The Epcot of today is almost completely different from the Epcot of 1982. Sure, there are the cosmetic differences — the name, the Leave a Legacy sculpture, etc. – but there have also been larger, thematic changes to take place throughout the park’s 32-year history.
Epcot is divided into two lands: Future World and the World Showcase. The only problem? Future World is not particularly concerned with the future anymore.
Attractions like Soarin’, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Journey into Imagination with Figment are barely even realistic representations of the present. That’s not necessarily a judgement on their quality, but that they simply don’t conform to the ostensible mission of Epcot’s front-half – that is, that you’ll learn something about the world of tomorrow.
The present-day attractions that do concern themselves with the future do so in a cartoonish, unrealistic manner. Mission: Space for all its technological advances presents a rather pedestrian story: you’re simply training for a mission to Mars that could presumably happen today with the proper funding. The ending to Spaceship Earth is, quite literally, a cartoon version of what your life might be like years from now.
But the Future World of the 1980s and 1990s was far more ambitious. There were multiple attractions whose purpose was not merely to present an accurate view of the future, but to excite guests about the possibilities it would provide. These rides and attractions weren’t meant to be overly silly diversions, but rather an inspirational and aspirational look beyond the present.
One of the main reasons Disney stopped making attractions about the future is that the cost of upkeep is far too high. At some point, the future comes to pass — then what? Do you update the ride? Replace it? Leave it be? And what if the future you predicted was wrong? Is that disappointing? Embarrassing? Maybe it’s just easier to avoid the topic of “the future” altogether.
Well, believe it or not, Walt Disney Imagineering made some predictions about the future in the ’80s and ’90s that actually were pretty spot on.
No, really — here’s just a sample:
5. Video calling is commonplace
HorizonsVideo calling on Horizons (image via Flickr, by Sam Howzit)
For whatever reason, Imagineers (and, to some extent, the general public) were obsessed with the idea of video calling in the ’80s and ’90s. It showed up in Spaceship Earth, Communicore, and was even a key storytelling device in the lovingly-remembered Horizons. The future, according to Walt Disney Imagineering, would be built around face-to-face communication.
And they were 100% correct.
The amazing thing about Skype, FaceTime, and other video calling services is just how ordinary they feel to us today. We can FaceTime our parents. We can interview job applicants over Skype. The technology isn’t just simple, it’s become completely ubiquitous.
Even the somewhat ambitious features of video calling, such as Spaceship Earth’s use of translation, are fast becoming a reality.
Video calling is a rather simple idea, and one people have thought about for generations, but now it’s here. It’s real. And it has, indeed, changed the way we interact and communicate.
4. WorldKey was basically a smartphone app
When Epcot opened, there was an army of digital terminals around the park called “WorldKey” kiosks. They were, essentially, touchscreen computers that offered information about the various pavilions and the ability to make restaurant reservations for any of the World Showcase restaurants.
The systems themselves were operated off laserdiscs and even boasted a fiber-optic connection that could provide two-way video communication (there’s that video calling again) between the guests and a cast member – just in case they needed a question answered.
If this all seems familiar to you, it’s because you can do almost all of that with the item in your pocket: your smartphone.
Disney’s MyDisneyExperience app provides park maps, showtimes, and restaurant reservations to guests anywhere on the Disney property. The technology may be different, but the idea is the same: bringing information to the guests in an interactive and simple manner.
The fact that both use a touchscreen is simply a coincidence, of course.
3. ImageWorks predicted motion-based gaming
ImageWorksRainbow Corridor at ImageWorks (Image via Wikimedia Commons, by 10smark)
Back when Figment was Figment and Dreamfinder still existed, Journey into Imagination emptied into ImageWorks, Disney’s version of an arcade. Back in the 20th century, it was far different than the version housed in the Imagination! Pavlion today. The exhibits contained within were mostly sensor-driven games and distractions designed to entertain young children – something like a proto-Disney Quest.
The most famous of these was the Rainbow Corridor – a multi-colored plastic tunnel that changed its hue as you passed through it, sensing your body within its space. Other diversions included motion-activated sound effects, tablet-esque drawing terminals, and the “Electronic Philharmonic,” which allowed guests to use hand motions to control a digital symphony (versions of some of these games are actually still playable in the updated Imageworks, although on a slightly smaller scale).
Nowadays, every video game console includes some form of motion gaming. Popularized by the Nintendo Wii, motion gaming forces gamers to use actual, tactile movements to control the action on screen. The Wii uses accelerometers and infrared, the Xbox Kinect uses actual visual recognition, and the Playstation Move uses traditional motion capture. Even mobile games like Fruit Ninja use gesture and movement to control in-game action.
All of these consoles are employing the same concept present in ImageWorks: that humans can interact with digital landscapes through physical motion.
2. Classrooms are now heavily digital
Spaceship EarthMural at Spaceship Earth (Image via Flickr, by Sam Howzit)
Before Spaceship Earth’s finale took place entirely on a television screen, your time machine’s descent from the stunning planetarium scene included a few actual set pieces. One of those set pieces depicted students in a classroom using a computer to simulate the life of a bug or a trip to another planet.
Sure, it’s fantastical, but it’s also completely and totally happening in schools today. Not all schools, of course (that’s a topic for another article on another site), but some schools are able to offer students these kinds of interactive, tech-heavy learning environments – some even using iPads and laptops to teach subjects across a wide range of media.
Taking a step back even further, the computer itself can become a virtual classroom. Online degree programs are more popular than ever, as are self-taught extracurricular classes in areas such as computer programming or personal finance. Just as the students on Spaceship Earth could create their own lesson using their futuristic classroom computer, students today can create their own curriculum online and learn virtually anything they want.
1. The world is almost completely connected through technology
EPCOT CenterEpcot Mural (Image via Flickr, by Sam Howzit)
If you were to craft a thesis statement for Epcot, it might read something like this: The better we are able to communicate with one another in the present, the better the world will be in the future.
Each attraction is, in some way, arguing in favor of that thesis. Spaceship Earth shows how communication brought the species together and helped us evolve to who we are today. The long-departed Horizons told the story of how open communication creates a future full of possibility.
Even modern rides, by virtue of simply being at Epcot, work in concert with this idea. Mission: Space is about teamwork and exploration. Test Track is about innovation and the exchange of ideas. The World Showcase is a physical extension of this theme, bringing 11 countries within close proximity of one another and allowing guests to experience several different cultures at once.
In a way, Epcot is a perfect representation of the internet – a network built on the optimism and the power of open communication. When cultures are closer together, when people feel interconnected, and when everyone is truly looking forward to the future with hope, amazing things can happen. That was the idea behind the World’s Fairs of old, it was the idea behind Epcot, and it’s the idea behind the vast, open internet we live with today.
So, it’s not that Walt Disney Imagineering predicted the rise of the internet, per se; rather, they knew that when people are finally given the chance to communicate without boundary or limitation, changing the world is the easy part.
