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