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! 

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 

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.

Greetings Film Fans! 

As the 35th Anniversary of the Disney•MGM Studios fastly approaches, many stylish designs are being added to a completely overhauled Centorium as we speak.

Proceed to E82's Centorium 

Several of these new pieces of apparel & decor feature some surprises that I'm revealing exclusively to you! 

One such example is the subtle design of the Sofa Pillows (available in 3 colors)....

And the same can also be said for the sturdy yet sophisticated Tote bag sure to make your vintage Disney and classic Hollywood friends jealous :)