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This World is Epcot World:

Wandering Alone Through the Future
According to Disney

by Mark McClusky


STIFF BEGINNINGS


I had made a few predictions about what Disney's EPCOT Center would be like, but none of the scenarios included trying to hide a hard-on.

I had spent the day wandering around the mammoth park, trying to understand why a desperate desire for physical intimacy had hit me like a left hook. It may have been inspired by a story a friend told me about his wife fellating him on a monorail car. But perhaps it was more; perhaps it was a physical reaction to the impersonal, controlling nature of the park, an innate desire for something unmediated by Disney. Maybe I needed to be a human being living in the moment and not a guest in an orchestrated experience. I looked around me and saw only middle-aged couples with kids and some college girls with beefy boyfriends. There would be no blowjobs on the monorail for me.















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FRONTIER LAND


Once I had crossed the frontier into Disney World outside of Orlando (and it is literally a frontier--Disney is the sole monarch of its domain, a beneficiary of a special act of the Florida Legislature), everything was designed to move me to my appointed spot as smoothly as possible. I tuned in to the Disney Information radio station at 810 AM and listened as an `nnouncer read park operating hours for the day. I was directed to the appropriate area, guided by a brigade of yellow-shirted Disney employees. I carefully jotted down my parking space number, realizing that here at EPCOT, this number might just be all the identity I would get.

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FUTURE WORLD


I finally arrived at the EPCOT Center and entered the main area of EPCOT—"Future World," a series of pavilions exploring various aspects of the future. Each of these buildings, with names like "Journey Into Imagination" and "Wonders of Life," contains rides and some sort of interactive component. The core technology of these rides is what is called "audio-animatronics," otherwise known as "puppets" (albeit mechanized and computer-controlled ones).

The cornerstone attraction of EPCOT is called "Spaceship Earth." The ride, housed in the 180-foot-high metallic sphere that has become EPCOT's visual trademark, details the history of communication technology. The sphere is reminiscent of the AT&T logo; a happy coincidence, as the long-distance company "presents" the ride.

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