In this episode we’re very happy to welcome Bob Gibbons to the Town Hall. Bob had a long and illustrious career at Kodak, where he worked as one of their liaisons to Disney when Imagineers were creating the Journey into Imagination pavilion for EPCOT Center. Bob worked closely with Tony Baxter and the WED team, and his stories of the process are sure to inform and entertain! Let’s head back to the Dreamport – it’s the Progress City Radio Hour!
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The development of EPCOT Center was a long and arduous process. After Walt’s dream of a futuristic city faded away, Imagineers and others were left to figure out how keep the spirit of his vision alive. By the mid-1970s, this had evolved into a concept for a series of “EPCOT Satellites”, which would be various research centers and technological demonstration sites that would embrace EPCOT-derived philosophies.
But before the satellite plan was announced, it was revealed that the first element derived from EPCOT that would be built was a new gated attraction dubbed the World Showcase. This would be an international exposition, with pavilions representing dozens of participating nations. Each of the pavilions would house an attraction, restaurant, and shops and other exhibits.
The story of how this idea grew into EPCOT Center is a story I hope to tell someday, but for now it’s fun to look back and see what World Showcase could have been like had WED’s early plans come to fruition. Several years ago someone was kind enough to share this promotional film with me; in it, the narrator speaks of Disney’s achievements in planning at Disneyland and Walt Disney World before discussing Walt’s EPCOT plans. And then it segues into a preview of World Showcase, seemingly pitched at potential participant nations and corporations. According to Imagineer Tom Morris on BlueSky, this was also shown to Disneyland Cast Members at the time to excite them about the project.
The film is undated, but judging from the state of the project shown I estimate it to date from 1974 or 1975.
We’re back, and kicking off a new run of episodes with a fresh interview! This month, we return to our Town Hall for a chat with artist and Imagineer extraordinaire, Tim Kirk. Tim joins us to talk about his early Tolkien illustration work and his contributions to EPCOT classics such as Kitchen Kabaret, the Disney-MGM Studios and The Great Movie Ride, Sunset Boulevard and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and much, much more. Time to take a Head Trip – it’s the Progress City Radio Hour!
Aloha! The Radio Hour is back with a look at some of Disney’s brushes with the cultures of the south seas. We’ll look at Walt’s voyages to Hawaii, the creation of his Enchanted Tiki Room, and the many delights of the Tahitian Terrace. Come closer so you may see what magic there is in fantasy, it’s the Progress City Radio Hour!
From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats.
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