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

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 Episode 78: Wonders of Life Part II

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...

EPCOT Center 40th Anniversary

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...

Restored video: General Motors Make Your Own Magic

This 1989 home video was produced for General Motors employees and other stakeholders. It features of tour of Walt Disney World with a particular focus on GM’s World of Motion exhibit. Robert Stempel, General Motors President makes a brief presentation, and guests are interviewed about their experiences throughout Walt Disney World. While the video captures all parts of the resort, there are some excellent close up shots of scenes from the World of Motion attraction.Read More...

Podcast Episode 75.5 – A Chat With Ray

Welcome to Episode 75.5 of the RetroWDW Podcast: A Chat With Ray – 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. Main Topic On this episode, we are joined by Disney entertainer Ray DeForest. Ray spent many years in Walt Disney World entertainment...Read More...

Podcast Episode: 72 – Maelstrom

The high seas Viking adventure was billed as a stormy boat ride with tons of excitement, danger, and thrills. Many articles were written to describe how amazing this ride was going to be and the hype machine was up and running at full speed. This really was the first thrill ride at EPCOT Center, so they played that angle as much as possible. How guides us through so many neat aspects about how this ride came…Read More...

Restored home movie: EPCOT Center (November 1985)

Enjoy this wonderfully shot 9 minute tour of EPCOT Center from 1985. After taking a ride on the highway in the sky (note the Living Seas still under construction!), you’ll see some great shots of Future World, including unique footage of the leaping fountains outside the Imagination Pavilion. After a quick lunch in France, this film includes some fun views of performances from around World Showcase. There are also a number of scenes filmed from the...Read More...

Magic Journeys – Full Film from August 1991

We were sent a tripod recording of Magic Journeys. While not perfect, it is probably the cleanest (albeit smallest resolution) copy of the film to date. We’ve done what we can to clean and clarify what we could. Best to watch this as you listen to our Magic Journey’s Podcast!Read More...

Podcast Episode 68: Magic Journeys

This month, we take you back to EPCOT Center and as far back as opening day. Magic Journeys: This is one of those short-lived attractions that most have not seen, but if you did, you get it. This was extremely high tech, advanced and the effort level that went into this is absolutely insane. Todd takes the lead, giving us a bit of history and why this whole thing came about. We hear from Murray Lerner,…Read More...

Restored film: Quick Visit to EPCOT (1982)

Previously featured on our live movie night, this quick film features a number of great shots from around EPCOT Center not long after its grand opening. Included are great shots of the Stargate Restaurant, the World Showcase walk-around doll characters, as well as a performance by an African dance company in the America Gardens theater.Read More...