Yesterworld: The Troubled History of Epcot's Abandoned World Showcase - The Original Disney World

Explore the Original Epcot World Showcase that never came to be and ultimately, the Disney World That Never Was. The Story of how it evolved from Walt Disney's Unbuilt land within Disneyland, to a separate tourist destination near The Magic Kingdom, and into the Epcot Center version that was to feature 30 countries, then 20, and exactly what those countries & their attractions would’ve been.

A Very special thanks to TPMvids for providing the voice in the “Promo” video intro. I’m sure you’re already familiar with his channel, but if not, check him out!

SOURCES:

Disney History Institute

RetroWDW.com

 VIDEOS USED

RetroWDW.com:

Various clips from Disney’s The Imagineering Story (available on Disney+)

[YesterworldEntertainment]

Hey All! Apologies for such a long break in April without content, but I hope the first part of this 2-part deep dive exploring Epcot's Abandoned World Showcase makes up for it! Originally I did intend for this to be a single episode...but I just kept finding more and more abandoned Pavilions & Attractions that went beyond the "original" version we primarily explore here, and was beginning to push over 40 minutes. So in the end it made far more sense to split it into two 20 minute episodes instead of trying to cram it all into one. That being said, Part 1 explores the Original vision (or visions) of the World Showcase Pre-Epcot Center's official opening. Part 2 will explore the Post-Epcot Center Opening abandoned Pavilions & Attractions that never came to be (and what remains of the ones explored in this video), which will arrive sometime next week!

[TPMvids]

Thanks for having me on the channel!😁 Glad you FINALLY got the right script revision to me ;)

[lakenzie]

That magic carpet ride sounds like something that if it was actually used would have eventually been rebranded to an Aladdin ride.

[breadtoast]

I got so confused when TPM came on I swore I clicked Yesterworld 😂😂

[erwinsarm]

Ah, yes, Africa is. My favorite country.

[shoddyworkmanship]

Imagine if Walt Disney had access to the type of money Disney has now.

[nielbyme]

It’s crazy to see how many actual attractions they were planning to put into the World Showcase!

[ThemeParkStop]

Wow, there is so much more to this story than I ever imagined! Can’t wait for the next part.

[alexschneider]

You could shorten the title to “the troubled history of Epcot’s abandoned”

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

TPMVids in the intro? What a crossover! While having all the pavilions in one building promoted the unity theme, I prefer the separate pavilions as each one is unique and stands out in their own way. And for me it looks better that way too. While I love the American Adventure show, the idea of it as a ride sounded and looked cool. A bullet train or the Mt Fuji coaster idea would've been great for Japan. Epcot needs its own mountain

[eternalwhispersofthewind]

I immediately thought: “Welcome to TPM Vids Disney Beat where we talk about all things Disney!”

Edit: nuuuu I don’t wanta wait another week!!!

[dingleplayer]

I feel really sad about Walt's dream never coming close to reality.

[conniecrawford]

I remember huge drawings in Epcot advertising “ new” countries like Israel and Spain back in late 1980s or early 1990s long before they built Morocco. They were huge wooden signs so plans were scrapped for them far along in the planning.

[SpacePirateK]

It really makes you wonder about how different EPCOT would have probably been had Walt lived long enough to oversee its final design. Maybe then we would've gotten that Rhine River Cruise.

[kodyeldridge]

That japan bullet train would be INCREDIBLE.

[danielaviera]

As a Venezuelan, the description and concept art of the pavilion made me cry, it's so beautiful! I'm sad it didn't come to fruition.

[haitiannationalist]

It’s kinda tiring to see Africa be generalized as one place. Just like how Europe has many diverse countries and cultures, Africa does too. They could have had separate pavilions based on countries like Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, or Congo. No reason why such a diverse continent should be generalized into one thing.

[Anynom]

What I love is how this proves Imagineers never throw anything away as Africa stuff used for Animal Kingdom and you can see other rides adapted for later parks.

[miameramusic]

In 1999 Epcot had a Millennium Village exhibit that had attractions for Israel, Brazil, Scotland, Chile and a World Marketplace. It was cool.

[jeffaltier]

And now Disney is essentially turning the world showcase into rides from movies (Frozen, Ratatouille, Mary Poppins, and I suspect Coco, Mulan, and others down the road). It may just be me, but the rides feel like sell-outs to the original ideas of the World Showcase where you could explore what other countries had to offer and not what Disney movies are at the theaters.