Unrealized Epcot: Rides, shows & entire pavilions that never quite made it off the drawing board

Jim Hill

18 years ago

Jamie B. writes in to say:

I really enjoyed this past Friday’s Why For. It was great to see that very early version of “The Living Seas” and finally get a sense of what the ride-thru attraction that was originally supposed to have been built there was supposed to have been like. Do you have any other photographs & concept art that you could share with JHM readers about other Future World & World Showcase rides & pavilions that were never built?

Ask and ye shall receive …

The following material was culled from Walt Disney Productions annual reports from 1974 – 1978. Back when the entire Epcot project was still very much in flux. As the Imagineers struggled to get a handle on this thing that wasn’t quite a city anymore. But — rather — some sort of free-form futuristic theme park.

You’d mentioned that you’d really liked looking at the “Living Seas” model, Jamie. Well, here’s a concept painting for the actual aquarium portion of that proposed Future World pavilion …

Please note the enormous clear plastic tube in the lower left hand corner of this concept painting. The one that’s filled with Epcot guests that are riding right through the very heart of that enormous salt water tank. This was how the Imagineers originally wanted to stage the grand finale of this Future World pavilion’s ride-thru attraction. By having these WDW visitors (who — up until then — had been riding along inside of their bubble-shaped omni-mover cars, looking out at faux undersea settings) suddenly find themselves really underwater, surrounded by all of these colorful really-for-real fish.

Speaking of Epcot’s “Living Seas,” here’s a quick thumbnail description of the rides & shows that the Imagineers had originally wanted to install inside of this Future World pavilion:

The Seas — Guests will board the clipper ship, “Spirit of Mankind,” to sail through moments of peril and triumph with seven legendary mariners … the great explorers who charted the seas for civilization. In another adventure, Poseidon the Sea Lord will challenge visitors to journey through ocean depths … from the Continental Shelf to the Great Coral Reef. Finally arriving at “Sea Base Alpha,” guests will experience an authentic ocean environment with live marine life, an undersea restaurant, and a showcase of oceanographic exhibits and displays.

Mind you, in addition to taking Epcot visitors down into the depths of the ocean, the Imagineers also wanted to send WDW guests out into outer space.

Of course, the “Space” pavilion that was proposed ‘way back in 1977 was considerably different than “Mission: Space.” Here’s a brief description of that proposed Future World addition:

Space — A huge, interstellar “Space Vehicle” will transport passengers to the outer frontiers of the universe, highlighting man’s efforts to reach out to the stars around him … from the early pioneers who looked and wondered … to modern-day space travelers and their triumphs … to the challenges and possibilities of future space technology and exploration.

The Imagineers recruited some top talent to work on this particular Future World pavilion. In the photo below, you see Academy Award-winning art director John DeCuir (left) conferring with literary giant Ray Bradbury on the design of the main theater for Epcot’s “Space” pavilion.

Yeah, that particular version of Epcot’s “Space” pavilion never made it off the launching pad. Of course, the same thing could be said about the “Wonders of Life” pavilion.

Which the Imagineers originally envisioned as being something like this:

Life and Health Pavilion — Visitors to the Life & Health Pavilion will experience a new awareness and appreciation of themselves. “The Joy of Living,” a multi-media show, will extol the beauty, the dignity and strength of man from birth to the golden years. “The Incredible Journey Within” will take guests to explore the inner workings of the fascinating, complex human machine. Along the “Great Midway of Life,” they’ll participate in a whimsical series of experiences, learning that good health is based, more than anything else, on their own personal responsibility and behavior.

Below, you’ll see a piece of concept art for the “Incredible Journey With” attraction …

… Which would have sent WDW visitors on a trip through an over-sized recreation of the human circulatory system aboard a giant plastic corpuscle.

Mind you, Future World wasn’t the only part of Epcot that had projects that didn’t quite make it off the drawing board. World Showcase had more than its share of rides & shows that were severely cut back and/or dropped at the last minute.

Take — for example — the Japanese pavilion. Now every good Disney dweeb already knows about the Americanized version of Tokyo Disneyland’s “Meet the World” show that was originally supposed be part of this World Showcase pavilion. But how many of you know about the simulated bullet train ride that was also supposed to have been a signature attraction for Epcot’s Japan pavilion?

In the center top of the concept painting below (Which shows the original layout of the interior for the Japanese pavilion), you’ll see the very tip of a train engine. More importantly, WDW guests queuing up to enter that train engine.

Once these Epcot visitors got inside, they would have been treated to a unique variation of Disney’s CircleVision 360 show. These WDW guests would have found themselves standing on board a vibrating recreation of the passenger compartment of a Japanese bullet train. And — by looking out through the over-sized faux windows in this passenger car — these folks would then have been treated to a high speed travelogue. As some of Japan’s most beautiful scenery continually whizzed by all of the windows.

Germany too was originally supposed to have had an attraction that showed off that country’s beautiful scenery. Only — in this case — this scenery was to have been recreated in miniature for that World Showcase pavilion’s Rhine Boat Ride.

According to Walt Disney Productions’ 1976 annual report, this World Showcase attraction was to have featured:

” … a cruise down Germany’s most famous rivers — the Rhine, the Tauber, the Ruhr and the Isar. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks will also be seen, including one of the Cologne Cathedral.”

There were other rides & shows that were originally proposed for World Showcase pavilions that never made it off WED’s drawing board. Some of these attractions were lost because the pavilions themselves — like the United Arab Emirates pavilion …

… and the Venezuela pavilion …

… were cut. Which meant that UAE’s “Flying Carpet” ride & Venezuela’s aerial-tram-through-the-tropical-rainforest attraction never got the chance to move beyond the concept painting phase and/or the model building stage.

Now, I know, I know. It makes some of you guys sad to see all of this stuff that never actually made it off the drawing board. But me? Given that no good idea ever really dies at WDI, I believe that — if we allow enough time to pass — some of these concepts for Disney theme park rides, shows & attractions will eventually be revived. And (who knows?) maybe even find their way back into Epcot.

But how about you folks? Is there a particular ride or show that I described in today’s article that you’d like to see the Imagineers consider as a possible future addition to World Showcase and/or Future World?

Your thoughts?