Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences division. The park opened on October 1, 1982, as EPCOT Center, the second of four theme parks built at the resort. Often referred to as a "permanent world's fair", Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, particularly technological innovation and international culture and is known for its iconic landmark Spaceship Earth, a geodesic sphere.
During early development of the Florida property, Walt Disney wanted to build an experimental planned community showcasing modern innovation, known as "EPCOT", an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. After Disney's death in 1966, the company felt his grand vision was impractical. However, it laid the groundwork for EPCOT Center, a theme park that retained the core spirit of Disney's vision. The park was divided into two distinct areas, Future World reprises the idea of showcasing modern innovation through educational entertainment attractions inside avant-garde pavilions, while World Showcase highlights the diversity of human cultures from various nations. From the late 2010s to the early 2020s, the park underwent a major overhaul, adding new attractions and Future World was restructured into three areas: World Celebration, World Discovery and World Nature.
The park spans 305 acres (123 hectares), more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom. In 2023, the park attracted 11.98 million guests, making it the eighth-most visited theme park in the world.[3]
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The genesis for Epcot was originally conceived as a utopian city of the future by Walt Disney in the 1960s. The concept was an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, often interchanging "city" and "community."[4] In Walt Disney's words in 1966: "EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed but will always be introducing and testing, and demonstrating new materials and new systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world of the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."
Walt Disney's original vision, sometimes called Progress City, would have been home to twenty thousand residents and would be a living laboratory showcasing cutting-edge technology and urban planning. It was to have been built in the shape of a circle with an urban city center in the center with community buildings, schools, and recreational complexes. It would be surrounded by rings of residential areas and industrial areas, all connected by monorail and PeopleMover lines. Automobile traffic would be kept underground, leaving pedestrians safe above ground. This radial plan concept is strongly influenced by British planner Ebenezer Howard and his Garden Cities of To-morrow.
Disney went as far as petitioning the Florida State Legislature for the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), with the authority of a governmental body over the Walt Disney World land. The RCID was established in 1967. However, Walt Disney was not able to obtain funding and permission to start work on his Florida property until he agreed to first build the Magic Kingdom theme park. He died in 1966, nearly five years before Magic Kingdom opened.[5]
After Walt Disney's death, the company decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city without Walt's guidance.
The original plans for the park showed indecision over the park's purpose. Some Imagineers wanted it to represent the cutting edge of emerging technologies, while others wanted it to showcase international cultures and customs. At one point, a model of the futuristic park was pushed together against a model of a World's Fair international theme, and the two were combined. The park was originally named EPCOT Center to reflect the ideals and values of the city. It was constructed for an estimated $800 million to $1.4 billion and took three years to build, at the time the largest construction project on Earth.[6] The park spans 305 acres (123 hectares), more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom.[7][8] The parking lot serving the park is 141 acres (57 ha) (including bus area) and can accommodate 11,211 vehicles.
The park opened on October 1, 1982, in a ceremony with Disney chairman and CEO Card Walker and Florida Governor Bob Graham.
As part of the opening-day ceremony, dancers and band members performed "We've Just Begun to Dream".[9] The Sherman Brothers wrote a song especially for the occasion entitled "The World Showcase March".[10] During the finale, doves and many sets of balloons were released. Performing groups representing countries from all over the world performed in World Showcase. Water was gathered from major rivers across the globe and emptied into the park's Fountain of Nations with ceremonial containers to mark the opening. The theme park opened on October 1, 1982.[11]
On opening day, Future World featured six pavilions: Spaceship Earth, CommuniCore, Journey Into Imagination, The Land, Universe of Energy, and World of Motion. World Showcase featured nine pavilions: Mexico Pavilion, China Pavilion, Germany Pavilion, Italy Pavilion, The American Adventure Pavilion, Japan Pavilion, France Pavilion, United Kingdom Pavilion, and Canada Pavilion. During the 1980s, several additional pavilions opened: Horizons in 1983, Morocco Pavilion in 1984, The Living Seas in 1986, Norway Pavilion in 1988, and Wonders of Life in 1989.
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Despite its initial success, Epcot was constantly faced with the challenges of evolving with worldwide progress, an issue that caused the park to lose relevance and become outdated in the 1990s.[12] To maintain attendance levels, Disney introduced seasonal events such as the International Flower & Garden Festival and the International Food & Wine Festival in 1994 and 1995, respectively.[13][14] In the mid-1990s, Disney also began to gradually phase out the park's edutainment attractions in favor of more modern and thrilling attractions.[15] As a result, many of the attractions within the Future World pavilions, were either overhauled or replaced entirely. The Land pavilion saw its attractions replaced under new sponsor Nestlé between late 1993 and January 1995, and Spaceship Earth was updated with music by Edo Guidotti and narration from Jeremy Irons in 1994. Universe of Energy was reconfigured as Ellen's Energy Adventure in 1996. Journey Into Imagination closed in 1998 and was replaced with Journey into YOUR Imagination the following year, World of Motion was replaced with Test Track, and Horizons was demolished in 1999 and replaced with Mission: Space in 2003.[16][17] In 2000, Walt Disney World held the Millennium Celebration with the central focus of the event at Epcot, and a 25-story "magic wand" structure was built next to Spaceship Earth. Millennium Village was closed on January 1, 2001, and was turned into the World Showplace festival center, which is frequently used for Epcot festivals. Journey into YOUR Imagination closed in 2001 due to strong negative reception and was replaced with Journey into Imagination with Figment in 2002. The Living Seas was closed in 2005, and rethemed with the introduction of characters from Finding Nemo, as The Seas with Nemo & Friends. That same year, Soarin', a flight simulator ride originally developed for Disney's California Adventure, was added to The Land (replacing Food Rocks) following its massive popularity in California. The Wonders of Life pavilion closed in 2007, with the pavilion being occasionally used for the park's annual festivals until permanent closure. The Mexico pavilion's El Rio del Tiempo attraction closed on January 2, and Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros opened in its space a few months later. After the "magic wand" structure was removed from Spaceship Earth, the attraction's fourth version, narrated by Judi Dench, soft-opened on December 8. Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure opened at EPCOT in 2009.
Test Track was refurbished into new version presented by Chevrolet in 2012, and Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure was rethemed to Agent P's World Showcase Adventure the same year. The Norway pavilion's Maelstrom attraction closed in 2014 and replaced two years later by Frozen Ever After. Soarin' was also temporarily closed while a new film was added to the attraction. In November 2016, Disney revealed that Epcot would be receiving “a major transformation” that would help transition the park into being “more Disney, timeless, relevant, family-friendly”.[18] In 2017, Mission: SPACE was divided into a new green/Earth mission, and the original orange/Mars mission. In July 2017, Disney formally announced that Epcot would undergo a multi-year, redesign and expansion plan that would introduce Guardians of the Galaxy and Ratatouille attractions to Future World and World Showcase, respectively, as well as maintaining the original vision and spirit for the park.[19] As part of the announcement, Ellen's Energy Adventure closed the following month, and the pavilion's show building was reused for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind,[20] while the EPCOT 35 Legacy Showcase exhibition opened in the Odyssey Pavilion. That same year, the park reported the first drop in overall attendance ranking among the four Walt Disney World Resort parks, dropping from second to third place, the first in its history.[21]
On August 25, 2019, at the 2019 D23 Expo, Disney expanded on the plans for the improvements to Epcot.[22] One of the most significant changes announced was the creation of four distinct "neighborhoods"; the subdivision of Future World into three areas (World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature) and World Showcase.[22] Journey of Water—Inspired by Moana, a walkthrough attraction, was also announced.[23] At the same expo, Disney also announced that Pinar Toprak would be composing a new musical anthem for the park. Toprak's EPCOT anthem was eventually used in various nighttime shows, such as Harmonious and Luminous, as well as featured in ambient music within the entrance plaza and throughout World Celebration.
Disney began to stylize the name as "EPCOT" as an homage to both the park's original name and Walt Disney's original concept, although the name is no longer an acronym.[15] On October 1, 2019, it was announced that a new nighttime fireworks show, Epcot Forever, and The EPCOT Experience Center, a preview space for the park's expansion project, would replace IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth and EPCOT 35 Legacy Showcase. In late 2019, EPCOT installed new directory signage in Seabase Alpha, restoring the former Living Seas logo, as the pavilion was renamed to The Seas Pavilion.[24] That Agent P's World Showcase Adventure closed on February 23, 2020; it was slated to be replaced with DuckTales World Showcase Adventure, which did not open until 2022. The park was closed from March 16 to July 15, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.[25][26] Modified operations were established, including a pause on concerts and fireworks, in order to promote sufficient physical distancing. Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story, the attraction's fifth update, the Wondrous China film, the PLAY! pavilion in World Discovery, and the United Kingdom pavilion's Cherry Tree Lane expansion were indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the CommuniCore Hall exhibit space and the CommuniCore Plaza festival stage was built instead of a three-level festival pavilion.
On September 29, 2021, the nighttime fireworks show Harmonious replaced Epcot Forever as part of the resort's 50th anniversary celebration.[27] The show ended its run on March 31, 2023, in preparation for Luminous: The Symphony of Us which debuted later that year; Epcot Forever returned during the interim period. Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (duplicated from Disneyland Paris) opened in the France pavilion on October 1 as part of the same celebrations.[28] The EPCOT Experience Center closed in 2022, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, part of the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion, opened on May 27.[29]
Journey of Water opened in World Nature opened on October 16, 2023, and World Celebration Gardens, divided into five sections (Inspiration Gardens, CommuniCore Gardens, Connections Gardens, Creations Gardens, and Dreamers Point) opened on December 5 of that year. CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, named after the former Future World pavilion, opened to the general public on June 10, 2024. Test Track closed for refurbishment on June 17 to make way for the attraction's third iteration.[30] At D23 2024, it was announced that this lounge will take the place of the former Siemens lounge attached to Spaceship Earth and will open in 2025.[31]