Is EPCOT Still EPCOT? Part Two

The Land (1982-present)

by waltdatedworld

The Land is the largest pavilion in Epcot. It is dedicated to the future of agriculture and has two floors. The lower level has two attractions and a counter service restaurant. The main level has a theater, and a sit down revolving restaurant overlooking the boat ride. It was sponsored by KRAFT from 1982-1993. Then Nestle sponsored the pavilion from 1993-2009. The pavilion doesn't have a sponsor currently, but the boat ride Living with the Land has been sponsored by Chiquita since 2011.

    

The Land pavilion directory

Listen to the Land (1982-1993)

by waltdatedworld

The boat ride was a 15 minute look at innovative plant growth techniques. The ride was hosted by a live cast member narrating what's happening around the guests. The beginning featured "Symphony of the seed," where guests rode past giant plant roots to simulate how plants grow from seeds. The ending of the ride featured a look into a Biotechnology lab where scientist were at work on research. The country-like folk song "Listen to the Land" played throughout the ride as well.

Living with the Land (1993-present)

 
The second version of the ride had only a few changes. "Symphony of the Seed" was replaced by an oncoming storm scene. Like the original boat ride, guests would then go into different environments such as a rainforest, desert, prairie, and farmland. Audio animatronic animals native to each region populate these areas. After, guests go into the Living Laboratory where different plants are grown. These include a Tropic Greenhouse, featuring the growth of bananas, jack-fruit, dragon fruit, and more. The aqua-cell focuses on fish farming where fish are raised such as tilapia, sturgeon, American alligators, shrimp and more. The fish are served at the restaurants inside The Land and The Seas pavilions.

The temperate greenhouse has large crops like a nine pound lemon, and a giant pumpkin shaped like Mickey Mouse. String Greenhouse has different techniques such as the vertical growing technique, which is used to create a "tomato tree," which holds a world record of growing 32,000 tomatoes in a 16 month period. The final area is the Creative Greenhouse, where techniques like aeroponics are used to grow plants with their roots are dangling in the air so water is sprayed directly on them, and a NASA area developing techniques for growing plants through extended spaceflight.

The Biotechnology lab was moved to a new area, and the old version is covered by a collage of people and plants around the world with a projection of Earth. The ride removed the live cast members in 2006 and now has an automated spiel instead. Chiquita is currently the sponsor for this ride only.

Kitchen Kabaret (1982-1993)

by waltdatedworld

The other attraction was an audio animatronic show featuring different food groups singing about good nutrition. It was hosted by Bonnie Appetite and featured different acts like The Cereal Sisters, Ham & Eggz, and Colander Combo and the Fiesta Fruit.

Food Rocks (1993-2004)

The audio animatronic food show was updated when Nestle took over sponsorship. It featured new animatronic food groups that sang parodies of famous songs, like Good Nutrition by The Peach Boys parodied Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys. 

Soarin' (2005- present)

The area that housed both food group animatronic shows was removed to add a new concept all together to The Land. Soarin' Over California was an opening day ride at Disney's California Adventure, and one of the few rides that was not complained about. It was brought to Epcot as just Soarin' so they could changed the destination of the attraction if they wanted to, without changing the name. Soarin' is a five minute long hang gliding simulator that has nine separate rows of seats guests sit at. There are three rows with three "hang gliders" in each row. Once the attraction starts the seats all move forward and the first row goes up to the top of the theater, the second row is directly below it, and the third row below the second. They are placed in front of a large IMAX screen that shows different landmarks in California.

The Harvest Theater (1982- present)

by waltdatedworld

The theater has been home to two films. The first was Symbiosis which was open from 1982-1994. It was an environmental conservation movie that examined what guests can do to protect the planet. The current film, The Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, was added in 1995. This film is similar to the original, but it has Timon, Pumba, and Simba from The Lion King added to explain conservation.

The Land is a great pavilion. While the addition of Soarin' has met with controversy, it has lead to the pavilion's popularity to grow and give people reason to check out what the rest of the pavilion has to offer. Living with the Land is very innovative and uses many animatronics as well, like classic EPCOT Center. Soarin' is rumored to be receiving a new film, theater, and upgrades soon. The only thing wrong is The Circle of Life. It's one of the oldest attractions in Future World with absolutely no updates. Personally I've only seen it one time and don't have any interest in seeing it again.

Horizons (1983-1999)

by waltdatedworld

Horizons was one of the most beloved attractions by EPCOT fans. It was the first pavilion to open since the park opened, opening exactly one year later on October 1, 1983. Sponsored by General Electric, this pavilion tied all of the other topics in Future World together to showcase life in the 21st century. The ride was an omnimover with vehicles facing sideways. It was seen as a sequel to the Carousel of Progress as the narrators were a mother and father of adult children.

by waltdatedworld

Guests would first see various predictions of the future from past visionaries. Then they would go through Omni-Max screens that made riders feel as if they were floating through things like a DNA strand and a microchip. Then guests went into the 21st century where the mother and father lived. We would see their daughter living on a working desert farm, a city built underwater, and visit a space colony where the narrators' son lives. At the end guests got to choose their own ending to determine what simulation they wanted to take to end the ride, a trip through space, the desert, or under sea.

by waltdatedworld

GE stopped their sponsorship once their 10 year contract expired in 1993. The pavilion was the only one in Future World at the time to be unsponsored. After operating for another year the pavilion closed in 1994. It sat dormant for a year before reopening in late 1995, due to The Universe of Energy and World of Motion both closing for major renovations in early 1996. The ride closed for good in early 1999 after Test Track opened.

The pavilion sat vacant for another year before it was demolished in the summer of 2000. It was demolished to make way for a Space pavilion, after all the troubles Test Track had retro-fitting a thrill ride into the World of Motion, it was decided it was easier to start from scratch. Once the ground was clear, construction began on the new space pavilion.

Mission: SPACE (2003-present)

Construction finished in 2003 and the new space pavilion opened on the former site of Horizons. It's sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and is a space simulator to train for the first human mission to mars. Guests enter a futuristic space facility filled with space trivia, tributes, and props. Guests are brought into one of four pre-show rooms, and are lead into an area right outside the bay of the ride. Guests are then lead into the space capsules that fit four people. Inside guests sit in front of a "windshield" screen with a joystick and control buttons in front of them. CGI is used to create images of traveling through space.

A realistic space launch is simulated by spinning the capsules to create G-forces, and guests perform tasks as part of their designated roles they were assigned to before they boarded. It ends with them successfully landing on Mars. The ride was really intense, so in 2006 a new version was introduced. Guests would be divided into two teams: green team or orange team. Green team was the new version that does not include the spinning, while orange team was the original intense version. One of the four bays is for the less intense mission and the other three remain the original version.

After the ride guests are brought to the Advanced Training Lab. Guests can experience this area even if they don't want to ride the attraction. There are different exhibits such as Mission: SPACE Race- a team based game to try to get a rocket from Mars back to Earth. Expedition Mars is a kiosk where guests can control a virtual astronaut to navigate around Mars. Space Base is a playground area for children to explore a space like-environment. Postcards from Space is where guests can send e-card videos based around space themed videos.

Mission: SPACE is an innovative ride in the sense that it uses new technology to bring guests an experience they might not get. I could see a child coming off the ride and get inspired to become an astronaut someday. The problem with the pavilion is that it's not fleshed out enough. The theme is "training" so that there was no need to make guests feel like they were really going to mars. When they exit the ride they can see all of the ride mechanisms and go through un-themed corridors to the post show.

EPCOT had been designated to get a space pavilion for years and some ideas intended the current ride to be a pre-show for the rest of the pavilion. It doesn't help that it replaced one of EPCOT's most beloved attractions which was highly themed and dared to predict the future. Still, I enjoy Mission: SPACE for what it is. I've only been on the less intense version and I think it's pretty thrilling, even without the spinning I feel the G-forces.

The Living Seas  (1986-2006)  

by auntie rain

The Living Seas pavilion opened in 1986 under the sponsorship of United Technologies. It held the world's largest saltwater aquarium when it opened, populating numerous fish including dolphins, turtles, whales, stingrays, etc. It was themed as a futuristic ocean research facility, where guests would take Hydrolators to the bottom of the ocean and explore under the sea from "Sea Base Alpha". Upon arriving in the pavilion, guests would queue up and see a pre-show before seeing a film about the ocean. From there guests boarded a Hydrolator, which was a sea themed elevator that gave the illusion that guests were traveling down under water, this was achieved by a rock wall that would fill with water and look like the elevator was moving down, when in reality the elevator moved only two inches to give the illusion of motion.

by rickpilot_2000

From there guests boarded Seacabs, an omnimover ride that traveled through the aquarium. After exiting guests were free to explore the different areas of Sea Base Alpha. Sea Base Alpha had two different levels. The main level had areas including a Marine Research Center, Earth Systems Module, Undersea Exploration Module, and Ocean Ecosystem Module. A Diver Lockout Demonstration was performed in the center of Sea Base Alpha in which a Disney cast member would enter a module that would fill up with water, and they would then be released into the main aquarium tank. Another cast member would explain to guests what is happening.

by dragaroo

by Jennifer Sherry

The second floor was known as the Observation Level. Guests could take an escalator near the exit of the Seacabs, an elevator, or a staircase in the main area of the pavilion. Upstairs exhibits included Ocean Resources Sea Lab, Underwater Observation Deck where guests would go down a corridor with the aquarium on both sides of them into a circular room where the tank surrounds them, guests could also witness Dolphin training here. The other area was the manatee area, which was the upper level to the Marine Research Center on the first floor.

by Michael Gray

Guests can also take behind-the-scene tours such as a diving tour, where certified SCUBA divers can go inside the large aquarium. United Technologies ended their sponsorship in 1998. In 2001 the Seacabs were closed, making guests walk from the Hydrolators down a hallway into Sea Base Alpha. The pavilion began a transformation starting in 2003 when characters from Finding Nemo were added to the pavilion. Turtle Talk with Crush opened in 2004. This is a show where guests can interact with Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo, using technology that allows cast members to control what Crush says. Soon the pavilion underwent renovations to complete its new Finding Nemo theme, including a new ride.

by Christian Lambert Photography

The Seas with Nemo & Friends (2006-present)

by inazakira

by princesskoko

When entering the new pavilion, guests are greeted by three audio animatronic seagulls from Finding Nemo perched next to the pavilion's sign. Every minute or so they start chanting, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" like in the movie. Guests enter the queue area that has been extended into the former pre-show theaters from the Living Seas. It is themed to look like guests enter a pier, then a beach, before going under water to the ocean. The Hydrolators were completely removed. The Seacabs ride track was extended and added new elements to become The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

Guests board the new omnimover cars that now face sideways and are in the shape of clam shells called "Clamobiles." The aquariums were mostly covered up. The ride's basically a rehash of the movie in which the characters look for Nemo. The characters are seen mostly through screens, but one impressive addition is of an Angler fish that chases Nemo's father around using a "KUKA" robotic arm to make the fish move around quickly. The finale features the characters swimming around the pavilion's aquarium with the real fish. After exiting, Nemo's teacher Mr. Ray encourages guests to explore the rest of the pavilion.

by Norm Lanier

by inazakira

by Lee

The rest of the pavilion has actually remained pretty much the same, except with Nemo characters added throughout. Sea Base Alpha is now called simply "Sea Base." An exhibit area called "Bruce's Shark World" lets kids play around while looking at facts about sea creatures. Kiosks were added to the upper level to feature Mr. Ray asking trivia about the ocean. There's also an exhibit that shows real-life counterparts to the fish in Finding Nemo. The Diver Lockout Demonstration, the Underwater Observation Deck with Dolphin training, the manatee area, and diving program all remain today.

by Andy Castro

EPCOT fans are not happy about characters entering Future World, an area that's supposed to be devoted to science and technology. However, if you think of the ride as a pre-show, the exhibit area is very much as informative as it was before. It hosts a number of demonstrations and encourages kids more by featuring familiar characters. It's still educational and still does a lot to help rescue and care for aquatic life. If any new readers are worried that this area is only for kids- rest assured it's not. Guests who don't want to go on the ride and only want to see the aquarium can do so by entering through the pavilion exit.

Wonders of Life (1989-2007)

by waltdatedworld

  Wonders of Life pavilion directory by tom.arthur

The final new pavilion added to Future World opened in 1989. Sponsored by Metropolitan Life, The Wonders of Life was the life & health pavilion featuring two attractions, two shows, a movie, numerous exhibit areas, a counter service restaurant, and a shop. The main area was known as Fitness Fairgrounds, housing everything except for the two attractions.

 Body Wars

by Stuart Newsom

by waltdatedworld

The first thrill ride attraction in Future World was a motion simulator. Guests entered a futuristic facility where they were volunteering to be shrunk and beamed into the human body to examine how the immune system reacts to a splinter. Guests would go through the lungs, heart, and brain during their trip.  

Cranium Command

by Stuart Newsom

by waltdatedworld

The other attraction was a humorous theater show that depicted the workings of a twelve year old's brain. After seeing a pre-show explaining that a drill sergeant ordered a new soldier named Buzzy to pilot a 12 year old's brain, guests were lead into a head shaped theater. An audio animatronic Buzzy would interact with different organs like the right brain, left brain, adrenal gland, stomach, etc. Each were shown through screens and played by different actors including Dana Carvey. The eyes served as the theater screen so that the guests could see what the boy was seeing. Buzzy had to pilot how the boy would get through a school day including being bullied and getting a crush.

by tom.arthur

by Alex

by waltdatedworld

The Making of Me was a film starring Martin Short that discussed how babies were born in a light-hearted, delicate manner. Goofy About Health was a theater that hosted various Goofy themed cartoons related to health, playing across numerous screens. AnaComical Players was a live act featuring two improvisational actors doing skits related to health. Sensory Funhouse was an exhibit area featuring different games that tricked the senses. Wonder Cycles were exercise bikes equip with a small screen that gave guests the illusion they were biking through different areas such as Disneyland. Frontiers in Medicine featured displays about advances in medicine. Coach's Corner tested how well guests could swing at a ball. Finally, Met Lifestyle Review was a video questionnaire about guests health habits.

"Wonders of Life Is Closed" sign by Michael Gray

After MetLife ended their sponsorship in 2001, areas of the pavilion began closing. The pavilion became seasonal in 2004, opening only during busy times of the year. It's final time open was the entire month of December in 2006 until January 1, 2007. Only the two attractions, The Making of Me, Goofy About Health, and The Sensory Funhouse were opened.

Festival Center (2007-present)

Sadly, after the pavilion closed it became special event space. The pavilion is now only used during events like the Flower & Garden Festival, the Food & Wine Festival, as well as private parties. Body Wars has been stripped of parts and Cranium Command remains sitting empty. The theater that showed The Making of Me is used during the Flower & Garden Festival to show a film about the festival. Live demonstrations are done throughout the pavilion for each event. Snacks are sold in the old counter service restaurant, with merchandise scattered around the pavilion.

This pavilion has so much potential, it has a lot of space that should be put to good use. The newest Disney movie called Inside Out has a storyline similar to Cranium Command, and many Disney fans have commented how that would fit in perfectly in this pavilion. EPCOT fans don't want characters in Future World, but I would prefer that so the pavilion would actually be used year-round again.