Innoventions (EPCOT)

**Innoventions** was an exhibit at the Epcot theme park in Future World in Walt Disney World, Florida which 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. Epcot's version 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*. Near the end of its lifespan, Innoventions East was the only operating portion still using the Innoventions name while the building that formerly housed Innoventions West is mainly being used as the Epcot Character Spot.

As part of Epcot's redesign, Innoventions West is to be demolished to make way for Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana (in the future site of World Nature) and a new Festival Center (in the future site of World Celebration), while Innoventions East is to be remodeled into shopping and dining space.

## Exhibits and sponsors

### Innoventions East

* Apple Computer (September 21, 1994 – January 31, 1998)
* Bill Nye - The Science Guy (April 15, 1998 – June 1, 1999)
* Comfortville, presented by Honeywell (July 1, 1994 - Fall 1996)
* Communications Dream Forum, sponsored by Motorola (October 1995 - May 1, 2003)
* Discover the Stories Behind the Magic (September 24, 2001 - Late 2002)
* Disney Interactive (Spring 1996 - September 3, 1997)
* Disney's Internet Zone, sponsored by Disney.com and Compaq (1999 - July 2007)
* Disney.com Interactive Zone, sponsored by Gateway (1998-1999)
* Don't Waste It!, presented by Waste Management, Inc. (2008 - June 12, 2011)
* Environmentality Corner (2005-2012)
* EPCOT Discovery Center (Fall 1996 - October 3, 1998)
* Family PC (Fall 1995 - June 1, 1999)
* Future Cars, sponsored by General Motors (1999-2001)
* Fantastic Plastics Works, sponsored by Society of the Plastics Industry (August 2004 - March 2008)
* Forests For Our Future, sponsored by TAPPI (1999-2004)
* General Electric (July 1, 1994 – June 1, 1999)
* General Motors (July 1, 1994 – June 1, 1999)
* Habit Heroes, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield (February 2012 - January 2016)
* Hammacher Schlemmer (July 1, 1994 - September 1997)
* House of Innoventions, sponsored by Panja and Whirlpool (1999 - October 2009)
* Look Into the Future (October 1, 1999 – February 19, 2001)
* Kidcot (2004-2006)
* Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure (2009-2012)
* Magic House Show (July 1, 1994 - Winter 1994)
* Masco's Magic House Tour (July 1, 1994 - Spring 1995)
* Mission: SPACE Launch Center, sponsored by Compaq/HP (May 2001 - 2003)
* Mr. MIDI (June 1995 - September 1995)
* Oracle Corporation's Information Highway (October 1995 - September 3, 1997)
* Web Site Construction Zone, sponsored by GO.com (October 1, 1999 – February 19, 2001)
* Opportunity City, sponsored by Disney Online and the Kauffman Foundation (2004 - November 1, 2006)
* StormStruck, presented by FLASH (Federal Alliance for Safe Homes) (August 26, 2008 – September 14, 2016)
* Spectaculab, presented by Murata Manufacturing and Science From Scientists (November 12, 2017- January 13, 2019)
* The Sum Of All Thrills, presented by Raytheon (October 14, 2009 – September 14, 2016)
* Test the Limits Lab, presented by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (2003-January 6, 2015)
* VISION HOUSE, presented by Green Builder Media (2012-2015)
* Colortopia, presented by Glidden (November 2015-September 8, 2019)
* Take a Nanooze Break, sponsored by Cornell University and the National Science Foundation (2010-September 8, 2019)

### Innoventions West

On May 19, 2015, Innoventions West closed for a major overhaul. It is being used as an extension of **Epcot Character Spot** for the time being.

* Rockin' Robots' sponsored by KUKA Industrial Robots (2005-2010)
* The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, sponsored by T. Rowe Price (May 19, 2009 – May 19, 2015)
* AT&T (1994-1999)
* Aladdin's Magic Carpet VR Adventure (1996-1997)
* Alec Tronic (1994-1998)
* Beautiful Science, sponsored by Monsanto Company (1999-2004)
* Bill Nye - The Science Guy (1994-1997)
* The Broadband Connection, sponsored by AT&T (1999-2001)
* *Discover* magazine (1994-1997)
* Eclectronics (1994-1998)
* Enel/Infobyte VR Presentation (1996-1997)
* Inspired by Vision (1998-1999)
* The Great American Farm, sponsored by American Farm Bureau (2005-2008)
* Knowledge Vortex, sponsored by Xerox (1999-2002)
* Innoventions Pre-Show (1998-1999)
* LEGO Dacta (1994-1995)
* Look Into the Future (2001-2007)
* IBM (1994-1997)
* IBM: Solutions for a Small Planet (1998-1999)
* IBM Thinkplace (2002-2009)
* Medicine's New Vision, sponsored by The Radiological Community (1999-2002)
* Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, Sega 32X, Sega Pico, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, sponsored by Sega (1994-1999)
* Segway Central (2006-2013)
* Slap Stick Studios, sponsored by Velcro (2008-2011)
* Silicon Graphics (1995-1997)
* Smarter Planet, presented by IBM (2010-2012)
* Time Warner
* Too Small to See, sponsored by Cornell University (2006-2008)
* Videonics (1994-1997)
* Video Games of Tomorrow, sponsored by Disney Interactive (1999-2001)
* Video Game Playground, sponsored by Disney Interactive (2005 - Summer 2015)
* Walt Disney Imagineering Labs (1994-1995)
* Where's The Fire?, Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance (October 2004 - October 2014)
* The Ultimate Home Theater Experience, sponsored by Lutron (June 1999 - August 1999)
* Tom Morrow 2.0's Playground (2001-2007)
* Epcot 25th Anniversary Gallery (2007-2008)
* THINK, presented by IBM (February 20, 2013 – January 1, 2015)

## Tom Morrow 2.0

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. Tom Morrow 2.0 recently made an appearance at the Odyssey Building which also features Figment from the original Journey into Imagination ride, and one of the characters from Kitchen Kabaret.

## Area music

The area music played at Epcot is about 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.

## Shops

* Mouse Gear (re-designated to World Celebration)

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Epcot: Sum of All Thrills, StormStruck and Colortopia? closed (en-US). Retrieved on September 22, 2016.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 4 Notable Refurbishments Coming at Walt Disney World's Theme Parks. Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved on January 16, 2015.
3. ↑ Add a Splash of Color to Your Epcot Visit with Colortopia Presented by Glidden. Disney Parks. Retrieved on November 13, 2015.
4. ↑ IBM THINK Exhibit Opens at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot. IBM. Retrieved on January 16, 2015.