EPCOT Center - The Symbol of A Failed Cultural Movement

Epcot Center: Since the park's conception, it has been a top name in innovation and technology. It is one of the most visited theme parks in the world and will continue to be just that: a theme park. Little do guests know of the crushed potential for the area that died along with Walt Disney.

The park's name stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, a name that was given to the project by Disney in its early stages. His hope with the park was to create a utopian society that would have engulfed the entire property of Walt Disney World in Florida. He wished to have a city that was self-sufficient and capable of growing its own food in a sustainable manner. It was meant as a place where inhabitants could live separately from the surrounding communities.

The park is modeled after the ideals laid out by the original city plans, and has been described as a permanent Worlds Fair. At over 300 acres, EPCOT is more than twice the size of the Magic Kingdom.

"EPCOT ... will take its cue from the new ideas and new innovation and technology that are now emerging fromthe creative centers of American industry. It will be a community oftomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducingand testing and demonstrating new materials andsystems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American freeenterprise." - Walt Disney

The people mover ride, for example, which is a continuous transportation system, relying on the movement of the track rather than motors in the vehicles, would have been the city's main form of transportation and work together with the monorail system. No cars would have been allowed downtown, preventing accidents and promoting pedestrian safety. Main roads for delivery trucks and cars entering and leaving the city would be located underground, preventing traffic congestion and keeping inhabitants from seeing the behind the scenes work. No one in the city would be unemployed, eliminating slums and ghettos. The Worlds Showcase was also an original part of his concept. It was meant to be a shopping and recreation area where one could taste the cultures of different lands to promote learning, acceptance and diversity.

The project was a massive undertaking, and Disney was denied funding until he finished building The Magic Kingdom. He died before the park ever opened and with him, the dream of his city was extinguished. Those left behind to carry on his work didn't have the same vision for the area, and didn't feel capable of running a city without him.

It makes one wonder; if Walt had succeeded, Disney World would be a giant community, excelling in science, innovation, and technology. Sustainable living is now an important goal the country is trying to reach, and Disney was ahead of his time with his ideas of making that dream come true. How would this project have changed the world? Would it have been a success?

The city was to be a model only; an experiment that once successful could spread all over the country, and finally the world. Celebration, Florida is a community owned by the Disney Corporation that seemingly fulfills Walt's dream. However, the city is based on new urbanism, a system that differs greatly from his ideas of futurism and modernism. New urbanism does have close ties to environmentalism, with the emphasis being on walk able neighborhoods: areas with jobs, shopping and doctors close enough to walk, promoting a healthier lifestyle not dependant on vehicular transportation. This is a way to get back to what living communities were like a long time ago, fixing the problems that have led to the unhealthy and energy consuming neighborhoods of contemporary society.

However, what Walt Disney wanted was a modern, futurist approach. Modernism rejects tradition and invents new ways of doing things. It does not revert back to the traditions that have failed in the past. Strong lines, anti-historicism and a sense of urgency mark futurist architecture. The art of this movement suggests speed, motion, and a constant push into the future; in contrast to the slow paced neighborhoods that make up Celebration. Both Epcot Center and Celebration are a mere taste of what could have been had Disney's genius been allowed to flourish among the commercialism of theme parks and gift shops. As the park approaches its 30th year, Disney World celebrates their achievements with guests, knowing that what has been done, though impressive and successful, is only a fraction of what was possible.

Val Fuenmayor is in charge of Corporate Image and Head writer of the Comunications team at The Orlando Vacation Store, one the largest Orlando Travel Companies specializing in Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World vacation packages. Visit us for vacation tips from experts and how to save on your Orlando vacation

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/epcot-center-the-symbol-of-a-failed-cultural-movement-295547

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