Tapestry of Nations

The Tapestry of Nations was a parade at the Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World, Florida, United States, that ran around the World Showcase Lagoon from 1999 to 2001, after which it was rethemed as Tapestry of Dreams.[1] The parade had a unity and world peace theme and featured a variety of large puppets and massive rotating drum units. The puppets were designed by Michael Curry who also designed the puppets for The Lion King on Broadway and a variety of Disney theme park shows. The leader of the parade was the Sage of Time, who was represented as a stilt walker in an elaborate costume featuring alchemy symbols, gold trim on a white robe, a staff, and a headpiece resembling a sun with a face.

Tapestry of Nations
The Sage of Time
Epcot
AreaWorld Showcase
StatusClosed
Opening dateOctober 1, 1999
Closing dateSeptember 9, 2001
General statistics
Attraction typeParade
ThemeUnity and World Peace
MusicTapestry Of Nations
VehiclesRolling Percussion Units
Duration30 Minutes

The Puppets included:

  • Reverse Marionette, a large multicolored puppet with a little marionette being held in its arms.
  • Disc Man, a large character with discs within the body and dreadlocks. This was the heaviest and tallest of all the puppets.
  • Hammer Man, a humanoid character made of pieces of sheet metal.
  • The Sprite, a winged character with a three tiered tail.
  • Angel Girl, a feminine figure with a massive wingspan and human face.
  • Wiggle Girl, similar to Angel Girl, but had a smaller wingspan and lacked a face, also had movement in the hips.
  • Bird Man, with a large wingspan and a crane-like face. This puppet was the hardest to control.
  • Aztec Man, with an Aztec-style head, small wingspan and several flaps at its end, similar to kite tails.

The parade (or a variant of this) was also the theme for the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. Both the parade and the halftime show were directed by Gary Paben. Footage of the parade could still be seen on the Earth Globe in IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth through that show's closure in 2019.

Tapestry of Dreams

In 2001, the parade became Tapestry of Dreams. Wishes from children around the world were heard throughout the parade's soundtrack. The middle of the parade had a tribute to Walt Disney, "...the greatest and most wonderful dreamer of all!". In this version, the Sage of Time was replaced with the Dreamseekers, a trio of elf-like humanoid characters that would open and close the parade and collect Dreamtale coins that children would receive at the Epcot Kidcot stations. These three included:

  • Leonardo Columbus, who represented discovery, invention and genius.
  • Elfin, who represented nature, magic and emotions.
  • Cosmo, who represented space and the unknown.

It ran nightly, although in a reduced fashion compared to Tapestry of Nations and was canceled in March 2003 as a result of degrading show elements over the course of the show's lifespan.

Variations

Besides the Tapestry of Dreams version, there were three variations of Tapestry of Nations, each having differences in audio. The original version, with a much more serious sounding Sage of Time, ran from the parade's debut in October 1999 to the middle of December 1999.

The narration was changed as to give the Sage a more gentle tone in his voice, this version running to the Millennium Celebration's conclusion in the spring of 2001.

After this, changes to the script brought in the theme of human dreams, which would carry on to the Tapestry of Dreams version, though still retaining the character of the Sage of Time. This version ran to the middle of the summer of 2001 when the Tapestry of Dreams version finally debuted.

Outside of Epcot, Tapestry of Nations served as the theme of the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show and featured a massive sized Sage of Time as a backdrop in addition to an appearance by the parade's walkaround version.[2][3]

Soundtrack

The music for the parade was written by Gavin Greenaway, who was suggested to Disney by Hans Zimmer.[4] Regarding the lyrics, Greenaway said:

The words are made up to sound like a language, as I didn’t want to have some people understanding and others not. So, this way, nobody understands the words! But I chose the sounds and syllables to sound like some sort of proto-language. Very simple vowels and limited consonants. Each listener can attach their own meaning.[4]

For Epcot's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration on October 1, 2007, a special fireworks finale to Illuminations was set to the Tapestry of Nations and the Tapestry of Dreams soundtrack.

Tapestry of Nations

  • Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration (1999)

Tapestry of Dreams

  • Illuminations: Reflections of Earth / Tapestry of Dreams (2001)

Tapestry of Dreams "Suite of Dreams: Discovery"

  • Magic in the Streets: Parade Memories (2001)

Trivia

The music from the "Hymns of the North" segment from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony, composed and produced by David Atkins was based on the Opening section from the Tapestry of Nations soundtrack.

See also
  • Epcot attraction and entertainment history

References
  1. Geryak, Cole (February 16, 2017). "Disney Extinct Attractions: Tapestry of Nations and Dreams". The Laughing Place. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. "Super Bowl History - Entertainment". NFL.com. 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  3. Johnson, Tina; Basham, David (January 6, 2000). "Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton To Play Super Bowl Halftime". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  4. "Disney Song #1: Tapestry of Nations / Gavin Greenaway - A Conversation". The MacGyver Project.
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