ABSTRACT
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) transportation plan is reminiscent of the postwar Stockholm satellite model as well as transit-oriented development theory of today. As the postwar popularity of the automobile reached a frenzy, Disney attended the Chicago Railroad Fair with animator Ward Kimball in 1948. Disney's elevated Walter Elias Disney (WED) way PeopleMover was EPCOT's intermediate-range mass transit vehicle designed to transport commuters. EPCOT's three-level transportation hierarchy is described as follows: the bottom level is for trucks; the middle level for automobile traffic and hotel parking, and the monorails and People Movers use the top level. Although the EPCOT concept was never built, its prototype transportation systems continue to influence the way millions of people around the world think about mass transit of the future. By the end of his life, Disney was an international cultural icon and in a unique position to lead his peers in American industry.
