Rise! Epcot! Rise!- Walt Disney's Utopia, page

I'm not sure whether this is the right board to place this but I think it's rather close as it does involve an ideology, it also brings to question the idea of Utopia.

Without further a do, I give you EPCOT!!!


Otherwise known as Eperimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and Walt Disney's final plan before he died. You see, more then drawing cartoon mice and designing dreamscapes, it seems old Walt was quite political. He wished to create a Utopia, quite amazing yup, infact the Epcot today is simply what came after his death as a compromise. The idea for EPCOT was quite ingeneious;

"EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are emerging from the forefront of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed. It will always be showcasing and testing and demonstrating new materials and new systems."- Walt Disney

After the creation of Disneyland in LA, Walt brought the Florida lot, but he had a different idea in mind then simply building a theme park, something much bigger;

In watching his grandchildren grow up, Walt began to worry about the world of the future they would inhabit. He began to notice that the modern cities were hectic, disorganized, dirty, and riddled with crime. This was a far cry from Disney's clean and controlled Disneyland Park in California.

Walt began to realize that all that he and his Imagineers had learned about buildings and space in relation to people in the development of Disneyland could be put to use in planning communities, even whole cities. This got Walt thinking, and he began to engross himself in books about city planning and all that was needed to pull off something of that magnitude

Walt through several dummy industries manage dto acquire alot of land in Florida between Orlando and Kissemee; the perfect place to build a new city, he stated;

"Here in Florida we've enjoyed something we've never enjoyed at Disneyland: the blessing of size. There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine",

He then managed to get power over the whole area from the state governor, this truly meant he could literally build his own city... so what was his plan for EPCOT?

In October 1966, two months before his death, Walt Disney made a 25-minute film about his plans for the Florida Project, then dubbed "Disney World". In the film, Walt himself explains briefly how the Florida property will be utilized and how his EPCOT concept will work with the other aspects of Disney World.

Walt devised a way to make full use out of the Florida property, with EPCOT as its central attraction. All guests would enter and leave Disney World in the same general area.

Arriving by car, or at the Disney World Airport, in the southern part of the property, guests would be shuttled by monorail to the Disney World Welcome Center. There, guests would be welcomed by Disney hosts and hostesses able to speak in the guests' own languages. After every aspect of their stay had been planned, guests would then reboard the monorail to EPCOT.

Before arriving at EPCOT guests would have the opportunity to visit EPCOT's Industrial Park. This is where Disney World's core concept would come to fruition. The Park's offices and laboratories would be occupied by major American corporations who would use the facilities to develop new technology for use in the EPCOT city. Guests of Disney World would be allowed to go on tours of the facility to see how it all worked. Walt Disney hoped that this would stimulate people to return to their own communities and encourage technological growth where they live.

The idea for the city was simple, a complete and utter sentiment to American industry and capitalism, and the advancements made by soceity, the city was planned to have no crime, this was because everyone would have to work and there would be no slums or ghettos. He planned that houses could not be bought, only rented though at a small pirze and anyone who lived in the citywould have to work either in the city or in one of his parks. However, there was still to be a class system, low density and high density residential quarters were planned.

The most amazing thing about Walts dream was the transportation system, a revolutionary conveyer system, the people in teh city would not need cars, they would only need them for "weekend pleasure trips", the citys transportation would be entirely supllied via a huge conveyer belt.

The main idea behind EPCOT was change and transision, it has been stated that a man could come home from work to find his entire kicthen had been upgraded with new appliances. Infact housing would have been created in a way that the change of different appliances would be simple.


As well all know EPcot never came to be, why, because Walt died of course, although until the day of his death the idea consumed him.

Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966. Even when he was dying from lung cancer, his brother, Roy O. Disney, stated that Walt was still planning his city in the hospital. Walt was using the ceiling to imagine his city, planning excitedly.

Walts idea is truly amazing, infact, quite well, out of his time. I think that, out of all the failed Utopias of the past (Jonestown) this one could have worked. What if it had came to pass, would it influence the rest of the world? It would truly be a different place with a different ideology.

Much more info is located here;

www.the-original-epcot.com...

Share your ideas and attitude on the real EPCOT.

reply to post by wylekat

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I agree, if only Walt had stayed alive, I think he really cared about the happiness of others other himself. Hmm, imagion if he became president, that would be a world worth living in.

reply to post by InternationalistNoAliens

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Hmm, imagion if he became president, that would be a world worth living in.

It makes me wish time travel was viable. a) I'd go back and make sure he laid off the tobacco, and ate right and second (and don't think I'm wanting this for myself), let me carry on what he began. I'm really not interested in $$ except as a resource.

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