Therapy Session II: THE CURE
IN SESSION ONE… We used an analogy to simplify the complex problems and history of Epcot‘s arrested development and subsequent identity crisis. From its troubled early years to its “Lower Case” transformation and the aftermath of the post-millennial age, Epcot has experience some of the most dramatic changes in its fundamental principles and philosophies than any other themed environment. (1)
BRANDING
Diversity is a word that is often used in the corporate world to define the personnel of the organization. Whether it is race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, generational, or even intellectual all of these classifications are based on innate or superficial conditions. But, there is another type of diversity that is often overlooked in the limited perspective of the ever sought after 18 to 24 age bracket. (2) Demographic Diversity is the reason why Disney exists in the first place. Its products are popular because they are so wide reaching. (3) This is largely because of Walt Disney’s personal philosophy on family entertainment…
“We try in everything we do here, you know . . . for the family. We don’t actually make films for children. But we make films that children can enjoy along with their parents."
There are two fundamental principles at work in this statement: First, Children’s entertainment is NOT Family Entertainment. Second, Adults are family too! It’s this second point that’s particularly important for Epcot. During those nine years when Walt Disney World was a two park Resort. The two properties perfectly complimented each other. For all of its architectural complexity, the Magic Kingdom will be forever skewed toward children, and EPCOT Center was definitely more mature. The problem Epcot is facing is that although it’s clearly the Experimental Theme Park for Adults it’s been going for the wrong age range for decades now. This leads to another quote from the man who wrote every word written about EPCOT from “The Film” to the Center…
Know your audience - Don't bore people, talk down to them or lose them by assuming that they know what you know. –Marty Sklar, Mickey’s Ten Commandments.
Every year the Flower & Garden and Food & Wine Festivals prove to be a major guest satisfier. However, these events only scratch the surface of possibilities for more adult entertainment in Epcot. The biggest problem that the park faces is the constant repression of its potential as an entirely mature theme park- One that appeals to the more sophisticated side of consumers who are automatically off-put by fairies, princesses, and mice.
INDENTITY
With over a decade of experience listening to cast and guest perceptions of Epcot I find that they basically fall into three unique categories. First, is “The Veteran” typically between 30 to 40 years old and is a dedicated follower of the original ideas and concepts of EPCOT Center and continue to be faithful despite the dramatic change in the park’s personality. Second, is “The Legal” as the name implies it’s the guest that is new to the experience of intoxication and looks at the park as an island in an otherwise “dry World”. Third, is “The Confused” it’s also the largest of all groups.
I have often wondered if I knew nothing about the history of the park and experienced it today, in its present state, what would I think about it? Would it still be my favorite park? Would I still love it or even like? I think that I would find the whole experience very puzzling. Think about it, Clown Fish, Jeopardy, a high-tech trade show, a ride-thru of car testing grounds, a purple dragon explaining the five senses, and a massive outdoor international shopping mall. And all of this next to an massively unique geo-sphere, an extremely accurate simulation of spaceflight, the world’s sixth largest ocean and a dramatically moving presentation of the American adventure. The sublime next to the substandard, to say that the variety of offerings in this park is inconsistent is putting it mildly. Which brings us back to Marty’s Ten…
Avoid contradiction - Clear institutional identity helps give you the competitive edge. Public needs to know who you are and what differentiates you from other institutions they may have seen.
In Future World, the concepts, designs and story are rarely futuristic. Yet, the foundational architecture is fundamentally so. This contradiction always produces an uneasy, uncomfortable feeling that leaves guests with the exact opposite effect to the one that made Disney theme parks so successful in the first place. The “Architecture of Reassurance” as termed by author/editor Karal Ann Marling is the psychological device that makes theme parks work. Epcot is billed as the “The Discovery Park” but (in regards to Future World) there is very little discovery involved. (4) Excluding Project Tomorrow and a few Innoventions exhibits very little of the material presented in Future World isn’t common knowledge.
MARKETING
This might sound a little too straightforward, but proper marketing of any product is vital to its success. And at this time any marketing would be appreciated. Look at any Disney Parks advertisement over the last several years and you’ll begin to believe that the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland are the only parks Disney owns. (5) There are a few clips used for Animal Kingdom, and an occasional second or two of Hollywood Studios, but Epcot is largely ignored in most local and all national campaigns. Even today, with all its imperfections, Epcot’s numbers would improve if properly marketed as the world’s premiere grown-up theme park. While the Magic Kingdoms have families, children, and babies, Epcot’s advertisement could be focused on the other age groups of humanity. Teens, Young/Middle-Aged/Mature Adults ARE the New Frontier in themed entertainment. Not only do they raise creditability of the art form, but also provide a highly-lucrative audience to tap into the even greater creative potential beyond the typical oversaturated properties.
CONCLUSION And a New Beginning
By the numbers, Epcot is #3 of the most attended theme parks in the nation which makes sense because of it chronological placement as the nation’s third oldest Theme Park. (6) What does not make sense is the dramatic gap between The Magic Kingdom (#1) and its closest sister. (7) Less than ten minutes away Walt Disney World attendance drops off enormously by more than 36%. (8)The reasons for this are wide and varied, but basically the lack of definable BRANDING resulting from the loss of a strong IDENTITY and the ensuing shift away from any MARKETING have all combined to create a unique set of problems. The truly wonderful part of all this is that these decades-old situations are entirely fixable. At this moment in time, solutions are already in existence to permanently solve the problem of displaying visions of the future in an ever changing world.
New Solutions you’ll soon find here … at E82!
FOOTNOTES
1. This statement excludes the changes currently underway at California Adventure which are largely aesthetic in nature and don't really change the overall message or themes of the park only their execution.
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2. Some might consider the pursuit of this demographic somewhat perplexing considering those who make these decisions are twice (if not three) times that age, but when you take into count the deeply seeded obsession of executives to recapture their youth the reasoning becomes quite clear. However, this is a discussion best suited for another website.
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3. For sake or brevity, I’ll spare a rather lengthy explanation of the history of the Walt Disney Company as seen through the dissecting lens of adult, children’s and family entertainment. I will say though that the history of the company has plenty of products and assets that appeal to one OR all.
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4. The definition of “discovery” is the process of making something known or visible OR to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time.
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5. Actually, keen observers would quickly notice that the US Kingdoms are portrayed as being the same park, as many of the clips for each coast are quite frequently used incorrectly to represent the other.
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6. Although a highly controversial stance, by definition of the term “Theme Park” Disney still owns the monopoly. Although there are MANY fine themed environments from other companies, in nearly all cases attractions, shows and spaces are based on pre-existing media in film and TV.
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7. Number #2 is the original Disneyland at California. (more commentary to follow)
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8. Based on data in the 2010 TEA Global Attractions Report.
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