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It’s 1993, you’ve spent the last few years polishing your koopa-stomping skills, and you’re looking to challenge yourself? The solution, obviously, is to head to Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World for Super Mario Nights at the Super Nintendo Power Dome. That’s right kids (excluding unaccompanied minors), in the monstrous inflatable dome you’ll be [...] Ah, the Disney travel planning video. Disney’s been sending out these little gems for years now, first on VHS videotape and now on the much more compact DVD disc. The videos themselves have changed a lot over the years; nowadays, more often than not, they center on whatever the promotion-of-the-moment is. There’s typically a very annoying host or hosts who are attempting to convince you how off-the-chain it is to go to Walt Disney World. There is focus-grouped video showing actors of every conceivable race and life situation frolicking in canted-angle, fish-eye-lensed bliss. Occasionally – just occasionally! – they mention the parks. They rarely mention the resorts. And they never, ever mention Horizons. Things were different in 1993, when Disney and Delta teamed up to bring us this amazing travel planner video for Walt Disney World. All your old favorites are there, including a golden-era EPCOT Center. What’s funny is that when this video came out, I remember Beacon Joe and I ridiculing it because they chose to have guests provide on-camera testimonial about the parks, attractions, and resorts. I thought at the time that it was an obviously far more cheesy approach than the good old days of omniscient narrators, but in those pre-internet days it was as close to the classic in-room videos as we could get. Now, of course, it’s almost charming how unpolished most of the people are. They’re not actors – fake “guest” testimonials would start appearing in later years – and they’re kind of goofy and real just like anyone you’d approach in the park and ask to be filmed. So enjoy this little time capsule of Walt Disney World before everything changed in 1994. Pick your favorite guest commentator, and post in the comments below! Continue reading Now THAT’S Propaganda! Once upon a time, ibis-crazed visitors to Walt Disney World could visit Discovery Island – a relaxing tropical hideaway in the center of Bay Lake. It was a pleasant little zoological park; the kind of subdued but atmospheric attraction that is rarely seen today. In 1993, Discovery Island was looking for a new logo. [...] The S.S. Disney, from bow to stern: the Orbitron, a ferris wheel, the glass-covered multideck hub area, the Casey Jr. Circus Train and glass-canopied carousel, and its a small world (Mark Hickson) Hey, remember in 1994 when Disney built a traveling theme park inside the hull of a massive supertanker? You don’t? That’s because [...] “Every day, a diverse and unlikely society, made up of every culture and race on earth, is working together to build a great nation. We have a single vision – a new order based on the promise of democracy. Our resources for building this nation are a rich mixture of land, family and beliefs – which we apply with our own fiety brand of spirit, humor and innovation. As the nation has grown and changed, we are constantly reminded of how impossibly far we’ve come – and how far we still have to go. DISNEY’S AMERICA celebrates these qualities which have always been the source of our strength and the beacon of - Disney Promotional Material, 1994
As we in the States gather around the table today to gorge ourselves on unreasonable amounts of lethargy-inducing slather, I thought it would be good to take a moment and reflect on what we have to be thankful for. Then I ran out of those, and started thinking about things I’m not thankful for. Namely, the year 1994 and Michael Eisner’s complete creative and personal meltdown that began the disastrous eleven-year stretch that wrapped up his career at the Disney company. If not for the year 1994 and a number of factors both controllable and not, I would be able to spend my turkey day a few hours away in rural Virginia enjoying Disney’s tribute to American history, Disney’s America.
Recall the Past, Live the Present, Dream the Future
- Disney Promotional Material, 1994
Just over fourteen years ago, on November 11th, 1993, Michael Eisner and other Disney officals gathered in Haymarket, Virginia to announce the Disney’s America project. The announcement was rushed, as Disney had been forced by press leaks to move the press conference up and thus try and get ahead of the story. Secrecy had allowed Disney to either purchase or option 3,000 acres of property in the area, but made them unable to quickly respond to area critics who were both well-connected and very well funded. Nearly a year later, in September of 1994, Disney would announce that they were no longer seeking to build the park in Prince William County. While the story of Eisner’s ‘year of hell’ and the political and business machinations that helped torpedo the park are significant, what’s really important here is the park we missed out on. So let’s take a look at the process that brought us the park, and specifically what we’re missing on this Turkey Day. Continue reading Thanksgiving Special: Neverworlds – Disney’s America |
 
Essays about the first forty years of Walt Disney World, including two pieces by yours truly. Available in print and for Kindle. |
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