Fascinating Facts about The Land

Vol 1. No. 8 Date: 9/8/82

Some facts and figures about Labor Day's successful Epcot Center Construction Family Preview:

Total attendance - 26,061
Total cars parked - 6,787
Average party size - 3.8 people

Also, on the average, each group experienced just over 4 attractions each. Thanks to all of you who worked Labor Day to make it possible.

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A quick reminder the World Premiere Cafe opened yesterday for the convenience of Walt Disney World and WED cast members and Tishman employees only.

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Epcot Center Pun Facts: Nearly 3,000 designers and 4,000 construction workers are working to finish Epcot Center.

During the 3-year span of building the project, more than 10,000 construction workers representing 18 unions worked on the job -- 22 general contractors and 500 subcontractors participated.

Even in a one-eighth inch scale model, the project is huge . . . measuring 1,428 square feet, as big as many American homes.

The Land in Future World alone covers 6 acres, the same size as Tomorrow!and in the Magic Kingdom.

The tile mosaic surrounding the entrance to this pavilion covers 3,000 square feet, took three months to install and has 150,000 individually cut and shaped pieces made from nine basic materials -- marble, granite, slate, Byzantine glass, Venetian glass, gold, mirror, ceramic and pebbles -- in 131 colors.

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23 DAYS OUT

© 1982 Walt Disney Productions

COMMENTARY

Considering that the Labor Day preview was only open to construction crews and families, the 26k turn-out is pretty impressive but is does speak the immensity of what was the largest privately funded construction project in the world. (1) It is also interesting to note that Tomorrowland (not Fantasyland) is used as a size comparison for The Land.

In every incarnation of Future World, The Land was intended to be massive an (although never realized) the Tony Baxter interpretation with its crystalline bio-domes and the outlandish plethora of attractions did provide the groundwork for the basic structure of the pavilion. This News Brief concludes with a spotlight on the creation of the Land’s impressive entrance title murals. However, what is not mentioned is the interconnectedness of the mural with another WDW landmark – Cinderella Castle.
The original design was by Walt Peregoy as an illustration of the diverse strata below the Earth’s surface. The “Mural-ization” process provided by the extremely well qualified Dorothea Redmond, whose last project for the company was the five-panel depiction of the Little Cinder Girl’s story that graces the breezeway of Cinderella Castle. Additionally, at this time Dorothea wasn’t only supervising the creation of The Land mural but also recreating her original Cinderella masterpiece for Tokyo Disneyland’s castle as well – quite a busy few years for the production designer/artist whos credits also include seven films for Alfred Hitchcock and a little Civil War epic titled Gone with the Wind.
Fortunately, The Land’s Entrance Mural has remained untouched in a sea of changes at the Land. This when combined with its Background Music, is the least changed public space in Future World.

The Land Entrance Mural
Designed by Walt Peregoy, Muralized by Dorothea Redmond