TBT: Captain EO
Do you remember Captain EO?
Captain EO was a 3-D film that debuted on September 12, 1986 at the Epcot Center theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort and September 18, 1986 at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. Captain EO was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, executive-produced by George Lucas and stars Michael Jackson.
The 3-D film boasted high-tech (for its time) special effects that extended into the audience. The effects were lasers, laser impacts, smoke effects and starfields that filled the theater. Captain EO included two songs (“We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me”) performed by Michael Jackson.
Jackson starred as Captain EO. The film followed Captain EO and his ragtag crew as they delivered a special gift to a wicked alien queen known as the Supreme Leader. The Supreme Leader is played by Academy Award winning actress Anjelica Houston.
Captain EO closed at Epcot on July 6, 1994 and then on April 7, 1997 at Disneyland. The attraction re-opened at Disneyland on February 23, 2010 and returned to Epcot at Walt Disney World on July 2, 2010. The attraction was billed as “Captain EO Tribute” to distinguish it from its original 1986–1997 run.
Captain EO closed (for the second time) at Disneyland on July 4, 2014 and then on December 6, 2015 at Epcot.
Here is a peak back at yesterland: