Sunday, January 24, 2016

Disney Documentary Hour: A Day at EPCOT Center

By Keith Mahne




Welcome back to another one of our Disney Documentary Hour segments here on Disney Avenue featuring our favorite videos from Disney history. You are going to love today's documentary titled A Day at Epcot Center. It walks us through a day at the Park and was released in the early 1990s. It features old fan favorites such as Horizons and the original Wonders of Life pavilion, which were later additions to Epcot. Grab your favorite fanny pack and join us as we return to Epcot of yesteryear...








A Day At EPCOT Center starts us off at Spaceship Earth and takes us through Communicore where we'll see the “futuristic” costumes of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and others. Then we'll head out to The Living Seas and Seabase Alpha...








It then ventures on to The Land pavilion back when Symbiosis was playing. We'll take a ride on the main attraction Listen to The Land with it’s on-boat narration. We get a look at the long gone Kitchen Kabaret which stood where Soarin’ is now....









Next up is Journey Into Imagination with the original and most cherished version of the ride, and then to ImageWorks with the Rainbow Corridor...








The World of Motion is next with it’s adjoining Transcenter...








You'll notice that during the time this program was shot, Horizons is open and the footage is great and even shows some of the “choose your own future” endings...








Next up is the Wonders of Life pavilion back when it actually had full attendance. We even get to see the The Making of Me which is rare...








The Universe of Energy is next, pre-Ellen and Bill Nye but still with dinosaurs...








They show Surprise in the Skies (not to be confused with an earlier lagoon show at EPCOT Center called Skyleidoscope), an air/water show on the World Showcase Lagoon...








After that, we'll work our way starting with Canada, onto the UK, then France, Morocco which was one of the newer pavilions added after the park opened during this time, Japan, Italy, Germany, skipping over to China, then Norway which was also added post-opening and features Maelstrom with brand new audio-animatronics, and on to Mexico with the El Rio De Tiempo boat ride. There is also a lot of footage of the live entertainment spread throughout World Showcase and the omnibus that used to drive people around the area. The American Adventure is the last pavilion to be shown, featuring the early version of The Voices of Liberty, back when they were called the Liberty Singers and wore differing costumes ranging from the pilgrims to post-colonial...








As a fitting ending to the program, we'll see IllumiNations with it’s heavily synthesized score and lasers..








And now that we set the mood, please enjoy your trip to Epcot of yesteryear as Disney Avenue presents A Day at EPCOT Center...










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Keith Michael Mahne is the owner and editor of Disney Avenue and the host of the Disney Avenue Podcast. He has made countless trips to the Walt Disney World resort since his first trip in 1989 at the age of four. Keith has a strong passion and respect for Walt Disney, the parks and resorts, and the men and women who help create them. He started Disney Avenue as a way to inform and entertain readers and to repay all those who make dreams come true every day.

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