Vintage Video: “The Magical World of Barbie” at EPCOT from October 1994

Hi everyone!

Jeff dug into his video archives for “The Magical World of Barbie” at EPCOT from October 1994. “The Magical World of Barbie” played at the American Gardens Theatre in the American Adventure pavilion. The American Gardens Theatre had been an open-air stage prior to this show, but was enclosed for “The Magical World of Barbie”.

Disney performer Billy Flanigan plays Ken here. He is known for many shows, including “Tarzan Rocks” from the early years of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.

“The Magical World of Barbie” runs about 30 minutes. Watch our video and then read more below!

I have seen a couple of different dates listed for “The Magical World of Barbie” at Walt Disney World, but it looks like it ran from late 1993 through May 11th, 1995. If you watch the video, you’ll see there was a large cast of performers and a lot of costume changes – although bathing suits seem to be worn the most.

“The Magical World of Barbie” was a collaboration between Disney and Mattel and featured “Barbie” characters including Barbie, Ken, and Stacie as they experience adventures in Australia, Africa and Paris along with a number of original songs (that are very easy to remember).

There was also a VHS called “Barbie Birthday Party” at Walt Disney World Epcot ’94 that features not only some of “The Magical World of Barbie” but also showcases some of EPCOT from that time.

While it seems an unusual show to play in World Showcase, there are a lot of friends I have who remember “The Magical World of Barbie” fondly. Jeff recorded it but I never saw it at EPCOT.

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie debuted this weekend (we are seeing it Tuesday), and it was fun to check out Jeff’s video of “The Magical World of Barbie” for a little bit of EPCOT history.