Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelGuests at Epcot's Spaceship Earth participate in the interactive experience of the new post-show, sponsored by Siemens Corportation.
Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelSpaceship Earth refracts through a glass of chilled chardonnay during the Orlando Sentinel's exclusive preview of the 2011 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, in Lake Buena Vista, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. (photo illustration/Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) newsgate ID# B581530550Z.1- JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINELTest Track at Disney World's Epcot.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelJennifer Hatchel of Atlanta, and her son Brad participate in the interactive experience of the new post-show at Epcot's Spaceship Earth sponsored by Siemens Corportation.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelDarren Sparks, Director of Strategic Marketing Alliances for Siemens Corp., walks inside Base 21 at Epcot's Spaceship Earth.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelWalt Disney World readies for the 20th edition of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Photographed August 28, 2015. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) B584783952Z.1 OS-EPCOT-FOOD-WINE-FEST-2015
- SENTINEL FILEOpening day traffic at the Epcot parking lot gates.
- SENTINEL FILEChina, part of the World Showcase, pictured on Epcot's opening day.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelGuests at Epcot's Spaceship Earth participate in the interactive experience of the new post-show sponsored by Siemens Corportation.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelGuests gather outside Epcot's Spaceship Earth, sponsored by Siemens Corportation.
- SENTINEL FILE, DISNEYWith the monorail in the foreground, the pyramids of Kodak's Journey Into Imagination are seen across a lagoon at Epcot. October, 1984.
- ED SACKETT/ORLANDO SENTINELOrange Chicken from Epcot's Chinese Pavillion
- JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINELGuests ride the Sum of All Thrills simulator ride at Epcot, during the grand opening of the attraction at Walt Disney World, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. The giant robotic arm --the KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator-- powers the riders' experience, in which guests custom design their own thrill ride using math and science principles, and then ride the simulator.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelMargarita Sarmiento (center) of Palm Coast and Laura Menssen of St. Paul, Minn. take snapshots of a model rendering of Spaceship Earth during Epcot's 25th anniversary celebration on Monday.
- SENTINEL FILE, DISNEYA family walks through the neon light tunnel at Kodak's Journey Into Imagination attraction at Epcot. October, 1982.
- Caitlin Dineen, Orlando SentinelColortopia, a new attraction in Epcot's Innoventions building, opened Nov. 13. The attraction is presented by Glidden Paint.
- SENTINEL FILE, DISNEYTwo Epcot visitors meet Figment on the Journey Into Imagination attraction at Epcot. October, 1982
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelGuests jockey for position to take snapshots during Epcot's anniversary ceremony.
- SENTINEL FILESpaceship Earth under construction, 8 months prior to Epcot's opening.
- SENTINEL FILEThe Epcot parking lot, December, 1982.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelAngie and Patrick Manteiga of Tampa enjoy the fastest part of Test Track during the ride's grand opening in 2012.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelIn this wide angle view from above, Disney bogger Bob Mortell sifts cranberries in the 1,000-square-foot bog installed by Ocean Spray at the 2011 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, at Walt Disney World, Thursday, October 20, 2011. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) newsgate ID# B581631187Z.1
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelSpaceship Earth, fireworks and food & wine from around the world, featured at the 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, photographed August 30, 2012. It is the 17th year for the festival. ( (Photo Illustration/Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)) newsgate ID# B582326199Z.1
- BOBBY COKER/ORLANDO SENTINELWurst Salad from Biergarten Restaurant at Epcot
- Dewayne Bevil, Orlando SentinelThe announcement that Magic Kingdom would be open for 24 hours straight again was make by "Monsters University" star Mike, who was projected onto Epcot's Spaceship Earth late Thursday.
- Bobby Coker/ORLANDO SENTINELSoft Pretzels from Epcot's Biergarten Restaurant
- SENTINEL FILE, WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONSSpaceship Earth pictured shortly before the park opened on October 1, 1982. Visible in the foreground are the two of the World Showcase pavilions, Canada with its tall steeples and the United Kingdom with its chimnied rooftops.
- Jason Garcia, Orlando SentinelTest Track at Epcot -- Walt Disney World
- Matt Mauney / Orlando SentinelThe kiosks and food of the 20th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
- SENTINEL FILEA surveyor signals his coworkers in front of Spaceship Earth, which still needs a few finishing touches before opening.
- JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINELTest Track at Disney World's Epcot in 1999.
- JOE BURBANK, ORLANDO SENTINEL2003 file photo of Al Weiss, former president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resort talks about Epcot's Mission: Space during a preview of the attraction.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelMarcus D'Amelio holds an original ticket to Epcot from the 1982 opening during the park's 25th anniversary celebration on Monday.
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelMaribeth Cavallini is all smiles during Epcot's anniversary ceremony on Monday.
- Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando SentinelOn Aug. 28, 2014, Disney announced that it will be bidding farewell to several World Showcase entertainment shows, including the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps, Mo'Rockin,' Off Kilter and World Showcase Players.
- SENTINEL FILEOpening day ceremonies at Epcot shows crowds at the main gate with Spaceship Earth and the pyramid shaped Kodak pavilion in the background.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelFANS & FIREWORKS: Fireworks silhouette Epcot fans watching the 'Illuminations' show from the bridge at the Italy pavilion, at Epcot, Wednesday, September 18, 2013, in anticipation of the 18th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, with runs Sept. 27 through Nov. 11, at Walt Disney World. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) B583197404Z.1
- SENTINEL FILEAbout 2,600 construction workers are busy building Epcot nearly a year before the park's opening.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelIn this view from an underwater camera, Disney bogger Bob Mortell sifts cranberries in the 1,000-square-foot bog installed by Ocean Spray at the 2011 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, at Walt Disney World, Thursday, October 20, 2011. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) newsgate ID# B581631187Z.1
- Joe Burbank, Orlando SentinelJim MacPhee, vice president of Epcot, applauds during the 25th anniversary ceremony.
- SENTINEL FILESpaceship Earth reflected in a pond at Epcot.
- ROBERTO GONZALEZ/ORLANDO SENTINELSelina Bright (left) and Lana Jordan of Queensland, Australia, tour the Moroccan pavilion Thursday at Epcot. While the 2 Aussies say they haven't turned against France, they're surprised at its reluctance to support the war in Iraq.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelSpaceship Earth, fireworks and wines from around the world, featured at the 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, photographed August 30, 2012. It is the 17th year for the festival. ( (Photo Illustration/Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)) newsgate ID# B582326199Z.1
- RICARDO RAMIREZ BUXEDA/ORLANDO SENTINELTest Track cast member David Edwards (right) gives directions to Brooks Moreau, 7, his dad, Scott Moreau, and sister Emilie, 11, on Tuesday. The hurricane broke windows in Edwards' Orlando home, and his power was out for a couple of days.
- Joe Burbank / Orlando SentinelDisney cast members wait in the queue area of the Captain EO show at the Imagination! pavilion at Epcot, during a sneak preview, Wednesday, June 30, 2010.
- SENTINEL FILEWith nearly 20 months to go before opening day, Epcot begins to take shape.
- SENTINEL FILEHayley Richard, 2, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on her father Mike Richard's shoulders at the opening day ceremonies.
Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel
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Guests at Epcot's Spaceship Earth participate in the interactive experience of the new post-show, sponsored by Siemens Corportation.
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By Dewayne Bevil | dbevil@orlandosentinel.com | Orlando Sentinel
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
I learned — or maybe re-remembered — some fun Epcot facts during the anniversary celebration of the park thrown this week by D23, the official Disney fan club.
* One name tossed around before executive landed on EPCOT Center was CONTENT. That stood for Communication of New Concepts and Experimental Programs for Tomorrow.
* A name tossed about before they picked World of Motion? TRANSPOMERICA.
* The ride planned for Japan but ditched would have had a Sherman Brothers song.
* Peter Docter, director of “Inside Out” and “Up,” did bits of animation for “Cranium Command.”
* If not for artist Harper Goff, each entrance to a World Showcase pavilion would have been boxy and matchy-matchy. Goff’s after-hours illustration turned the tide to the eventual design.
* The Epcot store named The Fjording is named for a small but strong Norwegian work horse. (Thus the horse atop the sign, duh.)
* The lopped-off shiny pyramid look of the Imagination pavilion represents crystals.
* The Astuter Computer Revue was backstage magic put onstage in CommuniCore. It showed off the technology that ran Epcot in 1981..
* The little terra cotta warriors in China? Disney got them from the now-shuttered Florida Splendid China attraction in Kissimmee. (Margaritaville Resort Orlando is under construction there now.)
