Last month we talked about how the Citrus Swirl, a cult-classic Magic Kingdom snack, had made a fortuitous return to the Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland. Over the years so much of the quirky texture of the Magic Kingdom has been stripped away, so it’s good to see something which would otherwise seem insignificant return. It also didn’t hurt that this was one of my favorite in-park treats and I’d been grousing about its loss for years.
So – Disney goes to the effort to restore a small detail to the park’s offerings, giving fans something they’ve asked for and all without forcing any other groups to lose one of their favorite things. After all, in recent years the Terrace had been only serving plain soft-serve and Cokes – who could possibly object to that riveting lineup getting a kick in the pants?
This last weekend, Disneyland Paris kicked off the press events marking the arrival of its – brace yourself – 20th anniversary celebration. That’s right – twenty years! I’ll pause if you, like me, need to take a moment and breathe.
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 lack of food offerings and the difficulty of obtaining dining reservations. At the time, some of the fast food locations and food carts we now take for granted had yet to debut, some existing locations had yet to expand, and China’s Nine Dragons Restaurant and France’s Bistro de Paris did not exist – not to mention the then-unbuilt Morocco and Norway pavilions.
This wasn’t the result of a lack of foresight on Disney’s part; in fact, many food expansion plans already existed when the park opened. But as with the park’s rides and attractions, there simply hadn’t been time to complete the park before its opening day. A number of facilities and attractions were still under construction when the park opened, but that did little to assuage the concerns of parched guests who needed somewhere to sit down and have a snack after the long trip around the World Showcase promenade. Disney didn’t have the luxury of waiting for permanent facilities to be completed – they needed new food facilities immediately.
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, 1982 opening, the Preview Center invited the public to view concept art and models of the new park, and presented a short film detailing the park’s offerings.
This is that film – The Dream Called EPCOT. In it you can hear a number of early versions of familiar EPCOT songs, as well as one – the Sherman Brothers’ Reach for New Horizons – that was never used in the park. There’s also some fabulous animation which brings some of the very familiar concept art to life; it makes me wish we could see an animated film which takes place in Horizons!
Did you work at WED and see yourself anywhere in this footage? Let us know!
Not so very long ago, the Disney company made lots of animated films – some of which were drawn by hand by real people. They made big pictures; after the success of The Lion King, the goal of Disney Feature Animation was to make sweeping epics – always hoping for another shot at Oscar gold. Hot off his success with Lion King – then the highest-grossing animated film ever – director Roger Allers began to develop a new project. This film, which eventually was called Kingdom of the Sun, was a South American twist on the old “Prince and the Pauper” tale set within the ancient Incan empire. There was drama, romance, comedy, and magic – it was a big film.
As producers tried to mimic everything they thought might have contributed to Lion King‘s success, they lined up yet another famous British singer/songwriter to compose songs for the film. As part of the deal to persuade Sting to sign on the dotted line, Disney had to give his wife a job filming all the behind-the-scenes material for the film’s eventual DVD. And so Trudie Styler, wife of Sting, began filming the creative process as Kingdom of the Sun kicked into production.
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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