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EPCOT

Podcast Episode 75.5 – A Chat With Ray

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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

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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...

New Year’s Eve Celebration Videos – 1993 & 1994

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As a followup to podcast episode 73, we are pleased to present some video from two New Year’s Eve celebrations at WDW! Explode into 1993 at Epcot with a live musical performance from Kool & the Gang: And then, welcome 1994 at Disney-MGM Studios! There are plenty of DJ’s and bands, including a performance by the Turtles, to help celebrate, and a performance of Sorcery in the Sky. And, of course, plenty of party horns to...Read More...

Fly With “Airship Shamu” Blimp In 1992

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A while back we acquired this set of slides taken by a crew member or passenger aboard Sea World’s promotional blimp the Airship Shamu. Included with the set was a December 30, 1993 article from the Orlando Sentinel about the omnipresence of blimps in the Orlando area. The slides are from a specific flight in March 1992. Airship Shamu soared over EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios, Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee, and other local sites including Interstate 4 looking...Read More...

EPCOT Film Tour

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Many EPCOT Center attractions featured original films. This week, we are pleased to share a few of these from around the park! The main attraction in the Canadian World Showcase Pavilion is the Circle-Vision theater. The film “O Canada” was a 360 degree tour of Canada and its history. Our recording is of the “front” screen as seen in 1992.   Headed back into Future World, a film called “Symbiosis” played in the Harvest Theater. This...Read More...

Podcast Episode 68: Magic Journeys

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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 video: Wonders of Life Wonder Cycle (1992)

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The EPCOT Wonders of Life pavilion featured the Wonder Cycles, stationary bikes with an attached CRT touch screen. Guests could chose from a few different places to take a bike ride, and then the video would speed up or slow down depending on how fast they pedaled. This video features a quick ride through Disneyland.Read More...

Restored videos: The Living Seas (August 1991)

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Try to imagine, just for a moment… These two restored 8mm videos feature the Living Seas pavilion. First up is the preshow, which guests would see before entering the larger theater. It gave a brief overview of the history of sea exploration and previewed what was ahead in the attraction. The second video is the film entitled “The Seas”. This 7 minute film was shown to guests explaining the formation of Earth’s oceans. Afterwards, guests would...Read More...

Home movie: EPCOT Center in September 1983

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Spend an hour in EPCOT Center during its first year of operation! This great video from September 1983 has some really wonderful shots from all over EPCOT including the Age of Information show, Kitchen Kaberet, and a performance by the Future World Brass band. There are also ride through videos of Listen to the Land as well as World of Motion. A few shots of CommuniCore and pans around the then-new park round out this fun...Read More...

Restored Video: Living with the Land with live narrator

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Welcome to a voyage of discovery and awareness of the richness, the diversity, and the often surprising nature of living with the land When the opening day Listen to the Land attraction was updated to Living with the Land in the early 1990’s, the ride featured both prerecorded narration as well as a live cast member tour guide on the boat. When entering the greenhouse portions of the attraction, the cast member would point out plants...Read More...