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/* Pavilion History */
In 1977, General Motors signed on as the sponsor of a Transportation pavilion for the as yet unbuilt EPCOT Center. After seeing the success that Ford had in partnering with Disney at the 1964 World's Fair, GM agreed to 15 year contract, becoming the first of EPCOT Center's many sponsors. Taking its inspiration from Ford's World's Fair pavilion, the original plans for the Transportation pavilion called for a journey through a futuristic city, and a raised track located outside of the building (similar to Ford’s Magic Skyway).
By 1978 as the designs became more defined, the Transportation pavilion began to take form. Inside of the pavilion was to be a dark ride (which would eventually also bet be titled the World of Motion) which took guests through the history of transportation- beginning with man walking and ending in a large futuristic model city. Following the attraction, guests would be able to visit a series of interactive, transportation themed exhibits. The pavilion itself was designed to look like a large wheel (albeit one that was 65ft high and 320 feet across), with guests entering through a “wedge” that had been removed from the wheel.
The Transportation pavilion was eventually named the World of Motion, and the pavilion along with its title attraction , and the interactive TransCenter , opened with the rest of EPCOT Center on October 1, 1982.
By the end of GM's original contract in 1992, the popularity of the World of Motion had declined. With this is mind General Motors was hesitant about continuing their sponsorship of the pavilion <ref name= "Martin"> http://www.intercot.com/edc/Motion/facts.html </ref>. After 1992, GM agreed to sponsor the pavilion for 12 months, in order to reevaluate the benefits of their sponsorship, while also protecting the pavilion from a rival sponsor <ref name= "Martin"/>. Eventually, General Motors decided to renew, but with the understanding that World of Motion would be updated <ref name= "Martin"/>. Instead of renovating the existing attraction however, Disney and GM decided to create a new attraction for the pavilion all together.
