Epcot was the second theme park to open at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. It opened its doors to the public on October 1, 1982 and quickly impressed guests with its cultural experiences on one side of the parks and innovative attractions on the other.
This Florida theme park is still going strong today, however, it's about to get a total overhaul and be stocked with a slew of new attractions. This isn't the first time this has happened, as in the past, Epcot has closed down guest favorites to make way for newer experiences.
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With that said, we're here now to take a look at some of the most notable attractions Epcot has closed down over the years. From 4D films to immersive dark rides, there's a lot to be missed. Get ready to journey into Disney's park past.
10 Horizons
This Future World attraction, which many have deemed the sequel to the Magic Kingdom's Carousel of Progress, took guests on a leisurely cruise through the future. It opened in 1983, closed for a year in 1994, and then continued to run until its end in 1999.
The ride combined elements of communication, community, energy, transportation, anatomy, physiology, and humans' interaction with the world. This made it the only ride in Future World to present everything the land was designed to represent.
The over 14-minute attraction concluded by letting guests choose their own future. They could pick from space colonization, arid-zone agriculture, or ocean colonization scenes. Today, the thrill ride Mission: SPACE stands where this iconic ride once did.
9 Ellen’s Energy Adventure
This attraction, located in the Universe of Energy pavilion, took guests on a comedic and educational journey to discover where energy comes from and where its future is going. The ride starred Ellen DeGeneres, who finds herself in a Jeopardy dream sequence, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, who steps in to help her win.
The attraction lasted 45 minutes and combined multiple theater rooms as well as a dinosaur-scattered dark-ride portion.
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Ellen's Energy Adventure replaced the Universe of Energy attraction in 1996. It closed in 2017 to make room for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster.
8 Maelstrom
This log flume dark ride was located in the Norway pavilion in the World Showcase. Meant to give visitors a glimpse into the country's deep history, Malestrom featured Vikings, trolls, polar bears, and mythology. After visitors traveled down the 4:27 river, which contained one 28-ft. drop, they were exited into a theater that played a film highlighting Norway's charm.
The attraction first opened in 1988 but closed in 2014 to the disappointment of many guests. While the track was kept in place, the theming was reworked, and the ride now operates at Frozen Ever After based on Disney's popular animated film.
7 Body Wars
This motion simulator attraction located in the Wonders of Life pavilion shrunk guests down to the size of cells so that they could see the effects of white blood cells on a splinter up close. This 7-minute ride was made possible by the fictional Miniaturized Exploration Technologies Corporation.
Body Wars first opened in 1989 and continued to entertain guests all the way to Jan. 1, 2007 when it was closed. To this day, part of the ride queue remains intact.
6 Food Rocks
For 10 years, from 1994 to 2004, Epcot's The Land pavilion housed an audio-animatronic show featuring singing fruits and vegetables. Yes, you read that right.
This around 13-minute attraction was themed as a benefit concert for healthy eating and parodied songs including "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, and "Respect" by Aretha Franklin.
Today, the space that Food Rocks once occupied is now filled by Soarin' Around the World, a hang-glider ride that originally took guests on a flight above California.
5 Innoventions
Innoventions is one of the most recent Epcot attractions to have been shut down, opening in 1994 and closing on Sept. 8, 2019.
Over the years, this two-building experience housed various virtual reality encounters, interactive games, and exhibits themed to technology and imagination. Being that the title of the attraction itself combines the words "innovation" and "invention," this comes as no surprise.
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Though Innoventions was popular for many years, its noticeable decline began in 2015 when the West building was changed into a character meet-and-greet area. We'll be saying goodbye to both buildings soon as they are being swept up as part of Future World's major overhaul.
4 Captain EO
This 1986 sci-fi short film, written by George Lucas and starring Michael Jackson, played at Epcot from 1986 to 1994. Following Jackson's death in 2009, the 4D film was brought back for 5 years and closed in December of 2015.
The show ran 17-minutes long and had Jackson performing two self-written songs, "We Are Here to Change the World" and "Another Part of Me" while acting as the fictional space leader Captain EO. While the film played, special effects including lasers and fog filled the theater.
The location at which Captain EO was continuously shown still exists today and houses the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival attraction.
3 Honey, I Shrunk The Audience
After Captain EO's first closure in 1994 until its revival in 2010, the theater it was in housed a 4D short film called Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. This attraction, which was a spin-off of the live-action Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series, had Professor Wayne Szalinski accidentally shrinking down the audience's size during the Inventor of the Year Award Ceremony.
The show lasted for 23 minutes and featured many special effects. Perhaps the most impressive of these is one that has the entire audience shaking on a platform that moves up to four inches off the floor to simulate being picked up.
2 World of Motion
This Future World Omnimover attraction was located in the Transportation pavilion in Epcot and fittingly told the history of transportation. The 15-minute story, which contained 30 show scenes, began in ancient days and ended in the future.
Each scene was filled with audio-animatronics and that combined with the narrative reminded many guests of the still existing Spaceship Earth attraction.
World of Motion opened in 1982 and was closed in 1996 to make room for a new thrill ride: Test Track.
1 Journey Into Imagination
Today, Figment the purple dragon is an Epcot icon. However, he wasn't always at the center of an attraction.
The original Journey into Imagination Omnimover ride, which opened in 1983 and ran through 1998, introduced guests to a character known as Dreamfinder. Dreamfinder creates Figment early on and then lets guests adventure through imaginative scenes, wrapping things up by explaining that imagination is the key to unlocking the worlds best-kept secrets.
The ride was changed into Journey into YOUR imagination in 1999, but this rendition was met with negative reviews for reducing Figment's appearances to cameos in the ride queue. Thankfully, Figment was brought back in 2002, and Epcot made sure everyone knew about it by calling the attraction Journey Into Imagination with Figment.