Though it never materialized into a finished park, WestCOT (a version of EPCOT for the West Coast) had some astounding concepts and visions behind it.
Planned for the “Disney Decade” of the 1990s on an executive retreat in Aspen, WestCOT was ultimately cancelled due to its high costs (and due to pressures on Disney following the disastrous debut of EuroDisney). California Adventure, with its more affordable budget, would eventually take its place as the park that would turn Disneyland into the Disneyland Resort.
Thankfully, we can still look back at some of the grand ideas Imagineers had for WestCOT. Many of them could still be transferred to Epcot or other Disney parks to great effect. Read about seven aspects of WestCOT that could potentially work well in Orlando or Anaheim.
1. A bigger, more colorful version of Spaceship Earth
In place of the 180-feet tall Spaceship Earth, WestCOT was to have a 300-foot tall sphere called SpaceStation Earth that would have been colored GOLD. As cool as Epcot’s Spaceship Earth is, I can’t help but imagine what it’d be like to gaze at the larger, more colorful SpaceStation Earth.
2. The ability to stay the whole night
As Disney’s most urban theme park ever, WestCOT was envisioned as a park that didn’t close. It marked the first time Disney tried to get a hotel inside a park with the Live the Dream Program (they would later be successful with Tokyo DisneySea’s Hotel Miracosta). Being able to stay at a Disney park all night is a dream of many theme park enthusiasts, and it would be amazing if more Disney parks could offer that possibility that WestCOT introduced us to.
3. A World Showcase grouped by regions instead of countries
Rather than being a collection of various countries as it is in Orlando, Anaheim’s WestCOT would have had everything grouped by region, referring to those regions as the Four Corners of the World. The shift was for a few reasons, including that combining elements from different countries could be emotionally powerful and that it would have made getting international sponsors simpler (space constraints were also a concern). Here are the Four Corners of the World planned for WestCOT that could shake Epcot up if Disney so desired.
I. The New World: Representing the Americas, there would have included things like a Native American spirit lodge and Inca and Aztec spirit shows. The main attraction would have been a new version of the American Adventure.
II. The Old World: Representing Europe, this region would have been made up of technology-rich shows and time-tested attractions. It would have the Circlevision film Timekeeper, a Greek amphitheater and an exciting-sounding James Bond-ish chase on the Trans-European Express railroad.
III. The World of Asia: Architecture styles from Japan, China, India and more would have blended together into one incredible setting. The big ride there was to be Ride the Dragon, a roller coaster that goes from the Great Wall of China into Dragon’s Teeth Mountain. The trains apparently would have looked like the Chinese Lion-Dragons you frequently come across at parades.
IV. The World of Africa: This one has the least amount of public information available about it, but it is known that you would have been able to take a raft down a fictional waterway named Congobezi River, enjoying the music of African drummers and visiting an Egyption palace.
4. Updated and improved versions of Epcot attractions
Future World would have been the home to new versions of attractions from Epcot such as Horizons, Journey into Imagination, The Living Seas, Wonders of Life and The Land. We don’t know what the new concepts and innovations they would have had, but it’s fun to imagine some extra bells and whistles added on to Journey into Imagination and other attractions.
5. The longest ride in the history of Disney parks
A boat ride attraction named The River of Time was supposed to connect the Four Corners of the World and Future World, and it would have been a staggering 45 minutes long. Some theme park fans have been clamoring for rides that aren’t so short, and WestCOT would have delivered. There were to be five points where people could board, with about nine minutes of ride between each of the stops. You’d enjoy scenes not dissimilar to ones in the show on Spaceship Earth but connected to the land you were going through. The scenes would have taught you about the cultures of each pavilion and the overall growth of civilization. The stations you’d stop at would have been directly connected to those scenes you just watched. When are you going to deliver on a 45-minute ride, Disney?
6. A giant amphitheater
The original plan for a Disneyland Result included the Disneyland Bowl, an amphitheater that would have seated 5,000 people. It would have situated between WestCOT and Disneyland. I bet something like that could lead to amazing things at a current park. Probably a pipe dream at this point, though.
7. Seven guiding principles
The very best Disney ideas are often driven by specific ideology. WestCOT was no exception. Here are the seven principles that guided its design and would have probably guided everything after.
I. Project Unity: The design would have caused the park as a whole to be more than a sum of its parts. Everything would have been created to complement what surrounded it.
II. Integration: Disney would have worked with the Anaheim Commercial Recreation Area so that the whole community would benefit from the success of WestCOT.
III. A Dramatic Entry Sequence: The entrance was supposed to immediately immerse you in the experience.
IV. Parking on the Perimeter: WestCOT would have been able to handle tens of thousands of cars.
V. Transportation Linkages: Making it easy for people to get around was crucial to the Imagineers.
VI. Pedestrian Orientation: The resort would encourage walking, and make those walks enjoyable.
VII. Diversity of Guest Activities: A wide variety of attractions and activities would have interested people of every age, race, gender, etc.
These principals would apply to a lot of aspects of existing Disney theme parks.
WestCOT certainly sounds like it would have been something special. What do you think? Are you sad it never happened, or think that everything turned out for the best? Let us know on Facebook and in the comments below!
