EPCOT's Unbuilt Costa Rica Showcase

How to Save Epcot, Epcot Past, Epcot at 30, etc. There are so many posts on the Insights blog that focus on this once glorious theme park. Why?

It's creation was cutting edge, coming from the best that the world of entertainment, education, international business, and even corporate America had to offer. There was a sweet, some would say naive, optimism that grounded the park, bringing together the World in such a way that caused us to embrace the very goodness that the Creator of the Universe put into Man but was lost in his fall. The Imagineers stuffed the park with one of a kind shows, filled with a variety of art, music, and experiences.

The concept which opened to the public in 1982 was not what Walt Disney envisioned, but it did contain some of the elements and much of its spirit.  Guests would be intrigued and pleased by the variety of experiences available in both World Showcase and its neighbor Future World. Not everything would be exactly the same from one location to another. The merchandise would be unique, and the food would be deliciously different in each country.  

Attractions in World Showcase would vary from film presentations to boat cruises to a ride on a high speed train, a bobsled, a walking path, an Audio-Animatronics experience and more. Folktales and legends could be told without having to squeeze in synergy with current Disney product. Guests would enjoy the very different feeling from visiting this park and visiting the Magic Kingdom.

EPCOT Center was a success, no doubt, but a small number of folks that required foam head characters for a complete vacation experience complained just loud and clear enough to force change to the park and begin the character invasion. 

Somewhere along the way in the effort for increased popularity, the suits lost faith in this product. Perhaps they let greed or public opinion sway them. Regardless of the reason, the original vision for this grand park died, and many unbuilt projects were left by the wayside. 

Such was the unfortunate fate of the Costa Rica pavilion (image above) once beautifully designed by the Imagineers for World Showcase. Even though the area was to include this beautiful conservatory, it just wasn't meant to be. And it was more than just not finding the right corporate sponsor. 

Somewhere along the journey, it wasn't just the Walt Disney Company that had changed. Sadly, guests to the park lost their innocence and with it a desire for a richly authentic cultural experience, making it easier for the suits to continue this slide downward from the higher plans it once had. Maybe it was all the wars and political strife that killed the innocence. Perhaps the focus on consumerism versus relationship. Could it be the success of the Food and Wine Festival and the drinking around World Showcase games that have become popular? Maybe it was the doting parent who needed to overindulge little Johnny and Susie with every whim. Pleasing the children at all costs instead of teaching them about the world and what made each of us different became the focus. I guess none of it really matters. The park as it was at opening was past its time.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Epcot Past: Wonders of Life

It was during a quick peruse of my more than 1,000 posts on this blog that I realized I write quite often about the Epcot that was. It was then I decided to make it official: I would begin a series of posts that would periodically look at Epcot Past, when the park was truly at its peak of creativity and wonder.

Ah, speaking of wonder, let's begin with the Wonders of Life in Future World.  

In 1989 and continuing on (untouched no less) for almost 20 years, the Wonders of Life joined the park in an effort to educate guests about the wonders of the human body. The beautiful golden dome and the genetic spiral metalwork beckoned to guests, drawing them into a pavilion just slightly out of synch positionally from the others around it. yet, it was worth the journey. While Imagineering's concept art (above) is pretty nice, for once the rendering paled in comparison to the reality.

Stepping away from the crush of the crowds and into the airy, white ceiling but color filled building was delightful. It felt like a World's Fair destination with its festive and playful approach. The attractions themselves were each presented in a humorous way, even if tongue in cheek at times. 

The centerpiece draw was to be Body Wars, a trip through the human body using the latest flight simulator technology of the day also found in Star Tours at both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios (then Disney-MGM Studios). It was also the most vomit inducing attraction since the Mad Tea Party, long before the crown was claimed by the overrated Mission:Space. Personally, one ride was enough for me. I'd have preferred the same theme presented a la Disneyland's classic Adventure Thru Inner Space. The other part of the attraction I was not fond of had nothing to do with the ride itself as much as the Studios inspired trend of adding contemporary actors to the story, in this case, Elizabeth Shue. As I mentioned in an earlier post this year, using Hollywood celebrities instantly time stamps an attraction.

Buzzy!

Since Body Wars wasn't my favorite, why did I enjoy the pavilion so much? Cranium Command, a journey into the head of an adolescent boy was great fun, but The Making of Me, a short film on procreation was an absolute side-splitting riot. With actor Martin Short playing the lead in a tightly crafted little film, the writing was so sharp, so witty, so dead on, I found myself laughing with little control. Something pretty rare in a Disney theme park. (That is aside from the Comedy Warehouse and its spoof of Disney park culture.) 

Other attractions included a series of hands on activities (Fitness Fairgrounds), lessons on staying healthy with a bit of character influence (Goofy About Health), and other odds end ends which made the Wonders of Life pavilion an easy two hour diversion. 

That was then, and this is now. Wonders eventually transitioned to a cheaper to run corporate event facility as a destination location for the park's seasonal festivals. It's a shame, really, as the mix of attractions and the differing presentation style was a complement to Universe of Energy and Horizons, its nearby neighbors.

To see a greatly detailed look at the transformation, go to Werner Weiss' excellent Yesterland article here.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photographer unknown. The last photo might be mine!)