America the Beautiful (Disney film)
America the Beautiful was a 360° movie attraction in Circarama created by the Walt Disney Company for the American exhibit at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. The exhibit was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. After the fair ended, the film was exhibited in 1959 for six weeks, dubbed in Russian, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Russia. The film had its American debut at Disneyland in California in 1960, and it was later added to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida in 1971. The Disneyland attraction was housed in the Circle-Vision 360 Theater in Tomorrowland, replacing A Tour of the West, which had played there since Disneyland's opening day, July 17, 1955. The film was subsequently revised several times, eventually closing in 1984, when it was replaced by American Journeys.
Circle-Vision 360 is a film technique that uses multiple cameras arranged in a circle. The viewing image is displayed on a large circular screen. The film's rendition of the title song would later be used in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
The Disney 360 film processes were created and refined by Disney Legends Ub Iwerks and son Don Iwerks and in the 1950s and 1960s.
