E82 The Epcot Legacy
Education • Music • Art
Fun with Maps
February 10, 2024
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Original 1982 EPCOT Center "Fun Map" (repaired, no enhancements)

Archiving Epcot's artwork is almost neverending and even more widely known pieces aren't given the proper care needed for preservation. Case in Point, EPCOT Center's original "Fun Map" which you could also say was its only Fun Map.

As with all "Fun Maps", this one is not a proportionally accurate depiction of the park but does provide a comprehensive look at the park's offerings and some that were never realized. In particular, you'll notice Equatorial Africa between China and Germany, as well as a completed Horizons and The Living Seas that would even begin construction until two years after this map's creation. And finally, all the backstage areas have been replaced by idyllic pastoral landscapes with terrain not found in Florida. 

As part of my preservation and enhancement efforts, I took a high-resolution scan (seen above), digitally cleaned the image, and repaired the fold lines. Afterward, I ran it through a few AI upscalers and selected the best one for increased clarity. Below are the surprising results:

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CLASSIC DISNEY | Restored

In celebration of the revitalization of Animation Courtyard, CLASSIC DISNEY, the emotionally impactful montage that served as the finale to the original 1989 "The Magic of Disney Animation" tour, has been fully recreated in HD by yours truly using the latest film restorations of these masterpieces of the art form and a fully remastered soundtrack!

Warning: Bring tissues ;)

00:09:47
Pirates in 35mm

This week's Raw Wednesdays takes us to the construction of The Magic Kingdom's Pirates of the Caribbean with a rare look at it's "rope cutting" ceremony on December 15th 1973, performed by Rock Hudson.

00:02:49
Cinderella Castle Repainting 1978

To celebrate the restoration of Cinderella Castle's rightful color scheme, here's some promotional footage from its first repainting in 1978!

00:00:58
Techno Millennium

As part of the Millennium Celebration, the anthem "Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand" was produced in several musical genres including Country, Latin, Pop & Gospel.
I thought I had all of them until I discovered this somewhat forgotten variation as part of a recently contributed archive of theme park music.

The following is the 2OOO "Techno" variation created for the New Year's Eve celebration held nightly on Pleasure Island.

Enjoy!

Techno Millennium
Animated Music

The Studios Soundtrack Series welcomes ANIMATION COURTYARD.
http://epcotlegacy.com/animationcourtyard
Experience the newly restored 1989 atmosphere of Walt-era classics, then take the full "Magic of Disney Animation" tour with the score to BACK TO NEVERLAND and unique instrumental suites paying tribute to the Florida studio's productions, concluding with the emotionally impactful "Classic Disney" montage in this deluxe edition!

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Getting ready to join my fellow historian, @DisneyCicerone for this week's Live recording of DISTORY Nite Shift at (9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific) to discuss some of the (literally) biggest topics of theme park design and philosophy!
https://www.youtube.com/@disneycicerone
I'll also reveal exactly how you originally got into orbit and back again on Spaceship Earth!

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September 12, 2026

My eBay shop is active once again, with several impressive items to shop for:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/vintage.valuables.vault
Happy Bidding!

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A Music Purists Paradise
The Official ^Instrumental^ Album of EPCOT Center

Our 15th-anniversary celebration kicks into high gear with this unique tribute to the park's musical repertoire.

Inspired by the once frequent and highly treasured Official Albums of the parks, The Official ^Instrumental^ Album of EPCOT Center, utilizes the latest AI* audio separation models to present, for the first time ever, these classics in purely instrumental form, accompanied by many once-commercially released medleys and augmented by several that should have been.

*AI with considerable manual (aka human) efforts to remove AI artifacts, remove volume “ducking”, and enhancement to adjust for the loss of EQ.

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Innoventions Undiscovered

As the far-flung futurism of CommuniCore gave way to Innoventions that “focuses on the future that’s just around the corner, in exhibits hosted by cutting-edge technology companies.” The Future World Atmospheres Series welcomes, for the first time ever, the complete Innoventions Plaza BGM with bonus tracks and comprehensive liner notes on its complex history and creation! 

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Studios Overture — 1989 Edition
From our far-flung Future World pavilion for Film & Television Arts, listen to Disney•MGM Studios' epic Entrance Plaza atmosphere from 1989!
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