up tables to split a cupcake. I’m actually glad they are going prix fixe from the start.

Also laughing at the claims that Zach Riddley is somehow trying to build a name for himself as if 1) these IG/tiktok/etc sneak peeks aren’t a coordinated social media marketing effort of the sort that’s bog standard nowadays and 2) imagineers have always been faceless geniuses toiling away in the shadows until now

 

[danissmart]

I swear some of y’all are never happy. People complain they don’t build new stuff, then they immediately complain because they don’t like the carpet and ceiling. Impossible to please.

I mean, look at the concept art vs the execution. It's not even close.

 

[cafetao]

Concept art is aspirational, if money and practicality were not a problem this is what we want to do. I have never seen a piece of concept art that was executed faithfully in the finished product. Budget being just one of the many obstacles that are encountered. You also have to look at space constraints, engineering issues, supplier problems, the list is long of things that may interfere with the concept. Hopefully it's a fun experience that people enjoy.

I personally try to withhold judgement until I've actually experienced it.

It's ok to be a bit disappointed in the finished product, but I think some of that disappointment is self inflicted. This is over three years of hype with most of it not coming from Disney.

 

[OppR2nist]

I seriously think that the look isn't all that different from the concept art, but the lights are too bright. When the place actually opens, I'll bet the lights will be about 20% dimmer, and it'll look less like a Marriot.

 

[FortWildernessLoopy]

I agree, the concept art was much better but my real issue is with the lack of tiered seating. In Coral reef, it's tiered so every seat has a view of the aquarium but here, it looks like you'll just be looking at the poor saps who are lucky enough to get a 'window' seat. I mean, I can see that those seats are a little lower, but then you have every other diner on the same level. I really don't want to snap pics of some poor family who just wants to be left to dine in peace because they are unlucky enough to be in the half dozen tables between me and the 'view', lol.