Other Secret Stories of Walt Disney World

by Jim Korkis

  Finally, during the event, the Magic Kingdom provides some unique experiences that don’t exist normally, from a special Mickey’s Boo to You parade to eerie projections on the castle and unique stage shows in addition to Disney character dance parties.

  Since 2005, the event includes an exclusive fireworks show titled Happy HalloWishes: A Grim Grinning Ghosts’ Spooktacular in the Sky with Halloween-themed music. In addition, several limited-edition merchandise items, from pins to ornaments to apparel, are sold.

  Of course, one of the key components is the opportunity to get free candy at a variety of locations. In 2016, roughly 285 tons of candy was handed out during all the parties including 40 different kinds of brand-name candies like Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, M&Ms and Kit Kats, as well as other offerings. Allergen-free candy was also available so that children with allergies could still participate.

  WDW History

  Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

  In the Hall of Presidents since 2009, Abraham Lincoln presents his famed Gettsyburgh Address speech.

  However, that was never the intention of Walt Disney, nor did that happen in the version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that was the show for the Illinois pavilion at the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair and later at Disneyland.

  Renowned Lincoln scholar Ralph Newman had been brought in by Walt Disney to help writer James Algar script the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show. Newman told Disney historian Paul Anderson:

  We both agreed completely that we would not have Lincoln giving the Gettsyburg Address because everybody would be anticipating that, and that would be kind of anti-climatic.

  Walt Disney said in 1964:

  When we set out to select the speeches and writing for the monologue in the show, we decided to bypass the Gettysburg Address even though its poetic qualities and poignant message are unexcelled. Because it is so familiar to nearly every American, we felt that it would not contribute significantly to our purpose–an in-depth fresh presentation of Lincoln’s principles, ideals and philosophies.

  Newman added:

  We wanted Lincoln to use words from his day that would sound as if he had just read The New York Times that morning and was discussing the situation in the world.

  Where did the voice track of actor Royal Dano performing the Gettsyburg Address come from if it was not part of the original presentation, especially since Dano died before it became part of the show at Disneyland and Walt Disney World?

  James Algar produced and wrote the Buena Vista LP record (BV-3981) entitled Walt Disney Presents Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln that was released in connection with the New York World’s Fair. In addition to the actual presentation (which was later performed at Disneyland), Algar directed character actor Royal Dano in recording other Lincoln speeches including the Gettsyburg Address.

  The Imagineers uncovered these recordings when the attractions at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World were updated.

  Dano had been selected because Walt did not want a celebrity voice like actor Raymond Massey who had previously performed as Lincoln and whose voice would have been instantly recognizable to audiences.

  Walt was insistent that he wanted “not an actor’s voice, but the real voice” as could be best re-created. Dano had done a five-part episode show for the Omnibus television series in 1952 written by James Agee where he played Lincoln and received laudatory reviews for capturing the homespun nature of the man.

  Walt said:

  We did a great deal of research as to the actual sound and timbre of Abraham Lincoln’s voice. The voice of actor Royal Dano was the closest thing we could find to the voice of Mr. Lincoln.

  Of course, at the time there was no one alive who had actually heard Lincoln speak and there were no audio recordings. Research was done based on written contemporary accounts and knowledge of speech patterns from the rural areas where Lincoln grew up, but Dano’s interpretation has always seemed “emotionally right” even if scholars have argued that it may not be completely accurate in all aspects.

  Walt, of course, was intimately familiar with Lincoln’s Gettsyburg Address. When he attended Benton Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1911 to 1917, he would perform the speech in his homemade costume consisting of his father’s long black coat, a stovepipe hat, and a crepe-hair beard on Lincoln’s birthday in front of all the classes until his graduation.

  WDW History

  Epcot Pavilion Dedications

  On September 10, 1982, the Disney company announced that “each individual EPCOT Center pavilion would have a grand opening and dedication ceremony.”

  While most dedication ceremonies lasted about twenty minutes, the dedication for The Land pavilion lasted close to an entire hour during which time the pavilion was closed for most of it. Few Disney fans remember that this pavilion was so popular during the first months that a line to get in went all the way to the west breezeway entrance to this section of Future World.

  Here is the list of the announced dedications:

  Friday, October 1: Spaceship Earth (Bell System)

  Sunday, October 3 : China

  Monday, October 4: Universe of Energy (Exxon), 10am

  Tuesday, October 5 : World of Motion (General Motors), 10am

  Wednesday, October 6: The Land (Kraft), 10:30am

  Monday, October 11: Travelport (American Express), 5pm

  Monday, October 11: The American Adventure (American Express/Coca-Cola), 6:30pm

  Wednesday, October 13: Canada, 7:30pm

  Thursday, October 14: Italy

  Friday, October 15: Germany, 7:30pm

  Monday, October 18: Epcot Computer Central (Sperry Univac), 11am

  Tuesday, October 19: United Kingdom

  Wednesday, October 20: France and Japan

  Thursday, October 21: Mexico

  Saturday, December 4: Journey Into Imagination (Eastman Kodak)

  On September 30, 1982, it was announced that the official dedication ceremonies for the Mexico pavilion might have to be postponed until December 13 because of concerns that the main ride attraction would not be fully operational. Ironically, the boat ride was working on that first day and, unlike other attractions at the new park, did not break down.

  While the Journey Into Imagination attraction ride was installed, there were also concerns about its consistent operation, which is why the dedication was originally scheduled for December 4. The ride portion did not open until months later, in March 1983, but the dedication of the pavilion itself occurred on scheduled.

  What was the Travelport dedication on October 11 right before the dedication of the American Adventure? Travelport, located in CommuniCore East, was sponsored by American Express, which was also a co-sponsor of the American Adventure.

  At Travelport, guests could enter booths (called “vacation stations”) and play with touch-screen previews of travel destinations around the world. The most popular video preview was the one of a Caribbean vacation once it was discovered what might have been brief images of two topless female sunbathers in the background.

  Just around the corner from these booths was an American Express Travel Service desk with an agent happy to provide more detailed information or to help with a trip.

  Disney officials and American Express officials dedicated the location and then moved to the American Adventure where Coca-Cola officials were waiting to help dedicate that pavilion (which was co-sponsored with American Express).

  All of these individual dedications led up to the official three-day ceremony dedicating the entire park beginning Friday October 22. Preparation for these festivities began nearly four years earlier with the minute-by-minute planning starting in March 1982.

  Twenty different committees were involved in creating the three-day dedication ceremonies, from design of invitations to finance to talent booking to transportation and more. Some of the highlights from this gathering were incorporated into the following day’s television special hosted by entertainer Danny Kaye.<
br />
  Things That Disappeared

  Main Street Electrical Parade

  The iconic Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP) “glowed away” for a final time on October 9, 2016.

  The parade was created as a night-time experience for Disneyland in 1972 and then cloned for Disney World where it debuted on June 11, 1977. However, after that date, the WDW version of the Main Street Electrical Parade had a pretty convoluted history.

  At Walt Disney World, the parade continued to entertain guests until its final show on September 14, 1992. It was replaced by SpectroMagic until 1999.

  After closing at Disneyland in 1996 (and replaced by Light Magic in 1997), the Disneyland version of the parade known as the “crown jewel of summer” underwent a dazzling makeover of 575,000 glittering new lights.

  In May 1999, the parade returned to Walt Disney World as part of WDW’s Millennium Celebration where it continued to entertain guests until April 1, 2001, after more than 500 performances.

  The parade went to Disney’s California Adventure to try to brighten that struggling park’s attendance. Walt Disney World re-introduced SpectroMagic as it nighttime parade.

  On June 6, 2010, the Main Street Electrical Parade once again returned to the Magic Kingdom for a supposedly limited engagement just that summer as part of the “Summer Nightastic!” promotion event, but was so popular that it was extended until October 2016.

  When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the Seven Seas Lagoon was dark and forbidding at night. As a backdrop for the South Seas Luau to lighten things up, the Electrical Water Pageant was created as a temporary solution.

  It premiered “officially” at a nighttime press event luau on the shore of the Polynesian Village Resort on Sunday, October 24, as part of the three-day weekend dedication festivities of Walt Disney World, although there had been many previous soft-opening voyages to test it and work out any bugs.

  It was a reasonably simple and inexpensive option. Several floating barges were pulled across the lagoon by a boat. On each barge was a flat, framed, twenty-five-foot tall wire screen decorated with Christmas tree lights powered by a noisy generator that couldn’t be heard out on the water in the distance. A sea serpent, a whale, jumping dolphins, seahorses, and even King Neptune frolicked on the man-made body of water.

  A special version of Gershon Kingsley & Jean Jeaque Perrey’s 1967 composition “Baroque Hoedown” was created specifically for the Electrical Water Pageant and then later adapted for the electrical parade.

  With all the Disney company emphasis on Walt Disney World, Disneyland was being neglected; so Disney company president Card Walker wanted something to entice guests to stay later in the park and buy more souvenirs and food.

  The delight of the Electrical Water Pageant inspired the Main Street Electrical Parade and the first floats were similar by being flat two-dimensional screens with simple lights. Bob Jani and Ron Miziker are given the official credit by the Disney company for being the creators and producers of the original electrical parade. Jani had supervised the creation of the Electrical Water Pageant. Official planning for the parade began January 1972 for a June debut.

  Miziker had done some research that with the introduction of electricity, local Main Streets in the United States would hold nighttime parades with strings of lights stretched over the street.

  Since Disneyland had its own turn-of-the-last-century Main Street, a parade with lights seemed a natural, and the continuing success of the Electrical Water Pageant showed how the parade could be accomplished. Basically, it was felt that all they needed to do was put wheels on the barges. However, the electrical parade evolved into something much more elaborate and innovative before its June debut.

  Things That Disappeared

  Skyleidoscope: An Aerial Spectacular

  Originally, the Skyleidoscope show that was performed at Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon was to be titled Magical Rainbows, but Disney Marketing felt the name Skyleidoscope (a kaleidoscope of color filling the sky) was stronger.

  Ron Logan, executive vice president of WDW Entertainment at the time, told me:

  Skyleidoscope was Frank Wells’ favorite show. He used to come out to the control booth about thirty minutes prior to showtime and take a nap in the warm Florida sun until the show started. Frank must have seen Skyleidoscope at least fifteen times.

  The September 1985 issue of Walt Disney World News described the show with the following blurb:

  Each Saturday and Sunday this fall at 3pm, the aerial spectacle of Skyleidoscope transforms the 45-acre World Showcase Lagoon into a colorful fantasy-land of purple dragons, exploding gumdrops, and whimsical flying machines as EPCOT Center kicks off a giant celebration [that was to tie in with the 15th anniversary of Walt Disney World].

  It’s a gala extravaganza of sea and sky wrapped in a kaleidoscope of magical rainbows made from silk, smoke, and sparkle. Set to a marvelous musical symphony, the 15-minute extravaganza features 60 flying, whirling, sailing objects of imagination and 80 aero-mariners.

  Dreamfinder, the famous character from EPCOT Center’s Journey into Imagination, directs his whimsical navy and air force from an 85-foot airship. Together they try to build magical rainbows but are thwarted by the invasion of winged dragons in the lagoon below.

  Calling on an entire fleet of candy-striped para-sails, speedy sea scooters, colorful sailboats and sea planes, Dreamfinder commands an exciting battle of fireworks and frenzy, until the monstrous dragons turn into harmless dragonflies. Only then can Dreamfinder create rainbows so breathtaking that only seeing is believing.

  That description was only the tip of the iceberg for this colorful daytime spectacular that also included a bevy of dancers, musicians, singers, and actors. It was so popular that it ran until August 1987 when a plane crash killing a pilot on a practice flight roughly an hour before a scheduled show closed it forever.

  Originally, the show was just meant to run on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, but it was later expanded to Saturday through Wednesday and then every day during busy holiday periods. It packed the area around the World Showcase Lagoon much as the Illuminations fireworks nighttime display does today. WDW press releases described the new “sea and air” extravaganza as a “fairy tale come to life.”

  The mascots of EPCOT Center (which had been opened for barely three years) were Dreamfinder and his little dragon Figment who appeared in the attraction Journey Into Imagination and also as “walk-around” costumed characters. So, it was natural that the new show would showcase them.

  In a huge blimp Dreamfinder was going to paint the sky in an array of colorful rainbows. However, he was disrupted in this cheerful pursuit by a bunch of evil dragons known as “Ma and Pa” and their ten purplish “dragonettes” who stirred up the lagoon to disrupt the show. (According to the narration, the dragons were from the “black lagoon”.)

  The two sides did battle on the surface of the lagoon with sailboats, powerboats, and hovercraft fitted into various colorful creatures until Dreamfinder triumphed over evil, accompanied by music, fireworks, and a V-formation of brightly colored ultralight aircraft (“World Showcase Airforce”) trailing streams of different colored smoke creating the effect of a rainbow.

  According to Disney`s promotional material:

  The show turns ultra-light seaplanes and kits, jet skiers and speedboats, polka-dot sailboats and airlifted saucers into purple-winged dragons, jet-powered sea shells, dragonfly patrol planes and hang-glider toys.

  Things That Disappeared

  Merlin’s Sword in the Stone Ceremony

  The great and clever wizard Merlin the magician is a main character in the 1963 Disney animated feature The Sword in the Stone, based on the novel by T.H. White.

  The walk-around costumed “face character” of Merlin officiated the well-loved Sword in the Stone ceremony several times a day in front of the carousel at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, where a guest was selected to draw the fabled sword from the stone—just like the young Arthur wh
o did so and became king of England.

  The show began at Disneyland in summer 1983, the same year Merlin’s Magic Shop closed at the park and the architectural redesign of Fantasyland opened. Disneyland Paris had the ceremony in the castle courtyard beginning in 1992, but it was canceled in 2001 and then later brought back for special holidays and the summer. Hong Kong Disneyland also had a Sword in the Stone ceremony when it opened in 2005.

  The version at the Magic Kingdom officially opened in late 1993 (although many sources claim early 1994). The Florida version ended with a final performance on August 15, 2006.

  At the Magic Kingdom, the Sword in the Stone was staged immediately in front of the Cinderella Carrousel in a small raised area featuring the stone in the shape of an anvil with the sword firmly embedded. It required an electronic release from a technician who was located on top of Sir Mickey’s shop during the show and who also operated the sound cues.

  The premise of the fifteen-minute show was that since Good King Arthur was supposedly off on vacation there was a need for a temporary royal ruler to “safeguard and protect” the realm in his absence.

  Merlin uses his magic including a “locator pigeon” to find the appropriate candidate with no success. Finally, Merlin would pick an adult who despite his best struggles was unable to pull the sword. Then Merlin would select a child who would magically raise the sword half way and be crowned the temporary ruler. The sword only came up halfway because it was felt it was a bad idea for a child to have a dangerous sword to swing.

  Unfortunately, it took so long to find the proper ruler that his temporary reign is already over, so Merlin gave the child a medallion and a certificate.

  The text on the approximately 8x10-inch colorful certificate read:

  Walt Disney World. Temporary Ruler of the Realm. Official Certificate of Coronation. Let it be known to one and all that the bearer of this certificate has been duly selected, tested, appointed and has fulfilled their duties as an official temporary Ruler of the Realm. Ceremony presided over and authenticated by Merlin, Court Wizard.