Vacation Kingdom Know How: Martin’s Vids
From Martinsvids.net
This week, let’s take a planning break and nerd out for a little bit. Trust me, it’ll be awesome (my online handle is JLBNerdy for a reason).
One of my favorite ways to nerd out and learn more about the Walt Disney World that I love is through watching Martin’s Videos. What are these, you ask? Well, a lovely man named Martin takes video footage, still photos, concept art and all kinds of other information and combines it to document Disney attractions and shows. Some of these attractions are still in operation today and most of these historical videos cover all the versions of the attractions.
Martin of Martin’s Videos (photo from martinsvids.net)
Martin has a background in television and editing and has been combining his love for Disney with it since 2003. He shoots most of the footage himself and is diligent about shooting multiple angles- the multi angle shots of the Epcot 30th anniversary fireworks are just awesome.
My favorite part of the videos are their beginnings, though. Martin does great research (and must have awesome help researching some things) and shares the findings through a written narrative that shares concept art and graphics that break down how the attractions work. If you’ve ever wanted to see how a ride track goes through a building or answer “how did they do that?!?”, Martin’s vids are the way to find out.
Spaceship Earth’s title screen (martinsvids.net)
I’ve spent many an hour watching these videos and have to share some of my favorites with you: Horizons was and is forever my fave attraction at WDW and the video Martin just released of it was so awesome (add to that the Mesa Verde Times videos from Hoot & Chief and you’ll almost be a Horizons expert). The first Spaceship Earth video is fascinating, watching how they constructed the monstrosity that is the geosphere in Epcot and I learned quite a bit viewing it. The Carousel of Progress video makes my heart so happy (I wouldn’t have known of amazing creepy chili dad, as pictured below, if not for these videos!) and the World of Motion video makes me so sad that it was an attraction I never saw in person.
Creepy Chili Dad/ Carousel of Progress Dad from the 70’s (from davelandweb)
As far more recent videos, the Festival of Fantasy video is gorgeous and has so many different angles and shows so many of the parade’s details that it’s second only to being there.
So if this nerdery speaks to you, check out Martin’s Videos online. I truly believe knowing the back stories and being shown the details that you might otherwise miss can make your in-park experience extra special and memorable.
If you’ve done some viewing of (and subsequent nerding out), which of Martin’s Vids do you like the best?