Oct 12
8
Epcot in 30 Years
What a wonderful day October 1st was! While I was not in attendance, I have read many blogs and watched live video from the events of the day and thought that they were all tremendous. Epcot will be 60 a short 175 days prior to my 60th birthday, assuming I make it that long (God willing). My thoughts over the past few days have been about what Epcot will be like then. Will it still be my favorite park?
I have been very vocal about the fact that I feel like Epcot has been somewhat neglected over the past decade or so. It pains me to think that in the next quarter century, it will receive the same treatment. However, I don’t feel that any major updates will be coming in the near future. Here is my reasoning behind this:
1. Fantasyland Expansion: Millions and millions of dollars have been spent to enhance guests experience at the Magic Kingdom over the past 2 years. This expansion will draw people from Epcot to MK, leaving our favorite park even more empty that it currently is.
2. Avatarland: Scheduled to be completed in something like 2017, this addition to Animal Kingdom will give it some fame and population increase that it probably deserves. While I am still skeptical about this one, it continues to draw people from Epcot.
3. Possible Carland/Pixar Place expansion at Hollywood Studios: With the popularity of Carsland on the west coast, and the addition of Kathy Mangum to the Hollywood Studios team, this park is sure to get some love soon. Pixar seems to be taking over the park in more ways than one. The Backlot Tour and Lights, Motors, Action are much less desirable attractions than they used to be, leaving plenty of space for an overhaul in this park.
If you look at this line-up, Epcot would be the next obvious choice for upgrades and changes, but with this work easily stretching out over the next 6-8 years, it could be quite a while before we see anything in our beloved Epcot. Test Track is a start, but this is a forced change, due to the contract being up with GM. So much could, and should, happen in our park that the possibilities are endless!
Let’s all hope that Disney has something in the works. The ever changing structure of our favorite destination continues to give me hope that we will soon see something new for Epcot.
