By Keith Mahne

For those of us lucky enough to remember the early days of the Disney Channel, getting an inside look at coming attractions made a subscription worth every penny. One of our favorite segments to air on the Disney Channel in the late 80s was this inside look at Walt Disney Imagineering back in 1987. We will take a tour through the legendary Imagineering offices to see the creation of things like Pleasure Island, Disney-MGM Studios, Splash Mountain, Typhoon Lagoon and more. Join us as we travel back to Walt Disney Imagineering circa 1987...

By Keith Mahne

Did you know that World Showcase in Epcot was originally going to be built next to the Polynesian Resort and the Ticket and Transportation Center? It's true! Let's take a look back at the origin of Epcot's World Showcase in today's new article...

By Keith Mahne

Before there was Test Track, there use to be a wonderful attraction presented by General Motors that invited you to travel the open road - to discover that when it comes to transportation, it's always fun to be free! That wondrous dark ride was called World of Motion. It was a road trip through the evolution of transportation. The attraction opened in October 1982 with the rest of EPCOT Center and closed in January 1996 to make way for Test Track. In this promotional video from General Motors from the early 1980s titled "General Motors Presents: The Reality of Dreams" we'll take a firsthand look at the creation of one of EPCOT Center's original attractions, World of Motion...

By Keith Mahne

Join the Imagineers on a behind the scenes look at what it took to bring to life the largest animatronic show of all time, The American Adventure. Let's peek behind the curtain as we watch this 1987 Disney Channel special hosted by Lloyd Bridges called Backstage Disney: The American Adventure and take an inside look at the creation of this classic EPCOT Center attraction...

By Keith Mahne

This rare documentary from 1984 tells us all about EPCOT Center's WorldKey Information System which was one of the new and most user friendly technologies developed for the one-of-a-kind Disney theme park. In conjunction with the Bell System (later renamed AT&T), guests could walk into a large but friendly space and find several kiosks enabling them to make reservations for restaurants at the Walt Disney World property. Under the shadows of Spaceship Earth, this could be done by touching the screen and following the prompts. Should that fail or should a guest need specialized assistance, a Guest Services host would appear and provide further help. Join us today as we watch the rare 1984 documentary on EPCOT Center's WorldKey Information System...

By Keith Mahne

The late, great Marty Sklar stood as a dedicated torchbearer of Walt Disney’s philosophy since first joining the Company a month before Disneyland opened in 1955. Anyone remotely interested in the history and developments of Disney's Imagineering will thoroughly enjoy this 2004 interview Marty gave on his personal reflections on a number of interesting topics, such as Walt, Tomorrowland, and Epcot. Additionally, the interview includes a number of wonderful archive film clips of Walt, the 1964 New York World's Fair, Imagineers in action, and the Disney parks. This one you won't want to miss...

By Keith Mahne

Today we wanted to update you on some incredible new tunes that were just added to the Disney Avenue Music Player that you are going to love! Join us in today's new article and prepare yourself for a Disney musical escape to soothe your soul...

By Keith Mahne

To celebrate 35 years of Epcot, we’ve put together 35 of our favorite songs from throughout the park’s musical history. Join us in today's new article as we celebrate Epcot's 35th birthday and decide which one is your favorite...

By Keith Mahne

Where can you come face to face with some of Disney's most famous film scientists? Who built those authentic thatched roofs on the buildings in Harambe? And what's the recipe for the World's biggest ice cream sundae? Let's dig in and explore some of Walt Disney World's lesser-known gems with these 40 things about Walt Disney World that you just might not know...

By Stokes Laird

For decades, Disney’s Imagineers have invested countless hours thinking up and planning hundreds of attractions, shows, restaurants, hotels, and shops for the Walt Disney World Resort and other various Disney destinations. Many of these ideas have been fully realized and have been actually constructed so that guests in Disney Parks all around the world can enjoy them. However, there are many ideas that never quite make it off the drawing board, or through the so called “blue sky” phase. This does not mean that these ideas or plans are not substantial or worthy of being constructed. In fact, some of Disney’s most intriguing concepts can be found in this sort of Imagineering graveyard and many of these ideas had the potential to be as magnificent as the biggest headliner attractions we all know and love today. One of the more impressive ideas that has never made it to fruition is the proposed Switzerland pavilion that was to be included in EPCOT’s World Showcase. Let's take a inside look at this incredible, never-built attraction in today's new article...

By Ted Linhart

There isn't a former Disney attraction that inspires as much passion presently as Horizons. From 1983-1999 GE’s follow-up to the Carousel of Progress took EPCOT guests on a ride into the 21st Century for a purportedly realistic look at life in the future. Join us today as we take a detailed look back at Horizons via a 1983 cast member booklet and a GE corporate magazine as we remember the most legendary dark ride to have ever come out of the minds of Imagineering...

By Keith Mahne

Who doesn't love a classic Disney television special? Especially one that celebrates the opening of a EPCOT Center pavilion. If you're in the mood to travel back to Epcot in the 1980s and revisit The Living Seas pavilion as it was on opening day then you are going to love today's new article. Disney Avenue has searched under every nook and cranny to find the 1986 NBC television special titled, "Disney's Living Seas" which was broadcast on January 24, 1986 to promote the opening of the new Living Seas pavilion at EPCOT Center. The special, hosted by John Ritter and featuring guest appearances by Olivia Newton-John, Laura Branigan and other 80s stars, is sure to put a smile on any retro Disney fans face. Join us today as we revisit the original EPCOT Center pavilion in all its glory...

By Keith Mahne

Walt Disney once said, "I would rather entertain and hope that people learn, than educate and hope that they're entertained." That statement, made years before EPCOT was created or even conceived, became the standard by which Walt's successors designed their version of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow he had originally envisioned. EPCOT Center was more than just a new theme park; it was a creation that paved the way for Walt Disney World to become the most magical and unique resort destination the world had ever seen. Join us today for the final installment of our 45th anniversary celebration series as we cover the creation of EPCOT Center and the dawn of a whole new Disney era...

By Ted Linhart

10 years after Walt Disney’s death, the idea of an “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” still percolated within the Disney Company but the vision had changed dramatically from the grand scope of its legendary founder. As we celebrate Epcot's 34th anniversary this month, let's take a look at a rare and fascinating 1976 document published by WED Enterprises that outlines what Epcot could have been after the idea of an actual city was abandoned and before it became a true theme park. In this incarnation, Epcot would be a think tank for companies to showcase new technologies to the public and then take them to market.  Come explore this real gem called “EPCOT: What It is - How It Works - Values Of Participation”...

By Brittany Bell

Walter Elias Disney was an innovator. He made his dreams become a reality, and sought to bring new entertainment experiences to the world. He also strived to create a better, more connected world, an idea which he materialized in his plans for E.P.C.O.T.: the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. If one were to visit Epcot today, some of Walt’s original ideas still are alive and well. In addition, one quick ride on the Magic Kingdom's PeopleMover will give guests a glimpse at Walt’s model for his groundbreaking idea for the future of our cities—a model that is only a fraction of his entire dream. However, Walt’s untimely death halted, and almost lost, all plans for his EPCOT City, with the idea only coming back to the table in the late 70s when construction on EPCOT Center began. With all of the new ideas and innovation planned for EPCOT City, one can’t help but wonder what the world would look like today if Walt had lived another ten or twenty years. Join us in today's new article as we journey into a dream of the future: one in which Walt Disney’s E.P.C.O.T. became a reality and the effects it would have on our world today…

By Keith Mahne

In 1964, the first Disney designed PeopleMover system carried guests through the Ford pavilion at the New York World's Fair. Three years later, Disneyland inaugurated a similar system called the Goodyear PeopleMover which has carried countless numbers of people over millions of passenger miles before its unfortunate closer in 1995. The year 1975 brought the WEDway PeopleMover to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom by utilizing a linear induction propulsion system to economically transport thousands of guests silently every day. The Community Transportation Services (CTS), a former subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions, was responsible for all the research, development, construction, testing and operation of transportation systems for the Disney Parks, including Walt Disney's planned Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). In today's new article, thanks to a 1977 booklet created by the CTS, we will take an in-depth look at the WEDway PeopleMover, your quiet and carefree highway in the sky...

By Keith Mahne

How would you like to take a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney World back in the 1990s that focused on the challenges and creative solutions being researched and implemented by the Walt Disney Company with Epcot as the testing grounds? Thanks to a booklet put together by the Disney University specifically for cast members titled "Innovation In Action," we are going to take a closer look and explore the systems and projects that have made, not just Epcot, but the entire Walt Disney World Resort complex the real Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow that it is today...

By Keith Mahne

From the Walt Disney World Vacation Kingdom dedication plaque in Town Square: "WALT DISNEY WORLD is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney and to the talents, the dedication and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true..." Walt Disney's dream...what a dream it was: a complete vacation resort destination; a total environment that Walt himself referred to as "a new, different kind of world...big enough to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine." And the dream came to life and started to grow: the Magic Kingdom, resort hotels and villas, campgrounds, abundant facilities for recreation, shopping and entertainment; all set against a lovingly preserved and designed backdrop of rolling landscapes and winding waterways. And, as Walt had suggested, there was still plenty of space for the Disney-style thinking, tinkering and building called "Imagineering." Today, this 27,443-acre wonder stands as the leading vacation destination on earth and the first 10 years of its existence played a big part in that. Let's review Walt Disney World's first 10 years and discover why it remains as happy and joyous a place as the day it opened on October 1, 1971...

By EPCOT Explorer

In some ways, nothing has changed. There’s still grandiose and emotionally charged music. Cultural and natural landmarks beckon and shimmer. Excited passengers gasp and whoop when surprised with a bird’s eye view of the world that they very rarely get to see from such an angle. But in other ways, everything has changed: Soarin’ is no longer flying over California, but is now flying around the world. The scope of the attraction has changed, altering the thematic landscape of EPCOT. In so doing, Soarin’s change is less of a transformation, but a transition from a narrow and specialized approach to an experience that is now broad and sweeping. These changes are both harmful and helpful to how Soarin’ now operates and how it makes a thematic statement that fits into EPCOT. In today's new article, let's attempt to describe and analyze each version of the attraction, and showcase their strengths and weaknesses in this Tale of Two Soarin's...

By Keith Mahne

If I had a Disney time machine and was looking at dates to visit the Walt Disney World Resort, one year that I would pick without a doubt would be 1986. EPCOT Center was only a few years old and featured the original Imagination Pavilion and also, the best dark ride known to man, Horizons. I could also take a dip in River Country or check out the beautiful wildlife at Discovery Island. I could even get another look at the original Polynesian Resort lobby with its sorely missed and extremely relaxing waterfalls. 1986 was definitely the good old days. Let's see all the exciting things Walt Disney World had to offer as we revisit the "vacation kingdom of the world" in 1986 in today's new article...