The ABANDONED Remnants of Old Epcot Center

Woah, woah, woah wait.... You mean to tell me there wasn't always a giant Nova Corps ship just hanging out in front of Universe of Energy?! Epcot Center has changed throughout the years. First to Epcot, then to EPCOT (like they're yelling.) What remains of Epcot Center and Epcot (not yelled) and where can we find it today?
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Video Credits ▶
Horizons, RetroWDW, • Horizons: Revisited - ...

[@mattrobinson973]

Fun fact. You can recreate the orange version of mission space at home by simply falling down your stairs. You’ll get the same “day totally ruined” feeling for free

[@HandleHandle233]

Does anyone else also get as sick as a dog on guardians of the galaxy?😢

[@starshine3940]

😂😂😂

[@ginadoyle4089]

😂😂

[@bdchiaccio]

Yup and Everest​@@HandleHandle233

[@darkstrifequeen1458]

Yeah I slipped on the stairs once and wound up with a nasty bruise on my butt! I was even feeling a bit of vertigo and couldn’t sit up without feeling dizzy.

[@kenziewolf5818]

I love how mission space blares that warning about how you shouldn’t ride it probably 100 times while you’re in the queue

[@BAM5636]

True and yet if you stand at the exit, you will see person after person act like they didn't know orange was going to be that intense 🤣.

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

Orange you going to explain why it's so bad? I'll see myself out

[@NinthShinigami]

I still miss what EPCOT used to be. I didn’t get to experience Horizons and a couple of the other classics, but I was able to experience it when Maelstrom was still a thing as well as the old Test Track. The park just feels like a shell of itself now 😭

[@KwangTheMongrel]

Couldn’t remember the name but I have very fond memories of maelstrom

[@BAM5636]

Horizons was old Epcot to me. Sorry to hear you never got to experience that. Between that and the orginal imagination pavilion, that is what I think of most when going to epcot in the 80s. Good times. That said, even then people said Epcot was a park you could skip and was more educational than fun. So I can understand why Disney ended up very slowly changing things. That and with the destruction of the sponsorship model it worked on, I guess change was inevitable.

[@darkstrifequeen1458]

Horizons was the best experience I ever had as a kid!

[@jec6613]

And here I sit thinking that Test Track in any incarnation is new Epcot. I remember being so excited as a knee high to a grasshopper child to see the ride vehicles exit the building and go back in, kept me entertained while we were in the line and I was sad when the line came inside and I couldn't see it anymore.

[@veromikes]

Horizons Forever. I’m 50 and was at Epcot every year since October 1982. 80s Epcot was Amazing. 1986 was my favorite year in Epcot. Right when the living Seas opened.

[@BrettDault]

Back when it was an actual aquarium and not the sad bucket it is today 😢

[@veromikes]

@@BrettDault yup.

[@MissMTurner]

Oh yeah. I'm 47 and my first trip was 1984. Epcot was amazing back then. It was all so fascinating.

[@Zephymonkey]

Loved Horizons! I remember going on it over and over again just to choose the different endings. I'm also 50 and have gone since it first opened.

[@veromikes]

@@Zephymonkey yes!!!!

[@kidsruntheshow3752]

You know it’s a good video when Offhand starts the video off with Greek Mythology

[@clarkautin7157]

I visited EPCOT Center in December of 1982 as a college freshman. I have to say that EPCOT was mind-blowing. It was unique, cutting edge, and maybe even a life changing experience. The problem is that even if EPCOT had not physically changed one single bit in the past 40+ years, it still would not be original EPCOT. The world has changed and the internet has made it smaller and less mysterious. Technology is not as wonderous as it once was because it is moving rapidly and we learn about advancements almost immediately. Different world cultures are not as fascinating as they once were because we can virtually experience them at any time. What I am trying to say is that when EPCOT opened, it provided a sense of awe and conveyed a feeling of optimism that it really cannot duplicate today. Sadly, there can no longer be an original EPCOT Center.

[@toddhensley880]

Exactly. What are they going to do, show us video phones? Let us try on VR goggles?

[@seanoning]

i've never had a fear of dark rides or animatronics or anything like that, but something about those abandoned setpieces hidden in plain sight on spaceship earth is so unsettling to me!!

[@Rachel-xu4br]

You wanna know something even more unsettling? The newspaper boy who keeps shouting the background in order to sell newspapers in one scene has a missing face. So now he's further away from the track (used to be closer to be much closer to guests) and facing the opposite way towards the wall background so we cannot see it's missing. That scene gives me the creeps for a brief moment due to me knowing that. I know they're robots, but still disturbs me the idea of Disney (who has billions of dollars) can't afford to put a little TLC into a character so he'd human again, but instead just basically turns him around, because they think he's not a good enough to put the effort in.

[@joshuacheshire5859]

Are the animatronics still there too?

[@noeliazaballa]

I would totally visit a 1982's version of Epcot Center. It would make the visit to the parks absolutely worthwhile!

[@MissMTurner]

My first trip was in 1984. I was 7. It was absolutely amazing and fascinated little me. It still sticks with me in fact.

[@honeysuckle754]

Offhand when Living with the Land goes through corkscrew: 😎 Offhand when Mission Space tilts you in a box: 🤢

[@UnrealFire]

The restrooms at The Odyssey were renovated at least a couple years ago! They have blue hexagons on the walls now and Dyson hand dryers. Definitely not what you have pictures of anymore, unfortunately.

[@CameronJP]

I know he isn't local. However he should of been to the park atleast once or twice to realize those bathrooms were renovated. Or atleast heard they were renovated.

[@emliztober]

i really think part of what makes epcot EPCOT is that it’s constantly changing. i haven’t loved every addition to the park but Experimental is literally in the name

[@DeadAsmodean]

Thanks to this video I now have a parody of Rob Zombie's "More human than human" stuck in my head but it's "More Epcot than Epcot". Life is weird when you are both a Disney parks fan and a metal head.

[@thebunnyfoofoo]

6:22 that mural is by artist Bob McCall. His daughter still runs his foundation. He did original closing mural at Horizons and there is a painting of his in the American pavilion at EPCOT. He did a ton of stuff for Disney

[@thatevangarcia]

Love the comparison to the ship of Theseus. I think the day videos like this stop being made is when EPCOT dies. Versions of EPCOT live in all of our hearts in different ways. The even if they close EPCOT and gets reduced to rubble. It’s still lives in all of us just like the ship of Theseus still lives to this day

[@experiment626eventing]

please please never stop making these old epcot videos! its my favorite thing to watch!!

[@rdcortes22]

Wonders of Life was not a filler pavilion! Body wars and cranium command use to be some of the funnest rides for a kid.

[@jmn327]

Was in EPCOT Center as a baby in the late 80s, spent a chunk of my childhood at mid-90s EPCOT, have seen new EPCOT, and, uh...yeah, I remember still having a lot of love for the park when I visited in the early 2010s, but it was in large part because I still saw the "bones" of old Future World and could imagine how Imagineering might bring it back to life with new ideas that resonated the way the original park did. Visiting more recently was tougher on that front, even in World Showcase in some places.

[@patrickdaly5988]

Brought my kids to Epcot for the first time last summer. Admittedly, the walls were still up, but they just wouldn't believe my stories of how amazing the place was back when I first visited in 92. I kind of gave up trying when I saw them try to play with the sad remnants of the imagination pavilion.

[@jacquelinemoeller7146]

Can I just applaud your work in planning out your videos so that you can do this back and forth across the country ? 👏 👏 👏 It is so clear to me how much planning goes into each trip you take and I just want to say Bravo! Brava! Bravissimo!

[@lauranichole86]

Im 38 and still have fond fragment memories of horizon and the citrus scent. Also... I lived through BODY WARS 😂

[@jetsons101]

I have been going to Disneyland since 1957 and still go quite a few times a year. It has changed a lot BUT it is still Disneyland -- I still remember Space Station X-1, the Bathroom of Tomorrow and Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules. I now take my grandson there. Over the years things have but it is still Disneyland.

[@jasonrussell9637]

I think Epcot was more a mindset than a physical place. It has changed and it will continue to change. I hope there comes a return to the mission of Epcot, not just a cash grab.

[@jalapeno1119]

Maybe the real Epcot was the friends we made along the way

[@Robynntb]

Had my first craft fair today. Got home and saw this. I was already overjoyed and this made me even more overjoyed.

[@discretecinema8451]

Space 220 has you eating in the Centauri Space Station so I guess another homage to Horizons

[@nightisright1873]

No Horizons was Brava Centauri

[@discretecinema8451]

@@nightisright1873 I'm not saying it's the same place. I'm saying they both have Centauri in the name, both having to deal with space, both on the location of Horizons...

[@nightisright1873]

@@discretecinema8451 what I find funny is that when people talk about Horizons no one talks about much bigger the building was compared to mission space

[@brianmcdonald6519]

One thing you have to remember is that Walt said it would never be finished!! Everything would be continually changing and/or growing! That was Walts vision, and I believe the imagineers are still trying to live up to that vision!!

[@wdwexploreandchill]

Yay! A Sunday morning video about EPCOT! 🎉💜🎉

[@alexprieto4815]

37 here, great memories of Horizons as a kid. It was amazing. Ugh being reminded of Epcot’s deterioration as something truly special with each new decade is beyond depressing lol awesome video

[@ChrisWehadababyitsaboy]

to celebrate 300k subs, you should ride Mission Space on the crazier version, blindfolded

[@donkeydefense]

Some of Epcot 2.0 is fantastic, some has been terrible, but there is still a lot of Epcot Center alive in the park.

[@Cornberry]

Such a small part of the video, but I love the usage of white Vision’s line at the beginning. People who’ve seen Wandavision know it’s a reference to that scene when they actually talk about the ship of Theseus, but people who didn’t watch it just see it as an appropriately timed clip.

[@gregmanning8967]

If you're gonna mention the Horizons reference in Mission: Space, you should also mention the Universe of Energy theme reference in the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The "rock music" at the beginning of the roller coaster portion is a rock cover of the Universe of Energy theme.

[@wade_jpeg]

Unfortunately, the Odyssey restrooms were renovated a few years ago. As an alternative, there are restrooms post security but pre touch points that are still original.

[@TBustah]

Yes, I’m familiar with the Ship of Theseus. The Navy has a literal example: the research sub Alvin. It’s been in service since the mid ‘60s, but every component on it has been replaced at least once.

[@mariog1982]

I was fortunate to experience Horizons during a family vacation to Disney World in the early 90s. It was a visual feast for the eyes. The most imaginative theme park ride I’ve ever experienced. You literally enter another world.

[@voiceoverguyharris]

Literally just returned back from our trip there. I really enjoy watching your videos. Thank you for what you do.

[@spinlok3943]

Old Epcot was objectively superior.

[@ryan-uk6jf]

me when cosmic rewind

[@Jaszi007]

I didn’t experience it, except for the original Club Cool, but I completely agree except for Cosmic Rewind cuz I really enjoy it even though it’s not educational science stuff like Epcot used to be.

[@metallicnole4514]

I’ll never object to cosmic rewind in Epcot. They needed a big attraction like that and it’s so much better then Ellen’s energy adventure. Remy’s was a great addition as it draws people to world showcase.

[@spinlok3943]

@@metallicnole4514 They still don’t belong in Epcot. They easily could’ve done something else.

[@metallicnole4514]

@@spinlok3943 The pavillion and set up is very epcot. Plus the ride is awesome so I'm glad it's there.

[@kentslocum]

I would argue that we wouldn't need or want or miss the "original" EPCOT Center, if Disney had maintained the same dedication to excellence throughout the years. The problem is that EPCOT 3.0 does not pay proper homage to its past, nor does its present respect the intentions of the original Imagineers.

[@nemiiart]

Wow, that’s the perfect metaphor for Epcot. Nice work!

[@Karen_esque]

You just gave me a new activity to do when I visit EPCOT next weekend!

[@dronesaur4328]

When you started talking about Horizons, I thought you were going to talk about the planter in front of Mission Space. I believe it's the original planter that used to be in front of the entrance to Horizons, and is shaped like the ride building.

[@sophiareinhardt7416]

I wasn’t alive for the Epcot 1.0 but I definitely see some of it shrine through in todays Epcot (living with the land, Moana water journey and the ideas of conservation and like the cool things we can now do with wayer, mission space in the whole space exploration ideas) but that being said I think we still have stuff to keep working toward or maybe we won’t have original Epcot back. I think especially when maelstrom was taken out more recently we all kinda knew IP was going to start seriously taking over Epcot and then when Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opened it really solidified that and even now with cosmic rewind. I am excited to see how test track might be able to bring back some old Epcot with the world of motion (supposedly from what I’ve read) makeover. I do however wish we still had classic attractions like horizons or the original journey into imagination (esp since I never experienced it). It’s weird getting fomo of a park I never even lived to see

[@thecoolestdad]

The original Epcot Center was special. For those that never got to experience the original Epcot I wish yall could have. The atmosphere was so different than it feels today. Universe Of Energy was a slow moving ride but it was so cool going through the prehistoric dinosaur days. Horizons was an exceptionally cool ride. Videos do not do it any justice. Then there was the World Of Motion. Again, a slow moving ride but it took you through the development of transportation throughout the ages. The original concept of Journey Into Imagination was much better than what it is today. This ride NEEDS to be completely changed. Listen to the Land was great, but it is still the same ride as it was. I am glad for that. Then the Living Seas. It needs an overhaul and reverted back to the original concept and get rid of the Nemo stuff. I am glad Spaceship Earth is still the same. Talks has it that they were going to change it but I hope enough people stood up and said NO! Even the two Communicore buildings had lots of hands on stuff to do. Sadly those in charge at Disney these days are "dumbing down" all of Disney. It's rather sad. I still love to go to Disney. We are going down in September and staying on property again. YAY! But I am not happy with a lot of the changes that has happened in the last 15-20 years.

[@wheninrome42]

i would argue that we never even had Epcot, at least not EPCOT as Walt wanted it... but the Epcot that we had in the 80s/90s was GOAT epcot, bring back Maelstrom!!

[@chloewildner167]

I really like this video. I often find myself wanting to say that Epcot is my favorite park, but the reality is that the Epcot I think of doesn’t exist anymore.

[@Clint7777]

There’s something just so right about seeing those dark palm trees in front of the lit up Spaceship Earth at dusk

[@Tinkerbe11]

Walt Disney himself said that Disneyland is never completed and will forever be changing. If you extend that to WDW and EPCOT, then it is still EPCOT, as the forever change is part of the design. And in a sense, it never was EPCOT as Walt Disney imagined it.

[@metallicnole4514]

Right exactly. Walt’s vision of Epcot was meant to be a self sustaining city where people people would live and work

[@BrettDault]

🤦🏻‍♂️

[@oliviabradley332]

Out of season festival signs and decorations are kept in an empty lot between riviera and boardwalk resort - not the topiaries but like the rainbows from festival of the arts and the food and wine signs etc. Wonders of life is probably full of like - so many plastic forks and knives

[@lukeathing6753]

Literally just went to Epcot today and was arguing with my sister about wether or not the people below the astronauts on the Spaceship Earth mural are “purple aliens”

[@juvetravels]

The 80's restrooms are gone! I think that's why the Odyssey was closed when you went there. I went today, the building was open and the restrooms have been completely modernized. :( The tile is gone. Everything inside them is redone. :(

[@NealHunterHyde]

An EPCOT Center Replica Park - I would SO be down. However, could we set it in the late 1989, instead of 1982? Otherwise it wouldn’t have Journey Into Imagination, Norway/Maelstrom, Horizons, Wonders of Life and The Living Seas.

[@davidschiller1611]

The Odyssey Rest Rooms were updated when the building was. The old brown was a favorite because it was so old.

[@SalivatingSteve]

Dude I dig your shirt with the spaceship earth triangles all over it!

[@hlavco]

Hey, at least EPCOT still has its symbol structure, unlike MGM.

[@michaelschroeck2254]

11:19 this building was always a mystery to me! I first went to Epcot in 1984 but my family did not go near it. When I went again in 1997 I saw this building and thought it would make a great restaurant!!! 🤣🤣🤣 but it was closed! Having been many times since I have seen it be everything you mentioned. I feel bad for the building. It is a primo location!

[@michaelschroeck2254]

6:32 mmmmm I can actually smell the musty canvas smell !!!

[@ktm6612]

You know? The same can be said about Univwrsal Studios Florida, that park really wiped out most of the original 90s theming and attractions with the only one standing being E.T. adventure

[@WheezyLiam]

I cant believe they put Guardians in the place of Universe of Energy instead of Wonders of Life. Such a shame.

[@iwest2417]

I call shenanigans. Fact is that most of World Showcase and at least 1/4 to 1/2 of both the Land and Seas pavilions are darn-near unchanged from their original states.

[@alexandriabowser6105]

As an AP holder, who often goes alone. I hope I run into you one day!

[@BrettDault]

I'm a many years long evening enjoyer. But there are so many people. I really only care for mk AFTER the fireworks anymore. Everything else is a disaster. ...although I do have a few favorite quiet Epcot spots that are very wonderful 🤗

[@faithlessfate]

The restaurant at mission space has the old horizons spinning greenhouse too

[@jec6613]

What made the original EPCOT Center (yes, it was stylized all caps!) different was that there were no characters or existing IP. That changed slightly for the Kidcot stations over time to get children more interested in World Showcase, but really that was the differentiator. That's changed significantly in the last decade or two - no ride in World Showcase has escaped Ipcot, and in the front half of the park it's better, but The Living Seas and Universe of Energy are now turned into Ipcot attractions. And it started innocently enough, putting The Three Caballeros into Mexico, a very old nostalgic IP, but now the Big Bang upgrade to UoE became Guardians, and that makes zero sense to me.

[@BrettDault]

I worked at Odyssey and World Premiere (back adjacent employee Cafe) in 91-93ish before switching over to MK attractions (JC). It was a very busy restaurant with a day long repetitive but fun character show. And an amazing burger bar that was like a salad bar. Fun memories, but was happy to leave F&B. Also, good epcot went away with the crazy long extension of Reflections of Earth and that awful wand thing, and, yes, the destruction of Journey Into Imagination...and now, Morocco 😢

[@vampsith]

Great video, I miss old Epcot. Odyssey is still a cool space!

[@KwangTheMongrel]

Epcot ended when they got rid of that Norway ride with the trolls

[@dasutobani]

I always kinda wondered about Spaceship Earth, the descent part always felt a little empty, with just the starfield.

[@9Lando945]

In the Sea pavilion, in the water tank, there are remnants of the original Living Seas attraction

[@nicholasharvey7039]

I don’t have any nostalgia for what EPCOT used to be. I still say that I haven’t seen so much of the park as it is today so I’m determined to see the park the way I want 😭😭

[@ginadoyle4089]

The exterior of Mission Space is really well done. I’ve never been on it. Not my thing either.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Strange... I've always heard that thought-experiment expressed in a simple idiom; "replacing the ax-blade, and then the handle". =)

[@ryanjones4106]

Maybe the real EPCOT is the friends we made along the way 😆

[@TaniaTimes]

All I can think about is how this philosophical question applies to the often refurbished Mark Twain.

[@jonathanrose829]

Bring back epcot 1.0 and the people mover!. Oh I did get to ride horizons more than a few times in its day.

[@Designing_Her_Legacy]

15:24 what ever happened to the hotel they wanted to build at the entrance. I believe it was going to be be called the abomination

[@sharker49]

I am shocked at the lack for Mission Space, its not perfect but its a fun space ride that is partially based on a box office bomb.

[@AlexanderBerrisford]

Love the shirt!

[@KwangTheMongrel]

This was a fun one

[@kurtbrigandi]

Im surprised you didnt mention the Horizons planter. In from of mission space is the original planter from Horizons, which happens to be the shape of the old building!

[@NealHunterHyde]

Fun video. But, you already know that pretty much anything with “EPCOT Center” in the title is gonna pull my butt in.

[@ChrisRobb-iy6nr]

The flaw in your theory is that the ship gets replaced with boards that look exactly the same, as where Epcot gets replaced with things that look totally different. Apples and oranges my friend.

[@Sheri7029]

Hey there....i feel like we are missing something....

[@Naotakun]

Hello fellow lovers of mission space! I love that ride, especially after drinking around the world.

[@mikeyfox2299]

The Spaceship Earth of Theseus? The Spaceship of Theseus... Earth? 🤣 Horizons was, and is still, my favorite attraction ever in the world. And I have been to a lot of parks, and been on a heck of a lot of rides. Not to mention watch every dark ride and coaster video I get my hands on.

[@jeffreybeyer4035]

Fyi, if they made an Epcot as it was on opening day, you wouldn't have Horizons, Journey into imagination, The living sea or Maelstrom

[@RetroFett]

OK, I'll say it... make a NEW Journey Into Your Imagination... in the WOL building! It fits better with World: Discovery on that side of the park, they can keep the CURRENT JIYI open while the new version is being constructed, and once complete the current pyramid building can then be closed/ gutted and used for an original attraction. While I would miss the gladsspyramids, the golden dome of the former WOL building would be NICELY with an Imagination theme.

[@ThemeSnark]

You could do this same video again, only replace "Epcot" with "California Adventure"...but then we'd run into the Ship of Theseus situation again, wouldn't we?

[@rayBoogie77]

Walt Disney used to say that Disney World is never done being built. If he’s right, then the current EPCOT is the real EPCOT.

[@logini18]

Experimental Prototype Concept Of Theseus

[@abp1400]

Horizons is the GOAT. I must have ridden it over 100 times.

[@F0rtuneLT]

the Ball of Theseus

[@vixx313]

I miss the old journey into imagination ride...I do like the new light show on the epcot ball, but honestly I think they need to add a new country to the world show case.

[@Sparty-pi3jq]

I responded to another video, in this vein, a few days ago. For future Epcot expansion, I believe adding educational elements and showing off new tech, would be an amazing way to bridge the past to now. Unfortunately as a society, we have gotten too stupid and impatient, to appreciate any of that, and it makes me sad.😢

[@TJR219]

Your ship metaphor.. I wonder the same thing everyday about the band Chicago.

[@GusGus1996]

Horizon and energy were my favorites

[@FinDaFrogGuy]

If you think about it couldn’t the ship of Theseus thought experiment apply to all of us? Like we grow new hair to replace the hair we cut, our teeth fall out before we grow replacements, we discard old ideas as we grow new memories and experiences, and the billions of cells that make up our entire being are constantly duplicating and dying. So are we still the same person as when we were like 4? I think so. We just aged. So like us, Epcot aged and continues to age

[@michaelschroeck2254]

I miss horizons and world of motion. I want more of those “unique to Disney” attractions. But I like mission space orange. I’ll never wait in line for test track again🤦🏻‍♂️

[@blackpanther8716]

sheesh that was a great video

[@chadmcnk]

Then ending of Spaceship Earth has gone through some changes as well. The most previous one (which ended many years ago) has riders going through a beautiful city scene showing a city of the future. It was my favorite part and so incredibly beautiful. Now, we have a silly cartoon :( This was a lazy refresh and took away depth and beauty for something so silly.

[@mistermustachio336]

Hi, it's me. I'm the EPCOT Center purist; it's me. After my last trip in 2008, I swore to never return. When the name lost all sense of mission statement, I lost all interest in that park. Since 1994, the park has become a bittersweet disappointment. I challenge you to name one major change to the park that was a true improvement? At best, Frozen Ever After is a lateral change from Maelstrom... and yes, Horizons was everything you have wanted/ hoped/ dreamed it to be and so much more. Dammit man, now I need to go watch some ride-through videos of those lost rides.

[@eko9554]

I never been to WDW or Epcot. But I really would love to go even tho I do know it doesn't have the old extinct attractions that I love. Even tho I got the chance to ride them.

[@Xmetalfanx]

really Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth is still some of my favorites. I miss the ORIGINAL Imagination Pavilion and of course Horizons. I liked the older versions of the Mexico ride but meh ... the ride itself is what i meant.

[@Xmetalfanx]

I want them to use the EXISTING the Wonders of Life Pavilion ... I also loved going by the water by the Odyssey .... the music ... the atmosphere .. I like it there in the mid 90's