October 14, 2011: The Foreword to Walt and the Promise of Progress City

[Werner Weiss]

Forewords are often written in first person, share personal experiences, describe the foreword writer’s relationship with the book’s author, make the reader more interested in the book that follows, and are fairly short. Ideally, a foreword explains why the book needed to written. I hope I’ve done all that.

Link to WW Goes to Book Excerpt at Yesterland: Walt and the Promise of Progress City

Please discuss it here.

[SAMLAND]

Thank you for the kind words.

Sam

[Twist1234]

Interesting article but imagine if EPCOT actually was built. It would have been like the Contemporary, constantly being updated and with managements "decisions" I oculd se it being torn down in a mater of years or convert all into hotels.

[SAMLAND]

Interesting article but imagine if EPCOT actually was built. It would have been like the Contemporary, constantly being updated and with managements "decisions" I oculd se it being torn down in a mater of years or convert all into hotels.

But that was the whole point of EPCOT. To allow buildings to learn. Thanks for the visit.

Sam Gennawey

[Twist1234]

But that was the whole point of EPCOT. To allow buildings to learn. Thanks for the visit.

Sam Gennawey

No what I meant is look at EPCOT today it's a shell of what it was in 82' imagine a city like that. Plus it could have been a disaster of no one moved in.

[Werner Weiss]

No what I meant is look at EPCOT today it's a shell of what it was in 82' imagine a city like that. Plus it could have been a disaster of no one moved in.

I can come up with a hundred ways in which the city of EPCOT could have failed.

The question, however, is whether the city of EPCOT could have succeeded if the management commitment had been there.

Imagine a city of EPCOT built along the lines of what Walt Disney envisioned in the 1960s. Then imagine a process of continually updating the city of EPCOT with involvement by corporations eager to show off their latest innovations. Imagine a place that's so desirable as a place to live that there's a long waiting list of residents who want to live there for several years — even if they must then move to make way for new residents.

I'm still not 100% sure the the city of EPCOT would have worked, but after reading the manuscript for Sam's book, I can now see how it could have been a success.

In any case, today's Disney would be a very different company if the emphasis in Florida had been to build a city rather than what was built instead. I'm not sure that pointing to what Disney Parks & Resorts management has done with the theme park of Epcot -- good and bad -- can be used as evidence of how the city of EPCOT would have fared.

[Twist1234]

I can come up with a hundred ways in which the city of EPCOT could have failed.

The question, however, is whether the city of EPCOT could have succeeded if the management commitment had been there.

Imagine a city of EPCOT built along the lines of what Walt Disney envisioned in the 1960s. Then imagine a process of continually updating the city of EPCOT with involvement by corporations eager to show off their latest innovations. Imagine a place that's so desirable as a place to live that there's a long waiting list of residents who want to live there for several years — even if they must then move to make way for new residents.

I'm still not 100% sure the the city of EPCOT would have worked, but after reading the manuscript for Sam's book, I can now see how it could have been a success.

In any case, today's Disney would be a very different company if the emphasis in Florida had been to build a city rather than what was built instead. I'm not sure that pointing to what Disney Parks & Resorts management has done with the theme park of Epcot -- good and bad -- can be used as evidence of how the city of EPCOT would have fared.

True we can't really compare parks with city's. Plus Walt really was doing the same thing with Disneyland, he risked it all and it succeeded.

[ChrisFL]

True we can't really compare parks with city's. Plus Walt really was doing the same thing with Disneyland, he risked it all and it succeeded.

Agreed, I think the only comparison that can be made would be that like Epcot the theme park, sponsorships may have waned in the recent years, due to so many other, possibly more profitable advertising ventures.

[Mousepoop]

I'd like to see Disney build an updated version of the original Epcot. Maybe a combination of DVC and Celebrations. Do they still have enough land to build it?

---------- Post added 10-19-2011 at 10:49 AM ----------

Plus it could have been a disaster of no one moved in.

Simple solution - get people to sign leases before construction is even started. Look at all the people who signed up for DVC.

[Twist1234]

I'd like to see Disney build an updated version of the original Epcot. Maybe a combination of DVC and Celebrations. Do they still have enough land to build it?

Oh yes they have PLENTY of free land.