Copperfield's "Magic Underground"

[Sketch105]

Back in 1998, before Fantasmic was finished, they advertised "David Copperfield's Magic Underground". I heard it was some sort of interactive dining experience planned for the Disney Studios theme park. I also heard that the funding for it never came through, or disappeared faster than one of David's tricks.

But the questions remains: Where was it going to be constructed, what would the dining experience entail, and what happened to the plans? Indefinetly shelved or thrown out?

 

[Sketch105]

In the WDW Resort pictorial for 1998 (hardcover edition), they noted it as under construction.



P.S. : ON a side note, in the same book, they show an aerial of the Disney Studios as it was in 1989 ( with the original "theater of the stars" in place of Sunset Boulevard). This picture I've seen dozens of times, but theres one thing wrong: the picture is BACKWARDS!!

Hasn't anyone else noticed ths?

 

[bearboysnc]

I saw signs for the David Copperfield thing, where the magic shop is in Downtown Disney.

 

[Poncho1973]

Originally posted by Sketch105
Back in 1998, before Fantasmic was finished, they advertised "David Copperfield's Magic Underground". I heard it was some sort of interactive dining experience planned for the Disney Studios theme park. I also heard that the funding for it never came through, or disappeared faster than one of David's tricks.

But the questions remains: Where was it going to be constructed, what would the dining experience entail, and what happened to the plans? Indefinetly shelved or thrown out?

This will require a little research, but it was at the Studios. It was going to be located near the front of the park between Hollywood & Sunset (whether the entrance was on the East side of Sunset or West side of Hollywood is not coming back to me). I was told that it was thrown out completely.

It's theming was only roughly spoken about. Magic show while you ate. Focusing on illusion & story-telling rather than slight of hand gags. Someone else might know more than I would.

 

[WDWFanatic]

I remember it was thrown out completely also. I also would like to know where it was supposed to have been built.


Dont you hate it when they put pics in the book backwards? What is that about? Havent you seen the park enough to know how its laid out??

 

[Tigggrl]

Ok, here is what I remember...
There were windows and such painted all along the building in the West Side of DTD...on the backside of where Starabillias is, across from the theaters....where the cheesy shop with cheesy stuff is now...LOL
From what I can remember, it was supposed to be a whole magic dining experience, with magicians coming to your table, a show, and levatating tables and such....
From what I had heard or read, it was pulled because of funding...it was a Copperfield sponsored experience, and he lost his backers...it was supposed to be a chain...
thats all I remember!

 

[pooh&eyore]

If you go to www.davidcopperfield.com and navigate the site to the part where there is questions and answers and rumors, he speaks about this and confirms that it was a "chain of restaurants" that lost momentum when planet hollywood went bust and other themed food chains stopped expansion.

 

[alee4eva]

I always wondered what happened to that. It was supposed to be coming in like '98 or '99 or something (According to a sign at the MGM entrance). Why do all the good ideas get scrapped due to funding! :lol:

 

[DonickCo]

If you go into the store at DTD where it was supped to go, you will notice when you go in ...you step down. So it looks like that building was custom built for some sort of magic thing. And if you look by fantasmic you can see some space by where you exit the show now, behind buty and the beast. At one point I herd it was going to go where RARC went.

 

[ToTBellHop]

It was to be like the Rainforest Cafe, with an entrance in the park, at the end of that little branch off to the right just after you enter the park on Hollywood Boulevard, and another entrance outside the park, near the current "New Attractions" sign, that currently has 100 Years of Magic on it. It's a pity this restaurant never came about, but I think disney should contract a different themed restaurant...I would love to see something like a branch-off of the Hollywood Tower Hotel...THAT would be a kewl dining experience!

 

[Legacy]

All I remember about this restraunt was when I saw the sign at MGM, my immediate thought was 'Sweet'. Then when the sign disappeared, was really curious as to what happened to it. Oh well, stories like this are like the Disney urban legends...

 

[ToTBellHop]

I betcha that's the last time disney advertises for something before the funding comes through!

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

For more into click here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6836&highlight=DAVID+COPPERFIELD

We discussed this topic several moths ago. I also listed several sites where details can be found...

 

[Sketch105]

Thanks to everybody who answered this post! I really really appreciate your efforts with the links and the photos. You've cleared that up really well.


Now, if I could only figure out how to return the Dreamfinder to JII....:animwink:

 

[Timekeeper]

Underground

The restaurant was to be heavily themed, with a strong "New York" persona. A large replica of a portion of Lady Liberty, for example. Many of his roots are embedded in New York, not to mention his Vanishing the Statue of Liberty illusion for which he became famous.

Artwork for the interior can be found within the pages of an older issue of MAGIC magazine. I would look for it, but there's a heck of a lot to look through and it would be quite time consuming. I recall it being very elaborate, detailed, classy, and everything else Disney theming agrees with.

Those who attended his live tour during the planning of these restaurants and shops may have given their opinion in a poll for which logo should be used for the endevour. Sample polo shirts with different options were displayed in the theater lobby, and guests could give their two cents.

The "failure" of this chain also has much to do with his 6 year "hiatus" from television. Copperfield provided annual television specials on CBS since the early 1980's. His television special, "Unseen Forces" although successful, was his last back in '96. The following years provided no new TV specials, and his fans went crazy. Finally, David did "Portal" in late 2001, which was quite successful. His anticipated return to television as well as his new look reintroduced the name David Copperfield into many homes worldwide.

Should he have another go at the restaurant dream, his chances are much better now than they were in the late 90's. But is there a demand for such a thing? Last year a new dinner show, "Magic Show," opened on the tourist-engulfed International Drive (adjacent to Universal Studios Orlando.) I'm not sure how well their business is doing, but it's much more "touristy" than any Copperfield show. Do I really want to be eating dinner while some guy on stage saws a woman in half?

The Magic Masters shop in Downtown Disney is themed to escape the traditional cheesyness of a magic shop. And I believe that a Copperfield endevour would accomplish the same.

The mere existence of the Magic Masters store indicates that some level of demand of guests wanting to see (and even purchase) magic exists.

Tk