Category: Disney History

History of the company, parks, or any component of Disney.

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Disney History Gone But Not Forgotten

Disney’s America

Disney’s America was to be a theme park based on American History, which would have been built in the 1990s.

The first location considered for this enterprise was Colonial Williamsburg, but due to the area only reporting seasonal business this never materialized. Another factor in this location not being used was the two-hour driving distance from Washington D.C., where the park’s major clientele were expected to be based.

The second location considered for Disney’s America was Haymarket, Virginia, only twenty miles from the capital. This location was soon confirmed, and, as of 1993, the project was overseen by Mark Pacala, better known for setting up the Disney Vacation Club, and designed by Bob Weis (currently the creative lead for the forthcoming Shanghai Disneyland).

At the official announcement in Haymarket, Weis unveiled a scale model of the preliminary plans for the park. This featured seven themed areas: Presidents’ Square, recreations of a Native American Village, a Civil War fort, Ellis Island, a turn-of-the-century factory town, a state fair and a Midwestern family farm.

Other areas, which were later added to the plans, included Cross Roads USA, which would be the hub of the park, and Victory Field in which Guests would have experienced what American Soldiers faced during the World Wars.

Park attractions would have included The Hall of Presidents (which would have been moved from Walt Disney World, rather than recreated), a film featuring the Muppets telling the story of Immigration, and a rollercoaster ride called Industrial Revolution which would travel through a nineteenth century landscape. This attraction would feature inversions and near misses with blast furnaces.

Construction of the park was called off for a variety of reasons, which were a mixture of public, personal and financial. Public reasons included opposition by locals and historians. The reasons for the resistance was varied, including the park’s name implying that the Nation was owned by the Corporation and the fear of local historical sites (such as Manassas, the location of the two major battles of the American Civil War) being threatened or undermined by their proximity to Disney’s America. More generic worries included important events from history being forgotten, glossed over or not taken seriously enough.

Personal reasons which Michael Eisner (then Disney’s CEO) cited for not going ahead with the project included the death of Frank Wells (then Disney’s Chief Operating Officer), the resignation of Jeffrey Katzenberg (formerly head of Disney’s motion picture divisions) and Eisner’s own emergency quadruple bypass surgery. These three events had occurred within a space of five months, and Eisner felt “it wasn’t fair to subject the company to more trauma”.

Financial reasons for the park not going ahead included unanticipated large amounts being spent to silence the critics (including expenditure on attorneys and lobbyists), a delayed opening date deferring the date when money would be coming back into the company from the park, and the realisation that the park would have to close for four months annually rather than the expected three. The strengthening of the vision for the park brought costs up an additional 40%, whilst projections for the parks revenues –based on a lower than usual attendance in the other Disney parks worldwide- were decreasing steadily.

Several attractions proposed for the park have influences readily seen in other Disney parks. For example, a proposed Lewis and Clark themed water ride led the way for Kali River Rapids at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and later Grizzly River Run at Disney’s California Adventure (DCA).

Likewise, the design for Victory Field inspired Condor Flats at DCA and the proposed Family Farm was practically identical to DCA’s former Bountiful Valley Farm.

In 1995, Disney’s America was briefly mentioned at a three-day brainstorming retreat in Colorado as one of six proposed suggestions for a new park where DCA currently stands.

The final location considered for Disney’s America was Buena Park, a neighbor to Disneyland. In 1997, the Knott’s Family announced they would be taking bids for their theme park Knott’s Berry Farm. If Disney’s plan had gone ahead, they would have transformed their entrance area into President’s Square (incorporating The Hall of Presidents) and would have adapted the iconic Bigfoot Rapids into the Lewis and Clark themed water ride.

This plan did not go ahead due to Disney realizing they would be expected to transport the park’s Guests to Disneyland, and Knott’s Berry Farm’s concern that Disney would change the park to the extent that it would no longer fit in with the ideals of Walter Knott who had died 16 years previously.

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Disney History Gone But Not Forgotten In the Parks WDW vs DLP

WDW vs. DLP: Frontierland (Part One)

My favorite Land in Disneyland Paris is Frontierland, and this article is the first in a series of five comparing it to its Floridian counterpart. I am hoping to cover as much of the this Land as is possible, with the exception of the Railroad station, which I wrote about for a previous article – see http://mousescrappers.com/wordpress/?p=656

Several Imagineers I have spoken to about the creation of this Land have referred to it as “Westernland” (the name given to the version in Tokyo, due to “Frontier” being a term not thought to be as recognizable by its target Guests). Although this could on occasion have been them getting their resorts muddled up, there was a period of time when the name was strongly considered for use in the France park, although the Land’s Art Director, Jeff Burke, claims to have been adamant from day one that “Frontierland” was the only name which should or could be used.

Personally, I feel the theming of Frontierland in Paris to be one of the most thorough and in-depth, which is in part due to its size as the biggest Frontierland worldwide. However, much credit must go to the Land having such a coherent backstory, although I suspect that some sections of the storyline may have been retrofitted. However, over time, I feel additions and changes to the Land have contradicted much of this backstory, as did a temporary overreliance on cartoon characters, especially when Woody’s Roundup Village was in operation.

A photo-op from the now defunct Woody’s Roundup Village. Photo courtesy of www.photosmagiques.com

One example of an element of the Paris Frontierland’s backstory which is downplayed more now than in the park’s earlier years is the distinction between the “rich” half of the Land and the “poor” half. Likewise, although the Land is still a hub for Halloween activities, the two halves are no longer changed during that celebration into “Trickland” and “Treatland”.

Recently, although Halloween celebrations in the Paris resort have been more minimal than they once were (and also more Main Street based), during the season, Frontierland still features Pumpkin-Head mannequins, themed bands and the meet-and-greet with Jack Skellington and Sally. In previous Octobers, the Land has also featured face-painting, mummified ships, spooky dinner shows and occasionally an overall re-name/re-theme to “Halloweenland”.

Jack and Sally in DLP’s Frontierland, in Boot Hill Cemetery. Photo courtesy of www.disneyandmore.com

Christmas is also celebrated in Paris’ Frontierland more than elsewhere in the park, with seasonal stage shows, reindeer, Santa’s workshop and a chance to meet the big guy himself.

Other than perhaps during the Halloween/Christmas celebrations, both the Paris and the Florida Frontierland are set in the mid to late nineteenth century. They both feature a generous smattering of props from the era as well as a smoking area, a pin trading location and a shooting gallery.

Attractions currently existing solely in the Paris Frontierland include Legends of the Wild West (a self-guided walking tour of Fort Comstock) and two Native American camps: Pocahontas Indian Village (a play area for younger Guests) and a set of tepees near the Land’s main entrance. In the earlier days of the park, Guests could walk in and around the latter, whereas nowadays they can only be experienced from a distance, although -as of the last few months- smoke has started to come from one of them.

In part two of this article (to be published on Thursday 7th Nov 2013), I shall be looking at the restaurants, shops, theatres and shows of these two Frontierlands, and then parts three to five will look at the “main” attractions of the Paris Land (Rivers of the Far West, Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor) and comparing them to their Florida equivalents. These three articles will be published Nov 21st, Dec 5th and Dec 19th respectively.

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Disney History In the Parks

Carol’s Main Street slideshow

As some of you know already, I am a *HUGE* fan of Disney history. As a kid I always loved going to Disneyland, of course, but when I started working there as a Cast Member in college, I began to learn that ‘magic’ doesn’t just happen and there is so much that goes into planning and executing ideas. I especially like Disneyland history, but the more I learn about Walt and his legacy, the more I’ve come to respect just how brilliant he was, and I see just how many of the things he worked on were intertwined. Both successes and ‘failures’ would shape his path in life. I think many people really have no idea just what a true visionary he was, and oh how I wish he could have lived longer – if he even had just a few more years, I’m sure that both Walt Disney World and the ski resort industry, believe it or not, would be quite a bit different from what it is today… even better than what we know and love.

One of the things I enjoy doing is attending presentations about Disney history. In 2011, I attended an event in Orlando called “Destination D”, which was put on by Disney D23. It was a celebration of WDW’s 40th anniversary, and I really enjoyed it as it gave me a better understanding and appreciation of the planning that went into developing this massive resort destination. While at the convention, I briefly met a few of the people who gave presentations. One of them, Paul Anderson, is a well-respected Disney historian. He was a consultant on (and appears in) “Walt: The Man Behind the Myth”, my favorite documentary ever. Paul, along with a few other people I’ve gotten to know over the last few years, is like a walking encyclopedia – filled with information which is all so incredibly interesting to me! Paul and his colleague, Todd Pierce, both of whom are college professors, run a blog called DisneyHistoryInstitute.com. They post articles about Disneyland attractions, venues and events that I never knew about. Needless to say, it is one blog I like to follow, though there is so much content in there I’ve barely even scratched the surface.

Recently I threw some Disney questions at Paul, and to make a long story short, I came up with an idea and asked him to send me some images of Main Street from the 1950’s. I put it to some music (some of you may recognize it), added some dialog and sound effects and bam (well, 4 days of work later!) I had created a little slide show/video for them to add to their collection of YouTube videos. Now the audio of Walt came from “The Disneyland Story” which I believe was filmed 10 months prior to Disneyland opening (so ~ Sept 1954). This was one of several episodes that let the public know what Disneyland was going to be like, and one of the things viewers got to see in this episode was a scale model of Main Street. Can you imagine watching this series as a kid? Not having a clue what this Disneyland place was going to be like… but thinking it looked like something special, and different from anything else you’ve seen before. Remember, no internet, not even a VCR – no convenient way to rewind and look back at the photos and film footage. You would need to tune in on Sunday nights and drool over the screen and try to contain your excitement and anticipation. 🙂

Anyway, here is the completed video – please let me know what you think! If it gets enough views and thumbs up, maybe they’ll have me make another one for them sometime.

A Nostalgic Trip Down 1950s Main Street with Walt Disney

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Disney History DL vs DLP In the Parks

Anaheim vs. Paris: “it’s a small world”

This week, in my final article to compare the Fantasylands in California and Paris, I shall be looking at “it’s a small world”, the ride which –according to Marty Sklar- has a “song [which] will drive you bananas if you hear it often enough, but from a message standpoint … is a timeless attraction”.

Both versions of the attraction keep the title in lower case and enclosed in quotation marks. For this article however, I shall use the abbreviation of iasw, although I have known several Cast Members use the initials FAD instead, standing for “F-ing Annoying Dolls”.

Both rides last approximately fifteen minutes and feature the titular song as composed by the Sherman Brothers for the “Children of The World” pavilion at the 1964 World Fair. However, the song was re-recorded for the Paris’ park, using choirs from around Europe.

iasw in Paris was an opening day attraction. It has only had one sponsor (France Telecom) which has been funding the ride from park-opening until 2009. Over the years, California’s iasw (which opened in 1966) has had several sponsors, including Bank of America. Mattel and Sylvania. At the World’s Fair, it was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola but promoted UNICEF.

The “America” scene in Paris is much bigger than the equivalent room in California; the scene existed in Paris long before it was added to the one in Anaheim. Paris’s iasw also features a Middle-Eastern section (not appearing in Anaheim) in which the dolls sing in Arabic.

With the exception of Ariel, Paris’ iasw does not feature any of the 29 Disney/Disney*Pixar characters added to the California version in 2009; however, France’s ride does feature Slinky Dog from Toy Story (who doesn’t appear in the Anaheim ride). Both versions feature Hidden Mickeys and Magic Carpet from Aladdin.

Both rides start with a “hello room” and end with a “goodbye room” with the penultimate scene being the “Finale” where representations of dolls from previous scenes wear white and sing together. In the version in California, all dolls sing in English in this section; in Paris this scene also features verses in French and German.

Neither version offers Fastpass (although California’s “it’s a small world holiday” was the world’s first attraction ever to offer this service, back in 1999).

Further differences include: the Great Britain scene in France doesn’t feature the song being performed in a (bad) cockney accent; the French version doesn’t feature a “hidden Mary Blair” halfway up its Eiffel Tower; the French attraction is completely covered so as to help protect it from the elements; the French ride is made up of one big interconnected room, rather than lots of little rooms; the floor is flooded in Paris whereas the water only exists in troughs in Anaheim; the clock face outside the park (with a display every fifteen minutes) in France is shaped like the sun and the moon, whereas in California it is based on the dolls’ faces. (The clock and the identical faces were both designed by the same man: Gregory S. Marinello).

Whereas California’s iasw annually turns into “it’s a small world holiday”, France’s becomes “it’s a small world celebration”.

In terms of similarities, both versions of the ride feature a sun or moon in virtually every scene, both are continually loading mass capacity attractions (with the one in California being the first ever Disney ride which could be described thus), both feature topiaries around the exterior (although France’s version also features fountains), both feature the Disneyland Railroad visibly traveling between the queue area and the show building, and both feature the “please remain seated” spiel at the end of the ride in English, French and Spanish.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in August 2011, which also featured an interview with Chris Bailey who was the director of the (now-closed) post-show for DLP’s iasw.

 

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Disney History DL vs DLP Gone But Not Forgotten In the Parks Reviews

Anaheim vs. Paris: Casey Jr. Circus Train and Storybook Land Canal Boats

Early plans for the Fantasyland in the Anaheim park included a roller coaster called Rock Candy Mountain, upon which guests were transported on Casey Jr. style trains. There would be a canal surrounding this, which guests could circumnavigate on miniature boats.

It is claimed that this concept was abandoned when Imagineers thought that visitors may be put off by the sickly looking design for the mountain. However, other sources imply that it was for financial reasons that this wasn’t built.

What did appear on opening day was Canal Boats of The World, known to some Cast Members as The Mud Bank Ride. It broke down often, with employees frequently having to pull the boats along by hand. As part of the spiel, Cast Members had to promise that the ride would be improved over time, with replicas of major world cities being added over time.

Although these cities were never added, one feels perhaps this could have been a precursor to It’s a Small World.

On July 31st 1955, Casey Jr. Circus Train opened nearby, giving riders the chance to see the same pieces of mud from a different angle. As Dumbo the Flying Elephant has not opened yet, Casey Jr. was officially the first Dumbo based attraction to open at the park.

Several portions of the passenger cars had once been part of the chariots on the same Dentzel Carousel that had been transformed into King Arthur Carrousel for Opening Day.

On September 16th 1955, Canal Boats of The World was closed for good, to be replaced with Storybook Land Canal Boats, which opened on June 16th 1956.

Very little about either Casey Jr. Circus Train or Storybook Land Canal Boats has been changed since then, although various scenes on the latter have been altered or replaced. For example, the Sultan’s Palace from Aladdin was added in 1994 in the position of Toad Hall. Toad Hall was re-added to the attraction, at a different location, the following year.

1994 was also the year that the equivalents of these two rides were added to Disneyland Paris. To date, neither of these attractions have appeared in any other Disney parks worldwide.

Casey Jr. Le Petit Train du Cirque is very similar in design to its California counterpart. However, truer to Walt’s original intention, this version is billed as a roller coaster, although (due to it never being reliant on gravity) officially it is a power coaster, Disney’s only one to date.

Although both versions have a top speed of approximately 14mph, the Paris one feels faster due to being a shorter ride (two and a half minutes, as opposed to California’s three and a half) and has several rises and falls whereas Anaheim features only one “lift”.

In most ways, the ride experience is identical. Both feature trains of seven cars, a rearrangement of the Frank Churchill/Ned Washington song from the movie and cages which can make the rider feel claustrophobic.

The Paris version does however have a “going backwards” option, a synchronised on-board audio system (the first coaster in the world to feature this) and it goes closer to the Canal attraction. The two attractions are more closely intertwined, and in some instances –such as the Beast’s Castle- shows propping not visible on the boat ride.

Le Pays de Contes de Fées (which translates as The Land of Fairy Tales) is, conceptually at least, very similar to Storybook Land Canal Boats. Both feature miniature models of scenes from Disney movies –although the films in question are not always the same- and travel in a dyed waterway with music playing throughout to set the atmosphere.

Both versions feature boarding by the side of a faux-lighthouse. The Californian one used to be a ticket office, whereas the one in France is used mainly as storage for cleaning utensils.

The France version does not have an on-board guide. Likewise, it does not have dialogue emerging from any of the models nor is it powered by motors.

All the boats in the Anaheim ride are named after Disney characters. This is the case in France too, although the latter uses their French names. There are 20 such boats in France and 13 in the States; although both versions rarely have all in circulation at any one time.

All of the boats in France are named after female characters, whereas in California, there is one named after a male: Flower, the skunk from Bambi.

The Paris equivalent features a Rapunzel scene –maybe the Imagineers were presupposing Tangled- and a tiger-mouth entrance to the “Cave of Wonders” scene but no Monstro.

 

Portions of this article first appeared in my musings for DLDHistory.com in March 2011.