Innoventions (Epcot)


Innoventions was an ever changing collection of exhibits at the Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World, Florida. It focused on technological advancements and their practical applications in everyday life. Innoventions is a portmanteau of the words "innovation" and "invention".
Innoventions first opened in 1994, replacing Communicore in Epcot. When the attraction opened, it prominently displayed Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega 32X, Sega CD, and Sega Pico games in an arcade style. The exhibit also featured "virtual reality" displays. Innoventions is divided into two buildings known as Innoventions East and Innoventions West. In 1999, Innoventions had a major renovation for the park's Millennium Celebration, and added the subtitle "The Road to Tomorrow". In 2007–2008, Innoventions underwent another major renovation, dropped the subtitle "Road to Tomorrow," and changed its general aesthetic again while also launching the companion website innoventions.disney.com.
Today, the building that formerly housed Innoventions East is being used as a temporary MouseGear store while the building that formerly housed Innoventions West is currently in the process of being demolished to make way for a brand new festival center and the Journey of Water attraction.

Exhibits and sponsors

Former

Innoventions East

On May 19, 2015, Innoventions West closed with the promise of a major overhaul, which ultimately never happened.
On September 7, 2019, Club Cool and the Fountain View in the south portion of Innoventions West were permanently closed ahead of demolition.
Epcot's Innoventions' mascot for 2000-2007 was a small Audio-Animatronic character named Tom Morrow 2.0, the former host of Disney Channel's "Imagineer That!" shorts. He was removed in the 2007-2008 renovation.

Area music

The Innoventions Area Loop is roughly 20 minutes long and begins with a musical piece by David Arkenstone entitled "Papillon " from his album In the Wake of the Wind. The rest of the music was composed by Russell Brower for Walt Disney Imagineering and is not commercially available. Brower, along with Arkenstone, would then compose the music for the World of Warcraft games.

Innoventions West Demolition

Demolition of Innoventions West began in Fall 2019. The Southwest Quadrant was reduced to a structural frame in December 2019. This area is planned to be replaced with a multilevel Festival Center, with fireworks views from a windowed gallery and rooftop garden.