Credit to Brad Christian on a Facebook group...
"This afternoon I was seeing the new Captain America show at Disney’s California Adventure. Rodgers: The Musical was about a half hour from starting when I looked up and Disney Legend Tony Baxter took his seat next to me. If you’ve been to a Disney Park in the past 50 years you’ve been impacted by Tony Baxter.
Tony Baxter is a Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend. If there is an award in themed entertainment… he has won it.
Just a few of his contributions include Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination. The entire Disneyland Paris park was created under his direction.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad maybe his most notable contribution. You can see his ‘portrait’ hanging in the Walt Disney World queue, and I just noticed he now hangs in the Disneyland version a few days ago.
I mentioned that to him, and he told me how the Disneyland version is a recent addition that was hung only a few years ago when a comic book series about Big Thunder was being released.
He was thrilled to see the Hyperion Theater alive again. We discussed the show and if it has potential to move forward.
He was looking to see how full the theater was and if the top balcony was full. He mentioned that at the premiere he and the imagineering crew were stuck up there. All the Marvel Team got the floor and select D23 were in the middle. This was his first time seeing the show from a good seat.
He mentioned how the two previous tenants of Frozen and Aladdin were both 45 minutes and how he wish Rogers was as well.
I asked him about expansion of the Avengers Campus at DCA, and his only solution is to tear the whole thing down and start over. He said the only thing worth saving is the Guardian’s Tower.
The Spider-Man Ride being so problematic… you could see his disappointment and distaste for the ride. He mentioned Universal Studios Spider-Man Attraction being far superior.
I asked him if the interactivity and gameplay was justification for such a poor ride. He disagreed and pointed to Toy Story Midway Mania. He says he plays Midway every time he is in the park, and went on to explain how the gameplay is practical and works so well.
He thinks the Hollywood portion of DCA needs to make up its mind. It can’t be both authentic Hollywood and a backlot. They need to go one way or another.
He would love to see the Hyperion incorporated into a legit theater that could have Lion King or something playing in a sit down production… think Cirque at Disney Springs. The theater has so much potential with its enormous seating capacity.
We discussed Tomorrowland and how it is in such rough shape. He would move Carrousel of Progress from WDW back to its home in Disneyland. He mentioned that the original moving turntable of theater was removed years ago so this is far fetched idea. However- a revamp is so needed. He said the third scene would be 1964, so the final scene can still be the future.
He said he would bring back Rex Allen’s voice and utilize AI for the new dialogue. He mentioned how James Earl Jones has sold his voice to Disney so the company can use AI for future Mufasa and Darth Vader… even long after he passes.
He told me about how he regularly hosts a Movie Night and recently had AI create the famous Disneyland Announcer Jack Wagner’s voice to introduce the feature presentation! (Wagner died in 1995)
I loved how though retired he took photos of each scene in the show… you could see he was still dreaming, planning and creating. Great Storytelling was center to it all.
Finally I asked him if with the economy if the Disney Parks would actually be getting the millions of dollars that Bob Iger has said the company is committing.
This is when he mentioned ‘new Disney’ and we briefly spoke about how the company is at a Crossroads. You could feel the weight of the last few years as I spoke about changes…
The lights began to dim and the show began, but I left our conversation with a quiet optimism."
"This afternoon I was seeing the new Captain America show at Disney’s California Adventure. Rodgers: The Musical was about a half hour from starting when I looked up and Disney Legend Tony Baxter took his seat next to me. If you’ve been to a Disney Park in the past 50 years you’ve been impacted by Tony Baxter.
Tony Baxter is a Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend. If there is an award in themed entertainment… he has won it.
Just a few of his contributions include Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination. The entire Disneyland Paris park was created under his direction.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad maybe his most notable contribution. You can see his ‘portrait’ hanging in the Walt Disney World queue, and I just noticed he now hangs in the Disneyland version a few days ago.
I mentioned that to him, and he told me how the Disneyland version is a recent addition that was hung only a few years ago when a comic book series about Big Thunder was being released.
He was thrilled to see the Hyperion Theater alive again. We discussed the show and if it has potential to move forward.
He was looking to see how full the theater was and if the top balcony was full. He mentioned that at the premiere he and the imagineering crew were stuck up there. All the Marvel Team got the floor and select D23 were in the middle. This was his first time seeing the show from a good seat.
He mentioned how the two previous tenants of Frozen and Aladdin were both 45 minutes and how he wish Rogers was as well.
I asked him about expansion of the Avengers Campus at DCA, and his only solution is to tear the whole thing down and start over. He said the only thing worth saving is the Guardian’s Tower.
The Spider-Man Ride being so problematic… you could see his disappointment and distaste for the ride. He mentioned Universal Studios Spider-Man Attraction being far superior.
I asked him if the interactivity and gameplay was justification for such a poor ride. He disagreed and pointed to Toy Story Midway Mania. He says he plays Midway every time he is in the park, and went on to explain how the gameplay is practical and works so well.
He thinks the Hollywood portion of DCA needs to make up its mind. It can’t be both authentic Hollywood and a backlot. They need to go one way or another.
He would love to see the Hyperion incorporated into a legit theater that could have Lion King or something playing in a sit down production… think Cirque at Disney Springs. The theater has so much potential with its enormous seating capacity.
We discussed Tomorrowland and how it is in such rough shape. He would move Carrousel of Progress from WDW back to its home in Disneyland. He mentioned that the original moving turntable of theater was removed years ago so this is far fetched idea. However- a revamp is so needed. He said the third scene would be 1964, so the final scene can still be the future.
He said he would bring back Rex Allen’s voice and utilize AI for the new dialogue. He mentioned how James Earl Jones has sold his voice to Disney so the company can use AI for future Mufasa and Darth Vader… even long after he passes.
He told me about how he regularly hosts a Movie Night and recently had AI create the famous Disneyland Announcer Jack Wagner’s voice to introduce the feature presentation! (Wagner died in 1995)
I loved how though retired he took photos of each scene in the show… you could see he was still dreaming, planning and creating. Great Storytelling was center to it all.
Finally I asked him if with the economy if the Disney Parks would actually be getting the millions of dollars that Bob Iger has said the company is committing.
This is when he mentioned ‘new Disney’ and we briefly spoke about how the company is at a Crossroads. You could feel the weight of the last few years as I spoke about changes…
The lights began to dim and the show began, but I left our conversation with a quiet optimism."
