Disney World’s abandonment issues
Disney’s got abandonment issues, just not in the traditional sense.
It’s not in danger of being abandoned, on the contrary, attendance across the board at Walt Disney World has been steadily rising since 2012, other than a small dip in 2016.
It’s Disney’s executives who are abandoning their Orlando parks piece by piece.
Disney has spent the last few years designing and implementing massive additions to its Walt Disney World properties, including Pandora: The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom and the soon-to be-opened Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. These projects are at least some kind of update, even if the attractions they hold are less-than-inspired and have already faced massive cuts.
But here’s the thing: Disney is a haven for abandoned-structures enthusiasts. Search “abandoned Disney” on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.
There are at least four abandoned major structures at Walt Disney World including an abandoned waterpark, an abandoned island that was once an animal sanctuary, and two (more or less) abandoned pavilions in Epcot, all easily accessible if you know 1.) that they exist and 2.) how to get to them.
While the two of these abandoned properties are truly decrepit, the two at Epcot have been abandoned in a more foreboding way.
These pavilions have been stripped down from the technological marvels they once were, and have been molded to fit a park that no longer knows what it is.
Epcot started out as an homage to Walt Disney’s original intention for the Florida project, an experimental prototype community of tomorrow. The community was supposed to be a hub for progress, a place where companies could test out their newest technologies and designs, all spearheaded by Disney himself. Disney, however, died suddenly of lung cancer before construction began. The Disney company was left with the bizarre idea of a semi-socialistic mini community and very few details on how it was supposed to work.
So, naturally, they built a castle.
In 1971, the Disney company opened the Magic Kingdom and 11 years later, in 1982, they opened Epcot. It was faithful to the original concept — without all the weird city-of-the-future stuff.
Epcot became a center of technology and progress. Investors came to Epcot to showcase their new designs and sponsor attractions that housed new technologies. Disney’s imagineers worked with experts all around the world to use new urban farming techniques. To this day, most of the food in any given Epcot restaurant is grown right there in the park.
Author Ray Bradbury wrapped up Epcot’s concept perfectly in a quote he gave to Disney’s official fan club, D23.
“The whole of Epcot teaches us how miraculous we are,” Bradbury said. “We are very special people. We are part of something that began millions of years ago. So, all the time, on every side, Epcot points to you and says, ‘You are individual. You are creative. I hand you the future; step into it. Believe and go forth.’”
But the Epcot of today bestows to the next generation the belief that progress and learning don’t really matter, mostly because the executives have decided that only one thing matters: making money as quickly as possible with little thought of the longevity a project may have.
There are many examples of this going on in Walt Disney World right now, but we’ll stay focused on Epcot.
In August of 2017, Disney closed the Universe of Energy, a 45-minute ride that taught guests all about new energy technologies and featured Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ellen Degeneres (I mean, come on, that’s just cool), to make way for a “Guardians of the Galaxy”-themed roller coaster. Awesome, I love roller coasters; I love Marvel movies, but I still have a problem.
What exactly does this roller coaster have to do with handing the future to the next generation? And, aside from that, “Guardians of the Galaxy” isn’t even one of the most profitable Marvel films. The first “Guardians of the Galaxy” is 12th on the list while “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is seventh, according to boxofficemojo.com.
Is this attraction something that will last? Does it fit with Epcot’s theme? I predict it won’t.
To be clear, I don’t have a problem with bringing in new attractions. The whole point of this park is progress, and the Universe of Energy needed updating. However, I do have a problem with poor stewardship.
While Disney is spending millions of dollars on new roller coasters, it has infrastructure that urgently needs attending to.
In January, guests got a big surprise when the monorail doors opened on their way to Epcot. In the video posted on Instagram, guests warily eye the door as they’re speeding along at about 40 miles per hour. Luckily, no one was hurt.
The monorails often break down, and last time I went to Disney, I timed stepping out of my car to stepping foot on Magic Kingdom property at about an hour. Talk about magic.
I’m not a Disney preservationist. I don’t think attractions should stay in the park simply because they have nostalgic value. There are a lot of changes I like. However, Disney’s money-making solution these days seems to be ‘let’s slap a character on it and call it a day.’ Someone once suggested to me that Future World in Epcot should be turned into Marvel-Land, and I nearly had a full-on heart attack.
In the current political climate, progress and innovation matter more than ever. Bringing people joy matters.
Disney, do what you are supposed to do. Create joy, and hand the future to the next generation. Maybe we have some ideas for you.
Don’t abandon us.
