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Great Moments with Mr. Linkin’

I’ve just managed to get around to doing something that I’ve too long neglected – updating our links page. I’ve also put more links into the sidebar on your right – a small selection of sites that best provide a daily dose of Disney-related news, and another group of my very favorite sites. I picked the ones that not only provide the best content, but are somewhat regularly updated as well.

Looking at our site statistics, it seems that the links page often gets overlooked. So be sure and click through every once in a while – there might be a great page that you’ve missed!

I’m going to be working on some more back-of-house things for a little bit, so public updates might be scarce for a few days. Keep checking in, though!

UPDATE: Yay for people checking out the links! I hope you like what you find. Also note that I’ve added links to social bookmarking sites below each story. If you’re a member of any of these communities and find something on Progress City interesting enough to share, please do! You can also click to email stories to others. And one last thanks to everyone who has clicked on the ads – I hope that eventually they can help underwrite the cost of some more difficult-to-find research materials. Every click helps, obviously, so thanks to everyone out there who has helped out.

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Neverworlds – EPCOT’s United Kingdom Pavilion, Victorian Music Hall

EPCOT United Kingdom pavilion renderingThings are far more bustling after dark in Neverworld’s UK pavilion

Most of the Disney stalwarts who read this blog have probably seen the above rendering before. A second look reveals many differences between EPCOT’s United Kingdom pavilion as built and the above conceptual painting. The pavilion as depicted is much larger than the real thing; note the pub’s second story and the extra floors the artist added to the other buildings. But most prominent is what lies towards the rear of the painting – the large Victorian building patterned somewhat after London’s long-lost Crystal Palace.

This building, planned but not built for EPCOT’s 1982 opening, was to contain one of World Showcase’s less-famous unrealized attractions. Inside would be a reproduction of a Victorian music hall, where guests would be treated to a comedic show. Yet even though the music hall was not built for opening day, it was still on Imagineering’s to do list; mention of the show was made in Richard Beard’s 1982 classic, Walt Disney’s EPCOT: Creating the New World of Tomorrow:

One side of the square remains open, the future site of a show still being created by the Imagineers. Early in the planning there was talk of a tour presentation, to be housed in an old English railroad station. The idea metamorphosed into an Elizabethan-type dinner theater, from which it evolved into a Victorian music hall. That’s where it now stands – if a genius can be found to successfully bowdlerize the rough-and-tumble British vaudeville style for a family audience.

That’s pretty much all that Disney fans knew for years – just that the idea had been planned and never realized. The concern for sanitizing the vaudeville humor is indicative of Disney at the time – remember that the company was extremely nervous about debuting the sale of alcohol at EPCOT – and I’m sure that management would have nixed things at the time that would go unquestioned today. Even more peculiar is that the idea seems to be a natural; it’s a fun concept and it wouldn’t require the huge investment of a ride attraction.

Had they pursued the dinner theater idea, it would no doubt have been a success. World Showcase restaurants are consistently busy, and even with the expansion of dining on property it remains difficult to this day to get dinner reservations. Walt Disney World’s other vaudeville-derived dinner show, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, has been a success for more than thirty years despite its remote location and lack of promotion, and continues to pack in guests despite its rather steep price tag. So why didn’t the U.K. get its attraction? An answer, at last, can be found in this letter from the Autumn, 1987, issue of The Drama Review. It was written by Professor Laurence Senelick of Tufts University, who served as a consultant on the project.

To the Editor:

Steve Nelson’s comments on the World showcase at Disney’s EPCOT Center in Florida [T112] are very well taken. As supportive evidence, I can offer my own experiences as a consultant there. Several years ago I was brought down to Disney World to advise on a Victorian music hall intended to be the performance feature of the ersatz England component of EPCOT. It soon became clear that what was required was not so much my professional expertise, but my imprimatur, as a specialist on music halls. The architects had already drawn up their plans, and when I was shown the blueprints and elevations, I pointed out that the bar was in the wrong place, the spatial relationship of audience to stage was distorted, and the overall effect less that of a British variety theatre than of a saloon in a Hollywood horse opera. It turned out that one of Disney’s executives had attended just such a “reconstructed” music hall in San Francisco, and wanted to see it cloned in Orlando.

Drink was a major element of music hall ambience, both economically and culturally, but the Disney people were very nervous about encouraging alcoholism and wanted to play down the availability of beer. Perhaps it could be near-beer or even camouflaged soft drink? Anything approaching a real music hall performance should last at least half an hour, to allow a variety of turns to show their stuff. But Disney policy is to keep the guests in motion: most indoor presentations at the park last under ten minutes. That would also prove problematical if food was to be served in the atmosphere of the early song-and-supper rooms. There would be no time to prepare, order, and consume the mutton chops, baked potatoes, and deviled kidneys which I suggested as the authentic fare of those haunts. But in any case, such comestibles were too heavy for a tropical climate and tourists accustomed to fast food.

As to the performance material, the Disney executives shied away from the bawdy and the working-class, preferring a generalized “Gay Nineties,” “bicycle-built-for-two” repertory or, in other words, the Disney version of Mary Poppins. To demonstrate to me the problems inherent in “rough” material, they took me to the closing banquet of a convention of insurance agents held at the Disneyworld hotel. There the entertainment was a musical revue of songs and dances drawn primarily from Broadway shows. Although the cast was quite young, well-scrubbed, and clean-cut, resembling nothing so much as a well-drilled high school talent show, the Disney staff worried that this new undertaking was too racy, for in some of the numbers the cast portrayed gangsters and their molls or gamblers and B-girls. Skirting even this close to an admission that the world was not a Norman Rockwell cover filled them with trepidation, and they were greatly relieved when none of the insurance men or their wives walked out.

Needless to say, when EPCOT opened, a Victorian music hall was not among its attractions. The English performance feature at present is an open-air, burlesqued Shakespeare which bears little relation to any traditional British popular entertainment. But it has the benefits of being rapid and nonconsequential, catching the visitors on the hoof, and confirming their belief that Shakespeare is something remote, antiquated, and ripe for kidding. “Reconstruction,” in a serious dramaturgical or performance context, is the last thing on the mind of the Disney enterprise.

Professor Laurence Senelick
Director of Graduate Studies
Tufts University
Department of Drama and Dance

While Disney was obviously never going to build something so letter-perfect as to completely satisfy someone with specific expertise in this area, and I doubt even the most detail-oriented and culturally-aware Imagineer would push for deviled kidneys, this is still a rather amusing window into a far more cautious era at Team Disney. A few years ago I emailed Dr. Senelick for details, and he elaborated somewhat:

It was clear from the beginning that the powers-that-be had no concept of what an authentic Victorian music hall (not dance hall) was all about. They had conceived something like a saloon in a Western. I believe my letter makes obvious that they did not want alcohol or even the audience sitting down for more than 5 minutes at a time. I was also struck by the fact that no one on site or in Orlando was allowed to make even the simplest decision without getting approval from the head office in Cal. first.

It’s a shame that Disney management wasn’t more adventurous at the time; this attraction would definitely have been a boon to World Showcase. It’s also regrettable that they weren’t more willing at the time to delve into greater realism for their food and entertainment offerings. I’ll admit that I give Disney a lot of grief, but when you look at the Animal Kingdom’s Africa and Asia areas it’s clear how far they’ve come in terms of offering guests a wide variety of experiences that they might not find at home.

Of course, this gentrified EPCOT of 1982 was also a product of its time; there’s a reason that the Italian restaurant has always been World Showcase’s most popular offering, and that’s because middle America has had the longest experience with that cuisine. Mexican and Chinese food were fairly familiar at the time, but you couldn’t just go out and find an Indian or Thai restaurant as easily as you can today. While you can understand why Disney managers wanted to keep things familiar and non-threatening, their thinking does seem pretty provincial and timid these days. I especially enjoy the part about executives worrying about the dinner show (which I assume to be Broadway at the Top) being too racy. I’m sure Hannah Montana probably would put it to shame.

The Imagineers in the “good old days” obviously weren’t perfect – the “Gay Nineties” show they conceived sounds pretty cheesy and, in fact, frightfully inauthentic – but the general concept of this attraction is still a good one. Were Disney to attempt it today, it could be realized in a way that would be far more authentic both in content, surroundings and menu. Even the alternate concept discussed by Beard – that of a Shakespearean dinner theater – would be interesting.

What’s more, this is a concept that would realize a profit – something necessary to get a greenlight these days. The old concerns about churning people through every ten minutes could be abandoned, and the idea could be turned into something more akin to the Hoop-Dee-Doo – extended dinner shows at night, at a premium price. The space could be used during the day for shorter presentations, and take reservations for the evening performances. Heaven knows that with the constantly-packed World Showcase restaurants, EPCOT could use a new dining location. A fairly authentic dining hall experience, complete with dinner and a show, would be unique in the Florida parks and would definitely enliven the rather stagnant pavilion. And, for once, it could be executed better today than in 1982. Perhaps it’s an idea whose time has come?

Just skip the deviled kidneys…

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Fixing A Hole – Three New Lands in Hong Kong?

Mickey Mouse and Sleeping Beauty Castle at Hong Kong Disneyland“Could I interest you in an economy-sized theme park, only slightly used?”

We’ve discussed the ongoing and contentious negotiations surrounding expansion at the under-built and poorly-attended Hong Kong Disneyland, culminating in the standoff last month when Disney fired thirty of the Imagineers working on designing new attractions for the park. Disney claimed that there had been no progress in negotiations with the Hong Kong government over financing and approvals for the expansions – both parties are shareholders in the park itself – and that after years of fruitless negotiations, Disney was halting their plans until Hong Kong officials got their act together.

Hong Kong Disneyland mapWho tookah my theme park?

But has something changed? This article has appeared in the South China Morning Post, and seems to indicate that progress is being made. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen this mentioned on the other Disney sites, but it seems to be legit and meshes with many of the prevailing rumors for expansion.

The government and The Walt Disney Company appear to have agreed to include new “lands” and rides based on wilderness, arctic and adventure themes as part of a planned expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, informed sources have said.

But how the new attractions will be paid for and by whom, and the impact on the existing shareholding structure of the theme park, have yet to be resolved.

First, there’s the obvious hilarity of trumpeting an “agreement” that’s good to go aside from the silly little details like how and by whom will the attractions be financed. Heaven only knows how long those negotiations will go on. But what’s interesting is the word from “informed sources” about the themes of the new rides – wilderness, adventure and the arctic. What does that mean?

A brief recap of previous Hong Kong Disneyland rumors: executives have said in the past that expansion plans will include three new themed “lands”. Recurring rumors include a “mini-land” themed to pirates that would be attached to Adventureland, and a northern woods-themed version of Frontierland. Possible attractions that have been mentioned over the years include a more thrill-oriented Pirates of the Caribbean flume ride, a voodoo-themed Haunted Mansion based in Adventureland, a Frontierland mountain themed similarly to California Adventure’s Grizzly Peak which would feature a roller coaster similar to a re-themed Expedition Everest, and a whitewater raft ride with wilderness show scenes. But how does that fit with the new rumors? According to the article:

The expansion plan would see the largest area in the site become a nature wonderland. Passengers on a roller-coaster ride would pass through mine shafts, tunnels and a wilderness area complete with audio effects and animatronic (robotic) animals, the sources said.

When parsing press reports, it’s always hard to tell exactly what they’re talking about. Unlike fan reporting, the media in general is unfamiliar with Disney parks and terminology and they often tend to muddy the waters with their stories. This problem is even worse when dealing with issues of lingual translation. The Hong Kong reports specifically seem to blur the distinction between “lands”, “areas” and “rides”.

Nevertheless, this pretty clearly is talking about Frontierland. It’s only reasonable that it would be the largest expansion, as it would entail the addition of an entire major land to the park. This is obviously the coaster we spoke about before, which would in effect be a combination of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Expedition Everest in a Grizzly Peak setting. An intriguing rumor that Alain Littaye has mentioned involves the attraction replacing Everest’s Yeti animatronic with a menacing grizzly bear. Other rumors involve either the coaster, raft ride, or both featuring show scenes adapted from Marc Davis’s plans for the unbuilt Western River Expedition. Back to the story:

The arctic environment would allow visitors to enjoy real snow slopes in enclosed, temperature-controlled areas. A train ride was also planned.

You’ve got me on this one. I have no idea what they’re talking about. The article speaks of this as if it would be included within the park, but it sounds more to me like one of those insane indoor ski slopes they have in Japan or Dubai. Or, it could be a misinterpreted addition to Frontierland. I can’t imagine that they’d build another train-themed roller coaster in addition to the one previously mentioned, so again – I have no idea what this is about.

A third land was based on the “unexpected” theme. Inspired by the adventures of early explorers, the area will see visitors transported on computer-controlled rides. The different environments would incorporate supernatural elements and animatronic figures, but the sequence of the rides would vary to let passengers enjoy a different experience each time, the sources said.

Here’s another mystery. Again, it’s hard to tell if they mean a “land” with multiple attractions, or just a single ride. Could this be the rumored colonial-style building with the voodoo-themed Haunted Mansion? And if so, would it be the first to have randomized ride scenes? The mention of a random ride sequence also naturally points to two other attractions – the Tower of Terror or the Indiana Jones EMV ride. Both have “supernatural elements”, but I suppose Indy would be best adapted to Adventureland. Ironically, there’s an old concept for the Tower of Terror ride system that would fit perfectly in the new Frontierland, but I doubt that’s on their radar.

Each of the three new lands would have a specific storyline to immerse visitors in the ride.

Well, that’s nice. Again, note the confusion of “land” and “ride”.

The article mentions that Hong Kong officials viewed models of the expansion areas last March, and again last November. Apparently the officials “found previous designs ordinary and uninspiring and demanded changes, but was unable to explain to Disney what [they] wanted.” I find that very amusing, on many accounts. I’d love to know the inside story on that one – did Disney try to pawn off Toy Story Mania, Laugh Floor, and Nemo only to be rebuffed? Or are the Hong Kong officials clueless? At least the Hong Kong government seems to be asking WDI to up their game, and hopefully that’s improved the caliber of attractions the park will be getting. Things seem to be worked out on this front – the article says that “there did not seem to be any major disagreements about the themes and designs of the lands.”

Of course, nothing is official until it’s announced, and the cast members of EPCOT’s Spain pavilion will tell you that nothing is certain until shovels meet dirt. Most importantly, critical financial issues have yet to be resolved:

Both joint-venture partners agree that expansion is necessary to help Hong Kong Disneyland grow in attendance and business. But given that the multibillion-dollar price tag attached to such an expansion will attract intense scrutiny by the public and lawmakers, it is understood that the government wants to ensure that it negotiates the best possible deal.

Disney will probably have to foot some of this bill themselves, as many in Hong Kong still resent that Disney paid such a small share of the park’s original cost and received a major ownership share in return. The Hong Kong government will probably try and use the opportunity to renegotiate its franchising deal, or reallocate the ownership percentage of the park. Disney will likely do the same. But both realize that the park is, at the moment, a costly embarrassment and that attendance will not start to rise meaningfully until expansion begins. Hopefully last month’s game of chicken has sufficiently shaken up the negotiations and soon the realms of “wilderness, arctic and adventure” will begin to emerge – whatever that means!

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Bits of Business…

bizindy

On a recent trip to Walt Disney World, I stopped at this “dig site” directly outside of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  I had not been to Disney’s HOLLYWOOD Studios the past several trips out of general malaise, and I wanted to see if the rope still worked.

In case this sight isn’t familiar to you, when you tug on this rope, an “explorer” answers you from the bottom of the hole with generally wacky sounds – and quite a few on continuous tugs.   As I was doing this a group of three men who were walking towards Echo Lake took a swift detour and played with the rope for a few minutes, laughing at the attention to detail in an area that otherwise would have been a floral arrangement of some sort.  In modern imaginationspeak this would be called “plussing” or “story,” but I always think of these things as what Walt referred to in his storyboarding sessions as “gags” or “bits of business.”  These are little details here and there around Walt Disney World that aren’t part of certain attractions (or if they are, not part of the ride itself) that add to the atmosphere, or (shudder) the story and setting.

Below I’ve divided some of my favorite bits of business in certain catergories – some extinct and some still there – but I welcome your additions – this is in no way a comprehensive list.

EXTENDING THE RIDE

These few bits of business extend the ride after you’re let out of the show.  The two that quickly come to mind are the tikis outside of the Tropical Serenade in the Sunshine Terrace, mirroring the tikis you’ve just seen on the walls of the Tiki Room itself.
Sunshine Tree Tikis courtesy of jericl cat

The second is perhaps one of my favorite bits of business of all time, and unfortunately is no longer with us.  At the unload of Country Bear Jamboree/entrance to Mile Long Bar, matching heads of Buff, Max, and Melvin lined the walls, just as in the Jamboree.  They would remain still for some time, and then come to life suddenly with schtick and a song that mirrored the unload song of the Jamboree.  “Come Again” became “Come On In”.   I hope someday someone thinks of bringing these guys back.  If you weren’t lucky enough to see it before the demise of the Mile Long Bar, check out these two videos.

QUASI INTERACTIVE BITS

These couple of gags are able to be triggered by passersby, but always do a regular routine – even though these two instances have several different sounds that can be triggered.   The first is the rope pictured above outside the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  The second is the water fountains in Future World at Epcot Center.   I am not sure if these still exist (do they?), but not long ago they were around the Innoventions area outdoors.  When you would drink from the fountains, much like the Indy rope, a wacky persona would reply from the bottom of the fountain.

I suppose the Sword In The Stone in front of the carousel in Fantasyland could also go in this catergory.

SOUNDS AND SMELLS

There are too many of these to mention (though I welcome your contribution).  A few of my favorites are on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom.  On the one half of Center Street that survives, there’s a window offering Piano and Voice Lessons.  Sit underneath that window and listen to the lessons go on.   Not far from there at the Main Street Bakery, the smells are almost too good to be true –  that’s because they’re artificially made in a contraption vaguely resembling a scuba suit in the utilidoors downstairs and pumped above onto the street to lure hungry passersby.

In Adventureland, the cannons on the fort above the Pirates of the Carribean shoot off periodically.

Over in Frontierland at the Train Station, as you pass by the office en route to the platform, you hear a telegraph ticking within.  It just happens to be spelling out Walt Disney’s speech on Opening Day at Disneyland.

INTRODUCING THE RIDE

These two don’t completely count, because they’re actually in queues for attractions, but I thought I’d include them anyway because they actually weren’t on the ride itself.  The first is Brer Frog’s shadow in the queue for Splash Mountain.   It’s an artsy little detail that sets up the ride itself.  Seeing Brer Frog on the shadow of the cave gently rocking in front of a fire, beginning to tell the story of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox is matched as soon as you get on the ride by seeing Brer Fox himself.   The second is the relatively recent addition of Madame Leota’s grave directly outside the Haunted Mansion.

creeepy..

… Leota of course appears later in the crystal ball seance – hence “having a ball” and “regions beyond.

STRANGE BACKSTORIES

In this era of “story” in the Imagineering department, a lot are half baked.  Gran Fiesta Tour comes to mind (replacing my beloved El Rio de Tiempo – hardly any story there).  Regardless, sometimes you come across actual good story lying around – even if it’s strange and perhaps doesn’t make any sense.

courtesy of Jack Spence

This is what remains of one of my favorite and most random landmarks on Property – the Lawnmower Tree of Fort Wilderness.  In what is most certainly a relic of previous ownership, Disney kept this tree that grew around an old hand powered blade lawnmower.   Unfortunately, the tree died so they had to chop it…. but I suppose it was fortunate because it was getting harder and harder to see the lawnmower remnant at the base of the trunk.  As you can see, there’s a sign beside it – it reads ” Too long did Billy Bowlegs park his slow mower – Alas, one warm and sunny day aside a real fast grower.”  Extra points here for the poetry involved.   This is just a gag – and a nice attention to detail…. oh yes and totally random.  If you haven’t seen it, the Lawnmower Tree is on the path off the landing for the motor launch en route to Pioneer Hall (it’s on the right).

The other story I particularly like is the legend of Pleasure Island, and how that relates to another area of WDW – Typhoon Lagoon.  I can’t even go into the tremendous amount of detail involved in Pleasure Island’s backstory – suffice it to say there were plaques on every building – but Wade’s Wayback Machine has a great retelling of it here. The part I really like about the legends of both areas is they’re connected.   The same hurricane that destroyed the Placid Palms Resort and placed Miss Tilly on Mount Mayday also lead Pleasure Island to ruin once and for all before the Disney Imagineers “rediscovered” it.  Varying reports have that hurricane named Connie and Charlotte, so I can’t be exactly sure how the legend goes.

BARKERS

barker-bird

A little more obvious, but I love these guys.  There used to be two barker birds (called barkers as in barkers on a midway yelling for folks to come see certain attractions) in Adventureland – one for Pirates of the Carribean and one for Tropical Serenade.  These were audio animatronics outside of the attractions who would talk up their attractions (the Tiki Room’s was voiced by longtime Golden Horseshoe star Wally Boag).   Often the birds would crack wise and be wacky, and obviously drew attention to their respective attractions.  For some reason unknown to me, both disappeared  with their respective updates – I don’t even want to go into the Tiki Room redo at this point.   At least the Pirates barker bird survives in the burning town (above the bridge), but I would love an explanation on why they went away.

A nod of the cap has been made to these two recently in the incredibly sophisticated Mr. Potato Head Barker at Toy Story Mania.  Although it makes more sense at California Adventure, where he’s on a Midway and actually outside the attraction,  he’s a very impressive and whimsical site even inside the queue at DHS.

bizbarker

LOST SPECIAL EFFECTS

These were bits of business that were some of my favorite, or if I wasn’t around to see them – I truly wish I had been.  Sometimes Imagineers created amazing effects that had to be left along the way.  Among some of my favorites –

The wave machine at the Polynesian Village Resort  – when the resort opened, it was intended to have surfable waves.  Unfortunately, there quickly became a considerable erosion problem, along with problems in the machine.  It was abandonned and became a reef for the fish in the Seven Seas Lagoon.   I can’t imagine being around the Polynesian at night with actual waves hitting the beach!

Asundry effects on Expedition Everest – The Yeti is broken, but also missing now is the bird and snow at the top of the mountain and the steam that once rose from the trains as they left the station.

The Sunshine Tree and Orange Bird – I know this is the third time this article I’ve mentioned the Sunshine Tree Terrace or the Tropical Serenade, but when the pavilion was sponsored by Florida Citrus, there was an actual faux tree growing in the Sunshine Tree Terrace – which had an effect from projectors to make it appear as if it were blowing gently in the breeze.  In addition, their mascot the Orange Bird could be spotted in the tree – with his thoughts projected in a thought bubble behind his head.  Amazing!  Pictures and more vivid description can be seen on Widen Your World.

These are just some of the bits of business lying around – most without reason to be there save to enhance the experience and add depth.   I had thought for a long time that this was a dying breed in the era of cookiecutter attractions and major marketing for major attractions, but the Kim Possible scavenger hunt in World Showcase has renewed my faith for more of this to come.  A completely interactive experience, you can toggle seemingly inanimate objects…. and in the spirit of good fun I won’t spoil much – but steins sing, parrots talk (again), viking flags are raised – and this little guy dances for you!

bizmexico

It was definitely one of the highlights of my last trip to WDW, and I hope more nuance and subtle detail is on the way from Walt Disney Imagineering.

What are your favorite bits o’ business?

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These Are A Few Of Your Faces…

The Universe of Energy, as it was in 1982:

Universe of Energy exterior

Lovely, eh? It’s almost like a geologic formation itself, jutting from the ground with its dynamic and energetic hues. Those original WED art directors knew what they were doing – people like Claude Coates and John Hench knew a lot about the psychological effect color could have on people, and used it to great effect in the original EPCOT Center. Then, in the mid-90’s, this happened:

Universe of Energy pastel exterior

With the advent of Ellen’s Energy Adventure, the pavilion exterior became something of a pastel nightmare. The previously colored areas were painted a dark navy, and the previously neutral “ribs” that bordered them were painted various clashing pastels. Until roughly last week:

Universe of Energy down for rehab

It was known for a while that the Universe of Energy was going down for a rehab in order to upgrade its ride system and to receive a general sprucing up. But what was not expected was that WDI would take that opportunity to return the pavilion to its original, proper color scheme.

Universe of Energy repainting, west side

The west side of the pavilion was the first to receive attention, and appears to be mostly complete. It’s unknown whether this area is just primer or will get another coat later. Note that the “ribs” have been returned to their original color as well. As of last Friday, the east side was still being worked on:

Universe of Energy repainting, east side

Note that some of the pastel areas remain on the east side, and painting had only begun on the formerly-navy spaces between the ribs. It seems that the painted orange area on the east side is only primer.

While someone on one of the message boards pointed out that it’s a sad statement about things that all we have to get excited about is a paint job, the fact of the matter is that it is exciting to see the pavilion return to its original colors. It’s the little things like this that need to be done to start EPCOT on its road to recovery. I’m not sure who made the call on this decision, but my hat is off to them. Well done.

My only hope is that they continue with this work, cutting away the trees that have grown up around the pavilion and that conceal its exterior. The paint job should then be continued all the way to the back of the pavilion – it’s unclear yet whether the full “spectrum” from red to yellow will reappear on the pavilion’s exterior; at the moment it looks like some areas towards the rear of the pavilion remain painted dark navy.

And once Universe of Energy is returned to its original glory, what then? I fervently hope that Journey into Imagination is next; it’s 1990s repainting is even more horrendous than Energy’s. And although it’s a more recent change, the Seas building really should be returned to its original color scheme as opposed to its rather bland and unsightly blue repaint.

For now, though, at least we have Energy! Good job, guys.

More pictures below the fold

Continue reading These Are A Few Of Your Faces…

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