A Crummy Commercial?

Critics often deride Innoventions as nothing more than blatant advertising, but this attraction goes right to the thematic heart of Epcot and Tomorrowland, as a place where Disney Guests can get an up close (and sometimes hands-on) look at the latest ideas coming from companies the world over.

Participant companies have been part of the Disney theme park experience since the very beginning. In the 1950s, Tomorrowland at Disneyland was dotted with fascinating exhibits of current and future technology.

The American Dairy Association Dairy Bar (above, scan taken from Disneyland the Nickel Tour) previewed a world where flying milkmen would deliver fresh milk straight to your front door. At the Kaiser Hall of Aluminum Fame, Kap the Aluminum Pig hosted a bright and shiny future, filled with new aluminum products.

The latest ideas in bathroom design were featured at the Crane Company Bathroom of Tomorrow, while Monsanto’s Hall of Chemistry used animated displays to tell the story of how chemicals contribute to modern living.

Monsanto also sponsored the original House of the Future, composed almost entirely of plastics (below, image from D23). The House was a fixture at the entrance of Tomorrowland from 1957 to 1967.

Partnering with companies like these adds richness to the Disney theme parks, as well as a degree of realism and credibility to Disney’s storytelling. The tradition of Participants continues today, most notably at the Innoventions attractions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

Recent shows within Innoventions at Epcot have included the Test the Limits Lab, presented by Underwriters Laboratories; Velcro Industries “What’s Your Problem?” game show; Liberty Mutual’s “Where’s the Fire?” attraction (above); and the T. Rowe Price "Great Piggy Bank Adventure." These exhibits change regularly to keep Innoventions new and exciting.

In Tomorrowland at Disneyland, the House of the Future has now entered the 21^st century with the Innoventions Dream Home.

For this attraction Microsoft, HP, Lifeware, and homebuilder Taylor Morrison have come together with Disney to present a vision of the future where amazing technology enhances the everyday lives of the fictional Elias family.

So the next time you’re visiting Disneyland Park in California or Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, be sure to stop in and see what’s new at Innoventions, and enjoy a link to Disney's theme park heritage that stretches all the way back to 1955.