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A Visit To EPCOT Center, 1979

Let’s take a look at EPCOT Center in 1979, three years before it would actually open:

EPCOT Center rendering, 1979Rendering of EPCOT Center, 1979 (Click to Enlarge)

Slightly different, is it not?

Clockwise from the golden Spaceship Earth in Future World, we have the Energy pavilion (Universe of Energy), the Science & Invention Pavilion, the Transportation pavilion (World of Motion), Journey into Imagination, The Land, and Century 3 – the earliest version of Horizons.

In World Showcase we have, clockwise along the lagoon, Mexico, what is either Denmark or Scandinavia, Equatorial Africa, Germany, Italy, the American Adventure, Japan, Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom (with Crystal Palace in back!) and Canada.

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6 comments to A Visit To EPCOT Center, 1979

  • You’ve been a posting machine lately!

    Awesome post – thanks for the high-res pic!

  • Hehe thanks – I have to keep my devoted readers happy!

  • Cousin Orville

    Hey Michael — awesome pic! If you don’t mind me asking, are these renderings available anywhere public? I’ve been dying to get my hands on the Art of WDW and I know there’s some gems in there (like the badass Horizons drawing from Herb Ryman), but wasn’t sure if this was one of them. Either way, keep ’em coming – I love these!!!!

  • Hey there –

    This actually came from the 1979 Walt Disney Productions annual report. Strangely, the image is flipped horizontally in the report, but I assumed that was a mistake and flipped it back. My copy of the Art of WDW should be coming in the mail this week, and I’m really looking forward to it. I only wish they would sell prints of some of this old WDI art!

  • Michael, et al.

    The Science and Century 3 Pavilions look more like 1939 World’s Fair Pavilions than anything else done by Disney.

    Great scan!

  • Gerald

    I have a friend that has a similar painting of Epcot. It was painted by herb ryman he believes. The painting is out of Burbank California , can anybody help him out with authenticity and pricing.

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