THE TIMEKEEPER: The Making of Disney’s CircleVision Sci-Fi Double Feature From Iwerks to Imagineering

Here at Park Lore, our growing list of in-depth features is committed to an ambitious project: capturing the complete stories of forgotten fan-favorite attractions and telling those tales in one-of-a-kind, in-depth features that we call Lost Legends. We’ve been thrust to the dawn of time aboard Universe of Energy and Back to the Future – The Ride; we glimpsed tomorrow itself with Captain EOT2 3-D, and Horizons

But the subject of this Lost Legend brings the past and future together as never before. The Timekeeper was a cross-dimensional, time-traveling, cultural adventure starring Robin Williams that turned ’50s technology into a showcase of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Image: Disney, via @GangSequoia

Equally at home in Disneyland Paris’ glittering, golden retro-future and the industrial, factory pomo tomorrow of Magic Kingdom, the attraction was timeless… until it disappeared. Buckle up, because – like all of our in-depth features – the story of The Timekeeper begins long before the attraction ever opened… 

And before we head off, remember that you can unlock rare concept art and audio streams in this story, access over 100 Extra Features, and recieve an annual Membership card and postcard art set in the mail by supporting this clickbait-free, in-depth, ad-free theme park storytelling site for as little as $2 / month! Become a Park Lore Member to join the story! Until then, let’s start at the beginning…

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From the Earth to the Moon: Disneyland Paris’ Legendary Lost Steampunk Space Mountain

Since 1975, Disney Parks have been whisking guests into the frigid depths of Space Mountain for close encounters with shooting stars and exploding galaxies. But Disneyland Paris changed everything. There, a one-of-a-kind adventure of discovery was crafted by one of Disney’s most loved Imagineers. And it literally saved Disney’s first European park from declaring bankruptcy.

If you’ve been around Park Lore for a while, you probably know about our library of Lost Legends â€“ in-depth features that tell the behind-the-scenes tales of forgotten favorites that have fallen to the wrecking ball. From Alien Encounter to World of Motion and everything in between, keep your eye out for links to Lost Legends entries across the site..

Image: Disney

Today, we journey into the vast unknown to explore an unexpected masterpiece at Disneyland Paris. There, the classic Disney attractions you know and love took on entirely new forms, becoming romantic, story-centered adventures based on the collective European imagination. And no lost ride exemplifies that unique shift in thought more than Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. It was one of the boldest choices Disney’s designers ever made. And then, it was gone.

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