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WDW Tour c. 1990 — Updated to Imagination
- Thread starter tirian
- Start date
ChrisRobin124
Active Member
EPCOT Center — Future World
Communicore West
FutureCom
Presented by AT&T
Essentially the post-show for SSE, this was AT&T’s chance to showcase cutting-edge communication, including video conferencing (well before Skype or FaceTime). This is also where the Fountain of Information was located.
The guidebook includes an interesting bit of trivia: “The Mickey Mouse clock in the Age if Information animated mural on FutureCom’s east Wall was once one of the few reminders in Epcot Center of the pint-size character that built the World. Now look for your favorite characters strolling all around Epcot Center. In World Showcase, they’ll be dressed in international costumes and available for photographs at World Showcase Plaza.”
Epcot Outreach
“No single ... pavilion pretends to tell the whole story of the subject it covers, but with this information and resource center ... no visitor can complain about the lack of fact-finding sources at Epcot Center.” The area included a research librarian, encyclopedias, and early ‘90s Internet access to databases to get the most current information available.
Teacher’s Center
A lounge for teachers, complete with complimentary lesson plans.
Sunrise Terrace
“Fried cod, fried shrimp, and boneless fried chicken strips are the specialties at this emporium... This is not, however, a typically utilitarian fast-food establishment. It is a comfortable space... And the food is not conventional, frozen, pre-breaded fare. It’s freshly batter-dipped instead.
Communicore West
FutureCom
Presented by AT&T
Essentially the post-show for SSE, this was AT&T’s chance to showcase cutting-edge communication, including video conferencing (well before Skype or FaceTime). This is also where the Fountain of Information was located.
The guidebook includes an interesting bit of trivia: “The Mickey Mouse clock in the Age if Information animated mural on FutureCom’s east Wall was once one of the few reminders in Epcot Center of the pint-size character that built the World. Now look for your favorite characters strolling all around Epcot Center. In World Showcase, they’ll be dressed in international costumes and available for photographs at World Showcase Plaza.”
Epcot Outreach
“No single ... pavilion pretends to tell the whole story of the subject it covers, but with this information and resource center ... no visitor can complain about the lack of fact-finding sources at Epcot Center.” The area included a research librarian, encyclopedias, and early ‘90s Internet access to databases to get the most current information available.
Teacher’s Center
A lounge for teachers, complete with complimentary lesson plans.
Sunrise Terrace
“Fried cod, fried shrimp, and boneless fried chicken strips are the specialties at this emporium... This is not, however, a typically utilitarian fast-food establishment. It is a comfortable space... And the food is not conventional, frozen, pre-breaded fare. It’s freshly batter-dipped instead.
More views of Communicore West
More details at Walt Dated World:
More details at Walt Dated World:
CommuniCore East and West
Computers are Astuter and SMRT-1 presides over all the activities at Walt Dated Worlds CommuniCore.
waltdatedworld.com
Finally, a recent photo of the old Communicore West hallway that lived through Innoventions and once included a small tribute display for Epcot’s 30th anniversary. It was also used as a temporary character M&G while Character Spot was renovated.
You can see how much sunlight used to flood Communicore.
You can see how much sunlight used to flood Communicore.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
This perhaps more than anything else so far shows the difference between old school MK and the modern zoo that replaced it.
Can you imagine the current horde of hippos and doombuggies manoeuvering through these antique wares? The unwashed that sit around on the floor in every shop nowadays? The eleven person throng with matching 'Johnson Family Disney Holiday 2019' shirts looking for yet more Elsa or Star Wars junk?
It's a completely different crowd looking for an altogether different experience. More than can be explained by the mere passage of time. WDW has changed the audience it aims at.
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Raineman
Well-Known Member
I have not stepped foot into either East or West since my first WDW visit 29 years ago. The thought of walking in there, and not being able to immerse myself in the goodness that was Communicore, and to have to feel the quiet and emptiness that exists there now, is too much for me to bear. I can emotionally handle pretty much every other change or attraction removal at WDW, but not this one.
MaximumEd
Well-Known Member
EPCOT Center — Future World
The Living Seas
Presented by United Technologies
“A trip 4 fathoms deep into the Caribbean Sea awaits visitors here. The Living Seas is the largest facility ever dedicated to man’s relationship with the ocean and was designed by the Disney Imagineers ... in cooperation with a board of some of the world’s most distinguished oceanographic experts and scientists.
“Upon entering, there’s a 125-foot-long sea mural that leads to a display depicting the technological advances in undersea exploration ... Next, as part of the introduction to The Living Seas, is a 2-1/2-minute multimedia presentation that salutes the pioneers of ocean research ... The show also includes a 7-minute special effects film that attempts to demonstrate the critical role of the ocean as a source of energy, minerals, and protein.
“There’s a ride through a Caribbean coral reef, housed in a huge tank 200 feet in diameter and 27 feet deep, plus Sea Base Alpha ... The Coral Reef Restaurant offers fresh seafood in a setting where diners can look out ... through acrylic windows 18 feet high and 8 inches thick.”
Caribbean Coral Reef Ride
“To reach the 2-passenger sea cabs that make the trip to the coral reef, visitors enter ‘hydrolators,’ elevator-like capsules that actually descend only 2 inches while creating the illusion of diving deep under the ocean sea.
“The man made reef exists in a 5.7 million-gallon tank where more than 200 varieties of sea life, ranging from tiny crustaceans to large predators, live in a simulated environment that accurately recreates the chemistry and life-support ecosystems of the Caribbean Sea. Among the 5,000 inhabitants are sea bass, parrot fish, puffers, barracuda, butterfly fish, angelfish, sharks, croakers, hog snappers, dolphins, sea lions, and diamond rays.”
Sea Base Alpha
“This prototype undersea research facility, set up on 2 levels connected by an escalator, includes a visitors center and 6 modules, each dedicated to a specific subject...
“A 6,000-gallon tank displays another coral reef where Bermuda morays, barracuda, and bonnet head sharks swim about.”
Sea Base Concourse
“Adjacent to the 6 modules, the concourse features 3 displays.”
The book details the diver lockout chamber, a 24-foot-long glass tank with a wave machine, and a full-size mockup of the Deep Rover.
Coral Reef Restaurant
Decorated in cool greens and blues to complement its Living Seas surroundings, this restaurant offers diners a panoramic view of the living coral reef...”
The Living Seas
Presented by United Technologies
“A trip 4 fathoms deep into the Caribbean Sea awaits visitors here. The Living Seas is the largest facility ever dedicated to man’s relationship with the ocean and was designed by the Disney Imagineers ... in cooperation with a board of some of the world’s most distinguished oceanographic experts and scientists.
“Upon entering, there’s a 125-foot-long sea mural that leads to a display depicting the technological advances in undersea exploration ... Next, as part of the introduction to The Living Seas, is a 2-1/2-minute multimedia presentation that salutes the pioneers of ocean research ... The show also includes a 7-minute special effects film that attempts to demonstrate the critical role of the ocean as a source of energy, minerals, and protein.
“There’s a ride through a Caribbean coral reef, housed in a huge tank 200 feet in diameter and 27 feet deep, plus Sea Base Alpha ... The Coral Reef Restaurant offers fresh seafood in a setting where diners can look out ... through acrylic windows 18 feet high and 8 inches thick.”
Caribbean Coral Reef Ride
“To reach the 2-passenger sea cabs that make the trip to the coral reef, visitors enter ‘hydrolators,’ elevator-like capsules that actually descend only 2 inches while creating the illusion of diving deep under the ocean sea.
“The man made reef exists in a 5.7 million-gallon tank where more than 200 varieties of sea life, ranging from tiny crustaceans to large predators, live in a simulated environment that accurately recreates the chemistry and life-support ecosystems of the Caribbean Sea. Among the 5,000 inhabitants are sea bass, parrot fish, puffers, barracuda, butterfly fish, angelfish, sharks, croakers, hog snappers, dolphins, sea lions, and diamond rays.”
Sea Base Alpha
“This prototype undersea research facility, set up on 2 levels connected by an escalator, includes a visitors center and 6 modules, each dedicated to a specific subject...
“A 6,000-gallon tank displays another coral reef where Bermuda morays, barracuda, and bonnet head sharks swim about.”
Sea Base Concourse
“Adjacent to the 6 modules, the concourse features 3 displays.”
The book details the diver lockout chamber, a 24-foot-long glass tank with a wave machine, and a full-size mockup of the Deep Rover.
Coral Reef Restaurant
Decorated in cool greens and blues to complement its Living Seas surroundings, this restaurant offers diners a panoramic view of the living coral reef...”
And of course, another excellent tribute vid from @marni1971 — including the entrance, movie, hydrolators, sea cabs, and Sea Base Alpha.
“And it rained ... and rained ... and rained. The deluge.”
“And it rained ... and rained ... and rained. The deluge.”
Vacationeer
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
We had no clue "The Fountain of Information" lurking just over the horizon back then.
It's almost impossible to remember a world where most of our questions went unanswered every single day.