On this day 44 years ago, EPCOT Center officially opened its gates at Walt Disney World at 9 a.m. The park debuted exactly 11 years to the day after Magic Kingdom, and construction had also kicked off on October 1, three years earlier.
EPCOT Center took about three years to build, and it was the largest construction project on Earth at the time. It became the second of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks, and today it covers 305 acres, which is more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom.
Walt’s City of Tomorrow
EPCOT originally stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and it was one of Walt Disney’s last great dreams. Walt pictured a real working city, sometimes called Progress City, where 20,000 residents would live in a living laboratory for new technology and urban planning.
After Walt’s death in 1966, the company decided it didn’t want to run a city without his guidance. Imagineers were also split between a park about future technology and one celebrating cultures from around the world. At one point, they pushed the two models together, and that combination became EPCOT Center’s two-part design of Future World and World Showcase.
Opening Day in 1982
A one-day ticket cost $15 for adults, $14 for juniors, and $12 for children, and there was no such thing as a single-day Park Hopper. Future World opened with six pavilions, including Spaceship Earth, The Land, and Universe of Energy. World Showcase opened with nine pavilions representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The first family through the gates was Richard Cason, his wife, and their four kids from nearby Winter Park. They woke up at 4:30 a.m. and arrived by 6, only to learn the parking lot wouldn’t open until 7. Their early start paid off, because Disney CEO Card Walker handed them a silver pass good for lifetime admission to EPCOT Center and Magic Kingdom.
The morning ceremony in front of Spaceship Earth featured marching bands, dancers, and a release of 15,000 balloons and 1,000 pigeons. Only the Casons, the press, and a few invited guests saw it in person, while everyone else waited in the parking lot and caught it on the news that evening. The first month wasn’t perfect, either, since Spaceship Earth and Universe of Energy sometimes closed for hours and Journey Into Imagination didn’t open for months.
A Grand Dedication
The official grand opening came later in October as a three-day celebration. Disney dedicated Future World on October 22, World Showcase on October 23, and the entire park on October 24, 1982. Walt’s widow, Lillian Disney, attended the final ceremony, where representatives from 23 countries poured water from their lakes, rivers, and oceans into a fountain as a symbol of international friendship.
Card Walker then read the dedication plaque, which begins, “To all who come to this place of joy, hope, and friendship, welcome.” As he led Lillian off the stage afterward, he quietly said, “Well, we’ve done it.”
EPCOT Today
More than four decades later, two of EPCOT’s opening-day attractions are getting fresh attention. At D23 in August, Disney announced that Spaceship Earth will be updated to expand its story from human communication to human connection. Journey Into Imagination is also getting updates, and Dreamfinder will return to ride alongside Figment.
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