Episode #12 July 6th, 2007
Epcot circa 1987 vs. 2007
This week we officially welcome Jonathan Dichter to All About the Mouse as
co-host. And for our first show together we're talking about the things that have changed in Epcot in the last 20 years and some of
the pros and cons involved with those changes.
Spaceship Earth
-
The biggest change is the narration which has changed from Walter
Kronkite to Jeremy Irons. Jeremy Irons may be leaving the attraction with the new rehab
-
The second change would be the obvious addition
of the "Epcot wand"
The Universe of Energy
-
The original show in the Universe of Energy pavillion was simply known as The Universe of
Energy
-
The show reopened in 1996 as Ellen's Energy Crisis
-
It was later changed to Ellen's Energy Adventure because Disney didn't like
the negative sound that the name Ellen's Energy Crisis had
-
The pavillion has solar tiles on top of the building which actually powers
a portion of the pavillion
Wonders of Life
-
Horizons was a dark ride that was kind of a sequel to the Carousel
of Progress
-
The pavillion was closed from 1994 (when the sponsorship from General Electric was discontinued) until 1995 when it
reopened while Universe of Energy and World of Motion were both closed for refurbishment
-
Horizons has now been demolished to make room
for the pavillion that now houses Mission: Space
World of Motion/Test Track
-
World of Motion was a dark ride combined with Audio Animatronics
and video projection screens that depicted the developments that man has made with transportation
-
For the record Bryan loves "It's
fun to be free" which is the theme song to World of Motion and can be heard in several different styles throughout the attraction
-
Test
Track is the fastest ride on Walt Disney World property
Journey into Imagination
-
When Epcot opened in 1982 the only attraction open
in the Imagination pavillion was Magic Journeys in the theater that later became Captian EO and then later Honey I shrunk the Audience
-
When
Journey into Imagination closed in 1998 for rehab it reopened without Figment and wad renamed simply Imagination
-
After much outcry
from Disney fans and even some shareholders the Figment was added back to the attraction in June of 2002 and the pavillion was
renamed Journey into Imagination with Figment
-
The voice of the original Figment was Billy Barty a "little person" actor who became
famous back in the 30's and 40's in the movies with Mickey Rooney and passed away in 2002
-
The new voice of Figment is one of Jonathan's
favorite Muppeteers, Dave Goelz who plays the voice of Gonzo
-
The other half of the Imagination pavillion is the theater which contains
Honey I shrunk the Audience which was previously Captain EO
-
You can still see the Dreamfinder's dream cart on the wall in Mousegears
The
Land
-
In 1987 the pavillion featured Living with the Land which hasn't really changed much and features a boat ride which takes you
through scenes dealing with various landscapes and how man lives with various land elements
-
Also featured in 1987 was Kitchen Kabaret
which was an Audio Animatronic musical show which was a show dealing with nutrition and the human body
-
Kitchen Kabaret was converted
to Food Rocks in 1992
-
-
All of Fantasyland could fit into The Land pavillion
-
The 3rd attraction in The Land pavillion is Circle of Life
which is an educational film featuring stars from The Lion King including Simba, Timon, and Pumba
The Living Seas/The Seas with Nemo
and Friends
-
The pavillion now features a Nemo omnimover dark ride attraction with Nemo and friends projected into the the "big blue
world" or the Living Seas aquarium
-
The pavillion also now features a great interactive video attraction called Turtle Talk with Crush
International
Gateway
-
In 1990 Epcot opened a second gate called the International Gateway located in the back of the park between the France and
United Kingdom pavillions
-
The International Gateway is very convenient especially when you're dining at Epcot at one of the pavillons
near the back of the park because it saves you time and energy from walking from the front of the park.