30 Years, 30 Days!

Join Brent on:	Just last year we debuted a special 40 day article series that focused on Walt Disney World's 40th anniversary entitled 40 Years, 40 Days. Beginning September 2nd we will be celebrating Epcot's 30th anniversary by featuring 30 articles on 30 different Epcot topics over 30 days. I hope you are as excited as I am about the next 30 days and the things we'll learn, discover, and remember together! Day 30 - October 1, 2012 As they said 30 years ago today, the 21st century began on October 1, 1982! That's right, we've reached the final day of our 30 Years, 30 Days look at Epcot. I hope that you have learned a few new things about everyone's favorite futuristic park, but in case you haven't, here's 30 fun facts about Epcot you may or may not already know!!! 30) EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, however when Walt first introduced it he accidently called it the Experimental Prototype CITY of Tomorrow! 29) Each Test Track vehicle has three computers onboard which, when put together, have more power than a space shuttle! 28) Dr. Nigel Channing is in Journey Into Imagination due to the fact that he also appeared in Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. The two attractions were meant to go hand in hand after Imagination received it's most recent refurbishment! 27) The Audio-Animatronic for Ellen in Ellen's Energy Adventure marks the only Audio-Animatronic found throughout Walt Disney World that portrays a living person that is not a politician! 26) Even though Off Kilter can be found in the Canadian pavilion there are no Canadian members of the band! 25) The Fountain of Nations had water from the 9 original countries represented at World Showcase poured into it during Epcot's opening ceremonies! 24) The original chief flight attendant for Soarin' was going to be John Travolta who is an actual pilot! 23) The only attraction that will close due to inclement weather is Test Track! 22) The two manatees that currently reside in The Seas pavilion are named Lou and Vail! 21) The American Adventure features three Mark Twain Audio-Animatronics, three Ben Franklin Audio-Animatronics, and one awkward handshake shared between the two. 20) The fountains that are featured in IllumiNations can pump up to 5,000 gallons of water each minute! 19) The backside of the Tower of Terror was painted a slightly different color than the rest of the building so it would blend in with the Morocco pavilion when seen from afar! 18) The balloons in Sunshine Seasons represent the four seasons, which are also represented in the four seating sections! 17) The "Street of Good Fortune" found in the China pavilion was made smaller than most Disney streets. The intent was that when guests would exit Reflections of China they would all be cramped in the small street which would symbolize the business of the country's city streets! 16) Mission: SPACE actually creates a Hidden Mickey when seen from above! 15) Two of the three totem poles found in the Canada pavilion were created by Disney Imagineers. When an actual totem artist saw the two he had Disney hire him to create a third totem pole that would actually be legitimate. 14) The reason Future World and World Showcase are so spread out is due to a sink hole between the two that made construction in the area difficult! 13) Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros marks the longest time in between the release of a Disney film and an attraction based off that film! 12) Guests used to be able to use futuristic technology near Guest Relations where they could make a video call with a Cast Member to book dinner reservations. This was pre-Skype. 11) Epcot was the only Disney park to feature two entrances (the main entrance and International Gateway) until Disney California Adventure opened! 10) The Odyssey building used to be a restaurant which featured character dining! 9) The members of Captain EO's crew are Fuzzball, Ide, Ode, Major Domo, Minor Domo, and of course Hooter! 8) The name of the radio station found in Spaceship Earth is called WDI, which stands for Walt Disney Imagineering! 7) Living with the Land features a mailbox in the farm scene that reads "B. Jones #82" which is a reference to Epcot's opening! 6) The name of the "road" guests can walk on while viewing the trains in Germany is called The Romantic Road, which is named after an actual road in Germany! 5) The UK pavilion features actual letters and pictures from the real Christopher Robin! 4) Guests can find a timeline featuring the first 25 years of Epcot in a hallway behind Club Cool! 3) The Eiffel Tower was built at a 1/10 scale using blueprints originally drawn by Gustave Eiffel! 2) The structure of DNA that once stood in front of the Wonders of Life pavilion stood at 76 feet tall! 1) The boat that sits in front of The American Adventure pavilion is named, "Golden Dream," a nod to the pavilion's theme song! So there you have it, 30 Years, 30 Days. Thank you everyone for joining us over the past 30 days! It's been a lot of fun for me to research and I hope it's been a lot of fun for you to read. The fun with Epcot isn't done here though, make sure to join us all day today (October 1) for a live broadcast from Epcot over HERE! Until next time, we'll see you in the future! Past Days Day 1 - An Introduction Day 2 - Park Layout Day 3 - The Birth of Hidden Mickey's Day 4 - The American Adventure's Location Day 5 - Creation of Figment Day 6 - Creation of Flower and Garden Festival Day 7 - Tale as Old as Time Day 8 - Rooftops of UK pavilion Day 9 - Epcot Monorail Loop Day 10 - Horizons Day 11 - Norway Pavilion Day 12 - Kitchen Kabaret Day 13 - A Chinese Picture Comparison Day 14 - The Eiffel Tower Day 15 - CircleVision Day 16 - Future World symbols Day 17 - Future World Symbols today Day 18 - Center of Walt Disney World Day 19 - Creation of Disney-MGM Studios Day 20 - Walt's Dream Day 21 - Roy's pursuit for Walt's dream Day 22 - The World Showcase that Almost Was Day 23 - The Living Seas Day 24 - Test Track Day 25 - Spaceship Earth Day 26 - World Showcase To Do List Day 27 - Universe of Energy Day 28 - IllumiNations Day 29 - Music of the park