Originally Posted By DVC_dad No rules, just share, if it's times spent with friends and family or if it's an attraction that is now gone...whatever, no rules. What is your most cherished memory or experience at EPCOT?
Originally Posted By sherrytodd The best day I had at Epcot was when we went there with my husband's family and my son was only 1 1/2. Even my father and mother in law went and they had a great time. I think Epcot is such a great place to experience with a group because it's fun to just watch others try things out, especially family members who you never expected you'd ever get to WDW.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Boy, I have a lot of good memories of EPCOT. My last trip will be a memorable one as it was the first time my 4 year old will remember a Disney trip. Of course, he fell asleep waiting for Illuminations but once it got started he woke up and absolutely loved it. There is nothing like seeing the parks through the eyes of your child. And, I have great memories of all of the Christmas holidays spent at EPCOT because that is the best time of year. I have some good memories of days in EPCOT spent by myself when I was on the College Program. Most of my friends didn't care for EPCOT so I loved going over there and exploring on my own.
Originally Posted By Superjosiah Well I love EPCOT and have lots of stories about it... One favorite memory of mine was when I went with some friends. As we entered the park we were approached by a couple ladies who worked for ATT. They asked if we would like to come with them up into the backstae area and participate in a computer survey... It was a blast, as we went up spaceship earth in an elevator and they were cracking jokes. After the survey, they took us through the special enterance to Spaceship earth (they claimed that it was the enterance thay special guests got to use) and we got to cut in line. After Spaceship Earth we headed over to Test Track. We waited in line and as we got to the front, the line stopped, and they were holding us back... we were getting a little annoyed until in walks Dan Marino with a camera crew! They filmed a commercial for about 15 minutes (while we took pictures... he got a little annoyed by that). Later that day, we were in World Showcase and a parade was about to start, however we wanted to make it to the Maelstrom before out fastpasses expired so we jumped under the ropes and skipped down the road waving like we were the parade... people were taking our pictures and waving... (immature I know, but it was fun) Anyway, that was our fun unexpected day at EPCOT.
Originally Posted By imtigger2 Mine was my first trip there in 1989. My good friend Andy had won a trip for two, and invited me along. Epcot was our first WDW park. We parked then hopped on 'TramZilla' and I remember thinking "wow! these are MUCH bigger than Disneylands'" After hopping off at the main entrance, I found it SO hard to contain my excitement and actually stop to pick up our tickets because there it was... Spaceship Earth. I'd seen in on the cover of LIFE magazine, on T.V. and in the Burnbaum(?) guide I bought. I had read everything I could about it. This was well before LaughingPlace.com, or any .com's, but I'd chatted about it many times with my friends on RADP (newsgroups), and here I was, standing right next to it. When I finally did get inside the gate, I just stood under it for what seemed like a half an hour. Just standing there, looking up. I had goosebumps from it, and I just couldn't believe I was finally there. I've been to WDW at least once a year since then. Oh.. my favorite attraction memory has to be Horizons, then playing in the Electronic Playground of Journey to Imagination. Dan B imtigger2 Carlsbad, CA
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Opening morning, seeing the grand opening ceremonies and balloon take to the sky as the park was officially opened. After we were allowed in the park, we rode Universe of Energy, and broke down as we entered the Dinosaur diorama, and had to be evacuated thru the primeval forrest. It was fun walking out of the ride that way, avoiding dino poo all the way out.
Originally Posted By Mickeyfan1 Oh so many good memories. One of my favorite things to do years ago was once I was in the Park, just sit right there in the main enterance area and listen to the wonderful EPOCT music that Buddy Baker composed. It was a mixture of themes from all the Future World attractions and was a beautiful piece of music. Many years ago they stopped playing that music and replaced it with another soundtrack. I have the 33 1/3 album but have been without a turntable for many years. Now however I have a new turntable and I can enjoy that wonderful music once again, along with the wonderful song "One Little Spark" for the original Journey Into Immagination!
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I have several happy memories of EPCOT. The first time I ever went to EPCOT was the summer before 9th grade with CYO. We decided to make dinner reservations and went into Communicore. I couldn't believe that we could make dining reservations through a TV screen! We saw the CM and the CM saw us - it blew my mind. I know the technology is outdated now, but I still miss those screens - I thought they were so cool.
Originally Posted By Mickeyfan1 Nikki...thats for that memory, I had forgotten all abut the reservation system in Communicore. Not only could you make reservations, but you could get information about all sort of things going on not only in EPCOT but the rest of the "World". You're right, it was "so cool"! Thanks again for that memory and jogging mine!
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I also remember the first time I saw the very first IllumiNations. It was on that same trip, and my friends and I were blown away by it. Almost every night, for the rest of the trip, we'd get there early enough to sit in that area between the two shops that frame the entrance to World Showcase. We'd grab a seat and two of us would run and grab dinner for everyone, and we'd sit there in the heat, eat pizza or burgers and wait for the show to start.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I also have a memory that I cringe at now, being the responsible, upstanding adult that I am now. We boarded Spaceship Earth for the millionth time on the trip, and as the omnimover began making it's way up the incline at the very beginning of the ride, we all threw our hands up and started hollering like we were on a rollercoaster. The ride immediately stopped and the CM threatened to throw us off if we didn't quiet down. Needless to say, we kept quiet after that.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Three memories stand out... 1) Our first visit it Epcot in 1991. The entire park just totally blew us away. Of course we had never seen anything like it before so everything was new and amazing. None of the attractions ever had quite the same impact again. I still love them and will never tire of them (those that are still there), but nothing will compare with the sense of awe and wonder I had during that first visit. 2) One afternoon a couple of years ago we stopped at Cantina de Dan Angel for a late lunch. We shared an order of Nachos and each had a margarita. When we had finished eating we decided it was a gorgeous day and there was no place we would rather be than right there. So I went to get us a couple of more margaritas and we just sat there for the next hour or so talking, people watching and enjoying our drinks. It was probably the most wonderfully laid-back time we’ve ever had in the parks. 3) The first time I rode Mission Space. There is no way to describe the first time. Of course I had heard all the stories ahead of time about people getting sick or being claustrophobic so I was more than a little worried. Although I’ve never had an attraction make me sick except the teacups, I was still a little worried about Space because of my claustrophobia. When I first climbed in the cabin I was VERY worried. Dang that space was SMALL, and the front panel seemed about two inches in front of my face. Just when I thought I would start to panic, the video started on the screen and cool air was blowing in my face. Between the two of them my claustrophobia subsided. The take-off was awesome. It was completely unlike anything I’d felt before. Just as I had gotten to the point where I wondered if I was going to be able to take it anymore the liftoff was over and we were experiencing the weightlessness of space. Double awesome!! No, you weren’t really weightless, but it was probably as close to feeling that way as I’ll ever get. From there on it was sit back and enjoy the ride and I really did. As soon as I exited the cabin I knew I had to ride it again. Before I stopped that day I’d gone on it seven times in a row. I adore that attraction… in my mind it is the best theme park attraction ever. It really bothers me that so many people are afraid to try such a great attraction. Hopefully now that they offer Mission Space Lite more people will try it. I tried the milder experience once just to see what it was like. I thought it was still very enjoyable while being much less likely to make people sick. Anyone who could ride a standard flight simulator could ride Mission Space Lite.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 My favorite memory of EPCOT is the way we would always start our day there when we would take family vacations in the 80s and early 90s. We'd always head to The Land, and have a breakfast of bagels with cream cheese!! It was always so peaceful in that pavilion before they added Soarin, and it was fun to sit by the fountain and enjoy breakfast with my whole family. It never failed to put me in the EPCOT frame-of-mind. Then, when we were done, we'd head over and enjoy Kitchen Kabaret and Listen to the Land.
Originally Posted By LadyandtheTramp My favorite is back when we came with the kids and were on the Gold Key plan. We'd always come down a day earlier, and not be on the Plan that first day/night. After checking into the hotel, we wouldn't go into any park (no tickets yet), so we would ride the transportation all over the world to get into the mood. The one thing we ALWAYS had to do was ride the monorail from the TTC to Epcot, and look out the windows at all of the Future World attractions - including the big ball, which is pretty spectacular in the evening all lite up. It really got us into the moood, down to standing in line at check-in at 6:00 am. to pick up our packages so that we could start doing things immediately!
Originally Posted By NYthrillseeker I have many fond memories at EPCOT, but 2 in particular probably rate among the most memorable. 1. It was 1986, I was 11 years old and was at WDW for my second time. This time I was with my parents, brother and sister as well as my friend's family. There's nothing like experiencing Disney as a kid. I just had a great time that day. I remember vividly standing on the wall by Journey Into Imagination and letting the leaping water hop across the pathway and hit me square in the head and drench me from head to toe. What an awesome time. I even have an old picture of it, a snake of water protruding from my head, very funny. 2. It was January, 2004. Now I'm 29 years old and back at EPCOT for my millionth time. But this time I'm running through the park during the Walt Disney World Marathon!! My brother and I start off at 6:00 am and it's chilly out, but I don't feel a thing. We ran directly beneath the Spaceship Earth, all lit up at 6am. We run straight through to the World Showcase and out by Norway. The World Showcase is all illuminated just for us! The only people in the park! I exit to begin my trek to the MK. I return 4 hours later through the International Gateway, still on my feet and having passed through MK, DAK, and MGM, and now I'm back in EPCOT. My brother is about a half hour behind me, and I'm tired. I see the Spaceship Earth shining in the distance, it's more beautiful than ever, because it represents the finish line (which is in the parking lot just beyond). I circle my way around the countries and out through Mexico, and towards the giant sun lit sphere. What an exhilirating moment, I'll never forget it!
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 July 1996, we were having lunch at the outdoor tables of Rose & Crown. I was facing SSE. All of a sudden 3 or 4 jets came soarin' over SSE, heading straight for us. It was the same time as the Olympics in Atlanta. So I jumped to one of my typical conclusions...we were going to get bombed! Seems that was the opening day of the Boardwalk, and Michael Eisner had gotten the jets to go over for the opening. Scared me half to death. They were so LOUD, miracle the foundation of SSE didn't crack.
Originally Posted By SnowWhiteOne I have so many memoriesat EPCOT. Being it's my favorite park.. a few jump out at me. I remember the original "Imagination". It was SO much better then than now. I remember going on that attraction over and over with my brothers, and the tall, spiralling walkway that lead up to the top where there were games and computer finger painting, and the Profesor did almost a vertual reality of the 80's with the kids, where we all stood in front of a blue screne and we took a Journey into Space... or whereever he took you. I LOVED that, and I'm upset that they took it away.
Originally Posted By 999HAUNTS The first time piratebrittany and I went we were on a very strict budget. We pretty much only had money to eat and for transportation. When we visited each country, PB would put on whatever clothes that country had for sale and we took a picture as our souvenir. My favorite picture is the one of her in sunglasses and a great big sombrero while she pretended to siesta. Mucho fun-o! The second time we went we were with my mom and that was a little trying. So as mom had to rest (again!), PB and I popped into the marketplace shop in Morocco. A few minutes later Aladdin grabbed PB's hand and whisked her off to the front of the photo line. That was pretty cool, because as you all might know PB isn't really a little kid. I think she was 15 at the time.
Originally Posted By 999HAUNTS < until in walks Dan Marino with a camera crew! > Ok - I would have died!!!! I would have been in that commercial with him, darn it! Dan the man. I will meet him before I die. Mark my words!
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA First visit to EPCOT Center was in 1986. I was in college, and had driven down from New York with a friend. Having lived in SoCal growing up, and Disneyland my only Disney theme park experience, I had read about EPCOT Center, but when I actually visited, I was really blown away. Here was a Disney theme park experience, but one that wasn't so heavily laden with Disney cartoon characters. Spaceship Earth -- Amazing. Loved the historical theme, and for me, I had never been that close to Audio-Animatronic figures -- found that fascinating. The ride system was cool too, as were all the other various omnimover systems -- a real upgrade from 'Haunted Mansion' and 'Adventures Thru InnerSpace.' Spaceship Earth has those swiveling connected cars, 'Horizons' had those ride cars hanging from the ceiling, 'World of Motion' with the vehicles that ran outside before entering the show building, 'Universe of Energy' and the 'moving theatre seats' -- and the most impressive to me 'Journey Into Imagination' with that incredible first scene where your vehicles break off into the clouds, and Dreamfinder shows up on that hot air balloon and the whole first scene is played just for your cars. [or so it seemed]. Fantastic technology there. 'The Land' was great back then. The boat ride 'Listen to the Land' -- with actual futuristic ideas for growing food, the movie 'Symbiosis' with a great lesson long before 'An Inconvenient Truth,' and the whimsical 'Kitchen Kabaret' with a look at good nutrition. Plus, the wonderful interior of that pavilion, and decent food court. Loved, the background music that was playing in the Communicore area -- made every experience seem important and great. I think too, the corporate sponsorship in the early days added a real sense of credibility to the park. AT&T, GM, Exxon, Kraft, Kodak et al. What an amazing experience -- and that was just 'Future World'
