Yesterday, because of this thread, I spent a significant amount of time searching for EPCOT Center articles on the internet. I have long been aware of the initial economic model and corporate sponsorships, but had not considered corporate interests beyond the perspective of goodwill and edutainment.
Below, is an excerpt from Jim Hill's Why for did Epcot's Future World not turn out as WED had originally planned; original plans for The Land pavilion are discussed:
As these Guests rode along in their balloon, they were to have followed along as this snow became water and then flowed through the other six of "The Land" 's natural habitats. As they floated along in their balloon observing this water from above, these WDW visitors were to be introduced to the four basic components of Nature's Blueprints (i.e. the snowflakes of Winter, the germinating seeds of Spring, the flowers of Summer and the leaves of Fall). And as the water reached the desert habitat and then evaporated, the Guests (aboard their balloon, of course) were to have followed this water vapor high into the atmosphere. Where it then was to have reformed as snow.
You get the idea, right? The never-ending cycle of Nature. How we are all interconnected. More importantly, how fragile our ecosystem actually is. Which is why man must do everything he can to preserve the balance of nature. Make sure that this cycle is never interrupted.
Which was a great message for when "The Land" was supposed to be sponsored by a lumber company (which wanted Disney to help get across the message that they were doing everything they could - i.e. replanting forests after they had harvested all of the trees - to be an environmentally responsible corporation). But when that would-be Epcot sponsor dropped out and Kraft Foods then offered to underwrite the construction of this Future World pavilion ... Well, the central story, the underlying message, even the overall look of "The Land" now had to be radically reworked.
The article reminded me of the scene from A Christmas Story, when Ralphie realizes his secret decoder is nothing more than a means for interpreting "a crummy commercial." Although optimistic, the pavilions of Epcot Center told stories from the perspectives of Disney and the underwriting sponsors.
I loved my Epcot Center of the 1980s and still appreciate attractions like Living with the Land. However, instead of attractions, it seems as though I fell in love with immersive commercials.
