EPCOT Center's Japan Omnimover Ride - and More

Let's kick off the month of August with a piece of concept art for a proposed Omnimover attraction for the Japan Showcase at Epcot. Or should I say, let's kick off the month with a gallery full of concept art for EPCOT Center's Japan Showcase.

This top piece from Imagineer Collin Campbell was designed long ago. But it is certainly not the only time Imagineers have looked at adding an attraction to the Japan location.

More recently, as with what's also happened elsewhere in World Showcase, there's been an idea to add even more shopping and dining options to entice guest to spend. More varied (and trendy) dining is certainly coming and has already been announced. Unfortunately the once proposed shopping street never saw the light of day. The art rendered above seems like something you'd find out in the ancient city of Kyoto. This would have been great! Kyoto is just an amazing city, and it's one I hope to return to some day.

A series of pieces for Meet the World.

The original plan for Japan at EPCOT Center was to build a huge revolving theater attraction. It did open but at Tokyo Disneyland along with the rest of the park in 1983, and it was called Meet the World. Think Carousel of Progress meets The American Adventure. Perhaps the suits felt two theater shows so close together wasn't a good idea, and this gave them the necessary excuse to scrap the very expensive plans to build it. Maybe it was the exclusion of World War II that made the suits decide it wasn't a good idea after all.

Matterhorn Bobsleds meets Japanese landscapes.

Perhaps a more thrilling and far less politically charged attraction is to your liking? How about a bobsled run inside a full scale replica of Mt. Fuji? Certainly a giant mountain thrill ride would be a hit. It's been done before at Disneyland in California, and the Japanese themed bobsled was considered as once was a full on Swiss version of the Anaheim favorite. These too were scrapped for a variety of reasons.

The bullet train idea.

In what would have been at the time a very unique attraction, a bullet train tour of the country was considered. If you remember how effective The Living Seas' Hydrolators were at bringing you under the sea, you can easily picture how convincingly the Imagineers could have pulled off a ride like this! Travelogue meets motion simulator in a fresh application.

Closing out this post is a variety of concept art as well as a small model made up to show what the Japan presence would have felt like when World Showcase was to be its own park.

As I mentioned in my recent trip report, I love the Japan pavilion for what it is, but how I would have loved it for what it could have been!

(Art and model copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Epcot's Japan Showcase That Never Was

The temporarily closed Tokyo Disney Resort and its two theme parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea, are world class. Some of Walt Disney Imagineering's finest work, actually. As we wait for more news, let's take a look at Epcot's stylized take on their beautiful country. (Click on these images for a much larger picture!)
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Prior to the realization that EPCOT Center would be blowing past the funding to build it, the Imagineers at the Walt Disney Company had pretty grandiose plans for each of the World Showcase pavilions. Some of these plans came to fruition, but in the case of the Japan representation, earlier plans gave way to a scaled back version of what was intended. On opening day, the World Showcase section of the park was comprised of three films, one boat ride (the elegant El Rio del Tiempo in Mexico- which was also a victim of cost cutting), and one single Audio-Animatronics show, The American Adventure. In park entertainment from each participating country was always planned from the beginning, but dining, shopping, and cultural experiences would form the overwhelming reason to visit this side of the lagoon. The attraction roster here was extremely light.


In this piece of concept art from the Company annual report in 1975, you can see that the Japan showcase was originally planned to have a real attraction: Meet the World, a history focused Audio-Animatronic presentation that premiered at Tokyo Disneyland. This was to be theater in the round, using the same revolving stage design originally engineered for Carousel of Progress. As with other politically or historically based shows, Meet the World was custom tailored by Disney for its specific audience, here presenting a light glossing over of Japan's role in World War II.

The two images above show an altogether different attraction planned to highlight the beauty of Japan. In this unnamed attraction, a bullet train ride would take guests from the city to the countryside, showcasing the nation from a new perspective. Enlarging the second graphic, you can see that guests would board vehicles that look similar to the ones used for the Peoplemover. The first piece of art shows a version where the guests would stand. Guessing this would be a variation on a motion simulator. Either way, a combination of film and carefully placed props would be used to set the stage for the journey. Having seen a good portion of Japan for myself, I would have much enjoyed this particular ride!

Although neither adventure was ever built, these were not the only concepts thrown about. A long rumored Mt. Fuji based thrill ride was also on the books at one time - and discarded along with all the others. Urban legend says Kodak, one of Epcot's major sponsor's, objected to naming an attraction that would use their main competitor's name (Fuji Film), so the plan was scrapped. The Imagineers considered the same Matterhorn Mountain inspired attraction from Disneyland for a proposed Swiss pavilion. Had some of the original plans for the Millenium celebration come together, there even would have been a smaller version of Tokyo's Ginza district built toward the back of the showcase!

Until the suits decide to reinvest in this esquisitely stunning part of Epcot, World Showcase will remain without a brand new attraction, relying instead on the same type of plan they moved to from its opening. Recent additions of restaurants to both the Italy and Mexico pavilions seem to indicate this disappointing stagnation will continue. Before the next renaissance hits, guests to this side of the park will have to appreciate it for what it is. In Japan, this means enjoying beautiful architecture, sublime food and drink, excellent shopping, and hidden, lovely gardens.

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Come back tomorrow to explore an interesting way in which you can help the people of Japan as they rebuild. And for those of you who pray, keep it up!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)