Epcot Part 2: Future World West

The three pavilions that comprise Future World West, The Seas, The Land, and Imagination, all have seen major changes since the park’s inception. With these changes, however, each of these pavilions has moved away from one of the park’s original intents. Epcot was meant to be a theme park where not only could families go to have a good time, but also to learn new things. This idea of “edutainment,” combining education and entertainment, was evident in all of Future World’s original attractions. Unfortunately, as Future World has slowly moved away from being about the future, it has likewise moved away from the more educational aspects of its attractions. My plan for Future World east is very much about restoring this classic/retro Future World.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends is an attraction near and dear to my heart. The ride itself is not necessarily a bad one, but its placement is terrible. This is an attraction that has no business being in Future World. What makes this even more frustrating is that the pavilion originally was a perfect fit for this area of the park, highlighting the future of deep sea exploration. In 2007 the entire pavilion was given a Finding Nemo overlay to capitalize on the success of Pixar’s movie. My plans for The Seas call for the restoration of the pavilion to the original Seabase Alpha theme.

Upon entering the building, guests would first encounter a 360-degree preshow film about the world’s oceans utilizing footage from the Disneynature documentary “Oceans,” with Pierce Brosnan providing the narration. This 10-15 minute preshow would not only provide guests with a stunning circlevision look at the world’s oceans, but also set the backstory for the entire pavilion.

Here is a sample of the beautiful footage that would await guests:


After exiting the theater, guests would then be ushered into Hyrdolators that would simulate the feel of travelling deep beneath the ocean.





Once they have exited the Hydrolators, guests would find the restored Seacabs waiting to take them to Seabase Alpha. When the ride was converted from the original Seacabs to a Nemo attraction it was also lengthened. I would keep the attraction at its current length, but restore the original look and feel. Guests would first travel through beautiful coral reefs, the screens that now project images of characters from Finding Nemo converted to show real images of exotic sea life (continuing to utilize footage from "Oceans"). One of the best features of the ride was actually covered when it received its Nemo overlay. In place of the EAC section of the Nemo ride I would restore the tunnel leading through the aquarium where guests are completely surrounded by glass windows allowing breathtaking views of the marine life.



Once exiting off the ride, guests would enter into Seabase Alpha where they can explore various exhibits about the future of underwater research and exploration and have great views into the 5.7 million gallon aquarium.





One aspect of the Nemo overlay of the pavilion that I would keep is Turtle Talk with Crush. However, the storyline of the show would be tweaked slightly to fit into the Seabase Alpha theme. The introduction to the show would explain to guests that they are there to witness the trial of a new piece of underwater technology that will revolutionize our study of the oceans, the hydrophone. This technology will actually allow us to speak with various underwater creatures. After this introduction, Crush swims by and begins his conversation with the audience; this is actually very similar to how the show progresses at Tokyo Disneysea. With this new theming, The Seas would once again fit with the theme of Future World.

Moving to The Land, the changes would not be nearly as dramatic. I would not touch the Living With The Land boat ride at all. This is one attraction in Future World that still fits with the original intent and purpose of the park. Also found in The Land pavilion, the Circle of Life film is an attraction that is typically overlooked but one that has a good message about the importance of conservation and man’s harmony with nature. I would change the film to one that incorporates elements of the Disneynature documentary “Earth”. The new film would focus not only on conservation, but also take guests on a journey across the world following the change of seasons (similar to the storyline of “Earth”) and be narrated by James Earl Jones.

Visually, this would be a very impressive film, similar to what is seen here:


Soarin’ is an attraction that presents an interesting dilemma. It is by far the most popular attraction at Epcot, but it does not necessarily fit well with the theme of The Land. Fortunately, it would be easy enough to change the film so that it does fit better with this theme. Instead of Soarin’ over California, guests would now go Soarin’ over the earth’s natural wonders. This new film would be very dramatic and visually impressive, more so than the current version. Picture flying over the majestic beauty of the Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sahara Dessert, the Himalayas, the Alps, the Amazon Rainforest, and much more.









To make the attraction even better than its current form, I would also add in multiple, random ride sequences, similar to Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, so that guests can experience something new each time they ride. As much as I love the current soundtrack of the attraction, I would change it to better integrate Soarin’ with the rest of the pavilion with a grand, dramatic instrumental orchestration of “Listen to the Land,” the song that originally appeared on the Living With The Land boat ride.

My plan for the Imagination pavilion is very simple, bringing back the original version of Journey Into Imagination. This is an attraction that never should have been changed and the version we have now is a sad shadow of its former self (although not as bad as the second iteration of the ride which did not have any Figment at all). I would not change anything from the old version of the ride.

Guests would first encounter the Dreamfinder who creates a figment of his imagination: "Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a loveable fellow! From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment, and there, Voila! You've got a Figment!" After leaving the Dreamfinder, guests then proceed through several rooms representing different areas influenced by the imagination such as art, literature, the performing arts and science.



Upon exiting the ride, guests would once again be invited to go upstairs into the glass pyramids (an area that today sits empty) to a restored Imageworks, "the creative playground of the future".



The theater that sits next to Journey Into Imagination, and that currently is the home of Captain EO, would receive a completely new show but one that actually pays tribute to a former attraction at Disneyland. Adventure Through Inner Space was an omnimover attraction that shrunk guests to a size smaller than an atom and then took them on a journey through the molecules of a snowflake. This version at Epcot would be a 3-D film rather than an omnimover, but the premise would be the same and would help to educate guests about the importance of atoms and advancements in molecular and atomic science. The film would also include a version of the song “Miracles from Molecules” which was composed by the Sherman Brothers for the attraction.



With these changes to The Seas, The Land, and Imagination, Future World West would have a much more clear and coherent theme, one that would hold true to the original premise and intent of the park and focus much more on the future than the current attractions that comprise this area of the park.

Up next, we will move to Future World East, an area that has already undergone major transformation since the park first opened. I have big plans in store for the former Wonders of Life pavilion.