Dreams and Reality
“It is not enough to insist upon the necessity of experience, nor even of activity in experience. Everything depends on the quality of the experience which is had. . . . Just as no man lives or dies to himself, so no experience lives or dies to itself. Wholly independent of desire or intent, every experience lives on in further experiences. Hence the central problem of an education based upon experience that live fruitfully and creatively in subsequent experiences.� - John Dewey, Experience and Education
Experience is defined as “the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time.� When people experience a certain thing or event they tend to feel something after the encounter wither it be good or bad. In environmental design experience is the main ingredient in wither or not the design works for its intended purpose. Environmental design is a part of our everyday lives wither we realize it or not. There are the signs and maps that tell us how to get to places, in museum exhibits information is displayed in places that enhance the experience by taking a person through it as if it were a story, or signs that have the name of a certain place of business. Overall environmental design has to give the people a pleasant, easy experience. Wether it is in an airport, a museum or just getting around a place of business. People rely on environmental design to get them to the places they want to go.
Back in the 1960’s when Walt Disney first came up with the idea. In his ideas he wanted EPCOT to “be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems.” (Walt Disney, 1966) Sadly Walt Disney died before he could see his dream of EPCOT come into existence. Although there is a difference between the two there are some similarities to some ideas that Walt Disney had for his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
“Walt believed that the experience was most important. People could always read about ideas or see photographs of new concepts. They would find it more compelling if they went through it themselves. Once people experienced something first-hand they could go home to their own communities and make changes.� Imagineer John Hench
I don’t believe there’s a challenge anywhere in the world that’s more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin; how do we start answering this great challenge? Well, we’re convinced we must start with the public need. And the need is not just for curing the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a special kind of new community. We don’t presume to know all the answers. In fact, we’re counting on the cooperation of American industry to provide their best thinking during the planning and creation of our Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. So that’s what Epcot is: an experimental prototype community that will always be in a state of becoming. It will never cease to be a living blueprint of the future. . . . Walt Disney 1966
This is an aerial layout view of the city and the different areas of what it would have looked like.
“Low occupancy residential areas, the houses. These houses faced inward to a greenbelt that contained walkways, rivers, and lakes, and an elevated peoplemover station to take residents into the city center.�
Surrounding the city a highoccupancy residential area of apartment buildings. Here within a 50-acre domed in part of the city is where all the restaurants, entertainment, shops, and a 30-story, futuristic, cosmopolitan hotel.
An expansive greenbelt that contains parks, churches, and schools.
At the center of the city is the transportation lobby where there will be two forms of transportation within Epcot. The people-mover that would be a continuous vehicle service that would transport people from the city center to the low and high residential areas. Then there is the monorail a high speed transport that would take people to the entrance complex, the airport, and to the theme park.
The EPCOT Experience Epcot was designed to create an experience for people to learn about future innovations in many areas that we live in. Also for people to understand the lives and customs of different countries.
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When visitors enter Epcot they are first welcomed by the future. This is Future World, an area within Epcot that has a half a dozen pavilions that form a wide ring around Spaceship Earth. Each of these pavilions deal with an “area of vital concern to all of us in the years ahead: energy, transportation, agriculture, mariculture, communications, technology and imagination.” Each of the pavilions have a different theme and how these themes are approached give the visitor a look at “where we were, where we are now, and what the possibilities for the future are.”
From the time Epcot first opened some of the themes of the pavilions have changed and some have stayed the same. Today future world consists of Spaceship Earth Pavilion, Universe of Energy, Mission: Space, Test Track Pavilion, Innoventions: The Road to Tomorrow, The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion, The Land Pavilion, Imagination Pavilion and Wonders of Life. Within these pavilions are several different activities for the visitor to experience within each theme.
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Test Track Pavilion
Mission: Space
Wonders of Life
Imagination Pavilion
Innoventions: The Road to Tomorrow
Spaceship Earth Pavilion
The Land Pavilion
The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion
Universe of Energy
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Spaces Earth
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Spaceship Earth is an eighteen story tall, 16 million pound geodesic sphere covered in 11,324 triangular silver panels made out of aluminum and plastic alloy. It stands as the entrance into Future World and the rest of Epcot. Inside the sphere is a slow moving ride completely in the dark. The ride takes the riders through the history of communication. “They see innovative, interactive television and digital communications at work- bringing life saving medical technology to wilderness homes, helping archaeologists share distant discoveries with home base instantly or creating electronic bridges that close gaps in human understanding.” (http://www.wdisneyw. co.uk/atse.html ) Just recently added to the story line of the ride is “how each generation of mankind has invented the future for the next generation, and how the spirit of innovation has moved people from the caves to the cosmos,” according to a Disney press release. (http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=wd070416mg) Also within the area of spaceship earth is a Global Neighborhood which includes a interactive computer-video wonderland.
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The Universe of Energy is a show staring several well known stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Alex Trebek. The show takes place on an episode of Jeopardy where Albert Einstein and other contestants try to answer questions on energy and how people generate and harvest it. The seats that the people sit in are actually large vehicles that move slowly through the attraction. These vehicles are powered by photovoltaic solar cells that are built onto the roof of the building.
p Formally the site of Horizons, a ride that compared science fiction of the past to what life might be like in the future is now the home of Mission: Space. Within the 45,000 square foot building, the attractions of Mission: Space simulates the training of what a member of the space program has to go through. The ride lets the guests feel what it is like to blast off in a rocket within a spinning centrifuge gravity-simulator.
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Test Track is another ride that used to be another attraction in Epcot. Formally it was called the World of Motion, which was a slow moving ride that went past scenes that showed the past and the future of transportation. Test Track is a ride that lets the riders experience the testing that cars go through before they go on to be mass produced for the public. Riders will experience the hill climb test, suspension test where they ride over rough road, brake test, first with normal brakes then ABS brakes. Next the car goes through the environmental chamber test where they are exposed to extreme heat, freezing temperatures and mist for the corrosion test. The barrier test next lets the passengers feel what it is like to be a crash test dummy. The car then crashes through the barrier to the outside and accelerates up to 65 mph on a 50 degree angled part of the track around the building and back inside.
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Innoventions is a word that is called a portmanteau which is a term used to describe a word that fuses two functioning words. In this case it is innovation and invention. Innovation has two different pavilions that has hands on exhibitions that focuses on technological advancements and their practical applications in everyday life.
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The Seas with Nemo and Friends was formally known as The Living Seas. When it was first built it was the largest saltwater aquariums in the world and guests could view many different aquatic animals and learn about the preservation of the ocean. Today not a lot has changed they just use a different theme from the Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo to teach people about aquatic life and the ocean. When guests first enter they board a ‘Clamobile’ and venture through the seas with characters from
the movie to find Nemo again. At the end the animated fish look like they are swimming with the live fish. This is because they use a special effect glass to make it happen. At the entrance visitors experience an “new facade that features colorful appliques of fish and sea creatures.” (http://www. wdisneyw.co.uk/atsnaf.html)Also there are three Audio- Animatronics seagulls on the rocks by the sign saying “Mine, Mine, Mine,” just like in the movie.
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The Land’s purpose is about human interaction with the land and how humans can use the land for our benefit and how we can destroy it. This pavilion explores future technology to better preserve the land. It contains a boat ride that takes the guests through real working greenhouses that grows the food that is served there in the food court. In addition
to the entertainment, The Land has a horticulture research facility with experimental horticulture techniques in hydroponics, irrigation methods, and integrated pest management. The Land Pavilion purpose has stayed
the same since Epcot opened but has undergone many updates in the past years and has replaces a couple of entertainment attractions with the ones that are currently there.
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The Imagination Pavilion contains a ride called Journey Into Imagination, starring Eric Idle and the Epcot mascot Figment. The ride encourages the riders to use their senses and imagination. Imagination also has other attractions called “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”, and ImageWorks. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is a 3D movie were the audience wears polarized glasses and the projectors are polarized as well to give it that 3D effect. People are put into a theater where they put on the glasses and the seats move during the movie to make the audience feel they are in the movie. In ImageWorks it is an interactive exhibit that is described as “the creative playground of the future.”
WONDERS OF LIFE
Wonders of Life is an attraction that is only open seasonally and until just recently many attractions have been removed. The pavilion only houses special events and there is no word if it is being replaced with something else. Within, it teaches the guests about health and the different things within the body. The attractions in Wonders of Life include, Cranium Command, Frontiers, Body Wars, Coach’s Corner, Goofy About Health, Fitness Fairgrounds, Sensory Funhouse, The Making of Me, and Wonder Cycles.
The Monorail is a public transit system that is used in Disney Land when it first opened and was planned to be used in Disney World and Epcot when Walt was planning to build the park in Florida. Today the Monorail system is in operation in both Disney World and Epcot. The Monorail in Epcot con-
nects Transportation and the Ticket Center with Epcot. When the train travels into the park it comes from the entrance through the middle of Future World in a circle and back out through the entrance. The beams of the Monorail are made of concrete with a special polystyrene core to lighten the weight.
B The World Showcase is located around the World Showcase Lagoon. Eleven different countries are displayed showing how the architecture looks in each of those countries. In addition the visitor experiences the different cultures and food.
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Italy Germany The American Adventure
China
Japan Norway
Morocco Mexico
France United Kingdom
Canada
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Though Epcot has not become totally what Walt Disney had envisioned it has left a lasting impression on many of the people who have visited. Epcot is a park where people are educated about the future and what it could be come through an experience. As well as learning a little bit of another culture and what it looks like. Epcot throughout the years has gone through many different theme changes and when the theme changes so does the environmental and architectural design of the attractions. With environmental and experience design a designer has to know the people and know how they react to certain things within an environment. When this is done the people enjoy the experience more and relate to the experience personally.
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Designer: Chris Osborn Class: Experience Design and Senior Portfolio Teacher: Fred Murrell Fonts: Optima, Univers, Prototype Community 25, Excelsior, Naslization Pictures and Information: http://www.flickr.com http://www.glatting.com/IMAGES/Wayfinding/Wayfinding-Fun-Places-01.jpg http://www.morguefile.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prototype http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=wd070416mg http://www.wikipedia.com Books: Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney By: Kathline and Richard Greene Walt Disney’s Epcot: Creating the New World of Tomorrow By: Richard R. Beard Designing Disney’s Themeparks: The Architecture of Reassurance By: Karal Ann Marling