Comments on: Saturday Morning Musings – The Introduction to Epcot

By: Omar

Omar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:29:15 +0000

To me, this really is the best park that Disney has. Just the Food & Wine festival alone is reason enough to love Epcot.

By: Henry Work

Henry Work — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:58:38 +0000

Hey TTurner, glad to hear that piece of advice work for you! I hadn’t read that, and it makes a lot of sense. Cheers!

By: TTurner

TTurner — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:50:05 +0000

Len, my wife and I bought and used your UGWDW with Kids about nine years ago and I what I remember most is that you recommended to go to Epcot first, and MK last (with the other two parks in between). The thought is that if you go to MK first, kids will be bored out their minds by comparison once you hit Epcot. I think because we followed this advice, our kids really enjoyed Epcot the first time we went. They’re in high school now and we tend to still go to Epcot first, then hit the other parks as the week progresses. Now we even usually finish with Epcot and Illuminations. Epcot requires a different kind of effort than the other parks and gives a different kind of reward.

By: Janet Sala (FigmentRules)

Janet Sala (FigmentRules) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:38:08 +0000

Thank you for the link to amazon.com! I have pre-ordered a copy. Looking forward to sitting down with a tumbler of tequila and having a good read!

By: Thorpeedo

Thorpeedo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:22:48 +0000

One of the things that gets me about Epcot is the immense variety there is.

You can experience Travel by boat, foot, car, cinema seat, space rocket, segway or flying, you can go from a quiet pastry in France….to space……to a robot band in innovations….to 50million years ago !

The list goes on, and nobody ever asks why these things fit together.

By: Thorpeedo

Thorpeedo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:42:04 +0000

Escactly my thoughts, it was meant to be a place to live and work, not just play.

By: RickG

RickG — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:15:02 +0000

If you’re looking for a hook, I give you this: Epcot is the perfect mix of Ambition and Tradition.

Future World is about ambition — both its construction (the $$ as you referenced above, the ‘prototype’ community, etc) and its topics (Space, Communication, even Imagination). World Showcase is about tradition — appreciating our diverse past through stories, food, etc.

You might also mention that what Disney does better than anyone else is tell stories. What makes Epcot so unique in this regard is the depth of those stories. It’s one thing to take a ride on Peter Pan’s Flight, which is very nice but only 2 minutes long. Mission: Space is ALSO only two minutes long, but the theming of the pre- and post- show, and the extra games, etc. at the end, encourage you to delve beyond and deeper.

Going to the Magic Kingdom is certainly an experience. But Epcot is a SERIES of experiences, from browsing the shops of the England pavilion to dining beneath a moon-lit sky in Mexico to diving with the dolphins at The Seas.

Just some scattered thoughts….

By: Tam

Tam — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:48:46 +0000

Nice job, Len.

You might want to make a reference to why the world showcase is there–that is how the countries fit in with the theme of communication, or why they’re staffed by representatives from the different countries.

By: Len

Len — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:17:51 +0000

Thanks Oliver. I’ve updated my book text with something along these lines. Fabulous point.

Thanks again.

By: Len

Len — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:17:18 +0000

Fixed in my book text. Thanks Ransom!