Changes

The genesis of The Land pavilion dates back to the original concepts for EPCOT Center <ref name= "Martin"> http://www.martinsvids.net/?tag=the-land-pavilion </ref>. Initially, plans called for an Ecology and Mineral pavilion; however the focus was eventually broadened to include all of the planet's environments. This was done in order to make the pavilion more appealing to potential sponsors <ref name= "Martin"/>. In Walt Disney Production's 1977 Annual Report, Disney stated that The Land pavilion would "illustrate man's role as the protector of the Earth and its environments" <ref name= "hill"/>.

The Land pavilion was originally going to be sponsored by a Georgia Pacific (a logging company) <ref name= "wedway"> Parish, Matt, Nate Parish, and Michael Crawford. "5:3 The Original Land Pavilion." Audio blog post. WedWay Radio. N.p., 20 May 2013. Web. </ref >and thus the first incarnation of the pavilion was created with a focus on natural habitats and the earth’s environments <ref name= "book"> Pedersen, R. A. The EPCOT Explorer's Encyclopedia:. United States: Epcyclopedia, 2011. Print.</ref>. This early version of The Land called for the pavilion to be made up of seven crystal structures that would have housed five different environments, plus an agricultural and an urban section <ref name= "hill"> http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2011/10/07/why-for-did-epcot-s-future-world-not-turn-out-as-wed-had-originally-planned.aspx </ref>. Guests would have entered this version of The Land and watched a brief theater show set on an American farm <ref name= "wedway"/> . Taking place in a structure similar to the [[Carousel of Progress]], this Carousel Show would have introduced guests to the Landkeeper, who would serve as guests guest's guide throughout the pavilion <ref name= "wedway"/>. After watching the preshow, guests would enter the rest of the pavilion The Land which would have been themed as Future Fair <ref name= "wedway"/>. The feature attraction of this early version of The Land the pavilion would have been Blueprints of Nature, an attraction where guests would board a "balloon" (using a track mechanism similar to [[Peter Pan's Flight]]) and follow the journey of snow as it melted into water and flowed through earth's various ecosystems <ref name= "baxter"> http://homepages.which.net/~ian/historybaxter.html </ref>. According to Imagineer Tony Baxter:

Although fairly well developed, the direction of The Land pavilion changed in 1978 when Georgia Pacific dropped out and Kraft announced that it would be sponsoring the pavilion (for 30 million dollars) <ref> Crump, Rolly, and Jeff Heimbuch. It's Kind of a Cute Story. N.p.: Bamboo Forest, 2012. Print. </ref>. Instead of focusing on the earth’s habitats, the focus of The Land now shifted towards agriculture, and how humans cultivate their food <ref name= "Martin"/>. With Kraft as its sponsor, the layout of the pavilion itself was also redesigned. Tony Baxter left the project to work on what would eventually be the [[Journey Into Imagination pavilion]] (Where where he would eventually rework the Landkeeper into Dreamfinder) and Imagineer Rolly Crump and his team began to come up with new plans for The Land<ref name= "wedway"/>. At this time, the pavilion was reshaped to look like a glass pyramid or mountain <ref name= "book"/>. Furthermore, the entrance was given murals to represent entering the earth’s core <ref name= "Martin"/>. The new plans also called for The Land to be made up of a boat ride, later named [[Listen to the Land]] and the "Harvest Theater" which would show [[Symbiosis]], an environmental film <ref name= "Martin"/>. Originally, The Land pavilion was also going to feature temporary greenhouses; however it was later decided to permanently incorporate them into Listen to the Land<ref name= "Martin"/>. The final addition to the pavilion came when sponsor Kraft decided that they wanted to include an attraction that focused on nutritional information in the pavilion <ref name= "Martin"/>. With this in mind, Imagineers created [[Kitchen Kabaret]]- an Audio Animatronic musical revue which featured singing food characters.

Besides its three main attractions, the Land pavilion also included a large food court on the first level , called the Farmers Market, as well as a rotating restaurant on the second floor (a holdover from the pavilion’s original design) called the Good Turn Restaurant <ref name= "Martin"/>. The Land pavilion opened with the rest of EPCOT Center on October 1, 1982 <Ref> http://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/epcotgrandopening.html </ref>.

Following the mid-1990s refurbishments, The Land pavilion remained essentially unchanged for eight years. This changed however in 2003 when it was Disney decided to bring [[Soarin’]] (a very popular motion simulator attraction in Disney’s California Adventure) to Epcot. Initially, Disney planned on adding Soarin' to one of the World Showcase pavilions<ref name= "press"> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/soarin/news/03oct2004-disney-soarin-press-release.htm </ref>, however when a proper location could not be agreed upon, it was decided to house the attraction inside The Land <ref name= "press"/>. Although the attraction itself would take place in an expansion building, the queue for Soarin' was designed to go through the area that housed Food Rocks <ref name= "Martin"/>. Quietly, construction on Soarin' began in August of 2003, before the attraction was officially announced on October 10th<ref name= "press"/>. Despite the fact that its days were numbered, Food Rocks remained open until January 3, 2004<ref name= "Martin"/>. The Land pavilion itself remained open for part of Soarin's construction. On January 2, 2005 however, the entire pavilion closed for a three month refurbishment <Ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/soarin/news/05nov2004-land-pavilion-closing-for-soarin-work.htm </ref>. During the renovation, Soarin' was integrated into the main atrium and changes were made to Living with the Land <ref name= "Martin"/>. Also at this time, Sunshine Seasons was redesigned and the pavilion's central fountain was removed in order to add more seating <ref name= "book"/>. Other changes that happened to the pavilion during the 2005 refurbishment included:[[Image:Soarin3.jpg|400px|thumb|Soarin' opened in The Land in 2005]]