Imagineer Zach Riddley has taken to Instagram again to showcase more behind-the-scenes fun of EPCOT’s renovations, currently underway, this time showing us some earlier mock-ups of pylons installed in the EPCOT entrance fountain.
What’s Happening:
- Anybody following any EPCOT hashtags has surely seen some of the numerous posts from Walt Disney Imagineering Site Portfolio Executive Zach Riddley, and today he added a new one to the set showcasing mock-ups for the pylons that became an integral part of the new EPCOT entrance experience.
- The pylons he is referring to are the three acrylic pylons that were installed into the entrance plaza fountain that guests can see when they first enter the park.
- The pylons, though new, are similar to ones that were in place in the fountain up until just before the Millenium Celebration of 1999, when they were removed as the entrance plaza of the park became home to the monoliths of the Leave A Legacy experience, where guests had their images taken and etched onto plates that were installed on the giant stones.
- The original EPCOT Flower logo is seen as the focal point of each pylon, a logo that according to Disney Legend Marty Sklar “symbolizes unity, fellowship, and harmony around the world. Five outer rings are linked to form the shape of a flower – a celebration of life. The heart of the logo is the Earth, embraced by a star symbolizing hope – the hope that with imagination, commitment, and dedication, we can create a better tomorrow.”
- Riddley captioned his photo set: “We make samples and mock-ups of many of our design elements to test materials, finishes and production techniques. It also helps us learn more about our designs as they translate to reality. And I’ve got a really cool sample to share with you today. These images show a full-scale sample of our acrylic pylons added to the reimagined EPCOT Main Entrance. The installed pylons are over 16 feet tall each! And this sample mocked up just the upper section to allow us to test the placement and depth of the logo. The five-ring EPCOT logo is the same size as what you can see on the finished composition in the park today. Weighing over 400lbs, this sample gave us a way to test different etching and molding techniques to get just the right scale and depth of the logo to capture daylight and refract the kaleidoscope of color brought to life by our new evening lighting system. And there are some wild optically effects of the transparent material at this thickness, giving you very cool reflections of the logo.”
- Riddley is no stranger to showing off images of EPCOT during its radical transformation process, with only about a day in between this post and a recent one showcasing new flooring design and techniques being implemented and installed at the new Creations Shop.
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