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".
History
Innoventions first opened on July 1, 1994, replacing
Communicore in EPCOT. When the attraction opened, it prominently displayed games from various
Sega consoles in an arcade style. The exhibit also featured
virtual reality systems that used
head-mounted 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.
Closure and demolition
On May 19, 2015, Innoventions West closed with the promise of a major overhaul, which ultimately never happened.
On September 7, 2019, the original version of
Club Cool (
Coca-Cola) and the Fountain View (
Starbucks) in the south portion of Innoventions West permanently closed ahead of demolition.
Demolition of Innoventions West began in Fall 2019. The Southwest Quadrant was reduced to a structural frame in December 2019.
Today, the building that formerly housed Innoventions East has reopened as Connections Eatery, the main quick service restaurant for the front of EPCOT in World Celebration. The building that formerly housed Innoventions West has been completely demolished to make way for the
Journey of Water attraction in World Nature, the future CommuniCore Hall, and the future CommuniCore Plaza.
Where's The Fire?, Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance (October 2004 – October 2014)
Tom Morrow 2.0
Epcot's Innoventions' mascot for 2000-2007 was a small
Audio-Animatronic character named Tom Morrow 2.0 (voiced by
Max Casella), 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 (On The Wings Of The Butterfly)" 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.