(dramatic orchestral music)
Announcer: On Campus with Gary McCaleb.
Tonight's guest is the Director of Technical Development
for Walt Disney World, Mr. Tom Craven.
And tonight, he'll be talking about Disney's Epcot Center.
Here's Gary McCaleb.
-: On Campus today is Tom Craven,
the Director for Technical Development at Walt Disney World.
And the topic is Epcot.
Tom, what is Epcot and how did that come about?
-: Epcot is an acronym which means
Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
It was one of the last things that Walt Disney
actually promoted for the properties
in Florida, the central Florida area.
When Walt Disney World was first conceived and came up with
as far as the development of the properties there,
the theme park, which is very closely related
to what Disneyland is, was the first piece of property
that was really developed.
At the same time it was promised
that Epcot would be developed also.
And 10 years after, actually 11 years after,
the theme park for the Magic Kingdom,
which is much like Disneyland, was opened,
then Epcot Center was opened
and it was dedicated to the, really, the imagination of man
and the development of certain technologies
that we've developed.
And so consequently, it's a whole new
approach to a theme park.
And very closely related to what might be considered
a permanent world's fair, but on a permanent basis,
and on a continuing basis where we continually add
new pavilions and new concepts to it.
Epcot Center is divided into two areas,
Future World, which is dedicated to the future of man,
and not the far distant future, but the near future,
the graspable future, the practical future,
and then World Showcase, which is a community of nations,
which gives us the opportunity
to showcase individual nations and their culture,
and their architecture and their entertainment styles.
-: I know you brought some videotape along,
and I think it'd be good for us
to look at that at this time.
It'll help probably better than any other way
to familiarize us with an overview of what Epcot is,
and then we'll discuss more about it and what it is.
Tom: All right.
Narrator: Over the horizon to Epcot Center,
the newest Wonder of the World.
This 260-acre entertainment complex
explores two themed areas, Future World and World Showcase.
A visit to Future World begins with
Spaceship Earth, a Bell System presentation.
Ride vehicles spiral upward
past moving three-dimensional scenes
showing 40,000 years of progress in communications.
(light orchestral music)
This wheel-shaped building houses World of Motion,
presented by General Motors.
Twenty-four animated scenes highlight the humorous side
of man's struggle to get around,
while Trans Center previews tomorrow's World of Motion.
Horizons shows what life might be like 100 years from now.
General Electric presents the 21st century adventure,
which includes a visit to a space colony,
undersea habitat, and a desert farm.
80,000 solar cells lining the roof of Universe of Energy,
an Exxon presentation, generate 70,000 watts of electricity.
That sunshine power helps move the audience
aboard theater cars through a prehistoric world,
beneath huge dinosaurs, and past an erupting volcano.
The Land is a Kraft presentation
about growing, harvesting, and good nutrition.
A boat ride winds through controlled environments
where food crops are grown in innovative ways.
A globe-circling motion picture
explores man's relationship with the land,
while Kitchen Kabaret presents a host of foods comes to life
in a musical comedy review about good nutrition.
Journey into Imagination, presented by Kodak,
explores the world of creativity.
(lively orchestral music)
Two new Disney characters, Dreamfinder and Figment,
guide visitors on a trip
through the creative process at work.
In ImageWorks, everyone has a chance
to test his own creativity
by playing with electronics, lasers, and special effects.
Finally, a three-dimensional motion picture
leaps into the audience with Magic Journeys
in a child's imagination.
At the center of Future World is CommuniCore,
where guests operate video terminals,
getting answers to important questions
while they learn about energy, travel, and communications.
Epcot Computer Central, presented by Sperry,
showcases computers in a musical performance
filled with electronic magic.
Computers also play a big role at Electronic Forum,
(intense orchestral music)
where guests register opinions in the Epcot Poll
through computer consoles built into the arms
of each seat in Future Choice Theater.
(gong music)
-: Hey, Bologna! -: See!
(child mumbles)
Narrator: Just beyond Future World lies World Showcase.
(majestic band music)
The centerpiece of this international community
is the American Adventure, presented jointly
by Coca-Cola and American Express.
Thirty-three animated figures recreate
a panorama of American history
in a dramatic stage presentation.
The diversity of America's neighbor to the north
is reflected in Canada, where our Circle-Vision 360 Theater
surrounds the audience (majestic band music)
in Canada's scenic splinter.
Gabled rooftops and quaint shops along cobblestone streets
offer a traditional British setting for the United Kingdom,
complete with an authentic pub.
(pipes music)
Across what could be the River Seine,
a scaled replica of the Eiffel Tower appears
from behind the mansard roofs of Paris.
(audience clapping)
Here guests discover gourmet dining
and a cinematic trip across France.
(dramatic orchestral music)
In Japan, a five-story pagoda rises
over an Oriental garden rich with living art.
(light band music)
The Mitsukoshi Department store offers
Japanese products and restaurants
for sampling tempura and Teppanyaki style dining.
(dramatic orchestral music)
A recreation of the Doge's Place
and the Campanille tower over Italy.
While here, guests dine as the Romans do
at Alfredo's the Original of Rome.
(lively orchestral music)
Next door, rousing Alpine music
welcomes visitors to Germany,
where it's Oktoberfest year round in the Beer Garden.
(Asian orchestral music)
From Germany, the promenade curves toward mysterious China.
A Circle-Vision 360 motion picture unlocks the mystery
with views of China few outsiders have seen.
An ancient Aztec-Mayan pyramid
stands at the entrance to Mexico.
Inside, the San Angelian offers traditional Mexican cuisine
(mariachi music)
while a boat ride takes guests
on a trip through the country's colorful past.
This is Epcot Center, where new adventures
and additional countries will create
even more experiences for guests in years to come.
-: Well, obviously, Epcot is more
than just an expanded Magic Kingdom.
But from an insider's point of view,
how would you differentiate
between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot?
-: Well, first of all, there's some statistical differences
that are quite remarkable.
The Magic Kingdom, which is patterned after Disneyland,
has about 100 acres that it takes up
to produce and present the show.
At Epcot Center, it takes 260 acres to produce that show.
You literally could take two of the Magic Kingdoms
and put them in Epcot Center,
so you get the idea of the size first of all.
Much larger facility.
Much further to walk, but has a good deal more space
and much more spacious than the Magic Kingdom.
The cost to build Epcot Center
cost in relationship to what it cost to build Disneyland.
Disneyland cost Walt Disney about $7 million to build.
It cost a billion dollars to build Epcot Center,
and it's a billion dollar show.
The technology that's been applied--
and of course the costs have gone up a good deal since then.
So you get a little bit of an idea
from the quantitative standpoint
of what it takes to produce Epcot Center
compared to what it took to produce the Magic Kingdom.
As far as the way it operates,
it operates very similarly in that
the same standards that are applied
for the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland
are also applied at Epcot Center.
The dedication to cleanliness,
the dedication to the guests' experience,
and the service that's presented and given to the guest
is a part of their day at Epcot Center.
Along with that, the area also has,
as far as a storyline concept,
in Future World, the idea that the future is feasible,
that the future is possible, and the future looks good.
Most times people look at the future,
and they have the concept that the future's
going to be something that's very dreadful,
that it's something that's almost Orwellian.
And in this particular situation,
Disney tries to take and look at the future
and say, "The future holds hope.
"The future has tremendous possibilities
"and tremendous potential if we apply ourselves to it."
And gives us a look at the potential
and the possibilities that are there for the future.
In World Showcase, it's an opportunity
to really be in the community of nations.
And we call it a community of nations,
where nations can sit side by side
and work together and present themselves
much like a world's fair, but in relationship to
an appreciation of their culture,
of the differences that we might have
as far as our cultural differences,
and also the great similarities there are
in the fact that we're all human beings.
And along with that, we have a program
that's a part of the World Showcase,
which is called the Fellowship Students.
And these are students that are brought
from each one of the countries
of the pavilions that are represented,
and they actually work as a part of that pavilion.
And so you have in the French pavilion,
you have French students from France
who speak English but with a very good French accent,
and the same thing's true of Germany
and Mexico and China and all of the pavilions.
So there is an actual one-on-one relationship
with somebody who is from that country
rather than just an employee that operates that pavilion.
-: One contrast that at least came to my mind.
I'm not sure if you'd think this is fair or not,
but Magic Kingdom seems to be,
well, seems to have an emphasis on entertainment.
And while Epcot is certainly very entertaining,
it's also educational through and through, it seems.
-: I have an 11-year-old son, and when somebody asks him
about what's the difference between
the Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center,
he'll say, "Well, Epcot Center is education, but it's okay."
(Gary laughs)
In other words, it's okay to go and see it
because it's fun to be educated.
And yes, that's true.
There's a great emphasis on learning
and on the education that can be achieved there,
and there's a great emphasis towards teachers
that come there, to give them materials
and packets of information about Epcot Center
that they can use in their classroom situations.
So yes, there is more of an emphasis
on the adult side as far as education is concerned,
but also recognizing that young people
can learn and have fun.
Really, one of the aspects of the Disney organization
is that you can--
we would rather entertain you and hope you learn something
than try to teach you something
or try to get you to learn something
and hope you're entertained.
-: Yeah, that's--
-: It's better to entertain you and hope you learn something.
-: And of course, that whole approach
may say something about other opportunities
for teaching within school systems.
There are a lot of opportunities for students to learn
and not find it unpleasant or boring or dull,
that you can learn a lot of
different things and still enjoy it.
-: That's true.
And the Disney organization prides itself in the fact
that it teaches at the same time that it entertains,
but it puts the entertainment aspect of it first
and then the learning second.
Because as it turns out, you learn a tremendous amount
while you're being entertained.
-: Another thing that I noted from the videotape
is that there are obviously some major companies
that have, in one way or the other,
worked together with the Disney organization
in putting Epcot together.
-: That's correct.
It's been a tradition with the Disney organization
since Disneyland was first constructed in 1955
to have participants, and we call them participants.
They participate with the Disney organization
in presenting a show or a pavilion.
And we have a number of participants,
and their role is to, number one,
help us financially to produce that facility,
and number two, to also help in showcasing their ideas.
For instance, the Kodak Pavilion in Imagination
relates very closely with film.
-: We need to take a break, and then we'll be back
and continue to talk about Epcot.
(light orchestral music)
We're visiting today with Tom Craven,
the director of technical development at Walt Disney World.
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-: We're back on campus and continuing to visit
with Tom Craven, the director for technical development
at Walt Disney World.
Is Epcot finished at this point?
-: No, no, it's--
-: Is it still developing?
-: Yes, it's like everything else at Walt Disney World,
is that it's always in a state of becoming something.
And the area that we're working with at Epcot Center
has a number of pavilions
that are coming on line continually.
For this year, we have opened up the new pavilion
that General Electric is the participant in
and the sponsor of, and that's the Horizons Pavilion,
which gives you an idea of what it would be like
to live in the 22nd century.
Gives you some insight into that,
and a very practical, very realistic way
of what will probably be the lifestyles
of the 22nd and 23rd centuries.
The other area that will be opening up
is the Morocco Pavilion in World Showcase.
And like the other countries that are represented
at World Showcase, Morocco will have its pavilion
and be showcasing the culture and the architecture
and the trade goods that they have there
and promoting some of their travel to Morocco.
-: Now, when you say Morocco will have its pavilion,
that raises a question then about all of the countries.
Apparently the countries make the decision
as to whether they want to have a pavilion.
But then do they have total control
over what is in their pavilion and how it's done?
And to what extent does the Disney organization--
-: (speech obscured by crosstalk)
-: Interact in that situation?
-: It's a combination.
It's a participation.
The word participant is a good word
because we do participate and work together.
The pavilion is conceived of and come up with
as far as the ideas are concerned
by the Disney organization, and we approach
a country or a company with this concept.
They look at it and review it,
and there's a trade back and forth of information
and some of the things that the country
may want to highlight.
In the particular case of Morocco,
we are dealing with the government of Morocco.
Most cases, we deal with private companies
within those countries that wish to represent their country.
But in the Morocco situation,
we are dealing with their country, their government.
-: If it comes down to who has the final say,
who has the final say, the country or Disney?
-: Disney usually has the final say.
Because if it does not fit within the standards
that we've established, then we just merely say,
"Thank you very much.
"We can't participate with you."
We do get a number of people who want to participate with us
but because of their product
or because of their particular approach
to the way they want to do it, we have to say,
"No thank you, we can't do that
"and maintain our standards as well."
-: Now, do you expect other countries
to continue to add pavilions?
-: Oh, yes.
The Scandinavian countries are probably one of
the next group of nations that'll come on line
and build together, put together a Scandinavian pavilion.
We're talking with Spain.
There are a number of South American countries
that have expressed interest in it.
We have a potential of having 22 countries there,
and then we have the opportunity and the option
in the way the facility's been designed
to expand it an add another 22 countries.
So there's no real problem with adding
additional space to the Epcot Center.
In Future World, we do have a new pavilion coming out.
I got to tell you about this one.
It's the Living Seas Pavilion.
It'll be the largest saltwater aquarium in the world.
It'll have like 7 million gallon saltwater tank
that will have a tropical reef
and a number of the different sea life creatures
that will be a part of this pavilion,
presented by United Technologies.
-: How does the director of technical development
find himself involved in this?
What is your role for it?
-: In those particular--
there's two areas within the company
that deal with the technology quite extensively,
and that is the show areas that are
associated with pavilions, that deal with audioanimatronics,
which is our term for actually
the mechanized figures that you see in, like,
the Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom
or the American Adventure at Epcot Center
or any of the pavilions at Epcot Center
where they have these figures.
There is a group of technicians and technological people
that are responsible for putting that together.
And there's another group of technical people
that I'm involved with that are
responsible for producing the live show,
which is things like fireworks shows,
the Main Street Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom.
At Epcot Center, it's the New World Fantasy,
which is a show that takes place on the Lagoon,
parades that take place at Epcot Center,
and all the live entertainment that takes place out there.
We utilize a tremendous amount of computer technology,
and of course, audio and lighting technology
that are associated with that, to produce these shows.
So we work very closely with all aspects of the company
in order to place our equipment and our materials
and our show locations in conjunction
with a piece of architecture or a piece of stage facility
that's dedicated to just live show.
-: You mentioned that Epcot suggests the idea
of a prototype community of tomorrow.
And I remember reading at one time
that a lot of the things that were going to be employed
into a lot of Epcot would be to involve
technology about the way people might live together
in the community of tomorrow.
But is that from the standpoint of a community
being a local town or city,
or are you talking about the world community?
-: Well, it's a little of both.
It's a little difficult, really, quite honestly,
to grasp the concept of Epcot
because we within the organization
look at Epcot as the total property,
which includes not only Epcot Center,
but also the Magic Kingdom,
the resort areas, and all of those.
So when we look at that, because we have developed,
as a part of the Epcot concept,
our own building codes and our own systems
of taking care of construction,
which mostly relate back to building codes.
And those are part of, as far as we're concerned
within the organization, the Epcot standard.
And that Epcot standard goes throughout the entire property.
So in that sense, yes, it is a community.
We have people living there in hotels,
and we have people living there in condominiums
and things like that that are guests that come in,
but they're transient.
They're not permanent.
They do not live there on a permanent basis.
-: When you view those various countries' pavilions
gathered around the Lagoon, there's something symbolic
about countries side by side and all of these young people
working together in an area
that's very happy and optimistic
and suggests something about the way
you'd like for the world to be.
Do you suppose there's any way to expect
that there may actually be some
international cultural exchange
and appreciation for other countries and things like that?
-: We already do the cultural exchange,
in which we have a program in which we bring in
from each country around the world,
not only the ones that are involved
with us at World Showcase, but any country,
their performing groups, whether it be
the Bolshoi Ballet, or it might be some group from
the South American countries or China
or the Oriental or Australia, whoever it might be.
They come in and perform on a regular basis.
But we also have this--
perhaps it's idealistic, but then
that's kind of what we are.
The idea that these students that come and work
in the pavilions are the top people from their countries.
They're selected individually,
hand-picked by a group of people within that country.
That they'll be the future leaders of that country.
And we hope that in the future, 20, 30 years from now,
that Franz, who worked in Germany,
knows Pierre, who worked in France personally,
and they both might be leaders.
They both have that one thing in common,
that they were able to work that year or two years
at Epcot Center and became friends
because they all live together.
These students all live in the same housing area,
and they know each other very, very well
and become very good friends.
So in our small way, beginning in our own way,
we're beginning to try to work towards
an international understanding, starting with young people.
-: Is there any danger or risk that these young people
will come over here and like it well
and decide to stay in America?
-: Well, everybody likes America.
But we like America very well.
We like the United States extremely well.
But these people are dedicated to their country
just as much as they are to ours,
and so they feel a real affinity
to go back to their own homes.
No, we don't really have that problem.
-: Do you see there ever being another Epcot,
say, an Epcot over with the Tokyo Magic Kingdom?
Or do you think there will only be one Epcot?
-: I don't know.
I really don't know.
It's hard to say.
If we ever do anything along that line,
it will probably be in a little different approach
than the way we did it in Florida.
But yes, that concept is successful
and may be applied in different ways.
There are a number of ideas that are kicking around
within the company that have not been developed.
The technology especially that we've developed
in Epcot Center will probably be employed
in other projects that we do, wherever they might be.
-: You mentioned that--
you said, "We like America,"
and I think that's very obvious.
I think one of the other things
that people have probably always associated with Disney
is patriotism and Americanism.
And I suppose that must be by design as well.
Tom: It is.
-: Because everything seems to happen on purpose.
-: Yes, it is.
The company has a very sincere dedication
to the quality of life that is a part
of the United States of America.
We have a dedication to the strong family center.
We rely on that strong family center
as the basis of the people who visit us.
We also realize that that very concept
of the United States is embodied
in the people that are a part of this country.
And so yes, there's a very close relationship
with patriotism as it relates
to the people that make up this country.
Very strong individualism.
Very strong in the support of individualism.
And that not only is projected outside the company.
It's also projected inside the company,
where individuals are encouraged to be
the best they possibly can be
in whatever field of endeavor they've chosen.
-: Sometimes it seems that the idea of fantasy at Disney
might become so totally a part of a person's environment
that I wonder if a person might think, "Am I--
"How do I differentiate between the real world
"and what's fantasy out here?"
Because as you said, that whole area
is really a controlled envrionment.
Tom: That's true.
-: And everything practically that goes on inside there
goes on on purpose.
-: We become spoiled, yes.
Those of us who live and work
in that situation become spoiled with the--
and take for granted a number of things
that are not the way other areas operate.
But at the same time, we're not totally ignorant
of what happens in the world marketplace
and what goes on around us.
We, just like everyone else, live in a community
that's not a part of the Disney properties.
And so we're active in participating
in community activities and in church activities
outside of the Disney properties.
So we have a touch of both.
The idealism that is projected
within the Disney organization
and within the Disney experience
is something that does carry through.
And we believe we can do anything
that we set our minds to do,
given the time and money to do it.
You don't lose that when you leave the property.
We carry that through into
any other activity that you might do.
And I believe that it's a compliment to the community
because those people can participate
and help in the community.
And it also is an incentive and a drive for any activity
that any of our employees are involved with.
We become used to quality,
and we become able to discern quality,
and then we become able to demand quality.
-: You know, I was thinking, when Epcot is 30 years old,
a lot of what you're projecting about the future
will have either already happened
or will be happening by that time.
What are you going to--
will all those pavilions continue to be updated
so that they continue to project on out into the future?
-: Oh, yes.
Well, take Disneyland, built in 1955.
And they had an attraction at Disneyland.
It was called the Ride to the Moon.
Well, since that time, we've been to the moon,
and so that's now a journey to Mars,
so it's updated in that way.
It's also interesting to note that Tomorrowland
at Disneyland and at Walt Disney--
well, at Disneyland, Tomorrowland has been
rebuilt three times, completely rebuilt,
just torn down, started over again.
At Walt Disney World, which has only been--
Magic Kingdom's only been operating for 12 years now.
It's been rebuilt once.
(light orchestral music)
So the future comes upon us very rapidly.
And yes, Epcot Center will be faced
with that situation also.
-: Thank you for telling us more about Epcot Center.
We've been visiting today with Tom Craven,
the director of technical development at Walt Disney World.
And thank you for being with us on campus.