by Jim Korkis
NANNY CHAIRS. Placed on either side of the fireplace are the scary “nanny chairs” that were originally found on 19th century European carousels. They were intended for adults to rest upon while their children rode the moving animals. From this concept developed the more traditional “chariot” benches. It would have been inappropriate for female nannies to even ride side saddle on a carousel horse. These reproductions were cast from circa 1889 originals, hand painted and highlighted with gold leaf. In a moment of cleverness, the two Imagineers involved in the reproductions printed their names on the back of each chair: Todd and Paul.
FLIP FLAP RAILWAY. In the lobby is a glass encased model of the Flip Flap Railway which was located in Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. (This park site was later bought and transformed into Coney Island’s Luna Park.)
Built in 1895, this early ride featured a 25-foot loop and was the world’s first inverted (upside down loop-the-loop) roller coaster. Because of its design (and no seatbelts), there were neck and back injuries among other discomforts.
Atlantic City had its own version of the Flip-Flap (sometimes called the Looping the Loop) on Young’s Pier from 1902–1912. So, once again, both Coney Island and Atlantic City shared similar attractions.
The Coney Flip-Flap produced 12 Gs, enough to knock riders out. To put this in comparison, Epcot’s Mission: SPACE produces about 2.5 Gs for 45 seconds. Even the high-flying aerobatics of the Blue Angels only produces 9–11 Gs maximum.
SWAN RIDE. On a table in the middle of the room is an authentic two-headed “Swan Seat.” According to the nearby sign:
[It] is of European origin from the period of large-themed carousels dedicated to one species of animal, bird or fish. These grand rides had dispensed with rocking gondolas or spinning tubes in favor of these more fanciful creations. Giant baskets carried the passengers on a ‘Manege des Cochons’ (ride of pigs). This swan seat originally hung from chairs and rocked on the carousel floor from the shifting weight of the children inside. Iron and tin with hand painting and gold leafing circa 1890.
BoardWalk Inn
The AbracadaBar Story
The AbracadaBar at the Boardwalk Resort opened in July 2016 serving enchanting elixirs and curious concoctions in the location previously occupied by SeaShore Sweets.
According to Disney publicity:
This little lounge was a former stomping ground for the famous magicians, boardwalk illusionists, and lovely magician’s assistants of the Golden Age. After a show, prestidigitators would gather to “conjure” up new cocktails, swap magic tips and tricks, and stay up all night attempting to “out-charm” each other with their extraordinary illusions.
According to BoardWalk lore, it was on just such an evening that every single magician in the lounge vanished into thin air, and were never seen again.…
Now, after sitting vacant for nearly seventy-six years, it is back in operation for the general public.
It was on a Friday the 13th in September 1940 that the mysterious disappearance occurred, but since this private sophisticated social club was left exactly as it was decades ago, the magic still remains strongly intact, and can be seen, heard, and savored in the bar’s signature cocktails including Elixir 13, a mixture of Lucid Absinthe and water that may have helped cause the magicians’ disappearance.
The rich and ornate area is decorated with enchanted ever-changing magic show posters, mystifying mirrors, and vintage props and tricks left behind decades ago, including displays of locks and keys, cards, linking rings, and magic wands.
Even the wall paper has hidden images of interlocking rings, doves, rabbits, card suits, handcuffs, and other magical artifacts.
On one wall is a framed copy of The Boardwalk Bugle newspaper from Wednesday, November 13, 1940, telling the official back story:
The shocking revelations of a secret magicians’ lounge could point to new clues concerning the group of beloved illusionists who mysteriously vanished from our boardwalk weeks ago. Though, truth be told, we may be more perplexed than before.
A custodian working at BoardWalk’s magic club made the surprising discovery late yesterday evening when he rested his mop against a false door leading into the secret room. By the look of the room’s peculiar décor—including magical accoutrements and shelves lined with curious elixirs—this is no doubt the clandestine hideout of our missing master magicians.
But there’s just one dilemma … there are still no magicians in sight!
After investigating the magicians’ hideout this morning, The Boardwalk Bugle noticed something extra out of the ordinary about this already peculiar lounge. Glasses filled with odd elixirs still sat on the countertops.
Magic props and playing cards were scattered all about. And, stranger yet, all of the clocks in the room were set to thirteen past the hour—almost as if time froze and every magician disappeared on the spot.
When we questioned the club owner about her knowledge of the hidden room and the possible whereabouts of the missing magicians, she repeated the same unhelpful news we’ve been reporting for weeks now: “A good magician never reveals her secrets!”
According to multiple witnesses, the missing conjurers in question were last seen entering the loading area behind BoardWalk’s magic club on September 13th. All wore ostentatious costumes, and were accompanied by assistants, stagehands and crates filled with small animals—including doves, rabbits and the like.
Suspicions only arose when the touring magician Laslow the Lucky failed to appear for his much-anticipated matinee performance the following day. In addition to M. Laslow, it would appear that his assistant, multiplying rabbits and every illusionist on the Boardwalk vanished along with him.
Whether a good illusion or a simple misunderstanding, The Boardwalk Bugle will be certain to keep our dear readers informed about the whereabouts of our beloved magicians.
Contemporary
President Richard Nixon
Every U.S. president has an audio-animatronics doppelganger in the Hall of Presidents attraction in the Magic Kingdom, but some presidents have actually visited Walt Disney World.
President Richard Nixon had many memorable moments at Disneyland, including inaugurating the monorail in 1959, but his most unfortunate experience happened at the Contemporary Resort on November 17, 1973, in the Ballroom of the Americas B.
In an hour-long televised question-and-answer session in front of 400 Associated Press managing editors, Nixon defended his record. He had flown to Orlando that evening from his Key Biscayne, Florida, home for a defining moment in his presidency.
The Watergate political scandal involving a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. and subsequent attempted cover-up by the Nixon administration was very much on the minds of the U.S. people. Nixon asked for the resignation of two of his aides who were convicted and sent to prison.
There were serious questions about Nixon’s direct involvement and knowledge of the incident. During the conference, Richard Smyser, representing a newspaper in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, asked about the pressures on a president and if that might explain how something like Watergate could happen.
Nixon famously and solemnly responded:
And I want to say this to the television audience. I’ve made my mistakes. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, I can say that in my years of public life, I welcome this kind of examination. People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.
That last sentence, “I’m not a crook,” came back to haunt him many times over the years. It became part of Nixon’s legacy and was parodied on television shows and in print, and it was said on Walt Disney World property. Nixon was finally forced to resign in August 1974, the first and only president ever to do so.
Seven U.S. presidents have spoken and attended official events at Walt Disney World:
RICHARD NIXON. Disney’s Contemporary Resort (1973
).
JIMMY CARTER. Magic Kingdom (1978). In November 1978, Carter attended the opening session of the 26th World Congress of the International Chamber of Commerce meeting at Magic Kingdom.
RONALD REAGAN. Epcot (1983, 1985). Reagan made two visits to Epcot while he was serving in office. On March 8, 1983, he addressed international students who would work as the representatives of their countries at World Showcase pavilions. Reagan returned on May 27, 1985, to hold his second-term inaugural celebration at Epcot, which included a parade around World Showcase while he was in a reviewing stand opposite the American Adventure pavilion.
GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH. Epcot (1990, 1991). Bush presided over the first Points of Light ceremony honoring volunteers for their service work, at the America Gardens Theater on September 30, 1991.
BILL CLINTON. Disney Institute (1996).
GEORGE WALKER BUSH. Grand Floridian (2003) and the Contemporary (2006).
BARACK OBAMA. Magic Kingdom (2012). On January 19, 2012, Obama discussed visa reform and making travel to the U.S. easier for foreign visitors in order to boost tourism and grow the economy. He spoke on Main Street, U.S.A. at the entrance of the hub with the Partners statue and Cinderella Castle in the background. Prior to becoming president, he spoke at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) conference held at the Contemporary in 2007.
Polynesian Village
Breaking Up the Beatles
Politicians, sports stars, television and movie performers, and other celebrities have enjoyed the amenities offered at Walt Disney World hotels since the park opened in 1971.
Although in September 1969 John Lennon privately informed the other Beatles that he was departing the group, there was no public acknowledgement of the break-up until Paul McCartney announced in April 1970 that he was leaving the Beatles.
There were many reasons for the break-up, including convoluted business problems that delayed the official legal dissolution of the group for several years.
During a lengthy separation from Yoko Ono, Lennon hooked up with his female personal assistant, May Pang, and they were officially in a relationship for eighteen months. Attorneys had finally put the finishing touches on the contractual paperwork necessary to legally dissolve the band.
In the February 9, 2008 Orlando Sentinel, Pang revealed what happened next:
At the end of 1974, after three years of court battles and acrimony, the final dissolution of the Beatles was about to happen. The meeting was scheduled for December 19 at New York’s Plaza Hotel—ironically, this was the first place the group stayed in America in 1964.
George Harrison was in New York on his Dark Horse tour. Paul and Linda McCartney came in, and of course John and I were already in the city. Only Ringo was missing, but he had signed the documents in England.
Julian [John’s son who was eleven years old] was with us for the Christmas holiday and all was calm; all was bright. Gathered around a huge table were George, his lawyer, and business manager; the McCartneys, with Paul’s in-laws and lawyers; Ringo’s lawyer and business manager; Neil Aspinall, of Apple, with two sets of company lawyers (one for America and one for Britain); and John’s lawyer Harold Seider and his team.
I was with John and it was up to me to tell Harold he had decided not to attend the meeting. Although John was concerned with shouldering a major tax burden because he lived in the United States, I could sense there was a bit more on his mind. His official reason for not showing was “the stars aren’t right.”
John, Julian and I left New York the following day to spend Christmas in Florida. On December 29, 1974, the voluminous documents were brought down to John in Florida by one of Apple’s lawyers.
“Take out your camera,” he joked to me. He looked wistfully out the window. I could almost see him replaying the entire Beatles experience in his mind.
He finally picked up his pen and, in the unlikely backdrop of the Polynesian Village Hotel at Disney World, ended the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history by simply scrawling “John Lennon” at the bottom of the page.
Lennon had indeed booked a room at the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World and gazed out at the Seven Seas Lagoon before he signed the document that broke up the Beatles.
Although Disney is unable to confirm which room Lennon was in, it is apparent that it was a ground-floor corner room in the Samoa longhouse (formerly Hawaii) that looked out on the Seven Seas Lagoon with Cinderella Castle clearly visible in the distance. Both John and Julian were excellent swimmers and enjoyed the pool.
Pang also wrote about that incident in her book Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon (2008). There is a photo of Lennon standing by Cinderella Castle and another in front of his room at the Polynesian which is how it can be identified.
Polynesian Village
The Kukui Nut Tree
The Polynesian Village Resort has a unique kukui nut tree. It is the only one of its kind in the state of Florida and was brought here from its native Hawaii. It is often mentioned in Hawaiian literature and still flourishes on the islands in Polynesia.
Since 1959, the candlenut tree (aleurites moluccana), known more commonly as kukui, has been the official state tree of Hawaii. It can grow to over eighty feet tall. The kukui nut was used for many things including a natural medicinal remedy for a variety of ailments, different dyes, moisturizing cream, body oil and lotion, shampoo, polish, children’s toy (a spinning top called a “hu”), food, and even light.
Torches made from placing nuts in a hollow piece of bamboo or in leaves on top of a pole were used to light pathways and homes. Today, the kukui nut is more commonly used not as a source of illumination, but in the making of various types of ornamentation like necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.
The kukui tree was brought to the islands more than a thousand years ago by migrating Polynesians and proved to be incredibly versatile. Canoes were carved from its buoyant trunks, and its oily seeds were strung together and burned as a sort of primitive candle. Each seed would burn about two to three minutes. Oil pressed from nuts could be burned in stone lamps, and the residual material, or cake, was used to feed cattle and for crop fertilization.
Dyes produced by crushing the covering of the nuts were used in tattooing, and another type of dye made from the root became a black paint for canoes. The bark of the tree provided a red dye for clothing.
Two prominent ancient uses of the kukui continue today. First, a relish spice, popular at luaus and other celebrations, is made from the roasted and chopped nuts. Second, some of the festive leis that greet the many visitors to Hawaii every year are made of beaded kukui nuts.
Traditionally, the tree is regarded as a symbol of protection and peace and is given as a precious gift between friends.
An old Hawaiian belief was that a person should not plant a kukui tree near his own house, but it was all right for a stranger to plant it for him as a gift. That stranger could plant it in the back of the house or “hale,” but not in the front.
At Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the kukui tree is located behind the Great Ceremonial House just off to the right of the pathway. Following the dictates of the popular legend, it was planted by a hotel guest on April 25, 1997, to celebrate the resort’s 25th anniversary.
Remarkably, the tree has survived a lightning strike, almost being uprooted by a hurricane, and being frozen in an unseasonable Florida cold snap. A time capsule is located at the base of the tree.
The leadership team at the resort wears a lei of black kukui nuts to symbolize that they are lighting the way as a living torch for cast members to share the magic of Polynesian culture and the spirit of aloha to the guests.
Leis made of kukui nuts were considered to be highly prestigious and sacred and were only worn by the reigning kings of Hawaii. Unlike a flower lei that will disintegrate in time, a kukui nut lei was meant to last forever.
Wilderness Lodge
Hidden Treasures
Disney’s Wilderness L
odge celebrates not only American craftsmanship and the beauty of nature, but the people who lived in the great outdoors. The lobby is a tribute to Native Americans. Whispering Canyon showcases cowboys as depicted on the backs of the chairs. Territory Lounge is home to the explorers. Artist’s Point celebrates the painters who captured the images of the wilderness.
The eight-story atrium lobby is so overwhelming that some Disney guests fail to appreciate the smaller details scattered throughout the space at eye-level that enrich the story.
Located behind the Guest Services Desk is a large mounted gold key. In 1995, the resort was recognized with the grand prize for “Excellence in Hospitality Design” in the lobby/reception category at the 14th annual Gold Key Awards held by the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Association. The “Mickey head” on the key was meant to remind cast members to always unlock the magic in their hearts for the guests.
Behind the front desk are a beautiful collection of cradleboards, a wooden frame, and a soft skin pouch used for the protection of a baby, or “papoose.”
The Spirit of America Discovery statue in the show at the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot has a Native American woman with a cradleboard on her back. The statue is meant to suggest the sixteen-year-old Sacagawea, the Native American woman who helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition, along with her newborn baby.
Within the first few weeks after a baby was born, the mother would begin to lace the baby into the cradleboard so that it could be carried on her back or hooked onto a saddle. Left to right, the cradleboards behind the front desk represent the North American Indian tribes of Crow, Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Ute, Kiowa, Navajo and Comanche.
A striking and unique garment is the Elk Tooth Dress located near the lobby elevators. It is made of red wool blanket or stroud cloth which was considered a desirable decorative fabric. This type of dress was typical of the Kiowa and Arapaho plains tribeswomen.
