Monthly Archives: April 2012
World That Never Was: Beastly Kingdom
Apr 25
In celebration of the Animal Kingdom’s anniversary and Earth Day, which just passed us, I figured now would be a better time than ever to talk about the Animal Kingdom that never was, specifically an entire “land” that went to the wayside. When Disney’s Animal Kingdom was built, it was the largest theme park outing for Disney and at a cost of nearly $1 billion to create, was a leap of faith for the company. On top of that, Disney also had plans for a grand scale luxury hotel right off to the side of the Animal Kingdom park, so the project in whole was a large stretch for Disney, but as it turns out, a good one.
One of the original plans for the $1 billion Animal Kingdom park and lodge project was a section of the park called Beastly Kingdom, or “Beastley Kingdomme” as some concept art spells it. This part of the park would have, without a doubt, been very popular and crowded had it come to fruition. The Beastly Kingdom would have dealt with the animals and creatures of mythology and folklore and would have had three major attractions in the area.
The Dragon Tower was to be a major thrill ride experience. As in most fairy tales, there are good and evil sides to the section of the park. The Dragon Tower would be a part of the darker side of the land taking guests on a roller coaster ride around the tower and past a deadly dragon. The detail going into the Tower itself would be incredible, as the castle would look half ruined and burnt down by the dragon, still in tact enough for guests to go inside.
On the good side of Beastly Kingdom would be Fantasia Gardens, a boat ride based on Fantasia, a movie that doesn’t get enough recognition in my opinion. This slow moving boat ride, similar to Pirates of the Caribbean or It’s a Small World, would take you past several scenes from the film including the “Dance of the Hours” scenes with the hippos and crocodiles and Beethoven’s “Pastoral” which features more centaurs, fauns, and Pegasus.
Beastly Kingdom’s good side would also feature a maze that leads to a secret grotto called Quest of the Unicorn. As guests would travel through the maze, they would run into several medieval and mythological creatures before finding the Unicorn in his grotto either in the middle of the maze or at the end of the maze.
So why did the Beastly Kingdom never get built? It’s simple economics my Dear Watson! (sorry, random non-sensicle Sherlock Holmes reference) With the rest of the park already over budget, it would be difficult to cut out Africa, Asia, or even Dinoland U.S.A. from the park to fit in the Beastly Kingdom. Truthfully, it makes the least sense of all the lands to be there. Can you imagine Animal Kingdom without a safari ride, jungle trek, or bone yard? IT would definitely be a wonderful addition to add in mythological creatures, but not a necessary component to the story of conservation and the history and beauty of animals.
The area that was to be Beastly Kingdom was turned into Camp Mickey-Minnie, a spot holder land that stuck around after the wild success (get it!) of the Festival of the Lion King show. However, after over a decade of holding the spot, Camp Minnie-Mickey will soon be turning into the land of Pandora and the Avatar layover starts to take over the space, bringing fictional characters to the land. (A Strange way to get back to the original concept of the area, but it works.)
Currently, there are some small details in the park that still stand for the land that never got built. In Camp Minnie-Mickey, there is a stone water fountain shaped like a dragon. There are several other references to the dragon, one being the dragon in the logo of the park, and the other two being the dragon sitting a top one of the ticket booths out in front of the park and the dragon-labeled parking lot.
To add to the mythological element of the park, Expedition Everest was built in the Asia section of the park, opening in April 2006. Expedition Everest has become one of the biggest draws for the park, which has helped in drawing lines away from some of the other major attractions at Animal Kingdom including Dinosaur and Kilimanjaro Safaris, making most lines a bit more tolerable.
Had Beastly Kingdom been built, the park would be a whole different place. Expedition Everest may have never been built, and there may not have been talks with James Cameron to bring Avatar to Animal Kingdom. What are your thoughts on Beastly Kingdom? Would you trade out some of Animal Kingdom’s other great attractions for this area of the park? What would you have most looked forward to? Leave your comments and let your voice be heard!
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
Apr 19
Well, you’re in for a real treat…or at least that is what you’d hear when first sitting down in the Carousel of Progress theater, and that’s more than true. The Carousel of Progress isn’t just another show at the Magic Kingdom, but an attraction with a deep history and it is the culmination and peak of several arts and technologies coming together.
Back before the famous outing at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, Walt Disney had a show in mind for Disneyland. After seeing the popularity of Disneyland, Walt wanted to expand Main Street U.S.A. with two side streets, International Street and Edison Square. Edison Square, or course, is a reference to Thomas Edison, and the area would feature the use of electricity in homes. This area would particularly feature a theater show about the use of technology in U.S. homes over the course of several decades all the way up to present day. (The possibilities for upgrades were there.) However, not unlike other plans dropped at the time, technology had not caught up with the imagination of Walt Disney and the two side streets were passed on for the addition of New Orleans Square at Disneyland.
The show idea was yet again brought up when General Electric met with Walt Disney about creating a pavilion for the New York World’s Fair. With audio-animatronics already in use at the Tiki Room and another project in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln underway, Disney and GE felt that the show was quite possible. GE funded the show and the creation of the new animatronic figures, but the biggest problem was how to present the show to the public.
Imagineers Bob Gurr and Roger Broggie created the carousel theater idea. Using the carousel idea, the show could change sets every few minutes when each act ended, as well as keeping guests in their seats without having to move from stage to stage and waiting for everyone to be seated. This also allowed two hundred guests to enter and exit the show every few minutes while other were seeing the middle of the show.
Accompanying the new attraction for the World’s Fair was a new song written by the Sherman Brothers who had major success teaming with Walt Disney over their careers. They came up with the song “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” which can still be seen on several park albums and is one of their greatest accomplishments as writers. (The famous clip of Walt, Robert, and Richard playing and singing the song can currently be seen in the loading area before entering the attraction.) After hiring some great voice talent to round out the show, including legendary country singer Rex Allen, the show was off and running at the World’s Fair by 1964.
Despite being able to move so many people in and out of the show every four minutes, the show had a long wait time at the World’s Fair. The attraction was so popular that they eventually had to build a canopy around the show to accomodate visitors by blocking out some of the sun.
Accompanying the show, then titled Progressland, was an upstairs preview area of some of GE’s uses or technology in the world. Using technology similar to a planetarium, guests were treated to a short screening of some of the good things GE was doing for Earth, giving them a good will image.
General Electric was so pleased with Walt Disney and the Carousel of Progress show, they decided to sponsor the show after in moved out of New York back to Disneyland in 1966, covering the costs of the move, as well as the recreation of the show and the addition of new scenes and voice actors. The show reopened on July 2nd, 1967 as part of the New Tomorrowland. (One of several upgrades Tomorrowland has gotten over the years). The Carousel also had a new post show on the second level. Instead of showcased General Electric, the post show was a large model of Progress City or the future Experiment Prototype Community of Tomorrow (Epcot) as well as a small spiel about the city that could be. The attraction continued to be a hit for Disneyland until the early 1970s. GE was concerned that anybody visiting Disneyland had already seen the show and that it could have a new wave of viewers if the Disney company decided to move the attraction to the new Magic Kingdom park in Florida, so that is exactly what happened.
The Carousel of Progress opened in the Magic Kingdom on January 15th, 1975 along with another guest favorite, Space Mountain. The Carousel opened with GE as the sponsor yet again, but the show had changed drastically. GE had decided they didn’t want people to wait until the “great, big, beautiful tomorrow” to buy their products, so they asked the Sherman Brothers to come up with a new theme for the ride. They delivered with the song “Now is the Time” and attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in Florida with this new theme. The attraction also got some new voices and scenes, including Lancer star, Andrew Duggan, as the main character and narrator of the show and the final scene representing the Christmas home in the 1970s.
The attraction was once again a success leading into the 1980s, which brought other changes to the attraction. The final scene was once again changed and upgraded to the Christmas home of the 1980s. An unfortunate change was the loss of GE as a sponsor to the attraction. After 21 years, GE had decided the attraction, which had a great run, was starting to wind down. Disney still had interest in GE as a sponsor so they struck a deal for them to sponsor an attraction at the new EPCOT Center park at Walt Disney World. GE decided to help build and sponsor Horizons, a similar attraction to the Carousel of Progress, showing off technologies in the home of the near future. As GE latched onto the Horizons attraction, they didn’t renew their sponsorship with the Carousel attraction which had Disney close down the attraction to take out most of the General Electric references. Another change that came to the attraction, post GE sponsorship, was the return of “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” to the attraction. The Disney Company as well as the Sherman Brothers thought the previous song fit better with the attraction, so they changed it back to the way they had wanted it.
In 1994, as Tomorrowland changed, so did the Carousel of Progress. The final scene was updated to the Christmas home of the 2000s and the new “mechanical future that never was theme” was added to the Carousel of Progress as well as the rest of Tomorrowland. The attraction was renamed “Walt Disney’s Carousel of Tomorrow” and a new “cog” shaped sign was put out front of the attraction, as well as the first and last stage areas were fitted with a new cog logo on stage. Voice talent also changed at this time as Disney felt as if the former voices were not known any longer. Radio personality and narrator of the movie Christmas Story, Jean Shepherd took over as the voice of the father/main character/narrator role in the show, Rex Allen was brought back to voice the grandfather, and notorious cartoon voice actor Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny and many of the other Looney Tunes characters as well as Barney Rubble of the Flintstones) was hired to play Cousin Orville while his son, Noel Blanc was hired to be the voice of the radio show announcer.
The show hasn’t changed much since 1994, but has continued to attract smaller crowds and become a park classic and a guest favorite. It’s my personal favorite attraction at the Magic Kingdom as well as my mother’s favorite. It’s a show that appeals to multiple generations, and shows a sense of history, charm, and futurism. The theme written by the Sherman Brothers continues to be featured on park albums and can be heard from time to time at the front gates when entering the Magic Kingdom. The attraction has also been connected to several other Disney attractions, including Horizons, Tokyo Disney’s Meet the World, Space Mountain, and several others.
What are your thoughts on the Carousel of Progress? Do you think this is a wonderful show that stands the test of time or is it past it’s prim and should be axed? Let me know your thoughts and until next time, have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
The Wizard of Bras…I Mean Oz…No, I Really Mean Bras
Apr 12
Prior to Disneyland opening, Walt Disney was on a mission to garner sponsors to help fund his new theme park idea. Sponsors ranged from film companies to food distributors, some of them long lasting relationships, and some of them fizzling out before the end of the first year. Some of those short run sponsors were odd choices (but understandable considering Disney needed the money regardless) including one that had a shop right on Main Street U.S.A. The Hollywood-Maxwell Brassiere Co., located in Los Angeles, not too far from Disneyland, opened up an intimate apparel shop on the right hand side of Main Street after helping sponsor Disneyland.
Let me clarify, this wasn’t just an underwear store, but a journey into another time. Entering the shop, you got an overwhelming Victorian theme. A time period when underwear was very uncomfortable for women and the proper gal would always wear a corset. The shop didn’t just sell these products, but was a history lesson. Small boxes around the store would display the intimate clothing of time periods long gone and the Singer sewing machine from the 1860s was the crown jewel of this outlandish shop.
Of course, half the store did sell modern apparel to make the money they normally would at other stores in Los Angeles, but I can hardly see the average family trip consisting of a purchase at the underwear store, unless your child wanted to meet the charming, but sort of creepy, Wizard of Bras. No, you did read that correctly. It isn’t Oz, it’s Bras. The Victorian Wizard of Bras was a large figure, with fishnet stockings, a corset, and a very large head. (Think of Arnold from the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold!) Assuming wizards are male, while witches are female, this androgynous figure is supposedly male, but with the fishnet, corset, and overall feminine look, I would assume this figure to be a drag queen at some London bar in the late 1800s, or it’s a Victorian Caucasian version of Mulan.
However, as most things turn out at Disney Parks, the best ideas last and the worst ideas fade quickly. Despite the sponsorship at Disneyland, the Hollywood-Maxwell Intimate Apparel shop was gone by the beginning of 1956, not even lasting a full year on Main Street U.S.A. The former Hollywood-Maxwell shop currently sits empty on Main Street. A Blue building with white trim and a wonderful porch is a great spot for a photo with the whole family, however the history of this store front is undeniably strange.
So what happened to the Hollywood-Maxwell company? It continued on for a few years before merging with several other companies and the name brand became null and void. It is now part of the Munsingerwear brand which is most famous for polo style shirts with a penguin sewn in as the emblem.
Give your thoughts on this strange historical site at Disneyland. Would you have visited the Hollywood-Maxwell shop? Would you have made a purchase? Would you get your picture taken with the awkward Wizard of Bras mascot?
Josh Taylor
https://ModernMouseRadio.com
The World That Never Was: Fire Mountain
Apr 5
One of Disney World’s most beloved and widely missed attractions has been 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Since it’s closing in 1994, people had hoped they would bring back the lagoon and the former attraction. Of course, now we know that the New Fantasyland expansion encompasses that area, but back in the late 1990s and even the 2000s, many had speculated as to what would become of the Jules Verne inspired area.
Imagineers were hard at work on several new possibilities to fill the spot, however two main attraction ideas came to the forefront, Bald Mountain and Fire Mountain. Bald Mountain was a shot in the dark as it was based solely on Disney villains and was named after the devil scene in Fantasia. The other project which was brought up, Fire Mountain, got a massive push behind it. The Fire Mountain attraction was to be a one of a kind roller coaster, switching tracks half way through the ride experience.
In the mid-1990s, Disney was looking to bring thrill seekers to their once not-so-thrilling Disney World. It was a time period when every town’s smaller amusement park was gaining steel coasters with corkscrews and loops all over the place. The solution for Disney was to use Fantasyland, a more kid friendly area, and create buzz with a state of the art, fast paced attraction right in the middle of Fantasyland.
Of course, as plans often change, the new Fire Mountain attraction moved from a centerpiece of Fantasyland to being part of an expansion of Adventureland, where it seemingly fit into a story better. The new attraction would either be between Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain or between Pirates and the Jungle Cruise. (The latter would reroute and change the Jungle Cruise attraction.) Fire Mountain would be part of a new subland in Adventureland called Volcania. The attraction would be large and would be seen from anywhere in Adventureland with it’s large volcano coming up over the Jungle Cruise attraction.
The attraction itself would be the first of it’s kind as the original idea was to take guests on a trip in a steel roller coaster. While guests would board the attraction sitting in a car with the track railing underneath them, the ride would later change to a flying coaster with the track switching and being above them to avoid the “lava” that they would have to fly over to complete the journey on the attraction. The rest of the attraction would fly through and around the volcano before ending with guests sitting back upright, leaving guests in line without a clue that they would be flying half way through the attraction. Due to budget constraints, the grand idea for the attraction would later change to being simply a Superman-style flying coaster with the track always above guests instead of switching half way through.
Unfortunately for Fire Mountain, it was shelved, leaving the lot in Fantasyland empty and Adventureland untouched. This shelved attraction would eventually get nixed as Disney World later announced the renovation and expansion of Fantasyland in 2009. The need for a new roller coaster thrill ride would be met with the announcement of the Seven Dwarves Mine Car roller coaster that would better tie in with Fantasyland.
What are your thoughts of Fire Mountain? Would you have liked to have seen it built? Would it be better in Fantasyland or Adventureland? Let us know your thoughts and keep the conversation rolling.
Josh Taylor
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