Today is a very special day in my heart. 25 years ago today EPCOT center at Walt Disney World opened. Epcot as it's now known was born out of he last great dream of Walt Disney. His Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It was to be an actual community in which people "lived worked and played" that demonstrated better living through technology, it would have been the heart of Disney World... but as time would have it Walt Disney would not last that long He died not long after his first public mention of the project and with out Walt Disney and his famous charisma the city would not be made. However about ten years later his Creative sucsessors at WED enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) created the plan (though it's story is a little more convoluted than this) of the EPCOT center. A theme and what is now called a Discovery park that would demonstrate the concepts that would have embodied EPCOT. The new planned center took a lot of inspiration from the New York Worlds Fair of 1964/5 and presented it's information and entertainment in large corporate sponsored pavilions each representing a field of the human experience (Communications, Agriculture, Etc.) This Future World was to be connected to a world showcase where countries sposored pavilions showing of the art culture and beauty of their homes. This pretty much how EPCOT center opened it's gates on October of 1982. It was a Large lavish theme park with futuristic architecture and clean look. Instead of "rides" as the theme park was, and is, known. EPCOT Center was set up in pavilions in which large attractions display areas and other interactive learning possibilities afforded themselves. Because of this it was (and still is for the most part) a long Day leading to the funny acronym of Everyone Comes Out Tiered. The attractions were mostly of the Audio Animatronics tableux variety (think Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion). And were very neat. Early EPCOT Center attractions such as Horizons, The original Journey into Imagination are considered by theme park afficianados to be the creme de la creme of this type of ride, and there are many web sites dedicated to them as well as many other original EPCOT attractions. It was a new type of experience never had in this sort of a venue. And to this date it is still the number three Disney destination, after Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. As time went on new pavilions were added and many attractions where changed, many to the chagirne of fans of the park, and it's name was changed from EPCOT Center to just Epcot. Though much has changed it is still a Theme park unlike no other. And to this day delights and informs young and old alike. Happy 25 EPCOT Center.
