Epcot
| Epcot | ||||
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| place | Walt Disney World Resort , Bay Lake ( Florida ), United States | |||
| opening | October 1, 1982 | |||
| Visitors | 12.4 million (2018) | |||
| surface | about 120 hectares | |||
| building-costs | approximately $ 1.4 billion | |||
| Website | Epcot homepage | |||
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Coordinates: 28 ° 22 ′ 16 ″ N , 81 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ W.
Epcot is one of four amusement parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida near Orlando . It opened after the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1982. The theme of the park is divided into the areas of international culture and technical innovations . Until 1998, Epcot was the largest amusement park in the Walt Disney World Resort with an area of around 120 hectares and was then replaced by Disney's Animal Kingdom . With around 12.4 million visitors, the park ranked 7th among the theme parks with the most visitors in the world in 2018. The landmark of the park is the Spaceship Earth attraction .
history
The planned society
The name Epcot comes from the acronym EPCOT (from Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow ). This is the name of a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney . In Walt Disney's words this means:
“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 systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise. "
“EPCOT ... will be a pointer to new ideas and technologies that are only now emerging in the creative minds within American industry. It will be a society of tomorrow that will never be finished but will constantly try out new technologies and systems. EPCOT will be a showcase for the world, for the inventiveness and imagination of the American free economy. "
Walt Disney's original vision of EPCOT was a model city that could be home to 20,000 residents and would be a field test for modern American urban planning and organization. The city would be laid out in a circle with business and retail space in the middle, administration buildings, schools and recreational areas in a second circle around them and on the edge the housing developments would be built. Traffic above the city would only take place via monorails and so-called PeopleMovers (as they are in Magic Kingdoms Tomorrowland ). Car traffic would be shifted underground to allow pedestrians a safe and traffic-free situation on the surface. The original model of this futuristic city can be seen at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority attraction in Magic Kingdom Park. When the park visitor sits in a PeopleMover and this enters the Stitch's Great Escape attraction , the model stands behind glass on the left.
Walt Disney's vision of the city never came true. He was unable to fund the project or obtain the Florida state building permit. He first had to build Magic Kingdom Park, modeled on Disneyland in Anaheim, Los Angeles, before authorities agreed to give permission for the daring EPCOT project. Disney passed away before the Magic Kingdom theme park opened.
After Disney's death, the Walt Disney Company decided they didn't want to run a futuristic city. The Florida model company, Celebration , was intended to replace the Disney vision. However, Celebration was created on the architectural basis of New Urbanism and thus differs greatly from Disney's personal ideas. The idea of Disney's EPCOT was also the reason why the state of Florida placed the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID for short) and the two cities of Bay Lake and Reedy Creek under the political leadership of the Walt Disney Company.
The amusement park
After 3 years of construction, the park opened its doors on October 1st, 1982 with an opening ceremony entitled We've Just Begun to Dream (translation: “We have only just started dreaming”). The Sherman Brothers have composed a song for the opening called The World Showcase March . The finale was crowned with many released pigeons and hundreds of balloons that rose together into the air. Afterwards, many performances of the individual regions took place, which are represented in the park part World Showcase . Water taken from the world's great rivers was poured into the park's lagoon from huge containers to symbolize the opening of the park.
The park's dedication was described by E. Cardon Walker , CEO of Walt Disney Productions on October 24, 1982:
“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 in the world. "
“To everyone who comes to this place of joy, hope and friendship - a warm welcome. EPCOT is inspired by Walt Disney's creative vision. Here, human achievements are celebrated through imagination, entrepreneurial miracles, and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for everyone. May the EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire, and above all, may it instill a new sense of faith and pride in people's ability to create a world that gives hope to people around the world. "
The amusement park was originally called "EPCOT Center" and that means that it should embody the ideals of the model city EPCOT. In 1994 the name was changed to "Epcot '94" (no longer written as an acronym, since it was no longer used as an example for Walt Disney's version of the futuristic city), and was then consequently called "Epcot '95" a year later. From 1996 the park was only called "Epcot".
The original plans of the park show the disagreement about what the park should actually be: some engineers wanted to build the park as a representation of upcoming technologies, while others wanted to build it as an exhibition space for international culture. Both groups developed their own park models. Neither of these models was discarded in favor of the other, but they were both put together to form a single park and so today's Epcot consists of two geographical and thematic halves. By focusing on international culture and innovative technology, the park now looks like a small world exhibition.
Epcot was considered the most educational amusement park in the world until 1996 and had a very sober appearance. No typical Disney characters were integrated into the park and the attractions were primarily dedicated to intellectual interest. (E.g. many exhibition areas, 360 ° cinemas to the different regions of the world or simple trips in boats through artificial landscapes).
A first change in philosophy seems to have taken place here since 1996 and the construction of the Test Track high-speed train . This attraction replaced World of Motion , a traffic pavilion sponsored by General Motors . This shift continued with the replacement of the Horizons attraction with the Mission: SPACE attraction (an attraction based on the Mission to Mars movie ). Many Disney characters have now also been integrated into the park. So the pavilion was The Living Seas with the theme from the movie Finding Nemo (English: Finding Nemo ) complements and is newly The Seas with Nemo & Friends . The original El Rio del Tiempo attraction in the Mexican pavilion was expanded to include the character Donald Duck and renamed Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros .
chronology
| date | event |
|---|---|
| October 1, 1978 | Card Walker , President of Walt Disney Productions, announces the plans for the park. |
| 1st October 1979 | First construction work begins. |
| October 1, 1982 | EPCOT Center opens its gates with the Spaceship Earth , Universe of Energy , World of Motion , Imagination! (with just Magic Journeys and ImageWorks ), The Land , CommuniCore and most of the World Showcase . |
| October 23, 1982 | Carnival de Lumiere is the first fireworks show. |
| 1983 | A New World Fantasy becomes a regular fireworks show. |
| March 5, 1983 | Journey Into Imagination attraction opens. |
| October 1, 1983 | Horizons attraction opens. |
| June 9, 1984 | Laserphonic Fantasy becomes a regular fireworks show |
| October 1, 1984 | Morokko Pavilion opens. |
| May 27, 1985 | Ronald Reagan delivers his second inaugural address in the American pavilion of the World Showcase . |
| January 15, 1986 | The Living Seas pavilion opens its doors. |
| May 9, 1986 | The Magic Journeys attraction is closing to be rebuilt in Magic Kingdom. |
| May 26, 1986 | Spaceship Earth opens again with the narrator Walter Cronkite . |
| September 12, 1986 | The Captain EO attraction with pop star Michael Jackson opens. |
| January 30, 1988 | IllumiNations will be the regular fireworks show. |
| July 1, 1988 | The Norwegian pavilion opens its doors. |
| 5th July 1988 | The Maelstrom attraction in the Norwegian Pavilion opens. |
| October 19, 1989 | The Wonders of Life pavilion opens its gates. |
| September 30, 1992 | Kraft Foods ends its sponsorship of The Land pavilion . |
| November 1992 | Nestlé sponsors The Land |
| September 30, 1993 | General Electric ends sponsorship of the Horizons Pavilion . |
| 1994 | The park's name will be renamed from EPCOT Center to Epcot '94 |
| 1994 | Holiday IllumiNations becomes a regular fireworks show during the holidays. |
| January 30, 1994 | CommuniCore will be closed |
| July 1, 1994 | The Innoventions pavilions are opened. |
| July 6, 1994 | The Captain EO attraction will be closed. |
| November 21, 1994 | The Honey, I Shrunk the Audience attraction opens. |
| November 23, 1994 | Spaceship Earth reopens with narrator Jeremy Irons . |
| 1995 | The name is changed to Epcot '95 . |
| 1996 | The name is changed to Epcot without the year. It stayed that way until today. |
| January 2, 1996 | World of Motion will be closed. |
| September 15, 1996 | Universe of Energy reopens with stars Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye . |
| September 20, 1996 | IllumiNations will be performed for the last time. |
| September 21, 1996 | IllumiNations 25 will be the regular fireworks show for the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort . |
| May 19, 1997 | IllumiNations 25 is listed in a different form. |
| January 1998 | United Technologies ends sponsorship of The Living Seas pavilion . |
| January 9, 1998 | Horizons will be closed. |
| February 1, 1998 | IllumiNations 98 becomes a regular fireworks show. |
| October 10, 1998 | Journey Into Imagination is closed in its original form. |
| March 17, 1999 | The Test Track attraction opens its doors. |
| September 20, 1999 | Horizons will be reopened to the press briefly. |
| September 22, 1999 | IllumiNations 2000: Reflections of Earth becomes a regular fireworks show. |
| October 1, 1999 | Journey Into Imagination will be renamed and reopened as Journey Into Your Imagination . IllumiNations 2000: Reflections of Earth makes its first official debut. The village Millennium Village was opened. |
| July / August 2000 | Horizons is being dismantled. |
| January 1, 2001 | The Millennium Village is being dismantled and the Millennium Celebration in Epcot ends. |
| June 1, 2001 | MetLife ends sponsorship of Wonders of Life . |
| June 1, 2002 | : Journey Into Your Imagination will reopen as Journey Into Imagination With Figment . |
| January 1, 2003 | AT&T ends sponsorship for Spaceship Earth . |
| October 2003 | The Mission: Space attraction opens its doors. |
| January 3, 2004 | Food Rocks will be closed. |
| March 17, 2004 | Exxon Mobil ends its sponsorship for Universe of Energy . |
| May 5, 2005 | The Soarin attraction, a copy of the Disneyland Anaheim attraction , opens in The Land pavilion . |
| November 2005 | Siemens AG signs a twelve-year sponsorship contract for Spaceship Earth , IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth and the attractions in Innoventions . |
| October 2006 | The Living Seas is rebuilt and becomes The Seas With Nemo And Friends . |
| January 2, 2007 | El Rio Del Tiempo in the Mexican Pavilion will be closed and converted into Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros . |
| April 6, 2007 | The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros attraction opens. |
| April 25, 2007 | The new exhibition space in Spaceship Earth is getting a show called Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future . |
| July 5, 2007 | Epcot's Vice Director Jim Macphee officially announces that the wand will be dismantled from Spaceship Earth by October 2007. |
| February 2008 | Spaceship Earth will open after renovation (beginning July 9, 2007) with the new sponsor Siemens AG . The sponsorship ended on October 10, 2017. |
Visitors
Epcot had approximately 12.4 million visitors in 2018. This made the park fourth among the theme parks with the most visitors in North America and seventh worldwide. Compared to the other parks at Walt Disney World Resort , Epcot is the third most visited park after Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Between 2006 and 2014 the average number of visitors was 10.97 million visitors per year.
Development of visitor numbers
Park arrangement
The park consists of two sections: Future World and World Showcase . Both were designed on the model of world exhibitions in the first third of the 20th century. But above all based on the model of the World Exhibition in New York in 1939. Epcot thus became a permanent exhibition venue for a certain selection of nations in the world. There are 11,211 parking spaces around the park area. Unlike Magic Kingdom, Epcot only has underground tunnels from the Innoventions East , the Electric Umbrella , MouseGear , Innoventions West , Club Cool and Fountain View Espresso buildings . These tunnels are mainly used for delivering goods to shops and restaurants and for disposing of waste. There is an entrance into a corridor from the northeast side (from the area of the Innoventions-East- / the-Electric-Umbrella -Restaurant). This leads further into the backstage area of the Universe of Energy / Ellen's Energy Adventure attraction and then to the eastern side of the main entrance complex .
Leave a legacy
In the entrance area, just behind the main entrance and in front of Spaceship Earth, there is a memorial called Leave a Legacy . It consists of several marble elements of different heights to the left and right of the fountain in the center of the area. The marble elements are in turn divided into sections. Metal plates with engraved images of visitors are attached to these sections. Until 2007, park visitors could have their portraits immortalized in Epcot.
Future World Pavilions
Future World consists of a large number of pavilions that focus on technological innovations. Originally each pavilion had its own logo, which was signposted in the park. These logos have disappeared over the years and there are only a few in the park.
Each Future World pavilion was originally sponsored by a corporation that helped build and maintain it. For this purpose, the companies were allowed to place their company logo in a prominent position in the pavilion. For example, the Universe of Energy pavilion is sponsored by Exxon . The The Land pavilion was first reported by Kraft Foods , and is used today by Nestlé sponsored. Each pavilion has a dedicated VIP area for the sponsors with an entrance area, offices and lounges, which are screened off from normal park visitors. After the years since the opening, sponsors have withdrawn again and again because the calculation of the success of the branding divided by the effort of the pavilion did not work out for them. Therefore, some pavilions have now remained without sponsors. Disney prefers to operate sponsored pavilions, and therefore, sponsored pavilions have an uncertain future. After General Electric jumped from the Horizons Pavilion in 1993 , the park administration closed it for two years. It was reopened in 1995, finally closed in 1998 and completely dismantled in 2000 to accommodate the attraction Mission: SPACE (opening: 2003). The company MetLife returned to the pavilion Wonders of Life in 2001, the back, which is rarely open. The attraction test track is run by General Motors , Imagination! sponsored by Eastman Kodak and Mission: SPACE by Hewlett-Packard . Spaceship Earth was originally sponsored by Bell Systems from 1982 to 1984. After Bell Systems merged with other companies to form AT&T , the pavilion was now sponsored by AT&T from 1984 to 2003. After AT&T dropped out, the pavilion was without a sponsor for two years. Since 2005 it has been sponsored by Siemens AG .
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Spaceship Earth
Spaceship Earth is the name of an attraction that has been built in the dominant sphere. The name means Spaceship Earth , is a quote from the book Progress and Poverty by Henry George and philosophically means that all people have a common fate in this universe and therefore have to look after each other together. The attraction therefore deals with the topic of communication from prehistoric times to the present day. The journey takes about 13 minutes.
The track consists of rotating compartments that are strung together like a chain, the so-called omnimover system. The compartments are pulled very high and the visitor experiences a steep ascent. On the way, the history of communication is shown with animated human-sized figures until the visitor finally finds himself in space and looks down at the earth. From there, the compartment rotates and it goes backwards back down to the starting point.
The construction time for the entire structure was a total of 26 months and 40,800 working hours. The ball is externally clad with Alucobond -Kacheln which give it the typical platinum shiny appearance. Since it opened, the attraction has been rebuilt and expanded many times. In February 2008 the sphere was reopened. The new sponsor is Siemens , with whom a 12-year contract was signed in 2005. The exterior was also supplemented in 2000 with a Mickey arm as a sorcerer's apprentice from Fantasia , who wears a wand with the words "Epcot" on it. However, this was dismantled again in October 2007. Since then, the sphere has stood there without an extension, as it was originally.
Innoventions pavilions
Innoventions consists of an eastern and a western pavilion. The pavilions contain exhibition space with changing sponsors. It is the most learning-oriented environment in Epcot, where park visitors, especially younger ones, can playfully learn about new developments and inventions from industry and society. Since 2009, a Kuka Robocoaster has been integrated in the eastern pavilion, an amusement ride called "Sum of All Thrills" based on an industrial robot.
Universe of Energy
The Universe of Energy was an ExxonMobil sponsored attraction. It was a humorous show with well-known stars and mainly revolved around the various ways of producing energy. The attraction was split in two. On the one hand, a film was shown on large screens, on the other hand, the audience was driven with remote-controlled vehicles through an artificial landscape, where artificial dinosaurs and an artificial Ellen DeGeneres could be seen. The following people also appeared in the film sequences of this show: Bill Nye , Alex Trebek and Jamie Lee Curtis .
At D23 Expo 2017 it was announced that the attraction would close on August 13, 2017 and be replaced by a new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction.
Mission: SPACE
Mission: SPACE was sponsored by Compaq in 2000 and, after the merger, by Hewlett-Packard since 2002 . It was first opened in June 2003 for a few visitors and on October 9, 2003 for regular operation.
It is an attraction that simulates a flight to Mars by centrifugal forces. It consists of several centrifuges with several swiveling cabins. Four people can get into the cabins and have to buckle up. In front of the eyes is a screen with a film depicting the flight as someone would see it from a spaceship cockpit. The feeling of increased gravitational or acceleration forces is produced by turning the cabins. The feeling of weightlessness is created by swiveling the cabin 90 ° forwards. Space flight is thus a combination of the feeling of acceleration and weightlessness, a film for the scenery and little involvement of the visitors in the action, as they have to take on roles, for example the role of the pilot, engineer, etc., who press a button at the right time must and thus can apparently influence the correct course of the flight.
The Mission: SPACE theme is based on the film Mission to Mars . The visitor sees several props from this film in the entrance area as well as the reduced model of the spaceship.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
This pavilion was opened in 1986 as "The Living Seas". It was then rebuilt in 2003 and adapted to the theme of the Pixar film Finding Nemo . It is now called "The Seas with Nemo & Friends" and has been sponsored by United Technologies since 2001 . In 2005 the pavilion was heavily rebuilt and reopened in October 2006. Earlier elements of the pavilion concept “The Living Seas” have been completely removed, e. B. the so-called "hydrolators", elevator dummies, which should give the visitors the impression that they lead to "Seabase Alpha" by elevator.
In the pavilion there are several aquariums with various marine animals and two attractions: Turtle Talk with Crush , an interactive computer-rendered film in which the turtle Crush from the film Finding Nemo communicates with the visitors, and the attraction "The Seas with Nemo and Friends", which is named after the pavilion. At this attraction, the visitor gets into a shell-shaped cabin, the “Clamobil”, drives through the underwater world of the film Finding Nemo and relives a similar story.
The country
This pavilion is about sustainable agriculture and new technologies in food production.
The Land is a pavilion sponsored by Nestlé. It includes three attractions: The Circle of Life , an educational film with the Disney characters Simba, Timon and Pumbaa from the movie The Lion King . Living with the Land , a boat trip through greenhouses dedicated to the new possibilities of industrialized growing of plants and the breeding of animals. In addition, the Pavilion houses Soarin ' , a copy of the attraction of the same name in the Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim. It is a flight simulator that simulates a glider flight over California. For this purpose, visitors are driven a few meters up in four-seater "kites" directly in front of an IMAX dome screen. It succeeds in creating a perfect illusion: You really only see the film on the screen and, if you are not sitting in the first row, see the other kites, while the view upwards is plausibly blocked by the “sail”. The feeling of sailing is further enhanced by a fan.
Imagination!
This pavilion is dedicated to the imagination and the human senses in all their dimensions.
Imagination! Formerly called "The Journey Into Imagination" and was sponsored by Eastman Kodak from the opening until August 2010, so for almost 28 years . It includes two attractions: The Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival , a so-called 4D film, i.e. a 3D film with additional effects such as air currents and movement of the seats, so that the viewer is also involved in the film, and Journey into Imagination with Figment , an attraction with the Disney character Figment , which is dedicated to the five human senses.
The film Captain EO with the leading actor Michael Jackson ran from 1986 to 1994 and was then replaced by the film "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience". After Michael Jackson's death, the Captain EO film was shown again from July 2, 2010 to December 6, 2015.
Test track
Test Track is an unconventional roller coaster. The passengers are crash test dummies on a test track of a car manufacturer. Accordingly, the wagons of the roller coaster are modeled on cars and the largely covered path of the roller coaster is elaborately designed as a car test track with various test situations. In contrast to traditional roller coasters, Test Track has hardly any height differences. Until 2012, cars from the main sponsor General Motors were on display in the exit area .
After a revision from April 15, 2012 to the beginning of December 2012, during which the attraction was closed, GM disappeared as a sponsor because only the subsidiary brand Chevrolet is to be presented. In addition, the queue was modernized and updated or supplemented with films about the development of a car. A space has been created in which visitors can design their own car, this takes place on touch screens. The most important changes, however, were in the ride. Instead of a few traffic tests at the beginning, you drive through futuristic backdrops that are based on the Disney film Tron: Legacy . The route, however, has remained the same. In the outside area and the “High Speed Loop” the signs have been removed and the yellow lane markings have been replaced by purple ones.
Wonders of Life (closed permanently in 2008)
This pavilion was dedicated to the human body and health. He had several attractions. Body Wars , a simulator that puts the visitor in an artificial blood stream. The film was directed by Leonard Nimoy and starred by Tim Matheson , Elisabeth Shue and Dakin Matthews . Cranium Command , a film theater about the function of the brain, which is told with animated actors. Goofy About Health , a multimedia show of Goofy cartoons about health.
World Showcase
World Showcase consists of eleven pavilions from eleven nations: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, Great Britain, Canada.
Of the eleven nations, Norway and Morocco did not attend the park's opening ceremony because they were added later. All pavilions in these nations have shops and restaurants selling products from these countries. The employees working in the respective pavilions actually come from the countries shown. Most of them are young people who represent their country and its culture for a limited period of one year as part of the Cultural Representative Program . Some of these pavilions also include attractions and shows. The only country-sponsored pavilion in the World Showcase is that of Morocco. The others, like those from Future World, are sponsored by large corporations. Russia , Switzerland , Spain and Israel pavilions never got past their planning stage. A pavilion for Equatorial Africa was planned, but never built. Instead, there was a small refreshment stop with an African theme called Outpost . After the Disney's Animal Kingdom amusement park opened, all other construction plans for an African pavilion were dropped because the new amusement park already had a very strong African theme.
In order to save costs, the World Showcase was previously only opened two hours after the regular park opening and the attractions in the Future World were closed at 7:00 p.m. As more modern and popular attractions such as Test Track, Soarin 'and Mission: SPACE have opened in recent years, these attractions including The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth have recently been open until the park officially closes.
Unlike in the Magic Kingdom, where alcohol is not allowed, many shops and restaurants in the World Showcase offer alcoholic drinks. These drinks are representative of the particular country. Beer is also sold for refreshment. A popular activity among visitors is now called “drinking around the world”.
There is a park entrance called International Gateway between the French and British pavilions. Guests coming from the direction of the Boardwalk can reach the park by boat via a canal or on foot.
World Showcase Lagoon
The World Showcase Lagoon is an artificial lake in the middle of the World Showcase area with a few smaller islands. It is more than two miles in circumference. There are a total of three ferry docks on its banks: one near the German, one near the Moroccan and one near the Canadian pavilion, which is located at the transition to Future World . The ferries between these stops transport guests free of charge.
Epcot Forever
These thirteen-minute fireworks are lit every evening before the park closes (usually at 9:00 p.m.) in the middle of the Word Showcase lagoon . The show doesn't just include fireworks. which are used in sync with the music. A large rotating globe, equipped with LED screens, stands in the middle and shows images of various people and places around the world. The current version was first performed for the 2019 year celebration. The music consists of traditional African music, this is supposed to symbolize the idea of humanity as a single united people. The lagoon is surrounded by 20 large torches, which are symbolic of the last 20 centuries. The show ends with the globe opening like a lotus flower and releasing a 21st torch for the new century.
Mexico
The Mexican pavilion resembles an Aztec pyramid. At the entrance, visitors walk through a selection of Mexican works of art on display from the “Animales Fantasticos” art collection. The main room is a Mexican market square at night called "Plaza de los Amigos". At the end of this plaza is a San Angel Inn restaurant . From here you can see the model of an active volcano over an artificial river. The river is also a small boat attraction and is called El Rio del Tiempo (The River of Time). The entrance to this attraction is on the right side of the square. After attraction goers pass the volcano and restaurant, they are guided through the history of Mexico. This ranges from the pre-Columbian past to the present (around 1982). On January 2nd, 2007 this attraction was closed to completely rebuild it. The name of the new attraction is " Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros ". The subject has also changed and the train now tells the story of the three Caballeros . The train shows how the three Caballeros are reunited for the big performance in Mexico City. During the trip, Donald disappears to visit the country's sights, leaving his friends José Carioca and Panchito behind. These friends then go in search of Donald. In addition to the new theme, all props, facades and sound systems were also replaced. The new attraction opened on April 6, 2007.
Norway
The Norwegian pavilion was designed to look like a Norwegian village. The village contains a replica of the exterior of Gol Stave Church without the choir and apse. Much of the pavilion area is occupied by shops. These shops are decorated with large woody trolls and sell Norwegian goods including clothing, sweets and small troll statues. The inner courtyard of the pavilion contains the entrance to the attraction Frozen ever after, a boat trip to the famous Disney movie, until 2014 the attraction was called Maelstroem and was rebuilt and redesigned in 2016. Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is a bakery that produces selected Norwegian baked goods. The range includes cloudberry squirrels and opened salmon sandwiches. There used to be a children's playground that looked like a Viking ship. However, this was closed in 2006 because it no longer met the legal requirements on the possibility of injuries on children's playgrounds. The ship now serves as a facade. The inner courtyard also includes the entrance to the Akershus restaurant , which offers a cold and warm buffet. In the restaurant there is also the special Princess Storybook Dining.
China
The visitor enters the Chinese pavilion through a large Chinese gate. In the inner courtyard there is a dominant Chinese temple called "The Temple of Heaven". This is the entrance to the attraction Reflections of China , a 360 ° film about China's history and landscape. The inner courtyard is surrounded by shops that sell Chinese goods. There are a number of ponds in the pavilion with bridges over them. The pavilion also includes a Chinese restaurant called "Nine Dragons Restaurant" and a fast food restaurant called "Lotus Blossom Cafe". There is a man sitting on a chicken on the roof of Nine Dragons Restaurant . This is Prince Min, a third century ruler who was hanged for his atrocities. As a warning to other tyrants, it became customary to place an image of him on houses. The animals that are placed next to him are supposed to keep him from escaping. There are also regular performances by Chinese acrobats.
Germany
The German pavilion was modeled on a “typical” small German town. However, there are deliberately different architectural elements from the different regions of Germany. There is a statue of Saint George and the dragon in the square, as well as a bell tower. The beer garden at the end of the inner courtyard is a restaurant serving (mainly southern) German dishes, such as: B. Bratwurst, sauerkraut and wheat beer . Elaborate decoration and lighting effects give the guests the feeling of sitting outside, while the restaurant is actually located in a large hall. The pavilion also has a large number of small shops that sell various German goods such as cuckoo clocks, toys and handmade Christmas ornaments, as well as wine and beer imported from Germany. There is a small model town with model trains near the pavilion. A boat ride attraction called the Rhine River Cruise (Rheinfahrt) was previously planned for the German pavilion, but it was never realized for cost reasons.
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Italy
The Italian pavilion has a piazza with several famous buildings from Venice and Rome, e.g. B. also a replica of the Campanile on St. Mark's Square and a replica of the Doge's Palace in Venice. The pavilion also includes the “Tutto Italia” restaurant, which in 2007 replaced the L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante , which was built by the descendants of Alfredo di Lellio , the inventor of Fettuccine Alfredo and had a classic Roman decor. The piazza is decorated with statues and a Neptune fountain as well as lions from St. Mark's Square in Venice. There are various street performers such as clowns and pantomimes in the piazza . There used to be artists who operated as living statues. Today, however, this is more likely to be found in the French pavilion. The pavilion also has a few small shops that sell Italian goods such as sweets and wine. The pavilion also has a VIP area from where you can watch the fireworks show particularly well.
United States
The American pavilion is a building that was modeled on the American colonial style. It includes the stage show "The American Adventure" about American history, which is performed by automatic actors. There is also the Hall of Flags in the building, where various flags from American history are kept. There is also the “Liberty Inn” restaurant, which serves typical American dishes such as cheeseburgers and hot dogs. There is also a small shop that sells small American souvenirs.
Japan
The Japanese pavilion consists of various buildings that surround a courtyard. The entrance to the courtyard is equipped with a Japanese pagoda . A torii gate decorates the waterfront by the lagoon. The area has many Japanese water basins and gardens. At the end of the courtyard is the gate to the Japanese castle, including a moat, which contains an exhibition about Japanese culture. The Mitsukoshi store sells many Japanese goods such as clothes, jewelry, and toys. This has been expanded in recent years and now offers a much larger selection of items for sale. For example, many more Japanese folk culture goods are sold today to meet the growing interest in such objects, particularly in the United States. The Teppanyaki Dining Room offers dishes that are prepared by the chef in front of the visitors. An attraction called Meet the World was also planned here, which corresponds to an attraction at Disneyland Tokyo . This attraction was also built, but never actually operated. There were other plans, such as a Fuji-san roller coaster or a Godzilla track, both of which were discarded because of their respect for Japanese culture.
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Morocco
The Moroccan pavilion was modeled on a Moroccan city, which also contains the replica of the Koutoubia minaret from Marrakech . The pavilion has a restaurant “Marrakesh” and a café “Tangerine” , which offer typical Moroccan dishes such as roast lamb and shish kebab . In the pavilion there is also an art gallery and a Fès house as examples of the typical Moroccan houses. This pavilion also has many shops that convey a Moroccan mood and sell goods such as carpets, leather goods and clothes. The area is decorated with gardens and fountains that give the whole thing a North African flair. Later in the evening, a music show is performed with belly dancers asking park visitors to dance with them. It is the only pavilion not sponsored by a company, but by the King of Morocco himself, who also sent Moroccan craftsmen to build it so that the pavilion appears authentic.
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France
The French pavilion is modeled on a Parisian district and, in addition to a water basin with fountains, also offers a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distant background. The shops are on the street and sell French goods such as: B. Perfumes. The pavilion contains the " Impressions de France " panorama cinema which reports on France's cities and historical structures. The pavilion has two French restaurants, Bistro de Paris and Les Chefs de France, and a bakery called Boulangerie Patisserie .
Great Britain
The British Pavilion looks like a small British village, which contains buildings that are modeled on the various architectural periods of British architecture. There is also a typical English garden labyrinth. The shops sell British goods such as tea, toys, clothes and many fan merchandise related to the Beatles . There is also a Beatles band called The British Invasion that plays Beatles songs. It also has a pub called The Rose & Crown Pub , which offers beer, liqueurs and wine as well as traditional British dishes. On weekend evenings, the Pam Brody pub has a pianist and entertainer performing a selection of well-known British music. Harry Ramsden’s restaurant , which sells fish and chips , is also located by the pavilion .
Canada
At the entrance to the Canadian Pavilion, three totem poles by the artist David A. Boxley of the Tsimshian tribe greet visitors. Behind it rises a castle-like building that is modeled on the old railway hotel Château Laurier in Ottawa . It is framed by a rocky landscape with waterfalls and a garden. The main attraction is a 360 ° film called Canada: Far and Wide (since 2020), which shows Canadian cities and landscapes. By 2019, a film called O Canada! shown. There is also a restaurant called Le Cellier and the opportunity to buy Canadian specialties such as maple syrup, ice hockey merchandise from the Canadian teams, glass art and handicrafts from the First Nations in two shops .
useful information
- According to studies by Disney and Kodak, the pavement in the pedestrian zones was colored with a special pink to make the grass appear greener in photos and the park lighter and cleaner.
- As a reminder of the opening of the EPCOT Center in 1982, the project engineers baked a big cake based on the model of the park. They called it EpCake: The Experimental Prototype Cake of Tomorrow (translated: "The experimental prototype of a cake of tomorrow", allusion to Disney's city of tomorrow.)
literature
- Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa: the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 . John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-08963-7 .
- Stephen Birnbaum: Walt Disney World 2007, The official guide. Disney Editions, New York 2006, ISBN 1-4231-0051-4 .
Web links
- Walt Disney World Resort - Epcot website
- The original EPCOT - Disney's concept for the city of EPCOT
- WDW Photos and Videos from Theme Park Review
Footnotes
Remarks
- ↑ In the period 2006-2014 (Source: Global Attractions Attendance Reports)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Opening day ( Memento from July 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English). The original EPCOT, webpage about the vision and history of Epcot, accessed December 10, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Global Attractions Attendance Report 2018. Accessed June 19, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Epcot Overview (English). Official website of the park, accessed December 7, 2012.
- ↑ Quoted from: The "Epcot" film (English), a film about Epcot's vision, available at The original EPCOT . Retrieved December 7, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Crawford: Walt's Epcot ( Memento from December 27, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English). Article from The original Epcot, accessed December 10, 2012.
- ↑ Quoted from: Opening day ( Memento from July 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English). The original EPCOT, webpage about the vision and history of Epcot, accessed December 7, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Crawford: Epcot Institute & the Future World Theme Center ( Memento from December 27, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English). The original EPCOT, webpage about the vision and history of Epcot, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Crawford: The World Showcase ( Memento from December 27, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English). The original EPCOT, webpage about the vision and history of Epcot, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Crawford: Becoming Epcot Center ( Memento from December 27, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English). The original EPCOT, webpage about the vision and history of Epcot, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ World of Motion / Test Track (English). Epcot Discovery Center, Epcot Experience webpage, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ Horizons (English). Epcot Discovery Center, Epcot Experience webpage, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ The Living Seas (English). Epcot Discovery Center, Epcot Experience webpage, accessed December 14, 2012.
- ↑ The Seas with Nemo & Friends (English). INTERCOT (INTERnet Community Of Tomorrow), Guide to Walt Disney World, accessed December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Mexico (English). INTERCOT (INTERnet Community Of Tomorrow), Guide to Walt Disney World, accessed December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Global Attractions Attendance Report 2006 ( Memento of April 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF, English), Global Attractions Attendance Report 2007. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2008. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2009. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2010. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2011. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2012. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2013. (PDF) TEA, accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). , Global Attractions Attendance Report 2014. (PDF) TEA, accessed on January 16, 2016 (English).
- ↑ Leave a Legacy (English). Subpage of the park's official website, accessed December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Scott Powers for Orlando Sentinel : Siemens holding the key to Disney's Spaceship Earth. (No longer available online.) February 27, 2008, archived from the original on March 25, 2008 ; Retrieved February 28, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Orlando Attractions Magazine: The Sum of All Thrills design-your-own-ride opens in Innoventions at Epcot - Video, Photos. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ 'Guardians of the Galaxy' & 'Ratatouille' Attractions Coming to Epcot . In: Disney Parks Blog . July 15, 2017 ( disney.go.com [accessed November 7, 2017]).
- ↑ OrlandoGuide.de: Test Track is completely revised by OrlandoGuide.de , accessed on January 9, 2012.
- ↑ Test Track 2012 Chevrolet Refurbishment (English). DisneyTouristBlog.com, October 8, 2012, accessed December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Test Track 2.0 - The reinterpretation of the “car” experience . Article from Airtimers.com, December 10, 2012, accessed December 15, 2012.
