Expanding and improving the EPCOT concept

WestCOT Center was the cornerstone of the project. It was to be a new take on EPCOT at Walt Disney World, celebrating culture and diversity as well as our humanity, our history and the world we live in. But it wasn’t just going to be an EPCOT clone. The Imagineers had some innovative new ideas for the theme park, some of which we might still like to see at Epcot. Check out some of the coolest preliminary plans for WestCOT Center.

Ventureport

This was to be one of the main areas of WestCOT. Described as a futuristic gateway, it would have contained a lobby which would take you to various destinations. One of those destinations being…

Spacestation Earth

The signature icon of WestCOT would have been a gold version of Spaceship Earth that, at 300 feet, was to be even larger than EPCOT’s 180-foot geodesic sphere. As big as a 23-story skyscraper, it would have been the tallest structure in Orange County. The name for it was SpaceStation Earth, and it was going to be on a green island that guests could travel to via a bridge under a waterfall. Inside the giant SpaceStation Earth would be an all new attraction: Cosmic Journeys. Some reports suggest that this would have been a much-updated version of Disneyland's classic Adventure Thru Inner Space dark ride.

Future World

The three Future World Pavilions combined with the four parts of the World Showcase made up what were referred to as “The Seven Wonders of WestCOT,” and oh boy did they seem wonderful. The Future World Pavilions were to contain The Wonders of Living, The Wonders of Earth and The Wonders of Space. All of them were going to be indoors. Here is a look at each of the Future World Pavilions.

Wonders of Living Pavilion

This pavilion was to be devoted to the human mind and body. It would have been home to attractions guests of EPCOT are familiar with such as Body Wars, Cranium Command and The Making of Me, as well as a new attraction based on the Powers of Ten documentary films that depict the relative scale of the Universe based on a factor of ten. Perhaps most exciting, though, was the possibility of a unique version of Journey Into Imagination!

 

Wonders of Earth Pavilion

The Wonders of Earth pavilion would have taken visitors through some of the most exciting environments our world has to offer, including the jungle, the desert, the deep sea and the Arctic.

Wonders of Space Pavilion

From what we know this seems like it was the least developed pavilion, but surely the Disney Imagineers would have figured out an exciting new way for guests to explore the Cosmos.

World Showcase

A World Showcase, also known as the Four Corners of the World, would have featured regions of the world instead of individual countries. The four realms would be Asia, Europe, The Americas and Africa. Here's a look at each of them.

Americas Pavilion

Also known as The New World, the Americas pavilion was going to continue the theme of Main Street, U.S.A. at the nearby Disneyland. Very nearby, as the parks would have been facing each other, separated by a plaza. The Americas pavilion would have included a copy of The American Adventure from Epcot, a First Nations Spirit Lodge show in the Canadian section, an indoor Mexican area with a fiesta show and restaurant and a spirit show featuring the cultures of the Inca and Aztec civilizations.

Europe Pavilion

The Europe pavilion would have had a new Circlevision film, as well as a Greek amphitheater and Tivoli Gardens playground. The marquee attraction would have been a simulation of a chase on Europe’s railroads in the style of James Bond films, in which you’d pass famous European structures. Its name was the Trans-European Express.

Asia Pavilion

The Asia pavilion certainly had a number of countries to choose from for inspiration. The Imagineers ultimately decided to imbue it with mainly Chinese and Japanese elements, along with the addition an Indian palace. Ride the Dragon was a planned steel roller coaster that would have run through something called Dragon’s Teeth Mountains, with vehicles designed like the Chinese lion-dragons often seen in festivals. Another planned attraction was a carousel with mythical Asian animals. 

Africa Pavilion

The Africa Pavilion would have hosted a farming exhibit, African Drummers for outdoor entertainment and a white water river-rafting attraction down the Congobezi River. Imagineers even had a second phase plan for what was described as “a grand Egyptian palace.”

World Cruise

The extraordinary World Cruise boat ride would have been the longest ride ever built by Disney. Passing around the entire World Showcase area and through each of its pavilions, it would have included audio-animatronic scenes depicting the world’s cultures and would have taken a full 45 minutes to circumnavigate (riders would be able to hop on or off at ports in each of the pavilions).

Special Features of WestCOT

The Imagineers seemed extremely invested in the WestCOT project, wanting to offer things that theme park fans already love along with innovations that will bring them new kinds of excitement and entertainment. Here are some ways they wanted to innovate.

You would have been able to stay in WestCOT overnight

One of the most exciting elements of WestCOT would have been the ability to stay overnightinside the park. Each of the World Showcase’s buildings would have featured six floors, with the top three featuring hotel rooms as part of the "Live the Dream" program.

Transportation

Disney has always been concerned with how their guests get from one place to another. In this case the Disneyland Plaza would have been the transportation hub for the California resort. The plan was considered very in-depth and widely hailed as one of the most impressive aspects of the whole project. You would have been able to get to the front gates by walking, taking the monorail and using elevated PeopleMovers from parking structures. The parking structures would have been on the edge of the resort, designed so that the trip to the moving sidewalks that would bring you to the PeopleMover system was still relatively short. The PeopleMovers would bring you to Disneyland Plaza. From there, you could travel the Monorail to different sections of the resort.

District design standard

Even back in the 1950s with Disneyland Walt was concerned with the view guests had of what was outside the park. The reason he bought so much land in Florida (and thank goodness he did!) was because it allowed Disney to control the look of almost everything visitors of the park could see at Walt Disney World. So it makes sense that, in the 1990s, Disney was greatly concerned with making the whole community surrounding WestCOT and Disneyland a sight to behold. Funds for improvements to the location were at the forefront of Disney executives’ minds when planning the expansion.