Disney needs to revive the spirit this lost EPCOT showcase once had

Looking back at 1994 is to see a much different Disney World, especially Epcot. Yet 30 years after it debuted, Innoventions should be better remembered and why its legacy is greater than you think. 

For a park meant to look at the future, Epcot often had issues trying to stay relevant. When it opened in 1982, it was amazing in terms of technology and looked at what the future could bring. However, much like Tomorrowland, Disney realized that trying to predict the future is tricky as it becomes the past quicker than you can imagine. 

That included EPCOT Center’s Communicore. It was a pretty interesting place that mixed a cafeteria eating spot and a huge gift shop, yet it also had exhibits that matched EPCOT’s purpose of looking at the future. They ranged from an ever-rising clock of Earth’s population (marvel at how once the idea of four billion people on the planet seemed amazing) to a census, a talking robot answering guest questions, and more. A fun bit tied to the Universe of Energy had guests seeing models of anything from how energy worked to “creating” earthquakes. It was fun, yet much of it outdated by the 1990s. 

So, with EPCOT already planned to undergo changes, transforming the area was needed, and the Imagineers crafted a place that really did stand out. 

The magic of Innoventions

Opening on July 1, 1994, Innoventions was Communicore taken to the 1990s. To many, the highlight of the area was the Sega Game center. Thanks to a partnership with the game company, Disney offered guests the chance to play dozens of Sega games for free from Sonic to Disney-themed ones. As time went on, it shifted to the PlayStation and other systems and was mostly used to promote Disney games, yet interesting how it was an arcade in Epcot.

Other early stuff include a bakery offering fresh cookies, a walk through “house” promising future elements and the Imagineering Lab which included being able to try out a virtual reality Aladdin carpet ride. 

What’s notable is that many of those early exhibits were stuff that seemed fantastic at the time but are now taken as everyday. Those included the then-burgeoning Internet, watch phones, cell phone cameras and more. It was exactly what Future World needed, an actual showcase of new technologies and how they could make the world even better.