Walt Disney showcases his plan for Epcot, a place of “ingenuity and imagination.”

Happy Birthday, Walt Disney! To celebrate his special day, we remember the dream he had to create a place where parents and their children can have fun together. Disney World continues to live up to his vision with New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom and many other places that foster technology, innovation, happiness and lasting memories.

Walt never did see Walt Disney World fully completed. The Disney World project had not yet begun construction in Orlando. Disney’s brother Roy Disney oversaw its construction and made sure to honor his late brother’s wishes for the park.  However, one of Disney’s dreams for the park, now known as Epcot, was never fully realized.

Epcot or “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” was Disney’s answer to the growing urban crisis of the 1960s. The initial plans for Epcot were very different than the Epcot we know and love today. Instead, Disney’s idea was to build a ‘city of the future’, which would ultimately be the ideal place to work, rest and play in the 21st century and beyond. It was intended to be a fully functioning community with 20,000 residents designed to showcase American industry and technology.



This film was shot October 27, 1966. Weeks later, December 15th, 1966, Walt died from lung cancer. In the film, he’s discussing this new city. He says, “EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing, and testing, and demonstrating new materials and new systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world of the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise.”

Unfortunately, Walt died before the development of Epcot began, and Disney changed the direction of the concept from a city to a theme park that represented Epcot instead. And later (The 90s,) Disney CEO Michael Eiser took the ideas of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and developed a new town call Celebration, Florida, which shows people today a little of what Walt wanted for EPCOT. Still, the $800 million dollar Epcot as well as the rest of Walt Disney World remains a place that cultivates industry, technology, ingenuity and imagination.

Today, Disney World still follows Walt’s initial concept that bright minds can come together and make something that the whole world will notice. Attractions and partnerships like Test Track by Chevrolet, the new Avatar Land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in partnership with James Cameron, Lucas Film & Pixar partnerships and eventual buyouts, the Turner Classic Movie and Great Movie ride updates at Hollywood Studios just go to show how Walt’s dream has become a reality and it will continue to live on for years to come for all members of the family to enjoy.

Orlando, FL – 12/5/14

By: Jena Pugh