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 pavilionto be located in Future World; however the focus was eventually broadened to include all of the planet's environments 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 After entering this version of The Land and , guests would have first 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 guest's guide throughout the pavilion <ref name= "wedway"/>. After watching the preshow, guests would enter the rest of The Land which would have been themed as the Future Fair <ref name= "wedway"/>. The feature attraction of this early version of 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 he would eventually rework the Landkeeper into Dreamfinder) and Imagineer Rolly Crump and his team began to come were tasked with coming 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 the pavilion 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>.

The Land pavilion opened with the rest of EPCOT Center on October 1, 1982 <Ref> http://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/epcotgrandopening.html </ref>. The first major change to The Land pavilion came in December 1982 when the shop Broccoli & Co. opened <ref> http://kpolsson.com/wdworld/wdw1972.htm </ref>. This little store was themed as a tie in to Kitchen Kabaret and it sold plants, small souvenirs , and (obviously) Kitchen Kabaret merchandise. Besides the addition of Broccoli & Co., the only other significant change to The Land pavilion during the 1980s came in 1986 when the Good Turn restaurant was renamed The Land Grille Room <ref name= "widen"> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/ecindex.htm </ref>.