I should have posted this yesterday, of course:

[Pre-opening publicity for the Epcot Disney theme park in Orlando, Florida proclaimed "The 21st Century begins October 1, 1982". That was twenty-five years ago and today Epcot celebrates its birthday with a Silver Anniversary re-dedication ceremony at the Fountain Stage at 10:01 am. There will be special commemorative "retro" theme park maps available only today, buttons and cupcakes and a small Gallery in Innoventions West showcasing some Epcot history. In addition there will be a special 25th Illuminations firework show in the evening.

Imagineering Ambassador Marty Sklar will be at the Circle of Life theater in The Land pavilion to give three special "guest conversations" about Epcot. Last week, Marty gave three one-hour presentations to Epcot cast members and one for the NFFC convention. Among the treasures that Marty shared included the fact that there were two different endings written and filmed for Walt's famous "Epcot" film and Marty showed both of those endings, one for Florida and one for American Industry.

When Disney Historian Jim Korkis asked Marty last week at the NFFC convention if he sensed that Walt was not feeling well when the short film was filmed (roughly two months before Walt Disney died), Marty replied, "We had no idea. He was in good spirits and never complained. It took us an entire day to film those seven minutes of Walt talking. He even ad-libbed one of the best lines in the film, 'According to this scale, I am six miles high'. I didn't write that. He came up with it himself. He did read and edit the script before we filmed it, changing the phrase "living laboratory" to "living showcase" when referring to Epcot."

In case anyone is interested, today is also the 36th birthday of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.]