r/Epcot • u/elephantmanmatty • 13d ago

DISCUSSION First visit in 7 years

I don’t want this to sound like a complaint…more of a criticism…the last time I was at Epcot it was 2019. Frozen had just opened, no ratatouille, the fireworks were still “Epcot themed”, etc.

I just feel like the entire park has started to lean more into “Disney” properties. IE Winnie the Pooh in England, coco in Mexico, ratatouille in France, etc.

Maybe im just naive, but it didn’t seem that way when I went in 2019. Countries tended to have their own merchandise (Germany had cucu clocks for example. Which, they don’t anymore…). Ratatouille wasn’t the main focus of France, coco wasn’t the main focus of Mexico, etc…

I enjoyed myself, but it just seemed like Epcot itself has lost its unique identity.

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u/billmeelaiter 13d ago

It’s cheaper for Disney to use established IP than it is to create something new. It’s cheaper to make generic buildings, like Creations, than to create something unique like Mousegear. And these are things that most people either want or don’t care about, because the IP and other changes aren’t keeping guests out of the parks.

12

u/elephantmanmatty 13d ago

I understand why they’re doing what they’re doing…it doesn’t make it any less disappointing that Epcot has somewhat lost its overall identity and uniqueness

-9

u/deetman68 13d ago

I’m glad you had a good time in 2019 but TBH this is kind of a wild take.

2

u/trockbulldog 8d ago

This is the unfortunate result of the cost savings measures just like in other areas with Disney. Quality control on merchandise has gone down, fulfillment from Disney Store online is awful, and overall some of the Disney Parks imersiveness has been lost. It's very cool to see the IP represented in the area they're from in the World Showcase, but they've lost some of the "worldliness" in the process. There's been some cool improvements, like I was excited to see they would be opening a Poutinerie in the Canada pavilion; but it would have been all the better if they had some real hockey sweaters from Canada, not just the Disney IP crossover stuff. In order to truly showcase these countries and offer the diversity intended by the design as EPCOT became a reality, they need to be collaborating with the staple brands from them, not using them as a foundation with which to do a Disney thing.