Spaceship Earth on the WDW Radio Show

Tune in to this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show as Lou Mongello and I take an extensive look at one of the true wonders of Walt Disney World: Spaceship Earth. Equal parts icon and attraction, Spaceship Earth possesses an amazing twenty-five year history that we explore and celebrate. Join us!

Explore the 2719 Hyperion Archives:

A Time of Unprecedented Choice and Opportunity
The EPCOT Field Guide - Spaceship Earth
EPCOT 1939 - Icons Past and Present

Greetings from Winter Summerland!

A little slice of Christmas can be found year round in Walt Disney World at the Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course. The elves have set up camp in their Elfstream trailers in this vacationland of skiing and surfing and fishing and skating. Lou and I explore all the wonderful details on this week's distinctly Christmas-themed episode of the WDW Radio Show. These thirty-six holes of mini golf are a testament to 1950s retro as well as the various Santa Land roadside attractions scattered throughout the USA. Join us for a slightly more unconventional celebration of the holidays!

Half Marathon Photo Challenge

As regular listeners of the WDW Radio Show know, we are fast coming to the end of the Half Marathon Challenge to benefit Lou Mongello's Dream Team project. With Eric Hollister of GeoMouse.com, I am presenting this week's Challenge. Identify the locations of these four photos. Each comes from one of the four Walt Disney World theme parks.

• Contest runs from Dec 16 to Dec 26 at midnight

• All entries are to be submitted to marathon@wdwradio.com

• A winner will be drawn from all correct submissions and will be announced on the WDW Radio Show airing the week of December 30. The winner will get to name Mile #12 in Lou's Half Marathon Race, and will also receive a prize package.

Good luck!

Celebrating Birthdayland

Mickey's Birthdayland is certainly one of Walt Disney World's most amazing success stories. Consider Charles Ridgway's analysis from his book Spinning Disney's World:

It was originally planned as a temporary attraction, but Michael soon decided to change the name to Mickey's Starland and make it permanent. It was a prime example of the Eisner-Wells team's ability to seize on a good idea and move fast, allowing talented people to carry it out.

Mickey's Birthdayland probably could not be built today with all the financial analyzers sitting on top of it — certainly not in the same way. That kind of shoot-from-the-hip management, so typical of Michael and Frank at the time, was what made everything fun, exciting and — big surprise — "successful."

In celebration of Mickey's recent 79th birthday on November 18, we take a look at Mickey's Birthdayland on this week's edition of the WDW Radio Show. This new Magic Kingdom "land" was the centerpiece of Walt Disney World's celebration of Mickey's 60th birthday in 1988, and literally went from concept to debut in just a few short months. Join us as we pilot the Wayback Machine back to this fun and exciting time and place, and explore the history and details of the area that ultimately inspired Mickey's Toontoon in Disneyland and evolved into Mickey's Toontown Fair.

For more pictures of Mickey's Birthdayland and its connection to the comic book stories of Carl Barks, check out our earlier "Welcome to . . . Duckburg?" post here at 2719 Hyperion. And be sure to check the comments section of that particular post for additional background on Birthdayland by its very own original show director Steve Hansen.

Front Row at the Kitchen Kabaret

There's good reason why I never pursued comedy as a career, and you can discover exactly why on this week's edition of the WDW Radio Show. Lou and I take the Walt Disney World Wayback Machine back to the 1980s and sit in for a showing of EPCOT Center's then very popular Kitchen Cabaret attraction.

Bonnie Appetit sings of good nutrition in this Future World relative of the Country Bear Jamboree and Tokyo-relocated Mickey Mouse Revue. It was located in the space now occupied by the queue area for Soarin' at The Land pavilion. I loved the show's pre-rock music sensibility, though that was likely the cause of its later evolution into the hipper and noticeably louder Food Rocks incarnation in 1994. The Kitchen Krackpots, Cereal Sisters, Ham and Eggz, the Colander Comb, Fiesta Fruit, and Mr. Dairy Goods and His Stars of the Milky Way were EPCOT Center superstars, but they now exist primarily as just fond memories and YouTube videos. Join us as we allow them one more encore on this week's podcast.

"His brother was born in hot tub and his mother fell asleep hard-boiled . . ." Or something like that. Yeah, not one of my finest moments.

You Can't Reason With a Headless Man

While Donald Duck's 1952 cartoon Trick or Treat bears the Disney Studio's most direct homage to the Halloween holiday, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment from the feature film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad serves up equal amounts of ghostly chills and jack-o'-lantern imagery. For All Hallows Eve is in fact the setting for Ichabod Crane's penultimate encounter with perhaps one of Disney's most underrated villains, the Headless Horseman.

One of the true highlights of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and perhaps one of the most overlooked musical vignettes in Disney films, is the song "The Headless Horseman" from composers Don Raye and Gene de Paul, noted Hollywood talents, both with extensive popular music resumes.

Don Raye transitioned in the mid-1930s from vaudeville entertainment to songwriting, working with other bright young composers, most notably Sammy Cohn. A fortuitous match was made in 1939 when the Andrew Sisters began performing his material. This led to work in Hollywood, first on the 1939 movie Argentine Nights and later the 1941 Abbott and Costello debut film Buck Privates, both of which prominently featured Andrews Sisters' performances. He became a resident song smith for Universal Studios, teaming with Gene de Paul beginning in late 1941 and the two subsequently collaborated on such films as In the Navy, San Antonio Rose, Keep 'Em Flying and Ride 'Em Cowboy. de Paul was also on the Hollywood fast track; that same year he was Oscar nominated for work on the film Hellzapoppin. The two found their way to Disney in the late 1940s, contributing to So Dear to My Heart, Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and Raye later on Alice in Wonderland. Shortly thereafter, dePaul would become especially famous for the musical numbers in MGM's classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, released in 1954.

Distinctly reflecting their own musical backgrounds, Raye and de Paul infused the colonial American setting of Sleepy Hollow with the popular music styles of the mid 20th century. Frequent Andrew Sisters co-performer Bing Crosby tells the story via narration and song, and at one point provided vocal instructor Ichabod with his trademark "bo bo bo baba bo" crooning. But the segment's true musical highlight is in fact Crosby's vocalization of villain Brom Bones performance of the Headless Horseman ghost story.

Famous for such wartime hits as "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," Raye's skills for clever, densely-worded lyrics are clearly evident in the tale of Sleepy Hollow's resident pumpkin thrower:

Now gather round while I elucidate,
On what happens outside when it gets late.
Along about midnight the ghosts and banshees,
Get together for their nightly jamboree.
There's ghosts with horns and saucer eyes,
And some with fangs about this size.
Some short and fat, some tall and thin,
And some don't even bother to where their skin.
I'm telling you brother it's a frightful sight,
To see what goes on Halloween night.

Oh, when the spooks have a midnight jamboree,
They break it up with fiendish glee.
Ghosts are bad but the one that's cursed,
Is the Headless Horseman, he's the worst.
When he goes a jockeying across the land,
Holding his noggin in his hand.
Demons take one look and groan,
And hit the road for parts unknown.
There's no spook like a spook that spurned,
They don't like him and he's really burned.
Swears to the longest day he's dead,
He'll show them that he can get a head.

They say he's tired of his flaming top,
He's got a yen to make a swap.
So he rides one night a year,
To find a head in the hollow here.
And he likes 'em little, he likes 'em big,
Part in the middle, or a wig.
Black or white or even red,
The Headless Horseman needs a head.
With a hip, hip and a clippity clop,
He's out looking for a top to chop.
So don't stop to figure out a plan,
You can't reason with a headless man.

Now if you doubt this tale is so,
I met that spook just a year ago.
Now I didn't stop for a second look,
But made for the bridge that spans the brook.
For once you cross that bridge my friend,
The ghost is through, his power ends.
So when you're riding home tonight,
Make for the bridge with all your might.
He'll be down in the hollow there,
He needs your head. Lookout! Beware!
With a hip, hip and a clippity clop,
He's out looking for a head to chop.
So don't stop to figure out a plan,
You can't reason with a headless man.

"Grim Grinning Ghosts" vocalist Thurl Ravenscroft did an equally fun yet slightly more sinister studio version of the song that was recently included on the iTunes exclusive Walt Disney Records Archive Collection Volume One.

And for more on the Headless Horseman and his connections to the Walt Disney World resort, listen to this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show.

13 Tombstones: Good Friend Gordon

RIP
GOOD FRIEND
GORDON
NOW YOU'VE
CROSSED THE
RIVER JORDON

Good friend Gordon refers to Gordon Williams, who was an audio designer and also an authority on audio-animatronics. He was the Imagineer largely responsible for all of the sound effects in the Haunted Mansion.

Taking Wing on the WDW Radio Show

On this week's WDW Radio Show, we take the Wayback Machine back to the 1970s and revisit one of Walt Disney World's lesser known but still very remarkable attractions.

Conceived almost entirely as a promotional vehicle for Eastern Airlines, If You Had Wings was a remarkable, and in many ways groundbreaking presentation. Imagineering legend and design genius Claude Coats was the creative force behind this high concept travelogue. The ride's innovations proved far-reaching, influencing future Disney attractions such as World of Motion, Horizons and most notably Epcot's El Rio del Tiempo, even through its recent refurbishment into the Gran Fiesta Tour.

Join us for a fun journey to screen-projected exotic locales via omnimover technology, all accompanied by a catchy theme song and the usual over-the-top enthusiasm of your WDW Radio Show crew.

Contructing a Wonder

On this week's WDW Radio Show, Lou and I return to the ongoing discussion of the Seven Wonders of Walt Disney World.

From conception to completion, the initial construction of the vacation resort stands as one of the true crowning achievements of the Walt Disney Company. We talk about the many challenges and ultimate accomplishments of this process, that began the moment Walt himself spotted Bay Lake as he looked down from an airplane. Join us for an informative and entertaining look at this slightly different kind of Wonder of Walt Disney World.

Image © Walt Disney Company

Lost Imagineering: Japan's Bullet Train

A high speed ride on the famous Japanese Bullet Train, right in the heart of EPCOT Center's World Showcase? This was just one of a number of attractions that went unrealized for the Japan pavilion. This immersive adventure would have featured an interesting variation of Disney's 360 Circlevision process. Also conceptualized for Epcot's Japan were a Mount Fuji-themed thrill ride, and the multimedia presentation Meet the World, the latter of which ultimately found its way to Tokyo Disneyland.

For a complete tour and Disney Scene Investigation of the Japan pavilion, tune in to this week's edition of the WDW Radio Show. And check out our earlier Lost Imagineering post on Meet the World, right here at 2719 Hyperion.

The Little Known History of the Wilderness Lodge

This week on the WDW Radio Show, we literally explore one of our favorite places in all of Walt Disney World, the Wilderness Lodge. Easily the most densely themed of all of the resort hotels on Disney property, it also possesses an extensive faux history that nearly all of its guests are totally unaware of. Tune in for a relaxed and entertaining tour through one of the World's most popular and breathtaking locations.

And check my series of posts on the history of Silver Creek Spring, right here at 2719 Hyperion.

Flights of Orange Fancy on the WDW Radio Show

With his beautiful orange feathers

And beautiful leafy wings
He's a fluffy little puffy sight to see
He can turn your frown around
When you see him looking down
The little Orange Bird up in the Sunshine Tree

This week on the WDW Radio Show we take a trip back to the 1970s and revisit a then very famous little character that played a prominent role within the Magic Kingdom during Walt Disney World's first decade. Learn all about the Orange Bird, resident of Adventureland, friend to Anita Bryant and tireless mascot for the Florida Citrus Commission. It's a segment with a high dose of Vitamin C and equal parts fun and nostalgia. Brighten your day and tune in!

And don't forget Dan Cunningham's terrific retro-inspired Orange Bird desktop, featured previously right here at 2719 Hyperion.

Hello There! We're So Glad You Could Come Along . . .

This week on the WDW Radio Show, we take a Journey into Imagination as part of our ongoing retrospective of EPCOT Center, in honor of the park's upcoming 25th Anniversary celebration. Fond memories of Dreamfinder, Figment and that One Little Spark are revisited as we travel back in time to one of Future World's original and very fondly remembered attractions. Tune in and join us as we board our Dream Vehicles for an entertaining and informative sojourn to the days of EPCOT past.

Investigating Echo Lake

Disney-MGM Studios is the location of our latest Disney Scene Investigation on this week's edition of the WDW Radio Show. Inspired by the Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, the Echo Lake area of the Studios is filled with details that pay homage to Hollywood's bygone days as well as numerous classic films and the sometimes infamous architectural style known as "California Crazy." Tune in for a fun and very informative stroll around this very interesting lakeside district of the Walt Disney World resort.

MouseFest Bound!

I'm very excited to announce that I will be in attendance at MouseFest 2007. This will be my first trip to the annual Disney fan gathering that takes place every December at Walt Disney World. Even more exciting, I will be co-hosting a meet with my DSI partner in crime Lou Mongello on Sunday, December 9th at 11:00 AM.

Bring your notepads, cameras and magnifying glasses as we do a live Disney Scene Investigation of Frontierland, starting at the Liberty Tree in Liberty Square and ending at Pecos Bill's Cafe for lunch and another DSI right there in the restaurant.

I will also be attending Lou's other MouseFest meets: PodFest, TriviaFest and the Disney World Trivia.com Family Reunion. And I will be jumping on the Endor Express for Matt Hochberg's mgmstudios.org Star Tours meet.

For more information on MouseFest and an up-to-date schedule of events check out the official web site. I look forward to meeting any 2719 Hyperion readers who are also planning on attending. It's going to be a great, great time.

The Wonder of Music on the WDW Radio Show

The next of the Seven Wonders of Walt Disney World is revealed on this week's edition of the WDW Radio Show. This particular wonder is never seen but always heard--the music that entertains, surrounds and extends to nearly ever corner of the resort. Lou hosts a panel discussion that includes myself, Jonathan Dichter from the All About the Mouse podcast, Gary Chambers from the MouseLounge podcast, and David Recchione of DJR Music and composer of the terrific WDW Radio Show theme song. Tune in as we talk all about the tunes that comprise this Wonder of Walt Disney World.

A Wild Ride on the Radio Show

Even more so than characters such as Pecos Bill and Willie the Whale, J. Thaddeus Toad, while having similarly emerged from the “package” films of the late 1940s, enjoyed a career that ultimately grew well beyond his one and only screen appearance in Disney’s 1949 feature film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. For while The Wind in the Willows segment in that film was certainly both a critical and commercial success, Toad’s legend will forever likely be more associated with the Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions inspired by his animated adventures.

On this week’s WDW Radio Show, we fire up the Wayback Machine and head merrily, merrily, merrily on our way to nowhere in particular as we revisit the Walt Disney World incarnation of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. So grab your C-tickets and join us as we fondly remember and relive this classic Magic Kingdom experience.

Exploring the Jungle Cruise--Without a Boat!

On this week's WDW Radio Show, we investigate a Disney Scene that's all about the classic Jungle Cruise attraction--but we never get on a boat.

The queue area at Walt Disney's World's Jungle Cruise is filled with an amazing number of details. Tongue-in-cheek humor, sight gags and homages to Imagineers, Disney film stars and even obscure historical personalities are just some of the many elements to look and even listen for as you wait to board your boat, or later after your return to civilization.

We've featured quite a number of posts here at 2719 Hyperion that have focused on the area of the Jungle Cruise dock and queue:

Addressing Some Jungle Cruise Crates

Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd

Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd Part Two

Lotus Tours

Passport to the Rivers of the Pharoahs

Snapshot! - Missing Boats - Missing Persons

Snapshot! - Free Kittens to a Good Home

So tune in, link up, and have some fun as we explore this very fun and entertaining corner of Adventureland.

The Secret History of Cornelius Coot

On this week's WDW Radio Show, we do a little digging in Mickey's Toontown Fair to reveal the not-so-well known background of its founder, the corn-bearing Cornelius Coot. While Coot currently stands atop two sculpted ears of corn, he was presented and identified very differently when the area was originally conceived in 1988 as Mickey's Birthdayland.


Birthdayland took its inspiration largely from the Carl Barks created comic book stories of the 1940s and 1950s that featured the adventures of Donald duck, Uncle Scrooge and members of their extended family who all took up residence in the city of Duckburg. Barks referenced Coot in the 1952 story “Statuesque Spendthrifts.” The story revolved around a statue of Coot that as you can see, was very faithfully recreated.


Modern Duck scribe Don Rosa would further refer to Cornelius Coot, specifically in his Uncle Scrooge story "Last Sled to Dawson." In that tale, Coot's grandson sells Scrooge the deed to Killmotor Hill in Duckburg, the location where Scrooge ultimately builds his famous Money Bin.

Reliving the American Adventure

America did not exist. Four centuries of work, bloodshed, loneliness and fear created this land. We built America and the process made us Americans. A new breed, rooted in all races, stained and tinted with all colors. A seeming ethnic anarchy. Then in of little time we became more alike than we were different. A new society, not great, but fitted by our very faults for greatness.

The inspiring words of John Steinbeck, as presented by our genuine American antique Ben Franklin, open what is easily one of Walt Disney World’s premiere attractions, and likely one of the single greatest accomplishments of Walt Disney Imagineering.

The American Adventure.

In keeping with the spirit of the recent Independence Day holiday, Lou and I venture to World Showcase for our newest Disney Scene Investigation on the latest episode of the WDW Radio Show. We explore the development and history of this wonderful attraction and point out all those hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) details that make Disney theme park entertainment so notable and special. Interviews with American Adventure and Voices of Liberty cast members round out the segment and provide unique behind the scenes perspectives. Join us as we unapologetically wax patriotic and sentimental; it’s a great time.

We also went back into the 2719 archives and retrieved our Lost Imagineering post that detailed some of the early concept ideas for the American Adventure. Enjoy!