Mouse Deco

From the rustic steel of Animal Kingdom's Oasis to the elegant wrought iron of Main Street USA, all of Disney's parks feature appropriately detailed gates cleverly designed to both protect and present the entrance to enchanting environments and the Disney•MGM Studios is no exception. Perhaps the most notable of functionally friendly fences, the entrance to Hollywood Boulevard continues the streamlined style of the Pan-Pacific Auditorium inspired ticket booths with Art Deco curves and an extremely familiar silhouette signifying that the Hollywood you're stepping into is a carefully-curated one crafted by the House of Mouse.
Here is a small series of backgrounds depicting those gates in their natural state of Tinseltown Teal as well as Glittering Gold and Silver Screen Slate.              

Soarin's Skyway

One of several sequential spaces inspired by a series of superb airport terminals, the suitably named “Skyway” with its striking Cobalt Blue Neon lines is the point of departure for the popular Soarin’ Around the World experience inside The Land pavilion. Captured here (by popular demand) are a select few of the many sophisticated textures found throughout the queue of this recently enhanced attraction, now finally worthy of its place among Epcot’s globally-themed environments. 

    

Gateway Gifts 2015

One of the quainter shops in Future World, Gateway Gifts more than makes-up for its miniscule Square Footage with its location — in both architecture and proximity. If one can look past the merchandise, Gateway Gifts possesses intriguing design. From its multi-level future-industrial ceiling treatments to its impressive view of the geosphere it supports, the shop itself is a subtle but prime example EPCOT Center’s unique architectural achievements.

Quite recently, Gateway Gifts began shifting its color scheme from bright oranges and electric blue to a more subdued teal-green and blue. This transformation reached completion with the installation of a new carpet that maintained the same design as the original. 

Guest Relations

Originally located in the absolute center of Earth Station (now Project Tomorrow), EPCOT Center’s Guest Relations was predictability prototype in both design and function. Depending on your perspective, the park’s customer service facility was ether a (then) revolutionary 360° desk or (even more prophetically) a large bank of WorldKey touchscreen kiosks where one could engage in a live-video conference with a professional in plaid. 12 years later, Guest Relations lobby (and World Key) was moved into a more tradition setting on the former site of CommuniCore’s Backstage Magic inside the newly christened Innoventions.

Making its debut in 1999 shortly before the Millennium Celebration, this fanciful custom created carpet exemplifies the aesthetic of the times and most probably was designed in counterpoint to traditional function of the facility. For it is safe to presume that, unlike the rest of the park, one always visits this location out of necessity instead of pleasure — a condition that is subconsciously eased by the whimsical patterns found just below your feet.  

Designer’s Note:
This edition of the Texture Series is most appropriately dedicated to My Fellow Futurist, EPCOT Evangelist, & Friend Kyle Smith:
Twitter, Instagram, & Flickr

Electric Umbrella

Certainly the most unusually themed restaurant in Epcot (if not all of Walt Disney World) is the Electric Umbrella. Beginning its life as the awesomely titled (and yet completely irrelevant) “Stargate Restaurant” the quick service facility was re-themed in 1994 by Disney Legend Rolly Crump based on a literal merchandise item sold at Centorium during the time.

Although not original to the restaurant, these relatively new carpet titles continue Rolly’s characteristically kooky theme by complimenting the venue’s over-scaled umbrellas above with giant rings of multi-colored water droplets below. 

Personal Note:
I’ve recently heard that I’m becoming infamous in Epcot circles as “the guy that’s been doing all the carpets!” And although that’s funny, it’s not exactly what I’d like people to know E82 for. Fortunately, there are only a few (3) custom carpets left in the park to “get out of my system”. Especially ones like this of such exacting detail…

Designer’s Note:
In this specific case, the Electric Umbrella has a few unique properties that were difficult to master, including a seemingly random tile pattern and alternating seam lines/groves consumed over 60% of my in recreating the piece. For while the circular forms themselves were quite easy to make, figuring-out the right thickness and application of lines that would scale correctly for the computer screen took an considerable amount of trial & error to achieve.