EPCOT

ABOUT THIS PLACE

EPCOT opened on October 1, 1982, and covers 305 acres, more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom. Spaceship Earth, the eighteen-story geodesic sphere at the entrance, is both the landmark and a ride through the history of communication. The park comes in two halves. The front, once called Future World and now split into World Celebration, World Discovery and World Nature, holds pavilions on technology, space, the ocean and the land. The back half is World Showcase, a promenade around a lagoon with eleven country pavilions on it: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom and Canada. Each is built and largely staffed by people from that country, with its own restaurants and shops, and walking the full circle is about a mile and a quarter. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened in 2022 and Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana in 2023. Four festivals fill the calendar through the year, covering flowers and gardens, food and wine, the arts and the holidays