Epcot

Spaceship Earth at Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Part of Walt Disney World resort in Central Florida, Epcot is one of the four main Disney theme parks. The park is unlike any of the other theme parks as its main function is to educate its visitors through rides and attractions. Here you can travel around the world without ever leaving the sunshine state or explore the depths of the oceans without getting wet thanks to the many pavilions that comprise the park.

The park was inspired by Walt Disney’s vision of the future, his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow or Epcot for short. He vision a community that was unlike no other but the dream never came to life and the ideas were packaged into the creation of the theme park.

Construction began on the 300 acre theme park that would come to be know the Epcot Center. It took three years and $1.4 billion dollars to bring the park to life. The park opened to the public on October 1, 1982.

Epcot was designed to be like a permanent World’s Fair. Laid out like an hourglass, the park consists of two separate worlds, Future World and World Showcase. Until the construction of Animal Kingdom, Epcot was the largest theme park at Walt Disney World.

Once you past through the turnstiles of the front gate, you enter into Future World. Spaceship Earth, the large icon of Epcot, is the center of the world. All of the pavilions radiate out from there and include: Innoventions, Universe of Energy, Mission: Space, Test Track, Imagination, The Land and The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

The World Showcase portion of the park consists of eleven countries that span out around the World Showcase Lagoon. The counties represented in the park are: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. Each is carefully designed to resemble their native country and contains rides, food and entertainment found that help spotlight that country.

One of the highlights of a visit to Epcot is the Illuminations night time show. The current show, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, takes place each and every night right before the park closes. It happens over the World Showcase Lagoon and can be viewed from any of the pavilions in World Showcase. It features a spectacular show of fireworks, lasers, fire and water fountains set to musical soundtrack for a show that can’t be missed.

Epcot is also host to many special events throughout the year. The International Flower and Garden Festival, International Food and Wine Festival and the Holidays Around the World are just a few the events that take place at Epcot. These events run several weeks each and offers special entertainment and themes to enhance the experience.

In 2009, Epcot welcomed over 11 million guests through its turnstiles, making it the third most visit park in the country. Its mix of theme park entertainment combined with cultural and educational exhibits makes it a hit for people of all ages as well as a popular destination for school groups.

For photos of the park, visit my Epcot photo gallery.

Updated August 10, 2010

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