What's this? A double ringed World Showcase at Epcot? Absolutely! The Disney Imagineers initially proposed this design so there would be room for the many, many countries that they had planned on adding. Check out all the concept art for Australia, Costa Rica, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Philippines, and more. The World Showcase Lagoon would be very large with the walking path around it enabling thousands of guests to comfortably explore each nation's pavilion. Look at Imagineer Harper Goff plans and drawings for a great buildout. And even more here. Much like the current additions to France, there were incredible plans to expand the Japan showcase. Check this out. Yes, this is the EPCOT Center as originally proposed.
Forty years later and only two new additions to World Showcase? What a travesty! Only Norway and Morocco joined the initial line-up. But they had never planned to let the international section go stagnant for decades as it has.
Certainly, the other half of the park, then known as Future World, had its share of great attractions. As the Imagineers proved early on, technology could not only be used for educational purposes, it could be entertaining as well.
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Disney suits once had a real in-theme vision for this park. But we can't solely blame the likes of Robert Iger and Bob Chapek or even Michael Eisner for this change in direction. We are also the reason Epcot has changed. I make a strong case for this here.
One last interesting observation- If you turn this image upside down, it looks a lot like the site plan for Epic Universe, proving once again, good ideas never really die.
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)
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