Orville Redenbacher and Walt Disney World

A shot of a young boy at EPCOT enjoying some popcorn. Notice the box and the logos. Image from a late 1980s Souvenir Guidebook.

Popcorn.

It is hard to think of a Walt Disney World trip that doesn't involve sharing a box of popcorn on Main Street, USA.

But you know, we didn't always have the Orville Redenbacher that we know, love and can smell the moment you hit Main Street. From the February 4, 1977 Eyes and Ears:

Walt Disney World welcomes Orville Redenbacher and his Gourmet Popping Corn as our new official popcorn. And Orville himself will be "popping" in at the Village this weekend to head up the ceremonies.

Orville will arrive in his popcorn - shaped hot air balloon at 2 pm on Saturday, February 5, staying until 5 pm; then return Sunday from 12 noon to 2 pm. Besides an opportunity to meet Orville, there will be free samples of his Gourmet Popping Corn, entertainment, popcorn recipe books, and of course, the balloon itself! 

Walt Disney World sells an average of 90 tons of popcorn to our guests every year! (1977 figure)

That's right. Orville flew into the Village in a popcorn-shaped hot air balloon.

For all of us detail-obsessed theme parkeologists, I included a scan of the photo from the issue because it shows how the boxes debuted.

Disney's Adventure Guide to Florida

In 1980, Walt Disney World was still a good neighbor resort—they would often publicize local and more regional attractions. I ran across this unique FODOR'S guide to Florida from 1980, a scant two years before EPCOT Center would open and the time when Disney would undergo a shift in management and outlook about their neighbors. Once EPCOT Center opened and Disney had a lot more to promote at their Florida property, they changed how they promoted themselves.

I am fascinated by how Walt Disney World was marketed before Eisner and Disney's Adventure Guide to Florida - A FODOR'S Travel Book has a great two-page layout about Walt Disney World with a pretty amazing picture. The whole book is 64 pages and features 49 other Florida attractions.

Walt Disney World, 20 miles southwest of Orlando, is the leading family attraction in Florida. There's nothing quite like it east of California's Disneyland. Comer early—and come often; one day isn't long enough to enjoy the magic world that was built by Mickey Mouse and his friends.

And the overlay is this amazing picture:

Even an 11 x 17 scanner can't get a great image of the photo. Click on it to make it larger.

Check out the layers of the composition: the Nautilus, the Sky Buckets and Space Mountain. Who wouldn't want to visit this place? It is also a fantastic angle that you didn't see very often in Walt Disney World marketing. If you click on the image to see the larger version, you can almost make out the Sky Bucket turning point to the left of Space Mountain. It looks like the buckets had to go down, make the turn and then go back up. Okay, maybe I need to get another hobby.

A Pair of 1971 Magic Kingdom Benches

One of my passions is discovering long-forgotten Walt Disney World. Her older sister, Disneyland, is fairly well-documented and you will often find sites devoted to when the last time a certain patch of grass was mowed. As many of you know, plumbing the depths of Walt Disney World history can be fraught with misinformation and no information at times. Especially disconcerting is the stance that the Company takes regarding the Walt Disney World Resort and its past 40 years, Could it be that they don't want anyone to think of the resort as being old? Who is to say, really.

One of my favorite past times is to find little corners of the Magic Kingdom that have remained untouched over the years. Sometimes it can be a door or a pathway that hasn't had a bean-counter stumble across it. More often than not, they are quiet little areas with little traffic.

What a wonderful mixture of rooftops and walls.

A case in point would be from a trip to the Magic Kingdom a while back with Foxfurr from Passport to Dreams Old & New. We were doing a vintage touring plan, which consisted of visiting attractions and areas that would have been open during the 1970s. It is a fun way to spend a languid afternoon in the parks. As we were looking at the sight lines in Liberty Square and discussing the changes of Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, we headed behind the shop to check out some other architectural features.

Lo and behold, but what did we see?

Yep, two benches sitting rather serenely on the side of the Liberty Tree Tavern (trust me, they really were serene). Foxfurr was a little surprised to see them in that spot. She was able to confirm from a video tape that they were official benches that were there when the park opened. She claimed that they have been moved around somewhat.

It is rather amazing to see something that has lasted in the park for that long without having characters added to it or being re-themed as Stitch's Bench Party. Do yourself a favor and see if you can find the benches. Take a picture of yourself enjoying the benches and post it on the Imaginerding Facebook page.

Related articles

• A Tribute to Marc
• Theme Parkeology: What's That?
• Walt Disney World Railroad, a History (imaginerding.com)
• Walt Disney World's 40th, the Second Post (imaginerding.com)
• An Early Visit to Walt Disney World (imaginerding.com)
• Fort Wilderness Railroad, A Book Review (imaginerding.com)
• Book Review: Walt Disney World, the First Decade (imaginerding.com)

Theme Parkeology: Universe of Energy 1985!

According to Dictionary.com, the term vintage, when used as an adjective, means "lasting interest and importance; venerable; classic." So, when does something become vintage? In the life of a theme park (beginning with Santa Claus Land in 1946), what constitutes vintage? 15 or 20 years? Or when an attraction or area has gone through several iterations and is recognizably different.

Suffice it to say, the image above, from summer 1985, can be considered vintage EPCOT Center.

Let's take a closer look at the photograph for some of the finer details. Right way, you notice the old-style Universe of Energy sign with the Exxon sponsorship. The sign was changed in 2001 to reflect the merger of the sponsor ExxonMobil. In 2004, the sponsorship ended. The retaining wall around the sign was also painted a deep blue during the 1996 refurbishment and conversion to Ellen's Energy Adventure.

This is a good angle of the show building because you can see the original paint scheme which was changed to a rainbow patter from 1996-2009. The current paint scheme is more reminiscent of the original version.

Check out all of those strollers!

This is a great shot of all of the strollers from the early days of EPCOT CENTER. Especially since you can see that the seat lowers. This is to allow the child to sleep or as a quick escape route for the kids when they realized that there are no characters at EPCOT Center! Notice the hanging tags on the handle bars? Could it be a rash of Minnie Pearl's grandkids? More likely it is the rental slip or name tag for the family.

Our next stop is to the right of the building next to the entrance. (Sometime after the refurbishment, the entrance was moved to the other side.) Notice the box-shaped trees and how they reflect the outline of the pavilion? Notice the funny spot above the last tree? Proof that aliens exist! And they visited EPCOT Center. I bet they loved Horizon!

Here is a shot of the queue from an earlier post.

---

October 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The Vacation Kingdom has seen a lot of changes over the past four decades and the editorial staff at Imaginerding wants to celebrate the unique and rich history of the resort with a series of posts. 


A very special thanks to Celeste Cronrath for designing the series of logos for our posts. Make sure to follow her on Twitter. 
 

---

Related articles

• Theme Parkeology - Way Back Style! 
• Vintage Walt Disney World.
• Book Review: Secrets of Disney's Glorious Gardens (imaginerding.com)
• Bibliography of Walt Disney World Books (imaginerding.com)
• Where Is That Restroom Sign? (imaginerding.com)
• Vintage Walt Disney World Shopping Bag (imaginerding.com)

Anandapur Regional Irrigation District No. 0015

If you've spent any time in Disney's Animal Kingdom, you come to understand that the theming has been done as naturally as possible. Case in point, the water fountains featured on the Maharajah Jungle Trek are disguised as urns that provide Safe Water for Travelers.

The Animal Kingdom uses pots for theming. In the Magic Kingdom, there are lots of bags of salt!

Here Is Located SAFE WATER FOR TRAVELERS. Please Know It Is Unwise to Drink Local Water, Standing Water, Water From Unidentified Sources.

Wandering along a path in Anandapur, you will notice the following vignette that is just off of the walkway. Looks just like a water main, right? Doesn't Disney usually color those in Imagineering's special green and gray colors (like the Club 33 door at Disneyland and the Soarin' Building at Epcot)? I have run into those massive pipes at Disney resorts and they are usually painted to match the foliage.

So, we've got some buckets...what does that stone tablet say?

ANANDAPUR REGIONAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT No. 0015

Take a closer look at the water pipe and you can see that Disney attached a typical garden spigot to the side of the pipe. Handy for people needing to fill a bucket.

I twisted that sucker all day long!

Taking a larger look at the tableau, you can see that the Imagineers provided some pots and buckets for the local farmers and possibly, some wayward travelers. Talk about a very creative solution!

Related articles

• Book Review: The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park (imaginerding.com)

Video Theme Parkeology: Third Session

The third segment of the Walt Disney World Tencennial special sponsored by Kraft doesn't have as many good images to capture. The segment suffers through a John Schneider song and a strange fantasy/flashback dance number.

Thanks to Michael Crawford at Progress City, USA for providing these video clips.

 

The first still is from a crane shot taken from the bridge to Tomorrowland. The structure to the right would be the second load/unload for the Swan Boats. It is now a seating area near the end of the Rose Garden. Widen Your World has a great article on the Plaza Swan Boats. Make sure to check out the hanging flower baskets on the light poles and the small trees.

This image shows an overview of the Top of the World Restaurant at the Contemporary Resort. Our family is seated around the table with dancing couples and an orchestra in the background. The segment is too dark to capture many good images. Alison's Walt Dated World site has some great Contemporary Resort information.

Video Theme Parkeology, Second Session

Previously, we looked at the first segment of a whimsical four-part video posted by Michael Crawford at Progress City, USA. The video was a celebration of Walt Disney World's Tencennial and offered several B-, C- and D-list actors vacationing at The Vacation Kingdom.

I pulled a few screen captures from this segment to do a little Theme Parkeology. But first, a reminder of what Theme Parkeology is:

Theme Parkeology (theem pahrk\ŏl'ə-jē) = the study of details, minutiae and history of theme parks. Akin to the archaeological study of human habitation, theme parkeology looks at the often layered and detailed surroundings. Theme Parkeologists relentlessly pour over the tiniest scraps to glean any information about an area of a theme park, past or present. (Term first coined by the original Theme Parkeologist, Jeff Pepper at 2719 Hyperion.)

Our first shot is a wonderful view of the old entrance to Tommorrowland. Notice the spires and lack of rock work? Also, the light blue walls on either side of the entrance had waterfalls cascading down them. On the left side, where we have Stitch's Great Escape, you could have experienced Mission to Mars from 1975 to 1993. On the right side, from 1979 to 1984, you could enjoy the CircleVision 360 film Magic Carpet 'Round the World. Now we can visit Monstropolis at the Monters' Inc Laugh Floor.

This is a shot of an Adventureland Ticket Booth. What is strange is that, according to the video, the kids entered Tommorrowland to get to this booth in order to get tickets to a John Schneider concert being held at the Magic Kingdom.

Widen Your World has a fantastic Adventureland page.

To the south, an original Magic Kingdom ticket booth operated until 1980. It later became a merchandise outlet called the Adventureland Kiosk until 1985, when it was renamed Bwana Bob's - a reference to Bob Hope, the hilariously unfunny man who made a safari-themed film entitled "Call Me Bwana" in 1963 and also presided over some of the WDW opening ceremonies in 1971.

Look closely and you can see some great details of Adventureland: the trash can, cement planter/benches, the archways and details on the building behind the wildlife (the tree...not Dana Plato).

Ricky and Dean, posing as your typical 1982 son and father pairing, take on one of Walt Disney World's golf courses. Notice the Fairway Villas in the background. Foxxfur, from Passport to Dreams Old & New has compiled the most comprehensive information about the Lake Buena Vista area. She posted an amazing four-part article at 2719 Hyperion detailing the growth, changes and oddities.

And Disney was building again in Lake Buena Vista – this time to the West of the Lake Buena Vista Club, East of the Treehouse Villas, nestled comfortably between four golf holes – the 10th and 11th to the east and north, and the 17th and 18th to the west and south. Because of this, these became known as the “Fairway Villas”. Lake Buena Vista Story, Part Two (Foxx has posted some stellar images of the Villas in this post.)

I urge you to spend some time ingesting all of Foxx's articles. There will be a test on Monday!

Buena Vista Obscura Index

The Golf Resort

Lake Buena Vista: Part One

Lake Buena Vista: Part Two

Lake Buena Vista: Part Three

Lake Buena Vista: Part Four

Video Theme Parkeology

Michael Crawford alerted the world to a video on the Progress City Public TV Youtube channel. Much to his chagrin, the world did not stop turning...

But the Deeks of the world stood up and raised their collective fists in triumph! This four-part special celebrates the Tencennial of Walt Disney World and features a bevy of B-, C- and D-list celebrities performing strange musical numbers. The real star of the show is the ten year-old Walt Disney World, herself. I spent some time getting some screen captures to do a little Theme Parkeology.

This first clip is just a nice shot of the family making their way to Contemporary. Notice the awesome traffic cones on the right. I wish the monorail was a littler clearer since it is the original Mark IV that ran from opening until 1989.

Pay attention to the use of the Contemporary logo above the door. Also, that is Michael Keaton in orange. Interestingly, Keaton was 31 when this was taped and was portraying a pre-21 year-old suitor to a 16 year-old Dana Plato. Set creepy to MAXIMUM!

A shot of Discovery Island and River Country. Notice the cars in the parking lot and the huge number of watercraft plying the waters of Bay Lake.

I pulled this shot because of Timothy Q. Mouse on top of the silver/mirrored globe and the blue arms holding the flying elephants.

Look! A festooned Empress Lilly. Notice the gangway leading from the upper dock. Also, you get a great view of the Village in its pre-Eisner glory. Captain Jack's is jutting out into the lagoon. Above the Lilly's pilot house is the Village Restaurant (which would become Chef Mickey's and ultimately, the Rainforest Cafe).

Check out Foxxfur's great list of the restaurants and shops of the Village at Passport to Dreams.

The following two images show the large field where Splash Mountain would be someday.

The pathway in the bottom-right leads to the original Frontierland Railroad Station.

Everyone loves the water bridge! This image shows one of the older Disney buses and the Southern Seas side-wheeler.

Our last shot for this post is of the Parking Entrance for the TTC. If you watch this quick segment of the videoclip you can see one of the amazing castmember outfits from the day.

Special thanks to Progress City USA, Widen Your World, Passport to Dreams and the Main Street Gazette for providing excellent background material for this post.

Fantasy Faire Resurgent

Sometimes, finding information on early Walt Disney World can be quite daunting. If it isn't covered by Mike Lee's Widen Your World, Foxxfur's Passport to Dreams, Michael Crawford's Progress City, U.S.A. or Jeff Pepper's 2719 Hyperion, there are chances that the information does not exist. It is possible that the photos or check-in documents have not been uncovered from someone's vacation files, yet, so we keep our eyes open! Regardless, when a good mystery or question comes a long, it is difficult to give up the scent!

Previously, we looked into discovering what background information we could on the Fantasy Faire Stage in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. What started out as a simple post to help identify a photo quickly turned into a mega-post that pulled information from various web and print resources.

• http://www.imaginerding.com/2010/09/all-worlds-stage-and-we-are-merely.html

Official Definitions

One of the resources I consulted for the article was the First Edition (1996) of Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia by Dave Smith:

Fantasy Fair Outdoor stage in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, used for live shows.

We were able to secure copies of the Second and Third Editions of the Encyclopedia and I was very excited to see that the entries had increased in size.

Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclopedia, Second Edition (1998):

Fantasy Faire Covered area, also known as Fantasyland Pavilion, originally used for outdoor stage shows in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and later for additional seating for the Pinocchio Village Haus.

They added the "e" to the end of Faire and the information about the stage being renamed Fantasyland Pavilion at some point. I assumed that it was between 1994 and 1996 due to the information uncovered during the research for the first post. In this case, I have times guide from a 1994 visit that still calls it the Fantasyland Faire Stage.

Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia, Third Edition (2006)

Fantasy Faire Covered area, also known as Fantasyland Pavilion after January 1995, originally used for outdoor stage shows in Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World, and later for addtional seating  for the Pinocchio Village Haus. It closed in 1996.

Wow, what a difference eight years makes. So, know we know that it was renamed in 1995 and closed in 1996.

Thank Goodness for the Interwebs

Joe Shelby, one of our readers, left a comment with a link to his Picasa album of photos that his parent took in 1972-1974. I copied the photos, retouched them and added the URL to each one. I want to thank Joe for sharing these with us.

Check out the Amazing Forced Perspective Disney used back in the day! The mice look really big...

Not sure about Smee, but I think that lady chatting up Capt. Hook is looking for more than a handout.

See, no one likes hanging with poo...

Shouldn't everyone be facing the other way?!?!?

What in the world are Pan and Hook handing out?

Take a moment to compare Joe's shot from 1972-1974 and the photo from 1985. It looks like the steps were removed which had the effect of creating a much larger stage. Or, the stage was enlarged, thus necessitating the removal of the stairs. Or, too many people were bum rushing the stage to get at Cinderella's larger than life mice!

I do urge you to get a copy of the Third Edition of Dave Smith's excellent Disney Encyclopedia; it is an amazing resource to have on hand! If you do own the First or Second Editions, it is worth the price to obtain the Third Edition.

The Fantasy Faire Stage: All the World's A Stage and We are Merely ...Curious?

You never know when you are going to run into a little Disney mystery. On twitter, ImagineeringDis posted the following photo and wondered where it was:

EPCOTPluto and ProgressCityUSA both chimed in with the response about it being the Fantasy Faire Stage in Fantasyland of the Magic Kingdom. EPCOTPluto also shared that it was in the 1977 Walt Disney World Pictorial Souvenir book.

I left the text in the scan so that you could see that Disney made no mention of the stage in their official publications.

The Fantasy Faire stage was located in the northernmost part of Fantasyland where Ariel's Grotto was before they began construction on the New Fantasyland. This map is from the 1990 Steve Birnbaum Brings You The Best of Walt Disney World Guidebook. The 1990 edition makes no reference to the stage or the performances.

I went back to the 1988 edition and found this in the Birnbaum guide:

Fantasy Faire: This lively musical review features the Disney characters in zany performing roles backed up by 2 vocalists and a trio of musicians. Presented 5 times daily, 5 days a week at the Fantasy Faire Stage.

It is apparent from the background of the image that the show is Totally Minnie. I am still wondering why Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are there...

I hit my trusty Disney A to Z Official Encyclopedia by Dave Smith:

Fantasy Fair Outdoor stage in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, used for live shows.

That is not a typo; Smith did not include the "E" at the end of Faire, but every other resource I consulted lists it with an e.

Researching early Walt Disney World (re:1970s) is very difficult unless a webmaster or blogger has an obsession with a certain area or location. Foxxfur at Passport to Dreams is the de facto resource for all things Village and Michael Crawford of Progress Citu, USA specializes in early EPCOT obsessions.

Widen Your World by Mike Lee is a fantastic resource for lost, forgotten and lone-gone Walt Disney World information. On his Magic Kingdom Index Page, he lists Fantasy Faire as being replaced by the Fantasyland Pavilion and then incorporated into Ariel's Grotto. The stage existed from 1971-1996. It would have been renamed the Fantasyland Pavilion sometime after 1994. I do have a 1994 Magic Kingdom Park map that lists the Fantasy Faire Stage and an entertainment listing for May 1994. For most of the week in May, there were high school bands performing on the stage.

The 1985 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Robert Sehlinger has some more info about the stage:

Fantasy Follies
When to go: At any scheduled performance time
Duration of Presentation: Varies as shows change, but usually about 20-23 minutes
Preshow Entertainment: None
Theater Capacity per Performance: Approximately 450 persons
Theater Capacity: NA
NOTE: Theis show runs according to a performance schedule posted in front of the Fantasy Faire Theater (i.e., performances are not continuos). Usually there is noproblem gaining admittance, even during the busier times of day.

With that being said, I present the following image that a friend let me borrow. This was taken during his 1985 trip to Walt Disney World. It was difficult to make out the illuminated words behind the characters. I sent the image to Foxxfur and she responded that it was the Fantasy Faire stage. My guess is that the words do say Fantasy Follies.

This would be an image of the Fantasy Follies!

You can see the Fantasy Faire in action in the embedded video at 2:13.