EPCOT’s Evolution Will ‘Never Be Complete’

For the past few years, EPCOT has been in a constant state of construction. Unlike Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, EPCOT is undergoing a drastic change from the original Park that opened in 1982. Future World is no more, to be replaced by three distinct lands: World Nature, World Discovery, and World Celebration.

Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering Scott Mallwitz sat down with USA Today to discuss the transformation of EPCOT Center and how the Imagineers took inspiration from the past to create a new EPCOT for the future.

The EPCOT we know, and love isn’t exactly what Walt Disney intended. Before he died in 1966, Walt had hoped to create a community with schools, homes, and retail. After his death, the Park began to take shape. But the original Park was what Mallwitz called “brutalist design.”

Essentially, brutalist design is creating large buildings that feature materials and textures. Looking at the buildings in EPCOT, you can see where he’s coming from. But this design did not feature a clear line of sight or open spaces, another knock on the design of the Park.

The Imagineers have now opened up lines of site and created large open spaces for crowds. In the new EPCOT, if you stand in front of The Land pavilion, you can see straight across the Park to Mission: Space.

Mallwitz told the paper:

The difference is striking, as you see, between what used to be Electric Umbrella and what is now Connections. It’s the same building. It’s just different materials, different applications, different sensibility.

World Celebration will be the middle section of the Theme Park, including Spaceship Earth. It will also house a new CommuniCore Plaza. The new Plaza will have a covered stage and a performance seating area. There will also be an exhibit space for all of EPCOT’s festivals. World Celebration will also have a dedicated space for meeting Mickey Mouse and his friends and Dreamer’s Point, which features a new statue of Walt Disney.

World Nature features The Land, The Seas Pavilion, Journey into Imagination, and the new Moana Journey of Water.

Finally, World Discovery features Mission: Space, Test Track, and the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Mallwitz did not give an update on what would become of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion. Wonders of Life closed in 2007 and has only been periodically used as festival space.

Mallwitz told the paper that EPCOT will “never be completed.” It will change as Guests change and our needs and wants change. He said:

They (Imagineers) know that Guests will continue to change, our behavior will continue to change, the way we interact with the our Parks, but also our personal devices will continue to change. How can we set the groundwork for continued evolution, but also keep it focused on our EPCOT messaging?

This is an exciting new phase for EPCOT. It will start later this year with the opening of Moana: The Way of Water. But as Mallwitz said, the transformation of EPCOT will never be complete, so we will always have a new attraction or two coming to the Walt Disney World Park.

We will continue to keep you updated on this and all Disney-related stories at Disney Fanatic.

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