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Jol Silversmith - September 2004

On September 13, 2004, we took the Undiscovered Future World tour at Epcot. Our guide was Carolyn from Georgia, and her tour was generally similar to those described in earlier tour reports. However, there were a few differences, which I will try to highlight. As an initial matter, I note that the Cast Members at the Princess Breakfast entrance had never even heard of the tour. They had to summon a manager to sort out the issue. However, I wasn't entirely surprised since the tour is offered only three days per week. (Indeed, even the usually reliable in-room Disney TV channel doesn't seem to know much about the tour, since it erroneously lists the tour as running four days per week!)

As in previous versions of the tour, after an introduction at Guest Relations about the history of Epcot and Spaceship Earth, we toured the House of Innoventions, with a stop at the photo mural in Innoventions East focusing on a description of the Monsato House of the Future in '60s Disneyland. We then crossed Innoventions Plaza and stopped for a description of the fountains, and then traveled through the disused corridors next to the Fountain View restaurant, where Carolyn gave us some background on the pictures hung therein of the history of Disney and Epcot. (She also noted that the rug pattern in the corridors is the old Communicore symbol - I didn't ask if it was intended to be subtle, or if the carpet hadn't been replaced in more than a decade.)

We exited near The Land, where Carolyn pointed out the Inventors Circle on the ground. Our next stop was the old United Technologies VIP lounge in the Living Seas and then The Land, with a stop for a snack. Carolyn mentioned that Nestle, unlike its predecessor Kraft, does not make use of The Land's VIP lounge; in any case, we did not see it. We also weren't able to see the greenhouses, due to the construction under way for Soarin', but we did take a backstage route from The Land to Imagination, so we were able to see some of the construction in progress.

Our next stop was the old ImageWorks room on the top level of Imagination. There isn't much in the main room any more (although we were told that some of the old props are stored in side rooms), although there still were several full-size pin tables. At this stop, Carolyn described the history of the monorail system.

We then crossed Future World to Universe of Energy. Although we did not go into the ride itself, which I understand has been allowed on some tours, Epcot now has mounted the dinosaur that Ellen DeGeneres replaced in a backstage area, and we were allowed to touch and take photos with it. (My memories of the old version of the ride are vague, so I'm not sure if the dinosaur was the narrator, or just had been in the ride scene where Ellen fends off dinosaurs.) We could hear the ride quite clearly, and a door nearby was labeled as opening on stage. An apparently abandoned sign in the backstage area stated that ExxonMobil's lounge had closed in February (presumably when its sponsorship ended), but we didn't see it.

The tour now includes a stop backstage at Mission Space, inside the control room that can be seen from the queue area. Although the consoles facing the queue are fake, the consoles on the back are real, and are used by the Cast Members seated there to monitor the attraction. I also noted that the instruction manuals visible on the consoles are not blank inside, but include a full set of instructions for the mission.

At Test Track, we visited a small room next to the briefing rooms where guests with disabilities can practice getting into a ride vehicle. We also walked under the outdoor track, and Carolyn pointed out that the support columns are mounted on ball bearings, which can be seen to shift as a car travels overhead. Carolyn also noted the many pieces of tire rubber that were scattered around, and invited us to take one as a rare free item from Disney. (I couldn't tell if she was serious, and in any case wasn't interested in the offer.) Unlike for other tours, we were not given a fastpass for Test Track, but Epcot was so empty that day that it may just have been decided not to be necessary. Carolyn also pointed out the fastpass machines at Mission Space as we passed them by, but again the wait times were so minimal that they probably weren't needed. (As an aside, I note that Test Track seemed to be in surprisingly poor repair when I rode it later. The monitors were not working in all the cars that I rode, and on one ride the sound cut out after the first braking test. When I mentioned the sound problem to the CM at the unloading platform, he quipped "I'm surprised it worked at all!")

After Test Track, we visited the main Cast Member building, including a stop at the Costume Department. At this stop, Carolyn pointed out a discovery that wasn't an official part of the tour - that every CM name tag has a hidden Mickey. Once you know where it is, it's easy to spot - it's even visible in the image of a name tag that appears in park maps. We then proceeded to Pride Hall, a corridor which the CMs from different attractions and departments have lined with murals, and to the international trailer where we talked to a CM from Japan. It appears that September is the time that international, as well as college Cast Members tend to turn over; she noted that this was her last week on the job. She also noted that many international CMs tend to end up marrying other international CMs; she would be returning to the U.S. next year to be with her boyfriend, who is an Italy Cast Member.

Our last major stop was the marina, where the barges for Illuminations, as well as other boats are stored. Carolyn explained the back story to the show, as well as some of the technical details (i.e., that the globe barge has a two-person crew, but the other barges are unmanned.) Carolyn had mentioned that behind stage we might see CMs behaving in ways that would not be permitted on stage - but my wife and I were both impressed to see nearby a large area labeled "no parking" - which was full of parked cars!

We returned on stage at the China pavilion, where Carolyn provided us with a tour pin (which she said recently had been redesigned), as well as offered us a 20% discount for lunch or dinner at Nine Dragons, as well as VIP viewing for Illuminations that night or another night. (I'm not sure how far off in the future the VIP viewing can be, since we opted for it that night; it is in a small roped-off area in front of Italy with excellent views.)

As a whole, I recommend the tour, but with the caveat that it is for more hard-core Disney fans than Keys to the Kingdom; there are no rides on the tour, and no lunch stop. But there is a lot of information, a surprising amount of which was new to me, despite having read a fair amount about Epcot. There were 14 people on our tour, but Carolyn mentioned that there were sometimes only a few or even only one. I also note that Carolyn was an excellent and enthusiastic guide. She indicated that before becoming a full-time CM, she had participated in the college program three times, as well as that she now also performed VIP tours and Segway tours. There were some questions that she didn't know the answer to, but when she was asked when Roy Disney was born she apparently checked during our break at The Land and received an answer by pager. She also mentioned that CMs often are the last to hear about new rides and developments, and that she deliberately stayed away from rumors and other discussion online (i.e., about Project Gemini and the rumored Brother Bear coaster).

Other Tour Reviews:

 

Animal Kingdom Backstage Safari Wild By Design

Epcot Around the World --on a Segway! Epcot Seas Aqua Tour Behind the Seeds Divequest Dolphins in Depth Gardens of the World Hidden Treasures Undiscovered Future World

Magic Kingdom Family Magic Tour Keys to the Kingdom Magic Behind the Steam Trains

Disney-MGM Studios Inside Animation -- Discontinued 2002

General Tours BackStage Magic Yuletide Fantasy VIP Services