Epcot's Fountain Of Nations At The Heart Of Future World

Every day it entertains visitors in the heart of Epcot's Future World by propelling its 149,000 gallons of water as high as 150 ft. in the air as 30,000 gallons of water per second cascade over its tiered edges. The Fountain of Nations delights guests from all over the world, but what is the purpose of the magnificent fountain and how did it come to be?


Epcot's Fountain Of NationsEpcot's Fountain Of Nations



Certainly we know that the purpose of the World Showcase is to create a climate of peace and harmony. It is a cultural compendium where citizens of all nations can come together to learn about each other by experiencing new customs, language, performance arts, culinary traditions, and trade. The Fountain of Nations serves as a bridge from Spaceship Earth, where we are one humanity sailing through space and time together, and the World Showcase, where each culture is celebrated as a separate entity. From Card Walker's dedication speech on October 24, 1982:

Joining us around this magnificent fountain are representatives of nations from around the world. They have brought with them waters from the great oceans, the seas, the rivers, and the lakes on our planet, spaceship earth. These waters will flow together as a symbol of the oneness of humankind and the hope for peace among nations, making this truly a fountain of world friendship.



A Beautiful 15 Minute Water BalletA Beautiful 15 Minute Water Ballet


At the conclusion of Walker's dedication, representatives from 22 nations emptied the vessels of water that they had collected from lakes, streams, oceans, and rivers in their respective nations to symbolically create a "global" body of water. The nations that were represented in the ceremony were: Africa (a vessel representing Senegal, The Gambia, and six other nations), Barbados, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia. The water came from as far away as the Arctic Ocean, the Nile River, and the Yangtze River.


Waters From Around The WorldWaters From Around The World


Today the fountain's 200 pneumatic cannons entertain guests with a meticulously choreographed water ballet every 15 minutes. The next time you're admiring the "ballet", look to the top of Mouse Gear. You'll see a small device resembling Wall-E that monitors the wind and adjusts the waterspouts accordingly. The whole show is actually controlled remotely all the way from Magic Kingdom!





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A big thanks goes out to Guest Author Holly L. for sharing a little bit of her knowledge of Disney History with us. If you'd like to read more about Holly's Disney Adventures, you can find her sharing on our member forum.

Camp wrote on Tue, 03/01/2016 - 14:44:

Camp's picture

Thank you for making a spectacular fountain even more interesting to look at and photograph.

Jill Goermar wrote on Fri, 03/04/2016 - 05:59:

Jill Goermar's picture

Thank you for posting this. I was one of the people who represented the nations from around the world where we all pours waters from our a river in our nation in the Fountain of Nations at the Dedication ceremony on that very special date. I was one of 4 Disney Cast members (employees) that represented America. It was magical. I could hardly understand how special it was at my young 17 years of age, but now I do. Do you know of any access to a video of this ceremony? (I also performed as a dancer/Kids of Kingdom in all of the World Showcase dedications that October. A very special time in my lift. I only have video of the American Pavillian dedication.) Many thanks.

GK wrote on Tue, 03/15/2016 - 20:46:

GK's picture

Very nice article but it's Colombia, not Columbia.

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