Goldens on the Road: Walt Disney World’s Epcot

Walt Disney World’s Epcot

The park's name, EPCOT, is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow or Every Person Comes Out Tired (wink) a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney. Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture, and is often referred to as a "permanent World's Fair".^[Wikipedia^] The park is divided into two sections: Future World, made up eight pavilions, and World Showcase, themed to eleven world nations.

Spaceship Earth is the icon of Epcot.

We first spent time in Future World:

Spaceship Earth is also an attraction that is housed within the 18-story geodesic sphere that takes guests on a time machine themed experience using the Omnimover system (a people mover).

The 15-minute dark ride demonstrates to guests how advancements in human communication have helped to create the future one step at a time. Passengers journey back in time to witness the origins of prehistoric man, then travel forward in time to witness important breakthroughs in communication throughout history—from the invention of the alphabet to the creation of the printing press to today's modern communication advancements, including telecommunication and mass communication. Here are just a few of the scenes you would see:

Next The Seas with Nemo & Friends - Although there was a ride In ‘The Seas’ with Nemo and his friends we did not get to ride it. Really long lines! However we were able to enjoy all the aquariums that were throughout the pavilion.

Universe of Energy – now called Ellen’s Energy Adventure is a ride through a time machine transporting you through forests where dinosaurs dwell.

Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye act as your tour guides through this ride. You learn about the history and future of energy production. You see detailed dioramas, encounter an array of prehistoric creatures and discover how fossil fuels were formed, as well as Smell prehistoric swamps and narrowly escape streams of molten lava from an erupting volcano. You’ll also witness the cataclysmic event believed to have shaped the universe as we know it, the Big Bang, and float far above Earth with satellites and atoms. The end of the ride includes exploration of a future powered by fusion.

Next up Future World: Mission Space is a shuttle simulator ride adventure with a pulse-pounding lift off followed by the sensation of weightlessness in outer space. Mission Space was created in collaboration with former NASA advisors, astronauts and scientists, along with the Walt Disney Imagineering team. The attraction uses new technology, which makes it the first ride system to take attraction visitors straight up in a simulated flight experience.

The queue has interesting scenery showing a futuristic International Space Training Center and suspended on one of the walls is a huge Gravity Wheel.

Test Track is next up on our adventure and it takes guests through the process of designing a new vehicle and then “testing” their car in a high-speed drive through and around the pavilion.

Guests entering the pavilion walk past displays of sleek, futuristic concept cars and glossy video screens where engineers discuss the work of car design and consumers explain the characteristics of their perfect car.

Guests board a six-seat ride vehicle, attached to a track on the ground, for an actual drive through Chevrolet’s test track. The idea here is that guests are taking part in a computer simulation designed to test their vehicle’s performance characteristics. The vehicle’s tests include braking maneuvers, cornering, and acceleration, culminating in a spin around the outside of the pavilion at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. Test Track’s post show area are displays of actual Chevys, many of which you can sit in.

Next up - Living with the Land is a boat ride that explores agricultural advances in the rain forest, Africa and beyond. During the first part of Living with the Land, you’ll gently glide pass Audio-Animatronic figures and impressively detailed scenes of tropical rainforests, arid deserts and American prairies before humans arrived. This portion of the ride begins with an approaching storm, jumpstarting the cycle of life.

From there your boat passes video sequences that discuss the impact of humans and emerging farming methods that are better for the environment. You’ll learn how scientists from countries around the world, including Japan, United States, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, are learning to “live with the land” by finding new ways to grow food that promote both human and environmental health.

During the last part of the attraction, you’ll get to see and travel inside the actual greenhouses called the Living Laboratory. Here’s some of what you’ll see:

· The Tropics Greenhouse – Food from Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Southern United States (like papaya, bananas, cacao, rice, and dragon fruit) are grown here.

· Aquacell – You’ll find fish farming in here with crops of sturgeon, hybrid bass, tilapia, catfish, alligators, sunshine bass and more. Nearly 5,000 lbs of fish each year are served at restaurants all over Walt Disney World.

· The Temperate Greenhouse – Sunflowers, wheat, watermelon, and peppers grow in this greenhouse that features sustainable agriculture, such as intercropping, specialized irrigation systems and more. These types of technologies reduce waste and increase production.

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The Production & Creative Greenhouse – This uses innovative irrigation and growing techniques to grow produce like peanuts, sweet potatoes, lettuce, tomato trees and peppers to serve in restaurants in The Land.

· The Herb Greenhouse – Parsley, swiss chard, edible flowers and more are found here.

· Biotechnology Lab – Scientists are here working to produce higher yielding and better quality plants, while developing aquaculture systems.

Imagination! (Journey into Imagination with Figment) is next on our list and is one of our all time favorites!

Figment has the starring role and appears in every show scene in the Journey into Imagination. The song "One Little Spark" is also played throughout the ride.

The Imagination Institute has five labs based on the five human senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, and Taste. Dr. Nigel Channing of the Imagination Institute invites guests to the Institute’s open house. Figment tags along, much to Channing’s dismay, and causes mischief along the way.
In Sound, Figment interrupts the experiment and comes up with a telephone and the train sound from the previous session now a "Train of Thought."

In Sight, Figment knocks the letters off the room’s eye chart and begins a sing along to "One Little Spark."

In Smell, Figment becomes a skunk which sprays the riders with a foul odor (which is actually a burnt coffee smell).

After seeing the chaos Figment has been causing, Channing stops the tour outside the Touch and Taste lab, abandoning the tour.

Figment takes the riders to his own open house, which he literally turns upside down with his carefree mind.

Channing soon learns from Figment that Imagination should be set free … "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" … and the riders go into the finale with numerous Figments in various situations while Figment and Channing sing "One Little Spark" together while riders disembark.

Next up the World Showcase

Each of the World Showcase pavilions contain themed architecture, landscapes, streetscapes, attractions, shops and restaurants representing the respective country's culture and cuisine. In an effort to maintain the authenticity of the represented countries, the pavilions are primarily staffed by citizens of the respective countries as part of the Cultural Representative Program through Q1 visa agreements. Some pavilions also contain themed rides, shows, and live entertainment representative of the respective country. The only pavilion that is directly sponsored by the government of its respective country is Morocco; the remaining pavilions are primarily sponsored by private companies with affiliations to the represented countries. Here are a few photos of some of the countries represented:

The Mexico pavilion resembles ancient Mesoamerican pyramid. Once you enter the pyramid first you stroll through a museum area which contains traveling exhibits on Mexican culture and history. As you exit this museum area you enter a plaza on the shores of a lake set at night time. The plaza has vendors selling their wares from carts as well as some buildings with shops on the bottom floor. Also on the waters edge there is a romantic Mexican restaurant.

Next Norway

Norway pavilion is designed to look like a Norwegian village. The village includes a detailed Stave church. Restaurant Akershus, resembles its namesake in Oslo. The exhibit showcases 4 styles of Norwegian architecture: Setesdal-style, Bergen-style, Oslo-style and Ålesund-style. Much of the pavilion is taken up by interconnected shops. These shops are decorated with large wooden trolls and sell assorted Norwegian goods, including clothing, candy, and statuettes of Norse gods and trolls.

A larger than life Norse Viking.

Visitors can meet Anna and Elsa, beloved sisters of Arendale in Royal Sommerhus.

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is a bakery, featuring assorted Norwegian pastries, such as cream horns and open-faced salmon sandwiches.

Visitors enter the China Pavilion through a large Chinese gate. The courtyard is dominated by a replica of the Temple of Heaven, which contains the entrance to "Reflections of China", a Circle-Vision 360° movie exploring China's history and scenery, as well as a museum containing several ancient Chinese artifacts. The

courtyard is bordered by shops selling Chinese merchandise, and two Chinese restaurants. The pavilion is decorated with ponds, crossed by bridges. Chinese acrobats also perform frequently in the pavilion.

The Germany Pavilion is designed to look like a German town, but with architecture from different eras and regions. The Platz (square) is decorated with a statue of St. George and the Dragon and a clock tower. The Biergarten, at the rear of the courtyard, sells traditional German food. The pavilion also has numerous small shops selling German goods,

including dolls and cuckoo clocks. The area near the pavilion is decorated by an extensive model village with working model trains.

Part of the German display is this Miniature Train and Village - A small outdoor model garden railway. It was originally created for the Flower and Garden Festival, but was kept due to its popularity.

The Italian Pavilion features a plaza surrounded by a collection of buildings evocative of Venetian, Florentine, and Roman architecture.

Venetian architecture is represented by a re-creation of St. Mark's Campanile (bell tower) and a replica of the Doge's Palace. The pavilion's design is inspired by other hallmarks of Italian architecture, such as the Neptune Fountain (reminiscent of Rome's Trevi Fountain) and the Il Bel Cristallo shop (meant to resemble the exterior of the Sistine Chapel). Musicians, clowns and acting troupes often appear in the piazza throughout the day. There are also small shops selling Italian goods, such as candy and wine.

A restaurant by the name of Via Napoli, designed by the Florentine architects Stefano Nardini and Raffaella Melucci features Florentine architecture and authentic Neapolitan cuisine.

The American Adventure is the host pavilion of the World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is also the name of the pavilion's main attraction, an Audio-Animatronics stage show of American history.

The pavilion is a single large building designed in the Colonial style. It contains the American Adventure show and the Hall of Flags exhibit, a display of the different flags throughout U.S. history. It also contains

the Liberty Inn restaurant which serves American fare, such as cheeseburgers and hot dogs. There is a small gift shop, Heritage Manor Gifts, selling American items.

The American Adventure

takes guests on a trip through America's history. It is narrated by figures of Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. It is presented in a theater-like auditorium, with sets and characters

rising out from the stage floor to represent scenes from different historical periods. The characters provide insight into American life of the past through conversations in which they discuss the current events of their time.

The show begins with Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, the former quoting John Steinbeck's view on the United States' birth. Twain, dozing off, is awakened and encourages Franklin to tell the story of their nation. The story begins with an image of The Mayflower appearing on the stage's back screen, carrying the first pilgrims to America's shores, followed by the American Revolution, then Thomas Jefferson tries to pen the final draft of the Declaration of Independence and is visited by Franklin, who comments it is "difficult to make thirteen clocks chime at the same time". Another montage shows imagery of the Revolution. At Valley Forge, George Washington sits on horseback observing a snowy landscape. The American Revolution is won and the narrative continues including slavery in America, the American Civil War, the arrival of new immigrants to help improve the country, and continues through the historical moments of our country as it grew including the good, bad, and the ugly! This is like a history lesson in 45 minutes! Listing everything discussed and montaged in this blog would be like writing w history book …. If you can … go see it !!

As a reprisal of "Golden Dream" begins, Franklin and Twain shake hands and reveal states lining both sides of the theatre, representing different qualities of Americans:

Adventure (a seaman), Compassion (female doctor), Discovery (mountain man), Freedom (pilgrim), Heritage (Native American woman),

Independence (American Revolutionary soldier), Individualism (cowboy), Innovation (African-American scientist),

Knowledge (school teacher), Pioneering (pilot), Self-Reliance (farmer), Tomorrow (a mother and her child). The most notable addition is

the brief footage of NYPD/FDNY rescue crews after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The theme song for the show is "Golden Dream". It

was written by Robert Moline and the lyrics were written by show producer Randy Bright. It gets its biggest push at the end of the attraction, during the montage sequence of famous Americans. The melody has been heard in Epcot's entrance plaza since opening day.

The Japan pavilion is made up of buildings surrounding a courtyard. The entrance to the courtyard features a Japanese Pagoda. The torii gate of the Itsukushima Shrine decorates the water in front of the pavilion. The area is filled with Japanese pools and gardens. At the end of the courtyard is the gate to a Japanese castle, including a moat, which leads into a display of Japanese culture.

The Morocco Pavilion, designed to look like a Moroccan city with a realistic Minaret, features the only pavilion in which the country's government aided in the design.

Guests to the pavilion gain insight on lifestyle and culture of the Moroccan people through the Gallery of Arts and History.

The France Pavilion is themed to look like a Paris neighborhood with a pool and fountains and with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Most of the shops on the streets are actual shops selling French goods such as Guerlain perfume. The pavilion also features Impressions de France, a panoramic movie which visits France's cities and historical structures. It also includes two French restaurants, the Bistro de Paris and Les Chefs de France, and a bakery, the Boulangerie Patisserie.

The United Kingdom Pavilion, designed to look like a typical British village, looks like one out of many villages that are in the UK, although it could be argued that it is more stereotypical, with

buildings based on different periods of British architecture. There are British gardens (including a hedge maze). The shops sell British items, such as tea, toys, clothing and The Beatles.

merchandise. There is also a band called "The British Invasion" that performs hits from acts such as The Police, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Blur and Led Zeppelin, daily in the Pavilion. The Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room serves traditional British food, as well as beer and ale. There is also a quick-service counter serving Fish and Chips.

The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of the Canadian outdoors. It includes a canyon, a waterfall, gardens, a pool with fountains and totem poles. The main attraction is O Canada!, a Circle-Vision 360 movie that takes guests on a tour of the country, including its landmarks, cities, scenery and people. The pavilion also includes Le Cellier Steakhouse and the semi-permanent home of the Celtic rock band Off Kilter.

The park was also hosting the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, an annual event featuring food and drink samplings from all over the world, along with live entertainment and special exhibits. Although this festival is great fun … it was super crowded!!

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is an award-winning show taking place in the World Showcase Lagoon every night at the park's closing time. It features fireworks, lasers, fire, and water fountains timed to a musical score over the World Showcase Lagoon. A large rotating globe with spherical LED screens is the centerpiece of the show and is used to display images of people and places. (My thanks to Disney, Disney photos and Wilipedia)

Here are some images of Illuminations as well as some other sights you may see in Epcot.