JacksonWas There a Michael Ride at Disney?
 

I kind of remember years ago that there was a Michael Jackson ride...maybe at Epcot? Was this true? Anyone remember what it was about or what the ride did, etc? Also, when did it close down? I'm curious, thanks.

I don't remember a ride; I think it was actually a show. It was located in the spot that "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" now occupies. I do not recall the particulars of the show, but I think "Captain" was part of the title.:confused:

Captain EO
 

Well, I wouldn't consider it a ride. Captian EO, the original 3D movie staring Michael Jackson, premiered at EPCOT on September 12, 1986, and then opened at Disneyland on September 18 of the same year. It also played in Disneyland Tokyo from March 20, 1987 to September 1996 and at Disneyland Paris since April 12, 1992. It was shown at WDW in the Kodak theater that currently houses Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and was closed on July 6, 1994.

At the time, it was considered one of the most expensive films ever made, per minute that is. The total cost was over 17 million to make and had a running time of less than 13 minutes. I never saw the one at WDW, but I remember the one a Disneyland quite well. It was one of the most popular attraction during the time that it ran, and was a fun show with great 3D effects.

I don't think Disney has ever made a copy of the movie available for sale. There was a version of the movie released in Japan, but it is no longer in print. You can find copies of it on ebay for right around $200. There are also bootleg copies of the film on VCD. You think Disney could make a decent DVD out of this. There has to be some demand if people are willing to pay $200 for a 15 year old VHS tape of it.

Mickey...

Could you tell me what Captain EO stood for?

Also, could you tell me what went on during this 3D Michael Jackson movie? It sounds familiar...

Well, it has been over ten years since I saw it, but here goes. Michael Jackson was the captain of a space ship. EO is taken from the Greek Godess Eos, the goodess of Dawn. Captain EO and his crew find a planet and run into a patrol ship, crash land on the planet, are taken to the Supreme Leader. There is some dancing, some singing and some fighting. They free the Supreme Leader from her evil spell and then fly away.

By the way, the film was done by Geoge Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, and also stared Angelica Huston as the Supreme Leader. Quite a cast for a theme park show.

I remember all the hub-bub about the movie and then did not like it. I was very happy they replaced it. :D

Once again, Mickey is right above. One of the things that I remember in addition to what he said was that Captain Eo and his crew were considered to be "screw ups" by their commanders, and nobody thought they could pull of the mission. So it is a huge triumph when they do save the evil queen and set her free. It was a pretty good show, but I think HISTA is much better.

I agree also that Captain Eo would be a cool DVD. I would buy it at least.:D

Captain E/O
 

I found the show to be incredibly cool for the time, I loved it very much and there was a whole slew of merchadise to tie in all the alien characters on E/O's ship. HISTA can't merchadise as well even though it's a better show.

Here is a link with some History, a few pics, and the entire Dialogue to the Movie:

http://www.intercot.com/edc/Imagination/eo.html

I saw Captina EO back in 1987 when I was in DL. It was very cool for it's time and it was around the time that MJackson was running hot with Thirller. And the 3D aspect was very neat!:)

Plus a totally original song just for the movie.

I vaguely remember something like....

"We are here to save the world..."

...or was it heal the world... maybe it wasn't even world, but I do remember the music. :laugh

The villian in the movie looked kinda like Edward Scissorhands mixed with the Borg. :nervous

I remeber this ! And as a matter of fact, I keep saying it wrong. I was calling it Captin Nemo! haha. So, when telling everyone we were going to see the new movie Finding Nemo, I almost always said Captain Nemo first :dazed

I remember that at the time, this was a really cool thing to watch! Michael Jackson was "in", it was just a good thing to see at EPCOT!

As many know, Michael Jackson is a big Disney fan and has long had ties with the Disney organization. WDW once maintained a private residence for him on the property and one of the suites in the Royal Plaza Hotel was named after him. I don't know if that's still the case, though.

Do you know how there are things that you loved as a kid that you came back to and looked at later on in life and wondered what you were thinking for liking that? This is my personal take on Captain EO.
As a major Lucas fan, I was more than excited about visiting Captain EO during my first trip to WDW. I was intrigued by the glimpses of special effects and music and of course the music (which was hot at the time), and had gotten great reviews about it from my family and friends, mostly with regard to the groundbreaking 3D effects. I was surprised when Disney replaecd the attraction (one of it's most popular ones) with "Honey I Shrunk the Audience", but among other things, the leaps in technology necessitated the replacement.

Well a few years ago, shortly after the ride was retired, MTV (of all things) broadcast the entire CAPTAIN EO ride MOVIE!!!! I was lucky enough to have videotaped it. Oddly enough, I archived the tape without watching it more than once. When I met my DGF and found she was a major WDW fan who had never seen Captain EO, I dug up the tape and we watched it -- somewhat disappointed about the whole thing.
Minus the huge screen, the 3D effects, the ambience of being at the Park, the laughing crowd, and smoke/steam/light & water effects, the movie is somewhat of a dud, I'm afraid to say. The parts that I thought were endearing were not as much fun, and the whole thing seems quite excessive. But this was perfect for the excessive age of the 1980's. It seems rather bloated and blah in this age of digital technology. Some of the music was good, particularly the rousing, "We Can Change the World", and the production values are high. Costumes and sets by John Napier who designed Les Miserables and Starlight Express for the stage. Great choreography. Mean and nasty villian playing by Angelica Huston. But just ultimately somewhat pointless. Unless Disney does an archive DVD of it's rides, it's unlikely this will ever come out on video (although I think it may have been available for a very short time from Buena Vista itself. I remember seeing the box).
Wow-- it's worth TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS??? I'd better dig up that tape!!!!!!!
:)

I thought the movie was really dumb. I didn't see it more than once.

I dont remember thinking it was dumb .. but thats the problem .. I dont remember much about it at all ..even though I saw it a couple of times. so it sure didnt make much of an impresson on me