Category: Main Collections

When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, it was a sincere display of futurism, innovation, corporate power, and industry. Because in hindsight it also has an inordinate amount of closed classics, you’ve heard us examine the park’s ambitious and brave concept in Lost Legends features telling the in-depth stories of Journey into Imagination, Horizons, Maelstrom, Soarin’, and Body Wars – just a small sampling of the stunning features preserved in our Lost Legends collection.

But there is perhaps no Lost Legend more aligned to the park’s grand, educational, World’s Fair roots; more a memorial to Walt Disney’s own fascinations; more in tune with EPCOT Center’s celebration of human innovation than World of Motion.

Often overlooked in Epcot’s history of bulldozed classics, this incredible, epically sized dark ride through the history of transportation was no less impressive or important than Universe of Energy or Spaceship Earth. In fact, its story is of a one-of-a-kind, whimsical, and wondrous Disney dark ride created by famed animators packed with as many creative gags and effects as the Haunted Mansion.

The power’s been cut, and another EPCOT Center classic has seen its last days. Our Lost Legends series was developed for just such occasions, and for years now we’ve been adding unabridged entries to this growing library, chronicling the in-depth histories of forgotten fan favorites.

We’ve toured the streets of London on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, narrowly escaped the bite of JAWS, explored how Disney’s cancelled Beastly Kingdom became Universal Orlando’s Lost Continent, gotten a taste of EPCOT Center’s “dinner” show Kitchen Kabaret, dissected the history of Disneyland Paris’ one-of-a-kind Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, and so many more.

Today, we sadly induct another classic into our Lost Legends series: perhaps the most epically-sized dark ride Disney ever designed: Universe of Energy. Oversized, educational, and an astounding 45-minutes, this gargantuan journey into the past was a star of Future World and an icon of EPCOT Center’s early years. Today, we’ll dive into the history of the concept and watch its evolution over three and a half decades, then take a cautious look at what’s to come when Epcot changes forever… Ready? 

From the idling speed of prehistoric times to the white-knuckle thrills of tomorrow, Epcot’s transportation pavilion has always celebrated humanity’s desire to move farther, faster. And today, we accelerate from 0 – 65 as we explore the second life of the transportation pavilion as it became home to fastest ride Walt Disney World has ever hosted.

Technologically groundbreaking, cutting-edge, and game-changing, in 1999 Epcot welcomed a new ride that would change the park forever. Kicking off a new philosophy of industrious thrills, TEST TRACK signaled a change in the wind; a falling domino that – for better or worse – redefined Epcot for a new generation and a New Millennium.

But the story behind this adored ride isn’t a drive in the park. Plagued by frazzled technologies that lead to years of disastrous delays, the true story of Test Track’s opening is a testament to Disney’s perseverance. And the story of its closure is one of forward-thinking sponsorship and adaptability. The ride you see today is so different from the 1999 original, we consider it a new installation altogether. Today, we’ll dissect the development of Test Track (which traces its roots to the 1970s) and see what riders experienced on this lost 1999 thrill ride. Then, we’ll explore what replaced it and why.