The Land Pavilion - 2002 Walkthrough - Epcot - Dec. 2002

Описание: The Land pavilion opened with Epcot Center on Oct. 1, 1982. Guests exploring Future World West only had the The Land attractions to enjoy during that year, since Journey into Imagination didn’t open until March 1983 and The Living Seas opened January 1986. It is the largest Epcot pavilion at nearly six acres. The focus is on people’s relationship to nature and the land. More importantly to me, it focuses on the pursuit of keeping everyone on the planet fed, because food rocks. This was the first pavilion to change corporate sponsors, going from Kraft in 1982 to Nestlé in 1993. Nestlé ended its sponsorship in 2008. Over two hours of fun could be experienced in 2002 with a variety of attractions and dining options. In 2002 guests could ride the Living with the Land boat ride, watch the audio-animatronics show Food Rocks or The Circle of Life film. They could eat quick service at The Sunshine Season Food Fair or enjoy a sit down character meal with Chip & Dale at The Garden Grill. The Behind the Seeds guided greenhouse tours were available for $6 and in the Jr. Chef program kids could bake Toll House cookies. After all the fun, guests could shop at the Green Thumb Emporium.

Let’s take a brief tour of all these 2002 places taking a look 20 years before and 20 years after…

Exterior. This video is taken at night, so much of the natural light outside and especially inside is missing. The berms on the sides of the building are planted in curving rows. The trees on top of the berms bloom white flowers to symbolize clouds. Walt Peregoy designed the 3,600 square foot mosaics at the entrance to The Land. Acclaimed mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff and his daughter-in-law Monika assembled the 150,000 individually cut pieces of 131 different colors. Each side is identical except for one tile on each side. One is ruby colored and the other is emerald colored, Hanns and Monica’s birthstones. In 2005 the entrance was redone to include a stream down the middle, but luckily the mosaics stayed. In 2021, The Land became part of the “World Nature” section, no longer Future World West.

Interior. A gorgeous 3D map of the pavilion is at the front entrance. On the wall next to The Circle of Life is a giant Land pavilion 1980s symbol. Above the happy umbrella tables below five hot air balloons go up and down. The beautiful Jim Sarno sculpted fountain is among the tables.

The Circle of Life. A 20 minute film featuring Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King who learn a lesson about protecting the environment while attempting to build Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba teaches them, and us, a valuable lesson. In 1982 the Harvest Theater played the film “Symbiosis” which ran until 1995. The Circle of Life played 1995-2018. Today it plays Awesome Planet, which premiered on Jan. 17, 2020.

Sunshine Season Food Fair. Birnbaum's 2002 WDW Guide says this is the best place for families to eat quick service at Epcot because of its variety of food options. Each location in this food court has a farm-style exterior design. The locations were: Soup Salad & Sandwich, Bakery Shop, Barbecue, Pasta and Potato, and Ice Cream Stand. This was called the Farmer’s Market (1982-1993), Sunshine Season Food Fair (1994-2004), and is currently Sunshine Seasons.

The Garden Grill. This revolving restaurant usually features Chip & Dale and other characters in their farm attire. Diners pass by a mural of giant sunflowers then various scenes in Living with the Land. From up here you could see inside the farm house in the boat ride. From 1982 to 1986 it was called The Good Turn.

Living with the Land. I did a full ride-through video and a history write up of this attraction here:    • Living with the Land (with narrator) - Dec...  . From 1982 to 1993 (the Kraft years) this was called Listen to the Land, with Bob Moline’s classic song to accompany it. The live narrator was removed in 2006 and today it is just a prerecorded spiel.

Food Rocks. I did a full video about this attraction from 2002 here:    • Видео  . The video has a complete write up in the description. Popular songs were rewritten with new lyrics to promote good nutrition. This show replaced Kitchen Kabaret, which played from 1982-1994. The old show taught about the four basic food groups, which science had replaced with the more accurate food pyramid, so about early-90s it was outdated. Food Rocks closed in 2004 to make way for Soarin’ which opened May 5, 2005. The new Soarin’ Around the World opened in 2016.

Green Thumb Emporium. Guests exiting Food Rocks will pass by this gift shop. Birnbaum says it had land themed merchandise such as hydroponic plants, seeds, gardening books, and kitchen accessories. Originally called Broccoli & Co. in 1982, it had Kitchen Kabaret merchandise. How cool! The small shop outside of Soarin’ today is also called the Green Thumb Emporium.

Jr. Chef. A program where kids could bake Toll House cookies, ended on April 6, 2008.