During my recent visit to Mouse Surplus‘ new Tradeport Drive location, I chanced upon Brian Ramsey’s great collection of Disney theme park maps. And while I admit that it was somewhat bizarre to find the sublime (Disneyland Paris) hanging right next to the ridiculous (Hong Kong Disneyland) …
… I still loved looking at these early maps. Getting a sense of how far we’ve come (I.E. The 1971 version of WDW‘s Magic Kingdom). More importantly, how far some Disney theme parks (I.E. Disney’s California Adventure) still have to go in order to be truly worthy of the Disney name.
But of all the Disney theme park maps that Brian has on display at his new warehouse, I think the one that I enjoyed the most was the one of EPCOT Center circa October of 1983.
“Why October of 1983?,” you ask. Well, the way this particular theme park map was drawn, it showed what the Imagineers hoped EPCOT Center would look like one year after this science & discovery park officially opened to the public. Which is why — if you look in the upper lefthand corner of this map — you’ll find …
… Nestled between the China & Germany pavilions along the shores of World Showcase Lagoon is that theme park’s proposed Equatorial Africa pavilion.
Okay. I admit it. That close-up of that EPCOT Center map isn’t the greatest. Let me see what else I’ve got in my archives … Alright. How about a close-up of an early Epcot concept painting?
Or — better yet — a photograph of an EPCOT Center model …
Where — if we zero in on the upper lefthand corner of World Showcase …
… You can get a pretty look at the model of EPCOT’s Equatorial Africa pavilion.
As for the pavilion itself … Well, the Imagineers wanted Equatorial Africa to really stand out from the crowd. And what better way was there for this proposed pavilion to literally rise above all of its World Showcase neighbors than to have the centerpiece of this Epcot addition be a massive treehouse?
You can’t really see the treehouse in this overhead view of the Equatorial Africa pavilion …
… So how’s about we head out on the water? See what the view would have been from World Showcase Lagoon?
In the center above concept painting, you can see Equatorial Africa’s treehouse … Towering some 60 feet in the air, this imposing structure would have been set in the uppermost branches of an enormous fake ficus tree. Were World Showcase visitors to make their way to the top of the treehouse, they would have been able to look down into one of the more amazing illusions the Imagineers had ever cooked up.
Let me try to set the stage here: Guests arriving at the top of the treehouse stairs would have found themselves entering a recreation of a authentic African wildlife observation platform. If these WDW visitors were to stand at the center of the platform and look down, they would have glimpsed an eerily lifelike image of animals gathering at a waterhole just after dusk.
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. Though the use of the Mouse’s patented 3D sound systems as well as smellizer technology, the very sights, sounds and smells of African would seemingly have surrounded the guests.
When all of these elements were combined, the illusion would have been complete. Epcot visitors would have stared down into this set-up and sworn to themselves that they were actually out in the jungle, looking down at the real thing.
Leaving the treehouse, World Showcase guests would have found themselves among a large set of kojpes (I.E. giant granite boulders). This roughly sculpted rockwork was to have formed a natural looking outdoor amphitheater where the African musicians and dance troupes that Disney had hired to appear at Epcot would have performed daily.
Next to the kojpes outdoor amphitheater, there was supposed to have been an enormous thatched hut. Inside this building, Epcot visitors would have been able to enjoy the “Heartbeat of Africa” show — an unique entertainment that used the history of the drum to offer some entertaining insights into the distinct music and rhythms of Africa.
What was the “Heartbeat” show supposed to be like? Well, guests entering the show building could have made themselves comfortable by leaning against some very large colorful recreations of African tribal shields. From these unusual seats, guests could have then looked up at the dozens of native musical instruments that lined the walls and ceiling.
Once the lights went down, the drums lining the walls of the “Heartbeat of Africa” theater would magically begin playing — all by themselves. With each beat of the drum, a colorful light would emanate from inside the instrument. As the rhythm of the piece being performed got more and more complex and more instruments joined in on the fun, the audience would have been surrounded by a colorful display of music and light.
Exiting the “Heartbeat of Africa” theater, Epcot visitors would have then entered the pavilion’s heritage and cultural display area. This piece of the pavilion would have included a shopping area that offered native crafts as well as a permanent museum space with a regularly rotating collection of authentic African art.
More adventurous guests could have then pushed on and explored the African pavilion’s Sound Safari. Just like with the watering hole illusion back up in the treehouse, the Sound Safari would have made use of Disney’s then-new 3D sound technology. As WDW guests wandered down an overgrown path, they would have passed through invisible infra-red sensors, which would have then triggered the sound of trumpeting elephants, laughing hyenas and grunting hippos — seemingly just out of sight behind the thick foliage.
To reinforce this illusion, the Imagineers wanted to set up a system of simple but extremely effective special effects along the Sound Safari trail. This would have caused some of the bushes in this attraction to rustle in perfect synchronization with the sound of the out-of-sight jungle animal — giving WDW guests the impression that there really was something alive and ferocious lurking out there in the bush.
So how did Epcot’s Sound Safari climax? After sending guests across a rickety suspension bridge over a thick jungle that seemed to be full of vicious beasts, the only path to safety for these Epcot visitors was through a darkened cave that echoed with the sound of lions fighting over a fresh kill.
Sounds kind of intense, doesn’t it?
Thankfully, the African pavilion’s next attraction was a much more sedate, civilized show. Entitled “Africa Rediscovered,” this wide screen film presentation was deliberately designed to dispel the myth that the dark continent was just some vast jungle filled with wild beasts and savages. (Which — at least to my way of thinking — puts this show in direct contrast with the “Sound Safari” attraction right next door. But I digress … )
“Roots” author Alex Haley — who personally researched all the stories that were to be used in the script for this show — was to have served as host of “Africa Rediscovered.” Haley had hopes that this 15 minute film would teach Epcot visitors that Africa wasn’t actually a primitive, primeval place but rather a country with a rich and illustrious history.
Among the highlights of this proposed World Showcase show would have been.
The film was also supposed to have included vignettes on “The City of Gold,” Timbuktu; the slave prisons of Senegal as well as the bronze works of Benin.
Alex obviously took great pride in all the work that he’d done on Epcot’s Equatorial Africa pavilion. Which perhaps explains why Haley agreed to take part in a CBS TV special which was broadcast on October 23, 1982 to hype the recent opening of Disney World’s second theme park.
In fact, one of the real highlights of the “EPCOT Center’s Grand Opening” program was the moment where Haley and legendary entertainer Danny Kaye (I.E. This TV special’s host) stood with a scale model of the Equatorial Africa pavilion right in front of the very parcel of land where this World Showcase addition was to have been built. Danny first ooohs and aaahs over the model. Then – after firmly shaking Haley’s hand – Kaye says something to the effect of “Well, I’ll see you back here in one year’s time, Alex, so that we can tour the real thing together.”
Ah, if only that had been the case …
“So if this EPCOT Center addition was really this far along, then why wasn’t the Equatorial Africa pavilion ever built?,” you ask. Two reasons, actually. Politics & money.
The way I hear it, the only African-based corporations that were willing to come forward to underwrite the construction costs of Epcot’s Equatorial Africa pavilion were based out of South Africa. And given that the early 1980s were a time when the world was particularly upset with South Africa’s apartheid policies … There was just no way that the Mouse was willing to accept that sort of money to fund the construction of this World Showcase addition.
Then — when you factor in the constant political upheaval in this corner of the world … Well, every time that the Mouse had thought that it had lined up a country to serve as the host nation for this proposed EPCOT Center addition, there’s suddenly be a coup or a war. And the government official that Disney had been dealing with would suddenly be pushed out of power or sent into exile.
Which is why — over time — the construction schedule for Epcot’s Equatorial Africa pavilion kept getting pushed further and further back … Until finally this proposed World Showcase addition was scrubbed entirely. And all that really remains of this pavilion today is the image on this early EPCOT Center map.
If you’d like to see this map for yourself … Well, you’re probably going to have to make a trip to Mouse Surplus. Just remember though that Brian recently shut down the old Spruce Avenue office and has moved the whole operation over to 1500 Tradeport Drive.
For further information on Mouse Surplus, its constantly changing inventory as well as the new warehouse’s operating hours, I suggest that you call 407-854-5391 and/or click on this link to visit the MouseSurplus.com website.