The Land balloons

[Belowthesurface]

If the Maintenance budget comes in under, then certain people get a bonus.

Simple as that.

 

[ABQ]

If the Maintenance budget comes in under, then certain people get a bonus.

Simple as that.

Well it's the maintenance EXPENSE that should have to come in under the planned BUDGET to achieve the bonus. Further, the maintenance expense used should have to achieve a minimum quality output, ie working balloons and the like, in order for that bonus to kick in as well. Would be extremely sad to see that the tiny bit of expense it would take to keep the balloons operating was actually less than the bonus paid out.
If any of this were able to be proven, of course.

 

[Figments Friend]

Strictly a cost savings action. WDI giveth, TDO taketh away! Welcome to Walt Disney's Diminished World! It is the same as the way Walt Disney Budgeteering has turned fountains into planters all across the property.

Pathetic!

Thank you for this post, with the photo examples.

Interesting to see the changes in the paint treatments of the buildings in these...as well as getting to see the old fountains of yore.

 

[Figments Friend]

Why are the moving balloons gone? Good question.

And why is the handpainted ceiling gone? The ceiling represented the sky, abtracted. The way the earth was (and is) represented, abstracted, in the mosaic along the entrance.

And why are the murals gone?

And why is etc etc

Great photo of the original ceiling. I miss it too.

The artist who painted this also designed the *Realm of Art* room ( aka *the White Room* ) in the original JII Attraction.
That spectacular mural that used to be at load, too.
Also did background work on *Sleeping Beauty*.
Quite a talent, he was.

I miss all the great EPCOT Center murals of yore.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating:
Disney needs to release a series of high end art prints or even a collectors series of graphics showcasing reproductions of these impressive EPCOT Center Mural masterworks that are now gone.
They would be bonified sell-outs...i am sure.

These stunning works of art were, and still are, museum worthy pieces!

 

[Figments Friend]

Exactly! I wasn't being sarcastic if it came across that way - I did find it charming, relaxing and sweet to see the balloons move. That charm that Disney can do so simply and so well.

Visit Disneyland if you have not already done so if you thoroughly enjoy that aspect of the Disney Theme Park experience.
DL is absolutely brim full of such details and is #1 when it comes to being *charming*.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

Ooh, I can play this game!

Yesterday:

Today:

Don't jinx us... That ride is an infrared target for administration waiting to be ruined.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I'm pretty positive the Maelstrom waterfall was working recently.

 

[dolce20]

I never started a thread with so much response! I'm enjoying reading everybody's input..and I'm happy to know so many others feel the same way I do about not just the balloons moving, but about the finer details that help make the magic happen in WDW.

Happy New Year, everybody.

 

[Figments Friend]

One of the more appealing things i find about the balloons is that they are a subliminal nod to one of the earlier proposed Pavilion concepts for The Land.

In the late 1970s Tony Baxter was assigned to work on developing this Pavilion and came up with some interesting concepts.

One of the proposed attractions was a hot air balloon ride through various climates and geological landscapes, with the climax of the ride being a pass through the giant crystalline center structure that contained a real rain forest setting.

This past year in Anaheim at D23, WDI uncrated this amazing early model for The Land featuring a detailed look at that ride, among other design elements that were originally conceived for the Pavilion.

Here is a image of Tony pointing out some interesting elements during it*s display at D23.
The hot air balloon ride section of the model is shown here directly in front of Tony -







Closer view of the Balloon Ride section of the model, to the left of the Pavilion interior, clearly showing the various show scenes and climates Guest would drift through.





The concepts were abandoned in the end though, and a complete re-design of the Pavilion was then forwarded.
Tony was moved onto another Pavilion project instead....the Imagination Pavilion.
However, not all of the old concepts were ditched....

The remnants of that original ride idea lived on as the balloons we eventually saw appear as a charming centerpiece to the main interior atrium-like space in the Pavilion.
Thus, the famous *Land Balloons* we now know and love came to be.

So when i see those balloons hanging up there, i am reminded of that old ride concept of yore...and the people behind it....and how those balloons managed to end up in the Pavilion after all.

Makes me smile every time.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Great photo of the original ceiling. I miss it too.

The artist who painted this also designed the *Realm of Art* room ( aka *the White Room* ) in the original JII Attraction.
That spectacular mural that used to be at load, too.
Also did background work on *Sleeping Beauty*.
Quite a talent, he was.

I miss all the great EPCOT Center murals of yore.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating:
Disney needs to release a series of high end art prints or even a collectors series of graphics showcasing reproductions of these impressive EPCOT Center Mural masterworks that are now gone.
They would be bonified sell-outs...i am sure.

These stunning works of art were, and still are, museum worthy pieces!

Yes, they are stunning works of art!

I would buy reproductions, but I think it is too late for that, that they are lost forever. The 'Prologue and the Promise', the Horizons mural, is rumoured to hang in some TDO building. The others I think are gone, not even documented well.

EPCOT had so much genuine artistry. The murals everywhere. The sculpture in Imagination - still there, but you can't appreciate it if you can't walk up the stairs! The White Room, the changing painting by Dreamfinder. Centercore at WoM too, that blue city. All were art works of the size and splendour of the Blair mural in the Contemporary. All gone, all destroyed. With nary a trace of them left. I think the sheer splendour of the art works, and their cpomplete vanishement, is one of those reasons for the Great Divide of WDW fans - between those who knew EPCOT Center and those who don't.


Jimmy Thick: Uni can't build such fountains

 

[The Empress Lilly]

One of the more appealing things i find about the balloons is that they are a subliminal nod to one of the earlier proposed Pavilion concepts for The Land.

In the late 1970s Tony Baxter was assigned to work on developing this Pavilion and came up with some interesting concepts.

One of the proposed attractions was a hot air balloon ride through various climates and geological landscapes, with the climax of the ride being a pass through the giant crystalline center structure that contained a real rain forest setting.

This past year in Anaheim at D23, WDI uncrated this amazing early model for The Land featuring a detailed look at that ride, among other design elements that were originally conceived for the Pavilion.

Here is a image of Tony pointing out some interesting elements during it*s display at D23.
The hot air balloon ride section of the model is shown here directly in front of Tony -







Closer view of the Balloon Ride section of the model, to the left of the Pavilion interior, clearly showing the various show scenes and climates Guest would drift through.





The concepts were abandoned in the end though, and a complete re-design of the Pavilion was then forwarded.
Tony was moved onto another Pavilion project instead....the Imagination Pavilion.
However, not all of the old concepts were ditched....

The remnants of that original ride idea lived on as the balloons we eventually saw appear as a charming centerpiece to the main interior atrium-like space in the Pavilion.
Thus, the famous *Land Balloons* we now know and love came to be.

So when i see those balloons hanging up there, i am reminded of that old ride concept of yore...and the people behind it....and how those balloons managed to end up in the Pavilion after all.

Makes me smile every time.

Awesome pics. I would've loved to have seen that model myself!
And proto-land left its traces on Baxter's Imagination too. Dreamfinder's balloon zepellin and the crystals. Can you think of any more?

Which brings me to one of my pet peeves. They are cystals, not pyramids. The first fountan sculpture got it right. The second, ugly one, was built by the clueless clowns of the epcotalypse of the nineties. That sculpture doesn't mimick the shape of the building at all.

(the little fountains resemble Horizons. EPCOT had such unity of style, even subconsciously!)

 

[FerretAfros]

Which brings me to one of my pet peeves. They are cystals, not pyramids. The first fountan sculpture got it right. The second, ugly one, was built by the clueless clowns of the epcotalypse of the nineties. That sculpture doesn't mimick the shape of the building at all.

It's actually the same sculpture that's been there the whole time, they simply removed the plexiglass 'skin' from the internal supports. I have no idea why they decided to changed it, since the support structure is hardly a work of art

 

[ABQ]

It's actually the same sculpture that's been there the whole time, they simply removed the plexiglass 'skin' from the internal supports. I have no idea why they decided to changed it, since the support structure is hardly a work of art

Easier to keep it clean, I suppose. As the plexiglass was water stained from pretty much day 2 on.

 

[Figments Friend]

Yes, they are stunning works of art!

I would buy reproductions, but I think it is too late for that, that they are lost forever. The 'Prologue and the Promise', the Horizons mural, is rumoured to hang in some TDO building. The others I think are gone, not even documented well.

EPCOT had so much genuine artistry. The murals everywhere. The sculpture in Imagination - still there, but you can't appreciate it if you can't walk up the stairs! The White Room, the changing painting by Dreamfinder. Centercore at WoM too, that blue city. All were art works of the size and splendour of the Blair mural in the Contemporary. All gone, all destroyed. With nary a trace of them left. I think the sheer splendour of the art works, and their cpomplete vanishement, is one of those reasons for the Great Divide of WDW fans - between those who knew EPCOT Center and those who don't.


Jimmy Thick: Uni can't build such fountains

Yes, i would agree that is one of several elements ( or lack of..) that certainly contribute to the 'difference of opinion' within the fan community regarding EPCOT Center and the EPCOT Theme Park of more recent times.
The genuine inherent desire within the creative departments of the Company back then to present something truly stunning on ALL artistic levels is what separated the 'original' EPCOT Center of yore from today's take on the Park.

The passion of wanting to do so today seems to be lacking from someone observing from the outside, but inside those creative divisions there are still folks at WDI that have that passion but are suppressed politically or financially from fully expressing that.
The purse holders have their hands tied.
It is a different Disney now.

It used to be all about the 'Disney Difference'....now it is just simply a 'Different Disney'.


Regarding the reprints/reproductions of those wonderful murals of yore....it could be done.
I am fairly positive that in the WDI Archives there are original pieces of art showing the various mural design layouts.
These 'graphic plans' would be used to plot out the finalized graphic looks of each piece, and would show all the elements together on paper.
Such pieces would be interesting to see...and could easily be reproduced into 'collector prints' for those uber EPCOT geeks like us who would love to grace a wall with these works.
Or even better, prints made from Archive photography.

Photographs of the finished works on site also likely exists, as usually all projects were documented by WDI by being photographed or filmed to keep a record of the finished efforts.
With today's digital tools and graphics programs, those photos could be combined to create a 'complete' image of the entire mural.

So maybe one day....we will see something forthcoming in some form.
Would love to see a graphic recreation of the original JII load Mural.

 

[Figments Friend]

Awesome pics. I would've loved to have seen that model myself!
And proto-land left its traces on Baxter's Imagination too. Dreamfinder's balloon zepellin and the crystals. Can you think of any more?

Which brings me to one of my pet peeves. They are cystals, not pyramids. The first fountan sculpture got it right. The second, ugly one, was built by the clueless clowns of the epcotalypse of the nineties. That sculpture doesn't mimick the shape of the building at all.

(the little fountains resemble Horizons. EPCOT had such unity of style, even subconsciously!)

Here is another photo of that spectacular model, showing a much better close up of the Hot Air Balloon Ride concept.
It was beautifully executed, and would have likely been a serene and relaxing experience.





Tony carried over some early design elements into the Imagination Pavilion after being moved onto that project post 'promo-Land'.
I would say most of the elements that ended up in the Original Imagination however were rooted further back in his past.
Even before he was a part of the team assigned to develop the early conceptual Land Pavilion back in the 70s, a few of the design elements were carried over from previous works of his...primarily his beloved 'Discovery Bay' concept for Disneyland.
A lot of the crystalline design and show elements can be traced back to that concept.

One of those concepts for Discovery Bay was a hot air balloon ride, which when the project as a whole was shelved, was later developed to be included in early concepts for The Land.

Discovery Bay's hot air balloon ride was to be a attraction that transported Guests from Dumbo's Circus ( the other concept being developed at the same time for DL) to Discovery Bay. Think of a balloon-themed version of the Skyway...and you get the general idea.

In this photo below, a young Mr. Baxter is shown working on a model of the two proposed lands.
Discovery Bay is located at the bottom of the picture, and Dumbo's Circus towards the upper left. The balloon ride would have linked the two lands together.




Tony was fresh off of that eventually shelved 'Discovery Bay' project when he was then placed on The Land team...so you can see how that 'old idea' was carried over.
Although the balloon ride never happened in The Land, we DID get a nice nod to that concept with the balloons that graced the interior of the Pavilion when it opened, and still remain in a alternative form today.






I find it interesting to look back at those earlier concepts and see how certain design elements found their way expressed eventually in other projects.
A lot of the concepts kicked around for DB ended up in EPCOT eventually, and in DLP as we know.

 

[Figments Friend]

It's actually the same sculpture that's been there the whole time, they simply removed the plexiglass 'skin' from the internal supports. I have no idea why they decided to changed it, since the support structure is hardly a work of art

The plexiglass pieces likely turned unclear in appearence and brittle after a few years of the brutal Florida sun and other elements.
After some time elapsed being exposed to these elements, they would become 'foggy' and lose their clear appearance.

Sure they could have been replaced, but perhaps it was decided there was no point since they would have to keep being replaced every few years.

 

[Figments Friend]

(the little fountains resemble Horizons. EPCOT had such unity of style, even subconsciously!)

Which is interesting from a design standpoint, as Future World East and West has two very distinct design philosophies -

The side containing the more science-driven Pavilions ( UoE, Horizons/M:S, WoM/TT WoL) has always been purposely designed to contain more gem-like structures and landscaping elements.
All the walkway paths, curbs, planters, and architecture are all angular and rigid.
It was supposed to visually represent a more man-made setting and evoke a more purposeful created environment.

On the opposite side of FW, where we have the more organic/natural driven Pavilions ( Seas, The Land, Imagination ) we see a contrast.
The design of the grounds and architecture was made to evoke a much more naturally created setting, with circular flowing forms and meandering walkways.
This approach was intended to represent a environment more naturally created...less man-made.
The water pools and circular river stones compliment the scene.


So i find it striking that in all that careful design synergy between the two side of Future World, we have the gem/crystalline themed structures of the Imagination Pavilion and fountains on the 'serene side'.
They are more 'thematically' appropriate for the other side!
Looking at the above photo of those original fountain designs brings it to my attention again.

It does however make the Imagination Pavilion 'stand out' from the rest of the area though..which may have been part of the design intent.
Back in the day, that Pavilion was indeed a 'standout' on all levels.

I suppose the same can said about the Transportation Pavilion too....over on the 'angular side'.
It was the sole circular complex on that side until WoL was built, while every other building and thematic element is purposely angular.
Switch Imagination with Transportation and the architecture of the Pavilions is a better fit. The topics they present however, are not...thus the placement.

The Odyssey comes to mind...talk about gem-shaped..!

 

[Fe Maiden]

Without the balloons moving and the fountain gone, there's a loss of kinetic energy inside The Land. When you walk in now, it's almost like walking into a food court at the mall. At least they got the escalators moving...

It makes me feel like I'm walking through Terminal B at Philly International.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

It's actually the same sculpture that's been there the whole time, they simply removed the plexiglass 'skin' from the internal supports. I have no idea why they decided to changed it, since the support structure is hardly a work of art

I've never even realised the ugly sculpture is just the support structure of the pretty sculpture.


It's just sheer Rizzo-fication of EPCOT. 'They're tourists, what do they know'. They change the sculpture for its support structure, and then think that their audience can't tell the difference anyway. Can't tell pretty and meaningful from ugly and misplaced.

Even those who do not immediately notice that something is off, will subconsciously see an ugly sculpture. Or will simply not see a pretty sculpture.
I'll bring out my mantra: WDW was build so well, that even at fifty percent it is stil great. Those who don't know better, who only know the current WDW, woud mistake it for a good theme park resort.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Which is interesting from a design standpoint, as Future World East and West has two very distinct design philosophies -

The side containing the more science-driven Pavilions ( UoE, Horizons/M:S, WoM/TT WoL) has always been purposely designed to contain more gem-like structures and landscaping elements.
All the walkway paths, curbs, planters, and architecture are all angular and rigid.
It was supposed to visually represent a more man-made setting and evoke a more purposeful created environment.

On the opposite side of FW, where we have the more organic/natural driven Pavilions ( Seas, The Land, Imagination ) we see a contrast.
The design of the grounds and architecture was made to evoke a much more naturally created setting, with circular flowing forms and meandering walkways.
This approach was intended to represent a environment more naturally created...less man-made.
The water pools and circular river stones compliment the scene.


So i find it striking that in all that careful design synergy between the two side of Future World, we have the gem/crystalline themed structures of the Imagination Pavilion and fountains on the 'serene side'.
They are more 'thematically' appropriate for the other side!
Looking at the above photo of those original fountain designs brings it to my attention again.

It does however make the Imagination Pavilion 'stand out' from the rest of the area though..which may have been part of the design intent.
Back in the day, that Pavilion was indeed a 'standout' on all levels.

I suppose the same can said about the Transportation Pavilion too....over on the 'angular side'.
It was the sole circular complex on that side until WoL was built, while every other building and thematic element is purposely angular.
Switch Imagination with Transportation and the architecture of the Pavilions is a better fit. The topics they present however, are not...thus the placement.

The Odyssey comes to mind...talk about gem-shaped..!

That is precisely why I take such offense at the current pyramid shaped fountain sculpture. A pyramid is a man-made geometrical shape. Hence it should go in FW East. But a crystal is a natural shape! And so belongs in FW West.

FW West isn't circular. Circular is 'the monorail beam and everything in it'. The design of FW West is 'natural and organic'. Crystalline structures are natural, despite their angular shapes. They fit just as much as the shell shape of Seas, or the elements of The Land, or the abstracted natural landscaping.