April 27, 2022 – Theme Week Day 3

We’re right in the middle of our “What’s It Stand For?” theme week! Today we’re talking about Epcot, which originally stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. It was Walt Disney’s vision for a utopian city of the future. His plan was to create a model community that would have been home to 20,000 residents, where they could test out city planning and organization. However, Disney wasn’t able to get funding for his new project until he agreed to build Magic Kingdom first. He died 5 years before Magic Kingdom opened.
After Disney’s death, the company abandoned his original vision. They decided to create another theme park for the resort as the popularity of Magic Kingdom grew. There was some debate on whether the park should focus on cutting-edge technology or international cultures. They decided the combine the ideas to create the Epcot we know today.
It took 3 years to build, at an estimate cost of between $800 million to $1.4 billion. At the time, it was the largest construction project on earth. It opened on October 1, 1982 and was originally called Epcot Center.
The most recognizable feature of Epcot is Spaceship Earth, the giant golf ball-looking structure. It was designed with help from science fiction author Ray Bradbury, who also helped write the original story for the attraction. It took 26 months to build. It weighs 16 million pounds and is made up of over 11,000 aluminum and plastic alloy triangles.
The largest neighborhood in the park is the World Showcase, which is dedicated to representing the culture, food, architecture, and traditions of 11 nations. To maintain the authenticity, the 11 pavilions are mainly staffed by residents of the respective countries. There are 8 undeveloped sites for countries around the World Showcase. Over the years, pavilions for Brazil, Spain, the Phillippines, Switzerland, and more have been rumored to be potential future pavilions. However, none of them have ever made it past the planning phases.
In 2019, 12.4 million people visited Epcot, making it the 4th most visited theme park in North America and the 7th most visited park in the world. Learn more.