Monthly Archives: May 2012
The World That Never Was: Soviet Russia
May 31
During a big announcement in January of 1990, Michael Eisner proclaimed the 1990s to be the Disney Decade. Large expansions of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World were announced with several inclusions in the parks we already knew and loved. A brash announcement by Eisner and what he will most likely be remembered by, the Disney Decade provided several new hotels, entertainment, restaurants, and theme park fun, but some of the detailed announcements never made it off the drawing board. We have already hit on some of these forgotten treasures in the past, but one that I haven’t covered really sticks out. For years now, Epcot’s World Showcase has been a huge hit with adults and children alike, but the back of Epcot still has tons of land to offer new experiences from far off destinations. One pavilion announced during Eisner’s speech was Red Square and the Soviet Union.
If you looked at what World Showcase had to offer when it first opened with Epcot in 1991, the World according to the Mouse was made up of Western Europe, North America, and the parts of Asia where they make everything we own. All in all, not a perfect representation of the entire World. Expansion plans were put into place with additions like Morocco and Norway added in the coming years, but with the Disney Decade, there would be several new additions that included Soviet Russia.
This Russian expansion would include a replica of Moscow’s Red Square along with St. Basil’s Cathedral as it’s grand centerpiece. The area looked to be surrounded by large brick walls, with shops and restaurants lining the walls as well. Of course I’m sure you would be able to find some vodka around this area as well as a few pirogi and blini for snacks.
Much like the American Adventure pavilion, the centerpiece St. Basil would house an audio-animatronic show complete with film segments and even live actors. The show, titled Russia-The Bells of Change, would be largely focusing on the history of Russia as well as some of the important figures in Eastern European history. The show, much like the American Adventure would run several times a day and would be this pavilions main attraction.
This area would also play host to a second attraction, playing less on history and more on folk stories. Ivan and the Magic Pike is a classic Eastern European story and a ride through of the story was set to open with the pavilion. It is unclear if this attraction would be a boat ride like the others in World Showcase or if it was to be World Showcases’ first omni-mover attraction. Whatever the case may be, this was an attraction meant for and geared towards children who may not be into the historical background of the Bells of Change show, but would be enjoyed by all guests.
Like all of the other countries represented at Epcot, you would be sure to see some performances of Russian dances, Gypsy Music, egg decoration, and so much more on the streets of Red Square.
So what happened to the Soviet Union pavilion? Take a wild guess? The Union collapsed not long after Disney Imagineers had started drawing up illustrations and creating models for the future Epcot area. Along with the decline of the Soviet Union was the decline of Russia’s economy, which continued to take a blow throughout the 1990s, leading to little or no help in funding the Russian pavilion.
During the early 2000s Russia saw an increase in economic middle class and wealth coming back into the country. Disney, still with plans on the table, are interested in a Russian World Showcase pavilion, but if the Russian Government and Disney can reach an agreement, we may not see what was planned over 20 years ago come to life, but instead some new ideas with a more modern look at Red Square and Russian life.
Would you still like to see Russia come to World Showcase? Are you interested in seeing it change from the original concept? What other countries would you like to see at Epcot? Leave your thoughts and until next time, take care!
Josh Taylor
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Travelling Directly to the Twilight Zone
May 24
What separates Disney from other theme park experiences? Most people would tell you the attention to detail. There isn’t a better example of that than the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Opening in 1994, the Tower of Terror was built on the notion that Walt Disney World, or Disney parks in general, needed more thrill rides, and with many announcing the Hollywood Studios park (then known as Disney-MGM Studios) as only a half day park, Imagineers worked at the idea of designing a thrill ride based on a popular movie or television franchise.
The Tower of Terror wasn’t always related to the Twilight Zone franchise however. In the Fall of 1989, Mel Brooks (yes, the Blazing Saddles director) was brought on board as Disney felt they could put something together. Brooks and his family have always been long time Disney fans so Michael Eisner and the gang felt it would be an easy sell for Brooks as they would help produce his films at the then-working studios while Brooks would provide some material for a future theme park attraction. It wasn’t an easy sell for Brooks, but he had decided to eventually work with Disney and the original idea for the park was “Castle Young Frankenstein” complete with a Bavarian village for shopping. The attraction would incorporate scenes from Young Frankenstein and would be a mix of humor and horror. After seeing that the design wouldn’t fit in with the Sunset Blvd. expansion and would truly need it’s own land, the idea was changed to “Mel Brooks’ Hollywood Horror Hotel”. The dubbed “Mel Hotel” was even going to have an extension to have a real working hotel inside of it. (I will be sure to cover the never built Hollywood Hotel in a later World That Never Was article.) Imagineers started elaborating on the hotel theme, coming up with a moving shaft and creating a spookier experience, rather than using comedy gags. As Brooks was leaving to film “Life Stinks”, he didn’t care to be associated with the ever-changing project as it was not living up to his original ideas for the attraction.
With Brooks gone, imagineers started to move everything towards a creepier horror theme for their hotel ride. The choice to get the rights for the Twilight Zone was made partially because Disney had made plans for the Twilight Zone to be a part of Superstar TV or the Great Movie Ride. With an elevator moving out of it’s shaft, the Twilight Zone theme also seemed like an easy addition to the attraction. Some additional ideas with the Twilight Zone theme was to have live actors “working” in the hotel. Today, we still see the bellhops, but there was also to be a manager, desk clerk, and even a repairman in the boiling room to keep guests waiting in long lines happy. However, the actors were not seen as necessary if the hotel was built with details and the queue wandered it’s way through the hotel lobby, library, and boiler room.
Now that imagineers had their design and theme for the E-ticket attraction, they had to figure out how to build it. The idea to move guests from one moving elevator shaft into a “drop” shaft was brought up due to the amount of guests that could be on the attraction at once. Instead of loading two shafts with guests and riders waiting until both are done before being loaded into the elevator, it was faster to have several elevators with 4 shafts for guests to ride in and take in the story before moving into the drop sequence in another shaft used only for that. Originally, Disney had contacted Otis elevators to build these elaborate ride vehicles, but as many elevator companies prided themselves in not feeling movement while in an elevator shaft, it became clear that imagineers were going to have to create the ride vehicles and system themselves.
Disney invented the Autonomous Guided Vehicle or AGV which could move without being on a track. This allowed the elevator to move from shaft to shaft. It also has a wireless reader so each vehicle can be tracked while in motion. This allows for some vehicles to not come near each other and also for the ride to shut down if a park map or a guest drops their mouse ear hat onto the floor where the vehicle needs to run. The AGV actually travels into a larger vehicle while entering a shaft so which has cables like a real elevator to lift the vehicle up and down. Also, despite what some people may think, the vehicle doesn’t actually drop with gravity. Cables not only pull the elevator up at a rapid speed, but it also pulls it down, ensuring that the elevator is always attached to the cable and the weight of the vehicle won’t actually break away from the cable. This allows for a smoother ride for guests aboard the attraction as well.
Now with designs in place, Disney went underway with construction. from 1992 to 1994, people could see a new “weenie” rising up over the Disney-MGM Studios park. The attraction opened on July 22nd, 1994 with guests being wowed by the details. Imagineers watched every single episode of the Twilight Zone twice to ensure how they were to theme the interior and exterior of the attraction. With the tower hovering over the rest of the park at 199 feet, everyone can clearly see the burnt-out “Hollywood Tower Hotel” sign and the black mark down the middle of the exterior, showing that this building had been struck by lightning long ago. While in the queue, you can see how the fountains of the hotel had been dried up but the gardens and grass were still “magically” tended to. 1930’s Jazz is also strangely playing outside and inside of the hotel. As you enter the lobby, you can see cobwebs (made by imagineers) everywhere and what seems to be a completely abandoned building. As you make your way into the library, you meet some of the cast members in bellhop costumes, some of the most expensive cast member costumes on property at Walt Disney World. In the library, a thunder storm takes over and the television turns on with Rod Serling greeting guests and giving them the back story to the Tower. (Mark Serling actually provides the impression of the now deceased Serling.) The library itself is filled with books and furniture, also providing the idea that the hotel was abandoned. Guests then enter the boiler room before boarding their ride vehicles. The boiler room is functioning at full effect, now giving the impression that the hotel isn’t abandoned, but being run by a staff and ghosts occupying the rooms.
The Tower of Terror was a smash hit with park guests, and it still a big draw for the Hollywood Studios park. As technology has improved, so has the attraction. In 1994, the attraction only lifted and dropped guests once, but with computers put in charge of the drop sequence in 2002, the lifts and drops have been randomized, giving guests a slightly different experience every time they ride. What will technology bring to this E-ticket attraction in the future? Who knows. One thing is for sure, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of Disney’s modern classics and will continue to wow guests for years to come.
The World That Never Was: Copperfield’s Magic Underground
May 18
Back in 1996, world renowned illusionist David Copperfield was venturing out of the realm of magic and into the role of being a restaurant owner, at least that’s what we were all told. Copperfield went public with the announcement to open a chain of restaurants with his name attached called David Copperfield’s Magic Underground and two locations were to be located right outside of Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World.
As a magician, nobody was bigger and better than David Copperfield in the 1980s and 1990s. He had numerous television specials, sold out touring shows, and performed some of the most well known illusions and stunts there have ever been. He was once engaged to supermodel Claudia Schiffer even. He was on top of the world during the 80’s and 90’s, so why not try his luck as a restauranteur? He had several choices for locations. The first location to open would be near Times Square in New York City and the second and only other location to open during phase 1 of the restaurant chain is at Walt Disney World in Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and at Downtown Disney’s Pleasure Island. (Now sadly extinct)
Copperfield had always cited Walt Disney as a role model growing up so it was an easy choice to strike a deal and open at least one location at Walt Disney World. In 1996, he met with Michael Eisner and the Disney board to pitch the idea for the restaurant. The board and Eisner said that it was a fantastic idea and greenlit the Magic Underground to open in the Summer of 1998. Billboards were put up just outside of Disney-MGM Studios, as well as just inside the park, and on the walkway of Downtown Disney.
The restaurant itself was something familiar yet unique in it’s own way. Much like Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Cafe, the walls of the Magic Underground would have one of a kind artifacts from Copperfield’s shows as well as other unique magic tricks from other famous musicians of the past and present. The more interesting theme to this eatery is the New York City dock look based on Copperfield’s famous vanishing of the Statue of Liberty with replica pieces of the Statue itself along the walls. Even the logo is the torch of the statue, as seen in the picture. On top of all the decor would be a stage featuring illusions done by the in-house magicians. The menu was yet to be named, but could be assumed that it would be comparative to that of a Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Cafe.
So what happened to David Copperfield’s Magic Underground. During 1996 and 1997, New York’s restaurant building was almost complete with the install of the interior underway before it was shut down due to funds. With the creative team and the financial investors at odds, and the project already way over budget, investors were uncomfortable with the project and killed the New York project. At Walt Disney World, with things spiraling out of control and funds drying up in New York, Disney decided to cancel the lease for Copperfield and the billboards that once advertised the upcoming restaurant opening were taken down without an announcement made. Copperfield didn’t have any money tied to the restaurant so he continued his illusionist career without a dip and Walt Disney World didn’t have anything beyond the lease agreement so both parties walked away without a scratch. (Except for a few investors that lost a few million dollars but whatever.)
Would Magic Underground have succeeded had it of opened at Walt Disney World? It’s possible that both the Hollywood Studios and Pleasure Island spots would have flourished, but I could have seen the Pleasure Island location closing with the rest of the area, and with the lack of Copperfield specials and a fading star, I could see the restaurant chain as a whole slightly suffering, but as an optimist, I would have loved to have seen this place open on Sunset Blvd. and make that area of the park a bit more magical. (Get it?) Especially with only shopping and counter service along the walkway to the Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster, it would be a great addition to the parks alreayd great restaurant selection. I would have enjoyed seeing someone like Criss Angel come in and put his name on the pruduct as well, giving it a new energy and new life if possible.
Leave your thoughts. Would you have eaten at the Magic Underground? Could you have seen it as one of your favorite spots to grab a bite or would you pass on it for the Sci-Fi Dine-In instead or eating at the T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney? Thanks so much for reading and take care.
Josh Taylor
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Nothing Like Mom’s Cooking
May 3
Everyone says there is no better place to eat than Mom’s house. (But you should always take her out for Mother’s Day.) I think that’s why the Walt Disney company put “Mom” in the kitchen at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The 50’s Prime Time Cafe has been a staple of the Hollywood Studios park since it’s opening in 1989 and it still continues to draw a big crowd. It’s a unique dining experience that plays a large part in the overall theme of the park as well as adding to the theme of Hollywood Blvd. and it’s timeline story. It’s been one of my favorites since my first time eating there and continues to be within my top 5 restaurants at Walt Disney World. (Sorry Sci-Fi Lovers!)
So what’s the big deal about the Prime Time Cafe? Well, lets start with the general experience before digging deeper into the back story of this established restaurant. At it’s core, the 50’s Prime Time Cafe is a fun place to eat with some great at-home favorites. Does your dad make awesome meatloaf? So do the folks here. It’s the food you love the most from home in the middle of your vacation. At it’s simplest, this is good classic American food.
On top of the already great food, mix in some great 1950’s home decor and cast members that take this place to the extreme. Anyone who knows my mom will tell you that she would always make you eat your vegetables, and it is no different at the Prime Time Cafe, except instead of it being my mom, it’s a cast member pretending to be my distant Aunt Caroline. The cast members here, like in so many other Disney experiences, make all the differences. From when you walk in the door, you are one of the “kids” here to eat, and while “Mom” is cooking in the kitchen, everyone else in the family has been put to work to keep the dining room busy. I’ve seen my “cousin” jump out the restaurant window, my “uncle” playing with his food, and my”aunt” tormenting other guests who put their elbows on the table. Depending on your server, you’ll be laughing most of your time here.
If you are an adult that loves beverages, the Tune-In Lounge looks like Dad’s den with televisions, couches, and a fantastic bar with an fun menu of classic cocktails. Rarely do I find a bartender that knows how to make a sidecar, a brown derby, or a good old fashioned, but this place has those bartenders, and you feel like you are at a 1950’s house party when you are here. (Like the one at the beginning of “Blast From the Past”. If only Christopher Walken was the bartender!)
So why is this place here? It’s strange, edgy, and different from anywhere else in Walt Disney World, and from the outside, looks like it might not fit in at the Hollywood Studios park. The truth is, it’s part of the biggest storyline at the Studios park, but it is also the most subtle. When Disney’s Hollwood Studios was built, it was a tribute to the golden age of Hollywood, which most would say is the 1920s through the 1950s when television became the new medium for entertainment and Hollywood Blvd., whether you know it or not, takes you on a journey through this period. For the most part, the architecture tells the story here but there are clues that you are traveling through time as you walk down Hollywood Blvd. into the Echo Lake area. For example, the Darkroom retail shop has a sign saying “Established 1938” while walking down the street will lead you to Oscar’s service station which has a 1940’s wrecker parked in front of it. Subtle notes that lead you chronologically through the “Golden Age”. Echo Lake is the end of that timeline, which leads us to two specific and unique restaurants, the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and the 50’s Prime Time Cafe. Both are significant because of the popularity of the Drive-In Theaters in the 1950s as well as the craze that television became. However, as television became popular, the stars of the film industry lost their luster and the changing of entertainment as we know it.
The 50s Prime Time Cafe has one of the most important roles in the timeline story as it marks the end of the era the park represents, but promises a fun and entertaining new medium. Television shows like I Love Lucy and the Dick Van Dyke show play in the restaurant on the televisions that seem to be everywhere. They depict a new age as does the restaurant itself with its seemingly out-of-control cast members but also supply a sense of comfort with the menu of food it delivers. Whether you know this long lasting diner’s history or not, it’s a great place to step out of the sun, have fun, and enjoy a great meal during your Disney vacation, but knowing the story now makes it all the richer.
Have you experienced the 50s Prime Time Cafe? What do you think of the place? Give your thoughts on this weeks post and until next time, take care!
Josh Taylor
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