The model for Tony Baxter’s original concept for The Land.
Merry Christmas! The Progress City Radio Hour continues our 40th anniversary celebration of EPCOT Center with a look at the pavilion which today most holds true to its original intent – The Land! We’ll look back at how the pavilion came to be, and some of the concepts which were abandoned along the way. We’ll also talk about original sponsor Kraft, and how they had a presence at World’s Fairs and with Disney long before EPCOT. We’ll look at the pavilion’s research under consultant Carl Hodges, and we’ll revisit EPCOT musical muse Bob Moline.
We’d like to take a moment at the end of the year to thank you all for following along and listening this year. The fun we’ve had doing the podcast has been a real highlight of the last couple of years and we’re so grateful for all the support you’ve given us. We hope you have a great holiday season and we’ll see you next year!
Disney Legends Doris Hardoon and Wing Chao promote the in-development Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Happy December! To usher in the month, we at the Progress City Radio Hour are happy to bring you part two of our wide-ranging interview with Disney Legend Doris Hardoon! In this episode, Doris takes us from her work on the EPCOT World Showcase galleries to work on projects such as WESTCOT, Port Disney, The Autry Museum of the American West, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and so much more. It’s an amazing chronicle of an amazing career!
Listen below, and don’t forget you can always support our efforts and gain early access to episodes and monthly livestreams with a tax-deductible donation to our Patreon!
In her long career, Doris worked on projects ranging from EPCOT to Shanghai Disneyland and beyond. In part one of our talk we discuss her early life as a pop singer and model in Hong Kong, her early career in themed entertainment, and her work with Rolly Crump and others on EPCOT’s The Land.
Listen below, and don’t forget you can always support our efforts and gain early access to episodes and monthly livestreams with a tax-deductible donation to our Patreon!
In this episode we look at how AT&T dabbled in attractions at previous World’s Fairs before sponsoring an attraction at Disneyland. We then discuss the development of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, from its origins as the “Future World Theme Show” to the attraction we know today. We’ll also speak with former Imagineer Peggie Fariss about the depth of research which went into ensuring Spaceship Earth’s amazing level of historical accuracy.
Listen below, and don’t forget you can always support our efforts and gain early access to episodes and monthly livestreams with a tax-deductible donation to our Patreon!
Fifty episodes! Can you believe it? It’s true though – The Progress City Radio Hour has hit its fiftieth episode mark. And to celebrate, we’re looking at some 50th anniversary celebrations from the past: 1973’s 50th anniversary of Walt Disney Productions, and 1978’s 50th birthday of Mickey Mouse. Thankfully each of these events were marked by multiple television programs, in only the way the 1970s could do. We look at several of these shows, and they’ve got everything – from a moody Dean Jones to a peppy Lawrence Welk.
But that’s not all! For members of our Patreon we have a special deluxe version of the episode that’s an hour longer, and features a look at a truly bizarre TV special celebrating the 50th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1987. Sign up now!
As we look back on fifty episodes we’re so grateful for listeners who have stuck with us this whole time, and to those of you who might only have started listening recently. Thanks so much for your comments, ratings, and feedback – it really does make the whole process more fun!
From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats.
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