82 Days to Go: Future World (Epcot)

Everybody has their favorite park. My dad loves the Magic Kingdom. I myself prefer Epcot Center. EPCOT--or Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney imagined EPCOT as the ideal town, a future utopia. This original design can be seen on the WED-way over in Tomorrowland, housed inside the Carousel of Progress. Overtime, EPCOT became Epcot, a place where the world of today met the world of tomorrow.

The world of tomorrow is represented in Future World. The center piece of this world and the symbol of Epcot is Spaceship Earth--AKA the Giant Golf Ball. It houses its namesake ride, a journey through the history of communication. This is one of my favorite rides...and yes, I was a communications major. Though only a few years ago did I realize that in the Ancient Greece scene, the play being performed is the tragedy Oedipus Rex--particularly the scene where Oedipus learns he killed his father and married his mother! Spaceship Earth has gotten an update, replacing the narration by Jeremy Irons with Dame Judi Dench (I love Irons' voice and am going to miss it) and putting an interactive ending. For us who remember Horizons, it will be a trip down memory lane.

The Land promotes going green and has done so long before it was cool. In Livin' with the Land, we follow the history of man's relationship with the land as well as the different ecosystems found on the earth. The ride ends with a tour of Disney's farming labs, where they are working on different ways to improve farming so as not to disturb the ecosystems. They also have sustainable fish farms, which helped me pass my Environmental Studies final. In fact, this entire ride helped me pass. Everything grown in this farm is eaten in Disney restaurants. Also in the Land is "The Circle of Life," billed as an "environmental fable." Simba (Matthew Broderick reprising his role) tells Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella) a story about how human progress destroyed the environment in order to explain how important the circle of life is. It ends with humans realizing we were wrong and trying to right it. All footage is from 1994, so the latest green fad is not included.

Also housed in The Land is one of Epcot's three big rides--Soarin'. Imported from California, Soarin' puts guests on gliding seats that take off over a giant screen. You are then "flown" over California, flying over Death Valley, Monterey Bay, and others. The ride ends, naturally, in Disneyland just as the nightly fireworks begin. It is a definite Fast Pass ride as this one can have a waiting time of 3 hours! The other two big rides are Test Track and Mission: Space. Test Track, once sponsored by GM (which they recently pulled for obvious reasons), allows guests to experience the tests their cars are put through before they get out on the road. The highlight of this ride is the 60 mph hairpin turns. Test Track does have a history of breaking down, so be careful. If you can't Fast Pass this lane and your group is full of older guests who wouldn't mind being broken up, go on the single rider lane. It's faster than stand-by. Mission: Space takes you on a journey to Mars, guided by Gary Sinise. There are two versions of the ride. In the Orange version, you will experience all the feelings astronauts feel in outer space thanks to g-forces created by spinning. The green ride is the same with just simulations and no spinning. You will want to Fast Pass the orange ride, but the green ride generally has a five minute wait period.

Epcot also hosts The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends, Journey into Your Imaginations, the Universe of Energy, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, and Innovations. In the Living Seas, you board a clam mobile to try and find Nemo. In the end, images of the characters appear to be swimming with the actual fish living in The Living Seas. I love just watching these fish swim about. There is also Turtle Talk with Crush, like the Monsters Inc Comedy Floor. It allows the audience to interact with the sea turtle of the movie. Innovations holds different inventions and interactive activities for children to do.

Journey into Your Imagination takes guests on a tour of Imagination Labs, dedicated to the study of the imagination. However, the planned tour is hijacked by Figment, the purple dinosaur, and he reminds us what using your imagination is all about--thinking up new things and looking at the world in a different way. This replaced Journey into the Imagination, which was quickly shut down as guests complained how bad the ride was crafted--an expample of Disney screwing a ride. The original Journey into the Imagination featured Figment with the Dreamfinder, a man who traveled the universe to find things that could spark a person's imagination. It's song "One Little Spark" remains one of my favorites to this day. Next to this is Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. It replaced Magic Journeys and Captain Eo (starring one Michael Jackson in his "Thriller" days). Wayne is receiving an award but due to some mishaps, shrinks the audience. It is 4-Day, so you do feel some of the effects. My family hasn't done this in a while as it is an old attraction and you can only see it so many times.

The Universe of Energy plays "Ellen's Energy Adventure," starring Ellen Degeneres. She dreams she ends up on Jeopardy! (On the real set, circa the mid-90s, hosted by Alex Trebek still sporting his mustache) competing against Albert Einstein and her old college roommate (Jamie Lee Curtis), an expert on energy. All the categories are about energy and Ellen is losing by the time Double Jeopardy comes around. She freezes her dream and neighbor Bill Nye the Science Guy pops by to see Einstein. He offers to help Ellen, bringing her back to the start of time to see where energy comes from. He tells her about the different energy options humans have, from coal to water to wind to solar to nuclear. This ride is informative without being preachy and the journey through the world of the dinosaurs is a thrilling experience.

Foodwise, you can eat in the cafeteria of the Land, with some healthy and delicious offerings. There is also the Garden Grill, which rotates and allows views of Living with the Land. Because it rotates, we've never eaten there. The Living Seas has a seafood restaurant I heard is great (I don't eat seafood). My family, though, usually ends up at the Electric Umbrella. It once served pizza, but now is hamburgers and chicken. Or it was the last time we went--menus at Disney change constantly.

Tomorrow: We cross the bridge into the World Showcase. Bring your passports!