Fact-Checking 5 Epcot Rides That Predicted the Future

The shameless futurism espoused at Disney World's Epcot theme park in Orlando, Fl. was taken in by generations of kids who saw the world through Walt Disney-colored glasses. But did any of these imaginings come true? Here, we look at five visions of the future in hindsight—and see how they hold up.


Epcot has always been the most curious of Disney World's parks: a place of slow (and some might say boring) rides that focused more on education than on adrenaline-boosting thrills. This is a park where utopian ideals (the park's name originally stood for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow") meet multicultural reverence, with a huge section of the park devoted to miniature recreations of various countries. Epcot has always been a place of shameless futurism, where, for the price of admission, visitors can spend the day exploring contrasting and often unrealistic visions of the world to come. In an attempt to keep up with changing technology, these attractions are regularly closed and replaced with more modern fare. But the extinct rides of Epcot's past are all fondly remembered by the generations who grew up with them. I thought it'd be fun to look back at five of the park's past visions of the future. In the next 5 days, each ride will be reviewed.

My first visit was in 1996. All the rides bring back memories.