This is the original sign from when the attraction closed 16 years ago
When you think of EPCOT you don’t typically think Retro. After all it’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. And yet, there is something natural about having science fiction at the park in the form of Captain EO, even if it’s a flashback from the 80s. It’s nice of Disney to offer this tribute to superstar Michael Jackson.
This is the first time I can remember a warning sign for ‘Loud Noise’
Nostalgia is playing a big role across Walt Disney World and Disneyland right now. MSEP, World of Color, A Princess heavy Fantasyland, and Carsland all tug on our fondness for the past. This mix of nostalgia, entertainment, history is what Walt Disney loved and built with Disneyland. So again, it just seems natural.
I’m not sure if it was part of the original plans for the park, but no theme park holds a festival like EPCOT. The park soaks up attendees looking for that special experience while still handling the regular tourist crowds like a pro. This fall, like a fine wine that improves with age, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will celebrate its fifteenth year of offering an unrivaled global tasting experience. Among the goodies are new treats from South Korea, Belgium, and more. The festival will October 1st through November 14th.
Check below the jump for more details that were just announced.
Many a great book has been written about Walt Disney, the man, and the projects he set his company to create. But for some reason, no one had as yet mined the very interesting story of the business, legal, and political machinations that were required… Read More »Project Future: New insights into the creation of Walt Disney World
Actually, so early that the park was still just barely on the drawing boards. Don’t miss the Progress City, USA post on the origins of EPCOT. EPCOT Center’s path from concept to execution was, in so many ways, far more tortured than most Disney fans… Read More »EPCOT – the early early years
We managed to make it to two parks this weekend and was surprised by a few things. There was the expected walls in Fantasyland and further progress on the new restaurant in Mexico, but wait until you see a couple of these pics.
Lot’s more vertical construction visible in Mexico.
They’ve started to lay the floor for the exterior deck, which appears to be a lot bigger than we previously saw.
That’s because some of the construction walls are down. I didn’t capture it in this pic, but the interior floor is still dirt at this phase. That’s a lot of outside seating.
One more pic before we leave EPCOT below the cut and then a whole lot of news from the Magic Kingdom
The winner is brought on stage as part of the ceremony where she endured jokes about her height with dignity.
Saturday was another beautiful day at the International EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, almost like any other. But Tinker Bell and her Pixie friends brought a little bit of extra magic to the park to help reveal the winning house in a Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow “Design A Fairy House Art Contest.”
The winner and her family was flown out from Frazier Park, CA about 100 miles from Disneyland. The fairy house, inspired by 15-year-old winning designer, Zoe P., was revealed during a special ceremony attended by EPCOT VP Dan Cockerell, and director Brad Raymond and producer Helen Kalafatic of “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue”, the third film in the recent Tinker Bell DVD series.
With a dash of pixie dust from Tinker Bell, Zoe revealed her winning fairy house.
“Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue” features Tink’s first encounter with humans. Tink is caught inside a Fairy House built by a little girl to provide shelter for the fairies as they work to bring summer to England. The girl and Tink develop a great friendship, while the other fairies attempt a rescue.
“We were thrilled to honor Zoe and her winning design at this very special celebration,” said Jason Everett, Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow product director. “This contest offered the Pixie Hollow community an exciting opportunity to utilize their love for Disney Fairies as inspiration to create their very own fairy house art design. To see that design come to life and be featured in the Epcot® International Flower and Garden Festival is truly a delight for everyone.”
Zoe and her family (click for larger)
Zoe was the perfect choice for this award. She and her family are huge Disney fans and visit Disneyland at least once a month. After seeing the contest on Pixie Hollow, she new she had to make a drawing. They raced to the post office to drop off their application right at the last minute and never expected to win.
Not only did Zoe’s drawing inspire the winning house, she was able to help build it by assisting Disney’s talented team of fairy house architects. The main focus of the house is the copper and brass fixtures on the front, which Zoe figured would confer and exclusive status to the house. In the concept a rubber band would be hooked to the front door and, through a series of clock gears, would generate music on the attached music box, alas that part didn’t make it into the final build.
The winning drawing, now autographed by the movie’s director and producer. She also wrote a backstory for the house.
Of course there are two hidden mickeys in the design. The vinyl record base makes mickey and there is a bottle cap on the roof with the iconic ears. But even more special is the ‘Ellie Badge’ Grape Soda bottle cap, which you can barely see under the flower on the roof. Zoe’s whole family are huge fans of Pixar and particularly the movie “UP”, when I saw Zoe’s mom wearing an Ellie Badge of her own, I knew right away she was one of us, a Disney fan.
It’s clear Zoe has a talent for telling a story through art. That’s one of the main requirements to be an animator, which, as it turns out, is Zoe’s career choice. I hope someone at Disney Studios is able to make her happy again and arrange a tour through their offices and Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Zoe with the plaque that bears her name.
Zoe’s house will spend the rest of the festival as part of the Pixie Hollow playground in a place of honor next to a plaque bearing her name.
More photos from the event, including a close up of the fairy house, below the cut. Video
Took a walk through EPCOT yesterday and got some new shots of the construction that is underway of the two new eateries, plus the finished new store in China that I reported on last week (with concept art for the restaurants). There is nothing new… Read More »Construction Update from EPCOT
