It felt really good to be able to see the vast majority of the park as it has stood for so long one last time. This would literally only last a day however as by the time I got back to EPCOT just a couple days later, construction walls wrapped from the area by the character spot all the way around the fountain of nations and almost all the way across to Mouse Gears. The reinvention of EPCOT I would say is now officially underway. No demolition was noticeable when I was there, but I did not enter the park via monorail after the walls went up so I am not sure if anything is noticeable from there. What was noticeable after the walls went up was a traffic jam. Typically guests can walk straight down the middle of the park and into World Showcase. With the walls up there is a much thinner walkway by Mouse Gears for guests to walk through or you can go around the construction area by the Land Pavilion. I would think that option will eventually vanish as construction ramps up. Despite the walls going up, plenty of fun was still had at EPCOT as well as a couple hiccups.
Construction
Let's continue the construction conversation. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is really coming along. The building housing the ride looks pretty much done and the face of the old Ellen's Energy Adventure building has been removed and is undergoing a massive transformation. Not to be outdone, the Space 220 Restaurant is also making a lot of progress. At the back of the France pavilion, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure is also coming along smoothly. I'm really looking forward to that ride finishing. The one in France looks like a ton of fun and I'd imagine the one here will be no different. The Skyliner station looks ready to roll. Not sure how much more needs to go into this station, but the amount that can be seen looks beautiful. I'm still not sure how traffic in the area is going to be effected by the Skyliner nor am I really sure what the bus situation will end up being as a result of it either.
One place where there is no sign of construction, and seems like wont be is probably the place that needs it most. The Imagination Pavilion, while still very fun looking, has seen better days. The fountain near the front of the Pavilion is still running unlike the Fountain of Nations. The building itself though has areas of faded and chipped paint. The interior was also quite dusty in areas and many features on the Journey Into Imagination ride were simply not working correctly. Kind of a shame given how popular Figment is with park guests, but for whatever reason this little corner of EPCOT seems forgotten.
With the walls up around the fountain of nations, the area around the start of World Showcase is more crowded than ever. With the generally low crowds I experienced it wasn't too bad, but on Saturday it was a very cramped area. As more walls go up I'm interested to see how they are going to navigate walkways, especially with new firework shows just on the horizon. Next time I go to EPCOT it is going to be pretty amazing. I sure can't picture what it is going to look like right now, but if the Disney parks have taught us anything.... It will be magical.
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
I got to see Illuminations: Reflections of Earth one last time. The show will end at the end of this month and a new show, EPCOT Forever will come in. Illuminations's soundtrack remains my favorite soundtrack in probably all of Walt Disney World, so I am sure going to miss hearing it. I do admit that the show on a whole is showing its age. Compared to the screens on many of the attractions and signage around the parks, the Illuminations globe just doesn't look that great. The parts of the show where the music is playing and the focus is on said globe has a hard time competing with the slower segments of Fantasmic, or Happily Ever After. I know it's not the same type of show, but the excitement just isn't there, especially when what's playing on the globe is hard to make out.
Not quite Illuminations related, but on one of the last nights I was in Disney World I saw a few fireworks from what I'm guessing is Disney testing out EPCOT Forever. I was staying at the Art of Animation Resort and from the top floor I could see it. It was definitely from EPCOT as I had caught the end of Illuminations from the same spot about an hour earlier. Kind of cool to see that. Whatever the case, I am sad to see Illuminations go, but it is time for an update, that much is for sure.
Food and Wine Festival
The Food and Wine Festival was well underway during my trip. The usual array of food stands were set up in and around World Showcase. New this year is a stand for the Alps. None of the menu items really appealed to me, but still cool to see that as a food and wine stand anyway. My favorite item out of food and wine fest this year had to be the cheddar soup from the Canada stand. While it was really hot and humid out, the soup still hit the spot. It is pretty heavy, but it is packed with flavor. In addition you get a pretzel bun that is absolutely perfect to dip into the soup. I also had the Le Cellier Filet Mignon. The filet is always delicious, but this time around I feel like it was more on the well done side. Something that I've seen a couple different Youtube Vloggers mention as well. The food and wine festival is still a whole lot of fun and a delicious time. It's also great for people watching really as the alcohol really flows through the World Showcase during this time of year.
The Rest
No trip to EPCOT is complete for me with getting on both Soarin Around the World and Spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth is actually my favorite ride in EPCOT and it was nice to ride it one last time in its current form. I'm really excited to see the planned additions for this ride come together as well as the new narrative. Ever since my time on the ride I've felt the last quarter or so where you are watching your future come together is just a complete waste of space. I am so excited to see what is going to be going in that spot to really bring the ride together. Other ride experiences were Frozen Ever After (which I actually got pretty wet on), the Seas with Nemo and Friends, The Grand Fiesta Tour Featuring the Three Caballeros and Test Track (which my car didn't register to me for some reason so congrats random person who got most powerful car of the hour that I designed).
On September 11th I watched The American Adventure. As much as the show just screams AMERICA NUMBER 1!!!! it was a perfect thing to do on that day. The scene towards the end where the screen shows George Bush at ground zero was incredibly powerful that day. The show itself really a good way to spend some time out of the sun. It touches on some of the major American victories, but doesn't really touch on American issues outside of slavery and the woman's suffrage movement. More-so it focuses on the achievements of the country.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends is always a great educational place. The aquarium isn't overly big, but all of the tanks in there are beautiful. The large tank that is connected to the Coral Reef restaurant I could sit in front of all day. The end of the ride where you pass by the tank with the Finding Nemo characters projected into the tank is still one of the coolest things to me. It's pretty much the only reason I ride the ride at all as the rest of it just seems so dated and well, broken down?
Frozen fever is certainly starting to ramp up again with Frozen 2 just around the corner. Frozen Ever After is still in a fight with Test Track for longest wait times and it's not hard to see why. The ride is the most Disney ride in EPCOT and for the moment is one of two IP based rides (The Grand Fiesta Tour being the other) in the park. While I like Frozen, the movie doesn't rank in the top of my personal favorites and I really really enjoyed the creativity that was in Malestrom, which this ride replaced. So while the ride does nothing special for me and I feel that the entire backwards part is a missed opportunity, I get why it is a big hit with kids.The animatronics in the ride are amazing, the scenery is incredibly well done, and the most popular Frozen songs are there with some modified lyrics... Except for the lengthy Let It Go section that coincidentally is the backwards part I referred to earlier. At this point in the ride you gradually accelerate backwards from Elsa, but along the way there is no scenery really or anything special. Just lots of big screens of Elsa singing Let It Go. Compared to the rest of the ride, that section just lacks for me, especially when right before you have an energizing lead up to the palace and right after you encounter Marshmallow.
So with all that said I said goodbye to the Epcot that I have come to know and enjoy over the past six years. I may not have been there for Horizons and other classic EPCOT attractions, but nonetheless I'll miss the concept of Future World. It is outdated and it is certainly time to move on from it though and I can see that just by walking around. Thank you all for reading as always! My next blog will be shorter as I take a quick look at Disney's Art of Animation Resort. After that will begin the bigger blogs. With the amount of things that I did at both The Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, it's going to take me some time and a few blogs to get all my thoughts out on these two parks.
Shoutout
Surprise! You never know what can happen in Disney. While waiting for a friend to get out of the bathroom I ran into my favorite Youtube bloggers, Tim and Jen Tracker. I've been watching them for the last few years and their many adventures in Disney parks around the world. Both of them were incredibly nice and were more than happy to chat for a few minutes and take a picture. Just wanted to give a shout out to both of them, congratulate them on their child one more time, and promote their Youtube channel which can be seen Here.
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