Epcot; Walt Disney World
Introduction
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Images
Spaceship Earth remains the central attraction of Epcot
Spaceship Earth under construction
An original ticket to the 1982 dedication ceremony
Backstory and Context
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Epcot Center was the second of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World, and it's name was an acronym which stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney originally envisioned Epcot as an actual city, complete with residents and mass transit. Over time, the Epcot became more of an idealized model that would inspire visitors to think about a utopian city of the future, as well as a general celebration of human achievement, technological innovation, and international culture.
The park includes a dedication plaque near the entrance, When the park first opened it was called EPCOT Center, but in 1994 the theme park just became generally known as Epcot. In 2014 it was the sixth most visited theme park in the world. The theme park has an area of three hundred acres and is more than twice the size of the Magical Kingdom. The parking lot alone is one hundred and forty one acres and can accommodate eleven thousand two hundred and eleven vehicles with extra grass area that can hold more than five hundred extra vehicles.
The theme park took approximately between eight hundred million and 1.4 billion dollars to construct and took about three years to build. in addition to Spaceship Earth, the park opened with what would become a "permanent world’s fair" with eleven pavilions representing the nations of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom ,and Canada. Morocco and Norway were not present at the time of the park opening; they were later added in 1984 and 1988. Each pavilion contains themed architecture, landscapes, streetscapes, attractions, shops, and restaurants to represent their given country. Each pavilion is primarily staffed by citizens from their respective country.