Did you know that is what Epcot means? We forget sometimes that E.P.C.O.T. is an acronym and not just a name. 25 years ago, Epcot was opened. The original plan for this area was not necessarily an amusement park, but rather as a city of its own. The idea was to be a modern utopia designed much around the idea of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and more.
Walt’s original plan would create a downtown that was always indoors. This way the weather was always perfect – no matter if a hurricane was blowing in from outside. There would also be no vehicular traffic because the public transportation would provide everything that the community would need. According to the original promotional video, Epcot wouldn’t even need traffic lights because the traffic would be so well controlled. The Orlando government was very excited by Walt’s dreams and the idea of so many new tax payers.
But when Walt died in 1966, the plans were all shelved. Work continued on Walt Disney World and the theme park became what it was. Later on, imagineers tried to come up with a way to fulfill Walt’s dreams. The current design is a mixture of many of the suggestions made with one area highlighting technology and another area that would honor the different countries of the world. The park opened on October 1, 1982. I got to see it for the first time a year later. It was originally named EPCOT Center. It would remain that until 1996 when the acronym was dropped and Epcot simply became Epcot.
Epcot took a while to take off. It didn’t have the whimsy or the magic of the Magic Kingdom. Interestingly enough, Epcot appealed more to adults than children. The original plan was there would be no Disney characters there, but the Imagineers began the tradition of hidden Mickeys throughout the park. There would also be alcohol served at Epcot, alcohol was banned at the other Disney parks, but Epcot allowed it in the full service restaurants.
There have been a lot of other changes made over the years to Epcot, especially in Future World where you can enjoy Spaceship Earth and now Soarin’ among the most notable rides. Epcot’s fireworks became IllumiNations in 1988 and the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth became the standard during the Millennium celebrations.
This October 1st, Epcot will celebrate its 25th anniversary and while it’s a far cry from Walt’s original vision of a Utopian Community, it’s still a great place to visit.