thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (06/19/83)
This is of course only my opinion, but I (and the others with me) liked the "World Showcase" much better than the "FutureWorld" part. EPCOT is very much like a world's fair, it has a number of "pavilions" sponsored by various countries, and a number sponsored by various companies. The first is the "World Showcase", the second is the "FutureWorld". They have done a fantastic job in the World Showcase of invoking the feeling of the countries. If you have visited any of them, you really feel like you are back in (Paris, London, Venice, etc.). There is also a lot to see there without standing in any lines. This is a definite plus. "Must see" recommendations: - China movie. This is a 360 degree movie which shows you most of the interesting sights of China. We went during the dinner period and there was no wait (except waiting for the previous show to end). - Kodak "World of Imagination". The "ride" portion is so-so, but they have some wonderful participatory creative games upstairs, and a very good 3-D movie. Also the fountains out in front are wonderfully fun. (You see these when you come out of the movie.) - If you are into gardening, make a reservation (as soon as you arrive, but after making dinner reservations (or in parallel if there are two or more of you) for a walking tour of "The Land". Eating at EPCOT is a joy - if you do it right. You should plan to arrive as soon as it opens, and the FIRST(!!!) thing to do is make dinner reservations. This is done in the pavilion behind the big ball. Then run, don't walk, to the place you want to eat lunch and make a reservation there. Dinner usually fills up by about 10am, at least when its busy. Don't eat in the Future World section, the restaurants there are basically fast food. I can personally recommend the French restaurant (we ate lunch there - easier on the budget) and the Japanese "steak house". Canada has a very good cafeteria (no reservations, first come, ...) where we got an afternoon snack. I would imagine that the rest are up to the same standards. Plan to eat lunch early and dinner late. This allows you to stand in some lines while others are eating and the lines are shorter. This is especially true at dinner time. Make dinner reservations for 9:30 or 10:00 and have a snack at 4. Bring suntan lotion (unless you already have a fantastic tan, you will want some blockout for later in the day), comfortable shoes, LOTS of film, and more money than you think you will need. Get there EARLY, if you arrive much after 8:30, you will probably get caught in the traffic jam and lose a half hour or hour getting in. (We went at Easter and got in a traffic jam (for several miles) at 8:00.)
amyh@fluke.UUCP (06/28/83)
I second the preference of World Showcase to FutureWorld at EPCOT. We went
last fall about 4 weeks after opening, and even though there were some
sections noticeably unfinished, my preference was very clear. I assumed
that the reason lay along the "familiarity breeds contempt" line - Future-
World might be more interesting to people who don't deal with computers/
electronics/etc all day at work.
Amy Heidner John Fluke Mfg {microsoft|lbl-csam|uw-beaver}!fluke!amyhsmh@mhuxl.UUCP (henning) (02/25/86)
**** ****
From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA mhuxl!smh
> Last time I was in Florida, I went to EPCOT, and found it to be a total waste
Another point of view: My wife and I visited EPCOT and the World Showcase.
We thought that they did a very nice job. We had lunch in France, and dinner
in Italy the first day. The second day, we had lunch in Japan and dinner in
Germany. The restaurants are staffed by cooks from the native country. Most
of the servers are nationalized Americans or people of the appropriate descent.
All of the meals were excellent and the prices were quite in line for what
you got. The exhibits varried widely. Canada has a fabulous film on the
beauty of Canada. The US has varried groups of entertainers coming along.
The others have shows, rides, and many other forms of entertainment, all
of which we enjoyed. The entertainment is aimed at the mature adult and
not at the kiddies or young adult crowd. There were many kids and young
people there but I think they would have rather been in Disney World or
Wet 'n Wild. The commercial exhibits were not nearly as interesting as
the international exhibits, even though we did hit as many as we could and
enjoyed them also. One caution, they had the monorail fire while we were
there. The people in the monorail had to climb onto the roof of the
monorail to escape the fire. They were on the roof of the monorail cars
for 30 minutes before the firemen got them down. If you have a weak heart
or haven't paid up your insurance, you might want to avoid the monorail
until they install some emergency evacuation system. Disney Corp. is
great at avoiding bad publicity so it didn't hit too many papers but it
was scary. You don't have to take the monorail unless you go between
the Hotels, Magic Kingdom, or World Showcase. Even then you could walk
or take a bus.bill@hp-pcd.UUCP (bill) (03/01/86)
I'd like to make a few comments about
(...{ihnp4!whuxcc | seismo!umcp-cs | allegra!hopkins} !jhunix!ins_alal
OR {cbosgd | decvax} !decuac!aplvax!aplcen!jhunix!ins_alal)'s
review of EPCOT:
> 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.
Disney spells "Amusement Park" M-A-G-I-C K-I-N-G-D-O-M. If you'd heard
anything about EPCOT before you went there you shouldn't have expected
to find amusement rides. EPCOT was designed to increase your awareness
about the kinds of things that are being done or investigated now which
may improve or otherwise affect your way of life in the future. It also
provides you with a little cultural enrichment, a chance to sample a
small piece of other countries and cultures without spending a fortune
in time and money traveling all over the world.
I agree with you that most kids probably won't enjoy EPCOT that much.
Like I said, that's what Magic Kingdom and River Country are for.
But then, you'd probably be surprised at the number of adults who don't
particularly care for the rides, but who thoroughly enjoy the presentations,
shops, architecture, and restaurants of EPCOT.
> 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.
Well, Paris is basically a bunch of buildings, too. So is Munich, London,
Rome, Tokyo, and Mexico City ... You'd spend a fortune traveling to all
of these places, and when you got there you'd be lucky to find a presentation
of some sort as well. The various countries represented in the World
Showcase paid money to present themselves at EPCOT, and each pavillion is
designed and largely staffed by people from each particular country.
"England" is supposed to give you about as much of a taste as England as
is possible without actually going overseas. Same with all the rest.
> After which, you can go to the gift shops and buy many overpriced items
> (some of which are nice, I admit).
Sure, things are expensive. But I can name at least a dozen stores within
50 miles of my house here in Oregon that have the same kind of prices.
I'm sure you can do the same.
> 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.
I do agree that the admission charge is steep. But then, you pay quite
a bit to get into the Magic Kingdom, too.
Do you include the U.S. pavillion's restaurant at EPCOT in with your
definition of 'ethnic' restaurants?
bill frolik
hp-pcd!billjimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) (03/04/86)
In article <57200003@hpcvlo.UUCP>, bill@hp-pcd.UUCP (bill) writes: > > > I agree with you that most kids probably won't enjoy EPCOT that much. > Like I said, that's what Magic Kingdom and River Country are for. > But then, you'd probably be surprised at the number of adults who don't > particularly care for the rides, but who thoroughly enjoy the presentations, > shops, architecture, and restaurants of EPCOT. > Hey, what about we adults who like all those things?? I like them both. But then, I also like Sea World, Busch Gardens, Cypress Gardens, (even went to Circus World once) in Fla. But, in California, give me Disneyland, Knotts, Magic Mountain, and Marriotts Great America. Then down to Phoenix and "Big Surf". Kinda like "Old Tucson" and Tombstone, too. And then, there's the Grand Canyon.
macrakis@harvard.UUCP (Stavros Macrakis) (03/05/86)
bill@hp-pcd.UUCP (Bill Frolik) writes: <57200003@hpcvlo.UUCP> > [Epcot] provides you with a little cultural enrichment, a chance to > sample a small piece of other countries and cultures without > spending a fortune in time and money traveling all over the world. ## In reply to Laurah Limbrick: <1976@jhunix.UUCP> > > 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 ... ## he says: > Well, Paris is basically a bunch of buildings, too. So is Munich, > London, Rome, Tokyo, and Mexico City ... You'd spend a fortune > traveling to all of these places, and when you got there you'd be > lucky to find a presentation of some sort as well. Paris is <not> a `bunch of buildings', not even `basically'. If you think this, you have either not travelled or you have been wasting your time when you've been travelling. Paris does present certain practical inconveniences, of course. It's bad enough that you can't take a domestic flight to get there; but to compensate, once you get there, you can always stay at the Holiday Inn; there's even a MacDonald's on the Champs Elysee so you don't need to eat frogs or drink wine. Paris is not set up for the tourist. Strangely enough, it is set up for its inhabitants. You cannot expect to find `presentations' (of any sort) when you walk down the street or go into a cafe. The natives insist on speaking French, which is damnably tiresome. And, believe it or not, they are annoyed when strangers don't even bother to learn how to say `Do you speak English' (much less, `excuse me' or `thank you') in French, but rather address them directly with `Where is the loo-ver'. But you can take care of this, too, by taking a bus tour. This will protect you from having to deal with the natives. Paris does not have signs telling you what you are supposed to see. If you want to have some chance of understanding what is around you, you will have to do some reading in advance. > The various countries represented in the World Showcase paid money > to present themselves at EPCOT, and each pavillion is designed and > largely staffed by people from each particular country. I have not been to Epcot, but I have been to world's fairs. The image countries present of themselves at fairs has little to do with the actual history and culture of the country. It is worse than just wanting to avoid unpleasant realities. There is a creation of something totally artificial, a notion of what the country ought to be for the tourist. Even if the staff comes from the country, even if the building has been rebuild stone-by-stone, even if the restaurants' ingredients are flown in daily from the mother country, what you see is a careful selection designed to nurture a very particular vision. And you are surrounded by Americans. I have never seen a Turkish truck stop at a world's fair, nor a Belgian mill town, nor a Greek nightclub. I have never met a nobleman, nor a steelworker, nor a programmer, nor a priest, nor an intellectual at a world's fair. Yet I have been to these places, I have talked to these people. They are more the essence of Turkey, or of Belgium, or of France, or of Italy than are airline stewardesses wearing peasant costumes of 100 years ago. (Or even peasants wearing peasant costumes of 100 years ago.) And if you did try to bring over my Turkish truck stop, would it be populated with Turkish truck drivers, stopping after ten-hour drives over unpaved roads, exchanging gossip with their buddies? Would the English pub be populated with the professionals, and the artisans, and the workers each in their section, talking about their concerns? Would the Greek nightclub have slick guys teaching syrtaki dancing to the Danish blondes? True, you do occasionally see good art (although it's usually presented in such a way that you can't really appreciate it). But do you see its setting? Do you experience the trip into the town with the church with the chapel with the painting? Do you see the view from the chateau's terrace over its domains? > ... as much of a taste as England as is possible without actually > going overseas. Same with all the rest. No, you can't bring it over. You have to go there. And you have to do some background reading, maybe even study the language. Or you could just invite Europeans and Asians and Africans to your house. I bet you'd get a lot more out of it than you would from going to a pavillion at Epcot. -s
allender@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Eric Allender) (03/05/86)
I hate to see EPCOT get a bum rap. NO -- going to EPCOT is NOT a substitute
for travel to a foreign country. YES -- EPCOT *CAN* be extremely enjoyable.
Like most readers of this newsgroup, I am rather well-travelled and have had
many wonderful experiences abroad, and thus I, like most of you, know that
dinner at a Disney Biergarten is not an accurate reflection of the cultural
scene in Bavaria. Nonetheless, I had an excellent meal in the Disney
Biergarten, was treated to first-class entertainment, and danced a number of
delightful dances. Admittedly, you will only enjoy this if you have a taste
for Polkas, waltzes, yodelling, krummhorns, and other art forms which are
almost humorously stereotypically German, and yet are undeniably valid parts of
the German heritage and are perfectly valid folk art forms. This sort of
entertainment is much easier to come by in the U.S. than in Germany.
(Surprisingly, kneipen in East Germany are much more likely to be havens for
traditional song and dance than are those in the West.)
By the same token, lunch at the Mexican cantina and dinner in "Morocco"
can offer excellent food and entertainment, and should be enjoyed as such, and
not viewed with scorn because they are not "authentic".
By far the best value at EPCOT is the street entertainment. When my wife
and I were there, there were marvelous stilt dancers from France, fascinating
silk- and fan-dancers from China, a thoroughly-enjoyable theatre troupe from
Japan, performing snippets of traditional theatrical works (mime and dance,
with comic bits interspersed), as well as an incredible demonstration, by one
of the Japanese comic actors, of a traditional craft of making fanciful birds
and dragons from beeswax (each creation took about one minute). There was
also a very good Canadian brass ensemble, and a Mexican band. These
entertainers were all uniformly excellent. (There were other demonstrations
which were less successful, but they were the minority.) Thus EPCOT had the
flavor of an arts fair, where the acts were of unusually high quality.
The pavilions are of varying quality. However, don't let one or two
disappointments keep you from trying other pavilions -- you will probably find
something you will enjoy if you keep looking. The Mexican pavilion was the
one I liked the least (I found the boat ride inane, and, as that was the first
pavilion we visited, I was all set to really dislike EPCOT) -- however one
of the people who posted an earlier article on this subject stated that they
found the Mexican pavilion to be one of their favorites. The lesson is that
tastes vary. I personally didn't care much for most of the "technological"
displays -- the Kraft exhibit being the exception.
If you are predisposed to look down your nose and not enjoy things like
EPCOT, then you should by all means stay away. You should also be cautioned
not to have expectations which are unrealistically high. EPCOT is, after all,
only an amusement park. However, it is an exceptionally beautiful and
entertaining amusement park, with crystal blue water and beautiful beds of
flowers and high caliber entertainment, and can form the basis of a very
enjoyable vacation.
-- Eric Allender
(Formerly of Ga. Tech., and only recently transplanted in N.J.)