Kevin Hedet Profile picture
Mar 14 27 tweets 12 min read
Imagine Epcot as a person living their life. Let’s look at where they’ve been and where they might go. 🧵 #EPCOT #WDW50 1/ Image showing four differen...
EPCOT Center was conceived out of love and determination as its creators sought to honor the legacy of one of their heroes. 2/ Walt Disney standing infant...
Envisioned as an ambitious, utopian vision of tomorrow it was born a showcase of possibility that aimed to unite and inspire the world, leading the way into a hopeful future. 3/ Opening Ceremony of Epcot C...
EPCOT Center was quite literally Tomorrow’s Child. 4/ Early poster art for Epcot ...
And like a child, EPCOT Center in its early years overflowed with energy, wonder and optimism. It asked big questions, foresaw remarkable futures and considered how new knowledge and technology could make those futures a reality. 5/ Brava Centauri scene in Hor...Futuristic car in wind tunn...
It valued the natural world and promoted the importance of imagination and discovery. 6/ Guide speaking on boat on L...Sea Base Alpha at the Livin...The Dreamfinder and Figment...
It sought to shrink the gaps between us, highlighting our commonalities and celebrating our differences. 7/ World Showcase sketch art
In its adolescence, EPCOT Center became Epcot. In a changing world, it tried to find itself. What did it want to be? What was its role in the world? 8/ Ellen's Energy Adventure Bi...Innoventions: The Road to T...
It learned a few hard lessons... 📷: @wdwmagic, @JeffLangeDVD 9/ Demolition of the Horizons ...Test Track billboard, "...
...but its inherent hope and inspiration was hanging on. That culminated when Epcot turned 18 and threw one hell of a party! 10/ Painting from the Millenniu...
It celebrated togetherness and harmony at a pivotal time in history. 11/ Puppets from Tapestry of Na...
When the afterglow wore off, however, Epcot was hit with the crushing weight of reality. It was forced to learn to navigate in a new and rapidly changing world. 12/ Screenshot of Article from ...
Luckily Epcot was given the tools it needed at an early age. The experiences and principles instilled in it engendered confidence. It had some early success, and new when to ask family for help. 13/ Entrance to Mission:SpacePhoto taken aboard Soarin' ...
But like many young adults, it began to doubt itself. It learned that great things take hard work and it wasn’t always up to the challenge. 📷: @laughing_place 14/ Photo of Nigel Channing wit...
It made some questionable decisions which it had to live with for some time. 15/ Spaceship Earth with the &q...
Then Epcot began to lose its way. Instead of investing in itself and holding to the ideals it once had, it started taking shortcuts. It leaned on quick, less ambitious ventures. 📷: BaaBeE9 on Flickr 16/ Entrance to The Seas with N...
Instead of challenging the status quo, Epcot relented to an uninspiring world. Vision was replaced with enticement and discovery was replaced with familiarity. 📷: @DisneyFoodBlog 17/ Festival Food Booth
Occasionally Epcot tried to regain the youthful vigor it once had. But often those attempts turned out hollow and lackluster. 18/ End Screen from onboard the...Interactive vehicle designe...
Epcot seemed to decide that giving maximum effort was pointless when unchallenging and flashy exploits were all that was needed to generate a reaction—even if those choices were misguided and short-sighted. 19/ Anna, Elsa and Olaf animatr...
Sometimes it just gave up entirely. No wonder. No possibility. No imagination. No inspiration. 📷: @yesterlandcom 20/ Signage in front of Wonders...New Innoventions Entrance s...
Pushing 40, Epcot (now known as EPCOT) is in somewhat of a mid-life crisis. It has recognized the years of self-neglect, and has vowed to do better. Some of those efforts are already paying off. 📷: David Roark 21/ New entrance plaza with ren...
Behind that facade, though, EPCOT is pushing itself even further away from what it once was. It no longer has a point of view, no longer a driving philosophy. 📷: @Blog_Mickey 22/ Guardians of the Galaxy: Co...Harmonius barge in the daytime
Where does EPCOT go from here? What does it stand for? Can it find in itself the hope and inspiration it used to embody? 23/
Will a middle-age EPCOT return to celebrating “human achievements ... through imagination, wonders of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all”? 📷: Jeff Bergman on Flickr 24/ Original Epcot Center Dedic...
I worry our friend EPCOT will end up a shell of its former self—nodding to but ultimately abandoning its past. 📷: @wdwmagic 25/ Flags in new entrance plaza...
@wdwmagic It seems EPCOT should listen to Walter Cronkite: “Ours is a time of unprecedented choice and opportunity, so let us explore and question and understand.  Let us learn from our past and meet the challenges of the future, let us go forth and fulfill our destiny.” 26/
@wdwmagic EPCOT can become Tomorrow’s Child once again. The world sure could use one. 27/end Alternative version of the ...

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