From America Sings to Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

 by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 23, 2023

 

America Sings to Splash Mountain? The following are photos of characters from America Sings, which was an attraction in Disneyland that opened in 1974. 

It used the rotating theater that formerly held the Carousel of Progress. There were many people upset over the change at the time.

 

America Sings was designed to celebrate the upcoming Bicentennial in 1976.

Shortly after it opened, sadly, an 18 year old cast member was killed on the attraction. They closed it for a few weeks, then it reopened. 

 

In 1983, Tony Baxter had an idea for a log flume at Disneyland. America Sings was past its Bicentennial prime, and made no sense in Tomorrowland, so they decided to build another attraction in the park around the characters from America Sings. The log flume fit the bill. 

 

To have that make sense, Baxter lifted three of the characters and some of the music from Song of the South, a movie that Walt Disney himself had pulled from the regular seven year release rotation of Disney films, after protests during its initial 1946-1947 time in theaters.

 

Baxter intended to call his ride “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Run.”

 

Disney CEO Michael Eisner suggested naming the ride after the hit 1983 Disney movie Splash - which made no sense.

 

America Sings closed in 1988, Splash Mountain opened shortly after that. 

Splash Mountain was a ride using animatronics from an obsolete Bicentennial attraction with a dark history, characters from a movie that most of the public wasn’t familiar with, and the name of a film about a mermaid. 

 

An odd combination. 

 

Splash Mountain had a popular run, but the time has come for a new story on Disney’s log flume.

 

The attraction and all of its elements (boats, cute critters, great music, a protagonist in trouble, dastardly villains, a few small drops and then a big one, just before a joyous ending) will remain pretty much the same. Disney has a habit of incorporating classic attractions in a re-theme, and they will likely keep some nods to Br’er Rabbit and his friends. 

 

Farewell, Splash Mountain. Welcome, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

 

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Chris Lucas is the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.

 

On the PRESS CLUB C Podcast, enjoy two of Ray’s discussions with Chris Lucas. The first was about Chris’ career as an actor, author and Disney expert. Tune in right here! The second was a chat about the Disney World’s 50 anniversary. Listen here!

Make 2022 the Year for Enjoying the Daily Dose of Disney

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #240: George Lucas Offers Secrets of Storytelling – Star Wars creator George Lucas provides key reminders on good storytelling.

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #241: Need to Recognize Creative Thinkers – Imagineer Tony Baxter provides a reminder to business leaders that, no matter how big the company gets, creativity must be recognized.

 

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #242: Bob Iger Beyond Buzzwords – Certain words in management can seem like buzzwords to be glossed over, but doing so with authenticity, honesty and truth is a dangerous game.

 

Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #243: Important to Find the Bright Side – Even in the most troubling times in business, it’s important to find something positive.

 

The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.

Theme Park Experts To Headline First Ever “Parks Con”

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 12, 2021

 

Have you ever dreamed of grabbing a snack with your favorite theme park vloggers and writers, and just immersing yourself in discussions about your most-loved theme park sights and sounds?  This may be your chance. Round up your family, make yourself comfy on the couch, and unwrap a few Mickey Bars or make a faux Dole Whip, and enjoy listening to the men and women who take theme park fandom to new heights.

More than three dozen top theme park experts will be getting together virtually at the very first “Parks Con” from April 26-April 28, 2021, in what is being billed as “the world’s largest virtual gathering of parks fans, like you.” The event will uncover fun behind-the-scenes stories, share hidden secrets of the parks, delve into the best ride strategies, and help you with planning for your next theme park vacation, including figuring out how to find the best food and drinks.  

 

The three day event will begin at 10 AM (Pacific time) each day, and offer a different panel each day of ten or more of “your favorite theme park experts, superfans, and legendary designers.” Each panelist’s presentation will remain up for 24 hours for viewers to enjoy.  

 

“Parks Con ‘21” is free to watch live, but you can also purchase an all-access pass that will give you advance access to the site; lifetime access on a special membership site so you can watch the presentations whenever you’d like; a limited edition Parks Con ’21 t-shirt; a Parks Con SWAG Pack full of goodies including pins, stickers, and lanyards; and more. An early bird, discounted price of $147 is available until the start of Parks Con, with the price going up to $177 during the event, and a $197 price tag to register after the event has aired.  For a special add-on to the all-access pass, you can also grab the $27 PDF file of all the notes, tips and tricks from 15+ hours of presentations so you don’t have to scramble to take notes of your own as you are listening.

 

Kicking off the event will be Disney Legend Tony Baxter, and the three days of panels will be broken up into “Florida Parks” on Monday, “California Parks” on Tuesday, and “International Parks” on Wednesday.  Other experts appearing at Parks Con include Lou Mongello of WDW Radio; Stephanie and Danny Shuster of WDW Magazine; Robert Niles from Theme Park Insider; and Matt Roseboom of Attractions Magazine, among the more than three dozen panelists. The event will be hosted by Jason Klein, the host of Magical Masterclass.

 

For more information about the event, a complete list of the speakers, and to sign up for your free ticket, go to ParksCon21.com.  You can also purchase the all-access pass at the site. Early registrants will get advance emails with fun sneak peeks and contests to help build excitement for the first ever Parks Con as it gets closer.

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

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Two Disney Leaders Inducted Into IAAPA Hall of Fame

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 20, 2020

 

IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, met virtually at their Expo 2020 and education conference this week, and inducted three new members into the IAAPA Hall of Fame.  Two of those inductees were Disney trailblazers. This year’s inductees are Tony Baxter, Greg Hale and Mats Wedin.

 

The IAAPA Hall of Fame award “recognizes individuals who have made a lasting impact on the global attractions industry.” This year’s inductees join the ranks of such illustrious Hall of Fame members as Milton Hershey (the chocolate king responsible for Hersheypark); P.T. Barnum of the Barnum and Bailey Circus;  Alberto Zamperla of Zamperla  (ride manufacturer); and Walt Disney himself.

 

According to Michael Collins, 2020 chairman of the IAAPA Hall of Fame and Archives Committee, “The IAAPA Hall of Fame celebrates industry-changing leaders and we are proud to induct these leading-edge innovators into the Hall. Tony Baxter, Greg Hale and Mats Wedin are inspiring examples to everyone in the industry. They embody the ingenuity, creativity, passion, and leadership the attractions industry is known for and their contributions leave a lasting legacy.”

Disney Legend and Imagineer Tony Baxter is a well-known name in Disney fan-circles. He’s also rumored to be the inspiration for the character of Barnabas T. Bullion, the founder and president of the Big Thunder Mining Company at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom. Bullion is also a noted member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A). His portrait hangs in the queue at Big Thunder.  Barnabas’ likeness to Tony Baxter is striking, but you can be the judge the next time you ride Big Thunder.  

 

Like many Disney creatives before him, Baxter started out among the front line cast members. In 1965, he was just 17 years old when he began serving up ice cream at Carnation Plaza Gardens on Main Street in Disneyland. He made his way to WED Enterprises, where his vision landed him a spot as executive vice president in charge of design for Disney Parks.  He and his creative team brought guests such iconic rides as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Snow White’s Adventure, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Tours, and Journey Into Imagination. He was also part of the master plan development for Disneyland Paris. He is currently returning from his sort-of retirement to Walt Disney Imagineering to work on the reimagination of Splash Mountain. Tony Baxter was named a “Disney Legend” in 2013.

 

Greg Hale may not be as instantly recognizable a name to Disney fans, but he certainly is just as responsible for creating the magic in the parks.  Hale began his career at Disney in 1988 as a manager of electrical and electronics engineering at Walt Disney World, moving up to become the first vice president and chief safety officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2002. His niche is in ride design and operations, and he holds more than 80 patents worldwide, including for the Disney FASTPASS service. IAAPA also cites Hale’s efforts to “develop designs to improve attraction accessibility, including assistive captioning technology seen today in Disney parks across the world, as well as at the World of Coca-Cola Museum, The Hall at Patriot Place in Massachusetts, the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas and several U.S. National Parks.” 

 

A leader in the efforts to improve amusement ride safety standards, Hale has also led IAAPA’s global safety standards harmonization initiatives, and has previously served as IAAPA’s chairman of the board.

 

Mats Wedin served as Volvo’s director of marketing before arriving at Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he was influential in expanding the park, as well as developing Liseberg’s first Christmas event. The new Christmas programming extended the park’s operating season and attracted thousands of additional guests to the park each winter. As a result, many other European parks were inspired to add similar events to their calendars. Mats has served not only as a global ambassador for IAAPA, but as IAAPA’s 2007 chairman of the board.

 

If you would like to see the awards presentation in its entirety, as well as the honorees’ thoughtful responses, head over to IAAPA’s Vimeo stream here.

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

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