With TCM's 30th, MGM's 100th, the Disney•MGM Studios 35th & the Hollywood Tower Hotel's 30th all occurring within a 4-month span this might seem less like E82 & more like "S89 | The Studios Legacy" for a little while.
But there are several reasons why this is part of the Epcot Legacy as I explained when our "far-flung performing arts pavilion" ;-) was annexed into the project in 2019....
In a listing of Future World superlatives, one could easily say Horizons was the most inspiring, Imagination the most timeless, and Spaceship Earth the most impressive. To this list, one could add "Inside Entertainment" as the most prolific and certainly most impactful as the concept for the never built performing arts pavilion featuring Great Moments at the Movies, Disney Animation and a look into TV production was so expansive that no one building could possibly house all the possibilities of putting people into the movies.
Enter the Disney•MGM Studios
It might sound like somewhat of a stretch to incorporate a seemingly superficial studio into something as substantive as The Epcot Legacy on a historically tangential technicality, but the original aspirations of the park are very much in line with Epcot's over-arching theme of Humanity — who we are (World Showcase) and what we can do (Future World). In fact, the original Studios bridges these two concepts by exhibiting some of our Greatest cultural achievements and the technical abilities needed to achieve them.
Classic cinema speaks to our nature, our inherent humanity — both our shortcomings and successes. Furthermore, exposure to the historical heights of cinematic perfection not only reveals answers to our past but keys to our future. Most importantly, it provides a challenge to meet and surpass the achievements of yesterday ushering in a brighter tomorrow.
Like the MGM Studios itself, the greatness of the Florida studios has reached the slow Fade-Out. But that need not be the case. For on this 30th anniversary of its opening, the meaning and memories of the Disney•MGM Studios lives on through movies & music, sights & sounds.
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.
Continuing our week-long celebration of THE LIVING SEAS 40th birthday, here's my "sizzle reel" constructed from its original b-roll.
Watch the entire 10-minutes of footage here: https://www.epcotlegacy.com/history/seabase-b-roll
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.
I am pleased to announce that after over a year in development, Deborah Lord's iconic Future World letterset has been remade, refined and expanded to become a full Font Family as well as a symbols font featuring E82's signature vectorizations of the park's logos.
In celebration of its release, as a Locals Follower, you can receive a 15% discount by entering the code: FIGMENTFONT15 at checkout for the next 7 days!
While most would think this rarely seen piece of concept art by Tom Gilleon is unremarkable, there is much to love about its simplicity in depicting the streamlined elegance of Future World's wayfinding signage, including the original logo for CENTURY 3 (aka HORIZONS)!
In stark contrast to all the AI detractors, these new tools can help breathe new life into the images of our past, as in this colorization of an iconic B&W photo of Cinderella Castle in all its 1974 glory as it towers over the spartan foliage of a young Magic Kingdom.
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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Decades before construction, Walt Disney and his Imagineers knew that, whatever form it would take, EPCOT, in all its vastness, could not exist without the technological and financial assistance of “American Free Enterprise”. Without the intrepid leaders of AT&T, GM, Kodak, GE, MetLife, and several others, EPCOT Center simply would not exist.
In gratitude for their support, each pavilion’s design included a luxurious VIP Lounge for their sponsors' employees. These lounges included special amenities, fascinating architecture, backdoor attraction access, and often spectacular views of the park their company helped to create.
E82 is unique among Locals platform creators, so here's an overview of all VIP Lounge offerings.
Head over to the ContentTab to access all your exclusives:
In VIDEOS, view Supporter Only exclusives like the full-length versions of Raw Wednesdays.
In PODCASTS, hear rare selections and restorations from the JLH Audio Archives — often years before the public. And some are forever exclusive to the Legacy Lounge.
In PDFs, find rare documents and scanned ephemera from the Florida Project's foundations and beyond.
In ARTICLES, discover top E82 supporter perks: exclusive Concept Art exhibits, behind-the-scenes glimpses into upcoming projects, and premiere access to latest Music releases weeks to months before the public, with superior CD-quality downloads not streamed on the main site.
While there is already much to see, showcasing The Epcot Legacy is always in a state of becoming, and with your support, E82 will continue to entertain, inform, and inspire for generations to come.
See You in the Future, — Joshua
Global Neighorhood by Albert Yu 1992
If you're on a free account, upgrade to paid supporter today — not just to unlock these exclusives, but to allow me to keep restoring, refining, and releasing even more rarities from my vast archives for you and the world. There is so much more to share.
