When did Epcot change from Epcot Center to Epcot Park? And why? Just curious.

Thanks!:)

I know that back in 1994 they changed it to Epcot '94, and then the next year Epcot '95, and then it was just Epcot after that.

To expand on Dan's post, here is a short explanation from Wikipedia:

"The theme park originally was known as EPCOT Center to reflect the fact that the park was built to embody the ideals and values of EPCOT the city. In 1994, the name was changed to Epcot '94 and subsequently Epcot '95 a year later. By 1996, the park was known simply as Epcot, a non-acronym, mixed-case word."

It doesn't really say WHY the name was changed, though. My guess would be that Disney wanted to get away from that link between Walt's original concept and the reality of the theme park.

As I recall, there were so many questions about what E.P.C.O.T. stood for that Disney was anxious to change to just the generic word. It was a big marketing push in '94, with the new Innoventions, etc.. But I think after '95 it was just too hard to change all of the artwork, so it got shortened to just Epcot.

As I recall, there were so many questions about what E.P.C.O.T. stood for that Disney was anxious to change to just the generic word. It was a big marketing push in '94, with the new Innoventions, etc.. But I think after '95 it was just too hard to change all of the artwork, so it got shortened to just Epcot.

Thanks Danyoung and ArnoldVB for the great info! As for the many questions about what E.P.C.O.T. stands for.... all of us die-hard Disney fans know of course, but I can't tell you how many times I've been on a resort bus going there and have over heard people saying "What does Epcot mean anyway?", I guess people still wonder. :)

Acronym Definition
EPCOT Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (Disney)

Thanks, Panzaer - but I think everyone in this thread already knew that.

Acronym Definition
EPCOT Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (Disney)
Other acceptable definitions (that can be posted on a family board) are:

Every Person Comes Out Tired

Every Payday Comes On Thursday

Eisner's Polyester Costumes Of Torture