Farewell to the Fountain of Nations
Located behind Spaceship Earth is a little piece of history that will soon disappear from Epcot. The Fountain of Nations is an often overlooked spot, but it is an important part of the history of Epcot since 1982. Unfortunately, this fountain will go the way of Universe of Energy’s dinosaurs come September. So let’s look back at the history of the fountain.
On opening day, the Fountain of Nations was the spot of the “International Ceremony of the Waters.” Cultural representatives from all over the world brought a container of water from their homeland and poured it into the fountain. A total of 29 nations were represented in the ceremony, including:
Africa: (representing Gambia, Senegal, and six other African nations)
Asia: Philippines and South Korea
Caribbean: Barbados and Puerto Rico
Europe: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia
Middle East: Egypt
South America: Columbia
World Showcase: Pavilions: Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, United Kingdom, and the United States
As the nations emptied the vessels, it was a symbolic collection of water from various lakes, oceans, rivers, and streams. Water was even collected from the Arctic Ocean, Yangtze River, Nile River, and Mississippi River.
The Fountain of Nations holds over 149,000 gallons of water with 30,000 of those gallons flowing over the tiered sides. During the day and night, you can see the 200 pneumatic shooters create a dancing water ballet about every 15 minutes.
Fun fact: At the top of MouseGears, a device monitors the wind at Epcot. If it is blowing at a certain speed or direction, the monitor will adjust the waterspouts. You may also think the show is controlled at Epcot, but that’s not the case. The Fountain of Nations is remotely controlled from the Magic Kingdom.
Farewell, another original piece of Epcot history. You will be missed!
Photos @ Disney
