Mystic Flights: A Tribute to Magic Journeys

To an easily frightened child, there are plenty of tense moments in Walt Disney World attractions. This was especially true when I was a kid during the 1980s. Snow White’s Scary Adventures terrified us with its recurring Witch, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride sent you to hell, and Martin Short explained how babies were made in The Making of Me. Okay, the last choice might not be frightening, but it exemplifies the weirdness of Disney’s approach to its parks. Talented artists were allowed to take chances and build truly original attractions. For example, the 3D film Magic Journeys offered magical moments and scares that stuck inside my mind for a long time.

Directed by Murray Lerner and supported by music from The Sherman Brothers, this 16-minute 3D film presents our world through the eyes of a child. The simplest moments feel more like a freaky dream than everyday life. Lerner’s style brings us close to the action, and the 3D format enhances that immediate perspective. This helps explain the eerie feeling that we experience; there’s little distance between the audience and the characters on screen.

Lerner received an Oscar nomination for his documentary Festival in 1967 about the Newport Folk Festival. He also directed concert films for The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and other legendary artists. Disney’s choice of Lerner for this film makes sense; they needed a movie that played big. Guests had to feel like they were part of the action similar to experiencing a concert film. Let’s take a closer look at Magic Journeys and remember the wonderfully trippy experience of visiting EPCOT Center in the ‘80s.

Makin’ Memories

Before we see our feature presentation, let’s venture into a pre-show for a message from Kodak. The iconic company was an opening-day sponsor and continued in that role until 2010. The waiting area offers a perfect example of how Disney effectively placed corporate sponsorship within EPCOT Center. We experienced a commercial, but it was still presented in a quality way. A catchy song by The Sherman Brothers definitely helps to maintain the excitement here.

The lyrics to “Makin’ Memories” clearly state Kodak’s message, but it never seems jarring. The chorus includes the lines “catching little pieces of time, making them yours, and making them mine” to spotlight nostalgia for our past. It’s a sales pitch to buy more cameras and shoot more film but presented in an exciting way. A vacation destination like Walt Disney World is a smart place to promote this idea. The song is an earworm that sticks inside your head, and it makes for a memorable pre-show.

While the song plays, a slideshow of photographs adds a visual stamp to Kodak’s message and sells the idea of pictures as part of our heritage. Images switch within the frames and even include a shot of Dreamfinder and Figment within the mix. Rudimentary computer animation also appears through a dancing couple as we transition to larger shots. It’s a sappy message filled with nostalgia, but the engaging pre-show strikes all the right notes.

Happy Kids at Play

There’s no easy way to describe Magic Journeys to anyone that hasn’t watched it. Before we continue, you should check out The Ultimate Tribute from Martin’s Videos. I’ll wait for you. Once you’re up to speed, let’s dive into the movie! We start in a field with happy kids on the ground looking at clouds. The theme song plays while the camera zooms into a child’s eye. Is this a horror film or a theme park attraction? Next, a kite glides towards us thanks to 3D technology. It feels like a dream as the kite guides us beneath the water. The scene is relaxing yet also a little ominous.

The synth music and languid pace sit firmly in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. There is a stark difference between this tone and the high-speed Captain EO later in the decade. A shot of a kid flying through the mountains draws a laugh especially due to the keyboards playing in the background. There are elements of Soarin’ within this presentation, but the music is ethereal and unlike the newer attraction’s grand melodies. Seriously, the shots of the kid flying make me wonder about what substances the Imagineers were taking when planning this show.

A slow-motion shot of a live horse transitions into a carousel in a nightmarish fashion. I’m watching this film on a small screen, which can’t recreate the 3D impact. Kids reach out for a ring from the carousel that drifts closer to the audience thanks to their 3D glasses. Once again, there’s something a little sinister to this game. The carousel horses float around a planet while the children do a “trick or treat” chant, and I’m ready to hide under my desk at this point.

The Stuff of Nightmares

What is it about Magic Journeys that makes it so unsettling? I don’t believe that Lerner and the Imagineers were trying to frighten guests. In particular, the Halloween sequences have stuck with me since I experienced them as a kid. The tone shifts as bats fly towards the camera in front of a dark sky. Then a witch appears and reaches out to the audience. This was the moment that lodged into my subconscious as the witch silently grab for us. The lack of dialogue makes this scene even scarier!

I’m a little surprised to recognize how this sequence remains so terrifying. It’s not just a case where I was impressionable as a kid. After the witch, other creepy faces float towards the screen in front of an outer-space background. The music sells the idea that we have entered the space of nightmares. As I mentioned in the introduction, I appreciate Disney’s willingness to offer something that might scare us. There’s an edge to this material, and that’s refreshing.

Circus Magic

Thankfully, the tone changes as we return to our child and visions of the circus. The laid-back pace of the earlier scenes returns as we observe performers floating nearby. The kids watch a performer on the balance beam, and we share their perspective from below us. This film puts us inside the child’s perspective, and those shots are the most convincing (and often startling).

If you weren’t scared enough, let’s bring on the clowns! Thankfully, the music is silly to keep this sequence lighter. This is also a spot for many 3D tricks, including the necessary pie flying toward us. Fozzie Bear was not the first one to attempt this gimmick. One clown stands on stilts, and slow motion again brings a dream-like quality. The music also shifts as the kids morph into giants watching the clowns from a different perspective.

There is a small part of me that still can’t believe that Magic Journeys played in a theme park. It’s episodic storytelling and willingness to try anything goes against what we expect from Disney. I’m picturing Bob Chapek standing at the D23 Expo and selling this film as the next great attraction. It’s not really on the “more family, more Disney” level, and I love it.

A True Sense of Wonder

Throughout this film, we anticipate that anything could happen. Magic is a word that’s overused when it comes to theme parks, but it fits here. To nail home that point, the kids next visit a magician. He seems harmless than quickly pushes our lead into a new dimension. He’s flying into space while the music returns. Later on, the camera retracts out of his eye and returns to the earlier moment in the field.

The lyrics nail home the idea that it’s “just an ordinary day”, but nothing feels typical. The kids run into a beautiful forest and we stay back and float away into the sky. It’s just a brief glimpse at the fantasies of a child. The credits roll with a quick glimpse of the Kodak logo. I appreciate the fact that a popular company would sponsor such an ambitious film. Lerner captures the excitement and fears in our imagination within this stunning attraction.

In the book Walt Disney’s EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow, Richard R. Beard describes the complicated system to bring this film to life. Three different 3D systems, include one custom-made for Disney, brought a clearer picture than you would normally see in 1982. The technical hurdles were huge for this project, but the result was a truly original attraction.

Capturing Our Imagination

Magic Journeys opened in 1982 before the arrival of the main Journey Into Imagination attraction in March 1983. At the height of its power, the Imagination pavilion offered three stunning locations that could entertain guests for several hours. Sadly, the film only played for a little more than three years and closed in February 1986 for Captain EO. Thankfully, the original film would enjoy runs in California and Tokyo and even play at The Magic Kingdom for six years. Many guests likely remember it from the 1987-1993 presentation in Fantasyland.

What makes this movie resonate is how much it varies from today’s attractions. It even differs from the EPCOT Center model in 1982! Disney and Pixar short films now play in the Magic Eye Theater, which deserves a lot more. Disney could screen Magic Journeys again in a tribute version similar to the 2010 approach to Captain EO. I love the idea of highlighting gems from the past within this space. The bar is set pretty low given the current occupants.

Thankfully, we can still enjoy Magic Journeys in a limited form through YouTube. It’s not the same as the full experience, but it gives younger fans a chance to understand EPCOT’s past. This film definitely springs from the 1980s, but it could still work in the right context. It’s the type of offbeat project that would add some life to parks that are becoming too predictable.

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