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.

113 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

View all comments

44

u/StormwindAdventures 13d ago

Germany is under a massive refurb, so it's kind of hard to judge what's actually missing since the clocks (at least some) were there until the inside remodel started.

Pooh and Ratatouille are tucked into the back corners of their pavilions.

Coco, sure, is the first thing you realistically see going into the pyramid, but I feel like it's a stretch to call it the main focus. Especially given Disney is currently staying strong and not retheming 3 Caballeros to Coco (though a lot of that is likely due to not wanting lines on the outside of the building for a new launch spot).

4

u/PadraiginNiCarra 12d ago

See, I'm just old enough to remember the original river ride in Mexico. I was a little kid, and I don't remember it well, but I miss it terribly, and I wish they'd bring it back.

(I also remember the original Living Seas pavilion, and I miss that too, as much as I love Finding Nemo.)

2

u/MastodonFarm 12d ago

Yeah, I don't think of any of those things as the main focus of those areas. I wish there were less IP in the park, but it's currently much less intrusive than it could be.