Top 7 Things Disney Needs to Do to Fix Epcot

Have you heard the latest Epcot news? It has been confirmed by Bob Chapek (Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts) that Epcot will be undergoing an overhaul in the foreseen future. Mr. Walt Disney himself had a vision that Epcot would be a utopian inspired functioning city that would serve as an model for change for urban areas around the country. Walt’s vision for the city of tomorrow inspired the learning park that became Epcot. While Epcot has been and still is one of our favorite parks, we are excited to hear that it will be getting an overhaul that is said to keep true to the original Epcot vision Walt set in place. So, what’s next for this Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT)? Check out these 7 things we believe Disney needs to do to fix Epcot.

1 – Cohesive Theme for Future World

Epcot truly feels like two separate theme parks with Future World and the World Showcase. While we love the differences in the two areas of the park, we find that the World Showcase has fluent and obvious theme – representing the 11 countries through entertainment, music, food, and shopping. The World Showcase just makes sense and flows. On the other hand, Future World has become somewhat of a hodge-podge of themes. The attractions seem to jump around from on theme to another, as well as restaurants and shops. Disney prides themselves on cohesiveness, but this has been lacking in Future World and is our first hope of improvement for Epcot’s overhaul.

2 – Reimagine Test Track (for real this time)

When you start talking about the need for a complete overhaul of a headliner attraction three minutes after getting off your first ride on the newly reimagined and reopened headliner, you know Disney really screwed it up. It isn’t often we say this, but the redesign of Test Track in 2012 that removed the very engaging and entertaining automotive safety testing theme and replaced it with black paint and some neon tube lights was probably the biggest refurbishment fail in the history of fails. What sets Disney apart from other parks when it comes to attractions is their story telling. The new Test Track is completely devoid of any meaningful story line and feels like more of a placeholder than an actual attempt at creativity. The guest “interactive” design portion in line is completely meaningless and has no impact on the ride experience. A game of rock, paper, scissors could just as easily be used to determine the “winner” in the vehicle and would probably be more entertaining. Frankly, this new version is so bad it’s embarrassing. When it comes to Epcot, Disney needs to hit home runs with the headliner attractions. To fix this park, Test Track needs a meaningful, significant reimagining that combines an amazing ride with and excellent theme and story.

3 – Tech Savvy is a Necessity

If Disney wants to keep Walt’s dream alive that Epcot is the “community of tomorrow”, then technology needs to play a huge role in this overhaul. The latest technology needs to be present in the attractions, the restaurants, the merchandise, and the entertainment. It would be amazing to walk into Epcot’s Future World and truly say – yes, this is the future! A challenging task for Imagineers – but Walt was always trying to accomplish the unimaginable, such as the still incredible Monorail system on Disney property. Bring out the technology!

4 – Updated Spaceship Earth Attraction

We obviously don’t want the Epcot icon (the massive “Epcot ball” that holds the family favorite Spaceship Earth attraction) to go away. We love that this is Epcot’s symbol but will say it needs an overhaul inside. During this attraction, the sequence of communication stops after the creation of computers. We thought by now Disney would have already adjusted and made updates to follow current forms of the history of communication. We expect this ride is a challenge as communication technology is ever changing – but one Disney would find worth keeping current.

5 – Dining Overhaul in Future World

Chances are if you are dining within Epcot, you are immediately thinking of a restaurant located around the World Showcase. With several cuisines and restaurants available, the World Showcase is the place to dine! Unfortunately, Future World lacks a draw for dining. In addition to a couple of quick service spots, Garden Grill and the Coral Reef are the slim choices that don’t always have guests walking away with top reviews. Our recommendation is that better dining options need to be available within the overhaul of Future World.

6 – Embrace the Aquarium

Tucked away to the side in Future World, Epcot offers a massive aquarium known as “Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium” which holds 4,000 amazing sea creatures within a 5.7-million-gallon aquarium. This is one of the largest man-made ocean environments in the world! With the release of the successful Finding Nemo movie, it was a no brainer for Epcot to bring a family friendly theme to the aquarium by pulling in the attraction, The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Now that Finding Dory is a success, this space could be updated and possibly expanded (much like the Toy Story area at Hollywood Studios). Water family-friendly attractions, character meet and greets, and fun entertainment are just a few ideas. This family friendly area could feature a renovated Coral Reef restaurant with a Finding Nemo / Finding Dory theme. Families would come swimming in “schools”!

7 – Don’t Forget About the World Showcase

We may be touching mostly on the need to update Future World, but the World Showcase could also use some fixes during the overhaul. We would suggest some merchandise changes in the 11 countries, filling in the empty land with new countries, and embracing and expanding Disney’s unique characters from each country – much like Norway and the Frozen characters.

This is just a few ideas of what we feel like Disney needs to do to fix Epcot. We’d love to hear your thoughts? Go ahead and dream big like a Disney Imagineer would!