Videos

Restored videos – Holiday Illuminations & SpectroMagic!

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The beloved SpectroMagic night time parade replaced the Main Street Electrical parade as part of Walt Disney World’s 20th anniversary celebration, and ran until 2010. This video is from February 1999. And from December 1998, here is the holiday version of Illuminations at Epcot. While this pre-dates Reflections of Earth, fans of the holiday tag will find many familiar sequences here.Read More...

Podcast

Podcast Episode 79: Wonders of Life Part III – Body Wars & Making of Me

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For our third part discussing Wonders of Life, we have a good one for you this time around. With our expert guest Dr. Bill, we get things started with How leading the way as we jump right into Body Wars. The thing with Body Wars, it sort of lives in the memories of park guests as the sister attraction to Star Tours and is somewhat lost to history. Body Wars takes guests on a journey through…Read More...

Podcast

Podcast Episode 78: Wonders of Life Part II

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Welcome to Episode 78 of the RetroWDW Podcast: Wonder of Life Part II – We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows from over the years. We have visited multiple parks, resorts, and just about everything else in between. Thank you so much for joining us for more, Wonders of Life. In this episode, we get into the various attractions...Read More...

LBVHS

LBVHistory Announces 2022 Holiday Ornament: The Greatest of All Time GOAT

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The team at The Lake Buena Vista Historical Society has been hard at work creating a special holiday ornament or decor adornment, whatever your fancy, for 2022! We present The Greatest of All Time GOAT! Donate to Reserve your GOAT!   The GOAT is cast resin, hand-painted, and features its traditional brown background and 5 legs! This goat is 4″ tall and 3.5″ inches wide, ready to scale your tree, hang your window or adorn any...Read More...

Historical Research

Is the Magic Kingdom Toll Plaza arch from Wonders of Life? Let us find the Truth…

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Note: On the upcoming RetroWDW Podcast Episode 78 – Wonders of Life Part II we discuss the arches, but it didn’t seem right to just share our findings in the podcast. This article is a companion to this episode and will prep you for the upcoming discussion which may be hard to follow at times! We’ve all heard the story of how the Wonders of Life (WOL) entrance arch was repurposed as the Magic Kingdom Toll...Read More...

Videos

Restored Planning Video: 100 Years of Magic

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The 100 Years of Magic commemorated Walt Disney’s 100th birthday. This planning video for Walt Disney World is a great tour of the resort following the Millennium Celebration. The video features clips of Walt, Imagineers, and guests commenting on attractions and resorts. First is the Disney Studios park featuring the new “Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Play It!” show. The video continues in Animal Kingdom showing the then new park before moving over to Epcot...Read More...

Videos

More for EPCOT Center’s 40th Anniversary: Visit the Living Seas, See Barbie, Celebrate Oktoberfest, and a Tour of Innoventions

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To continue the celebration of EPCOT Center’s 40th anniversary, we have several videos from our archives from throughout the park’s history. First up is this complete tour of the Living Seas from 1992. One of the most immersive attractions of its time, the video includes the queue pre-show, “The Seas” film, and a ride on the hydrolators and Seacabs. As part of a large sponsorship agreement with toy company Mattel, Barbie came to Epcot’s American Gardens...Read More...

Videos

EPCOT Center 40th Anniversary

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EPCOT Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary today. We are sharing three restored videos as a look back on the park when it opened! All three are press reels made available to television news stations. First are a number of interviews with a number of Disney executives and staffers, including Card Walker, Dick Nunis, Bill Evans, John Hench, Randy Bright, Ward Kimball, Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter, and others, all talking about EPCOT and the development process....Read More...

LBVHS

RetroMagic Event on 10/1/23 – Celebrating EPCOT Center – Information Sign up!

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UPDATED as of March 3, 2023 We are pleased to announce we will host our next RetroMagic event celebrating 40+ years of EPCOT Center in Florida during EPCOT and Walt Disney World’s anniversary weekend September 30th-October 1st, 2023. The event will be hosted at Disney’s Yacht Club Convention Center with the main stage event, Centorium Archive Display and vendor area all happening on Sunday, October 1st.  Tickets will go on sale in March or early April...Read More...

Videos

Restored films: Early Magic Kingdom

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This restored film starts off with the Riverboat floating past a very empty Frontierland. There is also a great shot of the railroad, and some nice, slow pans of the Tomorrowland entrance. Of course there is footage of the parade, and a shot down a very busy Main Street USA!   Our second film, from 1972, is silent but has some cool shots of the Treehouse and Adventureland. There is also footage of a great look...Read More...