Ranking Epcot

Robert Niles, one of my favorite bloggers, from Theme Park Insider just posted his personal rankings of 10 of the 11 worldwide Disney theme parks, based on visits he's made in the past year. You can (and should) read his full article here.

His rankings end up:

1. Tokyo DisneySea
2. Tokyo Disneyland
3. California Adventure
4. Disneyland
5. Disneyland Paris
6. Magic Kingdom
7. Animal Kingdom
8. Hollywood Studios
9. Epcot
10. Disney Studios Paris

As I noted in the TPI comments section, it's an interesting point Niles makes about Epcot. Going into the list I assumed the two Tokyo parks were 1 & 2 and then I figured Epcot would be 3. When I finally found it in there at 9 and read his reasoning, it really got me thinking.

In a "think fast" scenario, I could honestly call Epcot my favorite place in the world...but it really is lagging behind. Maybe Disney figures it's perfect as it is and doesn't need much improvement or something.

Considering my last two visits, I rode Soarin once, saw Captain EO once just because I never had before and ditto Turtle Talk. Then I didn't even bother with the rest of Future World. The Spaceship Earth update is annoying, Mission Space isn't really my thing, and I've done everything else so many times over the years that there was really nothing I felt I needed to see.

World Showcase is a perfect place to catch a show, have a nice dinner, maybe stroll the promenade with a beer, then watch fireworks. I'm not someone who thinks they need to add another country or anything. But they definitely need to add something else to Future World to keep people interested. Maybe a complete upgrade to Imagination or Energy, replace Wonders of Life with something, or even bring some "bigger" more marketable things to Innoventions. The new Test Track is something but I don't know if it's enough.

Definite food for thought.