The Way It Is

My favorite part of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT Center was Walter Cronkite's narration, from 1986 to 1994. To this day, whenever we go to EPCOT and ride on Spaceship Earth, I say, in a pretty good Cronkite imitation (although at times, I admit, it could sound almost Nixonian), "And that's the way it was." My kids had no idea what I was doing, and my wife, well, I think she just tolerates me without appreciating it.

Nevertheless, like television journalism, the ride has not been the same since Cronkite's voice was retired.

Fortunately, this clip was posted by someone on YouTube last night, after my first search for it. I am sure I have some video of it, as well, buried somewhere deep in my VHS-C archives.



Walter Cronkite also had another role with EPCOT Center - he introduced the park to us in 1981 in a TV special, Walt Disney — One Man's Dream.