Future Corps — Former Show · History & Timeline

Former Show · the memorial record

⚰ Permanently closed · May 2000operated 18 years · 1982–2000

This show is gone, but its history stays documented — the full lifetime log is below.

Show history

the lifetime record

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2000

UpdateOct 2000#

Former members staged the group's only reunion performance in Okayama, Japan, about six months after the disbanding, and Future Corps did not return to EPCOT.

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◆ Latest milestone

RefurbishmentMay 2000#

Future Corps was disbanded in a round of Walt Disney World entertainment layoffs, ending a run of roughly seventeen and a half years as an EPCOT atmosphere act.

Wikipedia's prose gives May 2000 while its infobox specifies May 13, 2000, so the closure is held to the month here. The disbanding is cited there to Susan Jacobson, "Another band hits a sour note for Disney," Orlando Sentinel, June 6, 2000; no live URL for that article survives, so the date rests on Wikipedia alone. The sources name no replacement act for the EPCOT slot. Stray Wikipedia categories date the group's end to 2006, but the article's prose, infobox and cited news story all say 2000.

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1997

Update1997#

The band travelled to Japan as guest artists for Dynasty Music Products, playing a marching music festival in Okayama with stops in Yokohama and Kyoto and a day of performances at Tokyo Disney.

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1995

UpdateJun 10, 1995#

Disney flew Future Corps from EPCOT to New York City to perform at the world premiere of Pocahontas in Central Park, alongside Disney groups from Florida and California.

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1991

Update1991#

The group self-produced its only album, Future of Corps, recording it at James Madison University.

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1982

NewDec 1, 1982#

Future Corps debuted at EPCOT Center as a full-time Future World atmosphere act, a brass-and-percussion ensemble playing in the drum and bugle corps style.

The act began two months after the park's October 1, 1982 opening, so it was not an opening-day offering. Members were largely recruited from competitive drum corps; Disney supplied the instruments and the Walt Disney World costume department designed and maintained the futuristic uniforms. Over the run the ensemble grew beyond brass and percussion to include mallet players, a color guard, an eleven-member cymbal line, full pit percussion, and keyboard, guitar and electric bass for special events, though the sources do not date those additions. The sources place the group in Future World without naming a fixed venue; it is filed here under World Celebration, the land that now covers Future World's central plaza.

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Questions & answers

When did Future Corps open?

Per the documented record, Future Corps at EPCOT opened on Dec 1, 1982.

When did Future Corps last close for refurbishment?

The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Future Corps is dated May 2000: Future Corps was disbanded in a round of Walt Disney World entertainment layoffs, ending a run of roughly seventeen and a half years as an EPCOT atmosphere act.

What changed recently on Future Corps?

The latest documented change (documented Oct 2000): Former members staged the group's only reunion performance in Okayama, Japan, about six months after the disbanding, and Future Corps did not return to EPCOT.

How many changes are on record for Future Corps?

6 documented changes, dating back to 1982 — the fan-kept show changelog nobody else keeps.

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