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That sounds great.  Everything you just mentioned.  Wow.
Not only does the whole pavillion sound impressive, it would have 6 attractions.  There was no mention of a restaurant, unfortunately.  But, what pavillion at Epcot has 6 attractions?  Some are lucky to have an outdoor performance.  The technology just sounds amazing.  I'm surprised they haven't used it somewhere else (or have they?).  It's unfortunate that Africa has only an Outpost and not a "real" pavillion of its own.  The details given are just cool: leaning against tribal masks, surrounded by sounds of animals...great stuff.  Its unfortunate that this never saw the light of day.  Keep on with these Epcot articles, please, because they're so interesting!

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Amazing Story.  Why the African exhibit seem so much more elaborate than the other countries?  It seemed like they planned this one much better, as it seems like a journey.  

Great article.

Brandon

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that particular parcel of land now the "Outpost"?  Africanized Disney garb as well as African crafts are available there.  I've stopped to watch a craftperson or two there and they are quite talented woodworkers.  

I would have liked to see some of the ideas from EA incorporated into AK's Africa.

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-->So how were the Imagineers going to pull off this amazing illusion? This set-piece was supposed to have made use of rear projected 70mm live action footage that Disney cinematographers had taken of actual African animals drinking at a waterhole in the jungle. The 20 foot tall screen would then have been framed by an elaborate diorama filled with authentic looking fake trees, vines and rockwork.<--

Sounds like the amazing Rio De Tempo ride :) .

Sounds like it could have been interesting. Though, given the choice, i really don't mind that we waited 15 years and got something better. Sure, seeing a movie of animals on a screen would have been cool, but i'm glad that we have a safari ride with REAL elephants and lions. And the walking trail sounds alright (ha! "sounds"), but now we have a gorilla trail and a tiger trail, again with real animals (though, with the shyness of the gorillas, maybe hearing non-existant hyenas would have been better).

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More than anything, I'm disappointed that Alex Haley went through all that work and didn't get to see it come to fruition. I'm surprised they didn't at least make the documentary and show it on Wonderful World of Disney (or by some other venue).

I suppose that's one of the things I miss most about "Wonderful World of Disney".  Walt wouldn't just host the spot at the start and end -- sometimes he'd bring out all those behind the scenes stuff . . . Let us meet some of his creative staff and see how certain rides and movies and cartoons came to fruition.

I agree.  Some mini-documentary -- maybe five-ten minutes even would have been nice to see.  And maybe some interviews with Alex Haley so his ideas could at least have been shared with more than those at JHM.

Good article, Jeff! I own a copy of that Epcot map and I never even noticed that Equitorial Africa pavilion. Guess I'll have to break it out again...

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I vividly remember when the old Mike Douglas talk show visited Epcot Center.  Mike Douglas conducted an interview with Alex Haley on the future site of the pavilion.  This must have been sometime in Epcot's first year.  It sounded like the pavilion was going to be started VERY soon.

Disney only recently relinquished the Tishman African Art collection that they had acquired for the pavilion and have been carefully curating for 20 years.  It is now part of the National Museum of African Art.

http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/firstlook/index.html

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Is the Mouse Surplus new location different then what he was at in Jan.?

Also Jeff did you get your copy of our last magazine?

Jeff Mast
Editor -Theme Parks Magazine

I had that map !!! I got it when I was 8. I have to look if it survived my childhood

We'll never get Africa in Epcot now thanks to AK. But AK could take a lesson from what was once designed for Epcot. There are so many possibilities for expanding AK.

And I had no idea MouseSurplus had moved. I was just down there. If I had known, I would have gone.

brush with greatness:

While visitng EPCOT in mid-1983 (I think; I remember the steel frame for "Horizons" had just been topped out), Alex Haley was at the Equatorial Africa site, promoting the new attractions.  I got a picture with him and his autograph.  There was absolutely nothing about the attendant hoopla that suggested this pavillion wasn't set in stone.  Go figure.

Ya.. like the CANADIAN pavilion is SO BORING!! LOL
IM CANADIAN and it really upsets me how lame our pavilion is! LOL

oh well.. i love the norway stuff anyways SO much

but ya.. the african pavilion would have been absolutely killer if they built it.. I hope they do decide to do it someday.. heck, Id give up the canadian one for it anyday!! ahahhaha!!

xoxox Adele

Still struggling to come up with the perfect present for your family's Disney dweeb? Jim Hill points you toward Jeff Kurtti's latest book, which looks back at "The Genesis of the Disney Theme Park"