Longing to stroll around Epcot's beautiful World Showcase Lagoon at night to see each country in its stunning nighttime glory? Me too. But as we know, this can't happen currently. Instead, let me give you something that will spark your imagination.
Just imagine a World Showcase this is a park all its own. Don't worry, Future World is its own park now too. Disney Imagineers were the first to divide the two, not me. It was once a real plan. In this version of Imagineering's world, each country has moved their displays and attractions indoors. However, the outsides are all strikingly similar to avoid competition. Guests have to venture in to discover each ones delights.
This type of design plan for Disney's initial take on World Showcase was not forgotten and it was picked up by recent designers for more current World's Fairs. Look at these photos I've found after searching the web and looking at different decade's plans. Case in point: The World Energy Expo held in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017. Apparently from inside the sphere, guests could look down and see four quadrants housing participating countries.
Poor photography aside, it's easy to get an idea of what the Disney Imagineers originally thought the first version of World Showcase should look like.
What do you think about this design choice? As for me, I am very happy that Disney leadership pushed both park models together and created EPCOT Center as we know it. Embracing both concepts made it a much better guest day! And truth be told, I much more enjoy the current version with the Disneyfied traditional, romanticized, architecture representing each country than the sleek, modern, contemporary but austere look found above.
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)
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