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5. Living with the Land lounge

While the lounges at the American Adventure and The Living Seas were repurposed after their original sponsorships were lost, the Living With the Land lounge briefly served as an annual passholder lounge that featured complimentary drinks, kids' activities, and even character meet and greets (see video above). However, in the early 2000s, the annual passholder lounge was closed indefinitely and this space sat vacant for several years. While this space sat abandoned, several guests risked legal action by trespassing to see what exactly remained of this former lounge (you can see a video of one such individual here). Though the majority of this lounge still sits empty, some cast members who work in The Land pavilion have said that a few of the rooms are used for storage and one corner is occasionally used for a break room. While this lounge may one day be repurposed into a special event space or something different, for now its just sitting there. 

6. HP Mission: Space lounge

On the left of Mission: Space’s entrance is a small unobtrusive HP plaque that leads to an elevator to HP's Mission: Space lounge. Inside this lounge guests will find a kitchen stocked free drinks, plenty of seating, computers, and a number of screens with exclusives games and content. The lounge itself features views of the gravity wheel part of the queue, as well as the Advanced Training Labs. Those who want to experience this attraction can also take a hallway that leads to the end of the queue where guests can board Mission: Space without waiting.

7. Universe of Energy lounge

Here's yet another lounge that has been lost due to a lost sponsorship. Back when Exxon sponsored the Universe of Energy (up until the mid-1990s), employees of Exxon were able to enter through an exterior door, to the right of the building and enjoy a lounge area with complimentary drinks, a monitor showing the pre-show for the attraction, and an upstairs area where guests could view the primeval world scene. In the years since this lounge has been closed, Disney has converted this former lounge into office space, and it is unlikely that this area will ever be turned back into a guest area. 

8. Wonders retreat

Image: Disney

Back when MetLife sponsored the Wonders of Life attraction, this lounge was available for employees to kick back, relax, and enjoy a private bar as well as a theater. However, since the Wonders of Life pavilion lost its sponsorship (and was subsequently turned into the Festival Center), this former lounge has been converted into the "Wonders Retreat" which can be rented out for special events or meeting space.

Have you ever been inside one of these ultra-exclusive Epcot lounges? What was your experience like? Share your stories with us in the comments below! 

 
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Comments

The Universe of Energy lounge is used by the engineering dept. Living with the Lands is used by cast members for the character dining below at Garden Grill. Test Track's was updated when the ride was a couple years ago. The Seas is mainly used as a meeting/ conference space for managers and executives. Wonders of Life has recently been demo'd. Journey into Imagination (above Captain EO theater) is an office space for park operations staff. Mission Space is there but is not where it was originally planned. The original site for the lounge is an empty building beside the ride that sits unfinished.

There is also a VIP lounge in Norway! I am not sure about the background of it, however it can be rented out by groups. I have been in all of the lounges and think they are unique!

I've gotten into two of these lounges when I was younger

My mom did some sewing work for a couple of people who worked for corporate GM and HP, and they got us access into the corporate lounges.

Lots of tech toys to play with, and got to skip the line at Test Track, twice!

HP one happened a few years later, but it was a similar situation, only skipped the line once with that one though.

It still was a really cool perk. There are offices in there that are actually used for meetings and such on a regular basis from what I can remember.

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