As a regular EPCOT guest for over a decade, I have long been enthused by the positive potential of the future and the creation of innovative solutions to our everyday problems. Through fun, enlightening and heartwarming experiences which always manage to reflect the times, EPCOT has even helped shape my own future aspirations; the vibrant Wonders of Life exhibits and the agricultural laboratories of The Land have, in a uniquely Disney way, inspired me to pursue bioengineering as a rising college student. This noble tradition appears to be continuing with the eye-opening Mission: SPACE, which I have had the privilege to preview, and The Land’s own promising version of “Soarin’ Over California,” which could convey the delicate relationship between man and earth while providing sweeping vistas of our terrain.
To continue showcasing first-hand encounters with the future is an exciting, but by no means easy, task. I have gradually learned about plans to revitalize the park under “Project Gemini”; although aimed to boost attendance and awaken more guests to EPCOT’s message, I fear that some of these changes will encroach upon the park’s core values. Spaceship Earth has long stood as EPCOT’s flagship attraction, inviting us to examine our roots as a dynamic people before propelling us into the creative branches of EPCOT. The painstaking research process is evident in the ride’s historical, artistic, and sensory detail, as well as in the use of Audio-Animatronics to immerse guests in a three-dimensional, deeply moving tale. According to journalist Edward Prizer, “You are there, living, with the animated seamen and scholars, [witnessing] this crucial chapter in the drama that made the world of today what it is.” This attraction, featuring the highest Disney standards of showmanship, has served as EPCOT’s “prologue” with dignity. And though it needs updating, I am concerned about a replacement ride which relies on less compelling means of storytelling, possibly implementing screen technology in the stead of intimate, Animatronic-based scenes. Spaceship Earth is the last ride-through of its breed, and I hope that any new attraction will stir just as many heart-strings and inspire more guests to “chart our earth’s course to tomorrow and determine our destinies.”
Like Spaceship Earth, all EPCOT attractions have demonstrated concern for technological uniqueness and progress, the inspiration of park guests, and harmony with the surrounding environment. Keeping these values in mind, I am disturbed that a themed roller coaster may be erected on Future World West. Such a ride would attract thrill-seekers, but it would contribute little to the integrity of a park which stands a head above the others in its mission. As a part of The Land, this ride would dilute the messages long conveyed by the pavilion, as well as take away from the area’s beauty and dignity. Future World showcases a high quality of life, conveyed in its pensive, serene atmosphere and ingrained simplicity, something futuristic in its own right. An outdoor roller coaster would disturb these ideals. By breaking up the buildings that form Innoventions Plaza, the park would become even more complex and stray further from its traditions.
I have also sensed that EPCOT’s greatest tradition, showcasing visions of an achievable future, has been fading from the park. EPCOT’s founding purpose, as well as Walt Disney’s vision for his innovative community, focused on the sharing of advanced ideas and the display of idealistic visions for ourselves and our world. These visions should lie just beyond our reach; yet, with an enhanced awareness of the roots of human progress, guests would be inspired to carry these ideals into the working world. The questions about living in space which the warm, welcoming Horizons raised do not find their due place in the rather cold Mission: SPACE; and many other pavilions no longer pose the questions, “What can we aspire to?” or “How can we bring about positive change in our lives?” With the technology available in today’s theme park industry, EPCOT could continue to revolutionize our hopes and dreams for domestic and working life. Yet the transition of Future World to “Discoveryland” would only confirm the loss of this vital thread of EPCOT’s mission.
It is a difficult, demanding job to herald the coming era in EPCOT. It requires imagination, genuine heart, and even sheer genius to create the enchanting songs, endearing characters, and captivating stories which communicate EPCOT’s message to all of humanity. It takes a shrewd sense of humor to revitalize the lighthearted, yet informative Life and Health pavilion, a feat more daunting than shutting the pavilion for good. And it takes great vision and spirit to maintain the delightfully indescribable feeling and optimistic mindset that guests experience before leaving the turnstiles at the end of the day. This quality has earned EPCOT the top slot on Consumer Reports’ guest satisfaction report, testifying to a sense of fulfillment far outlasting and more deeply penetrating than the jolts and whizzes of a theme park thrill. I trust that Walt Disney Imagineering and EPCOT Management will rise to these challenges and continue in the grand EPCOT tradition, achieving something far greater than change or modernization: genuine progress.
