At this phase, Theme
Park admission is limited to Disney Resort Guests, Annual and Premium
Annual Passholders, Guests of Shades of Green at the Walt Disney World
Resort and Downtown Disney Resort Area Guests using their respective
transportation. Guests not meeting the above criteria are told the Theme
Park has reached capacity.
Maybe, just maybe... It seems Disney is thinking about changing one of the Epcot's worldshowcase country and put a new one on it's place.
The new country may be Brazil, Shouth Africa, Australisa or Russia (an old guess).
How do we know that?
A Screamscape reader was stopped in Epcot in World Showcase’s Outpost area by a CM and asked to take a brief survey. Just three simple questions, starting with a “How many times have you visited Walt Disney World?”. The next tow questions however are far more interesting. First was a multi-choice question asking which country you would most like to see added to World Showcase: Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Russia or an Other choice to name something else. Following this the next question asked guests which country would they be LEAST upset to see removed from World Showcase.
While this doesn’t mean that Epcot is ready to add a new country just yet, it is telling that they are interesting in getting guest feedback about the possibility. Even more telling is the fact that they are considering doing it as a replacement for an existing country rather than build a new one entirely from scratch. While guests could pick any country they wanted as the preferred one to remove, I would think that perhaps the pavilions without a major attraction inside would perhaps be the most at risk. That list would include: Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco and the UK and possibly even France, though each of these countries have fairly popular restaurants as well so anything is possible.
Some of you have asked if we do anything special in the parks for the Easter holiday. And as you can see by this 1986 image of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse with Mr. and Mrs. Easter, the answer is yes — and this year is no exception.
At Magic Kingdom Park, Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny will be doing a meet-and-greet in the Tour Guide Garden “intermittently” from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday, March 28 – Sunday, April 4. Also, on Sunday, April 4, there will be a 3 p.m. parade that’ll feature an Easter theme with the Easter Bunny, Daisy and other entertainers.
And at Epcot on April 4, there will be Easter egg hunts for children ages 3 to 9 every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. at Heritage Garden at the American Adventure Pavilion. There will also be Easter egg relays for children ages 6 – 12 at Future World West Garden ever 40 minutes from 10:40 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.
Disnology:Tell me how you got the role of Harriet in Harriet the Spy. Jennifer:I had heard about the movie and that Disney was redoing Harriet and that they were looking at me for the role and I thought ‘That’s really weird’. I mean, I’m not one to be excited about anything until I know it’s absolutely the truth. So, I thought, ‘Whatever, I’ll just wait and see’. And then finally they called me and asked me to play Harriet and then I got really excited. It was great because I didn’t have to audition or anything like that, so it was definitely a nice little phone call.
Disnology: Wow, when you get a call asking you to be in a movie, you can’t beat that! Jennifer:Definitely can’t complain!
Disnology:Where did you film Harriet? Jennifer:We filmed it in Canada. We filmed some of it in Toronto. It was the first time I had ever been to Toronto, and I really loved it.
Disnology:My friends who live there say it’s the best place one earth. Jennifer:It really is a cool place. It’s kind of like Alaska meets New York. It has that pretty, natural quality to it but also the city aspect.
Disnology:How was it different than filming Wizards of Waverly Place? Jennifer:It’s pretty much the same difference between any TV series and movie. There are a lot of different angles that you have to get. But with a TV series, or sitcom really, you have 4 cameras and do 7 to 10 takes, something like that at the most. But with movies, you do 4 takes at this angle and 5 takes with this angle and you do a lot of angles. So, it takes a little longer. It’s definitely not a bad thing because you get to see the scene from so many different views. It’s a longer process, but fun.
1999's Main Street Electrical Parade Outside the Park
Disney Parks Blog were digging back through the Walt Disney World video archives to 1999 and a night you could've been driving toward Magic Kingdom Park with Petes Dragon in the lane next to you. In May of 1999, a few weeks before Main Street Electrical Parade started making nightly appearances in Florida, hundreds of cars lined an interstate for an overnight road test. Many of the Main Street Electrical Parade vehicles and cars driven by Walt Disney World cast members joined a ceremonial caravan toward the park.
Interview with Todd Heiden, International PR Director, Disney Destinations LLC.
Chad Emerson: Which of Disney’s tilt shift videos has been the most popular so far?
Todd Heiden: “A Model Day at Magic Kingdom” has by far been the most popular for many different reasons. First, the park resonates very well with the target audience; when you think of Disney Parks, the first of our parks that springs to mind is the Magic Kingdom. Second, the video launched simultaneously with our Disney Parks Blog, which has turned out to be a huge success for us in terms of having an official Parks voice with which to engage our fans within the social media realm. Lastly, the video itself received key references and embeds from influential external sites that helped drive the views up significantly.
Emerson: Please explain how the idea of using the tilt-shift technique came to mind and why you thought it would fit well with Disney theme parks.
Heiden: I was first introduced to tilt-shift by my sister-in-law who is an avid photographer. She shared an example of a video by a gentleman in Australia and I was mesmerized by the effect. Tilt-shift is first and foremost a photographic technique, but when the individual images are stitched together the resulting video works particularly well with motion and people. I thought, since so many of our ideas start out as models, how fun would it be to revert to a model-like look and incorporate both motion (trains, monorails, busses, boats, etc.) and moving people?
Emerson: What about the technology creates that miniature effect?
Heiden: I’m sure I won’t do the technology any justice with this explanation but here’s a try. Tilt-shift lenses do exactly what they advertise: tilt and shift. Whereas a traditional lens is mounted on a camera body in a straightforward affixed position, a tilt-shift lens allows for the movement of the lens relative to the image plane – namely left-right (tilt) and up-down (shift). The ability to do this allows for selective focus and precise control of the perspective. When you take a camera with a traditional lens and point it down or up at a subject (e.g. a building), you either only capture the base of the building or affect the perspective in the resulting image (a building that slowly converges near the top). Shifting the lens upwards on the camera body allows you to capture the entire subject, which is important when trying to tell the whole story. Tilting the lens produces a narrow region of sharpness with a blurring effect top and bottom in the image. Combining these two effects - and punching the color saturation up a bit in post-edit – can give the impression of a miniature.
Results are best when photographed from above or at a distance with a wide angle of view. In certain instances we chose to go with a zoom lens as the resulting image helped move the somewhat loose narrative along.
Emerson: You’ve really focused on the theme parks to date. What are some other types of settings in which you could imagine this technique would also work well?
Heiden: We’re about to drop our next video, which will feature the Disney Cruise Lines and in particular their ship the Disney Wonder. Seeing a massive 90 million pound cruise line bobbing about on the water like a toy ship in a bathtub is a really cool effect. Beyond the cruise line we have our 24 resorts on property, our two water parks and our shopping district, as well as unique perspective shots that we can consider for smaller POV segments.
Emerson: What type of feedback have you received back from guests regarding the videos? What has been the most surprising response?
Heiden: The response has been overwhelmingly positive and “more” is what we’re being asked for. Everyone has their favorite park so obviously, if we haven’t featured their park yet, the expectation has now been set that it will be coming.
David Roark, our photographer who shoots all the images, has had guests approach him in the parks and comment on the videos. It really is a labor of love on his part given all the different locations he needs to lug his equipment around to so the recognition is a pleasant surprise for him.
Probably the most amusing responses have been to the music selections. I wanted something that wasn’t standard Disney, something that would challenge people to “experience” Disney differently rather than hearing the music and automatically saying to themselves – “Disney.” The Magic Kingdom music is an overwhelming favorite, with Epcot’s music being a little more polarizing – they love it or hate it. Either way, the videos generate a healthy trail of comments that are fun to follow.
Jungle Cruise was one of the first early attractions not based on a Disney animated film. On the suggestion of Harper Goff, the attraction took its inspiration from the film The African Queen. Walt’s early plans for this ride included real live animals. Inspired by the success of his True-Life Adventure Films, he was determined to bring these wonders of nature to a place where guests could see them up close and share his admiration.
Upon Consultation with animal-care specialists, Walt was convinced that although the domesticated mules and horses in Frontierland could generally be counted on to perform their roles, live exotics animals would never provide the consistent show he wanted. They couldn’t be trusted to stay in areas in which they’d remain visible, they’d sleep most of the day, and they’d surely be irritated by the constant boatloads of gawkers and the special effects required to tell the story.
In this video you will see the virtual jungle cruise tour presented by Walt E. Disney himself.
The parks would not get their exotic animal experience until many years later upon the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in 1998, when clever, new design techniques enabled separation of animals and people.
Tha Amazon, Congo, Nile and Mekong rivers are represented here. The boats, which take their names from these and other rivers of the world, were redesigned in 1998 to effect a more rugged and aged appearance-more in keeping with the spirit of adventure than the relatively pristine boats that had previously circled the river. The Spiel, or dialogue, delivered by the skippers has envolved over the years and is constantly being refined.
Lessons learned on Jungle Cruise in the art of landscape design as set decoration have paid dividends in all of the Disney Parks. WDI Master Landscape Architect Bill Evans carefully selected a palette of plants that would evoke a tropical feel while remaining hardy enough to withstand the relatively mild (but not tropical) central Florida winters. The plants needed to feel correct, even if they would not be found together, or in the types of groupings he used-even on the same continents we portray them to be. Bill broke away from a textbook approach in order to better serve the story.
The art of the WDI sight gag was perfected by imaginer Marc Davis. His work for Disney Animation, including the classic characters Tinker Bell, Princess Aurora, and Cruella De Vil, gave him the impeccable sense of timing that allowed his creations to read instantly-an important consideration in light of the limited time and dialogue available to us as the audience moves through a scene. His gag sketches for Jungle Cruise were often translated practically verbatim into the attraction.
Quick Takes
Bill Evans
Keep an eye out for a highly appropriate tribute to Bill Evans in the plaza outside the Jungle Cruise queue. The wooden planter boxes in which the large trees are placed are tagged with the fictitious designation “Evans Exotic Plant Exporters.” In Reality, Bill Evans likely imported more exotic plants into USA than anyone else.
The queue for the Jungle Cruise was reworked in 1994 in order to expand its capacity and provide more shade. Along with this expansion came a corresponding increase in show value, including a substantial propping treatment and the vintage radio broadcast that sets the stage so well for your voyage.
Look for a great WDI reference in the new propping – Wathel Rogers’s name appears on a tag in the animal cage referencing his work in developing the mechanisms for the animals viewed from boats.
There’s a great bit of wordplay in the name of the Jungle Navigation Co., Ltd. Employee of the Month, seen overhead just before you board. Try saying E.L. O’Fevre fast and then try not to catch it!
Magic Kingdom
The WDW Jungle Cruise is set at a depression era British outpost on the Amazon river, operated by the fictional company, The Jungle Navigation Co., whose advertisement poster is painted on the wall near the exit of the attraction. Albert Awol's broadcast is different than that of Disneyland's, being ride specific. Also unlike Disneyland, the queue no longer extends to a second level. The skippers at the Magic Kingdom don't carry revolvers with blanks in them anymore. The real guns have been replaced with realistic looking props that trigger an electronic gunshot sound through the boat's audio system.
Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline (There’s a hidden Mickey on the plane). This is the back half of the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior that can be seen in Casablanca scene on The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Each variety of plant throughout the attraction was carefully selected by landscape architect Bill Evans to ensure that the foliage would be able to endure Florida's unique climate: hot summers and relatively cool winters. The toughest part was making sure these plants had the appropriate look and feel of traditional tropical plants in the equatorial jungle.
TRIBUTE TO THE JUNGLE CRUISE
Queue
The queue of the Jungle Cruise is heavily themed with period artifacts, tools, gear, photos and more. It is meant to resemble an outpost where a booking may be made to explore the jungle rivers. It is divided into 4 main sections, that may be opened or closed in sequence, in order to accommodate the fluctuation of crowds. The queue is meant to wind around heavily so that the guests may see all the different artifacts in the queue. The most notable section of the queue is the office of Albert Awol.
Ride Description
The skipper introduces themself, and begins to take a boat full of passengers down the tropical rivers of the world. The ride starts out in the Amazon River, where the passengers enconter butterflies with 1 foot wingspans. The boat then passes Inspiration Falls,
which then transitions into the Congo River, in Africa. The skipper explains how there is a Pygmy welcoming party ready for them, but when they get to the beach, they see the canoes are empty, and the place deserted. The skipper wonders what scared them off, and they soon discover it was a giant python.
The boat then passes a camp that has been raided by gorillas, and that transitions the cruise into the Nile River. After encountering two elephants, the boat passes along the African Veldt, where numerous African mammals are watching a pride of lions eat their kill. The boat then passes a lost safari group that has been chased up a pole by an angry rhinoceros and are now trapped.
The group then passes by another waterfall, Schweitzer Falls, and runs into a pool of hippos.
They are about to charge the boat until the skipper scares them off. Ominous drums are heard as the group enters headhunter territory. They see the natives dancing near the boat and are soon found in an ambush. They escape, and then transition into the Mekong River. They go through a temple which has been destroyed by an earthquake, and has a tiger, monkeys, and cobras everywhere. Find the giant spider here and you’ll find a hidden Mickey on its back. After they exit, they come across an elephant bathing pool where numerous elephants are relaxing in the water.
The boat narrowly passes by when an elephant almost squirts them. The cruise concludes by passing Chief Namé, the head salesman of the jungle, who offers 2 shrunken heads for one of the passengers.
Boats
There are 15 vehicles, with a maximum of 10 in operation at any given time.
The Sankuru Sadie is the only boat in the Magic Kingdom's fleet ever to have sunk.
Current Boats
• Amazon Annie
• Bomokandi Bertha (Wheelchair lift equipped)
• Congo Connie
• Ganges Gertie
• Irrawaddy Irma
• Mongala Millie
• Nile Nellie
• Orinoco Ida
• Rutshuru Ruby
• Sankuru Sadie
• Senegal Sal
• Ucyali Lolly
• Volta Val
• Wamba Wanda (Wheelchair lift equipped)
• Zambesi Zelda
Retired Boats
• Kwango Kate (Retired in 2000)
