===From City to Theme Park===
====1975 EPCOT Plan====
When Walt Disney died in 1966, the future of EPCOT was forever changed. In 1967 the Reedy Creek Improvement District was signed into law giving Disney more liberties when it came to construction. Furthermore, the state of Florida created the cities of Bay Lake and Reedy Creek, which were essentially governed by the Walt Disney Company. Although this seemed like the first step towards the construction of EPCOT, Disney’s board of the directors decided that they did not want to build the city. Despite Roy O. Disney’s desire to see EPCOT built, when Walt Disney World opened in 1971 it consisted of only the [[Magic Kingdom]], the Contemporary, and the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds.
By 1975, Disney had determined that EPCOT as a day to day community was not a feasible idea. Instead, Disney announced that they would be taking the ideals and goals of EPCOT and building it in the form of a theme park. In July of 1975 Disney announced that their plans for EPCOT would have three main components. The first component would be the EPCOT Institute, which would have helped facilitate the flow of research and information from EPCOT’s other components, to the parks sponsors and the general public. The second component of EPCOT would be various “satellites” where research and development of future products and new systems in fields such energy, communication, agriculture, and education would take place. The EPCOT satellites would be located both on Walt Disney World property and off. The third, and most perhaps most prominent component of the 1975 EPCOT plan, was the Future World Theme Center. Here, guests would be able to visit various pavilions that showed the research that was being done at EPCOT. Fields including communication, science and technology would all be showcased in the Future World Theme Center.