...while I indulge in a bit of nostalgia.
We moved to Central Florida not long after Disney's EPCOT Center opened. Our children were four and not-quite-two, so that first year we bought special Florida resident annual passes to the Disney World parks (all two of them). This was a brilliant investment that enabled us to explore at our leisure and allow the kids to determine when it was time to go home. We wanted to avoid the all too common scene of childish meltdown, caused by parents determined to squeeze every last minute out of their very expensive vacation.
(Very expensive? Well, it was, though no one will believe that if I mention that I remember when the price of a one-day ticket went up to $17 for an adult.)
Actually, the girls usually held out better than I did, and we frequently stayed to enjoy the closing fireworks. Their favorite park by far was EPCOT, perhaps because Disney characters and movies took up very little space in our lives, so the Magic Kingdom did not have the appeal it otherwise would have. Had we not lived in Central Florida, I doubt we would ever have bothered with that all-American dream, a Disney vacation. But living here has its perks, and between good deals for Florida residents and many opportunities to earn free tickets, Disney World, and especially EPCOT, played a significant role in shaping our children's memories.
So, for them, I present, Walt Dated World! I found this site, dedicated to Disney World features that are no more, while searching for the original script for the Spaceship Earth ride. The first ride that greets you as you walk into the park, it was once sponsored by AT&T, and Porter's AT&T ID card sent us to the front of the line, so we enjoyed it frequently, and watched it change over the years. I think the best version was narrated by Walter Cronkite (1986-1994), but my personal favorite was the original, as I found its language less prosaic.
Where have we come from, where are we going? The answers begin in our past. In the dust from which we were formed, answers recorded on the walls of time. So let us journey into that past, to seek those walls, to know ourselves and to probe the destiny of our Spaceship Earth.
On fine Phoenician ships, we take our scrolls to sea.
North, south, east, and west, all roads lead from Rome, a mighty network reaching across the land, welding far-flung garrisons into a growing empire. Glorious Rome, until consumed by the flames of excess. Imperial Rome, lost in the ashes of darkness! [To this day I cannot smell lapsang souchong tea without recalling this part of the ride.]
In western abbeys, monks toil endlessly transcribing ancient wisdom into hand-penned books of revelation.
Behold, the majesty of the Sistine ceiling!
Poised on the threshold of infinity, we see our world as it truly is: small, silent, fragile, alive, a drifting island in the midnight sky. It is our spaceship. Our Spaceship Earth.
Stop by Walt Dated World and see what other treasures you can find. I'll throw in a dash of childish delight!
Two words: Kitchen Kabaret
Wow. The script is familiar word for word, but I had no clue what it meant then! It's like how I had "The Pirates of Penzance" memorized but didn't have a clue what it was about . . .
It's tempting to get lost in Walt Dated World, but there's work to be done! Thanks for the link, though!
