3. The park's theme has become muddled

Image: Disney

Let's do a quick inventory of the attractions in the front half of Epcot:

First up, we have an ode to the history of communication, telling the story of how humanity came to learn to speak, then write, then share that information at the speed of light. Next, we've got an ocean-themed pavilion, half of which tells the story of a fictional cartoon, and the other half of which displays marine life exhibits. Then we've got a pavilion that includes a IMAX film showcasing beautiful scenery from California and a boat ride that shows how farmers can grow crops using advanced technology.

We've also got a ride about … using your imagination, I guess? We've got a 3D film about Michael Jackson flying through space. We've got a film about our energy sources, a ride taking guests on a simulated flight through space, and a tron-infused concept-car ride that's more fantasy than reality.

What would you call that half of the park, if you were asked to come up with a name for it today? Would you really call it “Future World?” How much of it is even looking toward the future, let alone a future that seems truly plausible and real?

The reality is that Epcot's Future World has lost its sense of futurism. It no longer asks its guests to imagine a future for themselves and their families, but instead to look back at the progress that's already happened. It's reflective rather than innovative. In the past, we had rides like Horizons that looked forward, but those rides are now gone.

That, in and of itself, is not a problem. Making Epcot into a celebration of human achievement, looking back at just how far we've come is a noble task, and one which would provide the basis for a beautiful park. But that idea hasn't been fully embraced either, and so instead, we're left with a park that's too dated to be futuristic and too futuristic to be an adequate representation of the years gone by. While World Showcase is timeless and still holds up well, Epcot's Future World has seemingly lost its sense of direction, and Disney needs a renovation plan badly to put it back on track. 

4. For better and worse, it's part of Walt's legacy

Image: Disney

The name Epcot is quite loaded. The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, from which the park draws its name, was Walt Disney's most ambitious project. He envisioned a community without poverty and crime, and where innovation would be left unrestrained – a place where the technologies of tomorrow could be developed and perfected.

The specifics of his Progress City plan were complex and complicated, and it wasn't much of a surprise that the Walt Disney Company abandoned the plan when Walt passed away. He wanted to change the world, but his company simply wanted to do what any company wants – maximize profits and give people a product they want. That EPCOT became Epcot is not a surprise, but in creating a park designed to honor Walt's sense of progress, they made the park a physical representation of his legacy.

Walt was a dreamer. He was amazed by the human spirit, and he believed we could do anything if we put our minds to it. The theme song to Walt's Carousel of Progress, There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow served as a kind of theme song to Walt himself – “tomorrow is just a dream away,” it says.

All of that is, for better or worse, embodied by the name Epcot. As long as the park is called that, it will remain a part of Walt's legacy and, in turn, it needs to live up to its end of the bargain.

It's not enough for Disney to trim around the edges and keep Epcot humming along as it has. It deserves a bigger revitalization plan, both because the park itself has inspired a generation of young people, and because it owes it to Walt to be something more. It has been in the past, it simply needs some love and creative passion to return it to that place once again.