Why Disney's EPCOT Park Dream For California Never Came True

On May 8, 1991, Disney tentatively announced the next of its upcoming projects: WestCOT. The $3-billion park would be an expansion of Disneyland in Anaheim, the iconic gateway to California's best family-friendly attractions. It would have also been the first to contain hotels within the property. It was modeled after the successful EPCOT, the second of the four Disney World theme parks, and the highest-ranked on Yelp, with 4.2 stars (interestingly, on the opposite end of the scale is Hollywood Studios, rated as the worst). EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow," and it combines the cultural attractions seen at World's Fairs with a utopian vision of the future. WestCOT was slated to be the West Coast version of this popular park, with a greater focus on adventurous experiences.

However, with its multi-billion-dollar price tag, the project was extremely ambitious from the start. Disneyland didn't have control over the surrounding land in Anaheim. Therefore, it would have needed to purchase the land in the neighboring areas and relocate thousands of residents — not an easy feat to accomplish when locals were already wary of the increased light pollution and traffic from a new park. Additionally, the company's latest project, Disneyland Paris (originally named Euro Disney Resort), was a vision of impending doom: In 1992, it was a complete flop, losing money consistently with lower-than-expected attendance rates. It was a prescient warning of what could happen when building an expensive park that was vehemently opposed by locals — and although the park is thriving now, the initial failure was still traumatic for executives.

On January 30, 1995, just a few years later, the project was as good as dead. Disney stated that plans for WestCOT had been officially cancelled — and in its place would be the more affordable (and more underwhelming) Disney's California Adventure.

For lovers of all things Disney, the abandonment of this park was a huge letdown, considering its innovative concept and enticing attractions. WestCOT would have contained two themed lands: Future World and World Showcase. At the entrance to Future World, you'd be greeted by an unearthly sight: SpaceSTATION Earth, a replica of EPCOT's Spaceship Earth, but much larger, at 300 feet in height. Here you'd find exhibits dedicated to the wonders of the living, of Earth, and of space.

Four pavilions were planned for the World Showcase land: one corner each for Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, respectively. And connecting the entire park would be the River of Time, a leisurely boat ride and a convenient mode of transportation. In a pleasant 45 minutes, you'd experience all the lands on what would have been Disney's longest ride. Additionally, the park planned to feature a number of on-site facilities, including two hotels (Magic Kingdom Hotel, with 960 rooms, and WestCOT Lake Resort, with 1,800 rooms); the Disneyland Bowl, a 5,000-seat amphitheater for live entertainment; and Disneyland Center, for dining and shopping.

Unfortunately, this exciting dream was never realized. But elements from another cancelled project, Port Disney, envisioned around the same time as WestCOT, were resurrected: It opened as Tokyo DisneySea in 2001 and is considered by many to be one of the best theme parks. If you're heading to Japan, pay it a visit (and read this guide on what tourists should expect at Tokyo Disneyland before you go!). If you're not, you might just have to wait. And perhaps, in a few decades, the blueprints for WestCOT will be reviewed — and we can look forward to a similar revival of one of the company's most ambitious and anticipated projects.