Happy 40th Birthday, EPCOT!

 by Beth Keating

Lifestyle

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 1, 2022

 

Today, EPCOT celebrates 40 years of bringing joy, great food, and sometimes even a little learning to Disney fans of all ages. On October 1, 1982, the doors opened on six Future World and nine World Showcase pavilions, bringing the living showcase that Walt Disney himself envisioned into being.

Walt Disney actually coined the phrase EPCOT in 1966, and the acronym stood for the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.”  “EPCOT Center,” as it was initially called, did not end up mirroring the experimental neighborhood Walt visualized, however.

 

EPCOT has undergone many changes over its four decades, and there’s more to come. If you’ve ridden the monorail through EPCOT lately, you’ve no doubt taken a peek into the ongoing construction happening behind the walls as the Imagineers bring Moana and her world to life.  The six Future World pavilions are now history, making way for World Nature, World Celebration and World Discovery.  

As Walt Disney himself said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” And while there are certainly things about EPCOT’s past that we miss, EPCOT’s spirit of imagination and curiosity offers us a park that will continue to change.  

 

Happy birthday, EPCOT! 

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.