I’m in the process of uploading some blog posts from my old website to this new platform in order to keep everything all in one place. The post below was originally written on October 31st, 2019.
You can listen to the podcast version of this post for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please note that this version is slightly shortened as opposed to the one here :)
Marceline, Missouri, current population 2,221, might be one of the most unremarkable places that you could think of. With a quaint, late-19th-century-esque main street and not much more, Marceline might not be your first choice for a road trip destination, either. But you might be surprised to learn that you may have already paid to see reproductions of Marceline’s charming small-town America atmosphere. If you’ve ever been to a Disney theme park, whether it be in Orlando, Anaheim, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, or Tokyo, you’ve likely found yourself immersed in a scene not much different than Marceline’s own. The buildings might be more immaculate and feature the modern glory that is air conditioning, but this resemblance is no coincidence: Marceline, Missouri is most known for being the hometown of Walt Disney.
Walt had lofty goals for the creation of Disneyland in 1955- he wanted to channel the spirit of exotic exploration with Adventureland, traverse the American West in Frontierland, delve into the world of make-believe in Fantasyland, and, of course, welcome every visitor into the park with a stroll down Main Street, USA. But there was one other area of the park: Tomorrowland, which channeled ideas of space exploration and life in the future.
Disney was known for his futurist views, and Tomorrowland in his California park was perhaps the first time that the public got a brief taste of what was in store in the years to come with Disney’s emergence into the theme park industry. On opening day in 1955, Tomorrowland was designed to represent the future year of 1986. The land featured a stunningly white rocket ship, the symbol of the nearby “Rocket to the Moon” attraction. An ornate world clock could tell visitors the time anywhere on the planet. The Autopia celebrated the future of transportation: the American freeway, and later that year, “Space Station X-1” gave park guests a satellite view of Earth as if from space.
But the coming years gave rise to what is known as the “Tomorrowland Problem”: the problem with creating a land based on the future was that, inevitably, the future always becomes the present. Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind, the satellite Sputnik was launched into space, and President Eisenhower signed the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act. But before these conflicts could come to fruition, spurring a Tomorrowland overhaul in 1967 that gave us Adventure Thru Inner Space and a new, “World on the Move” theme. But in order to go from 50’s space-age rockets to the future of technology and transportation, Walt Disney and his Imagineers had needed a sounding board, and they found in the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
Disney was approached by and asked to create attractions, or pavilions, for the fair by several corporate sponsors. Walt viewed this as an incredible opportunity for two reasons: he could test new attraction technology for use at Disneyland, as well as assessing the possibility of an East Coast park- what would later become the company’s “Florida Project”- with a test audience at the fair.
The 1964 World’s Fair gave rise to four attractions that were not only favorites of fair visitors and became beloved at Disneyland upon their relocation at the fairs’ conclusion, but also helped propel the Walt Disney Company into the future. The fair allowed Walt to further develop the Audio-Animatronic technology that he had used previously with the birds in his Enchanted Tiki Room. Audio-Animatronics, lifelike moving figures, were an invention so new and innovative that a name had to be created just for them. The fair’s exhibits featured many of these Audio-Animatronics, ranging from simple dancing children in UNICEF’s “it’s a small world”, an attraction representing over 100 countries uniting in unity and peace in a time shrouded in the Cuban Missile Crisis, to the exhibit with the most advanced figure of the time, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, inviting fairgoers to get up close and personal with Walt’s favorite president.
But Walt’s attractions for the fair were not preoccupied with the historical past or rooted in the present- Ford had approached the company with a request for an exhibit featuring a new method of transportation. This idea evolved into Ford’s Magic Skyway, and later the Peoplemover- an elevated-track tram system with vehicles that required no moving parts.
Perhaps the most impressive and influential pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair was Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, created on the behalf of General Electric. Now located in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom park in Florida after a brief stint at Disneyland, the attraction was so aptly named because as opposed to a stage show where the sets and characters changed after each scene, the audience rotated on a large circular platform, not unlike the motion of a carousel. Of course, this attraction was different than other stage shows for another reason: all of the actors were Audio-Animatronics.
The Carousel of Progress brought clarity to Disneyland’s “Tomorrowland Problem”- the premise of the show was “looking back at tomorrow”- a somewhat contradictory slogan that fit the attraction well. The show opens with an early 18th-century scene in which we are introduced to the family- our narrator, John, and his wife Sarah, as well as their children, James and Patricia, the dog, Rover, and the children’s grandparents. John remarks that Thomas Edison is working on an idea for “snap-on electric lights” and how this will mean that the family will no longer have to use kerosene. The carousel theatre rotates, and the audience now finds themselves in the 1920s, where John tells us about new advances in technology: people can now travel from New York to California by train in three days, and his automobile now has an electric starter, so he doesn’t have to crank it. In the 1940s scene, we learn that the family now has a television as well as a dishwasher. And in the 21st century, the family is gathered around a television set, where James is teaching his grandmother how to play a new video game. While scenes have been updated as time had gone on, the journey of this seemingly-ageless family through the development of General Electric’s technology still brings a sense of nostalgia and showcasing the development of technology over time and the idea of “retro-futurism” were arguably more sustainable solutions to an ever-approaching tomorrow.
The idea of the World’s Fair also gave Walt and his Imagineers the confidence in their ideas and technology that they needed to move forward with their “Florida Project”, as Walt called it when he announced his plans in 1965. After purchasing vast amounts of land in central Florida, between the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee, Walt announced his project in what is now known as the “E.P.C.O.T. Film” shortly before his death in 1966, saying “There’s enough land here to hold all of the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine.”
After the World’s Fair, Walt’s eyes had been opened to the possibilities that advancements and changes in technology could bring to this “Florida Project”. While the land was to include a theme park of its own- an idea that evolved into the Magic Kingdom- Walt had bigger, grander ideas for the property as well, and the World’s Fair had given him the confidence that he needed to pursue them. The Walt Disney Company wanted to create a futuristic, utopian city- they called the project “Progress City”, or E.P.C.O.T: Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.
If you’ve ever been to Disney World, you’ll know that this idea didn’t quite work out how Walt had envisioned- there’s no sign of the “airport of tomorrow” that Walt announced in his E.P.C.O.T. film, and the vast network of Peoplemovers and Monorails that he envisioned running above the city didn’t quite come to fruition. But although Walt passed away before the first stage of his Florida Project, the East Coast Disneyland known as the Magic Kingdom could be completed, his legacy and plans for Progress City were not forgotten. Walt wanted his planned community to be a center of innovation and advancement in all aspects of human life, and this central value of E.P.C.O.T. was not disregarded.
Although the company had qualms about their ability to construct and operate a fully functional leadership without Walt’s leadership and vision, there was something that his Imagineers were quite familiar with: theme parks. So, in the 1970s, development began for the second phase of what was now known as Walt Disney World- EPCOT Center.
EPCOT Center was more than just an amusement or theme park- it was to serve as a sort of permanent World’s Fair, showcasing innovation and enterprise, as well as celebrating the world’s diverse nations and cultures- an overarching theme of human achievement. At the time of its construction, EPCOT Center was the largest construction project on earth. Disney executive Jack Linquist was quoted as saying that the park would be more “adult-oriented […] it will be more complicated and take longer to absorb than anything at Disneyland or Walt Disney World.” The back half of the park was occupied by pavilions representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, while the front of the park became Future World: an area based on Walt’s nine original concepts for his city of tomorrow: communication, innovation, energy, transportation, ecosystems and nutrition, creativity and the imagination, the ocean, the body, and the future.
I can thank one technological innovation for the ability to experience EPCOT Center as a guest might have on opening day in 1982: the video camera. Because of the vast number of home movies uploaded to the internet, I was able to get a sense of what some of these long-extinct attractions might have been like to experience firsthand. Beginning at the front entrance of the park, guests are welcomed by Spaceship Earth- one of the few pavilions that still exists in its near-original form to this day. A large geodesic dome, Spaceship Earth takes riders on a slow-moving journey into what is affectionately known as “the ball” in a time machine style omnimover vehicle to experience the dawn and development of communication through elaborately-crafted animatronic figures and settings- from the creation of words and symbols, to written language and record-keeping, to the creation of the first computer system.
Communicore, in the center of Future World, had the theme of innovation- at the time of EPCOT Center’s opening, it educated guests in advancements in computer technology and featured a look at the computer systems that ran almost everything in the state-of-the-art theme park. The Universe of Energy pavilion featured a look at energy sources used in American homes- from fossil fuels to alternative energy. World of Motion took guests along the journey of the development of transportation, including scenes such as the first traffic jam.
In Future World West, on the opposite side of the Communicore, pavilions based on the natural world were found. The Land educated guests on agriculture and food technology. The shining jewel of this pavilion was the “Listen to the Land” boat ride, which sailed guests through model environments and real greenhouses, where much of the food served in The Land’s restaurants was grown. Next door, The Living Seas featured what at the time was the world’s largest aquarium as well as a ride that allowed guests to “experience” life under the sea. And across the park, the Wonders of Life pavilion showcased life, health, and the human body. Finally, the Imagination pavilion took guests on a journey with an original character known as the Dreamfinder and his whimsical purple dragon friend, Figment. Through a catchy theme song written by the Sherman Brothers, writers of “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” from the Carousel of Progress, the Dreamfinder and Figment reminded guests of all ages that “a dream can be a dream can be a dream come true- with just that spark in me and you!”
While all of Future World’s pavilions represented Walt’s visions for Progress City and the dreams he had of the future, one embodied his innovative ideas and dreams most prominently. Themed to the idea of the future itself, Horizons first opened its doors to guests one year after EPCOT Center’s opening, in October of 1983. Applying all of the Future World concepts into one attraction, the ride was often perceived to be a “sequel” to the Carousel of Progress, which by this time had been relocated from California to Magic Kingdom’s own Tomorrowland. The parents in Horizons were interpreted to be an older, grandparent-aged version of John and Sarah, the parents from the Carousel.
We begin our journey with an audio clip that announces: “Horizons One is now departing. Our final destination today: the 21st Century”. John and Sarah take over as narrators, guiding us through scenes of “looking back at tomorrow”- Jules Verne’s idea of the future, as well as the “future from the 50s”, which featured robotic butlers and chefs. Then, we are taken in front of two giant OmniMax screens, playing videos that display advances in science such as the cataloging of the DNA double helix.
We are taken along to view John and Sarah’s new life in the future. They now reside in the urban community of Nova Cite, where skyscrapers are in view outside the windows and an animatronic Sarah is chatting to their daughter, Patricia, via hologram. Moving along, we find ourselves in Mesa Verde, the desert farm where Patricia lives with her family. The smell of oranges fills the air as she controls robotic plant fertilizers over the fields while her husband, son, and daughter are busy insider her house. Patricia’s teenage daughter is video chatting with her boyfriend on a large screen. He is working on a submarine, and the next scene takes us to an underwater classroom where a group of students, accompanied by a seal companion, are being instructed by a teacher on proper diving techniques. Then, we see a peek at an underwater city, where behind bubble-glass windows there are a couple eating at a restaurant and a girl peering out at the ocean life.
At long last, our journey with Sarah and John takes us to the final frontier- outer space. Their son, James, resides with his family in the space colony known as Brava Centauri, where the primary industry is harvesting space crystals for use on earth. John and Sarah remember that they have to hurry home from being our tour guides to hologram-chat with their grandson on his birthday. He is seen with a UFO-shaped cake before we are asked to choose a virtual video “path” back to the FuturePort- Omega Centauri, Mesa Verde, or Sea Castle Resort. Upon leaving the Omnimover, we are greeted by one final spectacular sight- Robert McCall’s 1983 mural known as “The Prologue and The Promise”.
Horizons was demolished in 1999 when it was left without a corporate sponsor for several years and the attraction’s operating costs and cost of refurbishing the ride were not within Disney’s budget. Sparked by the name change from EPCOT Center to simply Epcot in 1994, further reducing the resemblance to the E.P.C.O.T. acronym that was the park’s namesake, the park began to stray from Walt’s vision. Horizons was replaced by Mission: Space, a centrifugal force simulator, The Living Seas became the Seas with Nemo and Friends, and the Universe of Energy was closed to prepare for a Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster. The desire for thrilling attractions that featured commercial properties may have helped the park succeed in the post-9/11 tourist drought, but they negated the concept of Epcot itself- a park based around thinking and knowledge, a place meant to inform equally as much as it was meant to entertain. Walt wanted his E.P.C.O.T, Progress City, to be a place that unified people from all countries and backgrounds with the idea of progress, reserving the idea of mindless, escapist, lighthearted fun for the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. EPCOT Center and Horizons exemplified and embodied his aspirations, and in their absence, the park is left feeling transient- awkwardly straddling the gap between a playground for Disney Princesses and an equally-magical place where Mickey-shaped watermelons are grown in canal-crossed greenhouses and where omniscient voices remind us to “thank the Phoenicians” for how easy it was to learn our ABCs.
Today, when riding Walt Disney World’s network of monorails or bumping along on the now 44-year-old Peoplemover track in Tomorrowland, it’s easy to forget where everything all started: with an aspiring young cartoonist from Marceline, Missouri. Is the Epcot of today one that Walt would have approved of? Would he be happy with the way his visions for tomorrow have been executed? Or is the Tomorrowland Problem one that even the most skilled Imagineers have succumbed to- is the future developing too quickly to ever capture in the present? We are left with only the sentiment that Horizons embraced so wholeheartedly- if we can dream it, then we can do it.
Works Cited
Walt Disney's original E.P.C.O.T film (1966) HD FULL VERSION, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLCHg9mUBag.
Esquire.com. “Inside Walt Disney's Failed City of Tomorrow.” Esquire, 25 Apr. 2018, www.esquire.com/entertainment/news/a35104/walt-disney-epcot-history-city-of-tomorrow/.
Fri, Posted on. “Look Closer: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” The Walt Disney Family Museum, www.waltdisney.org/blog/look-closer-great-moments-mr-lincoln.
Glover, Erin. “The 1964 New York World's Fair – A New Disney Technology Is Born.” Disney Parks Blog, disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/04/the-1964-new-york-worlds-fair-a-new-disney-technology-is-born/.
“History of the Original Nine Pavilions in Future World at Epcot.” The Mouselets, 27 Aug. 2019, themouselets.com/history-of-future-world-epcot.
“Journey into the Past: 15 Lost Rides and Attractions of Epcot.” Theme Park Tourist, 30 Nov. 2017, www.themeparktourist.com/features/20140203/16073/journey-past-lost-rides-and-attractions-epcot.
“The Tomorrowland Problem.” The Mouselets, 8 Aug. 2019, themouselets.com/the-tomorrowland-problem.
Withers, Rachel. “How Disneyland's Tomorrowland Went From Vision of the Future to Quaint Symbol of the Past.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 4 Sept. 2017, slate.com/technology/2017/09/disneylands-tomorrowland-was-once-an-ode-to-a-utopian-future.html.