The Future of Epcot Is About Human Stories—With a Little Help From Disney Mythology

io9: So I didn’t get to experience Epcot until I was an adult, but I had written about it growing up as a fan of Walt Disney’s original vision for cities of the future. I love how over in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, we have those edible plants and things that are kind of sustainable resources that pay homage to the core themes of his plans throughout. Can you speak to that a little bit? If we’re going to be seeing that in some of the future environments as well?

Riddley: For us, it’s about possibility. We say it’s magic and possibility. So it’s a park about people, things that inspire us. [We thought about] the subjects that we want to bring forward, and we looked at what are some of those timeless ideas, stories that Disney can bring a unique entry into, but [are] also something that you could experience in 20 years. And you’re still getting that that kind of aspiration so that we don’t create a situation where instantly it’s out of date, we move past it to find it. So for us, those are what we’re calling these timeless stories that are in these themes that Epcot uniquely can bring. We do have an entire greenhouse on Living With the Land, the showcase of all that technology. With Journey of Water—this is a good example of how Epcot and Disney intellectual property come together. Journey of Water inspired by the Moana is another experience that’s coming as part of the vision. And that’s in the World Nature neighborhood, which is on the other side of the park that’s adjacent to The Seas and The Land.

io9: Yes, Moana fits perfectly with those themes!

Riddley: For Journey of Water, the idea is really celebrating the cycle. You actually get a chance to meet water the same way Moana meets her friend water in the film, and we have some really fun experiences as you move through this trail that are totally unique, invented for this. But the underlying subject is really the importance of preserving water, like the cycle of water, the fact that all water is essentially finite, and it’s important for us to understand its role and to preserve it as a resource, so we’re able to use elements from Moana’s story. But the Epcot story is about water and its conservation; that idea is rooted in real ideas, real things that inspire us but then actually take you into that experience. That’s what we think the unique space of Epcot can bring to life.

io9: How do you balance that with still keeping enough or finding ways to bring back aspects of the Epcot fans know and love?

Riddley: It’s got a really unique personality and design legacy. A lot of the choices that we’ve been making—not only in individual experiences, but even the logos bringing back Epcot’s own font—go back to the original park. So how do you bring all that back in as something that’s unifying? You only do it here. You know, we have it here, but then bring it forward in ways that, again, are fresh and relevant for fans who maybe have never been here before. To me, that’s the ultimate success with the transformation.

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