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EPCOT and the future

Lance is back from his vacation to the world and asks a question that the Disney Company has been trying to figure out for about a decade now. How is the future represented at Disney themeparks now that technology is developing so rapidly?

The answer is still evolving, but more and more the answer appears to be just ignore the future and put fantasy in its place. At Disneyland the next Tomorrowland Attraction is a riff on Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. At Disney World the next Tomorrowland Attraction is based on Stitch’s escape sequence from the movie Lilo and Stitch. Both great movies, one set in a sci-fi setting of the present day, but neither of which tell us much about tomorrow.

The one area that appears to be getting attractions that actually attempt to answer questions about the future is Futureworld at Epcot. Mission Space, the latest attraction, blasts you off into a possible future for space travel. The entrance and exit areas are also intensive learning environments, which keeps with the general feel of the Futureworld Pavillions. Unfortunately, the rest of FutureWorld has been leaning to the World’s Fair aspect where the goal is to learn about today or the near future (ie, what product Sony has coming on the market) in hopes of building a better tomorrow. An Admirable goal, but nothing that will make up for the dwindling role of tomorrow in Disney’s Themeparks.