by Jim Korkis
At DHS, as park guests enter the attraction, they find themselves in Andy’s room from the 1995 Pixar animated feature film Toy Story which is strewn with board games, puzzles, and other toys. The murals located in the load area are the biggest murals painted since Epcot was built.
The toys all look gigantic because the guests have “shrunk” to the size of a toy because the toys won’t come to life if a human is around. The area was designed so that a five-foot-six-inch-tall person would feel about fourteen inches tall.
According to the backstory, Andy has received the Midway Games set for his birthday. However, before he can completely set it up and play with it, he is called away and Andy’s toys decide to set up and play with the set themselves.
The Mr. Potato Head Broadway Barker figure (the most complex audio-animatronics figure ever built by Disney) is not part of the set itself but an additional figure that was “sold separately” as can be seen by his boxy stand and backdrop. Imagineers spent more than thirty hours with comedian Don Rickles ,who was the voice of the character in the original films, to record his dialog.
The idea for the eighty-million-dollar attraction began in May 2005, when Imagineers were working on the concepts for Cars Land at Disney California Adventure and thinking about how they could bring some interactive components to the area. They later discarded those ideas as not feasible for the new land but were still intrigued by the initial concept.
After some in-depth research at the local Los Angeles County Fair with classic midway games, the idea progressed. The pull-string shooter was inspired by the Pirate Adventure game at DisneyQuest. In order to create a show that responds not only to every pull of a guest’s spring-action shooter, but also every move their midway tram makes, there are more than 150 computers communicating over multiple networks throughout the attraction.
Imagineers Lori Coltrin, her brother Robert Coltrin, Roger Gould, and Kevin Rafferty were the primary team on the attraction.
The look of the attraction was inspired by a game that one of the Imagineers had as a kid called Snoopy and the Red Baron which is why there appears to be cardboard backdrops, stickers, and pieces molded out of a single color of molded plastic.
In their test group, the Imagineers noticed young children were reluctant to break the plates so they added the line where Sarge yells: “I am not your mother. Break those plates!”
Typically over one million of the virtual china plates are broken every single day. The green army men work hard to clean up the plate shards as plates are shattered all around them, though most riders never pay attention to that action.
This is the first blacklight show viewed with 3D glasses, which made mixing the paint colors more of a challenge. The Imagineers involved in the art direction had to always carry 3D glasses around with them when they were working inside the attraction.
The attraction opened before the film Toy Story 3 was released, so in May 2010 Disney changed the mini game, Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop, and replaced it with Rex and Trixie’s Dino Darts. Trixie was a new character introduced in the new film as was Buttercup who was added to the Hamm and Eggs game.
The attraction was so popular that a third track was added in May 2016.
Hollywood Studios
Catalina Eddie’s
Many think that Catalina Eddie’s quick-serve food-and-beverage location at Sunset Market Ranch referred to the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit where one of the plot points in the film was a past vacation detective Eddie Valiant and his girlfriend Dolores took to the island of Catalina. However, that is not the case.
The name is a reference to a southern California weather condition known as the Catalina eddy that sometimes occurs.
Here’s a description from the San Francisico State University Meteorology site:
The Catalina eddy, named for the Catalina Islands off the coast of Los Angeles, is an occasional phenomenon of coastal southern California south of Point Conception. It sometimes forms when the wind across the region in the lower atmosphere blows from the north or northeast.
As air crosses the east-to-west oriented mountain ranges north of Santa Barbara (just east of Point Conception) and descends to the ocean, the pressure on the air increases, causing it to warm dramatically. As an indirect consequence of this warming, a region of relatively low pressure (compared to surrounding areas at the same altitude) develops in the lower atmosphere, south or southwest of the east-to-west oriented coastline.
This warm, cloud-free region of relatively low pressure offshore draws cool marine air up the coast from the south. The marine air—which is often full of fog or low stratus clouds visible from space—then spirals around the low pressure center, creating the eddy and bringing cooling winds to the Los Angeles basin.
Catalina Eddie’s is part of the Sunset Market Ranch that includes a number of different counter-service food venues like Rosie’s All-American Cafe, Anaheim Produce, Hollywood Scoops, and Toluca Legs Turkey Company.
According to the Farmers Market website, Walt Disney supposedly visited the real Farmers Market, a well-known Los Angeles tourist attraction, during the planning for Disneyland, and some feel that elements of the place were reflected in some of the design for Walt’s fabled theme park.
The Sunset Market Ranch was inspired by the original Farmers Market located at the intersection of 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles. During the summer of 1934, a group of farmers set up an informal market at that location.
The idea for expanding the space into a permanent marketplace with various stalls originated with two individuals, Roger Dahlhjelm, a businessman, and Fred Beck, an advertising copywriter. A complex of stalls and buildings quickly appeared in the formerly vacant area.
The market’s now iconic clock tower was built in 1941 and remains a part of the complex to this day, so its inclusion at the Sunset Market Ranch sets the time period as 1941 or later. Rosie’s All-American Cafe establishes that the area is sometime during World War II.
The nautical pennants hanging overhead spell “CATEDDIES.” The slogan for the eatery is “Harbor Your Hunger.” Despite an anthropomorphic flying fish in a sailor cap on the sign, the location ironically does not sell any kind of fish item on its menu.
The image references the famed flying fish that soar out of waters near Catalina Island to heights of up to 30 feet and glide for distances as long as a quarter mile during May to September every year.
Hollywood Studios
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Voyage of the Little Mermaid is a multimedia indoor Disney stage show that incorporates live performers, character costumes, puppets, water effects, lasers, and a huge animation screen backdrop to immerse audiences in an approximately fifteen minute re-telling of the popular Disney animated feature The Little Mermaid (1989).
Here Come the Muppets ran in the same Animation Courtyard theater from May 25, 1990, to September 2, 1991. The device that was used to have the front of the monorail crash into the stage with the Muppets and later retract is the same one later used to move Ariel’s rock.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid was meant to be another temporary placeholder show designed to last perhaps two years when it first opened in January 1992. It was only budgeted at approximately $5.5 million.
The director, Fran Soeder, also directed the Legend of the Lion King puppet show at the Magic Kingdom and the Hunchback of Notre Dame show at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios, among other accomplishments. Once the show was up and running, Michael Korkis took over as maintenance director for the next five years.
In the pre-show, low-ceilinged (to help establish a feeling of going under the sea) waiting area, guests are surrounded by a nautical theme and many clever artifacts including one of Captain Nemo’s diving suits and a pegleg worn by L.J. Silver (the pirate Long John Silver from Disney’s live-action feature Treasure Island).
King Triton’s trident hangs on the wall leading into the theater and glows when it is time to enter. The Heffelginger Brain Cora
l is a reference to Jim Heffelfinger who was the general manager of Entertainment at WDW.
Ariel is a live performer with a microphone attached to her wig so that she actually sings. The performer has previously recorded a safety track, so if during a show she experiences vocal problems, she can lip sync if needed. All the other singing in the show is pre-recorded.
The original Ariel was performed by Leanza Cornett, who eventually became Miss Florida and then later Miss America in 1993.
She was hired for the role in November 1991 along with Michelle Martin and a singer from the northeast named Jenny to cover all the shows. Even though Cornett won the pageant in September 1992 and left the role, she feared she would be unable to find a job after her reign so came back during her Easter break in 1993 to do the role again to keep her character status. She went on to be one of the hosts on Entertainment Tonight in 1994.
Miss Tampa, Nicole Padgett, a senior at University of South Florida majoring in psychology who won the Miss Florida crown in 1993, portrayed Ariel during the summer of that year.
Originally, Ariel sat down in a hole on the big clam shell on a bicycle seat with pedals so she could manipulate the tail. That is not the case today.
There are over a hundred different puppets in the Under the Sea musical number with puppeteers responsible for some puppets connected together. The puppeteers are clothed completely in black so that when the blacklight is on, the audience only sees the movement of the characters.
The Ursula puppet is twelve feet tall and ten feet wide. Though her head turns, her tentacles have limited mobility.
The attraction went through a significant rehab in 2004. In 2007, there were rumors of it closing so as not to be in conflict with the upcoming Broadway production based on the animated feature. However, the attraction continues to consistently bring in so many guests that it remained open.
Hollywood Studios
Sci-Fi Dine-In Films
Sci-Fi Dine-In is a huge soundstage with high, dark ceilings made to resemble the starry nighttime sky, and row upon row upon row of 1950ish convertible automobiles that serve as the dining area for guests.
It is meant to resemble the classic drive-in movie theaters of the era. For those who prefer not to be in a car, there are a few picnic tables and tables with umbrellas available along the back, just like in a real drive-in.
All of the seating is directed toward a massive movie screen on one side of the room. The forty-five minute film loop compilation of coming attraction clips of 1950s science fiction films, cartoons, vintage news clips, and intermission/refreshment announcements was put together by Stephanie Keith of Theme Park Productions.
Keith, who spent hundreds of hours visiting film libraries and collectors, as well as reviewing old news footage at the National film Archives in Washington, D.C., said:
Some of the prints were pulled out from dusty boxes in the back of someone’s garage. Some of the film was in very poor condition and required extensive restoration.
Post-production supervisor Louise Gladden said:
It was a challenge to make a piece of film look good but not too good. We needed to keep some of the scratches, which add to the charm of the film.
The film trailers include:
Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
It Conquered the World (1956)
Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958)
The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)
The Horror of Party Beach (1964)
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965)
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
Robot Monster (1953)
Cat Women of the Moon (1953)
Missile to the Moon (1958)
In addition, there are two edited MGM animated shorts: Mouse Into Space (1962, Tom & Jerry) and The Cat That Hated People (1948, Tex Avery).
The “News of the Future” newsreels include segments of the kitchen of the future (from the Monsanto House of the Future), radiation hazard suit, flying disc, a mini-car model that drives itself on an electronic wire track embedded on the ground (in the driver’s seat was a ventriloquist dummy of Jerry Mahoney smoking a cigarette), a picture phone with a ten-inch video screen, real chimps as “space cadets” riding on an amusement park rocket ride, a “frying saucer,” and an automated nursery.
For Disney fans, there is a compilation to the song “Great Balls of Fire” featuring a clip of Garco the robot, Disneyland’s Trip to the Moon astronauts on the moon, the flying jetpack man from Disneyland, a cartoon clip from Mars and Beyond, Tinker Bell introducing Tomorrowland from the weekly television show, and a costumed Mickey Mouse at the dedication of the new Disneyland Tomorrowland in 1967. The compilation also includes images of real rocket launches, Tom Corbett Space Cadet, and scenes from Forbidden Planet, Commando Cody, and The Thing.
Announcements include the warning that public demonstrations of affection will not be tolerated, the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning if the car motor is running, the importance of disconnecting the speaker, and an advertisement for the Satellite Space show for boys and girls.
Imagineer Eric Jacobsen said:
Even though the Sci Fi Dine-In was designed as a restaurant first and an attraction second, it’s sometimes hard to set them apart. It’s very strange to watch the guests, eyes riveted to screen as they eat, and nobody is talking!
Hollywood Studios
Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost
The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular opened on August 25, 1989, the same year the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released to theaters. In 2004, Nazi swastikas were removed from costuming and props and were replaced by a stylized Greek cross.
At the exit of the attraction is a merchandise location called Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost. The plans for the stunt show always included some type of souvenir venue, but originally it was going to be a re-creation of Indiana Jones’ pre-World War II suburban Chicago house filled with artifacts from his many expeditions.
Another proposal was to have a Ford tri-motor airplane as an eating area adjoining a small merchandise shop resembling a small air terminal, but that was also abandoned.
Imagineering concept architect Joe Kilanowski said:
We had to come up with an idea that thematically fit the left block building which meant that one side had to look like Hollywood buildings in the 1930s but the other side had to fit the Indiana Jones story.
So we came up with a house in Hollywood that has one side propped and dressed to look like it is being used for a movie that takes place in the Middle East. The front of the building looks like a normal house but the other side looks like an outpost.
To tie-in with the film, the outpost was meant to be a location where Indiana’s crew sets out to find the Holy Grail. To aid in that illusion, Disney acquired from Lucasfilm the tank, two trucks, and two cars from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The vehicles were meant to be part of a motor pool that were parked waiting for mechanics to work on them. To reinforce that concept, a fuel dump and machine gun nest (to protect the vehicles from being stolen or sabotaged) were added.
For the interior of the building, not just the Indiana Jones’ films served as inspiration. The Imagineers studied a number of films with a Foreign Legion theme like Beau Geste (1939) to achieve a sense of the appropriate time with period maps of the Middle East, old rifles, scimitars, and barracks-type furniture.
The interior designer , Kate Zovich, said:
Instead of doing normal merchandise fixtures, we really wanted to accentuate the theme. Usually, when an attraction has an annexed shop, the function of the shop takes precedence over the theming.
But we wanted to go the whole nine yards with the outpost and I think we succeeded. We put together old gun cases and hung shirts off of them. We actually modified half of a wing from a bi-plane in order to hang clothes.
Imagineer Arden Ashley, who purchas
ed many of the props that decorate the building, commented about the exit from the attraction:
The landscaping and architecture work so well together. The exterior really draws your eye and the landscaping points you right into the shop.
Senior concept designer Tim Kirk explained:
When people exit out of the stunt show, they go right past all this stuff. It’s a great way to sell merchandise because their blood is boiling after seeing the show and they want to buy something. The outpost sells hats, videos, postcards, jewelry and leather jackets—some pretty nice stuff.
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, the offerings expanded to pins, fedora hats and pith helmets, t-shirts, mugs, figures featuring Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones and other items. A Disneyland version of the merchandise shop opened in March 1995 but was removed in 2017 to be repurposed as a new indoor seating area attached to the nearby Bengal Barbecue.
Hollywood Studios
ABC Studio Commissary
Imagineer Eric Jacobson explained:
A commissary is really just a studio cafeteria, a place on the lot where everybody involved in making movies has their meals, but it has become glamorized in the public mind because of that association and the possibility of meeting movie stars.
We wanted to give guests a commissary that would fulfill those expectations. We wanted to play on the enduring myth of the glamour and excitement of a Hollywood movie studio.
However, there was also a more operational need for the restaurant. Disney-MGM Studios was originally designed for five million guests per year, but we were amazed at how many came just that first year. We were insufficient in facilities almost right away. In food alone, we needed another thousand meals per hour so we had to make that happen quickly.
The ABC Studio Commissary opened under budget December 1990, roughly a year and a half after the theme park itself, after an aggressive design phase of two-and-a-half months.