dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (02/25/86)
In article <1976@jhunix.UUCP> ins_alal@jhunix.UUCP (Laurah Limbrick) writes: >Last time I was in Florida, I went to EPCOT, and found it to be a total waste >of my time and money. I would definitely not recommend it if you have kids, >since when I was there there were no rides. You may have a pleasant surprise waiting for you, Ms. Limbrick; I went to DW/EPCOT last year, and it is not at all the way you describe it from your experience. Apparently a lot has changed since you last went there. There are six rides there now; and though most of them are inane and pointless (the "Imagination" ride and the GM World of Motion are prime examples of inanity), they do give you a pleasant way to relax your poor feet. EPCOT is very "pop-science" oriented, so if you are too scientifically minded to like "pop" stuff or too popular minded to like scientific stuff, you probably would be bored stiff. I think it might be constructive and very much fun to start a discussion of the EPCOT attractions, and of our reactions to them. My wife and I plan to go there this year sometime in May (to avoid the Spring break crowd and predate the Summer break hoardes). I would like to know from others who have been there how they feel about certain attractions. Some I found fascinating and very enjoyable. Others were a rip-off, for even though I paid one price for everything, I still wasted 30 minutes standing in line for them. If some of you liked the ones I hated, perhaps I missed something that you can alert me to watch for next time. Anyway, here is what I remember from last year, and my impressions. Spaceship Earth. A major rip-off. It is cute-looking, what with the World's Fair type spherical structure and all, and it is the first attraction you come to, so it is VERY crowded at opening time. But the ride is just an upward spiral through nothing more than a talking museum that doesn't inform and doesn't entertain. World of Imagination. The ride is pure fluff, one big cartoon that presumably must have been meant to encourage 3-year-olds to use their imaginations more. While it is pleasant for relaxation, it is not at all informative; it seems more like one big advertisement for their "Figment" dolls. But the rest of Imagination is quite entertaining and informative. I especially liked the playground of the future; even though most of the "neat" stuff is old hat here in the 1980's, it is still done with a good deal of imagination and creativity. By all means, take in the 3-D movie. As a movie in itself, it stinks; but it has by far the best 3-D effects of any 3-D movie made. Disney takes the expense to do it right: big screen, small objects to poke at you, and polaroid lenses. If only the movie had more plot to it... Oh well, even so, I saw this movie 5 times last time I was there, and never got tired of it. The Land. Strictly for agriculture freaks. If you are not into gardening or alternative food growing methods, this exhibit will be a monumental bore, including the boat ride. But if you are the least interested in hydroponics, fish farming, and other alternative food-growing methods, then by all means don't miss this exhibit; and take the time in the morning to sign up for the tour of their greenhouse. It is very interesting for farmers and gardeners. Avoid Kitchen Kabaret like the plague. You will spend a good 20 minutes waiting for the next show, and it is definitely not worth wasting your time on. It looks like somebody's idea of combining education about food groups with "Country Bear Jamboree", but contains neither good information about the former nor the cleverness of the latter. One concession stand at The Land has the best Boston Creme Pie I have ever tasted. Communicore is very much like Laurah described her visit. Nothing but two museums back-to-back with a few sophisticated video games. If you like rides, skip this one; but if you like museums, this is one of the most interesting I have seen. If you are curious about the way the computers supposedly run EPCOT, take in the demonstration at Communicore West (I believe). It is made non-technical for the popular layman, but some parts of it are pretty interesting. Warning: If you want to see this show at all, see it first thing when you get in. It is by far the longest wait later in the day (about 45 minutes in line typical). GM's World of Motion is a definite skip-it. It is nothing but a ride through a bunch of old car displays and silent movies. Not informative, not entertaining. But it IS a horrifyingly long wait. Don't bother. Horizons is the second best feature at EPCOT. It is a very fascinating and entertaining ride. There is one segment I liked in particular, where you could choose a movie that would put you in the driver's seat through the ocean, over a desert, or into space. I wish this segment were about three times as long as it is, though. Universe of Energy is, bar none, the best ride at EPCOT. It is also the longest, and occurs in (as I remember) three segments of about 10 minutes each. If your feet need a nice long rest, this is the place. You step into this theatre (which is more like a church with pews than like a theatre with seats), and sit down and watch a film about the use of energy and conservation, the whole nine yards. It is entirely from an early 1970's let's-stop-the-gas- crisis-by-developing-alternate-energy-sources point of view. Then comes the neat part. The screen rises, and the wall opens up; meanwhile, the entire theatre seating area turns around and you suddenly realise you are on the biggest riding cart in the world. The wall opens up before you, and you go into a simulation of the prehistoric past, complete with fog, dinosaurs, monsters, and a peculiar earthy smell. The whole prehistoric part is fairly well done, but it is quite obviously fake, and is strictly for kids and tired adults (and for kids-at-heart like me). It is still much better than any other attempts I have seen at realistic portrayals of the prehistoric era. The earthy smell and the dimly-lit ceiling add a lot of atmosphere. After a while I began to ignore the fake-ness of some of it. After this is over, you are shown another film, giving the history of petroleum, and the outlook for the future. WARNING: The wait for this ride is horrendous. You wait in line for about 30 minutes, and then you think you are finally getting to the ride, and find out you have been ushered in with the rest of the cattle into a standing room where you wait another 10-15 minutes. I think there is a show or something to watch whilst you are waiting; and there are some seats in the back of the room. But it is most frustrating. World Showcase is the bunch of little countries Laurah was talking about. I was basically unimpressed, though my wife thoroughly enjoyed it. There is this constant feeling that I couldn't shake, that everything was trying to be authentic, but they had cut corners so much it just came across as all fake. Most of the countries are not worth visiting, and with these, if it were MY country, I would complain to EPCOT (for all the good it would do). Mexico is the only country that has a ride. The line to this ride moves the fastest of any ride in all of Disney World. It typically moved as fast as I could walk comfortably. It is a boat ride through the history of Mexico. A very pleasant foot-relaxer, and moderately informative. There is probably a lot more to be said about World Showcase, but I was rather bored with most of it. Mostly a bunch of trinket shops where you could pay outrageous prices for imported trinkets. Laurah said it better than I could say it: >It's basically a bunch of buildings, each one of which is a >little 'country', where if you're lucky there will be a >presentation of some sort. After which, you can go to the >gift shops and buy many overpriced items ( some of which are >nice, I admit). Oh, and there is a hefty admission charge to >boot. As far as I was concerned, I was paying to go shopping. >Lots of crowded 'ethnic' restaurants. Avoid if possible. By now every country has a presentation of some sort, though most are not worth standing around to see. I didn't eat at the ethnic restaurants; I suspect I would sense the same vague feeling of fake-ness that seems to permeate the rest of World Showcase. And I am not about to pay their abominable prices to be disappointed. Speaking of restaurants, the best place we found to eat in Orlando was the Morrison's on International Drive. It was uncrowded, the food was delicious, and waiters were much more courteous than in other eateries, and it was all so CHEAP! The price of a good dinner there was about 20% LOWER than we have to pay here in Memphis at Morrison's. If you want a fancier place to eat, good luck; I can't help you there. We have po'folks tastes. All in all, EPCOT is a place I would want to visit again, and will, this year. But this time we will be much more selective, and not waste time with long waits for meaningless rides or exhibits. And if anyone out there sees that I have missed something in one of the rides I panned, I would like to hear about it, so I can watch for it next visit. In other words, I would really, truly like to know that there really is something GOOD in the World of Motion or Spaceship Earth that I missed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgua!cylixd!dave)
pfeiffer@uwvax.UUCP (Phil Pfeiffer) (02/27/86)
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Kirby's comment that EPCOT is "pop science".
Because of a movie that I had seen at Disneyworld about a year before EPCOT
opened, I hoped that the emphasis at EPCOT would be on labs without walls
rather than "ask Mr. Wizard". On second thought, I do Mr. Wizard a disservice
by comparing his show to EPCOT's. I don't think I would have been as
disappointed as I was if I hadn't been led to expect otherwise ....
On the plus side: EPCOT, I believe, is a good place to go if you didn't have
a strong scientific background, or friends or children who didn't.
The animation is great. My favorite pavilion was the Kraft Food Pavilion.
I thought that the presentation was both highly informative (the emphasis was
on specific solutions to important problems) and geared to the inquisitive
layperson.
I, like Mr. Kirby, thought EPCOT's cultural bazaar was a bust. My reaction,
on the whole, was: save your money and go to a good international folk
festival near you. Exceptions: we both enjoyed the Mexican pavilion (the
ride, I believe, does give you a flavor of the highlights of Mexican
culture, at least from this armchair traveler's point of view); we both
enjoyed the movies at the Chinese and French pavilions; and, we both
enjoyed browsing the Chinese gift shop. Some outlandishly expensive and
beautiful stuff there .....
If you are planning to visit EPCOT, then I'd also recommend you take the
trouble to look up the Morse gallery in nearby Winter Park, which houses
the world's largest collection of Tiffany glass. You might think it, on
the whole, better value than EPCOT ....
--
-- Phil Pfeiffer
...!{harvard,ihnp4,seismo,topaz}!uwvax!pfeiffer
(608) 263-7308andrew@hammer.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) (02/28/86)
Here's a contrasting view. Visiting Epcot was one of the dozen peak
experiences of my life. I loved everything, especially the Kodak
"Imagination" exhibit, and have a stuffed Figment doll in my office at
home.
But then, I'm the sort of person who videotapes Christmas television
specials and plays them back during the year.
(I went during late January, when there's a big trough in the attendance
curve. I didn't have to wait in any lines.)
-=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew) [UUCP]
(tekecs!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay) [ARPA]mdf@osu-eddie.UUCP (Mark D. Freeman) (03/02/86)
Summary: In <1837@hammer.UUCP> andrew@hammer.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) writes: >Here's a contrasting view. Visiting Epcot was one of the dozen peak >experiences of my life. I loved everything, especially the Kodak >"Imagination" exhibit, and have a stuffed Figment doll in my office at >home. I spent 4 days at Epcot/Disney World this past April. I was with a girlfriend and not dragging kids (we went through FAST). We spent 1/2 day in Disney World 1 full day in the Imagination building and spent the rest of the time exploring the rest of EPCOT. The only thing that would have been better than spending the whole day in 'Imagination' would have been doing it while hallucinating. As it was, I felt pretty high after going through there without any chemical enhancement. Anyone who doesn't come out of there giggling like a five year old is probably hopelessly stiff. -- < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Mark D. Freeman mdf@osu-eddie.uucp StrongPoint Systems, Inc. mdf@osu-eddie.arpa Guest account at The Ohio State University !cbosgd!osu-eddie!mdf I speak, therefore I disclaim everything I say. < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (03/03/86)
> By all means, take in the 3-D movie. As a movie in itself, it > stinks; but it has by far the best 3-D effects of any 3-D movie > made. Disney takes the expense to do it right: big screen, small > objects to poke at you, and polaroid lenses. Something I didn't figure out for weeks afterward... for the last half of the movie, everything was shimmering and wavy. One day it occurred to me: this is a _polarized_ 3-D movie. You have to keep your neck straight so that the lenses are properly aligned. I had seen it at the end of the day, and by mid-movie I was slumping and allowed my head to loll to one side. Until then, the 3-D effect was great. -- Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {hardy,savax,seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!terak!doug
joel@peora.UUCP (Joel Upchurch) (03/08/86)
If you can, one thing at EPCOT you shouldn't miss is the fire-
works/laser light show they have every night at the world show-
case lagoon during the summer. They also have it on Saturday
night the rest of the year I think. Also the 360 degree movie
at the Chinese pavilion is very good. The movie in France is
enjoyable also, although not as impressive. The 360 degree movie
in Canada is rather boring. The show at the American Heritage
pavilion should be avoided, unless you wish to take a nap.
The crowds are horrendous at all the central Florida attractions
during the summer and the sun will fry your brain while you
stand in line. The best way to visit all the attractions
around here is come on a weekday during the off season, the
lines are short and the temperatures are much more pleasant.
EPCOT seems to be an adult theme park, while younger children
will enjoy the Magic Kingdom more. Teenagers will probably
enjoy Circus World or Busch Gardens more, since they have
more of the traditional spin-til-you-puke type rides. Either
Circus World or Busch Gardens is a nice family outing.
I should also mention that some of the area hotels are tourist
attractions in their own right. You should stop by the Grand
Cypress in Lake Buena Vista for a drink and try the Italian
Buffet ($7.95) at the Wyndham Hotel on International drive
across from Sea World. You might also ride the monorail over
to check out the Contemporary and Polynesian Resort Hotels
while you're at Disney.
If your taste runs to jousting you should check out Medieval
Times in Kissimmee (They're building another one on International
drive, I think).
I'm going the try to get out to EPCOT later this month to check
out the new Living Seas exhibit. Fortunatly one of my friends
that works out there, takes me in for free.
--
Joel Upchurch @ CONCURRENT Computer Corporation (A Perkin-Elmer Company)
Southern Development Center
2486 Sand Lake Road/ Orlando, Florida 32809/ (305)850-1031
{decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd}!peora!joel