does anyone remember the Epcot daytime air show?

bjlc57

bjlc57

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Way back when Epcot opened, back in the day.. there used to be a day time air show over the middle of the lake in the world showcase.. Does anyone remember this .. or remember the name. the first time that our family watched this.. we were all leaning on some giant box or something.. and at the end of the show.. the top of the box opened and an inflateable Character came out of the top.. but this show had Goofy and other Disney characters in these sky or powered hang gliders .. with like a go kart below them.. it was quite an afternoon show.. it was something that I believe we saw twice.. but never since..
 
bjlc57

bjlc57

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am sorry about my poor description of the timing.. looking at the google video. it appears to be Surprise in the Sky's.. and I would guess it was about 1992..but thank you so much for helping me on this one.. 'preciate it a lot..
 
W

WDW Monorail

Well-Known Member
Yes. Mistake on the Lake.

I did like the show and we got the great theme song and Air Battle out of it but it was a hazardous show to perform. These days, having ultralites flying over guest areas would be a big no no and having performers in the air while mines and comets are shot in to the air nearby would also be a big no no.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
mergatroid said:
Yes I remember enjoying it. From what I remember reading somewhere they used the stolport for take off and landing which would make sense.
Click to expand...
They built a temporary airstrip on what is now Pop Century.

Well, more like a circle of cleared flat land.

image.jpg
 
aladdin2007

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
I was always mesmerized by that show, and how each country had a huge character in front of it that popped out of a box all at the same time, as a kid then it was quite something. Something they would never do today or spend on such detail and effect.


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beanbunny

beanbunny

Member
We loved Surprises in the Sky - if I remember correctly, it also included a water ski show. Unfortunately, we heard one of the ultralites crashed & the show was permanently suspended. Not sure if that's accurate or not, just the rumor at the time.
 
75disney

75disney

Well-Known Member
I heard that rumor as well. I am sure that I saw both shows, but I only remember Skyleidoscope. The show was great; the music was corny but catchy. My dad videotaped it on one of those old Camcorders. He became so caught up in the show that he forget he was taping it. The camera cocked sideways and he got most of the show at a diagonal angle. It is quite funny to watch that way.
 
DManRightHere

DManRightHere

Well-Known Member
Just watched a surprise in the sky video. It looked entertaining!

I guess they can't do it anymore even if they wanted to lol. Costumed characters in aerial vehicles flying over populated areas and around pyrotechnics, even speed boats in the bay with the pyros going off! We're just too uptight these days.
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
DManRightHere said:
Just watched a surprise in the sky video. It looked entertaining!

I guess they can't do it anymore even if they wanted to lol. Costumed characters in aerial vehicles flying over populated areas and around pyrotechnics, even speed boats in the bay with the pyros going off! We're just too uptight these days.
Click to expand...
Personally, I think it's too many lawyers.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
beanbunny said:
We loved Surprises in the Sky - if I remember correctly, it also included a water ski show. Unfortunately, we heard one of the ultralites crashed & the show was permanently suspended. Not sure if that's accurate or not, just the rumor at the time.
Click to expand...

The crash was what curtailed Skylidascope.
 
Scooter

Scooter

Well-Known Member
I have an old VHS video called "A Day at EPCOT Center" that was made around 1992 and it shows parts of Surprise in the sky. I'm so glad I bought it now. It's fun watching these old and long-gone attractions.
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Cmdr_Crimson said:
For your viewing pleasure...Found on google

Skyleidoscope


And Surprise in the Skies
Click to expand...


Thanks for those. Maybe it's just me being miserable or maybe the video doesn't do them justice, but those look terribly 'dated' and very poor now. I can only imagine the meltdown we'd have on here if they were reintroduced now as they were back then with no updates!

I'm not trying to be negative (really I'm not) and I can remember enjoying both shows when younger, but now that looks so cheesey. To be honest I've never liked pyrotechnics in daylight, for me it rarely works especially when you compare them to being displayed at night.

Reading this post back to myself I sound like the miserable middle aged guy I hoped I'd never grow into (I'll be buying cardigans and slippers next), however I'm not trying to cause offence and I certainly appreciate the videos being posted. Maybe shows have evolved and moved on without me realising and back then things like that were cutting edge, but I'm sitting here watching that and thinking "Wow that's actually pretty terrible".

Right I'm off to give pipe smoking a try and perhaps shout at the neighbourhood kids for making too much noise now.
 
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