Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

Epcot Center was never meant to be a theme park. Legend has it that as the near-mythical Walt Disney watched his grandchildren mature, he began to worry about the state of society. Cities were just too busy, dirty, and disorganized; urban life was inherently dangerous. And so Disney's "Florida Project" had nothing to do with Mickey Mouse...it was nothing less than his attempt at engineering the perfect community.

Elaborate plans were made, and a circular, radial community was designed (that reminds me of Plato's description of Atlantis). The hub of the EPCOT would be a commercial center with hotels, restaurants, and shops. Outside of that, a circle of high-density apartment blocks, and then an agricultural green belt, and finally a fat ring of low-density suburban residences would make up the outside of the circle.

Inhabitants would travel from zone-to-zone using the PeopleMover (which later became part of Disneyland's "Tomorrowland"). New technologies would constantly be applied to the community by major corporations working in the nearby EPCOT Industrial Park. Disney envisioned it as an "experiment that would never end," and that would inspire visitors to make similar changes in their own communities.

By now you must be wondering why EPCOT is today home to the General Motors' "Test Track " and "The Seas with Nemo and Friends". After Walt Disney died in 1966, the Board of Directors decided that the project was too risky. The Florida Project became the Magic Kingdom, and as a tribute to the original idea, the Epcot Center theme park opened in 1982.

But the spirit of Disney's concept lives on today in the town of Celebration, Florida, a planned community designed by the Disney Development Company in the 1990's. This quaint little city took the urban center and low-density residential areas of the original EPCOT and made them a reality, along with a retro-styled movie theatre and some truly interesting architecture.

And forgive me for comparing everything to Lost, but this whole thing reeks of Alvar Hanso and the Dharma Initiative, especially when you watch this film (skip to the 7-min mark for the most interesting stuff) of ol' Walt explaining his ideas and compare it to this film from Lost. Need more proof? How about one of the most important relationships on the show, that of father-son Michael and Walt? Disney's two most famous presidents are named Michael (Eisner) and Walt (Disney)...