Intro:

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.  This was a concept that was meant to be “community of the future”, always being at the edge of innovation.  I know this sounds like something out of science fiction novel, but I bet many of you have even been there.  This is most commonly known as it’s shortened name EPCOT.  Most of you are probably thinking, “why is she talking about this tourist trap?  I’ve been there, I bought the ears, and it was great, but what more could there be?”  As a person who grew up in a family full of Disney geeks, the knowledge of what EPCOT meant was always a common one.  However, when I went on our class trip there, I soon realized that this was not the case.  Many people don’t know the enriching history of this theme park, and the importance it brings.

Quote:

“I’ll show you how our ancestors created the world we know today, and then it will be your turn to create the world of tomorrow”- spaceship earth

“EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are emerging from the forefront of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed. It will always be showcasing and testing and demonstrating new materials and new systems.”- Walt Disney

A History:

• World Fair
  • started in 1851
  • a way to showcase things around the world that many people never had scene before
  • present new inventions
• plan to make it a city
  • effective transportation that never stopped
    • people movers
  • controlled climate
  • eco-friendly power
• Walt Disney’s death
  • “Epcot Died Ten Minutes After Walt’s Body Cooled.”
  • People didn’t know how to go about making this a city without Disney
  • His brother, Roy, stepped up and helped make it into a park

World Showcase:

• Allows people to witness new cultures without actually traveling to all these places
• each country is run by people who had lived in that country

Future World:

• Innovations
  • place where you can try new things
    • sum of all thrills
      • design your own roller coaster and then ride it
      • shows people that they can create awesome things
• space/ mission to mars
  • stimulates a trip to space
  • further exploration
• living with the land
  • hydro/aquaponics

Conclusion:

So I hope by now, you have by now gained a new appreciation for this park, or at least learned something.  EPCOT is not just a tourist attraction, but a place meant to inspire a new wonder at peoples pasts and futures.

Research:

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/news/a35104/walt-disney-epcot-history-city-of-tomorrow/

http://www.yesterland.com/domedcity.html

Spaceship Earth (Epcot) – Dame Judi Dench Version (2008-Present)

https://www.britannica.com/topic/worlds-fair

http://expomuseum.com/history/

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Tomorrowland_Transit_Authority

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Epcot

The passage I chose out of “It’s what I do” by Lyndsey Addario was a passage on page 92,

“Friendships formed fast in war zones.  At night, we gathered in someone’s hotel room at the more luxurious     Palace Hotel.  I knew Ivan Waterson, the NPR correspondent, ad Quil Lawrence, a BBC World Radio reporter, from Istanbul and Afghanistan.  We bought bottles of wine from the Ashti with label that dubiously read BOTTLED IN EUROPE.  Quil sometimes put on salsa music, and we spun around the hotel room for hours.”

In this passage, Addario talks about how through different things like food and wine, as well as dancing, she was able to bond quickly with the other photographers and journalists.  When talking about this she uses ethos by creating a mood that making friends can make a light in a dark time.  This makes you want to think about a time where things were bad, but having your friends around made everything feel better.

This is something that I can definitely use in my passion blogs.  As freshman, we are all going to a brand new school where we may not know anyone and are exposed to a lot of things you may have never seen before.  While not a warzone, this can be terrifying.  Addario showed that making friends can make it a bit more bearable, or even fun.  Another thing that Addario showed that food and drink can help create bonds.  Through using ethos in a similar way that Addario did, I could show others that eating at the dining commons with their peers can help them make friends, which would make their college life more fun.

In the book “It’s What I Do” by Lyndsey Addario, she recounts a story her grandmother, Nina, told her about a past love that she had let go of.  Nina had decided to marry Addario’s grandfather, Ernie, who was good to her, instead of the passionate Sal.  While she didn’t regret her life, she still often pondered what her life would have been like if she hadn’t played it safe.

I  believe Addario put this story in her memoir to show that while staying with Uxval would have been the safe choice, she would have ended up just like her grandmother; always wondering what could have been.  Instead, she decided she needed to follow her passion, and go take photographs in Afghanistan.

The one thing that I wish I had done more when I was back at home was to spend more time with friends and family.  I was always so busy with homework and dance classes that I hardly had time to just sit down and catch up with them.  This could easily become my life here as well.  However, I am determined to make sure that I make time for my friends here.

And what better way to catch up with other people than over a meal?  It is something that everyone must make time for in their day.

However, I am not made of money, and the many restaurants that are around town can be expensive.  Also, many of my friends don’t always like the same foods, or have different dietary needs.  That is why I decided for my passion blog to go with a group of friends to each dining commons and, based on a criteria that I will design, determine the Pros and Cons of each dining commons.  Hopefully, this can help other students who are also freshman like me try to find foods that will fit what they and their friends are in the mood for, as well as allow me to find time in my schedule to just sit down and talk with my friends.