History of EPCOT

On November 15, 1965, this press conference was held at the Cherry Plaza Hotel, by Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida after the Orlando Sentinel published an article on October 24 revealing that it was Walt Disney who was the mysterious bidder buying up the land in Florida. Walt Disney, Roy Disney Sr, and Florida Governor Haydon Burns announce the project that would become Walt Disney World and EPCOT Center. They answer questions about its scope, investments, and effect on tourism in the state. Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On Oct 27, 1966, Walt Disney made this film meant to present his ideas for EPCOT and his Florida Project to the state legislature and American industry investors. When Walt made the deal to build EPCOT he had to agree to build the state of Florida their very own Disneyland. In exchange the state of Florida gave Walt's organization special rights for the property. Walt wanted these rights to build his Experimental prototype Community of Tomorrow. In this film, you can see what walt had in mind and it's VERY different from the EPCOT that was built and even more different from the EPCOT that exists today. The Reedy Creek district was exploited by Woke Disney for a city that was never built. Those privileges should have been forfeited decades ago. This film was one of two that were the final footage of Walt that was ever shot. He died from lung cancer a few weeks later. Had Walt not been an avid smoker, he may have lived to see the completion of EPCOT as he'd envisioned. This is one of the tragic lessons we can learn from his life and what the world lost from his passing. Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This 1978 presentation film that pitches what EPCOT Center was developed to be. It was also used an an industrial film to get support for this unique endeavor. EPCOT was Walt Disney's final dream. It was to be his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow but, unfortunately, Walt died of lung cancer in 1966 just as things were getting underway. Walt's brother Roy built Walt Disney World and passed away himself shortly after. Roy had no intent of building EPCOT because no one could figure out how to make it financially work without Walt behind it. It fell upon Roy's successor, Card Walker, to construct an EPCOT that would be financially feasible to succeed. This is what was come up with. Many of these plans didn't come to fruition because it was to be built in phases. This is the most ambitious project to ever have been undertaken by Walt Disney Productions and capitalized on all they'd learned on previous endeavors. In the end, EPCOT Center cost Walt Disney Productions a staggering 37 Billion Dollars to construct in 1970's dollars. This was more than half of the entire net worth of the company and all its assets at the time. Through this film it is repeatedly cited how capitalism and American free enterprise would be the driving force behind EPCOT Center. It was to be more than a theme park, it was intended as an eternal World's Fair celebrating the earth's optimistic future. When EPCOT Center finally opened in 1982, it was not a big success and some believe it was this vast investment failing to turn a fast profit that led to the Eisner take over in the company in 1984. Under Eisner's leadership, many of these unfulfilled plans were scrapped or reimagined. When Bob Iger took over leadership of the Walt Disney Company, he gutted out EPCOT Center as built and made it just another theme park. Seeing this film makes one angry on how far from the original intent of EPCOT Center that park now is. You will also understand what the intent of the Reedy Creek District was and how it came to be exploited by the Eisner and Iger regimes. In the film you'll see Disney Legends like John Hench as well as science fiction author, futurist, and Walt Disney friend Ray Bradbury planning the park. Release date 1978 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This 1977 preview of EPCOT Center was a 16mm film distributed for a variety of reasons. This was America's first introduction to EPCOT Center. The film is bookended with an introduction and closing remarks from the then CEO of Walt Disney Productions, Card Walker. Walker started with the Walt Disney Studios in 1938 as a mail clerk and worked his way through the ranks until he was named CEO after Roy Disney Sr died. It was Walker who enforced the ideals of Walt and Roy in the projects produced at the company under his leadership. EPCOT Center was built because of his he took the baton to construct it forward. He also founded the Disney Channel in 1982. He remained on the board of directors until 2000 often clashing with the Eisner regime helping to hold them at bay. The rest of the film shows behind the scenes planning of EPCOT Center's planning. Release date 1977 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional film about EPCOT Center played in a loop at the EPCOT Center Preview Pavilion at Walt Disney World where models, artwork, and other things were on display announcing the next phase of the resort. The voice of Disney, Dick Tufeld, narrates this film that features rarely seen animation of man's future existence living in deserts, at the bottom of the sea, and in outer space. The objective of how each World and attraction builds upon each other to work together is clearly defined in this film. Spaceship Earth and World of Motion taught guests about the past so they had the foundation to explore the future. Journey into the Imagination was about the creativity needed to shape man's destiny in a variety of ways. Other attractions depicted possible technologies that could make a better world for all in this future. We also learn that the point of World Showcase was a rejection of a one world government. In keeping with Walt Disney's values, every nation on earth retains their own unique cultural identity in this optimistic future and this exposition is hosted by the United States of America who's leading the way. In the narration, it's clearly explained that Walt Disney World was indeed the wienie (as Walt always put it) to attract people from across America and the world to view the technologies on display at EPCOT Center and hopefully be implemented in their home states and nations for a brighter future. EPCOT was never intended to be the theme park it became but a World's Fair meant to make a real difference in the story of mankind. There was always going to be this World's Fair on the future even though Walt's intended plans were much grander in scope than that. As an added bonus, also included is the EPCOT theatrical trailer narrated by Percy Rodriguez. This trailer played in movie theaters advertising what the Walt Disney Company was building. Original release date June 1, 1981 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

In 1982 Walt's widow, Lilly, was interviewed alongside their daughters Diane and granddaughter Jenny at the United Kingdom Pavillion in EPCOT Center. This is the raw interview conducted by Imagineers that was later excerpted in other venues. Mrs. Disney lived until 1997 and gave very few interviews so this is a very special piece of history. Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This TV special hosted by Danny Kaye marked the world's introduction to EPCOT Center. Walt had envisioned EPCOT as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He'd planned to have American industry showcase their innovations here so that they would become practical reality for all people everywhere. It was to be a World's Fair style city where people could actually live, work, and play and was the entire reason for the Florida Project. He'd only agreed to built Walt Disney World in exchange for the Florida government to give him the privileges he required to build EPCOT as planned. When Walt Disney died in 1966, his brother Roy moved ahead with building Walt Disney World. Originally, it was to be a much smaller scaled version of Disneyland with different attractions but became a theme park that dwarfed the original. When the time came to built EPCOT, the studio board nixed Walt's plans and transformed it into an educational theme park. The World Showcase was adapted from an idea Walt had for an International Street in Disneyland that never got built. Future World became a World's Fair of consumer products. Everyone's surprise favorite character was Figment the baby dragon. He and Dreamfinder had originally been created for a proposed new land at Disneyland called Discovery Bay. Figment was the breakout star and became the mascot of EPCOT Center. Walt Disney's right-hand songwriters, the Sherman Bros, were brought in to write several songs for the new park and give it that Walt Disney feel. Although, not the experimental prototype community of tomorrow Walt had intended, this is the EPCOT we got and what the world came to know. In recent years the majority of the version of EPCOT Center we see at its opening has been demolished and replaced with attraction including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Muppet, and other characters. Initially there was an embargo on the traditional Disney characters except for Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy, Minnie, Chip & Dale, etc to keep EPCOT Center separate from the fantasy park. Even then, these characters were dressed in costumes to reflect different areas of World Showcase. A few years after opening, McDonalds released a Happy Meal campaign of these characters in their EPCOT Center attire. Beloved actor and comedian Danny Kaye was brought in to host this TV special. He'd already hosted Disneyland's 25 Anniversary Special in 1980 Kaye was chosen to host this special for a variety of reasons. Not only was he a beloved entertainer but a world-renowned chef, a musical conductor, and had been affiliated with the United Nations UNICEF program since 1954. All of these qualities would tie in with what EPCOT Center became. He also knew Walt Disney personally and had heard his plans for EPCOT many times. In short, he knew all the things that EPCOT Center wasn't. Some accounts claim Danny Kaye wasn't easy to work with on this special. They say he was annoyed with the entire ordeal, snapping at guests and Disney CEO had him thrown off the property. Another tale claims Danny Kaye mooned the head of operations who didn't like Kaye either. Regardless, these tensions are nowhere apparent in the special itself. This special originally aired on CBS in 1982. This version of the TV special is a version that aired on Vault Disney in the late 1990's and hasn't been seen since. So, let's enjoy how EPCOT Center was when it originally opened in 1982. Original airdate October 23, 1982 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional film was released in 1983 for the brand new home video rental market. EPCOT CENTER had just opened and this video captures what it was like at the time. Many of these places and attractions no longer exist. There’s also a segment that shows EPCOT Center under construction as it was being built. This is a historic time capsule of what Walt Disney World was like before the Eisner regime took over and Walt’s family was still running it. It was just a mom and pop theme park and not what we think of as Disney today. The purpose of this video was to show families all that EPCOT Center had to offer so they’d want to plan a family vacation there or to take home as a keepsake of their trip there. The narrator is Philip L Clarke who later became the voice of Vault Disney on The Disney Channel. Original release date September 1983 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

The American Adventure is an attraction at EPCOT Center. It has been revised in recent years, but this is a documentary about this attraction when it open and was constructed by Walt Disney's family. It opened October 1, 1982 along with the rest of the park. This promotional video was created to advertise what an achievement this production was at the time. It's a shame the show has been altered to become PC then Woke. Release date 1984 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This short film showcases the single computer that ran all the systems at EPCOT Center and Walt Disney World in the early 1980's. It's a phenomenal bit of Walt Disney history to see what the state of the art technology was at the time and many of these attractions no longer exist. This short would air on The Disney Channel between programming along with others showcasing different aspects of the Walt Disney Company. Original airdate 1985 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.