We continue with our series of EPCOT Center B-Roll footage
EPCOT Center B-Roll Restoration Series
Future World
- Part 1 – General EPCOT Center, Spaceship Earth and Innoventions (This Article)
- Part 2 – Living Seas, The Land, Journey into Imagination
- Part 3 – Universe of Energy, Wonders of Life, Horizons, World of Motion
World Showcase
- Part 1 – General Footage
- Part 2 & 3 – Canada & United Kingdom
- Part 4 & 5 – France & Morocco
- Part 6 & 7 – Japan & American Adventure
- Part 8 & 9 – Italy & Germany
- Part 10 & 11 – China & Mexico
A few months back we took you on a tour of World Showcase using B-Roll footage shot by Disney for use by news agencies and for promotional purposes. Today we return to that videotape moving in to Future World.
We begin with aerial shots of circa 1987-era EPCOT Center. We glide over the whole park, then over Spaceship Earth and the Energy Pavilion and then a panorama of World Showcase follows focusing on the American Adventure, our host nation, initially. The experience of arriving at EPCOT is captured from the parking plaza to the parking lots to the trams (in groovy glorious EPCOT 80s earth tones) and the turnstiles. We even get the monorail experience offering a seldom captured view of the Lucite fountain from above.
Our favorite Future World rainbow spacesuit-clad characters are featured next with Donald and Chip N Dale appearing. We then move briefly to World Showcase Lagoon for a view of the nighttime show Laserphonic Fantasy.
Now on to Spaceship Earth! You really do get a sense of the majesty the park entrance had before they replaced the flower beds and fountain with the ugly stone memorials there now. We even get a bonus view from the top of Spaceship Earth looking down on the park. In Spaceship Earth we see the caveman scene before some of the drawings were animated on the back wall (and it was more brightly lit). The Renaissance and Greek Scholar scenes are also featured before we head outside for more day and nighttime Fountain of Nations displays.
We are then move to Innoventions. Notice how crowded and lively it seemed back then. Very different from the ghost town feel it has in some areas now. While the technology on display seems rudimentary to us now it was cutting edge stuff back then – stuff you often couldn’t see anywhere else.
The video ends with a glimpse of the (still functioning) lighted floor tiles and some exterior shots by the Electric Umbrella.