Difference between revisions of "Epcot"

Revision as of 20:23, 3 January 2012

Spaceship Earth, the icon of Epcot.

Epcot is a theme park located in Walt Disney World.

History

Walt Disney's Experimental Community of Tomorrow

The genesis of Epcot began in the early 1960s with Walt Disney himself. After having many grandchildren, Walt began to worry about the world they would grow up in. He looked around the cities of America and though he could do better. The cities were full of crime, disorganized, dirty and hectic. Disneyland was the opposite of these things and Walt decided he could take the Disneyland philosophy and apply it to the real world. Disneyland also proved that Walt and his company was very efficient in the art of building and designing buildings. With these began to study and read about how to start a city.

The idea of a utopia city got it's name in 1966. Walt Disney narrated a video in witch he described his dream city. The city would be housed near Disney World, and would be called the Experimental Community of Tomorrow or EPCOT. Walt called EPCOT, “the most exciting, by far the most important” and the heart of what he planned to do in Disney World. The city would take its queues from the new ideas and technologies of American industry and would be a “community of tomorrow Miyuki ”. Walt wanted to plan and design every detail of the city, in order to meet the public's needs. Industry was also expected to partner with Disney to solve the problems of the society and make EPCOT an utopia. Walt said that EPOCT would never be finished, it would always be improving. He hoped that when it was built it would house about 20,000 people.

EPCOT was laid out to be the perfect city. It took it's design from Disneyland, in that their would be a central hub that roads and monorails would connect to the other parts of the city. The center “hub” of EPCOT would have been a large business area. The area would have been under a dome that would control the temperature and weather. The busines area would have also included office buildings, shopping, and the “crown jewel” of EPCOT, Cosmopolitan Hotel. The hotel would be located at the center of EPCOT and would be 30 stories tall. The Hotel would also house (in the basement) the transportation lobby of EPCOT. Underground, People Movers would transport people to the various parts of EPCOT. Cars and Trucks would also have underground highways that they would be able to use. No gas vehicles would travel above land. Also in the business area of EPCOT would be a shopping center featuring items from around the world. Offices, theaters, nightlife and restaurants would all be found in the business area.

Outside of the business area would be the high density apartment housing, Citizens who lived here would have the luxury of being close to business area, but would live in apartment complexes. Outside of the apartment housing was to be the recreation area. The recreation area would have consisted of things such as pools, parks, church's and schools. Beyond the recreation area would have been the residential neighborhood. This is where a large number of families would have lived. The area would have consisted of housing and small recreation areas such as playgrounds.

The final part of EPCOT would have been the industrial center. This is where companies from around the world would work on various projects. Walt wanted guests to be able to visit these companies and hopefully take some inspiration for industry home with them. In order to get to the rest of Walt Disney World and the EPCOT industrial center, citizens of EPCOT would take a monorail. The Monorail and the People Mover were expected to be the main methods of transportation in EPCOT thus eliminating traffic.

From City to Theme Park

When Walt Disney died in 1966 the future of EPCOT was forever changed. 1967 the Reedy Creek Improvement District was signed into law giving Disney more liberties when it came to construction. Although this seemed like the first step towards the construction of EPCOT, the board of the directors decided that they did not want to build EPCOT. Although Roy O. Disney wanted the city built, when Walt Disney World opened it consisted of only The Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary, and the Fort Wilderness campgrounds.

In the late 1970's Disney CEO Card Walker revisited the EPCOT idea to the board of directors. Once again however, the idea was scrapped. The company felt that people would no want to come live in a place where they would constantly be watched and analyzed. In 1982 it was decided that EPCOT would open as a theme park, not a city. The theme park was named EPCOT Center to reflect the fact that the park would get it's inspiration from Walt's EPCOT city. The park took the idea of promoting technology and incorporated it into attractions. The Imageneers at the company were divided over what the park should look like. Some felt it should be a futuristic theme park that would help promote technology. Others felt that an international themed park, one that celebrated different cultures. After much heated debate, two Imagineers literally pushed together the two models. EPCOT now resembled a world's fair, and would later be called “a permanent world's fair.”

Construction and Layout

In 1978 Disney announced they would be constructing a new theme park, the EPCOT Center. Construction began on May 1, 1979 and was completed September 27, 1982. Epcot went under 19 different design renovations before the final World Showcase/Future World design was accepted. Originally, the east side of Future World was supposed to have shallow lagoons. This idea was eventually scrapped and East Future World became the dry side, while West Future World became the wet one. 4,000 workers worked on phase 1 of Epcot. 10,000 workers and 3,000 designers were used in total during the creation of Epcot. This included moving an astonishing

While the basic plans for Epcot had now been decided, Imagineers decided that they needed an icon, something in the skyline to draw guests into the park. The Imagineers liked the idea of the dome that Montreal had built for the 1967 World's Fair, but wanted something a little more dramatic. What they ended up building would be the world's first geometric sphere, Spaceship Earth. Science fiction writer Raymond Bradbury helped design the sphere, which was 160 feet in diameter. Disney also enlisted the help of MIT to determine what kind of pressure the sphere would create under it. Disney feared that the pressure would create a wind tunnel underneath the sphere, but this ended up being untrue. Another problem that engineers faced, was how to hold the sphere up. There had been little information available into geometric spheres so Disney had to look inward for a solution. What they decided to do was put six large legs between 120 and 160 feet into the ground for support. The legs were then reinforced at the top of the legs, before the sphere was built. Inside the sphere an elevator, track, and show scenes for Spaceship Earth were built. There is actually two spheres located within Spaceship earth and outer and an inner. The inside sphere is made of steel, pyramid shaped pipes. The outside was then covered with Alucobond pyramids, a polyester plastic, covered in two sheets of aluminum.

The two layer sphere solved two problems for Imagineers. The first, was the need to protect Spaceship Earth from fire and weather damage. The Alucobond protects the inside sphere, while also looking pleasant for guests. The other problem that Alucobond solved was the issue of run-off rainwater. Imagineers left a gap between the Alucobond pyramids which allows water to run into a gutter system in the inner sphere before eventually draining in World Showcase.

The opening day of Epcot featured seven pavilions in Future World and nine pavilions in World Showcase. The Future World pavilion all had corporate sponsors who agreed to pay for the pavilion to be constructed and to maintain the attractions within for a certain number of years. The opening day pavilions were:

Opening

Epcot officially opened October 1, 1982 exactly 11 years after the Magic Kingdom. The opening was considered more a soft opening however, as only Spaceship Earth was dedicated. On hand were dignitaries from 23 countries who poured a gallon of water into the Fountain of Nations as a sign of unity. A Grand Opening Week was held October 17 through October 27. Celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Marie Osmond, VIP members, key press, and top executives from sponsor companies were on hand for the events. On October 24 Epcot was officially dedicated.

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
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Walt Disney Productions
October 24, 1982

Walker's dedication was followed by speeches from Florida Governor Bob Graham and AT&T president William Ellinghouse. CBS aired a television special EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration. The special was hosted by Danny Kane and actually aired the day before the official dedication, October 23. Also on hand for the opening were marching bands and dancers who performed “We've Only Just Begun To Dream” and a new Sherman brothers song “World Showcase March”. Various musical acts from different countries also performed in World Showcase. At the finale of the opening doves and balloons were released in celebration.

Additions To Epcot Since 1982

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 was sponsored by General Electric and would be would be one of EPOCT Center's most popular rides in the 1980s. Exactly one year after the addition of Horizons, the Morocco pavilion opened in World Showcase. Future World saw even more expansion in 1986 when on January 15, The Living Seas opened. The Living Sea's focused on oceanic study and was sponsored by United Technologies. World Showcase was the next to expand when in 1988 Norway was added followed by the popular attraction the Malestorm a year later. In 1989 the final pavilion was added to Epcot, The Wonders of Life. The pavilion was sponsored by Met Life and it's construction signaled the end of Epcot getting major additions.

The mid 1990s brought a lot of change to EPCOT Center. For starters, in 1994 the name of the park was changed to Epcot Center 94'. This change helped add the World Fair atmosphere that now defined EPCOT Center. Also in 1994 CommuniCore closed its doors. The pavilion was becoming somewhat dated, so it was under a long renovation. The pavilion reopened July 1, 1994 as Innoventions. Innoventions was themed similar to CommuniCore in that it featured hands on technology. The new exhibits however were much flashier and appealed to a younger audience. Besides changing exhibits the pavilion also changed color, becoming much darker and metallic looking. Horizons also went through changes in 1994 when General Electric canceled it's sponsorship. The attraction closed, but was reopened in 1995 due to all the closures in Future World. Also In 1995 the name EPCOT 94' was updated to EPCOT 95, before finally settling on Epcot in 1996. The new name was not capitalized as it had been in the past. More closures hit Epcot in 1996 when the World of Motion closed. The pavillion would re-open in 1999 as Test Track, still sponsored by General Motors.

Controversy struck in 1999 when the popular attraction Horizons was closed permanently. No official reason was given for the closure although lack of sponsorship certainly played a role. Another rumor stated that the pavilion was sitting on a sink hole, which was leading to severe structural damage. More controversy was created when a Mickey arm and wand with the dedication 2000 was added to the top of Spaceship Earth.. Many guests complained that the hand took away from the original intention of Epcot without adding anything. The dedication was changed to Epcot starting in 2001 and was finally removed in 2007.

Epcot stayed relativity calm until 2003 when Mission Space took over area where Horizons was formally held. The new attraction was a motion simulator “thrill ride” gave guests the feeling they were flying to the moon. Another simulator was added to the Land with the new attraction Soarin'. This motion simulator gave guests the felling they were hang gliding over California. In 2006 The Living Seas was re-themed and named The Living Seas With Nemo and Friends. The attraction took inspiration from the Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo. Nemo and his friends were now projected onto the large tanks adding a Finding Nemo story to the attraction. Although the live sea creatures still existed within the tanks, some guests complained that too many characters were being added to Epcot. The final major change came to Epcot in 2007 when the Wonders of Life Pavilion closed. The pavilion had not been sponsored sine 2001 when MetLife dropped it's sponsorship.

Current Future World Pavilions Pavilions

Innoventions

Main Article: Innoventions

Innoventions opened in 1994 and houses exhibits that feature new technological advancements. Located in the center of Future World, Innoventions took over the buildings that formally hosted CommuniCore. Innoventions is also home to one attraction, The Sum Of All Thrills. The attraction is sponsored by Raytheon, and it allows guests to virtually create their own thrill ride. After the ride is built guests can board a customized simulator and ride their attraction. Innoventions is also home to Club Cool, which allows guests to cool off and try complementary Coca-Cola products from around the world.

Imagination!

Main Article: Imagination!

Formally known as Journey Into Imagination, the pavilion opened with the park in 1982 and is located in Future World West. Inside Imagination! guests can visit two attractions. The first, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, is a dark ride that takes guests through the world of imagination. The other Attraction in Imagination! Is Captain EO. Captain EO is a 3D movie starring Michael Jackson. Captain EO was originally in the Imagination! Pavilion from 1986-1994. In 1994 it was replaced by Honey I Shrunk the Audience, the attraction reopened in 2010.

The Land

Main Article: The Land

Perhaps the most popular pavilion in Epcot, The Land opened with the park in 1982 and is located in Future World West. Inside the pavillion guests will find Soarin', a motion simulator attraction that takes guests hang gliding over California. Also located within the land is The Circle of Life film. This attraction is an environmental fable starring Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba from Disney's The Lion King. The final attraction located within The Land, is Living With the Land. This attraction is a boat ride that takes guests through the history earth's land. After seeing its history guests are shown Disney's working greenhouse. The greenhouse grows unique vegetation, and is also used as a research facility. Some of the food used in the restaurants located within The Land, The Garden Grill and the Sunshine Seasons.

Mission Space

Main Article: Mission Space

Mission Space is a motion simulator that let's guests blast off into space. The pavilion opened in 2003 and is located where Horizons used to be in Future World East. The attraction has two versions, the Green Team which is milder, and the Orange Team which is more intense. After riding Mission Space guests can explore the Advanced Training Lab which features a competition game and and interactive crawl area.

The Sea's With Nemo and Friends

Main Article: The Sea's With Nemo and Friends

Formally known as the Living seas, the pavilion opened in 1986 and is located in Future World East. The Sea's With Nemo and Friends is a dark ride that takes guests through the story of The Disney's Finding Nemo. In order to do this, characters from Disney movie are projected onto large aquariums that hold fish. Also located in the Sea's pavilion is Turtle Talk With Crush, an interactive “digital puppetry” show. Turtle Talk with Crush gives guests the opportunity to meet and interact with Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo. The only restaurant in the pavilion is the Coral Reef Restaurant which specializes in sea food and steaks.

=Spaceship Earth

Main Article: Spaceship Earth

The icon of the park, Spaceship Earth opened in 1982 and and is located in Future World East. The attraction is a dark ride that takes guests through the history of earth. When Siemens took over sponsorship in 2005 the ride was refurbished and touch screens were added to the ride vehicles. At the exit of the ride guests can create, view and purchase photos of themselves.

Test Track

Main Article: Test Track

The fasted attraction in Disney World, Test Track opened December 19, 1998 in Future World East. The attraction allows guests to board a GM and drive through a “testing facility”. The attraction takes guests through tests such as the suspension test, barrier test and the environmental chambers. After surviving all of these test guests reach a speed of 65 MPH before returning to the loading dock. Test Track is sponsored by General Motors.

Universe of Energy

Main Article: Universe of Energy

The Universe of Energy opened with the park in 1982 and is located in Future World East. The attraction located inside the Pavilion, Ellen's Energy Adventure features three films and a seven minute dark ride. The attraction looks at the history and future of energy and stars Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye. Ellen's Energy Adventure opened in 1996 and replaced the similar Universe of Energy ride that was housed in the pavilion.

Former Future World Pavilions

Horizons

Main Article: Horizons

Horizons was a dark ride attraction that opened in 1983 in Future World East. The attraction was considered to be a sequel to the Magic Kingdom attraction The Carrousel of Progress. Unlike the Carrousel of Progress which showed progress that had already happened in the twentieth century, Horizons showed progress that could happen in the 21st. .Horizons tied together all the other themes of Future World: communication, community, energy, transportation, anatomy, physiology, along with man's relationship to the sea, land, air, and space. On Horizons guests would look back at what people thought the future would be like, and then look forward to what it could be. On each individual ride vehicle guests could see a vision of the future by “traveling” through a space colony, desert farm, or underwater research facility. Horizons was permanently closed in 1999.

CommuniCore

Main Article: CommuniCore

CommuniCore opened with the park in 1982 and housed exhibits featuring the news technology. The pavilion was located in Future World East, and was divided into two parts: CommuniCore East and CommuniCore West. Exhibits featuring such things as the Sega game system and touch screens were once shown in pavilion. In 1994 CommuniCore was closed and redesigned. When it re-opened it still featured technology exhibits but the name of the pavilion was changed to Innoventions. Innoventions had a darker color scheme and flashier attractions then CommuniCore however the basic principal of the attractions was the same.

Wonders of Life

Main Article: Wonders of Life

The Wonders of Life Pavilion opened in 1989 in Future World East. The pavilion focused on human heath and was sponsored by MetLife. Inside the pavilion were three attractions: Body Wars, Cranium Command, and the Making of Me. Body Wars was a motion simulator attraction that “shrunk” riders so that they could enter a human body and carry out a mission. The attraction is considered to be Epcot's first thrill ride and was also often compared to Star Tours at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Cranium Command was a humorous film that taught the importance of the human brain. The show featured Buzzy an Audio Anamatronic who is a “brain pilot”. The attraction followed Buzzy as he used a host human's brain to go through an average day. The final attraction located in the Wonders of Life Pavilion was The Making of Me. Hosted by Martin Short, The Making of Me was an education film that taught guests how babies were born. The Wonders of Life closed in 2007 after MetLife dropped it's sponsorship.

World Showcase Pavilions

Mexico

The Mexico Pavilion opened with World Showcase in 1982. It is the first pavilion guests reach if they go left at the entrance to World Showcase. The pavilion is shaped like a large Mesoamerican pyramid The pavilion is home to the boat ride attraction, The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros. On the attraction guests board small boats and tour Mexico, while watching Jose and Panchito (from the 1994 Disney movie The Three Caballeros) search for Donald Duck. Located right next to the attraction is the San Angel Inn, a Mexican restaurant. Also inside the pavilion is a large Mexican shop which sells Mexican themed merchandise as well as Disney Merchandise. Outside of the pavilion guests can eat at either the Cantina de San Ángel or the La Hacienda de San Angel. Located on the lagoon, both restaurants are counter service and offer Mexican food.

Norway

If guests continue to go around World Showcase clockwise, the next country they will find themselves in is Norway. Norway opened in 1988 and is themed to resemble a small Norwegian town. The Norway pavilion is home to one attraction, the Malestorm. This boat ride takes guests through scenes depicting Vikings and Norway mythology. The attraction concludes with a 28 foot drop and a six minute travel video. Besides the Malestorm, Norway is also home to a detailed Stave church and a large shop. The pavilion also has two dining options. The first, Kringla Bakeri og Kafe offers pastries and sandwiches. Also in Norway is the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. The Princess Storybook Dining is a character restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner.

China

The China pavilion is located next to Norway and opened with the park. The pavilion is themed to look like an ancient Chinese town, and features the Circle Vision 360 film, Reflections of China. Also in China is the table service restaurant Nine Dragons which features gourmet, traditional Chinese food. The quick services restaurant, the Lotus Chinese Cafe also sells Chinese dishes. China is also home to the Dragon Legend Acrobats who entertain guests throughout the day.

Germany

As guests pass through China the next pavilion they will come across is Germany. The Germany pavilion is themed to look like a small German town and has decorations such as a statue of St. George slaying a dragon and a clock tower. The German pavilion was supposed to have a boat attraction like Norway and Mexico. The attractions was going to be part of Phase II of Epcot, however when Germany was not willing to pay for the attraction the plans were scrapped. The German pavilion is home to Beiergarten Restaurant a buffet style German restaurant and Sommerfest a quick service restaurant. Also in Germany are four shops, and miniature train and village.

Italy

The Italy pavilion is located next to Germany and is the farthest point from the World Showcase entrance. The pavilion opened in 1982 and is themed with architecture from Venice, Florence, and Rome. Italian landmarks St. Mark's Campanile and Dodge's Palace. Like Germany, Italy was supposed to have an attraction. The attraction would have been a boat voyage through Roman ruins, but Italy did not provide funds for the attraction. Italy does however, have two sit down restaurants, Tutto Italia Ristorante and Via Napoli. Also in Italy are two shops Il Bel Cristallo and La Bottega Italiana.

The American Experience

The next pavilion guests will encounter after passing through Italy is The American Experience. Opened in 1982, the American Experience is themed after a colonial American town. The pavilion gets its name from it's only attraction. Inside the American Experience attraction guests will travel through American history with Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. Audio Anmantronics, images and video are used to tell the story of America. Also inside the American Experience building, the a Capella group, The Voices of Liberty sing Americana songs . Also located in the American Experience, is the Liberty Inn which offers chicken, burgers, hot dogs and salads. Another restaurant, the Fife and Drum sells turkey legs, frozen beverages and beer. The American Gardens theater, and outdoor amphitheater also hosts concerts and other events. Finally, there is one shop located in the pavilion, Heritage Manor Gifts which sells American merchandise.

Japan

The Japan pavilion opened with the park in 1982, and is located next to the American Experience. Japan does not have an attraction, however it does have an exhibit, the Bijutsu-kan which displays various Japanese art. The pavilion is themed with various Japanese buildings including tori gates and a Japanese Castle. There are three restaurants located within the Japan pavilion. The first is Teppan Edo a stir fry restaurant. The second is Tokyo Dining which serves sushi and finally the Katsura Grill which is a traditional counter service restaurant. An offering unique to the Japan pavilion is candy art created by Mikyuki. Finally, Japan is also home to the Mitsukoshi Department store which sells Japanese items, especially items based on Japanese pop culture.