Before EPCOT became a theme park, it was Walt Disney’s radical plan for a real city of tomorrow — a vision built on innovation, order, labor, and total design. In Part 1 of this Dis-topia: The EPCOT Musical deep dive, Michael Saint Gregory explores how that original EPCOT concept became one of the strangest and most revealing ideas in Disney history.

This episode examines the real roots of Walt Disney’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and why its contradictions still feel so powerful today. Michael looks at EPCOT not just as unrealized Disney history, but as a corporate utopia shaped by governance, control, performance, ideology, and the human labor required to keep a designed world running. He also begins tracing how that pressure point in Disney history became the foundation for Dis-topia, a musical that asks what happens when people actually have to live inside the dream.

If you’re interested in Disney history, EPCOT, theme park history, themed entertainment, musical theater, immersive storytelling, and the tension between magic and machinery, this episode is for you. Follow the podcast, share the episode with another Disney or theme park fan, and send in your thoughts on Dis-topia and Walt’s original EPCOT vision.

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Some theme park ideas don’t get built. They get buried, like a time capsule full of concept art, budgets, and dreams with a “DO NOT OPEN” sticker.

In this episode of Backstage Kingdom, Michael Saint Gregory sits down with Andrew and JJ (Reedy Geeks) to dig up the most fascinating attractions that nearly happened, and the strange, practical, and hilarious reasons they didn’t.

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Fantasmic! isn't just a way to end a day at a Disney park; it’s a masterclass in theater logic, engineering, and the externalization of a dream (and a nightmare). In this episode, host Michael Saint Gregory takes us deep into the mist screens to explore why this 1992 spectacular changed the industry forever.

Drawing from his time as a Cast Member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the show's "survival mode" era in the recession, Michael breaks down the alchemy that makes Fantasmic! work. We move beyond the plot and look at the infrastructure: the physics of the water screens, the "theater as disguise" design of Tom Sawyer Island, and the emotional glue of Bruce Healey’s iconic score.

We also examine the "Tale of Three Cities," comparing the intimate, scrappy nature of the original Disneyland run, the massive "stadium" energy of the Florida version, and the ambitious (and defunct) 360-degree experiment at Tokyo DisneySea. Plus, we have to talk about "Murphy"—the infamous Maleficent dragon—the dangers of outdoor animatronics, and why pyrotechnics and wind make for a terrifying combination.

In this episode:

• The Concept: Why Fantasmic! feels more like a fever dream than a traditional theme park revue.
• The Tech: Bernoulli’s principle, hydraulic lifts, and hiding a theater in plain sight on the Rivers of America.
• The Variance: A breakdown of the Disneyland vs. World vs. Tokyo setups.
• The Risk: The "Murphy" dragon fire, operational hazards, and the bravery of performing amidst fire and water.
• The Score: How the music acts as the subconscious conductor for 10,000 people at once.

Join us for a journey into the imagination—and the heavy machinery that makes it real.

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