Is there really anything I could say? I mean… sigh.
The best part of the commercial? It doesn’t pander. There are no characters, aside from Figment and Mickey, no distortions of the truth – just images of EPCOT. It shows you how exciting EPCOT is, rather than telling you. There’s no cheesy footage of canned audiences pretending to have a good time, just people experiencing the wonders of the park.
This commercial is from 1989; I remember it vividly – watching it over, and over, and over… How great was it that EPCOT got its own commercial? Figment, SMRT-1, Horizons, IllumiNations… those were the days.
THAT IS SO AWESOME.
Imagery, 10/10. Music? Why did they use a Stylophone to summon up the majesty and excitement of the best WDW park?
What a fantastic commercial! As for the electronic music – very fitting for the park at that time. My kids (12 and 8) have just asked me ‘What did Michael Jackson have to do with Epcot?’
Time only strengthens my already-voluminous love for the ’80s, because of things like this. I honestly imagine that in 20 years we’ll think it’s no more corny than the annoying ad angles of the ’90s and ’00s where everybody was suddenly overtly EXTREME and spouting hip hop slang. Of course, i’m already there. It’s a great commercial because of its simplicity. The park was/is so strong that you only need the montage. As a kid, i always remembered wondering how they got Mickey up to the top of Spaceship Earth.
That’s Kim C. in Mickey on top of Spaceship Earth. She was a phenomenal character performer who did the most athletic things, including “Dive Mickey” at the Seas. The elevator in Spaceship Earth only goes so far, and from there, it’s a walk up catwalks and stairs. It was done early in the morning. There’s actually a hatch right on top of Spaceship Earth and Kim came up through this hatch, and with the assistance of some maintenance and wardrobe cast members, was belted to a short pole that had been mounted in between the panels. It looks kind of odd because it’s running in reverse from the way it was shot. Although the helicopter is further away than it looks, I still remember Kim telling me about the terror of standing ON TOP of Spaceship Earth with a helicopter flying at her! She deserved far more money than she was ever paid!