U.S.A. Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 11, 1982)

A Georgian mansion (colonial style structure) featuring the

Audio-Animatronic attraction the American Adventure, the Liberty

Inn restaurant, and the America Gardens Amphitheater.



United Kingdom Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 19, 1982)

British streets featuring the Rose & Crown Pub &

Dining Room restaurant, Pringle of Scotland shop, His

Lordship shop, Toy Soldier shop, and

Biscuit Barrel shop.



Mexico Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 21, 1982)

A Mesoamerican pyramid featuring the El Rio del

Tiempo attraction, the Artesanias Mexicanas shop,

and the Cantina de San Angel restaurant.



German Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 15, 1982)

An old German town platz with a risen statue of

St. George and the Dragon featuring Glas und

Porzellan shop, Biergarten restaurant,

Süssigkeiten shop, Der Bücherwurm shop,

Weinkeller shop, and the Der Teddybär shop.



Italy Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 14, 1982)

The city of Venice housing the Arcata d'Antigian

shop, the Il Bel Cristallo shop, and the L'Originale

Alfredo di Roma Ristorante restaurant.



Japan Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 20, 1982)

The torii (gate of honor) and the goju-no-to (five-story

pagoda) including Mitsukoshi Department Store,

Teppanyaki Dining Rooms restaurant, Yakitori House

restaurant, and the Mitsukoshi Restaurant.



France Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 20, 1982)

The Eiffel Tower, sitting beyond the entrance to the Palais

du Cinema, featuring the film Impressions de France , the

Plume et Palette shop, the Boulangerie Patisserie pastry

shop, La Maison du Vin shop, Les Chefs de France

restaurant, and the Au Petit Cafe restaurant.



China Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 3, 1982)

The Temple of Heaven featuing the Circle-

Vision 360 film Wonders of China .



Canada Pavilion (DEDICATED OCT 13, 1982)

The Hotel du Canada's French Gothic including the

Circle-Vision 360 film O Canada! , the Northwest

Mercantile Trading Post shop and Le Cellier restaurant.



World of Motion Pavilion

housing the General Motors Transcenter

auto display, and the animated film

The Water Engine .



Universe of Energy Pavilion

featuring Universe of Energy film, Mirrored Theater

film, Energy Creation Story film, and Energy, You

Make the World Go 'Round film.



Earth Station

i nformation and guest services presenting

The EPCOT Earth Station Film .



Spaceship Earth

the park's 18-story iconic sphere (sponsored by the

Bell System) housing an attraction designed with

the help of science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.



Communicore West

featuring the FutureCom display, sponsored by Bell.



Communicore East

including the Stargate fast-food facility, Centorium shop,

TravelPort attraction, Energy Exchange display, EPCOT

Computer Central display of computers, and Astuter

Computer Revue show in EPCOT Computer Control.



Land Pavilion

Sponsored by Kraft & housing the Listen to the Land

attraction, Tomorrow's Harvest tour, the Farmers

Market food court, the Kitchen Kabaret audio-

animatronic show, the Harvest Theatre showing the

film Symbiosis , and the Good Turn Restaurant.



Journey into Imagination Pavilion

i ncluding the Image Works area, and the Magic Eye

Theater showing the 3-D film Magic Journeys .



E PCOT Center at Walt Disney World opened on Friday

October 1 , 1982. It was Disney's second theme park in

Florida and, based on square footage, was the largest

Disney theme park in the world at 260 acres (until 1998,

when Disney's Animal Kingdom opened). EPCOT Center was named

to reflect the ideals and values of EPCOT the city. (By 1995-96, the

name EPCOT Center was shortened to simply Epcot.)



L ocated at the front of the park is a plaque bearing Disney chairman and CEO

E. Cardon Walker's October 24, 1982 official dedication:





To all who come to this place of Joy, Hope and Friendship - Welcome.

EPCOT is inspired by Walt Disney's creative vision.

Here, human achievements are celebrated through imagination, wonders of

enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and

exciting benefits for all.

May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all,

may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to

shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere.



T he park's name derived from the acronym EPCOT (Experimental Prototype

Community of Tomorrow), a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney. (He

sometimes used the word "City" instead of "Community" when expanding the

acronym.) Walt's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to

twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and

organization. This vision was never realized. Walt wasn't able to obtain funding and

permission to start work on his Florida property until he agreed to build the Magic

Kingdom first - and he died 5 years before its opening day.



I nstead of being a community consisting of homes and

businesses , t he $1.2 billion EPCOT consists of Future

World and World Showcase. They feature the kinds of

exhibits which were popular at World's Fairs in the first two-thirds of the

20th century - in particular the 1939 New York World's Fair.



M any of the opening day attractions are still running today and of

course much has been added to Epcot since 1982 (such as the

Morocco & Norway Pavilions, Living Seas, Test Track, and Mission:

SPACE). Epcot may be the only place on Earth where you can

explore the whole world ... in just one day!



Future World Opening Day Pavilions -

showcasing the land, communication, imagination, energy & technology:



World Showcase Opening Day Pavilions -

a kaleidoscope of 9 nations from throughout the world brought together to

celebrate their cultural heritage, arts and entertainment:



OCTOBER 1, 1982 - THE DAY THE 21ST CENTURY BEGAN





T oday Epcot has two entrances. But in 1982 only the entrance convenient to

the park's 162-acre parking area (which holds over 11,300 vehicles) and the

Epcot monorail station existed. The International Gateway entrance opened in

January 1990 near the France pavilion in World Showcase, providing park

access to guests staying in Epcot resort area hotels.



T he television special

EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration

aired on CBS October 23 , 1982 (the night

before the park's official dedication).

It was hosted by legendary

actor-singer-comic Danny Kaye.



THE GRAND

OPENING OF



"EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new

technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that

will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT

will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise." - Walt Disney



"On the banks of the 40-acre World Showcase Lagoon are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The

American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Young adults from each

nation represented in World Showcase are among your hosts making this a true international exchange."

-Walt Disney World Monorail



O pening-day Cast Members received a packet with a commemorative coin

displaying Spaceship Earth and the text "The dawn of a new Disney era."



T he park's October 1 debut was actually considered a "soft opening" and only

Spaceship Earth was dedicated on that day.

A Grand Opening Week was held from October 15 - 27 for celebrities, key press

and VIPs, and top executives from the corporations that sponsored attractions.



DID YOU KNOW ...

Walt Disney originally envisioned a

dome over the entire Epcot city in

order to have complete control over

the weather.



DID YOU KNOW ...

There is a marker in Epcot showing the

exact center of the park. It is located

to the west of Innoventions West on the

path that leads to the Land.



THIS SITE MADE IN THE USA





FUTURE WORLD WAS DEDICATED OCTOBER 22 , 1982



WORLD SHOWCAES WAS DEDICATED OCTOBER 23 , 1982



Epcot Grand Opening



DID YOU KNOW ...

Epcot took three years to build -

at the time the largest construction

project on Earth!



DID YOU KNOW ...

Unlike the Magic Kingdom, Epcot only

contains tunnels underneath the buildings that

contain Innoventions East, the Electric

Umbrella, MouseGear, Innoventions West, and

the building housing Club Cool and Fountain

View Ice Cream.



" "We know what our goals are. We know what we

hope to accomplish. And believe me, it’s the most

exciting and challenging assignment we've ever

tackled." -Walt Disney (1966)



"EPCOT is truly a doorway to the 21st Century." -U.S. President Ronald Reagan



"But the most exciting and by far the most important part of our Florida Project...in fact, the

heart of everything we'll be doing in Disney World...will be our Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow! We call it EPCOT." -Walt Disney

