Walt Disney Productions' EPCOT Center Presentation Reel (1978)

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.