There's just something special about Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It is my favorite park for several reasons, and it seems to me one of the most fitting monuments to the man behind Mickey Mouse.
At its inception, Walt said of EPCOT:
"EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."
Ingenuity. Imagination. America.
I think that's all of it in a nutshell.
Walking through the park makes me nostalgic. Not only for past visits and childhood adventures, but also for the strong broth of a certain philosophy, spooned to me steadily from the time I could sit up, and mixed in my bottles before that.
The basic recipe includes (but is not limited to):
- Whimsy
- Curiosity
- Music
- Creativity
- Exploration
- Fun
- Can-Do
- Optimism
- Service
- Kindness
- Wonder
- Learning
- Talking Animals
- Hats & Props & Seersucker Pants
Simmer over the gentle warmth of a heart aglow. Serve generously and without discrimination.
Long before there was a search engine and megladon corporation, my siblings and I were privy to the fact that googol is a number- one with one hundred zeros. The loud thumping in our attic was not a fan but tiny little Indians holding a pow-wow. We lived in a world of honker birds and sing-a-longs. We were entrusted with glue sticks and spangles, given complete creative control over the construction paper pile. Life was punny and word play was encouraged. Pennies were wishes for personal computers. Stale bread became duck food. We made sleds from box tops; thrust ourselves down hills without any snow. We enjoyed a balanced diet of wisecracks and wisdom. We knew..still know..the joys of ice cream.
Has she jumped track? Perhaps. I do tend to do that sometimes.
The point is that there are good things in life, dreams do come true, we should reach for the stars and never give up.
In the theme park of Positive Mindset, the only admission fee is choosing to walk in.
I'm not saying that every day was Disney growing up, but it was close enough, in hindsight. I am saying that we were given a map to that silver-lined place called joyfulness, for which I'm grateful.
When I walk thru EPCOT, I feel hopeful. I see technology and new ways that we, as people, are working for the good of mankind; we have not ceased thinking, inventing, and trying to one-up ourselves. We are seeing needs and filling them, we are striving to improve upon our last best invention. We come up with some pretty nifty stuff.
At Epcot, we're encouraged to push the buttons, try it out, think up some big thinks of our own. I see Walt when I'm there...or at least what I understand to be his thumbprint. And I see that, despite the bleak headlines, all is not lost in this world... there's plenty to look forward to, much to anticipate.
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At EPCOT, I feel inspired, too.
"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the small, small world after all"
There are many nationalities in the World Showcase, represented by more than airplane runway lights (long story)... all just steps away from each other - close enough to exchange a smile, try a pastry and appreciate the diversity of our world, without a trip through airport security. Each of the worlds within the showcase are all so distinct, even those that have been influenced by other countries or cultures. There are different ways of saying things, different ways of seeing things. So much to explore. I love it.
We read "Around The World In 80 Days" this school year...and we are currently reading "Innocents Abroad", so it was a pleasure and a bit of a living lesson to walk (and take boats) 'around the world' in less than 8 hours with the BigKids.
They also have a pretty good example of a geodesic form in one part of the park...if you know where to find it ;)
I feel relaxed at EPCOT. Walking around with my small-business-owner-always-at-work-even-when-he's-not husband and our eclectic cast of characters, I know that I can enjoy the day's park visit because of the work he's been doing. Because of the work he will return to in short order. I am reminded that he does all that work for us, for family moments like these and for all the others where we simply have a roof over our heads and enough food to fill each belly. I feel cared for and thankful for all of it..for all of them. For him.
Yes, we must eat by the sweat of our brow, but there is time for sculpted flower gardens too.
Time for exchanging pleasantries and learning something(s) new.
All of these pleasures are available inside the parks, but on the outside, too.
Especially outside.
Every single day.
The parks are just a reminder to stop and notice every now and again.
When the Discovery Channel came out with the Boomdeyadah campaign years ago, we adopted it as a sort of school anthem.
"I love the whole world, and all its sights and sounds..."
It's our home/school philosophy.
It's our life philosophy.
And Epcot provides a wonderful scale model.
(It's a small, small world- ha.)
(the slideshow also includes hotel and other trip pics due to shortage of time to sift & sort- disregard red eye and double takes...if you can )