Jan 5 episode: Epcot Center?

W'zup with the Eastern Airlines stuff? Even Lisa was wierded out by all that.

Fred Flintstone wrote:

Eastern Airlines was a predominant sponsor of Walt Disney World, up until the airline went out of business in the 1980s. At the Magic Kingdom at WDW, they were also a sponsor of a ride called "If You Had Wings", where, in vehicles similar to the ones in tonight's episode, visitors are magically transported to various parts of the world. After Eastern went of of business, the attraction was renamed "If We Can Fly" (or something like that), which had no sponsor. That attraction has since been replaced with a "Buzz Lightyear" shoot-em-up attraction.

I guess the reason why Eastern had such a big role in the attraction in tonight's "Simpsons" episode is to show how dated "Efcot Center" really is. Though of course, the real "Epcot Center" (and other Disney parks) would give an attraction another sponsor, or operate it without one, if a company went out of business, or withdraws its sponsorship.

Steve Mindykowski wrote:

Only the future world section of Epcot is outdated, and even then some old attractions have been replaced. The World Showcase is quite nice and really doesn't get old since it's designed to highlight the cultures of several nations.

Steve Mindykowski wrote in message news:...

It seems to be poking fun at corporate sponsors in that wacky, Simpsonish way. "If You Had Wings" featured references to Eastern Airlines, and at the end of the ride, you could set up a trip by air with them. Here, Eastern shows their plans of world domination, and the Gasoline Manufacturers of America sponsor an electric car ride in a form of amusement-park mudslinging (which would be like Pepsi sponsoring "The Wonderful(?) World of Coca-Cola).

Ryan W. Mead wrote in message news:[email]...

That was spot on.

Even as a kid, I remember leaving a similar exhibit (Shell Oil?) and realizing how easy it was to recognize their corporate propaganda.

--Dave