Why For did Phase II of Epcot’s World Showcase never get built?

Jim Hill

13 years ago

Annoyed in Anaheim writes in to say:

I have to say that I was very disappointed with the Disney
Parks & Resorts presentation at the D23 EXPO. They didn’t announce anything
significant for Walt Disney World. You’d think, given that it’s been almost a
quarter of a century since a new country was last added to the World Showcase,
that they could have at least announced a new international pavilion for Epcot.

Dear Annoyed in Anaheim,

Ah, but just because they announced a new country for Epcot’s
World Showcase area doesn’t mean that Disney will actually ever get around to
building it.

Concept art for the interior of World Showcase’s proposed Venezuela pavilion.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Don’t believe me? Then check out this official press release
that Walt Disney World officials issued on November 10, 1981, which reveals that …

… Venezuela has become the fifth South American country to
join the community of nations in WDW Epcot Center with the signing of a Contract
for Design of a Venezuelan pavilion for Phase II of the World Showcase.

The World Showcase is part of Epcot Center, a showplace for today’s
nations and tomorrow’s technology. Epcot Center will open October 1, 1982 and
will cost $800 million. Gustavo J. Vollmer, Chairman of Consorio Inversionista
Mercantil J Agricola (CIMA) in Caracas and Card Walker, Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive of Walt Disney Productions signed the preliminary
participation agreement at Walt Disney World.

The Venezuelan pavilion joins a number of countries and
areas of the world scheduled for addition to the eight inaugural World Showcase
nations. They include: Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, the United
Kingdom and Canada. Venezuela, the State of Israel and Equatorial Africa are
among the Phase II pavilions planned.

Photograph of the sign that was in place for Epcot’s opening day on October 1,
1982, designating where World Showcase’s Spain pavilion was going to be
built. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Better yet, how about this press release from December of
that same year. When Disney World proudly announced that …

Spain (has joined) the growing list of countries in the
community of nations at Epcot Center with the signing of a contract for the
design of a Spain pavilion for Phase II of World Showcase.

D. Aurlio Torrente LaRosa, director of ECCE (Exposiciones
Congresos y Convencione & Espana), on behalf of the Ministry of
Transportation, Tourism and Communications for Spain, and Dick Nunis, president
of Walt Disney World Co. signed the preliminary design agreement.

Nunis also met with King Juan Carlos and Queen Dona Sofia at
the Royal Palace to discuss the scope of the Epcot Center project and Spain’s
participation.

Herbie Ryman’s concept art for World Showcase’s Equatorial Africa
pavilion. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Spain joins Venezuela, the State of Israel, and Equatorial
Africa in the Phase II development of World Showcase.

“So why didn’t these Venezuela or Spain pavilions ever get
added to Epcot’s World Showcase area?,” you ask. Well, as Steve Baker (who – at
that time – was director of participant affairs for the Walt Disney World
Resort) told Vicki Vaughn of the Orlando Sentinel in an October 1984 interview:

Efforts to sign on Spain has been tougher. When Baker went to Spain for the
first time in 1981, he succeeded in getting the government to pay for the
design of that country’s pavilion. (He declined to reveal the design costs of individual
pavilions, but he said on average cost about $500,000.) But a new, young
government took over in Spain. “When we came back to talk, we realized that we
had no friends,” Baker said. “So consequently, we had to start over.”

This sort of thing happened over & over again when it
came to luring new nations to come be part of Epcot’s World Showcase area. Take
– for example – the proposed Swiss pavilion (which was to have been the home of
an East Coast version of Disneyland’s very first thrill ride, the Matterhorn
Bobsleds). Disney started negotiations with Swiss officials in 1986, only to
then have these talks broken off in 1987. While these negotiations would eventually
resume in 1989, Mouse House officials were never able to find a Swiss
corporation that was then willing to underwrite the initial construction costs as
well as supply the funds necessary to operate & maintain an attraction of this
size.

“And why were these companies & countries so reluctant
to commit to World Showcase?,” you query. Well, sometimes it was the terms of
the deal (Disney tended to try & get corporations to sign long-term
sponsorship deals when it came to rides, shows and attractions for the Parks.
Take – for example – the 13-year lease that the Mouse got United Technologies
to sign, for the Living Seas pavilion). And sometimes it was the possible
penalties that were involved should a country or company renege on its previous
agreement to sponsor a World Showcase pavilion (EX: The May 1989 lawsuit that the Walt Disney Company
brought against Eskantorp. Which – in December of 1985 — entered into a
preliminary agreement with the Mouse to serve as the principal developer & sponsor
of a South American pavilion. Only to then not be able to come up with the cash
necessary to underwrite the design & construction of this proposed World
Showcase addition).

Of course, sometimes it was just a case of initially
promising negotiations just petering out. Take – for example – the Russia
pavilion. Which was once considered to be a very strong candidate for World
Showcase’s Phase II. Dick Nunis (the then-Chairmain of Walt Disney Parks &
Resorts) personally met with a Russian delegation in November of 1988 and –
after this meeting – sounded very optimistic about this pavilion eventually being
added to Epcot. That said, even though Nunis told the Orlando Sentinel that ” …
the timing is very, very good to have negotiations with the Soviet Union,”
nothing came out of these talks.

The same sort of thing happened in April 1979, when Walt
Disney Productions officials received a Letter of Intent from Kenyan officials.
Which said that Kenya – along with the nations of Senegal and the Ivory Coast –
had agreed in principal to sponsor World Showcase’s Africa pavilion. But then
this trio of African countries began squabbling about which nation would
receive top billing on the entrance to this sure-to-be Epcot showplace. And
this sponsorship deal quickly fell apart.

Perhaps the saddest story associated with World Showcase’s
proposed Phase II is the one concerning the Israel pavilion. In November 1980,
the State of Israel actually signed a deal to officially become part of Epcot. Joseph
Wollf, special officer to the Minister of Finance and president of the Tourist
Industry Development Corporation signed an agreement that called for this
Middle Eastern country to underwrite the design & construction of a World
Showcase pavilion that was estimated to cost $30 – $35 million. What’s more, Jeshaja
Weinberg (i.e. director of the Jewish Museum in Tel Aviv) agreed to provide
Disney with a wide variety of archaeological artifacts. Which could then be put
on display in a rotating gallery that was to have been part of Epcot’s Israel
pavilion.

“So if the money and the artifacts were already in place,
why didn’t this proposed World Showcase pavilion ever get built?,” you ask.
Well, that’s where things get kind of vague. Though there were signs in place
on Epcot’s opening day trumpeting that the Israel pavilion was “Coming Soon,”
by October 1984, there was no sign of this previously-announced World Showcase
addition.

Steve Baker (while speaking with Vicki Vaughn of the Orlando
Sentinel) tried to put the best possible face on the situation. Insisting that
The Walt Disney Company had …

… made much progress towards an Israel pavilion, getting the
Israeli government to contribute design money and enlisting its help in putting
together private sectors funds, Baker said. But “all this has taken five years
and we expect lots of changes to occur” before the Israel pavilion takes shape.

To date, World Showcase’s Israel pavilion has never made it
off the drawing board. Reportedly because many senior Disney Company officials
believe that including Israel as part of Epcot would then turn this theme park
into a possible target for terrorism. Or – at the very least – a potential
protest focal point. Which actually did prove to be the case when – in 1999 – the
Arab League pushed for a boycott of the Millennium Village at Epcot due to the inclusion
of an Israel Pavilion as part of this 15-month-long celebration.

Trust me, folks. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it
comes to stories associated with the proposed Phase II of World Showcase area.
Which – at one point – was to have included Epcot’s first Eastern European
country, Poland.

Better yet, remind me sometime to talk about the early,
early days of Disney’s World Showcase. We’re talking 1975 – 1977 here. When the
Mouse reached out to representatives of 31 separate countries to ask them to
become part of Epcot … Only to then have each of these countries then say “No.”

An early concept painting of Epcot’s World Showcase. Back when this part of that
futuristic theme park was supposed to be home to 17 international pavilions.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Seriously. Even the United Kingdom (which was one of the
United States’ closest allies) refused to take part in the project. Reportedly
because they just couldn’t seen the benefit of being part of Disney’s
futuristic theme park. Which is why the Imagineers then quietly revised their
plans for World Showcase. First scaling back the proposed line-up for this
theme park from 31 international pavilions to 17. Then making further cuts,
dropping from 17 to just 8 – 10 countries. And at one point, Disney officials
were having so much trouble lining up World Showcase participants that they
supposedly told Wall Street insiders that – on Epcot’s opening day – this theme
park might only have 5 international pavilions.

But that’s a story for another time. Speaking of which … If
you’d like to see one of your Disney-related questions answered as part of a
future Why For column, please send your queries along to whyfor@jimhillmedia.com.

That’s it for now, folks. And if you live on the East Coast,
here’s hoping that Hurricane Irene doesn’t give you too much trouble this weekend.

Talk to you later, okay?