Fountain of Nations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fountain of Nations | |
 |
|
| Building | |
|---|---|
| Former Names | The World Fellowship Fountain or The Epcot Fountain |
| Type | Fountain |
| Architectural Style | Oval |
| Structural System | Water Pumps |
| Location | Epcot |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Construction | |
| Started | 1981 |
| Completed | 1982 |
| Diameter | 180 Feet |
| Other Dimensions | Width 150 feet |
| Design Team | |
| Architect | Mark Fuller |
| Structural engineer | The WET Design Team |
The Fountain of Nations is a musical fountain in the Epcot theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was designed by Mark Fuller and his team from WET. The fountain contains about 200,000 gallons of water, has about 300 nozzles and can shoot water between 30 and 150 PSI to over 150 feet high.
Contents |
[edit] History
The original fountain was built in 1982 with the rest of the park. In the dedication ceremony, representatives from 22 nations poured water from their countries into the fountain. In 1993, the fountain was refurbished to perform water shows synchronized to a handful of pieces of music. At night, the fountain illuminates with 1,068 different colored lights. During Epcot's Holidays Around the World celebration, the fountain dances to Christmas music. It is also synchronized with The Lights of Winter archway that is over the bridge connecting Future World and World Showcase.
[edit] Nozzles
The fountain has multiple nozzles. There are 212 "microshooters" that shoot water 80 feet into the air, 40 "minishooters" that shoot water at a 70-degree angle 100 feet into the air, and 12 "supershooters", which can shoot water 150 feet into the air. The supershooters have a distinct popping noise due to their use of air pressure for a launching system. There are also 60 spray nozzles. Since the fountain shoots water up to 150 feet into the air, crosswinds often blow mist onto nearby guests.
[edit] Music
The fountain plays a variety of music, some of which comes from old Epcot and Walt Disney World attractions. The automated shows are performed on every quarter-hour. The fountain also dances to this music until the park is fully cleared out so people can watch it after the IllumiNations firework show. (The fountain is shut off during the fireworks so as not to interfere with the projection of images on Spaceship Earth from across the World Showcase.) From November to the end of December, the regular music is played until around 6:00 pm. This is when the Lights of Winter Archway lights up and starts to play holiday music.
[edit] Special occasions
On October 1, 2000, the fountain was used in the dedication ceremony for the Mickey wand being installed over Spaceship Earth. The show Splashtacular debuted in front of the fountain in 1994, although it was cancelled soon after. The fountain was used in Epcot's 25th-anniversary re-dedication ceremory on October 1, 2007. The "Pouring of the Waters" ceremony from the park's opening was repeated.
