1964 New York World's Fair

==Disney influence==
[[File:Fountains, NY Worlds Fair '64.JPG|thumb|Fountains and a reflecting pool mark the approach to the Unisphere.]]
The fair is remembered as the venue that [[Walt Disney]] used to design and perfect his system of "[[Audio-Animatronics]]", in which electromechanical actuators and computers control the movement of lifelike robots to act out scenes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/blog/2008/07/08/the-history-of-disneys-audio-animatronics/ |title=The History of Disney's Audio Animatronics |date=July 8, 2008 }}</ref> [[Walt Disney Imagineering|WED Enterprises]] designed and created four shows at the fair:

* "Pepsi-Cola Presents Walt Disney's '[[It's a Small World]]'—a Salute to [[UNICEF]] and the World's Children" at the [[Pepsi-Cola]] pavilion: Animated dolls and animals frolicked in a spirit of international unity accompanying a boat ride around the world. The song was written by the [[Sherman Brothers]].
* [[General Electric]] sponsored "Progressland" where audiences were seated in a series of ring-shaped revolving auditoriums called the "[[Carousel of Progress]]", where they viewed an audio-animatronic presentation of the historical progress of electrical technology in the home. The [[Sherman Brothers]] composed the theme song "[[There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow]]" for this attraction. The highlight of the exhibit demonstrated a brief plasma "explosion" of controlled [[nuclear fusion]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nywf64.com/genele08.shtml|title=1964 New York World's Fair 1965 - Attractions - General Electric - Page Eight}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldsfairphotos.com/nywf64/general-electric-2.htm|title = The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair - General Electric}}</ref>
* [[Ford Motor Company]] presented "Ford's Magic Skyway", a WED Imagineering-designed pavilion which was the second-most popular exhibit at the fair. It featured 354 1964 and 1965 Ford, Mercury and Lincoln [[convertible]] vehicles with the engines, transmissions and gas tanks removed, including the all-new Mustang, in an early prototype of what became the [[PeopleMover]] ride system. Audience members entered the vehicles on the main platform as they moved slowly along the track. The ride moved the audience through scenes featuring life-sized, audio-animatronic dinosaurs and cavemen concluding with a diorama of a futuristic city. When the fair opened again in 1965, the vehicles were updated to 1965 models of the same convertible models. A video compilation was released using sketches from the original project.
* At the [[Illinois]] pavilion, a lifelike President [[Abraham Lincoln]] recited his famous speeches in "[[Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln]]", voiced by [[Royal Dano]].

WED also created the {{convert|120|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} ''Tower of the Four Winds'' which was located at the ''It's a Small World'' pavilion. In addition, costumed versions of Walt Disney's famous cartoon characters roamed around the fairgrounds and interacted with guests. After the fair, there was some discussion of [[The Walt Disney Company]] retaining these exhibits on-site and converting Flushing Meadows Park into an East Coast version of Disneyland, but this idea was abandoned. Instead, Disney relocated several of the exhibits to [[Disneyland Park (Anaheim)|Disneyland]] in [[Anaheim, California]], and subsequently replicated them at other Disney theme parks. [[Walt Disney World]] near [[Orlando, Florida]], which opened with [[Magic Kingdom]] in 1971, is essentially the realization of the original concept of an "East Coast Disneyland"; [[Epcot]], which opened in 1982, was designed as a permanent world's fair.<ref name="Morison">{{cite web |last=Morison |first=Elting E. |title=What Went Wrong with Disney's Worlds Fair |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/what-went-wrong-disney%E2%80%99s-worlds-fair |work=American Heritage |publisher=American Heritage Publishing Company |access-date=May 1, 2012 |date=December 1983}}</ref>