On this day in 1986, the English royal couple, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, were on hand to officially open Expo ’86, the world exposition held in Vancouver that featured the Disney film Portraits of Canada, produced in conjunction with Telecom Canada. D23 writer Scott Wolf was at the Expo and recalls, “I particularly remember the films. There was Rainbow War, about three lands that needed to learn about getting along. Each land consisted solely of one of the three primary colors. There were a couple stunning 3D films—one in IMAX®. The Czechoslovakia pavilion seated a few guests in front of the audience in what appeared to be hot air balloon gondolas in front of a movie screen and the film that was projected portrayed the flight—kind of an early attempt at what Disney has accomplished with Soarin’. I remember it being quite odd that you could see the film projected over the faces of the guests. Everybody talked about the General Motors pavilion, which featured the Spirit Lodge, a live-action presentation with a Native American character and a smoldering campfire. With unique special effects, the smoke appeared to come to life in various shapes and designs. Being a huge Disney fan, I particularly enjoyed one of Disney’s contributions to the fair, a Circle-Vision film entitled Portraits of Canada. I was a longtime fan of Disneyland’s America the Beautiful Circle-Vision film, and I remember enjoying the Canadian film and thinking it was really cool to be seeing it while being in Canada.”
