EPCOT: THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS

EPCOT: THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS
An Unofficial RetrospectiveJeff Lange and Kevin Yee2012
Enchanted Swampland Press
The powerhouse Disney-related publishing house of Kevin Yee has produced another winner book. If you are a fan of Epcot and have been visiting for years then this book is bound to spark memories. What Jeff and Kevin have come with is the type of book you wound expect Disney to produce. To celebrate the park's anniversary they have compiled a brief description of each pavilion along with a history of the shows and attractions. The descriptions are straight forward and without cynicism. Each page is filled with photos that are not from Disney so there are some refreshing new images. 
What one begins to understand is just how much change has come to this park. It is rather remarkable. There is very little today that was there 30 years ago. What started out as an attempt to take the Disney theme park formula to the next level has proven to be a project of fitting it in because they could and diluting the original intent. This may or may not be a bad thing. I never rode World Of Motion and Horizons but I wish I did now. Was Food Rocks as trippy as it seems from the photos? What food additives were they ingesting during the development of that show? 
The book also deals the various shows. It is hard to imagine that there were daytime shows with light aircraft being flown by the Disney characters. Plus, I always thought Splashtacular was a real show and not just a running joke at WDW Today. There are also photos of a short lived circus. Yes, a circus at Epcot. The timeline at the back of the book will become a helpful resource for Epcot fans. 
Should you buy it? If Epcot is your favorite park, then yes. It will bring back memories and become a great conversation starter. Never been before? This may not be the best introduction. I will say as Disney continues to rewrite its own history to meet their needs and not necessarily the truth (this is happening more and more), it is this type of book, written by fans, that will become a critical link between then and now. No wonder the Company did not release a book like this as it shows that change usually only came when forced. The most visionary Disney theme park is the one with the least vision in its current form. And I have the photos to prove it now.
Disclosure: I received this book for free for the purpose of this review.