The American Adventure Discussion

[Rob562]

"We got a good cause, Johnny Rev!"

Probably just a typo, but I believe it's Johnny Reb, not Rev. (Short for Rebel)

-Rob

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

A great attraction as it reminds guests

 

[EpcotServo]

Probably just a typo, but I believe it's Johnny Reb, not Rev. (Short for Rebel)

-Rob

Dunno'...I have it memorized by sound...If I was speaking it out loud, you wouldn't have noticed...And gotten all the funny accent changes.
:lol:

 

[MarkTwain]

The two names are "Billy Yank" (Yankees) and "Johnny Reb" (Rebels). These were two derogatory nicknames that the Northern and Southern soldiers called each other. I love how the show incorporates that obscure fact with two fighting brothers.

Just thought I'd share...

 

[MarkTwain]

A great attraction as it reminds guests

I'm starting to pick up on the fact that Pumbas is Scottish. :lookaroun

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

The only video I know in circulation of the war wagon is the `Backstage American Adventure` video linked above. However, I now see it is not the full program. Obviously this is a backstage area showing secrets and so only official footage is in general circulation. I have some more somewhere that isn`t in a presentable form yet.

I do have some pics I can share though; the first is looking down into part of the wagon. Note how the scenery and AAs are positioned for space and show order. The second and last are looking back from where the screen would be into the theatre. You can see how the seating is actually above the basement. The third photo shows a lot of the war wagon; you can see the scale of it well, and the 4th pic was during show programming - note Valley Forge, Will Rogers and the Expo backdorp are all in place at the same time.

From the last picture, you can also see there isn`t actually any stage as such. The individual stage pieces raise and lower on hydraulic platforms and float in space, separate to the other set pieces. Most of the sets that look solid have no floors to them either.

:sohappy: :sohappy: FANTASTIC Martin! It's huge...Amazing how much the theater we DON'T see. About how far is the average seat into that building?


Also amazing...AA rarely goes 101! Cool stuff.

I don't need no stinking script!




"Even here amidst the cricket's song along Mark Twain's beloved Mississippi, I hear the noise of chains...and the crack of the whip...Yet, there is hope...Hope born in the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin, has given our nation a key...which can unlock the slave prison to MILLIONS.... Anti-Slavery, is no longer a thing to be PREVENTED. It has grown too ABUNDANT, to be snuffed out...like...a...lantern..."


































"TROUBLEMAKERS LIKE DOUGLAS GOT US INTO THIS MESS!"

"We only wanted Freedom...not WAR."

"WELL WELL...Listen to my ABOLITIONIST brother. Pa, he's gonna' make a real good PHILLY YANK."

"We got a good cause, Johnny Rev!"

"Quiet now, both of you! You're gonna' ruin Ma's Birthday!"

-swoons-

"No No...Ain't NUTHIN' gonna' ruin today...We're all TOGETHER...THAT'S what counts....Now...you go ahead Mr. Brady."

"Alright everybody...hold REAL still now..."

-WHOOSH-



Strums guitar, as it gently weeps...

:lol:


You win. Even if you are a LAL Person.

 

[HMF]

The only thing that is a tad inaccurate is that the American Story dates back long before the Pilgrims and that it was discovered by Leif Erickson and possibly the Phonecians and of course the Native Americans.

 

[ChrisFL]

At least they didn't mention Christopher Columbus, you know, the guy that discovered the Bahamas for southern Europe and thought it was India.

 

[HMF]

At least they didn't mention Christopher Columbus, you know, the guy that discovered the Bahamas for southern Europe and thought it was India.

Columbus is probably one of the biggest frauds in history.

 

[Figments Friend]

"TROUBLEMAKERS LIKE DOUGLAS GOT US INTO THIS MESS!"

"We only wanted Freedom...not WAR."

"WELL WELL...Listen to my ABOLITIONIST brother. Pa, he's gonna' make a real good PHILLY YANK."

"We got a good cause, Johnny Rev!"

"Quiet now, both of you! You're gonna' ruin Ma's Birthday!"

-swoons-

"No No...Ain't NUTHIN' gonna' ruin today...We're all TOGETHER...THAT'S what counts....Now...you go ahead Mr. Brady."

"Alright everybody...hold REAL still now..."

-WHOOSH-



Strums guitar, as it gently weeps....

Nice George Harrison reference there my friend....( swoons)

:wave:

It has probably been mentoined already, but the two gents who portray the 'two brothers' in 'Two Brothers' are actually....

(brothers?)

...er..no....

..real honet to goodness Imagineers who worked on this Show!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

The only thing that is a tad inaccurate is that the American Story dates back long before the Pilgrims and that it was discovered by Leif Erickson and possibly the Phonecians and of course the Native Americans.

Columbus is probably one of the biggest frauds in history.

You really want to get detailed? Talk about Cabeza de Vaca and his FIRST journey. Talk about his book. Talk about England and France reading the book and starting colonies to, and I quote, "to provide for a ethical colonization". Talk about the Chinese. Talk about the Vikings.

Meanwhile, you have 30 mins and 250 years of TIGHTLY crammed History to cover. Yeah, you stick to mid colonial times and on. :lol:

If you wanted to see EVERYTHING in AA, it would take about 4 hours. They already skip a ton of American History WHILE we are actually a country. Our Constitution and it's framing is not even mentioned. Nor is the War of 1812. Or the Spanish American War. Or the Mexican. Or our long and ardent quest for imperialism.

View the American Adventure as a cliff notes guide. It's much easier to swallow that way. :lol: Otherwise, you would hate it, and for such a show that DOES cover so much, that would be a insult.

/History Major

 

[james786]

I like it, its seems very funny but I thinks that its time to do some thing new.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Thanks for the link and MEMORIZED response!

I knew I could count on y'all in this place! :animwink:

 

[MythBuster]

The only video I know in circulation of the war wagon is the `Backstage American Adventure` video linked above. However, I now see it is not the full program. Obviously this is a backstage area showing secrets and so only official footage is in general circulation. I have some more somewhere that isn`t in a presentable form yet.

I do have some pics I can share though; the first is looking down into part of the wagon. Note how the scenery and AAs are positioned for space and show order. The second and last are looking back from where the screen would be into the theatre. You can see how the seating is actually above the basement. The third photo shows a lot of the war wagon; you can see the scale of it well, and the 4th pic was during show programming - note Valley Forge, Will Rogers and the Expo backdorp are all in place at the same time.

From the last picture, you can also see there isn`t actually any stage as such. The individual stage pieces raise and lower on hydraulic platforms and float in space, separate to the other set pieces. Most of the sets that look solid have no floors to them either.

Not all the sets on Carriage #1 (War Wagon) are in order of the show. The submarine is actually ahead of the depression porch scene because when when the porch is up then submarine raises in position behind it.

The carriage starts in the fully retracted position (underneath the theater seats) and as the show continues it extends further into the bldg having the torch scene when the carriage is fully extended.

Not all the sets and figures are on the main carriage either, there is a separate smaller carriage and many separate stationary sets that go up and down. If I remember correctly, George Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Fredrick Douglas, Will Rogers, Mark Twain(centennial), FDR, Matthew Brady are separate from the main carriage.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Not all the sets on Carriage #1 (War Wagon) are in order of the show. The submarine is actually ahead of the depression porch scene because when when the porch is up then submarine raises in position behind it.

The carriage starts in the fully retracted position (underneath the theater seats) and as the show continues it extends further into the bldg having the torch scene when the carriage is fully extended.

Not all the sets and figures are on the main carriage either, there is a separate smaller carriage and many separate stationary sets that go up and down. If I remember correctly, George Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Fredrick Douglas, Will Rogers, Mark Twain(centennial), FDR, Matthew Brady are separate from the main carriage.

Yes, and you can clearly see it from the right seat in the theater.

 

[marni1971]

Martin,

Do you remember the site you got those pics from? I have those, as well as additional ones, that I got off a site where someone working on the construction of EPCOT had posted their experiences and all these photos.

-Rob

I don`t, no. I have some more that I can`t post so I know not all are off the web.

I believe you are reffering to Steve Alcorns site? If anyone really wants to have a great read, especially about building the Am Ad, I highly reccommend his book Building a Better Mouse. All about the problems and issues in building EPCOT Center. What Myth Buster said is right; I didn`t go into detail but Steves book looks at the inner workings of the War Wagon, how it exactly works, and some funny and some near disasterous things that happened during building and testing.

 

[Figment632]

I LOVE THIS SHOW. (See my avatar pic )

It's inspirational. Patriotic. Optimistic. Sophisticated. And surprisingly accurate.

The technology used in it is amazing - the smoke coming from Mark Twain's pipe was previously mentioned, but you've also got Benjamin Franklin walking into Thomas Jefferson's house, the Valley Forge soldiers that breathe fog, the Will Rogers figure with the lasso, and Mark Twain and Ben Franklin shaking hands at the finale, among others.

A few interesting "facts" (I've only heard them from other people; I can't confirm them).

1. The AAs are stored under the audience until their time in the spotlight, at which point the proper scene is motored out onto the stage.

2. The Imagineers originally wanted three hosts, one for each of the centuries of America's history: Benjamin Franklin for the 1700s, Mark Twain for the 1800s, and an undecided figure for the 20th century. Will Rogers was among those chiefly considered, but in the end it was decided that the events of 1900s were still too close to determine a proper voice of the 20th century.

3. The American Pavilion is a rare (if not the only) example of "reverse scaled perspective," in which the building is constructed to appear smaller than it actually is. The Imagineers wanted the American pavilion to be the most iconic and visually dominant of the World Showcase pavilions, but colonial architecture only ever reached heights of 3 stories. Therefore, a 50-some foot tall building was made to look like one that was only 3 stories tall. Facade details actually grow larger as they approach the top of the structure to assist this illusion.

The show is quite an artistic accomplishment, in that it manages to masterfully compact 300+ years of American history into a 30 minute presentation. Overall, I think this show is a real off-the-beaten-path gem of Epcot... second in scale only to Spaceship Earth.

Whew... don't usually get to get to talk much about this, one of my favorite attractions.

For the 20th imo they should have used Thomas Edison or Walt Disney!

Truly one of the best and it is one of the few Epcot Center attractions left.

 

[Rob562]

Not all the sets on Carriage #1 (War Wagon) are in order of the show. The submarine is actually ahead of the depression porch scene because when when the porch is up then submarine raises in position behind it.

The carriage starts in the fully retracted position (underneath the theater seats) and as the show continues it extends further into the bldg having the torch scene when the carriage is fully extended.

Not all the sets and figures are on the main carriage either, there is a separate smaller carriage and many separate stationary sets that go up and down. If I remember correctly, George Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Fredrick Douglas, Will Rogers, Mark Twain(centennial), FDR, Matthew Brady are separate from the main carriage.

It looks like the War Wagon must move both forward and back during the show. In the first photo that Martin posted, you can see the two center Exposition booths BEHIND the Civil War family. And in another photo I have, there are two sets behind the Expo booths, the opening Franklin/Twain scene and the Jefferson/Franklin scene.

What's also interesting to notice is that the rock outcropping that Roosevelt stands on is separate from the rest of the "ledge" that John Muir is sitting on. Roosevelt's rock must lower down for clearance issues.
There's also a few photos showing Washington slumped over on his horse, so I'm thinking that might be his default "parked" position to allow more clearance.

Every time I look at photos like these, I'm continually amazed at how truly complex the show is, and how seamless it all operates, invisible to the audience.

-Rob

 

[HMF]

You really want to get detailed? Talk about Cabeza de Vaca and his FIRST journey. Talk about his book. Talk about England and France reading the book and starting colonies to, and I quote, "to provide for a ethical colonization". Talk about the Chinese. Talk about the Vikings.

Meanwhile, you have 30 mins and 250 years of TIGHTLY crammed History to cover. Yeah, you stick to mid colonial times and on. :lol:

If you wanted to see EVERYTHING in AA, it would take about 4 hours. They already skip a ton of American History WHILE we are actually a country. Our Constitution and it's framing is not even mentioned. Nor is the War of 1812. Or the Spanish American War. Or the Mexican. Or our long and ardent quest for imperialism.

View the American Adventure as a cliff notes guide. It's much easier to swallow that way. :lol: Otherwise, you would hate it, and for such a show that DOES cover so much, that would be a insult.

/History Major

I agree' but I do think it should focus on the Native Americans a tiny bit more. Which brings us to an interesting point American Adventure is one of those hands off Attractions meaning WDI should not change it too much but if you were to make minor changes to the show what would they be? The show is absolutely great as it currently is.' No question there.:animwink:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I agree' but I do think it should focus on the Native Americans a tiny bit more. Which brings us to an interesting point American Adventure is one of those hands off Attractions meaning WDI should not change it too much but if you were to make minor changes to the show what would they be? The show is absolutely great as it currently is.' No question there.:animwink:

Yes, the trail of Tears could have a bit more, but we do have Chief Joe.

:lookaroun :lol:

If I were to add anything? More of the 20th Century. Don't end with WWII, show us MLK and maybe the Moon landing in AA form.