Unbuilt Epcot Concepts and Disney Park News with Jim Hill

Disney Park News and Updates

• 💡 Animal Kingdom is offering extended morning Extra Magic Hours throughout May and June 2018 to coincide with extended operating hours and the popularity of nighttime attractions.
• 🎯 This initiative aims to manage crowds, especially for Pandora – The World of Avatar, and provide guests with cooler morning hours for animal viewing and rides.
• ⚠️ Disney's Hollywood Studios is also implementing Extra Magic Hours around the opening of Toy Story Land to alleviate anticipated long wait times for its new attractions.
• 🐘 A humorous anecdote is shared about a plastic dead elephant prop from the Kilimanjaro Safaris' soft opening period, highlighting the park's early attention to detail.

Unbuilt Epcot Concepts from Harper Goff

• 🗺️ An auction features conceptual drawings by Harper Goff for never-built Epcot attractions, offering a glimpse into early design ideas for World Showcase.
• 🇳🇱 One drawing depicts a two-level canal lock system for the Netherlands pavilion, intended to enhance the canal theme and provide a unique guest experience.
• 🇩🇰 Another concept illustrates an outdoor German pavilion called the Black Forest, featuring a circular plaza, a stage, and an Oktoberfest atmosphere, which was later adapted into the indoor pavilion.
• 🎡 A drawing of the World Showcase Lagoon area reveals a proposed Pleasure Island with a stage facing Future World, intended for nighttime entertainment, and shows a different layout without the Canada Pavilion.
• 🇫🇷 Early Epcot designs emphasized a closer architectural flow between pavilions, with concepts like a miniature Tivoli Gardens and a windmill near the France Pavilion, showcasing a vision for a more integrated World Showcase.

Epcot's Evolving Design Philosophy

• 🏗️ Early Epcot designs, particularly by Harper Goff, focused on creating a sense of flow and interconnectedness between pavilions, influencing the final architecture and guest experience.
• 🎢 The shift from an initial