Cool MK Attraction History Bits

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Original Poster
Hey everyone! So I am starting to work on a website that will be called "mythemeparkguide.com" ... It's not currently open, so no, you can't see it at the moment. I have the domain name, and I've designed simple sites using wordpress in the past for other people/companies before. ANYways... I'm wanting to have a really huge history section!

I've received permission from @marni1971 to use the info provided on his videos, and I will be crediting him as such. Similarly, I'd love for this to be a wdwmagic forum user collaborative effort kinda thing! (If that is allowed, mods, you may tell me wrong if so.) I'll gladly give credit to any and all username on these forums that can provide some useful, fun, and little-known historical facts about any attractions/shows/restaurants/ect. So please help me out! This should be a really fun project. (-:

My first daunting task is to obviously do: Magic Kingdom Attractions. Below I will list literally every attraction to do with MK. If any of you know a bunch (or even a little) info on any of the things listed below, I will add it in a paragraph under each respective name. Feel free to mention any attractions (current, past, future, or never happened) as well with info! Think of this like a gigantic huge historical Disney thread. Thanks to any help! (-: Feel free to post gigantic posts.

  • Main Street U.S.A.
  • Main Street Vehicles
  • Walt Disney World Railroad
  • Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom
    "Occupies what was formerly the Main Street fire station, a gift shop themed after a fire station that sold appropriate merchandise. The current Sorcerers location still has wall displays of first responders' patches, who can visit and add their own personal patch to the collection." - fantasmicsyd
  • Town Square Theatre
    "Opened in 1973 as The Walt Disney Story. In the 90's it became Exposition Hall, sponsored by Kodak. This was a large space featuring a small section devoted to the history of animation, some photo ops, and a theater showing Disney shorts. In 2011, it was renamed Town Square Theater and converted to a meet and greet space for Mickey and, formerly, the Disney Princesses (Tinkerbell now occupies that space)." - fantasmicsyd

    "Sometime in the 90s after the Walt Disney Story closed the entrance museum portion of the attraction was used as the annual pass processing centre. The area also featured a mural of Disney characters which was for a time updated when new movies came out to add the new characters in. The theatre was also used a preview centre for new parks at various times." - Robbiem
  • Harmony Barber Shop
  • City Hall
  • Main Street Chamber of Commerce
  • Swan Boats
  • Penny Arcade
    "There used to be a penny arcade either where Casey’s corner is or the shop right before it. It was full of antique arcade games and movie viewers." - Deadphish
  • Adventureland
  • Jungle Cruise
    -Opening day attraction at Disneyland & WDW. Also found in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Inspired by Walt Disney's "The African Lion.” Original version was to be more like Kilimanjaro Safaris, featuring live animals. Original version was more serious. Has become the center of dad puns. MK's version features asian temple. Received the first version of "Jingle Cruise" in 2013. Inspired restaurant: Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen.
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
    "The spitting camels featured in the attraction were originally built for an Aladdin-themed parade at Disney's Hollywood Studios called Aladdin's Royal Caravan, then were moved outside a restaurant in the park called the Soundstage Restaurant before winding up at the Magic Carpets of Aladdin in 2001. Versions of the attraction with different names are found at Walt Disney Studios Paris and Tokyo DisneySea." - Brer Panther
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
    -Pirates at Disneyland opened in 1967, but didn’t debut at the Magic Kingdom until 1973. That’s right- it was not an opening day attraction. Imagineers didn’t think guests would want to experience Pirates of the Caribbean in Florida since they were so close to the actual Caribbean Islands, yet when guests showed up in ‘71, one of the most frequent questions asked was where the attraction was. In ‘73, they added Carribbean Plaza to Adventureland which originally dead-ended at the Enchanted Tiki Room. an area originally set aside as land for a Frontierland attraction known as the Western River Expedition, which never saw the light of day. The MK version of the ride is noticeably shorter than the DL version, and is missing many of the scenes, most notably the entire Blue Bayou segment, some of the cave segments, and the finale where the boats go “up the waterfall”. Part of this is because of the rushed and slightly unplanned production of this version, and also because this version is set in Adventureland and not New Orleans Square, thus the whole New Orleans/Bayou elements were cut entirely, being substituted for a Caribbean Spanish Fort. - Max Duane

    "Additionally, this version of the ride once featured a “Barker Bird” animatronic
    at the unload, later moved to greet guests at the entrance of the attraction, but it was (unfortunately) removed sometime during the Jack Sparrow overlay." - Marni1971/Max Duane

    "Johnny Depp reprised his role as Captain Jack Sparrow for the attraction's 2006 refurbishment.- Redd, the female pirate who was once the attraction's iconic "Redhead", is voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin, the current voice of Daphne from Scooby-Doo.
    - Many of the pirates featured in the attraction are voiced by Paul Frees (the original voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Haunted Mansion's Ghost Host, Froot Loops mascot Toucan Sam, and Ludwig Von Drake), Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger, Buff in Country Bear Jamboree, and Fritz in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room), and Wally Wingert (the voice of Jon Arbuckle in several recent Garfield productions and the Riddler in many Batman productions)." - Brer Panther

    "The "Don't tell him, Carlos - don't be chikkkin" character is voiced by the late great June Foray, voice of Rocky the flying squirrel." - danyoung56
  • Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
    "The attraction was originally known as "Tropical Serenade".- Fritz is voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft (the voice of Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger). Clyde, the orange-feathered toucan in the attraction's preshow, is voiced by Dallas McKennon (who also voiced the safety spiel of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Gumby, and Benjamin Franklin in EPCOT's The American Adventure), whereas Claude, the green-feathered toucan, is voiced by Sebastian Cabot (also the voice of Bagheera the Panther in The Jungle Book)." - Brer Panther
  • Swiss Family Treehouse
  • Tinker Bell's Magical Nooke
    A meet and greet location which opened on July 15, 2011 and lasted until May 20, 2014. Described by The Disney Parks Blog as a location where "Tink and her friends brought a cutting from the Home Tree in Pixie Hollow and brought it to Adventureland." The queue consisted of pictures which included celebrations of the fairies, a "porthole of glittering grass that shrinks you to the size of a fairy," a full size tea cup, flowers, and trees. Here, you could regularly meet Tinker Bell, and it was also possible to find one of Tinker Bell's friends: Vidia, Rosetta, Silvermist, Fawn, Iridessa, and Terrence. Tinker Bell's MK meet & greet was relocated to the "Garden Theater" at Town Square Theater located in Main Street USA in 2014.

  • Frontierland
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
    "At the end of the third lift hill, you can see two open barn doors on either side of the train just before it descends. These, at one point, remained closed throughout the lift and suddenly "crashed" open as the ride descended. The effect was turned off very early in the ride's history, but I can't recall a date." - fantasmicsyd

    The safety spiel is provided by Dallas McKennon, who also provided the voices of Benjamin Franklin in EPCOT's The American Adventure, Gumby, and Clyde in the preshow of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.
    - Each of the six trains has a name. The names are "U.B. Bold", "U.R. Daring", "U.R. Courageous", "I.M. Brave", "I.B. Hearty" and "I.M. Fearless". The attraction covers over two acres and rises almost two hundred feet above sea level. The queue features a portrait of the founder and president of the Big Thunder Mining Company, Barnabas T. Bullion. He is modeled after one of the attraction's lead imagineers, Tony Baxter. - Brer Panther
  • Country Bear Jamboree
    "Country Bears opened at Walt Disney World prior to opening at Disneyland. The attraction was originally conceived to be a show at a ski resort that Disney wanted to build in Mineral King Valley, California but never came to fruition due to opposition." - SteamboatJoe

    "This was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World. Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland would later get their own versions, but Disneyland's closed in 2001.

    - December 1984 saw the debut of a Christmas overlay of the show called the Country Bear Christmas Special, which ran until 2006.
    - In 1986, the show was updated to a new version called the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. In 1992, the original show returned.
    - Henry and Max are both voiced by Peter Reneday, who also provided the voices of Master Splinter in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Abraham Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents, the Huntsman in Snow White's Scary Adventures, and the Narrator in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
    - The show was originally sponsored by Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay.
    - Buff is voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft, who also provided the voices of Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger, Fritz in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, and several pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean. He also sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the Chuck Jones adaptation of
    How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" - Brer Panther

    "We once received a golden ticket Fastpass at CBJ. Before the show started, the CM asked the audience a few questions. We raised our hand and happened to be picked. The golden FP was good all that day for any attraction in MK. It was too cool to use, so we saved it, but I'm not sure where it is. I only ever saw one even given out that one time." - MickeyLuv'r
  • Splash Mountain
    "Brer Rabbit, the Geese, and the Vultures are all voiced by Jess Harnell of Animaniacs fame." - Brer Panther
  • Frontierland Shootin' Arcade
  • Tom Sawyer Island
    "Tom sawyer Island used to have hidden paintbrushes. They hid 5 every morning, and if you found them you got a FP (usually for BTMRR or Splash)." - MickeyLuv'r
  • Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
    "My memory of Davy Crockett's canoes was that each boat would perform a synchronized chant while rhythmically moving the oars at the end of the cruise. The CM on our canoe that day was named Derek, hence the chant was "WE. LOVE. CANOEING. WITHDEREK." I have no idea why this silly little detail has lodged so deeply in my memory." - Heppenheimer
  • Liberty Square
    "Liberty Square was a leftover concept from Disneyland. It originally had been conceived as an annex off of Main Street." - SteamboatJoe
  • The Hall of Presidents
    "I haven't seen the current iteration of the Hall of Presidents yet, but I would rate the Morgan Freeman-narrated version the best. The idea of the president as "consoler-in-chief" is rather touching." - Heppenheimer
  • The Haunted Mansion
    "The attraction's Ghost Host was voiced by Paul Frees, who was also the original voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ludwig Von Drake, and Froot Loops mascot Toucan Sam." - Brer Panther
  • Mike Fink Keel Boats

  • Fantasyland
  • Cinderella Castle
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephants
    "This attraction was originally placed in the center of Fantasyland, but during the land's expansion it was moved to the "Storybook Circus" section. An additional "carousel" was also added, allowing for double capacity.- Before the attraction was moved, the Timothy Mouse figure on the attraction's sign was placed in the center of the ride. He is voiced by Chris Edgerly, who also provided the voice of Scuttle for Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid." - Brer Panther
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • It's a Small World
    "Remained largely unchanged until a 2004-2005 refurbishment in which the audio and lighting were overhauled. The load area, which was formerly bright, colorful and featured large fountains, was completely redone to look more like Disneyland's and now features a scaled back version of their iconic white and gold clock facade." - fantasmicsyd
  • Mad Tea Party
    "Like the Disneyland version, the WDW version originally did not have a roof over the attraction. The more oppressive heat and frequent rain in Florida prompted them to cover it." - SteamboatJoe
  • Mickey's Philharmagic
    "According to Imagineer Kevin Rafferty's 2019 book Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career, in early stages of development the attraction's main character was to be Tinker Bell. Michael Eisner suggested having Donald Duck be the star instead. Some of Donald's lines in the attraction are recycled audio of his original voice actor, Clarence Nash." - Brer Panther
  • Peter Pan's Flight
    One of the mermaids in Mermaid Lagoon is Ariel from The Little Mermaid (the figure was repainted after the film's release to look like Ariel). - Brer Panther
  • Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
    "Scuttle's voice in the attraction is provided by Chris Edgerly, also the voice of Timothy Mouse for Dumbo the Flying Elephant." - Brer Panther
  • Seven Dwarves Mine Train
    "At the top of the first lift hill, you can spot two vultures atop a post. These are original figures from the now closed Snow White's Scary Adventures. Additionally, at the end of the ride in the cottage scene, some of the dwarfs can be seen inside playing instruments. These figures are also originally from Snow White's Scary Adventures, and date back even earlier to the Mickey Mouse Revue which closed in 1980!" - fantasmicsyd

    "Doc is voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo, Grumpy is voiced by Corey Burton, Happy is voiced by Stephen Stanton, Sleepy is voiced by Bill Farmer, Sneezy is voiced by Bob Joles, and Bashful is voiced by Jeff Bennett." - Brer Panther
  • Mickey Mouse Revue
  • Magic Journeys
    Magic Journeys originated in EPCOT at the Imagination Pavillion. It was both a temporary place-holder and test-of-concept for the planned permanent occupant of the theater, which became Captain Eo. Once Captain Eo debuted, Magic Journeys moved to the Magic Kingdom in the former space of Mickey Mouse Revue. - HeppenHeimer
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
  • Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
  • Skyway
  • The Legend of the Lion King
  • Pooh's Playful Spot
  • Snow White's Scary Adventures
    Animatronics were recycled for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster.

    "Chip of Chip and Dale fame made a cameo at the end. He could be seen on the bridge next to Dopey." - Brer Panther
  • Prince Charming Regal Carousel
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
    "The voice of Winnie the Pooh in this attraction is Jim Cummings, who has been the official voice of the character since 1988. He is also the current voice of Tigger and Mickey Mouse's nemesis Pete. Other Disney characters that he has voiced include Ed the Hyena from The Lion King, Darkwing Duck, Don Karnage from TaleSpin, Razoul from Aladdin, and Humphrey the Bear.- Tigger is voiced in the attraction by his original voice actor, Paul Winchell. However, Jim Cummings provides Tigger's voice for the safety spiel. As a reference to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, in Owl's house there are framed pictures of Owl with Mr. Toad and Pooh with Moley." - Brer Panther
  • Tomorrowland
  • Astro Orbiter
  • Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
    "Includes several remnants of Dreamflight; including the track layout, three chickens in the "Planet Z" scene previously appeared in Dreamflight (although they were repainted for Buzz), and the puppet alien reuses the mechanism of a pilot who crashed through a barn in Dreamflight. In addition, cutouts of clouds from Dreamflight were reused in the last scene (though they too were repainted)." - Brer Panther

    "Buzz is voiced in the attraction by Patrick Fraley, who also provided the voice of Buzz for several video games.- This attraction marked the first appearance of Buzz's nemesis, Emperor Zurg - he is only mentioned in the first Toy Story, and the attraction opened before Toy Story 2 was released. Zurg is voiced in the attraction by Frank Welker, who is also the voice of Scooby-Doo and his friend Fred Jones, Abu from Aladdin, and Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, among other characters. The attraction was originally sponsored by Mattel." - Brer Panther
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
    Remnants of the former attraction, "The Timekeeper," can be found in this attraction... Including the water tubes in the queue, and the shape of the theater hints that it used to be a circle vision theater. Mike Wazowski is voiced in the attraction not by Billy Crystal like in the film, but rather by Carlos Alazraqui, who also voiced the character in several video games and commercials. - Brer Panther
  • Space Mountain
    Opened at WDW before Disneyland. - SteamboatJoe
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
    Went through several name changes since its opening: 1971 - Grand Prix Raceway, 1994 - Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, 2009 - Tomorrowland Speedway. - dmw
  • TTA PeopleMover
  • TRON Lightcycle Run
  • Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
    "The original theme song of the Carousel of Progress in Disneyland was* "Its a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", "The Best Time of Your Life" was added in the 70s when the attraction moved to Magic Kingdom. Supposedly the reason for the different song was that the sponsor, GE, didn't want people waiting for "tomorrow" to buy their latest appliances. Hence, the change to "now" being the "best time of your life"... to buy current GE products. (Fact check?)" - Heppenheimer/UNCgolf/Marni1971

    "There's a "futuristic" version of 'Now is the Time' playing, if memory serves, somewhere in Buzz." - HauntedPirate
  • If You Had Wings/If You Could Fly
    Need more accurate info.
  • Take Flight/Delta Dreamflight
    Need more accurate info.
  • Mission to Mars
    "Mission to Mars was hosted by a "Dr. Johnson" animatronic who looked exactly like the father in the Carousel of Progress." - Heppenheimer
  • Skyway
    "Although the attraction itself closed in 1999, the load/unload stations remained partially or fully intact for years afterward and there are even some remnants today. The two story Tomorrowland Station, which contained the queue on the top floor and restrooms on the ground floor, didn't see the demolition of the top floor and its water feature until 2009. Today, just the first floor bathrooms remain. The Fantasyland station remained completely intact until 2011, when it was demolished and replaced with the Tangled restrooms and Rapunzel's tower." - fantasmicsyd
  • ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter
  • The Timekeeper
  • American Journeys
    Preceded The TimeKeeper. Circle Vision film. - Brer Panther
  • Stitch's Great Escape!

  • Toontown/Storybook Circus
    Opened as Mickey's Birthdayland for the celebration of his 60th birthday, re-themed to "Mickey's Starland," and finally briefly re-named "Mickey's Toyland" before it became Toontown in 2012. - Heppenheimer/Brer Panther
 
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Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
All I can say about Mickey Mouse Review is we have a brief 8 mm home movie clip from the 70s. It looked really cute, but I was too young at the time to have any memory of it.

Magic Journeys almost always caused every pre-schooler in the theater to start crying in terror when the witch suddenly started shooting lightning bolts at the audience.
 
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Max Duane

Member
Pirates at Disneyland opened in 1967, but didn’t debut at the Magic Kingdom until 1973. That’s right- it was not an opening day attraction. Imagineers didn’t think guests would want to experience Pirates of the Caribbean in Florida since they were so close to the actual Caribbean Islands, yet when guests showed up in ‘71, one of the most frequent questions asked was where the attraction was.

In ‘73, they added Carribbean Plaza to Adventureland (which originally dead-ended at the Enchanted Tiki Room), an area originally set aside as land for a Frontierland attraction known as the Western River Expedition, which never saw the light of day.

The MK version of the ride is noticeably shorter than the DL version, and is missing many of the scenes, most notably the entire Blue Bayou segment, some of the cave segments, and the finale where the boats go “up the waterfall”. Part of this is because of the rushed and slightly unplanned production of this version, and also because this version is set in Adventureland and not New Orleans Square, thus the whole New Orleans/Bayou elements were cut entirely, being substituted for a Caribbean Spanish Fort.

Additionally, this version of the ride once featured a “Barker Bird” animatronic to greet guests at the entrance, but it was (unfortunately) removed sometime during the Jack Sparrow overlay.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
My memory of Davy Crockett's canoes was that each boat would perform a synchronized chant while rhythmically moving the oars at the end of the cruise. The CM on our canoe that day was named Derek, hence the chant was "WE. LOVE. CANOEING. WITHDEREK." I have no idea why this silly little detail has lodged so deeply in my memory.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
If You Had Wings and Delta Dreamflight were essentially the same ride and neither was particularly memorable. The diaramas were of the same cheap quality as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The only two intresting features were a sort of IMAX projection screen that gave you the sensation of moving at jet-speed as your omnimover slowly plodded forward. And there was this weird spinning red light that would almost induce vertigo as you approached it.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
I haven't seen the current iteration of the Hall of Presidents yet, but I would rate the Morgan Freeman-narrated version the best. The idea of the president as "consoler-in-chief" is rather touching (even if it doesn't apply to the current Oval Office occupant).

The original, Lawrence Dobson narrated version gets my vote for second best. We had the souvenir LP of this version, and my brother and I can probably recite it word-for-word today, given how many times we played the thing. Paul Frees's reading of the line "That's what you think, you long drink of water!" (a heckler insulting Lincoln) might be my single favorite audio recording in Disney World history, even better than his Ghost Host work.

My least favorite was the Maya Angelou version. With all due respect to her skills as a writer, her actual voice was raspy and rather unpleasant. And the focus of the show was mostly about slavery, not the office of the presidency.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty certain that Storybook Circus began life as Mickey's Birthdayland for the celebration of his 60th birthday, then was re-themed as Mickey's Starland (whatever that was supposed to mean).
 

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty certain that Storybook Circus began life as Mickey's Birthdayland for the celebration of his 60th birthday, then was re-themed as Mickey's Starland (whatever that was supposed to mean).
Indeed it was. It was also briefly renamed "Mickey's Toyland" for the 1995 holiday season before becoming Mickey's Toontown Fair until 2012.

Here's a fun fact - Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin has several remnants of Dreamflight. The track layout is exactly the same. Three chickens in the "Planet Z" scene previously appeared in Dreamflight (although they were repainted for Buzz), and the puppet alien reuses the mechanism of a pilot who crashed through a barn in Dreamflight. In addition, cutouts of clouds from Dreamflight were reused in the last scene (though they too were repainted).
 

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
What attraction preceded the Timekeeper? I want to say it was some kind of Circlevision film, but I can't remember.
I believe it was American Journeys, which in turn was preceded by Magic Carpet 'Round the World, which in turn was preceded by America the Beautiful.

Speaking of which, there are some remnants of The Timekeeper in Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor - the big water-filled tube things in the queue are from The Timekeeper's queue, and the shape of the theater hints that it was once home to a CircleVision film.
 

SteamboatJoe

Well-Known Member
The Mad Tea Party originally didn't have a roof over it since that was how it was built at Disneyland. The more oppressive heat and frequent rain in Florida prompted them to cover it.

Country Bears opened at Walt Disney World prior to opening at Disneyland. The attraction was originally conceived to be a show at a ski resort that Disney wanted to build in Mineral King Valley, California but never came to fruition due to opposition (Space Mountain also opened at Walt Disney World prior to opening at Disneyland).

Liberty Square was a leftover concept from Disneyland. It originally had been conceived as an annex off of Main Street.
 
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Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
BTW, this information is readily available elsewhere, but Magic Journeys originated in EPCOT at the Imagination Pavillion. It was both a temporary place-holder and test-of-concept for the planned permanent occupant of the theater, which became Captain Eo. Once Captain Eo debuted, Magic Journeys moved to the Magic Kingdom. I believe the original attraction at that location was the Mickey Mouse Revue, which was long gone by the time Magic Journeys took over the theater.

I don't remember what attraction replaced the Mickey Mouse Revue initially (if any) until Magic Journeys arrived.
 

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
More, more, more! Everything you wanted and MORE!

Splash Mountain
Brer Rabbit, the Geese, and the Vultures are all voiced by Jess Harnell of Animaniacs fame.

Peter Pan's Flight
One of the mermaids in Mermaid Lagoon is Ariel from The Little Mermaid (the figure was repainted after the film's release to look like Ariel).

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Mike Wazowski is voiced in the attraction not by Billy Crystal like in the film, but rather by Carlos Alazraqui, who also voiced the character in several video games and commercials.
 

dmw

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Some of the ride names have changed over the years. For example, I recall in 1976 that the Tomorrowland Speedway was called the Grand Prix Raceway.

And, you are missing the Swan Boats, which I believe were originally grouped under Main Street.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
The original theme song of the Carousel of Progress in Disney World wasn't "Its a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", but "The Best Time of Your Life ", with the instant ear-worm opening, "Now is the time, now is the time...". I don't know if this is true, but supposedly the reason for the different song was that the sponsor, GE, didn't want people waiting for "tomorrow" to buy their latest appliances. Hence, the change to "now" being the "best time of your life"... to buy current GE products.

I seriously doubt the distinction between "tomorrow" and "now" would have changed any guests' shopping behavior.

On pure aesthetics, I prefer "The Best Time of Your Life", but that might be because I grew up with it.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
I don't know if this counts as "attraction history", but it seems to me that the Magic Kingdom used to have far more live music performers. If any of these still exist, my apologies for being wrong, but I haven't seen them since the early 90s. There was a steel drum band in Adventure Land, a fife and drum corps in Liberty Square, and a Disney World Marching Band throughout the park. The latter still existed in Disneyland as of my last visit in March, just before the closure, but in a much reduced form.

My memory might have purely invented this, but I seem to recall some kind of country-western ensemble in Frontier Land also.
 

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