The Heartbeat of Epcot

Under the leadership of Imagineer Zach Riddley, World Celebration is quickly becoming the focus of Epcot. A brand new Starbucks and the Connections Cafe will soon be buzzing with excitement as guests crowd that section of the park while waiting for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.  The less than impressive drink choices at Club Cool mean the lines may be shorter, but the Coca-Cola items in the shop are unique and well done! If you don't want cola inspired souvenirs, you can always go to the main location to shop in this part of the park, the Creations Shop. All said, the hub of what once was Future World will once again be a place where visitors stop instead of just managing construction wall after construction wall.

But Epcot wasn't always a mess.

Communicore was once the heartbeat of EPCOT Center, offering guests a wide variety of smaller attractions, exhibits, and places to shop and dine. Surrounding Spaceship Earth, these large circular buildings were very inviting with their glass walls and their contemporary design and color schemes. They truly were attractions unto themselves. Perhaps the most beloved exhibit was SMRT-1, a small blue robot with a childlike voice and welcoming presence. Challenging guests with a variety of trivia, it was easy for our young family to spend more than a few minutes playing games with this little guy.

On the more serious side, Exxon's Energy Exchange was informative, educational, and yes, fun, even if it was a bit of self promotion for the huge oil company. We loved the "edutainment" aspect of the park, but then, our kids were always fascinated by the world around them. Another interesting exhibit was the FutureChoice Theater. Not only was it a filmed presentation, it was also a chance for guests to give Disney feedback on important events of the day. Real issues and not marketing gimmicks.

There was just so much more to be found here, making Communicore a two hour part of our first Epcot day. Imagine that! The main pavilions around it held a large number of attractions that were imaginative, informative, well executed, and lasted longer than a three minute thrill ride. Even Future World alone could easily fill a day. But that was then.

Once completed, will this centerpiece of the park hum with activity or will it be just another pass through area? Time will tell. Anything new will have an initial fan base, but the long term impact of Epcot 3.0 will be felt 5-10 years from now. Will the suits of the Walt Disney Company continue to invest in my once favorite Florida park or will they let it rot due to neglect? I can only imagine.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

An Imperfect Innoventions

As imperfect as it is (my photograph of the art and my editing to make it more true to life) and as imperfect in its upkeep with cutting edge technologies, Epcot's Innoventions was a place where the newest and brightest gadgets could be explored. replacing EPCOT Center's classic Communicore was a tough act to follow. 

In the early days, it was the place to go explore and try on technology with its hands on approach. A guest could easily blow an hour or so there. Like most things Epcot, it was left to rot, replaced by one exhibit after another, rarely gathering a crowd or even a devoted following. The Sum Of All Thrills, a build your own rollercoaster attraction by Raytheon may be the sole exception to this rule. 

You can't blame Zach Riddley and company from finally getting rid of the place and giving guests Moana's Journey of Water. But, oh my, the demolition of it all has created a mess!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Fountain of Nations at Epcot

Classic EPCOT Center. Will it ever return? In the meantime, take a look at this fairly rare piece of concept art. Yes, right behind the Fountain of Nations is the glistening glass of Communicore. Behind the walls were a series of exhibits that invited interaction and learning. In fact, all of Future World and World Showcase were once more than just entertaining. 

Entertainment and lots of liquor are now just the sad reality of Walt Disney World's once forward looking second park. The original Imagineers gave it a sense of elan that the newer ones under Bob Iger and Bob Chapek's management and philosophy just aren't allowed to bring back. 

As theme park enthusiast Kevin Yee (where is he?) once stated, it's a decline by degrees as epic adventures are exchanged for short term thrills and an ongoing character infusion. Without the slightest trace of learning and real culture in sight. In Epcot's case, it's a backslide of many degrees at once. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

 

First Visit to EPCOT Center

There's an old saying that there's nothing like your first time. It happens to be true when I speak about our first visit to EPCOT Center. In an unexpected twist, it almost instantly became our favorite Disney park. This was the park as originally envisioned, not the one chock full of intellectual properties and animated characters. No Frozen, no Guardians of the Galaxy, no Nemo, no Ratatouille.

Back then, World Showcase opened the same time as Future World, so we entered the park and almost walked right past Spaceship Earth and directly to the Mexico Showcase. Almost. Of course, we were not immune to the charms of the future world as portrayed by Disney. In fact, I remember clearly just staring at the huge silver sphere. Couldn't take my eyes off it, but we had to stop and get to the World Key Information Stations inside Earth Station to book meal reservations. Super easy, super fun and reasonably priced. 

We only had to wait a few minutes, but we stayed busy by watching a terrific kaleidoscope of images previewing the wonders we'd soon encounter.  Just the presentation and the surrounding area felt fresh, optimistic, and inspiring. The future wasn't scary. It was approachable. We made our way to the front of the line and to the screen. 

This truly was a touch of something new. In fact, in 1982 touch sensitive computer screens were something of a rarity. The Bell System (at divestiture the attraction would then be officially sponsored by AT&T, the company I worked for at the time) and its branch Bell Laboratories really were bringing us the future of communication. Moments after a young woman came to the screen to help us with our meals choices, we were on our way. 

Deciding to bypass Future World for the time being, we strolled into Mexico.  It and China next door just seemed to beckon us compared to Canada and the United Kingdom. The lone Mayan pyramid and the small cantina on the glistening lagoon gave us no hint to what we were about to experience.

Until the changeover from El Rio del Tiempo to the Gran Fiesta and perhaps one day Coco, the sights, sounds, and feel of Mexico made it our favorite place in all of World Showcase. I won't bore you with the details of El Rio del Tiempo, but I will tell you, we were enchanted by it and wished it had lasted even longer than it did. It was planned to be much, much longer but budgets were blown past, and time was running short. (If you want to see lots of art and images plus links to video etc, just search on the site for "Cinco de Mayo" or go here for one of many posts.) 

Having visited Baja California, Mazatlan, and Acapulco, I have aways had a soft spot for the country. The gentle boat ride by an active volcano gave the pavilion a touch of glamour and mystery. Something the new version of the ride replaces with cheap marketing. It's too bad, but it was foreshadowing of what was to come. We wandered around the pyramid under the moonlight, so glad we were returning for lunch later in the day.

Naturally, we followed along the promenade and continued on to China. For younger readers, it's important to remember that at the time, few people were given the ability to travel to this country, thereby making a visit to a fairly accurate representation of the landmarks of the country all the more alluring. Meeting the nationals who were privileged to work there was a plus. 

There were no Disney themed items to be found in the shops of World Showcase, only authentic goods right from the countries represented. It was as close as an authentic experience a traveler could get without hopping on an airplane. Needless to say, we were again stunned by the beauty of the landscaping and architecture, thrilled by the 360 movie, Wonders of China. Dreams of traveling there were lit inside.

Making our way around the lagoon, we stopped at Germany and Italy, winding up at the American Adventure. We were very impressed by the show, (Disney always makes you proud to be an American) but disappointed there was nothing else to represent our country. Fast food? That's it? Disappointing to say the least, but there was still much to explore. The view back to Future World and Spaceship Earth- wow, this park was huge.

We chose to head back toward Mexico for lunch as we had waterside dining reservations at the San Angel Inn Restaurante.  It was dark, cozy, romantic- and we so enjoyed the margarita, queso fundido, and our main course. It was my first taste of Mole Poblano and not my last, becoming a new Mexican favorite. We ended our lunch with another cruise on the river, heading back into Future World from there.  

The afternoon crowds were heavy back in the other end of the park, and it was fairly easy to get to the big ticket attractions of Future World. First stop, Journey Into Imagination. My father-in-law worked for Kodak at the time and for his entire career, so we had heard great things about what Disney came up with. In a word, magical! Figment and Dreamfinder were delightful and will always be the "hosts" of the park.  (I cannot tell you what a bastardization of the original attraction this new version is. You'd have to experience it to know.) Before I became a collector of sorts of Disney park memorabilia, I purchased a Figment of my own. I have him to this day. Magic Journeys in 3D (a new thing!) was a great second attraction to the pavilion, and the Image Works was just plain fun. We stayed almost two hours- something you could not pay me to do now.

Sing along now: "Just make believe you're a tiny little seed..." The Land is our favorite of the original Future World attractions that are still in the park. Up until the point Horizons debuted a few years later, this is where the future was in Future World. The Listen to the Land boat tour was the perfect way to share the latest in farming technologies to the public. This was a case of "Edutainment" at its best. 

The film Symbiosis was preachy at times, but the cruise through the greenhouses made learning fun. Kitchen Cabaret brought it home for the kids. The silly presentation about nutrition, while enjoyable, was not on par with the much better Audio-Animatronic musicals found in the Magic Kingdom. However, it wasn't meant to be a headline attraction either. (The replacement, Food Rocks, was even less effective.)

Starting with the following morning when we would return for a second full day at EPCOT Center, breakfast at The Good Turn would become a tradition until it became too expensive or too difficult to book. We always enjoyed the warm Florida sun streaming through the greenhouse dome, and intentionally stretched our meal time long enough to rotate into the darker showroom of the boat cruise. It's in the hidden places such as this that Future World has its own unique charms. The future should be warm and hopeful, and it always was in the way Disney chose to present it back then. Now, it's just cartoon filled and silly.

The Living Seas wouldn't come until later, so we wandered through Communicore (now Innoventions). We passed through both East and West, and we decided to make that area part of the next day. Back then, EPCOT Center was a two full day park. Now we still go for two days because its our favorite, but it doesn't hold as much substance. Anyway, we were among the first to vote for The Person of the Century poll. Kind of a fun thing to throw in there. My bet was Disney didn't like the results, and the show- and announcement of the winner- soon disappeared.

A journey deep into Spaceship Earth was a perfect way to continue our trip. It was very impressive, and I was pleased to see my employer was represented by such a fine attraction. The changes over the years have not always taken away from the grandeur- until a new ending filled with monitors on the ride vehicle.  Such a pity.

Across the way, we went into the Universe of Energy. It's inherent surprises did the trick they were designed to do, (who doesn't love dinosaurs?), but it was next door's World of Motion that we really loved. Everything about it was Disney Imagineering at its best.

Let me be clear- I love old school Audio-Animatronic adventures like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. They rely on story to bring the thrills and surprises. World of Motion easily held its own with these classics. From the train being held up (in a nod to the never built Western River Expedition) to the policeman on motorcycle behind the billboard, the attraction built to a grand finale- a ride through the city of the future. Humorous, informative and very repeatable. (Gary Owen's narration was incredible in his signature style.) Motion became a three ride a day attraction for us, and we did it again several hours later after nightfall.  

Upon exiting and by then knowing the song "It's Fun to Be Free" by heart, we stepped into the Transcenter for the Bird and Robot / The Water Engine show followed by the automotive displays, a nice nod to the sponsor. 

I'm all for thrill rides-  and I love Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- but there is something about these older lengthy and leisurely attractions like those mentioned above that really take you out of present day reality and into another realm. This is something Disney does better than just about anyone, but this fact about immersion is almost lost on the current batch of Imagineers... and park guests trained to run from ride to ride! Without the balance of all kinds of attractions, the audience is limited. This is why parks like California Adventure 1.0 and Animal Kingdom are not as popular as they could have been. 

Evening meant a return to World Showcase starting with Canada. The signature attraction, "Oh, Canada!" had nothing on its Chinese counterpart. This was not the case when we viewed "Impressions of France".  Superlatives are not enough, so Imagineers and Budgeteers, after all these years, isn't it time to update the film and give it a technology upgrade as well? It's a masterpiece. So is the pavilion it is built around. A late night stroll through "France" and then around the promenade basking in the glory of a beautiful Florida evening was the perfect way to end our first visit to EPCOT Center. Thank God Ratatouille is an add and not an "instead of"!

We'd do it again the next day, this time starting in Future World and then working our way through World Showcase, beginning with Canada. The changes over the years would not always please us, but this one single theme park is still the reason I return to Walt Disney World. There's nothing like it.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Epcot Placeholder

Not Epcot Placemaking, mind you! That project is continuing put on hold.

Here's Imagineer Herb Ryman's absolutely iconic look at what EPCOT Center was indeed to be. This piece of concept art is still a work that stuns, inspires, and now- to any EPCOT Center fan- disappoints. Yes, disappoints. It's a bitter reminder of an incredible past. A park that took two full days to experience the attractions and not just the shops, restaurants, and bars.

Journey into Imagination, World of Motion, Horizons. Classic. Forward Thinking. Beautiful. Some of the best work Disney has ever done. But that was then.

Theme park fans loved EPCOT Center, and you can still find many articles on it. On this blog alone, there's over 300 posts discussing the park, sharing a bit of history, and tons of rare concept art.

What will it take to save the park and bring it back to it's glory days? You can find that here as well.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Tron in the Disney Parks: What Was, What Could Have Been, and What Will Be

All this talk about the new Tron Light Cycles Power Run going into Shanghai Disneyland got me thinking about what the Imagineers had planned long ago. What was built and what wasn't. 

Disneyland in Anaheim was the first to give a small taste of Tron to its guests. Back then, if you found yourself riding the Peoplemover in Tomorrowland, the Superspeed Tunnel gave way to the "Amazing World of Tron". Was it amazing? No. 

Basically, think of the speed tunnel used in EPCOT Center's World of Motion. A bit shorter in length and most definitely lacking in execution. It was filler designed to play up the Tron name and not much more.

Another advertisement of things that never 

got built- only at EPCOT.

The next time the film was set to be placed in a theme park was in EPCOT- but it was not meant to be. The Imagineers' plans were to use the look and theme of the film and turn a slice of Communicore into the Game Grid. The concept art, seen at top in full color, looked enticing, but for reasons never given directly, the project was not brought to reality.

California Adventure's Tron "attraction".

Years later after the mind-line success of Tron:Legacy in 2010, the Walt Disney Company once again tossed about ideas in how to bring this franchise into the parks. 

California Adventure was in the very beginning stages of a large transformation, and the park certainly needed something to draw in guests while Cars Land was in the wings. The night time dance party, elecTRONica was a minor success. Premiering a couple of months before the film's release, it did bring guests into a fairly ignored part of the park for booze filled evenings. In a pretty smart move, the suits brought in  recreation of Flynn's Arcade and a whole host of vintage video games. 

Disneyland itself was also under consideration for a major Tron addition: The Carousel Theater and the surrounding area was rumored to be the home of the first version of Shanghai's Light Cycles. Had this happened, Space Mountain would have had a serious contender for the early morning rush to "E Ticket" attractions. Unfortunately, that plug was also pulled, leaving the original Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland looking like the mess it currently is. 

A similar rumor came across for Florida's Magic Kingdom as well. It, too, was passed over. 

First shot at the Light Cycles in a brand new Shanghai Tomorrowland.

Thrilling concept! Will it mean a thrilling execution?

Along came Shanghai Disneyland. In an effort to woo the Chinese government and give them the premier theme park they required in order to do business, Disney suits and Imagineers gave Mainland China the Tron effect.

Another idea for the Land of the Future.

Final presentation of Tomorrowland

and the main Tron building.

Make no mistake, Tron Light Cycles Power Run will be the smash in a brand new park. Much like Mystic Manor is for Hong Kong Disneyland, and all of Tokyo Disney Sea for Japan, the incredible new coaster will have theme park fans all over the world green with envy. 

In 2012, Disney married two properties that at first seemed to have no connection: Test Track at Epcot was remodeled to bring it into the future. What it really accomplished was bringing the look of Tron into the attraction without using the name of the film in its marketing. However, if you watch the video below, you'll see clearly what the intent was of the Imagineers and suits. 

As close to Tron as we Americans can get for now.

The countdown clock for Shanghai Disneyland is running. June 16, 2016, this attraction will open to the world. If I were a betting man, I'd also say that the day begins the countdown to the end of an exclusivity contract- and one day, we will see Tron Light Cycles in an American park. That day cannot come soon enough!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

EPCOT Center's World Key

EPCOT Center's World Key Information System was one of the new- and most user friendly- technologies developed for this new theme park. In conjunction with the Bell System (later renamed AT&T), guests could walk into a large but friendly space and find several kiosks enabling them to make reservations for restaurants at the Walt Disney World property. Under the shadows of Spaceship Earth, this could be done by touching the screen and following the prompts. Should that fail or should a guest need specialized assistance, a Guest Services host would appear and provide further help.

In 1982, these types of technologies were presented in a warm and engaging, yet very future focused, environment. The goal of the Imagineers was to present this Future World portion of the park in a way that was inviting, celebrating the human element of the future and how we would all connect with each other more easily- and for a better life than in the past. All with one little spark and more of creativity and imagination.

Unfortunately, like most good things from the Company's past, this too was bastardized by corporate and personal greed with little vision for the park.  Future World and soon later World Showcase became a place to tie in characters from Disney's latest films, milking that cash cow of animation for all its worth.  

Why do I bemoan what's become of the once elegant EPCOT Center? If you had seen it in its heyday, you'd understand. And if you have not experienced the park that way, you can only imagine what you've missed.

Epcot at 30: First Time is the Charm

There's an old saying that there's nothing like your first time. It happens to be true when I speak about our first visit to EPCOT Center. In an unexpected twist, it almost instantly became our favorite Disney park. 

Back then, World Showcase opened the same time as Future World, so we entered the park and almost walked right past Spaceship Earth and directly to the Mexico Showcase. Of course, we were not immune to the charms of the future as portrayed by Disney. In fact, I remember clearly just staring at the huge silver sphere. Couldn't take my eyes off it, but I had to get to the World Key Information Stations inside Earth Station to book meal reservations. 

We had to wait a bit, but we made ourselves busy by watching a terrific kaleidoscope of images previewing the wonders we'd soon encounter.  Just the presentation and the surrounding area felt fresh, optimistic, and inspiring. We made our way to the front of the line and to the screen. 

This truly was a touch of the future. In fact, in 1982 touch sensitive computer screens were something of a rarity. The Bell System (at  divestiture the attraction would then be officially sponsored by AT&T, the company I worked for at the time) and its branch Bell Laboratories really were bringing us the future of communication. Moments after a young woman came too the screen to help us with our meals choices, we were on our way. 

Deciding to bypass Future World for the time being, we strolled into Mexico.  It and China next door just seemed to beckon us compared to Canada and the United Kingdom. The lone pyramid and the small cantina gave us no hint to what we about to see.

Until the changeover from El Rio del Tiempo to the Gran Fiesta, the sights, sounds, and feel of Mexico made it our favorite place in all of World Showcase. I won't bore you with the details of El Rio del Tiempo, but I will tell you, we were enchanted by it and wished it had lasted even longer than it did. (If you want to see lots of art and images plus links to video etc, just search on the site for "Cinco de Mayo" or go here for one of many posts.) Having been to Baja California, Mazatlan, and Acapulco, I have aways had a soft spot for the country. The old boat ride gave the pavilion a touch of glamour and mystery that the new version replaces with cheap marketing. It's too bad. We wandered around inside the moonlight, so glad we were returning for lunch.

Naturally, we followed along the promenade and continued on to China. For younger readers, it's important to remember that at the time, few people were given the ability to travel to this country, thereby making a visit to a fairly accurate representation of the landmarks of the country all the more alluring. This was only enhanced by the nationals who were privileged to work there. And there were no Disney themed items to be found in the shops of World Showcase, only authentic goods right from the countries represented. It was as close as an authentic experience a traveler could get without hopping on an airplane. Needless to say, we were again stunned by the beauty of the landscaping and architecture, thrilled by the 360 movie, Wonders of China.

Making our way around, we stopped at Germany and Italy, winding up at the American Adventure. We very impressed by the show, (Disney always makes you proud to be an American) but disappointed there was nothing else to represent our country. The view back to Future World and Spaceship Earth- wow, the park was huge.

We chose to head back toward Mexico for lunch as we had waterside dining reservations at the San Angel Restaurante.  It was dark, cozy, romantic- and we so enjoyed the margarita, queso fundido, and our main course. It was my first taste of Mole Poblano and not my last. We ended our lunch with another cruise on the river, then headed back into Future World.  

By this point in time, the crowds were heavy back in the other end of the park, and it was fairly easy to get to the big ticket attractions of Future World.  First stop, Journey Into Imagination. My father-in-law worked for Kodak at the time and for his entire career, so we had heard great things about what Disney came up with. In a word, magical! Figment and Dreamfinder were delightful and will always be the "hosts" of the park.  (I cannot tell you what a bastardization of the original attraction this new version is. You'd have to experience it to know.)  before I became a collector of sorts of Disney park memorabilia, I purchased a Figment of my own. I have him to this day. Magic Journeys in 3D (a new thing!) was a great second attraction to the pavilion, and the Image Works was just plain fun. We stayed almost two hours- something you could not pay me to do now.

"Just make believe you're a tiny little seed..." The Land is our favorite of the original Future World attractions that are still in the park. Up until the point Horizons debuted a few years later, this is where the future was in Future World. The Listen to the Land boat tour was the perfect way to share the latest in farming technologies to the public. "Edutainment" at its best. The film Symbiosis was preachy at times, but the cruise through the greenhouses made learning fun. Kitchen Cabaret brought it home for the kids. The silly presentation about nutrition, while enjoyable, was not on par with the much better Audio-Animatronic musicals found in the Magic Kingdom. However, it wasn't meant to be a headline attraction either.

Starting with the following morning when we would return for a second full day at EPCOT Center, breakfast at The Good Turn would become a tradition until it became too expensive or too difficult to book. We always enjoyed the warm Florida sun streaming through the greenhouse dome, and intentionally stretched our meal time long enough to rotate into the darker showroom of the boat cruise. It's in the hidden places such as this that Future World has its own unique charms. The future should be warm and hopeful, and it always was in the way Disney chose to present it upon the park's opening.

The Living Seas wouldn't come until later, so we stumbled through Communicore (now Innoventions). We passed through both East and West, and decided to make that area part of the next day. We were among those to vote for The Person of the Century poll. Kind of a fun thing to throw in there. My bet was Disney didn't like the results, and the show- and announcement of the winner- soon disappeared.

A journey on Spaceship Earth was a perfect way to continue our trip. It was very impressive, and I was pleased to see my employer was represented by such a fine attraction. The changes over the years have not taken away from the grandeur. After all, what can compete with a trip through the globe? 

In quick time, we went into the Universe of Energy. It's inherent surprises did the trick they were designed to do, but it was next door's World of Motion that we loved. 

Let me be clear- I love old school Audio-Animatronic adventures like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. They rely on story to bring the thrills and surprises. World of Motion easily held its own with these classics. From the train being held up (in a nod to the never built Western River Expedition) to the policeman on motorcycle behind the billboard, the attraction built to a grand finale- a ride through the city of the future. Humorous, informative and repeatable. (Gary Owen's narration was incredible in his signature style.) Motion became a three ride attraction for us, and we did it again several hours later after nightfall.  

Upon exiting and knowing the song "It's Fun to Be Free" by heart, we stepped into the Transcenter for the Bird and Robot / The Water Engine show followed by the automotive displays, a nice nod to the sponsor. 

I'm all for thrill rides-  and I love Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- but there is something about these older lengthy and leisurely attractions like those mentioned above that really take you out of present day reality and into another realm. This is something Disney does better than just about anyone, but this fact about immersion is almost lost on the current batch of Imagineers... and park guests trained to run from ride to ride! Without the balance of all kinds of attractions, the audience is limited. This is why parks like California Adventure 1.0 and Animal Kingdom are not as popular as they could have been. 

Evening meant a return to World Showcase starting with Canada. The signature attraction, "Oh, Canada!" had nothing on its Chinese counterpart. This was not the case when we viewed "Impressions of France".  Superlatives are not enough, so Imagineers and Budgeteers, isn't it time to update the film and give it a technology upgrade as well? It's a masterpiece. So is the pavilion it is built around. A late night stroll through "France" and then around the promenade basking in the glory of a beautiful Florida evening was the perfect way to end our first visit to EPCOT Center. 

We'd do it again the next day by starting in Future World and then working our way through World Showcase, starting with Canada this time. From here on out, Epcot would always be a two day visit. The changes over the years would not always please us, but this one single theme park is the reason I return to Walt Disney World.   More tomorrow...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Banking on Epcot

Go out and pick up that May 2010 issue of Kiplinger's financial magazine. At the end of the issue, there is a nice interview with Disney Imagineer Joe Tankersley about the creation of The Great Piggy Bank Adventure. The Walt Disney World exhibit Innoventions at Epcot takes a good amount of grief for being a knockoff of the opening day Communicore concept, but in this case, Piggy Bank seems to be a success. By the way, you can play the online version of the game here.

EPCOT's Information Fountain

There was one indoor fountain at EPCOT Center on opening day, and here is a concept of it from the pre-opening book given corporate sponsors. It was a great piece of art. Very fun to watch and a nice addition to Communicore.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Before Wall-E...

... there was SMRT-1. He was the cute and compact robot found in Communicore at Epcot Center. He could talk and interact with guests, answering questions with a sweet little boy voice and a charming giggle.

Notice anything special about this photo? Before becoming the current home of Innoventions, there was Communicore. It was a bright and airy place, filled with lots of light and open spaces, without so heavy an emphasis on corporate product placement. Epcot's smaller exhibits were designed to be updated, so things would change. But I'll always miss this little robot. Betcha he's just sitting in some imagineer's home or office, now just a memory of days gone by.