Disneyana Convention 2000

Report on The 2000 Disneyana Convention
It's a Small World
By Herb Moskovitz

In 1964 I went to the New York World's Fair with my parents and even back
then it was the Disney contributions that held my interest the most.
However the joy of riding It's a Small World turned to horror when the
ride broke down and I was inside the attraction for over 40 minutes.
Listening to that song for 40 minutes! For years after I could not stand
to hear the song and whenever I visited Disneyland, I avoided the
attraction. Now, finally, after thirty-six years, the thought of It's a
Small World brings a smile to my face. That is because the Disneyana
Convention 2000, which had the theme of It's a Small World, was one of
the best Disney trips of my life.

I started off my trip with a high point. I had made arrangements to meet
several of my friends at a new Villains Buffet at the Grand Floridian's
1900 Park Fare restaurant. The Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Prince John
and Brer Fox were all there and happy to greet us and have our pictures
taken with them. This was the first time I have seen Captain Hook in a
park with a smile on his face. 1900 Park Fare is designed in a turn of
the century afternoon tea setting. There are carousel horses and pastel
colors. It is totally appropriate for the Mary Poppins events they have
had there in the past but a bit incongruous for Villains.

Over at Downtown Disney, I caught up on two major attractions that have
been open for a few years, but which I got to see for the first time this
year.

I had lunch at Planet Hollywood. Sitting among Herbie the Love Bug, an
alien from Independence Day, and other props and costumes from some of my
favorite movies, I had their signature dish - chicken fingers made with
Captain Crunch and corn flakes. The waitress told me the famed recipe
started from a mistake in the kitchen.

I finally got a chance to see the Cirque Du Soleil. Although expensive,
their show for WDW, La Nouba, is a must-see. The combination of theater,
circus, artistry and athletics are dazzling and virtually indescribable.
One performer seems to fly as he wraps his arms around a silken fabric
and is lifted high off the stage. Another balances effortlessly on top of
a stack of chairs. The clowns are simple, yet hysterical.

There is not much new in the parks to report.

The main thing that is new is also temporary and that is the wonderful
Millennium Village in the World Showcase at EPCOT. This is so good it
should be made into a permanent attraction. The Israel section is
especially memorable with a motion simulator ride through the city of
Jerusalem that shows the importance of that city to three of the world's
leading religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Other countries with
memorable sections are Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Scotland. One could do
shopping from around the world in the bazaar section. There is also a
food area where various ethnic foods are offered for reasonable prices. I
had a few meals and snacks in this tasty attraction.

On January 1, 2001, just as the real millennium begins, this area will be
closed and then demolished so that a convention center can be built on
the site.

Already demolished is the Horizons pavilion. I saw this as the monorail
passed over the site. I was told the building was imploded to make room
for the new Mission: Space pavilion. More on that later.

Another new Millennium event is the "Tapestry of Nations Parade." This
consists of huge puppets and floats that travel through World Showcase.
The Illuminations 2000 is even more spectacular than all the previous
versions. The globe in the center used to amaze me with the laser
patterns they used to show on it. Now it is fitted out to show
ever-changing moving pictures. It may be a relief map of the topography
of the earth or it may show the architectural highlights of various
continents. Truly spectacular.

Dinoland in the Animal Kingdom now has a copy of the well-known
Tyrannosaurus Rex, Sue. This is the largest and most complete
Tyrannosaurus skeleton fossil ever found.

In the Magic Kingdom, they have added a nice statue of Roy Disney and
Minnie Mouse sitting on a park bench near the flagpole in the Town
Square. It makes for a nice companion piece to the well-known "Partners"
statue of Walt and Mickey in the hub.

I experienced an interesting phenomenon while in the Magic Kingdom. Since
I had just been in Disneyland in the spring (and went to Disneyland many
times as I was growing up) I kept thinking that I should soon see
Disneyland landmarks and then be surprised when they weren't there. I
spoke to Paul Anderson, publisher of Persistence of Vision, and asked him
if he ever had a similar experience. He said rarely, but his young son
had several moments of dismay when a scene or a boat chute he knew from
the Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean didn't appear in the WDW version.

The theme of the 2000 Disneyana Convention was It's a Small World After
All. The registration gift was a resin piece of Goofy in Mexican costume
with a working music box.

The first official event of the convention was a party called, Anchors
Aweigh! I got to meet up with many of my friends from previous
conventions. We sampled foods from around the world (actually it seemed
to be mostly Mexico and Italy) and met our hosts for the convention:
Captain Galleon and his first mate, Dinghy. These two cast members made
for an interesting change from our previous hostess, Disney Anna, but I
missed her.

On the second evening we all gathered in Fantasyland. As we entered
through Cinderella's Castle we were given a bandana that showed a map of
the Magic Kingdom and listed the itinerary of the evening's events.
Buffets were set up throughout Fantasyland. Many of the costumed
characters were appearing near the rides that related to their movies:
Captain Hook, Peter and the Crocodile at Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs at Snow White's Scary Adventures, etc.

Of course, all of the rides were open and the lines were relatively
short. The evening ended with one of the last performances of the Main
Street Electrical Parade down the Main Street of WDW, and a viewing of
Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks with special glasses that enhanced the
spectacle of the night.

Once again I took place in a pre-parade experience. This event has
ConventionEars march down Main Street in front of the afternoon parade.
For the past few years, I have been exchanging e-mails with a couple from
England who collect Disney and they also were in the pre-parade. I walked
and they rode in the fire engine. I met them in person for the first time
at this convention.

The Limited edition event, as always, had some memorable pieces. I
especially liked a mixed media sculpture of Tinkerbell sitting on the
captain's hook by Bill Toma, entitled, "Attitude." They sold the 50
copies at $1,200 each.

Disney legend, Bill Justice, did a humorous sculpture of his creations,
Chip and Dale. Chip is seen riding Dale like a medieval knight at a
joust. There were only 100 copies that sold at $1,795.

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston created a tile mural of the seven dwarfs
that sold at $975.

Lilliput Lane's Ray Day created one of their most exciting editions with
an exquisite "It's a Small World" pavilion from Disneyland. There were
four hundred copies that sold at $325 each.

Instead of the usual Mickey's Attic where surplus Disney items were
offered for sale at low prices, there was a pin trading event.
ConventionEars and even cast members in the parks were encouraged to wear
pins that they would then trade. Throughout the parks and the resorts pin
stations were set up where guests could purchase pins. The first day I
encountered several cast members wearing straps filled with pins who were
disappointed that I wasn't wearing any.

The Artists' Showcase featured many of the artists who had created the
limited editions and Disney merchandise. I have always admired the totem
pole with Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Humphrey the Bear and I bought one
when I realized Doug Strayer, the artist from the Disney Design Group who
created it, would be happy to autograph it for me.

My favorite part of the convention is the chance to attend seminars by
many interesting presenters. One can never manage to attend all of the
wonderful seminars offered, but I was very pleased with the choices I
made this year.

Robin Allan, who has been called "Doctor Disney," did a presentation
about the "Artists of Disney." Much of what he spoke of (and showed
slides of) came from his research for his new book, Walt Disney and
Europe. He showed examples of the work of Joe Grant, Gustaf Tenggren,
Mary Blair, Ken Anderson, Marc Davis and Milt Kahl, among many others. He
showed how the artists of the Golden Age of Illustration influenced the
Disney artists. After his lecture I was fortunate to be able to buy a
copy of the book from Paul Anderson and have Professor Allan sign it.

Two well-known Voice Actors, Eddie Carroll, the voice of Jiminy Cricket,
and Corey Burton who does the voices of Dale, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, J.
Audubon Woodlore, and Ludwig Von Drake among hundreds of others, were
featured in a seminar entitled, "Big Voices Come in Small Packages."
Eddie is also famous for his one-man show, "Jack Benny - A Tribute." He
explained how he took over the role of Jiminy from the late Cliff Edwards
and how the beloved cricket continues to be featured in so many Disney
events. He also told how he found out that young children learn languages
best before they are of school age when a program was created in Japan
where Jiminy Cricket teaches English to pre-schoolers. Eddie had to speak
Japanese phonetically for the introduction to this program. Later in the
week my Japanese friends and I met up with Eddie in Teppanyaki, the
Japanese restaurant in EPCOT, and he came over to chat with us. He is a
very nice man.

Jeff Kurtti and Robert Tieman once again presented a hilarious but well
researched seminar. This year they gave us, "Your Ticket to a Trip Around
the World." They showed us film clips of animated features that have been
dubbed in languages from around the world. Although the language changes,
Disney makes sure that each voice is matched exactly to the original
English-speaking actor. The clips from Snow White showed that special
backgrounds were created for the dwarfs' beds, showing their name in the
appropriate language. They also showed slides of movie posters, books,
ads and merchandise from around the world. Many of the artistic choices
that foreign designers have made are bewildering and hysterical. On the
other hand sometimes the foreign marketers do things better than the
American ones. When Hunchback of Notre Dame opened in the states, it was
marketed as a big party movie. It got respectable numbers, but nowhere
near its potential. In Europe it was marketed as the mature film that it
is and it was number one at the box office.

Be an Imagineer for an Hour was presented by Imagineer Steven Beyer. He
had us all participate in a "Blue Sky" session where we all attempted to
create an attraction for a "Disneyana Theme Park." Some of the
ConventionEars came up with ideas such as a Mary Poppins ride or a Pin
Trading Ride. I myself jotted down ideas for a Mickey through the years
ride. I was surprised with how many ideas I came up with in the short
amount of time allowed.

Another form of seminar took place in the Fantasia Ballroom. This was
called Worldwide Workshops. Many presenters were in different sections of
the huge space and ConventionEars were free to wander from one to the
other. I spent most of my time with Dave Smith of the Disney Archives as
he showed treasures that related to "It's a Small World" from the
archives and his personal collection.

Lella Smith showed many examples of Mary Blair's artwork and spoke of the
talented artist's contributions to the animated films and the theme
parks.

Jim Kwasnowski from WDI showed a scale model of the Animal Kingdom Lodge
and talked about the suspension bridge, the mud fireplace and hand-carved
furnishings that are being created for this new resort that will feature
guest rooms that overlook the African wildlife reserve of the Animal
Kingdom.

Mike Lentz, director of Attractions Development, showed us a rendering of
the Mission: Space attraction that is being developed for EPCOT. He said
that guests will feel as if they are astronauts and experience the
G-forces of take off and weightlessness in outer space. The attraction is
due to open in 2003.

The Speakers of the Mouse opened with Marty Sklar, who pointed out that
in the first half of its history, Imagineering created two theme parks.
In the second half they created eight. He talked about the development of
the new Hong Kong Park in Penny Bay. It will be more like Disneyland in
California than any of the other parks. It will be a total destination
spot, with three hotels and a Downtown Disney area.

Disney Studios in France is progressing. One attraction will be the Magic
of Disney Animation. Cinemagic will feature a combination of live
performers and filmed performers. One attraction will pay tribute to
stunt great Rémy Julienne. A Special Effects attraction will feature
effects from the movie, Armageddon. There will be a Rock and Roller
Coaster avec Aerosmith.

In Tokyo, Disney Sea, an entire new park will open near Tokyo Disneyland.
This is inspired by the myths and legends of the seas. The Hotel
Miracosta will be entirely inside of the park. There will be a
Mediterranean Harbor that will act as the main street. There will be a
Lost River Delta that will have a stage show and an adventure ride. The
Mysterious Island will feature two adventures inspired by Jules Verne.
Under the Sea will be populated by Arial and her friends. An Arabian
Coast section will have attractions based on Sinbad and Aladdin. There
will be Port Discovery with an Aquatopia and a ride called Stormrider.
The American Waterfront will bring us to New York City. Tokyo Disney Sea
is expected to open in the fall of 2001.

Walt Disney World will have two new attractions for the younger set. Both
are modeled after the Dumbo ride. In Dinoland there will be a Triceratops
ride and in Fantasyland there will be an Aladdin's Flying Carpet Ride.
Dinoland will also see an expansion of Chester and Hester's area with a
Dino-Rama. A "tame" roller coaster called Primeval Whirl will be included
in this section which opens in 2002.
In 2001 Disney/MGM will celebrate Walt's centennial with special events.
In 2003 EPCOT will open Mission: Space.

Next year the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim will open Disney's California
Adventure. Barry Braverman, (a Philadelphian) leader of the design team
for DCA came out to tell us more about that new park. The upscale hotel
will be the Grand Californian and done in the style of the California
Arts and Crafts movement. Peter Dominick, who did the Wilderness Lodge in
WDW is the architect. There will be a Downtown Disney section. The park
itself will be a celebration of the California Dream. The entrance to the
park will look like an old-fashioned picture postcard.

One of the many attractions will be the world's longest raft ride that
will go around an artificial mountain called Grizzly Peak. Condor Flats
will be a tribute to California's contribution to aviation. The big ride,
Soarin'Over California, has 87 guests feel as if they are hang gliding 40
feet over an IMAX screen that will show scenes of California from the
air. Scent cannons will release the appropriate aromas at the appropriate
times. A restaurant "The Bite Stuff" will feature a replica of Chuck
Yaeger's Bell X-1 bursting out of the building. An area called Bountiful
Valley will include It's Tough to be a Bug. Another area will pay tribute
to the Napa Valley. The Robert Mondavi Winery will run a complex there.

In the Hollywood section we will see the Hyperion Theater will be a full
2,000-seat theater that will allow Disney to produce Broadway shows. They
perhaps will have Award shows there. Nearby will be Muppet 3-D Vision. A
new Disney Animation Building will feature an interactive attraction
called Sorcerer's Workshop and Ursula's Grotto where guests can record
their voices into classic Disney scenes.

Another area, Paradise Pier, will pay homage to the great old amusement
parks of California. The Sun Wheel Ferris Wheel will be built like the
one at Coney Island where the inside cars are on tracks that allow the
cars to move through the interior of the wheel. The roller coaster,
California Screamin', will look like an old wooden coaster but it will in
fact be a steel coaster with a catapult launch and a three-minute ride.

Tim O'Day, Director of Marketing for Disney Auctions moderated a panel
discussing the 1964 World's Fair Attraction, It's a Small World. He
started with a film tribute to Marc Davis who had passed away this year.
Composer Richard Sherman, Costume Designer Alice Davis, Costume Finisher
Harriet Burns joined Marty Sklar and Tim to discuss the creation of that
classic attraction.

They talked about the Tower of the Four Winds. Many slides were shown of
this kinetic sculpture that stood in front of the Small World pavilion.
It acted as a "hook" or as Walt liked to say, "a weenie" that would draw
people to it.

Marc Davis and Mary Blair worked well together designing the attraction,
It's a Small World. Marc chose which countries to represent, did the
overview of the groups, and Mary did the settings and the colors.
Basically Alice designed the costumes and Harriet built them. Alice said
they all had to be very careful not to offend any of the nationalities
represented.

We learned that the main reason that the wonderful clock was added was so
that the boats would be hidden as they entered the building.

The trees on the top of the facade were added when the scale model people
had placed the scale trees on the top before putting them in their
designed locations and Walt walked in and said to leave the trees there.

After the World's Fair closed in 1965 the attraction opened in Disneyland
in 1966.

Richard Sherman told how Walt called his brother and him to the studio.
Walt said he was in serious trouble and took the brothers on a walking
tour of the attraction. All the sets and dolls were in place and each
group of dolls were singing their country's national anthem. The result
was a dreadful cacophony. Walt wanted a round that all the dolls could
sing but the brothers suggested a counterpoint. Richard then played the
song as they originally composed it. It was very very slow. Walt
suggested that they pick up the tempo and the song that we know and love
(or hate) was born.

The Antiques and Collectibles Show was as enjoyable and as frustrating as
ever. If only I was rich! Then I could buy some of the many treasures
that are offered for sale there. Happily there are a number of reasonably
priced items and I got two videotapes from Paul Anderson. One was a
biography of Walt Disney with Ed Sullivan, and the other features
Disney's contributions to the 1964 World's Fair in New York.

Reverend Ed Bergen had information about the Carl Barks Fan Club that he
heads. Reverend Philip Longfellow Anderson was offering copies of his
wonderful book, "The Gospel According to Disney." This book examines each
of the animated films created under the leadership of Walt and the
Christian values that they relate to. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
attend his church. He told me that he has just started another volume,
this one studying Christian values in the films created after Walt's
death.

Ed Bergen and I made our annual trip to the Character Warehouse in the
nearby shopping mall but I found the selection disappointing. There were
few T-shirts and a lot of tank tops. I dislike wearing tank tops.

The convention closed with a Small World Soiree on Friday evening. This
of course was the usual banquet. ConventionEars were encouraged to wear
the costumes of their native lands, and my Japanese friends wore kimonos.

The food was delicious. Amazingly with all the parties and the free food
that the convention offered, I still burned more calories than I consumed
and I lost two pounds during the week.

The closing gift was, as usual, a pewter sculpture. This year's piece
featured Mickey and Pluto riding in a Small World boat. Fitting for an
event that feature Pin Trading, Mickey is holding a pin that says "Au
Revoir." Around the base of the sculpture are "Adios, Takk, Xie Xie, and
Shalom" reminding us of the conclusion of the classic ride as well as
wishing us a good-bye at the end of the convention. Or is it goodbye to
WDW? They announced that the Disneyana Convention in 2001 will be held in
the Disneyland Resort. That will tie in with the centennial of Walt's
birth and the opening of the new California Adventure.

Our hostess for the evening was Hayley Mills. Hayley comes from an acting
family. Her father is the great actor, Sir John Mills and her mother is
noted writer and actress Mary Hayley Bell. Hayley once said, "Acting is
just a natural thing in my family. Other boys and girls go into the
family business. So do we."

She told of how Walt's wife, Lily, was in London and saw a film, Tiger
Bay, that Hayley had made with her father. Knowing that Walt was having
trouble casting the title role in Pollyanna Lily called Walt and asked if
he had found a Pollyanna. When he said he had not, she suggested he see
Tiger Bay.

After casting Hayley, Walt brought the Mills family over to Disneyland.
He was giving them a personal tour and when they got to the Matterhorn,
he naturally skipped the lines and took them to a back gate. A cast
member saw him opening the gate and told Walt he couldn't do that. When
Walt said that he certainly could, the cast member said, "Who do you
think you are. Walt Disney?" Walt replied, "As a matter of fact, I do."
She didn't tell us whether or not the cast member kept his job.

She also told of visiting Walt at his home as he screened movies for her
and her family. She would have trouble hearing the soundtrack because
Walt was making ice cream sodas at his private fountain in the room.

Walt once told her that he hoped that in his movies he could show people
the best in themselves.

She then introduced Richard Sherman who had written a number of songs for
her but since the theme of the convention was It's a Small World, he
naturally spoke about how he and his brother, Robert, came to write that.

We were given a musical entertainment that related to the famous lyrics:

It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

When the theme was a world of laughter, Mickey and his friends made us
laugh, when the theme was a world of fears, the Disney Villains came out
to chill us.you get the idea. For the finale, all of the characters came
out plus about a dozen children dressed in many international costumes.
It made for a perfect ending to the convention.

One of my new Japanese friends, Yuzo, was in WDW for the first time. He
only had Saturday and Sunday to see as much as possible of EPCOT, the
Animal Kingdom and Disney/MGM Studios. I acted as his guide and it was
very enjoyable to see his face as he experienced the Kali River Rapids,
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, the Tower of Terror and the Kilimanjaro
Safari for the first time.

Looking back on the week, I realize that, as much as I love Disney and
the parks, what I enjoyed the most was being with my friends from Japan,
England and other places around the globe. It really is a small world,
after all.