E82 The Epcot Legacy
Art • Music • Education
FADE-IN
Designing the Disney•MGM Studios
May 04, 2024
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Perhaps the most impressive of Imagineering's talents was the ability to succinctly distill historical locations down to their essence in an idealized state. In the past, this was done with great success to the Old West, various exotic colonies in Africa and Asia, the French Quarter of New Orleans, and (in the case of World Showcase) entire countries were depicted in less than 3 acre lots.

However, with the Disney•MGM Studio Tour, Imagineering probably had its greatest challenge — not because of the subject matter but because it was depicting its own heritage. Hollywood Designers designing a tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood could have been overwhelmed by the wealth of places to recreate or reference with a limited budget and space. Nevertheless, they did just that and the following is a mostly chronological journey from the Studios' Future World origins to the apex of its own Golden Age.

★ = Restored and/or Color-Corrected by yours truly
+ = Enhanced by AI 

Inside Entertainment Pavilion by Joe Rohde, 1984 ★+

 

Nestled between Journey into Imagination & The Land, the "Inside Entertainment" pavilion was to contain an E-Ticket omnimover called "Great Moments at the Movies", and interactive attraction showcasing Television production and a tribute to Walt Disney Animation. With the advent of Michael Eisner, this concept quickly outgrew its Epcot site to become a separate Studio Tour just one year later.

About the painting:
Its cloud mural façade is inspired by Joe's recollections of a similar backdrop at the 20th Century Fox Ranch.

Hollywood Boulevard by Collin Campbell, 1985 ★

 

Studio Overview by Collin Campbell, 1986

 

Keystone Clothiers by Collin Campbell, 1986 ★

 

Studio Tour Promotional by Collin Campbell, 1987

 

 Soundstage & Brown Derby Colorboard by Katie Polk Olson, 1987

 

"Pooh's Hollywood Corner" by Tom Gilleon, 1987

 

Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner Colorboard by Katie Polk Olson, 1987

 

Superstar Television Exterior by Collin Campbell, 1987 ★

 

Superstar Television Theater by Collin Campbell, 1987 ★

 

Studio Overview at Sunset by Tom Gilleon, 1988
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DTV in HD

NEW SERIES
Classic DTV recreated in HD!
Beginning with how The Old Mill was introduced to kids in the Awesome 80s.

00:00:33
A DISNEY HALLOWEEN

Exactly 10 years after my previous efforts, the feature-length classic Disney Channel TV Special has been reconstructed again, this time in HIGH DEFINITION with an enhanced soundtrack!

Check out this Restoration Showcase then watch the full film.
https://www.jlhomnimedia.com/disneyhalloween1983

00:02:04
Selling the Seas

As the last of Epcot's Phase II pavilions and the first one for the Eisner administration, The Living Seas had a massive marketing campaign including several opening events, an hour-long celebrity-filled TV special, and more print ads than I can count.
However, if a solo commercial for The Living Seas exists, I can't seem to find it. Nevertheless, I came into a collection of raw B-Roll several years ago that if it wasn't produced for a narrative commercial it sure does look like it!
Culling through 12 minutes of footage and 37 clips, here is a "Seas Sizzle Reel" of the "wonders below the surface".

PS Locals Supporters should expect to see the raw footage soon!

00:02:14
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
Happy Holidays!

Get into the spirit of the season with my reconstruction of the Main Street Christmas atmosphere.
https://www.jlhomnimedia.com/ms-christmas
Featuring an essay about the restoration of this holiday classic & a gallery of 25 vintage Magic Kingdom photos taken during the most wonderful time of the year!

And a reminder for all Supporters,
You can download the full restorations of all nine source albums right now!

https://epcotlegacy.locals.com/post/5020631/supplemental-seasons-greetings

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Just out of curiosity, did anyone ever make a book of punch out, tape together, paper models of the EPCOT pavilions?

Random discovery:
Figment as Captain EO with Fuzzball. 😊🌈
by Ethan Reed

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A Disney Halloween
Now in High Definition

In thanks for your support here's an exclusive preview of a project I've been working on for the past several weeks. 
10 years after my first reconstruction, "A Disney Halloween" has been reassembled once again only this time in full HD with vastly improved audio and many segments restored for the first time ever.
There's a great number of improvements I could list, but for now, let's let the footage speak for itself. 


(Previous Supporter Only exclusive preview) 

A Disney Halloween in HD

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The Living Seas — In Depth

While progressing through this project, it's always been my goal to have THE most comprehensive collection of Epcot soundtrack compilations possible. Unfortunately, there are several pavilions, with a few tiny yet significant pieces of the "puzzle" I just can't seem to acquire. Such was the case with The Living Seas up until a few weeks ago when I was gifted two amazing soundtracks one of which was the the last piece of the puzzle for the pavilion, and the other a massive mind-blowing upgrade. 

One of the most elusive scores in Epcot has been the original United Technologies preshow to The Living Seas that ran from the pavilion's opening in 1986 until 1999. Written by Richard Bellis, this is my favorite arrangement of George Wilkins' Living Seas theme. Few today even remember the accompanying visuals, but that will change very soon 😉.  This score and narration for this show has surfaced and carefully restored and rebalanced for this compilation!

The second and more important revelation has been all six surround sound tracks from Paul Gerber's magnificently mysterious film THE SEA. The previously best source was a mono track taken directly from the audio rack in the pavilion's show control room. As a result (and for reasons more complex than you want to read today) you could hear the BGM bleeding over into the movie, especially in the quieter moments as well as several imperfections and blemishes that were just too difficult to remove. 

None of these are problems anymore because (after a full week of cleaning and mixing this 7-minute film) you will now hear THE SEA in higher quality than ever before! And perhaps even more impressive, these separations allowed me to construct a complete Instrumental Suite of the film allowing you to enjoy Patrick Gleeson's score in isolation.

In addition to these major discoveries, I've also upgraded several tracks and added the audio from two more films shown in Seabase Alpha. This is also the FIRST Future World Soundtrack Series album you will not only Hear but SEE! As the Animated Atlas of the World, Jason of the Deep and Suited for the Sea films have been added at the bottom of the playlist all of which were taken directly from the source Laserdiscs and feature my upgraded sound mix for each. 

So I welcome you to "Try to Imagine" once more a complete journey through THE LIVING SEAS! 

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The American ART Adventure

As America Appreciation Month continues, here's Part Two of our permanent online exhibition of the exquisite art created for the American Adventure. 

Here you'll experience over 40 paintings and pictures used in the astounding show. In all cases, these priceless works of art have been painstakingly restored over the process of the last several years and well over 100 hours of preservation efforts. 

Board this "tiny ship" to begin your American ART Adventure!   

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