What if…?
It's a question Imagineers often use during every step when creating new experiences. It’s a question I often ask myself. At the heart of E82 is a vital and important question that serves as the drive for all the endeavors for this project and in fact The Project itself…
What if EPCOT Center was opening today?
I believe it’s one of the most thought provoking questions one can ask about a theme park that’s dedicated to the future and yet is fast approaching 50 years old. What if John Hench, Marty Sklar, and Ray Bradbury were equipped with the technologies of today to realize their visions of the future? How would EPCOT be different? How would it remain the same? And how would it be presented to the world?
Today, Disney’s Marketing and Merchandise divisions are vast and expansive. We have countless t-shirts designed for the Tower of Terror, there are art exhibits and events centered on just The Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Haunted Mansion appears to be getting a new album every ten years. This final example leads us to this question: What if "Disney Parks" released a new series of albums dedicated to the rich musical legacy of each of Future World’s pavilions? How would that look? And what would be included? Well, here is my attempt at an answer:
The Future World Soundtrack Series is dedicated to the many composers that have penned life into EPCOT by writing the music of tomorrow. More than a literal archive of chronological sound cues, the Series is an artistic expression of the soundscapes of the Future. Very few things have been left untouched, songs and score have been re-titled, re-arranged, re-mastered, or restored. All to create an experience designed to take the listener on a symphonic journey into attractions past and present. With the hope that it will spur public awareness for more professional releases in the future.
Our first Pavilion brings us to what was once called “the Fantasyland of Future World;” Journey Into Imagination has a long rich and dramatic history, that we will be exploring in depth here at E82. But for now, let us enjoy the wonder and whimsy of one of the most beloved Disney attractions in history.
DISC ONE is the original attractions of the Pavilion from 1982 to its completion in 1983.
DISC TWO is a retrospective of the history and legacy of Imagination from 1982 until the present…
Our second Pavilion brings us to a dramatic presentation on the Universe of Energy, a kinetic history and the potential sources for the near and distant future.
DISC ONE features 1982’s serious and dynamic Universe of Energy. Then experience a musical journey through 1996’s fast-paced, comical successor: Ellen’s Energy Crisis. DISC TWO is a tribute to the dream that became the park. Inspired by 1966’s “The EPCOT Film”, The Progress City Suite features period music and themes used in announcing to the world the experimental prototype community of tomorrow…
Our third installment of the Future World Soundtrack Series takes to the most prolific of all Epcot’s pavilions: The Land. This pavilion examines the symbiotic relationship we have with the planet, through ecology, agriculture, environmentalism, and nutritional awareness. The Land’s message of harmonious balance is expressed through dramatic films, entertaining shows, and a unifying voyage through tomorrow’s harvest.
Focusing on the themes of agrarian advancement and good nutrition, DISC ONE features the attractions and atmospheres as presented in the Land pavilion’s original incarnation. DISC TWO follows the pavilion’s progression from the environmental 90’s to the highly abstract post-millennial era…
Our fourth installment explores Future World’s only singularity, a pavilion that while it’s seen several aesthetic changes still has not developed beyond its original intent. The Wonders of Life is a celebration of our existence and the marvelous mysteries of just what it means to be human. Told through comedy, adventure, and drama the plethora of attractions and exhibits barely cover the many aspects of life but always do so in lighthearted, entertaining and insightful ways.
Focusing on conception through adolescence DISC ONE features the festive, funny and frivolous aspects of Future World’s most playful pavilion. DISC TWO concentrates on the serious, mysterious, and wondrous characteristics of existence with the pavilion’s dynamic and intellectual attractions…
Our fifth installment celebrates the sensuously sedate subject of our living seas. The pavilion most rooted in scientific application and awareness, The Living Seas focused on the exploration of our planet’s last, largest and greatest frontier. DISC ONE showcases the original experience from the dramatic opening to the true-life discoveries of Sea Base Alpha while DISC TWO features an experimental composition inspired by Paul Gerber’s masterfully produced film simply titled “The Sea”…
Our sixth installment pays tribute to the only pavilion in EPCOT Center completely dedicated to tomorrow, the one in which all other Future World concepts converge— Horizons, A remarkably intricate experience that presented a spectacular vision of life in the 21st century. DISC ONE explores the 1983 masterpiece in all its forward-thinking brilliance, while DISC TWO we choose to go to the International Space Training Center in the year 2036, better known as Mission: Space…
Our seventh installment takes us to the heart of Future World if not all of EPCOT Center — CommuniCore prophetically introduced many of the technologies we use today in a relaxed and architecturally harmonious atmosphere. DISC ONE pays tribute to the avant-garde atmosphere of CommuniCore during the park’s first decade, while DISC TWO features a fantasia of eclectic music perfectly suited to the kinetic showcase of today’s high-tech trends that is Innoventions.…
Our eighth installment takes us to the light-hearted epic of EPCOT Center — World of Motion travels through the history of transportation. DISC ONE pays tribute to the lush original score of the attraction and Transcenter while DISC TWO features an intense collection of techno-industrial tempos that typify Test Track and its sublime successor SimTrack…
