Other Secret Stories of Walt Disney World

by Jim Korkis

  At Osprey Ridge, eight platforms were built to attract native ospreys to nest. Two of the platforms were placed by forklift and the other six were set by helicopter. To also attract the birds, ponds were created and stocked with bass, sunfish, and catfish, since the osprey’s diet is almost exclusively fish and they were especially fond of these types of fish.

  More than three thousand young trees, twenty-five thousand clumps of native grasses, and fifteen thousand cuttings of marsh grasses were planted on the site. All storm and irrigation water was re-circulated to retention ponds and recharged to the wetlands.

  Such devotion to the environment earned Osprey Ridge a designation “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System in June 2000. The course received a re-certification September 2014 after the re-design.

  The addition of native plants and trees, as well as the creation of naturalized areas on the golf course to provide water and food for local and migratory wildlife, was a key factor in the course’s certification. It provides a great sanctuary for abundant wildlife, including deer, wild turkeys, osprey, and turtles.

  Disney Miscellany

  DisneyQuest

  DisneyQuest was designed to be a series of multi-story, interactive “virtual” Disney theme parks for cities that might have populations who could not frequently visit an actual Disney theme park.

  To work out any challenges, the first five-story, one-hundred-thousand square-foot DisneyQuest opened in Downtown Disney’s West Side on June 19, 1998, to take advantage of the participation of an already enthusiastically large audience of park guests.

  A second DisneyQuest opened in Chicago in 1999, but permanently closed on September 4, 2001, due to a number of factors including low attendance.

  There were plans for twenty other similar venues in such locations as Philadelphia, Disneyland, and Toronto, Canada, but none of them proceeded beyond the initial planning stages.

  The idea started in late 1994 with vice president of new ventures Joe DiNunzio and Mike Lang of corporate strategic planning. Larry Gertz, a senior producer and creative director, recalled:

  Since technology was arriving at a state where interactive storytelling and virtual environments were becoming possible, it seemed like a good time to push it a bit farther and develop a new kind of entertainment venue.

  The endeavor would have the environment and variety of a theme park, the interactivity of an arcade and the excitement of a thrill ride. And with the ability to create virtual environments and sets, the whole thing could be indoors and located in various cities, all over the world.

  To dispel the notion that it was merely an arcade to appeal to teenaged boys and young men, Disney hired five female show producers, three female engineers, and had the lighting produced entirely by women.

  Project director Pete Rahill said:

  We produced fifteen different cutting-edge attractions, all at once. And they all had to pass the Florida Ride Legislation review. We had to develop many technologies simultaneously that were all very different.

  Disney Quest is divided into four zones of play:

  EXPLORE ZONE. The Virtual Jungle Cruise, Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride racing through Agrabah to release the Genie, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold.

  SCORE ZONE. A rescue mission on other planets in Invasion! An Alien Encounter and also Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam.

  CREATE ZONE. The Living Easels to paint a live masterpiece. Create and ride a virtual roller coaster at CyberSpace Mountain. Sid’s Create-A-Toy where guests could assemble and take home their own toy. Learn how to draw a Disney animated character at the Animation Academy. Create a CD by choosing from over 20 styles and 1000 vocals at the Radio Disney SongMaker.

  REPLAY ZONE. Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster is a zany bumper car race. Mad Wave Motion Theater where you can ride a fantasy coaster or a high-speed race car. The Dance Zone offers the latest dance video games and KidQuest is designed for kids ages 2–7.

  Throughout the location, there are additional video games, pinball machines, and a Wonderland Café coffee and dessert location where guests could connect with the internet as well as a traditional Food Quest court with pizza, sandwiches, salads, and other items.

  When it first opened, DisneyQuest included other attractions like Hercules in the Underworld, the Cybrolator, the Cave of Wonders Slide, Treasure of the Incas, and Magic Mirrors. Redemption games were removed from the facility in January 2015.

  In an era of smartphone apps, lifelike video games, and other interactive attractions, DisneyQuest appeared too dated for many people. On June 30, 2015, Disney announced that the location would be closing in 2017 to make way for the NBA Experience.

  Disney Miscellany

  Raglan Road

  Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs is operated by Great Irish Pubs Florida, the company owned by Irish partners John Cooke, Paul Nolan, and celebrity chef Kevin Dundon.

  Opening in October 2005, the restaurant has both a loyal local and international following and has won numerous national and local honors. Each March, Raglan Road hosts multi-day St. Patrick’s Day events. Over the four-day Labor Day weekend, it hosts the Great Irish Hooley Festival.

  Traditional and contemporary Irish music, storytelling, and dance are featured nightly and guests are encouraged to participate.

  Paul Nolan said:

  Having built more than 400 Irish pubs in the four corners of the world, we believe that this is our best expression yet. We are incredibly proud and excited to continue bringing the best of Ireland to Disney Springs.

  The name Raglan Road comes from an actual road of the same name in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland. The real Raglan Road is on the south side of Dublin.

  In 1946 the lane was made famous by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh, considered one of the foremost poets of the 20th century. He used the melody of the old poem “The Dawning of the Day” for his poem “On Raglan Road.” The poem was written about his unrequited love for a young woman.

  In the 1960s Irish folk singer Luke Kelly first put the poem to music. “(On) Raglan Road” has become a seminal Irish song and has been covered by such artists as Van Morrison, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, and U2.

  Kavanagh was always seen sitting alone on a park bench by the Grand Canal in Dublin, so when he passed away in 1967 after a long battle with cancer he was commemorated with a statue by the banks of the canal.

  Today, the only replica of this bronze statue of a man sitting alone on a bench thinking of his lost love, specially commissioned for this location, is found outside the front door of Raglan Road in Disney Springs.

  That’s why there is a crumpled hat placed next to him and the seat is not flat but slanted inward so it makes it awkward for a guest to try to sit next to him for a photo while he is looking down and pensively remembering what might have been.

  Kavanagh is remembered by three plaques in Dublin. Two of them are at locations where he lived while the third plaque is beside his bronze statue sculpted by Peierls at the location by the canal where some say he found inspiration for his work. The lines on this plaque read: “Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal, pouring redemption for me.”

  Raglan Road’s four aged mahogany and walnut bars that feature marble adornments, leaded glass, and ornate detailing were handcrafted in Ireland for old Irish bars and churches more than 130 years ago and shipped to Florida. In addition, the restaurant’s furnishings, lighting, and wall coverings were all created and built in Ireland. Authentic Irish antiques, ornamentation, and bric-a-brac complete the décor.

  The works of Irish artist Graham Knuttel have found homes among Hollywood celebrities and on November 11, 2011, the restaurant unveiled his commissioned painting for the restaurant based on Kavanagh’s poem.

  It depicts a pub scene in which more than two dozen unconventional Knuttel figures that include Kavanagh, Kelly, Irish rockers Bono and The Edge, and writers James Joyce and Br
endan Behan are celebrating. Looking closely, admirers may discover a photo of a child wearing mouse ears in the painting.

  Disney Miscellany

  Winter Summerland Golf

  Opened March 12, 1999, the Winter Summerland miniature golf courses located near the entrance to the Blizzard Beach water park was the second such venue built for Walt Disney World. The first mini-golf course on property was Fantasia Gardens that opened in 1996 near the Swan and Dolphin.

  These courses were built to try to keep guests on WDW property instead of venturing to the popular mini- golf venues that were nearby in Orlando and Kissimmee.

  Established in 1983 in Traverse City, Michigan, the Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf courses around the country provided elaborate landscaping and distinctive props and the one on State Road 535 just minutes from Disney World drew both local and tourist families.

  Established in 1978 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, Jungle Golf also has locations around the country as well as the Orlando area. Congo River mini-golf on International Drive is one of eight locations in Florida that also offers a themed environment.

  The back story to Blizzard Beach was that a freak snowstorm in central Florida led to the creation of Florida’s first and only ski resort. However, that weather did not last long, leaving behind a soggy venue that was converted into a water park using the same infrastructure that had been installed for the ski resort.

  According to the Disney publicity release, the mini-golf course was inspired by that same snowstorm:

  Late one moonlit Christmas Eve, as Santa was flying over Florida on his way back to the North Pole, he glanced down and could not believe what he saw. Santa found snow in a place that is usually hot. After surveying the strange location, he decided to build a vacation destination for his off-duty elves—a Winter Summerland.

  The only thing Winter Summerland lacked was a golf course. So the elves divided into two camps, one that enjoyed the warm Florida sun and another that preferred the snow and cold of the North Pole. In this Winter Summerland, the elves built two distinctly different 18-hole golf experiences—a sand course and a snow course.

  Both courses at Winter Summerland are loaded with interactive elements that will entertain and engage golfers of all ages. On the snow course, Squirty the Snowman sprays water on unsuspecting guests when their golf balls pass beneath him. On the sand course, guests putt over a slumbering Santa buried underneath a tremendous sand mound.

  Although the elves were split into different camps, they agreed that the last couple of holes should converge within an old log campground lodge. Upon sinking their last putt on hole 18, guests journey through cyberspace via the WinterNet as a computer downloads a special greeting from Santa. Winter Summerland also features Santa’s winterbago, a converted travel trailer that houses the starter booth, and small snack and gift shops.

  The courses were designed to be “elf-size,” making them the perfect proportion for younger guests. Merry obstacles include inner tubes decorated like giant peppermints, hockey sticks, and the drawbridge of a fantastical, melting castle. Both courses have a replica of Cinderella Castle that looks like ice and sand, respectively.

  The sand course that includes palm trees with Christmas ornaments and a melting snowman is named “Summer” and the snow course is called “Winter.”

  Photo opportunities include the ability to sit behind the reins of Santa’s sleigh or gather in front of a surfing Santa statue created by the elves.

  Disney Miscellany

  Electrical Water Pageant

  The Electrical Water Pageant premiered in the Seven Seas Lagoon in October 1971.

  Weather permitting, it is performed seven nights a week, 365 days a year. The pageant barges are stored in the canal behind the Production Center building at Magic Kingdom located behind Splash Mountain.

  The pageant includes two “strings” of seven barges each. Each string extends approximately 456 feet in length. The two together are barely one hundred feet shorter than the length of an aircraft carrier.

  Each barge features a twenty-five foot high, thirty-six foot long wire screen decorated with lights.

  Five people are required to operate the fleet: two pilots, two co-pilots, and one safety-boat operator. The job of the safety-boat operator is to handle any problems once the barges are underway as well as assist in pushing the barges around corners since the turning radius is a quarter of a mile unassisted.

  The crew reports to the Production Center at 8:30pm each night where they don headsets, radios, and appropriate clothing in case of cold or foul weather. They head out to the barges roughly ten minutes later.

  A pilot sits in a booth on the first barge and the co-pilot sits in a booth on the last barge. Both are connected with the audio headsets. They untie the barges and take off to head for their first show at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at approximately nine o’clock.

  The loop continues with shows roughly fifteen minutes apart at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, Contemporary Resort, and finally outside the entrance of the Magic Kingdom park.

  The barges arrive just a few moments before each show primarily because of the wind. They can not simply sit in one spot because the screens act as sails so any wind can play havoc, even though the pilots try to form a sort of rainbow arc. Basically, they are just platforms on pontoons, and so are more fragile than most guests suspect.

  The show begins immediately once everyone is in position. The first string will signal the second string by light, letting them know that the show is ready to go. The co-pilot on barge 14, the last barge on the second string, has master audio control.

  He flips a switch and it pumps music through a transmitter from his string to the first string’s receiver so that everything is in sync. The co-pilots on each string flip switches to activate the lights on each screen when they hear the music cues.

  The Paul Beaver version of Gershon Kingsley & Jean Jeaque Perrey’s “Baroque Hoedown,” created specially for the Electrical Water Pageant, was used from 1971 until 1977. The very same soundtrack was later used by Disneyland’s original Main Street Electrical Parade from 1972 until 1974 when it was re-recorded and updated by Don Dorsey.

  The Electrical Water Pageant that guests see today consists of the same floats in the same formation dating back to 1977. The only difference is that in 1996 a new musical score was created for both the opening and closing of the Electrical Water Pageant as well as each creature depicted in the pageant.

  Going over the water bridge between Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake is “like dragging a garden hose through your house without touching anything” said coordinator David Kaumeier who operated the show for three decades. He added:

  We can hear guests hooting and clapping 100 yards away and we get a great satisfaction from that. We’re the only crew that does this type of work in the world.

  Disney Miscellany

  The Boathouse Amphicars

  An Amphicar combines the two words “amphibious” (able to operate on both land and water) and “car.” The Amphicar is still the most successfully mass-produced amphibious car for the general public and was made from 1961 to the beginning of 1968 when a change in safety and emission standards prevented its continued sale in the United States.

  The Amphicar Corporation in Germany produced 3,878 of the amphibious passenger automobiles; less than 400 still exist today. Advertisements proclaimed, “The car of the future is here today. The sportscar that swims.”

  The BOATHOUSE at Disney Springs is the only place in the world that offers people an opportunity to ride in these unique examples from automotive history unless they personally own one.

  The convertibles were offered in only four colors: beach white, regatta red, lagoon blue, and fjord green (aqua). Disney Springs has two of each color.

  Steven Schussler is the creator of Walt Disney World restaurants Rainforest Café, T-Rex, and Animal Kingdom’s Yak and Yeti. He is also respons
ible for The BOATHOUSE that opened on April 13, 2015. Schussler has owned three Amphicars since 2005.

  Offering the Amphicar tours around the perimeter of the lake was meant to be a way of preserving some of the remaining cars, as well as introducing the quirky creation to a new generation of fans as well as attracting attention to the restaurant.

  Some of the cars were not in great shape and Schussler had modifications done on all of them including positioning the rear seat further back to offer an additional three inches of legroom as well as some mechanical changes to the bilge pump system and all-new fuel injection and exhaust systems.

  In an interview, Schussler said that some 3,200 components (generally unseen by the naked eye) were engineered specifically for the Amphicars in use at The BOATHOUSE to guarantee reliability and safety and that each car required $65,000 to $75,000 worth of upgrades, on top of its purchase price which could run as much as $100,000.

  The BOATHOUSE has its own shop dedicated to repairing and maintaining the cars daily. Disney Springs has a small towboat anchored to the shore in case one of the Amphicars stalls out and the drivers all have hand-held radios to communicate that situation.

  The two front doors have a double seal with rubber strips like those used on a refrigerator. The car is not made of fiberglass but steel (which can make it prone to rusting without proper care). The steel is thicker than on a regular car and much better assembled with continuous welds and lead filling around the joints to make it watertight.

  The wheels are set low so that the vehicle stands well above ground level when on dry land. Its water propulsion is provided by twin propellers mounted under the rear bumper. The engine is mounted at the rear of the craft. In water as well as on land, the Amphicar is steered with the front wheels.