===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.
When Walt By 1975, Disney died in 1966 had determined that EPCOT as a day to day community was not a feasible idea. Instead, Disney announced that they would be taking the future ideals and goals of EPCOT was forever changedand building it in the form of a theme park. In 1967 the Reedy Creek Improvement District was signed into law giving July of 1975 Disney more liberties when it came to constructionannounced that their plans for EPCOT would have three main components. Although this seemed like the The first step towards component would be the construction of EPCOTInstitute, which would have helped facilitate the board flow of the directors decided that they did not want research and information from EPCOT’s other components, to build the cityparks sponsors and the general public. Although Roy O. Disney wanted The second component of EPCOT to would be builtvarious “satellites” where research and development of future products and new systems in fields such energy, when communication, agriculture, and education would take place. The EPCOT satellites would be located both on Walt Disney World opened it consisted of only property and off. The Magic Kingdomthird, and most perhaps most prominent component of the Contemporary1975 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 Fort Wilderness campgroundsFuture World Theme Center.
In the late 1970's Disney CEO Card Walker brought To go along with the scientific and futuristic components of EPCOT idea back , Disney also announced related plans for World Showcase and International Village. World Showcase was to be an area that allowed guests to experience the board different cultures of directorsthe world. Once again howeverEach country would have its own exhibits space, in a vein similar to a World’s Fair. Furthermore, the idea was scrappedshowcase would show how technology and communication could promote the betterment of all nations. The company felt that people International Village on the other hand, would not want to come live in be a place where they would constantly be watched and analyzed. In 1982 it was decided the international cast members that EPCOT worked in World Showcase would open as a theme park, not a citylive. The theme park World Showcase area was named EPCOT Center to reflect be built separately from the fact that Future World Theme Center; however the park two locations would get it's inspiration from Walt's EPCOT citybe connected by monorail. The park took the idea This new version of promoting technology Walt’s original EPCOT idea was described in the 1975 annual report:{{Quotation| EPCOT will be a forum where creative men and women of science, industry , government and incorporated it into attractions. The Imagineers at the company were divided over what arts from around the park should look likeworld can present and demonstrate new concepts and systems. Some felt it should be a futuristic theme park that would help promote technology. Others felt that it should It will be an international themed park, one that celebrated different cultures. After much heated debate, two Imagineers literally pushed together dedicated to the two models. EPCOT now resembled a World's Fair, advancement of new technologies and would later be called “a permanent World's Fair.”approaches to meeting the challenges we face throughout the world today}}
====Development and Construction====
Following Disney’s announcement of EPCOT, plans for their newest theme park remained in flux. By 1976, the scope of the project had been narrowed, with one section of the park being the Future World Theme Center, and the other section being World Showcase. Imagineers Marty Sklar and John Hench literally had pushed models of the two areas together, creating the unified EPCOT that would eventually be built. During the ongoing development, the name of the park was changed to EPCOT Center, and the parameters of what the park would include were more clearly defined. The Future World portion of EPCOT Center would contain various pavilions including: Spaceship Earth, Communicore, the Life and Health Pavilion, the Transportation pavilion, The Seas, The Land, the Space pavilion, and the Energy pavilion. Like Future World, World Showcase had also changed dramatically since its initial incarnation. By 1977, World Showcase was designed so that all of the countries’ exhibits were now surrounding a central lagoon. Another change in the area had to do with the exterior architecture. Initially, Disney (and CEO Card Walker) had wanted the exterior facades of each country’s pavilion to be identical, and interconnected. Imagineer Harper Goff on the other hand, felt that the pavilions should be highly themed and unique, with landmarks from each country drawing guests towards the pavilion. Although Goff’s idea was initially rejected, the Imagineer eventually won out. One day, when various international sponsors were touring the plans for World Showcase, Goff left paintings of the highly themed and aesthetically pleasing pavilions on display. Due to the enthusiastic response of the investors, Goff won out, and World Showcase was given unique exteriors.
Initially planned as a six year project, construction on EPCOT Center began in October 1979, with a projected opening date of October 1, 1982. At the time of its construction, EPCOT Center was considered the largest construction project in the world.
===Opening====
Despite the massive amount of construction that was necessary, EPCOT Center was ready in time for its opening day- October 1, 1982. When the park opened it featured nine pavilions in World Showcase and seven pavilions in Future World. On October 1, the International Ceremony of the Waters took place, where containers of water from 25 bodies of water (representing) 29 countries were poured into The Fountain of Nations. A Grand Opening Week was then held from October 17-October 27, during which many of the parks individual pavilions were dedicated. On hand for the festivities were VIP Cast Members including Walt’s widow Lillian, key members of the press, celebrities (including Drew Barrymore and Marie Osmond) and top executives from sponsor companies. On October 24, Disney CEO Card Walker officially dedicated the new park:
{{Quotation|To all who come to this place of joy, hope and friendship—welcome.
EPCOT is inspired by Walt Disney's creative vision. Here, human achievements are celebrated through imagination, wonders of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all.
May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere.|
E Cardon Walker<br />
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer<br />
Walt Disney Productions<br />
October 24, 1982}}
Walker's dedication was followed by speeches from Florida Governor Bob Graham and AT&T president William Ellinghouse (who was there due to Spaceship Earth’s dedication also taking place that day). Also on hand for the opening were marching bands and dancers who performed, “We've Only Just Begun To Dream” and a new Sherman Brother’s song, “World Showcase March”. Various musical acts from different countries also performed in World Showcase, and the festivities concluded with 1,000 doves and 15,00 balloons being released in celebration. Also of note, CBS aired a television special, ''EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration'', which was hosted by Danny Kaye and actually aired the day before the official dedication, October 23.
====History Since Opening Day====
After the Grand Opening in October of 1982, EPCOT Center continued to expand rapidly. The expansion, known as Phase II, began on October 1, 1983 with the addition the Horizons pavilion. Horizons, which was sponsored by General Electric, was a dark ride attraction that took guests into the 21st century, to see what the future might be like. The attraction would be one of EPCOT Center's most popular rides in the 1980s. Exactly one year after the addition of Horizons, the Morocco pavilion opened in World Showcase. Although the pavilion didn’t feature any new attraction, the popular Restaurant Marrakesh opened at this time. Future World saw even more expansion in 1986 when The Living Seas opened on January 15th. Although a Seas pavilion had always been planned for EPCOT Center, changes in design and budget constraints delayed the pavilion’s construction. Sponsored by United Technologies, The Living Seas focused on oceanic study, and housed the world’s largest aquarium (at the time of its construction). World Showcase was the next area to expand, when in 1988 the Norway pavilion was completed. Although not ready for the pavilion’s opening, the popular Maelstrom attraction opened later in 1988. In 1989 the final pavilion was added to Epcot, The Wonders of Life. The pavilion was sponsored by Met Life and featured the popular motion simulator Body Wars as well as Cranium Command and the Making of Me. The addition of the Wonders of Life signaled the end of EPCOT Center’s expansion.
The mid 1990s brought a lot of change to EPCOT Center. For starters, in 1994 the name of the park was changed to EPCOT '94, as an illusion to the World’s Fair atmosphere that now defined EPCOT. Also in 1994, CommuniCore closed its doors for a length renovation. In order to revive the dated CommuniCore’s popularity, new interactive exhibits featuring hands-on activities were added. On July 1, 1994, the pavilion reopened as Innoventions. Besides changing exhibits, Innoventions also featured more darker and metallic looking aesthetics. Another change to hit Epcot in 1994 was General Electric ending its sponsorship of Horizons. Although the pavilion initially closed, it later reopened in 1995 due to the renovations taking place in The World of Motion and Universe of Energy pavilions. Also in 1995, the name EPCOT '94 was updated to EPCOT '95, before Disney finally settled on simply “Epcot” in 1996. Of note, is the fact that the new name was not capitalized as it had been in the past; which meant that the name was no longer an acronym. In January of 1996, The Universe of Energy closed for a major refurbishment. The pavilion reopened in September of that year, as Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Although the main focus and some of the attraction’s scenes remained intact, with the addition of Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy, the pavilion took on a more comedic tone. More closures hit Epcot in 1996 when the World of Motion closed. After a series of delays, the pavilion reopened in 1999 as Test Track, still sponsored by General Motors. Test Track took guests through the rigors of automobile testing procedures, including a speed test, where guests reach a maximum speed of 65 mph.
Change continued to be a constant at Epcot, as the park got ready for its Millennium Celebration. In January 1999, Horizons closed for good. The pavilion had remained unsponsored since GE ended its sponsorship in 1994, and it was beginning to look dated. As opposed to repurposing the pavilion, Disney instead chose to demolish it, to create room for the announced Mission: Space attraction. In 2000, Disney also decided to add a large mickey arm holding a wand, to the top of Spaceship Earth. The large dedication “2000” was also added at the end of the wand, although this was subsequently changed to “Epcot” starting in 2001.
Following the addition of the wand, Epcot stayed relativity stagnant until 2003 when Mission: Space finally opened. The new attraction was a motion simulator thrill ride which was themed as an astronaut training program for the first flight to Mars. In 2005, Another simulator was added to the park, this time to the Land pavilion in the form of the new attraction Soarin'. Initially created for Disney’s California Adventure, this motion simulator gave guests the feeling they were hang gliding over California. In 2006, The Living Seas was rethemed to tie in with the Disney-Pixar movie Finding Nemo, subsequently renamed The Seas with Nemo & Friends. The pavilion now housed a dark ride attraction (also called the Seas with Nemo & Friends), as well as Turtle Talk with Crush, and the interactive exhibits in Sea Base. Overall, the pavilion took a much more of a fantasy tone, as opposed to the previously scientific tone of the pavilion. The most recent major change to Epcot came in 2007, when the Wonders of Life Pavilion closed. The pavilion had not been sponsored since 2001 when MetLife dropped its sponsorship, and had seen a decrease in popularity. The Wonders of Life pavilion remains closed to guests, except during special events like the Flower and Wine Festival.
===Construction and Layout===