Walt Disney’s vision for EPCOT ( Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) was an actual futuristic community, a real town, kind of the perfect utopia where people could live and work and play together. A very optimistic look of the future. He said is so vast in scope that it would take the cooperation of many people to make it a reality. It was an exciting challenge!
He intended to develop the property as a city of the future, not only as a showcase but also as a workplace, his dream was a functional hidden infrastructure. Never before he had been so excited for the future.
After his death, they did it in a small part only, is in magic kingdom, they raise the ground surface 16 feet. It’s a small city underground of 10 acres cement labyrinth. The roof is main street level.
At the time a few imagineer outline EPCOT, others worked on TOMORROWLAND , both projects propel the frontier of futurist thinking.
They took the idea of a community and turned it into a park, EPCOT would be an interactive exhibition, a world showcase, an international expo merged with future world, free of classic Disney characters the goal was to educate more than entertain, they put together a group of designers, innovators, ecologist, environmentalists, scientists.
Future World, the land pavilion enclosed features the world’s largest greenhouse scientists grow plants without soil called hydroponics, the energy pavilion showcase clean alternatives and Disney practices what it preaches. You still get that sense of idealism.
Magic kingdom is fantasy made real, Epcot is reality made fantastic.
The symbol of Epcot a 18 story geodesic sphere, it’s a time machine journey that traces how advancements in communication shape mankind from the invention of the Alphabet to the printing press, to the computer. The message is that communication is such a powerful tool
But nobody knew he had lung cancer, he kept the severity of it a secret, but he remained cheerful despite a rapid physical decline.
From his hospital bed Walt implored his brother Roy to complete all projects underway especially his vision for Florida. He died December 15, 1966 at 65 years old
Roy achieved to create their Disney’s own municipality, free from local government interference, to control and operate as independent city.
In 1987 the architectural competition for ideas and making this master-planning community started, and Disney announced the plans for Celebration to the public in 1991, broke ground in 1994.
The community would all be unified in design favoring a “small town” feel with porches in the front and parking in the back.
The first family moved in to the first village on June 18, 1996. November 12, 1996 is Celebration’s “Founders Day” marking the completion of the downtown, which was designed by numerous celebrity architects.
Disney sold the downtown to Lexin Celebration Commercial LLC in January 2004.
According to U.S. Census data, roughly 11,178 residents called Celebration home in 2020, with a median household income of $87,323 The median property value as of December 2022 $621,500.
There is an estimate of 5,836 homes, townhomes and condos, six houses of worship, two public grade schools, a Montessori Academy, a branch of Stetson University, a public library, along with shops, hotels and businesses, all linked by more than 40 public parks and miles of walking trails and boardwalks.
So, it is not Walt Disney’s original vision for his Florida project, but is still an amazing place to live and call home!
We are so proud to call Celebration the home for our office and you are welcome to stop by any time! We are in the downtown.
Or give us a call/email milena@vivaorlando.com | 407.922.4620 to buy a home here!