Stargate Restaurant at EPCOT Center

Andy at Make the Magic posted about a character breakfast that she had loved and lamented the lack of information available on the Stargate Restaurant at EPCOT Center.

I quickly turned to my trusty Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia (Third Edition) by Dave Smith.

Fast-Food facility in Communicore East at Epcot, from October 1, 1982 to April 10, 1994. It later became the  Electric Umbrella.

Photo from Making the Magic. 

Andy had posted this information, already, so I needed to find another resource.

I pulled out my 1984 Birnbaum's Official Guide and found a lengthier description.

Stargate Restaurant: This large fast-tood establishment, located in CommuniCore East, is handsomely decorated in shades of blue, mauve, and magenta. It's a particularly good bet when the weather is temperate enough to allow dining on the tables on the terrace outside—or when bound for World Showcase with finicky eaters in tow. It's also one of the few Epcot Center restaurants open for breaktast. Cold cereals, Danish pastries, fruit cups. blueberry muffins, and cheese omelets served with creditable home-fried potatoes are available then. But the real specialty is the extremely satisfying. if extravagantly named. "Stellar Scramble." Made of cheese, tomatoes, ham, onions, green pepper, and scrambled eggs, this “breakfast pizza“ might not win any prizes among connoisseurs of haute cuisine, but it's unquestionably tasty. At lunch and dinner, offerings include pepperoni or cheese pizzas, hamburgers, and chefs salads. The peanut butter cookies are good, too. The Stargate Restaurant stays open until the park closes. B, L, D. S.

Image from the 1984 Official Guide to Walt Disney World

Andy also talked about eating a character breakfast at the Stargate Restaurant. I have an odd fascination with the history of dining at Walt Disney World. The earliest character breakfasts were always centered around the hotels and campgrounds. I wondered what Andy had experience. I wasn't doubting her memories or her photographs, but I needed to do some more research.

The Official Guide from 1991 still states that there were only a handful of character breakfasts at Walt Disney World at the time, with none at EPCOT Center. We see the usual: Empress Lilly, Contemporary, Ft. Wilderness, the Contemporary and the Polynesian. It is the same information for the 1993 Official Guide. We don';t see a major change until later; the 1997 Official Guide mentions a few other character locations, but it is still not the experience we know today (in 1984 and 1989, reservation were not needed for the character buffets at the Contemporary or the Polynesian).

Once again, we run into the wall for people researching the history of Walt Disney World. Relying on official resources can be tenuous, at best, and it makes it difficult to confirm or deny certain facts. Relevancy is important and we still need access to primary documents.

Does anyone have more information about the Stargate Restaurant? Email me at George@Imaginerding.com  with any photos, receipts or tales of eating there.

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Book Review: Walt Disney World, 20 Magical Years

Walt Disney World: 20 Magical Years 1991, 168 pages.

This is a wonderful title for the Walt Disney World fan and enthusiast.

Published to celebrate the first 20 years of Walt Disney World, this book acts as a souvenir guide and vacation pictorial. It follows the same format and concept as Walt Disney World: The First Decade and adds EPCOT, the Disney-MGM Studios, Pleasure Island and the newer hotels. Basically, everything that was built since 1981.

20 Magical Years is more than the standard Disney PR piece; we are on a journey to a time when Walt Disney World was entering the Disney Decade and poised for massive growth. It was a simpler Walt Disney World that was still trying to discover its path after the opening of EPCOT Center and the Disney-MGM Studios. You get to visit each land and each attraction at the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center--with clever outside shots and not often seen interior photos. The coverage of the Disney-MGM Studios is sparse, but that is expected. It is obvious from the book that it was still considered a half-day park by the Company. The last section of the book is called The Vacation Kingdom and covers the Magic Kingdom hotels, the Caribbean Beach Resort, Typhoon Lagoon, River Country, Pleasure Island and the Village Marketplace. It is the biggest change from the first decade to the second. The ancillary, or Vacation Kingdom, areas are given much less focus.
For Disney fans, this book is a fond trip down memory lane. For Disney enthusiasts, it is a historical look at attractions, lands and areas that no longer exist. Horizons, World of Motion, Discovery Island and River County are all included. It is a very fond look back at a vanished Walt Disney World. In many cases, this book is one of the few official resources that we can use to document the history of Walt Disney World.

This book is a lot of fun. I use it for research and for taking virtual trips. The photographs, although taken by Disney, are of a different quality than most stand alone publications. There are a lot of construction shots and pictures from different angles. Sometimes the shots can be surprising!

It is very nostalgic and even at the 20-year mark, Disney has made the switch from Vacation Kingdom to the individual theme parks. The emphasis on the total work is the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT as the center of your vacation.

I highly recommend this title--especially since it isn't a rare book, yet. You will enjoy the walks down memory lane!

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Anandapur Regional Irrigation District No. 0015

If you've spent any time in Disney's Animal Kingdom, you come to understand that the theming has been done as naturally as possible. Case in point, the water fountains featured on the Maharajah Jungle Trek are disguised as urns that provide Safe Water for Travelers.

The Animal Kingdom uses pots for theming. In the Magic Kingdom, there are lots of bags of salt!

Here Is Located SAFE WATER FOR TRAVELERS. Please Know It Is Unwise to Drink Local Water, Standing Water, Water From Unidentified Sources.

Wandering along a path in Anandapur, you will notice the following vignette that is just off of the walkway. Looks just like a water main, right? Doesn't Disney usually color those in Imagineering's special green and gray colors (like the Club 33 door at Disneyland and the Soarin' Building at Epcot)? I have run into those massive pipes at Disney resorts and they are usually painted to match the foliage.

So, we've got some buckets...what does that stone tablet say?

ANANDAPUR REGIONAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT No. 0015

Take a closer look at the water pipe and you can see that Disney attached a typical garden spigot to the side of the pipe. Handy for people needing to fill a bucket.

I twisted that sucker all day long!

Taking a larger look at the tableau, you can see that the Imagineers provided some pots and buckets for the local farmers and possibly, some wayward travelers. Talk about a very creative solution!

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Book Review: Walt Disney's Railroad by Michael Broggie

Lilly Belle...the train that started a Magic Kingdom
by George Taylor

Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom by Michael Broggie. 1998. 431 pp.

Less than a month before Disneyland's opening day in 1955, Walt journeyed to the under-construction theme park for the first live steamup of locomotive No. 2. This was the culmination of a lifelong dream for Walt as...

...he climbed into the cab, moved the Johnson bar forward, tugged twice on the steam whistle, and pulled open the throttle. With Harley Hgen in the fireman's seat and this book's author (as a wide-eyed 12 year old) sitting on the tender, Walt eased No. 2 from the roundhouse into the bright Californian sun and onto the main line. -p. 231.

Imagine that moment in Walt's life; after years of making films and building the Company, he finally finds himself as the Chief Engineer of a real engine. His engine.

Walt Disney's life had been surrounded by trains. Family members worked on passing railroads. Both Roy and Walt were news butchers during their teens. Many of the animators at Disney were rail fans: Ward Kimball traveled with Walt to the 1948 Railroad Fair and had his own backyard, full-sized railroad; Ollie Johnston also had a backyard railroad. Many of the Studio employees shared Walt's love of full-scale and miniature railroading. For the first half of the 20th century, railroads were the future of the country. They symbolized progress and growth.

Roger Broggie is considered to be Walt's first Imagineer. A very talented machinist, Roger supervised the building of the Lilly Belle, Walt's 1/8 scale engine that ran at his Holmby Hills home. He also helped create the first Audio-Animatronic character. Roger's sons, Roger Jr. and Michael (the book's author), spent many years "working" at the studios with their father and helping Walt on the Disneyland Railroad. Citing Michael's close association with the Disney family, the Disney Company and Walt's railroads, he is uniquely qualified to write a biography about Walt Disney that focuses on how railroading affected his life and drove many of his passions.

Walt Disney's Railroad Story is a fantastic journey from Walt's boyhood through the theme parks. We encounter every significant moment of his life in reference to trains and we come to understand his passion for the steel.This is also a treat to read about Walt from a company insider whose family worked and works for Disney.

The book is presented in a chronological format with pictures on every page. Michael adds side tracks as needed that go into further detail; whether it is on a railroading term or a person. There is a lot of focus on the Carolwood-Pacific line that was built at the Holmby Hills property. Walt spent a lot of time creating the layout (with Roger Broggie and Eddie Sargent) and entertaining guests. A majority of Walt's ideas about Disneyland were formulated while conducting the Lilly Belle. Michael covers every train built for a Disney theme park up to the Animal kingdom. Michael includes a glossary of rail terms, a detailed specifications of all the Disney engines and a bibliography. My only negative comment is that there was not a layout of the Carolwood-Pacific line. The author responded to my complaint--there is indeed a layout on page 113. This goes to show that Michael Broggie has indeed created and amazing and fact-filled tome about Walt Disney and his Railroads.

This book has quickly become one of my favorites. Along with The Nickel Tour and Since The World Began, it is one of the treasures in my collection. If you have any interests in Walt's personal life, railroads or the Disney engines that chug the tracks all over the globe, then you need to own this book.

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