Happy 40th Birthday, Epcot!

If you notice an extra sparkle and gloss about Walt Disney World’s Epcot park this month, there’s a very good reason for it.

The apple of Walt’s eye has just turned 40 as of this month, and that is good reason to celebrate this truly original and exciting creation.

It was back on October 1, 1982 that Disney chief executive Card Walker opened the company’s most innovative undertaking, which was officially named the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, otherwise known as EPCOT Center.

There were marching bands and dancers, followed by the release of 15,000 balloons and 1,000 pigeons. Walker also read out the official dedication plaque for the park:

“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.”

A Ceremonial Extravaganza When EPCOT Opened in 1982

The initial ceremonies took a full three WEEKS, as each of the international pavilions had their own formal introduction, along with the different sections and attractions of Future World, culminating on October 24 with the grandest of the events in what was then the Communicore plaza, in front of almost 10,000 invited guests, who included Walt’s widow, Lillian.

It was a fitting occasion that celebrated the creativity and imagination of the man who had made it all a reality from his impossible dreams and extravagant plans.

Walt originally envisaged Epcot as a genuine city at the heart of his Florida Project, one that would create innovations in technology and science as it developed. But, without the man who dreamed the dreams (Walt died back in 1966), the company transformed the city concept into the resort’s second fully-fledged theme park.

It still incorporated nods towards future technologies - its first promotional slogan was “The 21st Century begins on October 1, 1982” - and invention on a grand scale, but it was also given a World Expo aspect with the addition of the World Showcase side of the park.

What Attractions and Pavilions were at EPCOT When it Opened?

Initially Epcot consisted of five Future World pavilions and nine in its international expo area, situated around the World Showcase Lagoon.

The iconic Spaceship Earth was joined by Universe of Energy (now Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind), World of Motion (today’s Test Track), Journey Into Imagination (now just Imagination) and The Land.

The Horizons pavilion (where Mission: Space now sits) opened in 1983, while The Seas (which became The Seas with Nemo and Friends in 2005) made its debut in 1986. The final part of Future World, the Wonders of Life pavilion, was added in 1989 (it closed in 2007 and is currently awaiting its rebirth as the Play! Pavilion in 2023 or ’24).

The original members of World Showcase were the American Adventure, naturally, as the ‘host’ pavilion, along with Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, the UK and Canada. Morocco arrived in 1986 followed by Norway two years later.

1994 saw the debut of the park’s International Flower & Garden Festival, which would pave the way for a series of sister ‘festivals’ that now run pretty much throughout the year, while there have also been some blockbuster new attractions added in recent years, notably Test Track (in 1999, and now in its second incarnation), Mission: Space (2003) and Soarin’ in 2005 (now Soarin’ Over The World).

What is Epcot’s Future?

In many ways, the future of this wonderful park is already well under way. Its original concept has largely been overtaken by Disney’s desire to inject more of its own notable characters and movies into the mix of technology and imagination.

That process actually started with the conversion of The Seas pavilion to that Disney-Pixar movie world of Finding Nemo in 2005, and continued two years later with the Mexico pavilion ride, El Rio del Tiempo, being transformed as the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

That was followed by the complete makeover of Norway’s Maelstrom water ride, becoming Frozen Ever After in 2016, introducing another set of Disney animated film characters to the park.

But the major change to Epcot’s essential ethos came in 2019 when the company announced a total transformation of the Future World section, as part of the resort’s big 50th anniversary celebration, which started last year and runs until March 2023.

Out went Universe of Energy in favour of the fabulous new Guardians of the Galaxy ride. In came Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France pavilion. Out went the whole Innoventions plaza in Future World (the former Communicore area of old), and in came an entire new concept for this half of the park.

Instead of just one section, there are now three - World Nature, encompassing the Imagination, Land and Seas pavilions, as well as next year’s all-new Journey of Water Inspired by Moana (more Disney characters, you see!); World Discovery, with Test Track, Mission: Space and the Guardians ride (plus the Play! Pavilion in future); and the core central area of World Celebration, which is currently under construction, but will include new gardens, concert venue, character meet-and-greet attraction, and Festival centre.

There’s so Much More to Come at EPCOT in the Next few Years!

All of this grand re-imagining of Epcot will be complete by the end of next year, and it ushers in an exciting new era for Walt’s most imaginative park.

As well as the ongoing development of the World Celebration area, next year will see a completely new evening finale show, as Harmonious is replaced by an as-yet-to-be-named production for the Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary in late 2023. There are no details at the moment, but Disney promises it will “continue the park’s legacy of inspiring night-time entertainment on World Showcase Lagoon.”

We might also see the advent of the Mary Poppins attraction for the UK pavilion, which was promised as part of the big 2019 transformation announcement, but which was shelved for the time being during the economic downturn of the pandemic.

And it won’t stop there, either. As Walt himself so famously insisted about his original park - and which is especially true of them all today: “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

For more details of Epcot’s big transformation process, see DisneyParksBlog.com.

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