Let freedom ring

During the development of Walt Disney World the appeal of Disney-style entertainment on the east coast was in question. Guests were pouring into Disneyland but the company was unsure if a similar style park would appeal to the clearly more discerning tastes of sophisticated east coasters (have we mentioned we're from the east coast?).

Fearing an East Coast/West Coast entertainment battle on the scale of Tupac and Biggie, Walt decided to test the waters. He wisely solicited a number of companies and offered to create attractions for them for New York's 1964-1965 World's Fair. His Imagineers created the WEDway PeopleMover for the Ford Pavilion, The Carousel of Progress for the GE Pavilion, It’s a Small World for the UNICEF Pavilion (sponsored by Pepsi-Cola), and a robotic Abraham Lincoln which could recite the Gettysburg Address for the State of Illinois Pavilion.

It turns out Walt's concerns were unnecessary. All of the attractions were wildly popular, especially the talking (and standing) Lincoln. Eventually the attraction was developed into The Hall of Presidents in the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square which was unique to Walt Disney World. While Disneyland guests enjoyed New Orleans Square Imagineers felt that Walt Disney World guests would not find a New Orleans themed area interesting due to the proximity of Florida to the real thing. They needed an analogous land. 

The idea of colonial America was originally to be an annex to Main Street in Disneyland but eventually became the main theme of Liberty Square. Ironically, when we here at Second Star Films are touring Walt Disney World we tend to breeze through Liberty Square without much thought. Being from Philadelphia we've got colonial history coming out of our ears and at first glance there isn't much there. Liberty Square is almost literally a square connecting to Fantasyland, Frontierland and the hub. We tend to bolt directly to The Haunted Mansion or high tail it through to get to Splash Mountain without so much as a pause. Turns out, we've been missing some fairly interesting things. Who knew?!

The land is painstakingly detailed and thematically carries guests from America’s east to the “wild west” of Frontierland. For authenticity, rocks used in the Liberty Square Bridge from the hub into Liberty Square were quarried six miles from where George Washington crossed the Delaware River in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Despite living approximately twenty minutes from Valley Forge we could not confirm nor deny the veracity of that statement. You would not believe the looks you get when you show up at local quarries and begin asking about rocks which may or may not have been used to build a bridge in a theme park 1000 miles away 40 years ago.

The architecture of the buildings takes guests through a historical and geographical progression starting in upstate New York during the 1600s and ending in the west during the 1800s. The doors in Liberty Square have two digit numbers over them. Adding 18 to the front of these gives the year that style of house would have been popular. The date above The Hall of Presidents, 1787, is the year the United States Constitution was ratified.

The shutters on the windows of the buildings hang at an angle because in Colonial days the upper hinges tended to be made of leather straps to conserve metal. The straps would eventually wear and the shutters would sag.

We've heard rumors that a silver plate can be found between Liberty Square and Fantasyland which represents the Mississippi River. Search as we did we, including the conscripted services of a game but ultimately confused Cast Member, we were unable to find any such plate. So, for the sake of jounalistic integrity we did not include any reference to or mention of said plate in our video for Liberty Square. If you happen to find it, please send us a pic and a detailed description of where to locate it.

Also, we've been told that the tan areas running through the walkwasy of the land are represenatative of when our intrepid forefathers would dump their waste into the street. True or not, we've decided to ignore it completely since that's really gross.

The centerpiece of Liberty Square, the Liberty Tree, a 135 year old oak tree, has 13 lanterns hung from it, one for each of the 13 original colonies. The nearby Liberty Bell is a replica made from the same mold as the original in Philadelphia.

A building near The Hall of Presidents representing Boston’s Old North Church tower features two illuminated lamps as a subtle allusion to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride”. In the poem Revere instructs a friend to hang a lantern in the belfry arch to signal if the British will march by land or sea. “One if by land and two if by sea.” Guests may also notice a rifle hanging in a nearby window. During the Revolutionary War, this was a sign indicating that townsmen were home and ready to answer the call to arms.



Check out the Second Star Films™ Hidden Disney page for a video about Liberty Square as well as many other attractions.

The Land Pavilion: Not just Soarin'!

Despite Epcot's humble beginnings as the educational EPCOT Center, theoretical heart of Walt's to-be-expanded-upon idea of a technologically and socially advanced city, the park has emerged as the home of some of Walt Disney World's more thrilling experiences. Test Track, Mission: Space, and Soarin', or "The Big Three" as we call them here at Second Star Films™, attract adrenaline junkies early and often. These attractions tend to fill up fast and stay busy most of the day.

While we love The Big Three (even if Mission: Space tends to make us all a bit queasy), we can't help but feel for those lonesome attractions which fall by the wayside. Sure, we're amongst the throngs of people fighting to queue up for Soarin' immediately after rope drop, or getting a fist full of Fastpasses for later and then bee lining to the next attraction on our touring plan. But what about those other poor, lonesome attractions nearby? What about them?

The Land has been a staple of Epcot since the park's opening in 1982 and in addition to Soarin' (yes, there are OTHER attractions in the pavilion) The Land hosts some of our favorite experiences and has fantastic details which may be overlooked. Some guests even insist that The Land is...BORING. Well, we're here to hopefully change your mind about this hidden gem. Although, calling The Land hidden seems somewhat ironic since it is by far the largest pavilion in all of Future World covering six acres.

Walking up to the entrance to The Land guests will notice that the entrance walkways slope gently upward. The walkway themselves and the intricate tile mosaics flanking them on both sides hide some secrets of their own. Without giving away too much here, pay attention to the colors used in the walkway and take some time to appreciate the artistry in the tiles used in the mosaics. 

Guests actually enter the pavilion on the second floor. Standing on the balcony overlooking the open first floor you'll be almost eye-level with four beautiful balloons floating within the glass rotunda. If you have some time (in other words you aren't speed-walking your way down to the escalators which probably aren't working anyway) take a moment to appreciate the intricate designs painted on these balloons. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The balcony is also a great place to people watch. It's incredible to see this tidal wave of people moving down the ramps and into the pavilion. It's also a great spot to catch the intoxicating aromas of Sunshine Seasons, the food court immediately below the balcony. Beware, however, that the deliciously sweet and savory smells of breakfast in the morning and the incredibly diverse array of foods served at lunch may just prompt you to pause in your touring to enjoy a meal.

A quick side note, Sunshine Seasons may top the list of our favorite quick-service places to eat in all of Walt Disney World. Where else can you order Mongolian beef, a Reuben panini and an oak-grilled rotisserie chicken under the same roof?

Before you head down to the first floor you can also enjoy Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, a fantastic 20 minute film shown in the Harvest Theater (from the entrance, head down the right ramp and you'll run right into it) starring your favorite characters from Disney's The Lion King. Maybe it's a little preachy but it's still a stunning film with a great message. It's also a great air conditioned stop after a long day of touring.

Living with the Land is also one of our favorite attractions in Epcot. The boat tour starts as many Epcot attractions do, with a narrator taking you through some audio animatronic vignettes, but after that you are treated to a unique look behind the scenes as the tour passes through a working greenhouse and laboratory which not only grow much of the fresh food consumed in Epcot (including the Garden Grill on the second floor of The Land) but innovates ground-breaking ways of increasing crop yields and production. Trust us, the tour isn't just going to interest the green thumbs in your party (we can't even get grass to grow), there's a lot of interesting things happening in The Land.

Sure even by Epcot's educational standards the Land Pavilion feels a bit slower than other parts of the park but it's one of the few pavilions left which, to us, still feels like it still enlivens the original spirit of EPCOT Center. The Land pavilion feels familiar and comfortable. It brings back memories of classic Epcot and surprises us every time we stroll up the multi-colored walkway, past the mosaic, and into the upper level of the rotunda.

So, after you've safely secured your fastpasses for Soarin', ridden Mission: Space so many times you think you might actually BE Gary Sinise, and designed the car of the future in Test Track, head across Future World and stroll through The Land. You won't regret it.

Check out Second Star Film's Hidden Disney page for the Land Pavilion video plus many more.

The Final Frontier

Walt Disney World has always celebrated space and science fiction. Even though it's sort of a thematic mess now, Tomorrowland in The Magic Kingdom originally envisioned *dramatic voice with reverb* THE FUTURE in a quaint 50s drive-in-movie-theater kind of way. 

Flight to the Moon, which itself was an updated version of Disneyland's Rocket to the Moon, debuted December 24, 1971 and ran until April 15, 1975. After man set foot on the moon the attraction felt dated so Imagineers updated the destination to Mars. Mission to Mars opened June 7, 1975 and thrilled guests until it eventually closed it's doors almost 25 years later on October 4, 1993.

Not long after Mission to Mars debuted, Space Mountain started rocketing guests to the inky black abyss of deep space. Compared to other thrill rides on property now (and myriad rides at other theme parks which shall remain nameless) Space Mountain may seem somewhat tame, but at the time it was the premier attraction on property.
 
Since Space Mountain is an indoor coaster and entirely in the dark guests did not know what to expect when they first rode. To maintain the theme, when it opened cast members were forbidden from referring to it as a rollercoaster. Not even warning signs outside the ride were allowed to refer to the attraction as a rollercoaster. As a result early riders walked away with bumps, bruises and a few broken bones. We can personally attest to a few abrasions. Possibly even a concussion. At the very least, one lost pair of very nice sunglasses.

The concept of THE FUTURE (sorry we'll stop) continued to be a theme when Walt Disney World opened the doors at Epcot on October 1, 1982. Firstly, there's Future World. Sort of self explanatory there. Perhaps more importantly the iconic geodesic sphere which stands as the symbol for Epcot, houses the Spaceship Earth attraction which takes guests on a journey through the history of human communication and also posits the future of our society.

The geosphere took 26 months to build. It is 185 feet high and 165 feet in diameter with an estimated weight of 16 million pounds. About 1,700 tons of steel were used to create the structure with support pilings buried 120 to 185 feet deep. The sphere itself also uses some space-age (get it?!) technology.
 

A special type of aluminum, alucobond, was used to create the 11,324 silvered facets on 954 triangular panels covering the sphere. The material can withstand the Florida climate and is self-cleaning. Spaceship Earth also has a gutter system which collects rain water and channels it to the World Showcase lagoon.

Most of us here at Second Star Films™ are too young to have a very clear memory of Horizons but we've read countless testimonials on the popularity of the attraction. For those of you who, like us, were not privy to the halcyon days of Future World, the Horizons pavilion, open from October 1, 1983 until January 9, 1999, was devoted primarily to THE FUTURE (boom! one last time).

Mission: Space now stands on the same spot Horizons once stood. This intense thrill ride equally excites and sickens us. That's not an indictment the ride uses centrifugal force (read: spinning) to simulate a rocket launch. It can be a bit...unsettling. In the grand tradition of Disney's Imagineers paying tribute to former attractions, Mission: Space hides some great Horizons references.

Without giving away too much here, pay close attention while you're waiting in the queue. We think you'll find a few really fun references to the former tenant. Also, and perhaps most importantly, the pre-show film also stars Gary Sinise as the commander of the mission. Sinise starred in 2000’s Mission to Mars released by Disney’s Touchstone Pictures. So when you're riding it's imperitive you ask yourself if today is Jimmy Shaker day.

Check out the Second Star Films™ Hidden Disney page for a video about Mission: Space as well as many other attractions.