Expo Hall Meet n Greet Construction

NewfieFan

NewfieFan

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
Lots of references to "the mural" here. Is this the big mural that has like every character in it and is currently located in a backstage area completely hidden a curtain and not even all the cast know about it? I ask because our dear family friends told us about said mural. They referred to it as 'The Wall of Fame". They said it used to be open in a public area and they took pics of their family in front of it on their 1st trip when their kids were little. I'd date these pics at around '85 considering their daughter babysat my oldest when he was a baby. My son was born in '96 & she was 12 or so at that time. On their last trip with their kids last Easter they asked a few cast members if they could look for it and the first couple they asked were clueless. On their last night they found a cast member who showed it to them and they took another family pic. I can get the pic if need be. I'm just curious. I had intended to go find this mural when we were just there but I didn't get the chance.
Click to expand...

I've never seen it! If you can get the pic I'd love to see it!
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
Lots of references to "the mural" here. Is this the big mural that has like every character in it and is currently located in a backstage area completely hidden a curtain and not even all the cast know about it? I ask because our dear family friends told us about said mural. They referred to it as 'The Wall of Fame". They said it used to be open in a public area and they took pics of their family in front of it on their 1st trip when their kids were little. I'd date these pics at around '85 considering their daughter babysat my oldest when he was a baby. My son was born in '96 & she was 12 or so at that time. On their last trip with their kids last Easter they asked a few cast members if they could look for it and the first couple they asked were clueless. On their last night they found a cast member who showed it to them and they took another family pic. I can get the pic if need be. I'm just curious. I had intended to go find this mural when we were just there but I didn't get the chance.
Click to expand...
That's the one. :D


It used to be out in the open, but now it's kinda hidden in this "quasi" backstage area. I haven't seen it since 2000, but I hope to find it in June.

Here's the pic.
95922620XlAjYT_ph.jpg
 
disnyfan89

disnyfan89

Well-Known Member
Expect expo hall to be completely different after they reopen with the new meet Mickey. They are relocating Mickey, the Princesses and the Pixies. From my understanding you will enter expo hall and go left to queue up for the princesses and pixies who will be located in the larger theater. Two princess rooms and one Pixie room. Or you will enter and go right to queue up for Mickey who will be doing meet and greets between shooting films like his movie barn in Disneyland. Mickey of course will be taking up the space in the smaller theater that shows shorts. The front part of the expo hall looks like it will keep the same layout but im unsure of how the space will be used.
 
aladdin2007

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
disnyfan89 said:
Expect expo hall to be completely different after they reopen with the new meet Mickey. They are relocating Mickey, the Princesses and the Pixies. From my understanding you will enter expo hall and go left to queue up for the princesses and pixies who will be located in the larger theater. Two princess rooms and one Pixie room. Or you will enter and go right to queue up for Mickey who will be doing meet and greets between shooting films like his movie barn in Disneyland. Mickey of course will be taking up the space in the smaller theater that shows shorts. The front part of the expo hall looks like it will keep the same layout but im unsure of how the space will be used.
Click to expand...

Why are they going to put princesses and pixies in there too if that is what the new fantasyland is for? Or is that temporary until its ready?
 
disnyfan89

disnyfan89

Well-Known Member
It is temporary since they have to close the meet and greets at some point to build the new princess offerings and pixie hollow is still many years away.
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
EPCOTPluto said:
Still hoping that the character mural is still in place...


So what would happen to that Kodak Camera Gallery, being that's the case? Would it be moved or demo'd? :lookaroun
Click to expand...

Yep. As of last Easter the mural was there. I'd like to think someone will think to save it somehow. Now I'm *really* kicking myself for not making time to go find it when we were just there. It's not like we were getting "magical" pics out with the castle.
 
Expo_Seeker40

Expo_Seeker40

Well-Known Member
wait, so the construction hasn't begun yet right? because I'm going next week and can hopefully get a chance to see the mural before they do whatever to that area


And just for a bit of history.....the mural was created throughout 1972 by disney imagineer Bill Justice (he also worked on the HM and Country Bears) It went public in 1973 when it became part of the foyer for the Walt Disney Story. You originally entered the expo hall from the winding ramp on the right hand side of the building and then into the holding area for the two theaters, in the pic epcot explorer uploaded, a hoastess would greet you and just before a theater became available, they would speil about the walt disney story and the characters.

The mural was in public view sometime until the early 2000s. I was able to speak on the phone with a CM last year about the mural, and what happened was....after the 2001ish Expo Hall Makeover, that section of the expo hall was an AP processing center, and because there was no CM there near the mural, guests would queue up and next to the mural to wait in line, and kids with their greasy sunscreen hands would point to and touch the characters, there's even pieces of wallpaper missing from that fiasco on the walls.

For a while it was also a special meet n greet hallway for VIP's, etc.

Now that hallway is completely curtained off, full of unused meet n greet props, etc but if you peak behind the curtain and walk down the short hallway, you'll see the mural on your left :lookaroun

The mural hasn't been added onto since 1985/86, the cast member podium still remained in place until 2007, but the intercom system was removed in the 90s on the wall.

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if the mural became in public view again. Because the theaters will get turned into meet n greets I'd say they'd have to exit through the doors that go into the lobby that holds the mural and then exit out through the curving ramp, or past the unused cash registers that could become a new pixi gift shop.

However the mural would have to be roped off or a CM present so no more greasy fingers can keep touching the paint on it.
 
Expo_Seeker40

Expo_Seeker40

Well-Known Member
To orientate yourself, you are facing north, with the castle to your diagonal left and tomorrowland to your diagonal right.

The door to your right goes to the gutted theater that is now used for CM's, to your left is the door that used to serve as the entrance to the theater that shows animated shorts and the cardboard cutouts, however this door is now an emergency exit door, you actually enter the theater through it's former exit doors...oh the irony :hammer:

And what you can't see on your left is the arch in the hallway that leads to the foyer you're standing in.
 
RiversideBunny

RiversideBunny

New Member
Expo_Seeker40 said:
To orientate yourself, you are facing north, with the castle to your diagonal left and tomorrowland to your diagonal right.

The door to your right goes to the gutted theater that is now used for CM's, to your left is the door that used to serve as the entrance to the theater that shows animated shorts and the cardboard cutouts, however this door is now an emergency exit door, you actually enter the theater through it's former exit doors...oh the irony :hammer:

And what you can't see on your right is the arch in the hallway that leads to the foyer you're standing in.
Click to expand...

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!
:)
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Expo_Seeker40 said:
wait, so the construction hasn't begun yet right? because I'm going next week and can hopefully get a chance to see the mural before they do whatever to that area


And just for a bit of history.....the mural was created throughout 1972 by disney imagineer Bill Justice (he also worked on the HM and Country Bears) It went public in 1973 when it became part of the foyer for the Walt Disney Story. You originally entered the expo hall from the winding ramp on the right hand side of the building and then into the holding area for the two theaters, in the pic epcot explorer uploaded, a hoastess would greet you and just before a theater became available, they would speil about the walt disney story and the characters.

The mural was in public view sometime until the early 2000s. I was able to speak on the phone with a CM last year about the mural, and what happened was....after the 2001ish Expo Hall Makeover, that section of the expo hall was an AP processing center, and because there was no CM there near the mural, guests would queue up and next to the mural to wait in line, and kids with their greasy sunscreen hands would point to and touch the characters, there's even pieces of wallpaper missing from that fiasco on the walls.

For a while it was also a special meet n greet hallway for VIP's, etc.

Now that hallway is completely curtained off, full of unused meet n greet props, etc but if you peak behind the curtain and walk down the short hallway, you'll see the mural on your left :lookaroun

The mural hasn't been added onto since 1985/86, the cast member podium still remained in place until 2007, but the intercom system was removed in the 90s on the wall.

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if the mural became in public view again. Because the theaters will get turned into meet n greets I'd say they'd have to exit through the doors that go into the lobby that holds the mural and then exit out through the curving ramp, or past the unused cash registers that could become a new pixi gift shop.

However the mural would have to be roped off or a CM present so no more greasy fingers can keep touching the paint on it.
Click to expand...


It wouldn't look real swooft but they could take a piece of clear plexiglass and completely cover over the entire wall. At the very least...bare minimum...I hope someone has the sense to take detailed pics or do some scans or something so the mural could be reproduced. I know a little about construction but I'm not sure if it would be possible to do demo from behind and save the entire curved chunk of wall. It's a historical piece to the park. I really, really hope someone with some say would value it for what an amazing piece it is.
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
Expo_Seeker40 said:
wait, so the construction hasn't begun yet right? because I'm going next week and can hopefully get a chance to see the mural before they do whatever to that area


And just for a bit of history.....the mural was created throughout 1972 by disney imagineer Bill Justice (he also worked on the HM and Country Bears) It went public in 1973 when it became part of the foyer for the Walt Disney Story. You originally entered the expo hall from the winding ramp on the right hand side of the building and then into the holding area for the two theaters, in the pic epcot explorer uploaded, a hoastess would greet you and just before a theater became available, they would speil about the walt disney story and the characters.

The mural was in public view sometime until the early 2000s. I was able to speak on the phone with a CM last year about the mural, and what happened was....after the 2001ish Expo Hall Makeover, that section of the expo hall was an AP processing center, and because there was no CM there near the mural, guests would queue up and next to the mural to wait in line, and kids with their greasy sunscreen hands would point to and touch the characters, there's even pieces of wallpaper missing from that fiasco on the walls.

For a while it was also a special meet n greet hallway for VIP's, etc.

Now that hallway is completely curtained off, full of unused meet n greet props, etc but if you peak behind the curtain and walk down the short hallway, you'll see the mural on your left :lookaroun

The mural hasn't been added onto since 1985/86, the cast member podium still remained in place until 2007, but the intercom system was removed in the 90s on the wall.

If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if the mural became in public view again. Because the theaters will get turned into meet n greets I'd say they'd have to exit through the doors that go into the lobby that holds the mural and then exit out through the curving ramp, or past the unused cash registers that could become a new pixi gift shop.

However the mural would have to be roped off or a CM present so no more greasy fingers can keep touching the paint on it.
Click to expand...

Expo_Seeker40 said:
To orientate yourself, you are facing north, with the castle to your diagonal left and tomorrowland to your diagonal right.

The door to your right goes to the gutted theater that is now used for CM's, to your left is the door that used to serve as the entrance to the theater that shows animated shorts and the cardboard cutouts, however this door is now an emergency exit door, you actually enter the theater through it's former exit doors...oh the irony :hammer:

And what you can't see on your left is the arch in the hallway that leads to the foyer you're standing in.
Click to expand...
Great info, Expo! :D


*prints*

*memorizes*

*plans*

It better be there in June...:eek:
 
fireworkz

fireworkz

Active Member
The Mural is great, remember seeing it in 2000. I was wondering where that hallway went on our last few trips, I assumed it was simply closed off for storage space for the Kodak store. I'll be getting back there if it's still open in May. I'm also going to miss the theatre it's was a nice quiet place too cool down and relax (not to mention kill some time while my wife shops the Emporium!) Was glad to discover it years back also because I used to always like Main Street Cinema when I was a child way back before it was taken over by a store. No chance of that coming back to replace the Expo Hall! :)
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom