Figure 3: An aerial diagram of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. “The Original E.P.C.O.T.” The Original EPCOT. https://sites.google.com/site/theoriginalepcot/.
In December 1966, Walt Disney passed away from lung cancer. Following his death, his older brother Roy, co-founder of the Walt Disney Company, came out of retirement to complete Walt’s projects, EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Florida Governor Claude Kirk Jr. allowed the Disney Company to establish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gave the company jurisdiction over its Florida land and eased the construction process. However, despite Roy’s persistence, the Board of Directors believed that urban planning was too risky and decided to stop EPCOT’s development.26 Walt’s model of the city was moved to Disneyland in 1967 and was placed on display for guests to view as they exited the Carousel of Progress. There it was renamed Progress City. Walt’s utopian plans were relegated to a post-attraction display, but his plans for a Florida theme park were redesigned as Florida’s Magic Kingdom, which opened in 1971.
Although Walt’s plan for EPCOT was not fulfilled, a number of his ideas for urban planning were integrated into the design of Magic Kingdom. EPCOT was intended to be both a “showplace and a workplace.”27 To make the “show” of Magic Kingdom convincing, the Imagineers, as Disney park designers are officially known, created a hidden infrastructure beneath the park itself. This hidden infrastructure, called the Utilidor, is an expansive ten-acre underground concrete structure that “whisks away” unwanted sights and smells.28 The Utilidor allows Cast Members— as employees of the Disney Parks are officially known—to move from land to land in Magic Kingdom without disrupting the immersive visuals of a certain land with a mismatched costume. It also moves food and product shipments, as well as garbage and other waste, away from guests unseen. This hidden infrastructure was not included in Disneyland, but it is reminiscent of the underground roadways in Walt’s original plan for EPCOT.
Another aspect from EPCOT that was used in Magic Kingdom is the radial design. Cinderella’s Castle is the center hub of the park, and the other themed lands are connected to it by a series of spoke-like walkways. This design makes the park easy to navigate. Although this radial design was attempted in Disneyland, it was refined and made more effective for use in the Florida parks. Walt Disney World also includes public transportation systems similar to Walt’s goals for EPCOT. The park includes a railroad that circulates around the exterior, and there is a PeopleMover in Tomorrowland that is similar to the one that previously existed in Disneyland, though smaller than the one planned for EPCOT. A monorail system connects the park with three resorts.29 These inventive urban planning tactics, combined with captivating ambience and unique attractions, have allowed Magic Kingdom to become and remain extremely successful. In 2018, the Global Attractions Attendance Report reported that over twenty million people had visited Magic Kingdom within the year, making it the most-visited theme park in the world.30
Following the success of Magic Kingdom, the Walt Disney Company still owned a large acreage of unused land in Florida, and there were rumors that EPCOT would still be built on that land. However, Roy Disney passed away a few months after Magic Kingdom opened, and his death marked the loss of the last powerful supporter for Walt’s design of EPCOT. The Board of Directors did not believe that their company was capable of building and maintaining a city, especially after the death of its two founders. Without Walt and Roy’s charismatic leadership, they doubted the company’s ability to maintain Walt’s design and philosophy within the community. However, Card Walker and Donn Tatum, who had taken over as COO and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, believed that EPCOT could be a theme park that followed the same philosophy as the original concept. They decided to “downsize” Walt’s concept to create a “theme park that would showcase Disney’s vision for globalization and advanced communication.”31 EPCOT Center, now called Epcot, opened in October 1982. As a theme park, it operates differently than EPCOT would have as a city. There is no longer a residential component, which destroys its viability as a utopia. However, when the park first opened, Walt’s utopian philosophy of technological innovation and information transfer was still present in the attractions and pavilions.
Epcot was intended to combine a classic theme park with interactive, educational exhibitions. Unlike Magic Kingdom, the goal of Epcot is to educate rather than entertain. It is composed of two main areas: the World Showcase and Future World. The World Showcase holds eleven individual pavilions that each represent a specific country with restaurants, shops, shows, and attractions. This area, which has remained largely intact since Epcot’s opening, is often called a permanent world’s fair. The World Showcase is also similar to the shopping areas that Walt described in his original plan. He hoped that the different streets and shops in the center of EPCOT would “recreate the character and adventure of places around the world.”32 Walt likely incorporated these international features because of his father’s experience as a carpenter for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as well as his own experiences at the 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair and 1964 New York World’s Fair.33 While Walt had the opportunity to experience the technological and cultural showcases of other countries at fairs he attended, he also contributed four attractions in 1964.34 The pavilions of the World Showcase can be considered a reflection of Walt’s desire to recreate his experiences at these fairs. Similarly to world’s fair pavilions, these were sponsored either by the individual countries or by companies from those countries to create an atmosphere that would immerse guests in the different cultures. The cultural showcase complements the technological showcase, and together they provide a comprehensive display of human achievement.
Unlike the World Showcase, Future World has changed significantly since Epcot first opened. The original pavilions were CommuniCore, Imagination!, Spaceship Earth, The Land, Universe of Energy, and World of Motion. Three additional pavilions, Horizons, The Living Seas, and Wonders of Life, debuted within a few years of the park’s opening. All of these pavilions fit Walt’s original philosophy for EPCOT and were intended to educate rather than entertain. The attractions taught guests about the power of creativity, the history of communication and transportation, human interaction with the Earth, energy technology, oceanic study, and healthcare. However, only a decade after opening, the technology and information showcased in Epcot became outdated. Attendance began to dwindle. In order to maintain Epcot’s relevance, all of the original pavilions have either undergone massive renovations or additions, or they have been removed entirely. CommuniCore, Horizons, Universe of Energy, World of Motion, and Wonders of Life have all closed permanently and have been replaced by thrill rides and a festival pavilion. Additionally, Journey into Imagination with Figment (previously called Imagination!), Spaceship Earth, The Land, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends (previously called The Living Seas) have undergone renovations, though the theming is largely the same.
Horizons and CommuniCore were the two attractions that most closely followed Walt’s original plan. Horizons began with a survey of modern technology and then showed futuristic possibilities. Guests could choose from three possible future utopias for the finale of the ride. These utopias were colonies in outer space, the desert, and underwater. Horizons closed permanently in 1999 and was replaced with Mission: Space, a thrilling simulator ride based on space exploration. CommuniCore housed rotating exhibits of the latest technology. This attraction embodied Walt’s idea that EPCOT would “always be introducing, and testing, and demonstrating new materials and new systems.”35 In CommuniCore, companies like General Electric, Apple, Exxon, and AT&T presented technology “that could make life easier and make communication more efficient.”36 These exhibits were often the first place the general public could experience new technologies that would later become household staples. CommuniCore was replaced in 1994 by Innoventions, a similar showcase of interactive technology. However, Innoventions closed in 2019.
In 2019, Disney released its plans for a massive overhaul in Future World. Over the next decade, Epcot will become four distinct lands: World Showcase, World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery. Other than the addition of new shows and rides, World Showcase will remain largely the same. World Celebration will include Spaceship Earth—which will be redesigned for the new theming of the park—and a festival pavilion. World Nature will include The Land, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Journey of Water, a new attraction based on the film Moana. World Discovery will include the pre-existing thrill rides Mission: Space and Test Track, as well as the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy ride and a pavilion where guests can meet Disney characters.
These changes have provoked criticism, especially from people who admired Walt’s original design for EPCOT. Beginning in the 1990s, when the original Epcot attractions were being overhauled, education was often replaced by entertainment, and this trend has continued with more recent renovations. Epcot, which was originally intended to be free from Disney characters, now has “meet-and-greet” spots and attractions featuring them. Magic Kingdom was built to cater to “dreams of escapism and fantasy,” and Epcot was “dedicated to solving the problems of today in hope of making the future better.”37 However, fantasy has been introduced into Epcot, creating a contradiction between information transfer and escapism. These changes made in Epcot seem to have distanced it even more from Walt’s original plans. The introduction of fantastical ideas to Epcot has made it difficult to distinguish it from Tomorrowland, one of the areas of the Magic Kingdom. While Tomorrowland, which was based on the Disneyland area of the same name, also espouses Walt’s futurism, the attractions are entertaining rather than educational. Furthermore, Tomorrowland is a timeless model for the future; its design and attractions are largely unchanged since their inception. Ironically, the model of Progress City was moved from Disneyland to Disney World in 1975, and guests can view a portion of the model while riding Tomorrowland’s PeopleMover.38 It seems paradoxical that guests learn about a constantly changing community in a place where the vision of the future never changes.
The model of Progress City pays homage to Walt’s masterful utopian design that will most likely never be built as it was originally planned. However, individual aspects of the design can be assessed to analyze whether or not such a society could have succeeded. The infrastructure and planning of Walt’s design was a masterpiece both rhetorically and technologically. Circles, which were already a part of many of Walt’s previous designs and characters, were important in the design of EPCOT. The layout of the city was a “series of circular maps and sections that project a strong rhetorical image of wholeness, unity, and embrace, of harmony, safety, and underlying order.”39 Aspects of this circular design and much of the technology Walt intended for the city were brought into the Disney parks. This implementation proves the technology is feasible, at least on a smaller scale. However, technological and financial issues may have arisen if these plans had been implemented on the much larger scale of EPCOT. The transportation systems would require a massive amount of funding for the initial construction and regular maintenance. For example, the shuttle system at the Orlando Airport, which uses technology similar to the Disney World monorail system over a significantly shorter distance, was replaced in 2017 for ninety million dollars.40 The revenue generated by the original Magic Kingdom theme park alone would likely not have been able to fund the operation of the theme park, the EPCOT transportation systems, and the other costs associated with the city. Yet, Walt did not mention any other streams of revenue other than the theme park, hotel and convention center, and various activities downtown.
Additionally, this prototype community relies heavily on control, but Walt said very little about how the governing body would operate to regulate the community or collect taxes. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 1966, Walt said that EPCOT could not be controlled by the voting of Orlando residents.41 This was because the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District “removed the project from control by Orlando voters and officials, but it certainly did not settle the question of what would happen when EPCOT became inhabited.”42 Although it was never explicitly stated, this may imply that the Walt Disney Company would be the sole authority in EPCOT. Some form of legal and political body would be necessary to maintain and control the daily operations of the community. According to Walt, control was necessary to prevent urban problems such as slums and unemployment. In EPCOT, there would be “no slums because [they would not] let them develop,” and everyone would have the ability to rent homes or apartments for modest prices.43 Furthermore, everyone in the community would be employed, and everyone who lived in the city would work in the Disney World complex. Walt believed that everyone who would live in EPCOT should have the responsibility to “keep it alive.”44 Although retirees would be permitted to purchase land elsewhere in Disney World, they would not be allowed to continue to rent a home in the main city.45 When considering the daily operations of the community, it is clear that Walt’s initial plans lacked extensive details. However, he admitted that his design was incomplete; what he had planned was merely a “blueprint,” and changes were going to be made.46 Change was a necessary part of the EPCOT philosophy.
The most important aspect of EPCOT’s philosophy was its adherence to futurism. Walt described EPCOT as a community that would “always be in a state of becoming” and would “never cease to be a living blueprint of the future.”47 If the focus were always on the future, EPCOT would never be finished. If completion and stagnation are necessary for the definition of a utopia, then EPCOT could not have been a utopia. However, a changing society may be considered utopian, especially if the change is for the betterment of the society. If the philosophy were executed as envisioned, EPCOT could have been able to meet the needs of its population continuously and keep its people happy. By achieving this social harmony, EPCOT would fit the internal criteria of a utopia.
Utopias often include an external aspect as well. While some literary utopias are isolated from the rest of the world, other utopias are created with the hope that their ideas will be used elsewhere. EPCOT is the latter type of utopia. Although EPCOT would function as a city and workplace, it would always be a “showplace to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of the American free enterprise.”48 Tourists would be able to witness the technology and development that was occurring in the industrial park and the urban planning of the city. Walt hoped that visits to EPCOT would be educational and inspirational, and he was optimistic that his city would be exactly what the name implied: an experimental prototype. Not only would EPCOT continue to develop, but it would encourage the outside world to do so as well.
The plans for EPCOT had utopian potential. However, Walt died too soon to continue to develop the details, put EPCOT into practice, and test its viability. In an interview with Esquire, Marty Sklar, an Imagineer who worked closely with Walt, said that EPCOT “made great sense to Walt, but he didn’t live long enough to get into the nitty gritty details of getting an idea to work.... There’s a gigantic difference between the spark of a brilliant idea and the daily operation of an idea.”49 The functionality of the city would have been the ultimate test of whether or not it was a utopia. However, the loss of Walt and Roy was the “permanent loss of the charismatic Disney presence in driving [the] vision” and the ultimate reason why EPCOT was abandoned.50
Although downsized, some of the vision is still present in Celebration, a planned community near Disney World, and Epcot, the theme park. The Walt Disney Company began to develop Celebration in 1996. This town “appeals to families, business travelers, couples and mature travelers seeking Orlando fun without the fast pace.”51 The business district and neighborhoods are pedestrian-friendly, similar to those in EPCOT. There is also easy access to shops, worship centers, and recreational facilities. This planned community was influenced by New Urbanism and by Walt’s plans for the neighborhoods of his city. While Celebration “pays homage to EPCOT’s original concept… it looks wholly different from the gleaming towers and lush greenbelt Walt had envisioned.”52 Further, the philosophy and control of EPCOT is absent.
The EPCOT philosophy was present in the original design of the theme park, and the control can still be found in Disney parks. The original attractions, especially Horizons and CommuniCore, emphasized Walt’s goals of innovation and education. Furthermore, the Imagineers who designed Epcot “continued to nurture Disney Studios’ ties to progress by hosting the Epcot Forums, where great minds like Ray Bradbury, atmospheric physicist Carl Hodges, and Girard O’Neal, inventor of the particle storage ring, met to discuss the future of science.”53 There was even a center where teachers could receive educational materials to bring into their classrooms.54 This distribution of information followed Walt’s philosophy. According to John Hench, another Imagineer who was close to Walt, EPCOT was at its core a “place where people could get better information,” because Walt believed “all the evils of the world were because people didn’t get the right information.”55 Information is integral to social unity and creating a utopia. Furthermore, the World Showcase simultaneously celebrates and connects different cultures. The attractions allow guests to learn about countries that they may never visit. The presence of all of these countries’ pavilions in one space visually reflects their unity in a global community.
The innovation, information transfer, and culture celebrated in Epcot is similar to what Walt hoped would occur in his city. Although different from what he originally intended, the original Epcot theme park reflected Walt’s visionary philosophy.56 His desire to inspire technological advancement outside of the community is realized by the Disney parks. For example, the designs of the monorail and PeopleMover have spread. Although the monorail was not originally designed by Disney, the parks were the first places where monorails operated daily in the United States. Monorails and PeopleMovers are now common in airports worldwide, such as the Orlando International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Until the new renovations to Future World are complete, present-day Epcot cannot be judged as a utopia; however, the original design for the theme park could be considered a symbolized utopia. Epcot lacks a residential community, which is an essential part of a utopia. However, the original attractions were symbolic of Walt’s utopian ideas and philosophy and therefore had utopian value. Epcot uses the urban planning techniques that were brought into Magic Kingdom. There is a central hub and a smaller version of the Utilidor, and the park is connected to the Magic Kingdom and resorts by the monorail. More importantly, the original attractions echoed Walt’s futurist beliefs. CommuniCore and Innoventions showcased technology that was created to solve the world’s problems. Horizons showed guests futures made possible by the technology that was being developed in and for Epcot. In the Disney+ series The Imagineering Story, Imagineers who developed Epcot spoke about their goal of education and empowerment of guests by showcasing innovation. This is what Walt wanted from EPCOT. In his 1966 film, he said that his plan was “only a starting point” that would likely change, but the basic philosophy would “remain very much as it is right now.”57 Although the theme park cannot be a utopia, it is a powerful realization of Walt’s vision.
The original design of Epcot did more than pay dutiful homage to Walt’s final plan. By removing the complications of a governing structure and unpredictable residents, the Imagineers created an educational and innovative center that was a showcase to the world and of the world. Although the renovations and removals that have been occurring since the 1990s may contradict the original plan, the integrity of Epcot—at least for a short time—was a new type of utopia. However, following Walt’s optimistic example, it is important to remember that Epcot was intended to be ever-changing. It is possible that these renovations, once completed, will still reflect his philosophy. Hopefully, Epcot will continue to be a beacon of innovation and advancement and a showcase to the world about the possibilities of the future.
