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Epcot is the most overrated theme park in the World.

Those that say Epcot is their favorite Disney park are basing this off nostalgia.  They love what Epcot used to be and hate what parts of it have become.  I grew up visiting EPCOT Center and as a child it was my favorite park too.  I still geek out whenever someone shows me something with a classic Future World logo on it and I’m still hoping for a nice Disney Cast Member to purchase some Mickey’s of Glendale exclusive items for me.

I recognize that if the Future World pavilions of 1989 remained unchanged today, the park would not be as good as it is currently.  Still, something isn’t quite right.  After the 2012 Test Track overhaul, every pavilion in Future World except the Energy Pavilion will have undergone a significant change since 2003.  That means that Mission: SPACE is one well placed, Bill Nye/Ellen seeking wrecking ball away from being the oldest pavilion in Future World.  Think about that – Mission: Space could be the oldest pavilion in Future World in less than 5 years.

Future World is a completely different land than it was when Horizons opened in 1983.  So many Epcot fans will complain how much they miss the EPCOT Center version of Future World without recognizing that no part of that exists anymore.  Modern day apologists will point to the empty queues that “plagued” Horizons, World of Motion and The Sea Cabs, all the while dismissing the more logical explanation for this – these attractions had huge capacities.  Frankly, everything in classic Epcot was very efficient.  They could accommodate 2000+ people per hour with ease.  Comparitively, attractions like Soarin’ and Test Track don’t come close to approaching that number.

What happened here is the opposite of what is currently happening in the Magic Kingdom.  Epcot had too much capacity compared to the demands for the park.  Epcot rarely, if ever closes due to capacity because of this.  Conversely, the Magic Kingdom reaches capacity on most major holidays, and the Fantasyland expansion was aimed to address this.  Epcot could afford to cut hourly capacity in the Motion pavilion and The Land Pavilion as well as completely closing Wonders of Life and capacity still never became an issue.  It was a rare case of over building the park early on.  Now a days Disney opens half day parks that grow within 5 years.

With Epcot, that growth wasn’t necessary, but the park still needed to be freshened up.  The approach taken was to replace and not refurbish/upgrade.  Certainly there was enough room for both Horizons and Mission: SPACE.  Certainly Wonders of Life could still exist with 3D Body Wars simulators with 54 possible ride combinations.  The Making of Me could have been re-done with Dr. Drew Pinsky and the cast of Teen Mom.

Comparatively, the capacity demands of the Magic Kingdom have necessitated the Fantasyland Expansion.  In Epcot, as higher demand, lower capacity attractions have been added, the overall capacity of that park has remained a non-issue.  The result of the initial overbuilding are these dead areas, as well as more modern attractions replacing the classic originals.  Had the park been under built initially, the modern attractions like Soarin’, Mission: SPACE and Test Track very well may have been additions as opposed to replacements.

With regards to individual preferences, Epcot does many things very well but the ardent supporters of the park seem to do so blindly without really understanding why they like it.  Much of this stems from what the remember Epcot to be, not what it is currently.  People will argue that it’s attraction lineup is bested only by the Magic Kingdom, that it has the best in park dining of the four parks, and Illuminations is the best nighttime show.  Those that don’t take that approach offer the explanation that exploring a variety of cultures or discovering the wonders of Future World make Epcot an experience driven park moreso than one driven by attractions.  I do feel that both Epcot and the Animal Kingdom are driven more by experiencing the entirety of the park rather than bouncing from attraction to attraction as quickly as possible.  However, many guests don’t want to take the time to explore everything these parks have to offer.  They want to get the most value out of their vacation, and to many people that value is measured by a count of quality attractions.

We often romanticize the things of yesterday to help support the criticisms of today.  Ironically in a theme park devoted to discovery and the future it’s the representation of Tomorrow that has undergone many changes.  I think many people  (whether they’ll admit it or not) will admit that the additions of Test Track, Mission: SPACE and Soarin’ have helped revitalize Future World.  It’s just a shame that it cost us fans some of the classic attractions of our past.

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