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By Michael - April 11th, 2012 Not pictured: Tom 1.0
I just happened upon this picture of a “solosub” undergoing animation testing at WED Enterprises in January 1983. Later that year it would be packed and shipped to Orlando for installation in Horizons, which opened that October.
All I’m saying is that it’s been almost thirty years since the ride [...]
By Michael - March 29th, 2012 EPCOT Center was well-received upon its debut in 1982, but in the endless amount of press coverage at the time a number of issues frequently bubbled to the surface. Amid all the grumbling about long lines and technical breakdowns, or of a lack of attractions in World Showcase, a glaring and oft-repeated complaint was the [...]
By Michael - March 28th, 2012 In 1981, The Walt Disney Story – the attraction which once occupied the area in the Magic Kingdom where the Town Square Theater currently resides – took a brief absence as its queue, theater area, and postshow area were appropriated to become The EPCOT Center Preview Center. In the year leading up to EPCOT’s October, [...]
By Michael - March 8th, 2012 Back in the day… wait for it… the Disney Channel showed content aimed at us theme park fans. Crazy, I know, but true! One special I remember well is 1986′s A Dream Called Walt Disney World, which aired in conjunction with the resort’s yearlong 15th anniversary celebration.
The hour-long special gives a history of the [...]
By Michael - February 24th, 2012 Amongst Disney watchers, there is a subset of us which could glibly be referred to as the “WED did it better” crowd. With a historical view of Disney attraction offerings, one can come to the conclusion that the old-guard Imagineering that created Pirates of the Caribbean, the Country Bear Jamboree and Horizons possessed a certain [...]
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Four Decades of Magic

Essays about the first forty years of Walt Disney World, including two pieces by yours truly. Available in print and for Kindle.
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