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By Michael - June 7th, 2009 From the July 15th, 1977 issue of Eyes and Ears of Walt Disney World:
 Voted “Most Likely to Downsize”
ADVANCED TABLE TENNIS
Congratulations to Finance Division’s Al Weiss, whose skill at “juggling” figures paid off with his juggling a table tennis ball to reign supreme at Walt Disney World in the Singles Table Tennis Advanced Division, winning champion honors by downing Finance Division’s Jim Morris 16-21, 21-19, 21-15 and 21-14.
And that day at the ping-pong table, Weiss knew he was destined for greatness.
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By Michael - June 4th, 2009  Seriously, how cool would this be? Thanks to a tip by the paterfamilias, I was directed yesterday to a website devoted to the Fort Wilderness Railroad. This very cool site had somehow escaped my notice until now, and it has lots of fantastic images and history about this fairly undocumented attraction. The crown jewel of the site, however, is an amazing video from a ride on the railroad. I’ve never ever seen video of this attraction before – it closed in 1979, after all! – and this is an amazing and rare treat.
 The Fort Wilderness Railroad, which operated from 1974 until 1979, provided internal transportation service for Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness campground. Its itinerary was similar to today’s bus service; it included stops at the Outpost and Settlement Depots and passed by the Meadow Trading Post. It also provided service to River Country upon that attraction’s opening in 1976. The 3 1/2 mile track loop was longer than any of the train routes in Disney parks, and it provided many scenic views for guests aboard the 4/5th scale steam engines.
I’ve always regarded the Fort Wilderness Railroad as a mere historical curiosity; it was gone well before my first trip to Walt Disney World and I’d never even heard of it until Disney fandom exploded on the internet. Looking at the pictures on the tribute site, however, really make me long for a return of this attraction. Fort Wilderness is the true hidden jewel of Walt Disney World, and the railroad would provide a definite touch of themeing that the internal bus routes lack. What’s odd is that much of the depot infrastructure was re-purposed after the railroad was closed, explaining many of the strange features of Fort Wilderness’s bus depots.
After the closing of the railroad, the tracks and rolling stock were allowed to rot in the Florida sun. Thankfully, those lucky folks at the Carolwood Foundation eventually stepped in to save and restore the trains. Faint traces of the railway remain around the campground for those who know where to look.
While it seems unlikely that the Fort Wilderness Railroad will ever return, there was a brief window in time during which it was poised for a revival. During the so-called “Disney Decade” of the 1990s, plans were underway for a new resort between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. Alternately called “Wilderness Junction” or “Buffalo Junction”, the hotel would be similar to Disneyland Paris’s Hotel Cheyenne. It would resemble the street of a western town in the late 19th century, providing a thematic link between the early frontier theme of Fort Wilderness and the early 20th century national park theme of the Wilderness Lodge. The hotel would combine lodging with dining venues, shops and entertainment; it would also allegedly feature a stateside version of Paris’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
 A proposed layout for the Wilderness Lodge hotel; note the train loop to the south linking the hotel with Fort Wilderness Most important to our tale was that in order to provide day visitors transportation to these new attractions and River Country, a return of the Fort Wilderness Railroad was discussed to link Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Junction and the Wilderness Lodge. Sadly, due to tourism concerns stemming from the first Gulf War and accompanying recession, the 600-room Wilderness Junction was postponed in late 1992. It was re-announced as “Buffalo Junction” in 1993, but never heard from again.
Someday, though, with some creative new leadership, it might be possible to once more hear the sound of live steam in Fort Wilderness and to take the train from the parking lot to the Hoop-Dee-Doo or a revitalized River Country. That would be nifty.
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By Michael - June 2nd, 2009 
I’ll bet that when you woke up this morning, you didn’t expect your day would involve a picture of former Disney CEO Dick Nunis on a waterslide. Yet here we are.
This picture, from May of 1976, shows Nunis testing out the “Whoop-‘N-Holler Hollow” slide that was then under construction for River Country. River Country, which would open that June, would be Disney’s first water park.
My favorite thing about the photo is the clamps on the side holding the track into place. It’s obvious that the structure around the slide had yet to be installed or completed, so this must have been more of a wild ride than usual. Nunis, though, was no stranger to aquatic adventures; he was an avid surfer and had been the one responsible for the installation of the briefly-operational surf machine in the Seven Seas Lagoon.
River Country was closed in November of 2001 and continues to rot away on the shores of Bay Lake today.
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By Michael - May 31st, 2009 
For quite a while, the most popular post here on Progress City was a text-light collection of stills from WALL-E. While I try to take this as a reflection of that film’s popularity and not a referendum on my writing, it’s obvious that people love to get online to find pictures of their favorite characters. So for everyone looking for more images of Carl, Russell and Dug, here’s a collection of images from Pixar’s most recent triumph, Up.
Hopefully, I’ll have a commentary about the film online soon, but until then enjoy the eye candy!
Continue reading Up!!! Photos! Here!
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By Michael - May 21st, 2009  Imagineer John Cutry programs the new animatronic of President Barack Obama (Disney) Sometimes it seems like there’s no news, and then all of a sudden… the deluge.
The New York Times has provided the first official confirmation of the long-rumored changes to Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. The attraction, which has been closed for refurbishment since last October, will re-open on the 4th of July with an entirely new show and the addition of an animatronic Barack Obama.
Details in a moment, but first I have to say that I’m incredibly excited about this in the most nerdy way possible. The Hall of Presidents has long fascinated me, and grown into one of my favorites over the years. For obvious personal reasons, I haven’t been able to properly enjoy it for the last eight years. Even before the recent troubles, though, there was the ill-conceived refocusing of the attraction’s narrative in 1993 that muddled the theme of the show and added an awful narration by Maya Angelou.
Thankfully, all that seems to be in the past as an entirely new show has been created with a narration by actor Morgan Freeman. Even more exciting is the fact that the new presentation is based on a treatment by presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the bestselling Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln . I’m quite the fan of Goodwin, and the fact that her work on the project began two years ago shows that this won’t be a fly-by-night upgrade.
The article mentions that the theater will receive a new sound system, which is a blessing, and that Abraham Lincoln will now recite the entire Gettysburg Address. This is indeed news, and should make for an excellent and relevant presentation. The Times also mentions something that we reported last year; for the first time in the Hall of Presidents (or any Disney attraction), George Washington will have a speaking role. Not only is this much deserved, but think of the impact – all of you who are life-long Disney fans, think of Abraham Lincoln. I guarantee that you have a voice in your head and a notion, at least, of his personality. Then think of Washington. Despite his incredibly prominent and crucial role in American history, he’s far less vivid (in my head, at least). I chalk this up, in part, to Lincoln’s constant presence in Disney parks since 1964. I’ve seen Lincoln speak. It will be fascinating to see him joined by Washington.
Then, of course, there’s President Obama. On March 4th, Obama was joined in the White House Map Room by Imagineering writer Pamela Fisher and senior show producer Kathy Rogers. He then recorded a short speech that had been drafted by Disney’s writers and polished by White House speechwriter Jon Favreau. Mr. Obama also recorded a re-enactment of the presidential oath of office, which will apparently be part of the new show. The article mentions that the new figure created for Obama is Disney’s most detailed yet; they have made some incredible strides in animatronic technology in recent years, so it should be fascinating to see in action.
There’s something about the atmosphere that the original Imagineers created in Liberty Square that I find incredibly appealing. Perhaps it’s because the land features a theme that WDI has not attempted since; the American Adventure pavilion at EPCOT Center is less an exercise in placemaking than an architectural brainteaser to cloak the massive war wagon that drives the show inside. It’s why I long for Disney’s America – the attraction lineup for that park is fairly unexciting, but the theming would have been exquisite.
In any case, we’ll get to see how it all comes together this Fourth of July. The involvement of Doris Kearns Goodwin gives me hope that the new film will be both classy and coherent, and hopefully will provide a perspective on the role these 44 men (although I’m on to you, Chester A. Arthur) have played in the history of our nation.
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Voted “Most Likely to Downsize”
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