Magic Behind the Music: Epcot – Future World – Area Music

The future is changing and so is Epcot’s Future World, but we may always enjoy the music we know from the themed land on the D-COT Jukebox!

Future World

There’s no question about it, the landscape of Epcot is undergoing some drastic changes, particularly in Future World. Disney has big plans and the new Guardians of the Galaxy coaster is only one of many. Visitors to the park can preview all that’s in store for the park in a circle-vision theater within the Odyssey Pavilion. But as those changes draw near, let’s take some time to pay homage to Future World as we have known it in the past. For many Walt Disney World travelers, a plethora of fond memories have been made there. Tune in to the D-COT Jukebox and soak in the music of our feature track as you read on and reminisce! The track, at nearly one hour in length, will far outlast your reading here and is an original instrumental track with a futuristic/techno flare that 1,273 D-COT members have made a favorite since it was added to the Jukebox on March 12, 2009.


When Future World opened with Epcot on October 1, 1982, the area music had quite a different sound, but still gave guests of the time the feeling of the future. Since Epcot’s opening, guests have seen Future World begin with pavilions like Spaceship Earth, Communicore, The Land, The Living Seas, Imagination, Universe of Energy, Wonders of Life, Horizons, and The World of Motion. Time has seen Spaceship Earth change narrators and other features a few times. Communicore became Innoventions and then started to disappear slowly – one exhibit at a time. The Land had a few enhancements and changes with its minor attractions, but the anchoring attraction, Living with the Land, has largely stood the test of time while Soarin’ and then Soarin’ Around the World was put in place, becoming a favorite of many. The Living Seas received a facelift of sorts with the Nemo & Friends overlay. The aquarium is still a major draw and guest favorite. Imagination saw a show change from Magic Journeys to Captain EO to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, then back to Captain EO before becoming the Disney-Pixar Short Film Festival. In the ride we lost the real journey through the imagination with Dreamfinder to a brief tour of how the senses affect the imagination without him.


On the East side, Universe of Energy became Ellen’s Energy Adventure which was still a favorite way for many guests to spend 45 minutes in the air conditioning and get a laugh out of Ellen and Stupid Judy until it was closed recently to make way for Guardians of the Galaxy. To the ongoing chagrin of many Disney fans, Wonders of Life was completely closed and Horizons was lost entirely to Mission: SPACE which, while very [a little too] thrilling [for many], has not duplicated the popularity of its predecessor. World of Motion was re-imagined into Test Track and then given a facelift into Test Track 2.0 as we know it now. Needless to say, Future World needs a breath of fresh air and seems to be getting one. Its new future may likely also include a change of the area music. Until then, D-COT members have continued to return to play this track 367,446 times making it #3 on the Top 25 Played Overall playlist. As I write this it has been played 53 times this week making it #1 on the Top 25 Played Week playlist. Supporters have added it to 108 Custom Playlists. It gets a 4.8/5 average rating across 386 votes, making it #3 on the Top 25 Rated playlist.  As the visions of the future in the world change, so Future World is changing too. We Disney fans hope only the best for both.

RocketEAR99 is one of our contributors that specializes in Disney music in the series we call "Magic Behind the Music". You will find some fun and exciting information about the music you can listen to in the jukebox.

6 Comments

  1. Great Article! Things are definitely changing there at Epcot. Many construction walls up and and some of Innoventions West is already gone. The plans for the future look amazing. Hopefully they bring some great new sounds to go with it! We can’t wait to see and hear what’s coming but will definitely miss some the old. Thanks D-COT for giving us the opportunity to listen to the sounds of ole and relive some of memories that went with those sounds. :epcot:

  2. They better not think about changing this loop :stitch:

  3. I hope not, I listen to David Arkenstone every time on disc. The area music has been present since 25 years. To me it’s incredible! :clap:

  4. Between the time this was written and now when I’m reading it I spent 25 minutes sitting on a bench in front of Mission Space right next to a speaker playing this loop. It was a cool but sunny day and I actually enjoyed waiting for my group to ride the orange version. Such a great track. One funny thing happened while l was there. I got a text from @eeyorepoohfan who wished me happy birthday and asked what I was doing.She got a god chuckle when I told her.. Thanks for the excellent article.

    • That’s great timing, both on the article and the text! Happy Birthday Pal!!!

  5. @grumpytude My timing was so perfect!! :)

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