Report on The 1999 Disneyana Convention
By Herb Moskovitz

For the past eight years the Walt Disney Company has held a special convention for Disneyana collectors. I have been fortunate enough to have attended the past six Disneyana Conventions. Each year's convention has a special theme and this year's theme was Safari Adventure. There is always a large selection of Logo Merchandise available to ConventionEars and this year we could purchase any or all of the following items: a wristwatch that comes with a ceramic box designed to look like Mickey and his pals in a Safari vehicle, a jacket, T-shirt, trading cards, posters, safari hat, pins…well, you get the idea. I got the hat and wristwatch.

I am always apprehensive about going to register at the Disneyana Conventions. The lines can be incredibly long. This year the Disney folks tried something new. They asked the ConventionEars to tell them what time they expected to arrive for registration. That way Disney could know how many staff members to have on hand at any given time. When I arrived at 5:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon, I found that there was absolutely nobody ahead of me in line. I was through registration and Logo Merchandise pick-up in a few minutes. We were given a photo I.D. that serves as our park pass for the duration of the Convention. We were also given a number of gifts at this time. We each got a Safari backpack with the official logo featured on the top. We got a Christopher Radko ornament of Pooh and a resin sculpture of Mickey and Pluto with a small compass attached to the base.

That left Monday evening and all day Tuesday to explore all the new things that Walt Disney World has added since I was there last September. Since the Convention includes a park-hopping pass to the four theme parks I was able to see most of the new attractions on my first two days. I started at the Magic Kingdom. The new Many Advetures of Winnie the Pooh ride which replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is delightful. After walking through oversized story book pages one boards a honey jar that takes you through the Hundred Acre Wood. We meet Pooh in his house. On the left wall just behind you when you enter Pooh's house is a picture of Mr. Toad giving Owl the deed to the property. Your vehicle bounces along when Tigger is introduced. Along the way we also see Pooh's dream of Heffalumps and Woozles and get caught in the rain during a blustery day.

The Buzz Lightyear Ride that replaced In Flight is a lot of fun. Guests join Buzz Lightyear in saving the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg and his minions with laser guns that actually interact with the targets. At the end of the ride each guest is told how well they scored.

The original Main Street Electrical Parade has moved from Disneyland to Walt Disney World and several new floats have been added. For example, Captain Hook now has his own Pirate Ship and he and Peter Pan ride down Main Street fighting away (When they aren't waving to the crowds).

After years of disappointments as the opening of Test Track in EPCOT was continually postponed, I was able to finally ride Test Track and I was still disappointed. The ride broke down for a few minutes while I was in line and then stopped two more times while I was experiencing it. To be honest, I was not impressed. There is little of visual interest, and if I am supposed to be excited about being in a car in heat and cold and at high speeds…well, I have done all that in real life. I much preferred the humorous visuals of the old World of Motion as designed by Ward Kimball and his colleagues. But I have spoken with many younger people who love Test Track. And the lines to see it are quite long.

Also appearing at EPCOT for a limited time was The Best of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. The show was energetic and visually appealing. The EPCOT version was only thirty minutes long, which seemed just about right. I don’t think I would want to see a longer version. Illuminations, which was still running while I was there, has since been replaced with a new Millenium show that will run for the next year.

Over at Disney-MGM Studios they have added two thrilling new attractions. The Rock and Roller Coaster with music by Aerosmith has you meeting the band in a recording studio and then being placed in a stretch limo to catch up with them at a gig on the other side of Los Angeles. The limo, of course, is really the cars of the roller coaster and you speed through the ride passing Hollywood icons along the way. The indoor coaster has a high-speed launch of 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds. It also has several complete inversions. Of course you can purchase a picture of yourself enjoying the ride at the end, but this time you will find yourself framed by a drawing of a limousine.

Disney-MGM now features a version of Fantasmic. I was advised to find a seat an hour before the show and I am so glad that I did. Even at an hour before I was all the way to the side. I suspect that hundreds of guests cannot get inside each night. This extravaganza features scenes from Disney animated features projected of screens of sprayed water. Boats go by with costumed characters from the films as well, and at the end Mickey battles thirteen Disney villains including a huge Maleficent as a dragon as the entire lake catches fire. Of course, Mickey is triumphant and a steamboat similar to the one feature in Steamboat Willie comes along with lots of Disney characters celebrating Mickey's victory.

There is a new live stage show featuring Doug Funnie and his friends that is very entertaining and a new audio show, Sounds Dangerous, that features Drew Carey that takes place mostly in a totally dark theatre. But the sound mix is incredible and you would swear that you are feeling things when in fact, you are only hearing them.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has added a completely new land - Asia. The highlights of this new section include a nature walk called Maharajah Jungle Trek, where guests encounter tigers, a Komodo Dragon, bats and more than 200 birds. The Kali River Rapids takes guests on a wild water ride through beautiful forests and not so beautiful logging areas where the loggers have destroyed the area. You will get wet.

The Jungle Book stage show has been replaced with a new show called Tarzan Rocks. This features the music of Phil Collins. Unlike most Disney stage shows produced for the parks based on a movie, this does not tell the story of Tarzan, but is indeed more of a rock concert. But besides the great music, there are acrobatics and impressive roller skating tricks.

On Tuesday night the first official event of the convention was held. This was Mickey's Base Camp Barbecue. The ballroom of the Contemporary was transformed into a jungle and ConventionEars were treated to all-they-could-eat servings of hamburgers, hot-dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, etc. Mickey and Pluto came on stage and told how they had traveled to the Land of the Bow-Wows in the jungle, where they encountered the Medicine Man of the tribe who noted how much their god resembled Pluto. A film that looked like an 1930's travelogue was shown to illustrate their trip. The Medicine Man lent Mickey and Pluto the priceless artifact to bring to WDW and show the ConventionEars. But when Mickey and Pluto opened the shipping crate in front of the ConventionEars, Cruella De Vil stepped out of it and announced that she had stolen the artifact and unless we got it back to the tribe, the names of Mickey Mouse and the Disneyana Convention would be shamed. I wasn't too worried.

Wednesday morning I looked at the limited edition pieces and went through the Antique and Collectible Show. Dealers from around the country had come in to ply their wares to us ConventionEars. I picked up a few inexpensive pieces, including a new Mattel bean toy of $crooge, and an old stuffed toy of Basil of Baker Street that I missed getting when the film came out. I did not do the limited editions this year. There is also a section of the hotel which is called Mickey's Attic where one can buy pieces from WDW that the company no longer has use for and one can get many good buys there. Mostly items like dishes, drinking glasses, posters and pins. I was lucky and found a promotional book for Hunchback of Notre Dame merchandising that includes many wonderful drawings of the film's cast of characters that look like they were drawn by medieval artists.

At two-o'clock I joined some friends for the Pre-Parade Experience. I try to do this every year. The ConventionEars march down Main Street just before the actual Remember the Magic Parade. Disney cast members gave us lots of balloons and we handed them out to children that were along Main Street as we marched down.

Wednesday evening we attended a Night of Village Rhythms in the Animal Kingdom. Once again there was lots of good food to eat, ranging from more Barbecue to shrimp and pasta and salad dishes. Ice cream and soda stations were also set up to refresh us as we wandered the park. The Kali River Rapids were open, as were a few of the other more popular attractions that didn't depend on the daylight. Three entertaining acts were presented in the Asia theatre. The Tarzan Rocks show was presented as the closing event of the evening.

Ed Bergen called a meeting of the Uncle $crooge collectors Society for Thursday morning. Only a few members were able to attend. We watched as the presidency was transferred from Ed to Becky Hoff. Becky took a list of members' e-mail addresses since most communication can now be achieved by this route. Bill Grandey pointed out that there was still a significant amount of money in the treasury. We decided that new members would still pay the 25-dollar initiation fee, but that the annual dues would be reduced to ten cents a year. We also learned at this meeting that sadly Carl Barks is seriously ill and not likely to see his 100th birthday in two years.

One of my favorite events at the Convention is what is called Speakers of the Mouse. Most of the 2,000 ConventionEars gather in a general assembly to hear from visiting dignitaries. This was held Friday morning. The first speaker was Bonnie Arnold, producer of Tarzan, who told us that Tarzan is the second most story filmed. (The first is Dracula) But the producers felt that with animation they could show Tarzan's movements in ways that live action never could. They also could show his relationships with the animals in a new way. She pointed out that Edgar Rice Burroughs once said that if Tarzan was ever to be animated it would have to be with Disney like quality. Tarzan was primarily animated in Burbank and Paris. Communications between the two studios were greatly facilitated by modern technology. Glen Keane, who animated Tarzan, lived in Paris during production.

Bonnie then praised the various voice talents who brought the characters to life. Tony Goldwyn, the voice of Tarzan has an incredible ability to mimic animals and this talent was used in the film. Minnie Driver was true to the character of Jane but gave her a modern slant. She was excellent at improvising dialogue for given situations and mostly ad-libbed the breathless speech in which Jane tells her father and Clayton about meeting Tarzan for the first time. Glenn Close as Kala gave the relationship between mother and son what Bonnie said was the heart and soul of the movie. Terk was originally a guy but that didn't work and when Bonnie remembered that Rosie O'Donnell once said that she would love to do a Disney character voice, they called Rosie in and Terk was born. Wayne Knight also was great at improvising lines for Tantor the elephant. Lance Henricksen has done so many nasty movie roles he was overjoyed to be doing a character (Kerchak) in a movie that he could bring his daughter to see.

Phil Collins was asked to write the songs for the movie largely because they felt he could write songs that were not sung by the characters and still advance the story line with his own voice. Of course, his talents with rhythm and percussion supported the African feel of the music. He wrote the first songs simply from the outline of the story. He also took the time to sing the songs for a number of foreign language releases including Spanish, French, German and Italian. Bonnie said that Phil is a lot of fun but a dedicated professional. She closed by thanking the over 1,100 people who helped to create the film.

Mike Surrey, supervising animator for Terk, Tarzan's best friend, talked about how he designed the character, incorporating features from Rosie O'Donnell. He first drew Rosie and then drew a version of Terk and started to borrow features from Rosie (like the hair and the double chin) and incorporate them into the Terk design.

Mark Mancina was called upon to create a musical score that would blend flawlessly with Phil Collins' songs. He worked closely with Phil and also incorporated his knowledge of African musical instruments to further enhance the sound of the film. Mike played several African instruments such as the wind wand and the tongue drum for the ConventionEars. Mike had used many of these instruments previously when he worked on Lion King on Broadway.

Walt's nephew, Roy Disney, Vice Chairman of the Walt Disney Company and Chairman of Walt Disney Feature Animation told us about the upcoming Fantasia 2000 movie. Walt had wanted Fantasia to be a continuing "repertoire program", with new sequences replacing older sequences. But when the original Fantasia did not do well at the box office in 1940 the idea was dropped. Roy told us that Walt's wife, Lillian, never liked Fantasia. When the film finally started to make money when it was released in the 1960's, studio executives told Lily that the film was making a large profit. She responded by saying, "Damn it. Walt was right again."

Fantasia was Roy's favorite movie and when he saw a chance to ask Michael Eisner for a chance to develop Walt's dream over fifty years after the initial release he made his move. It took some time but eventually Eisner gave the go-ahead and we will soon see what Roy and his co-creators have made. The first sequence in Fantasia 2000 is from Beethoven's 5th Symphony. It is an abstraction about good vs. evil and is computer animated. The second selection is from Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome. It tells a story about a pod of whales that takes to the skies and flies. Next is a sequence by Eric and Susan Goldberg using Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. We follow four major characters in 1930's New York City. Duke is a musician, Rachel is a little girl who is taken for various lessons, Joe is a workman and the fourth character is based on John Culhane, the writer that Snoops was based on in The Rescuers. Culhane is currently collaborating with Roy Disney on the new Fantasia 2000: A Vision of Hope book to be published in December.

The next selection is “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” as told to the Piano Concerto #2 by Dmitri Shostakovich. This is based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. This will use in-between cels created by computer. In the fourth sequence Eric and Susan Goldberg attempt to answer the age-old question, "What would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a flock of flamingos?" This was developed from an idea by venerable Joe Grant who has been having ideas for Disney since the days of Snow White. We were shown the entire sequence. It is hysterical. One flamingo is an individual while all the other flamingos are conformists. Originally the filmmakers wanted to do the sequence with ostriches but Michael Eisner pointed out that the original Fantasia had ostriches and suggested that they use flamingos. They showed us some footage of live flamingos in the San Diego Zoo and we saw that flamingos really are conformists. Whatever one flamingo does, they all do. The sequence was made with watercolors with music from Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals. Eric also studied the real motions of yo-yo tricks so that yo-yo aficionados would not be disappointed.

Then Mickey Mouse will return in the only sequence retained from the original film, The Sorcerers Apprentice. Originally there were to be two other sequences from the original film but they were replaced with new sequences. In fact, the Gershwin was planned as another project but when Roy saw it he wanted to use it in Fantasia 2000.

Roy was able to talk Donald Duck out of retirement and star in a new telling of “Noah’s Ark” using music from Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. We saw a clip from this. Donald is Noah's assistant and it is his duty to get the animals aboard the ark. It looks like as if the animators were paying homage to the opening sequence of The Lion King as the animals hear the call to the ark and march to it. Donald looks at a pair of real ducks and wonders what kind of animals they might be. At one point, Donald and Daisy get separated from each other and they each think the other has perished in the flood. That was quite poignant.

The last selection uses music from Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird. Roy showed us an extensive clip from this. We saw a sprite awaken a forest. Then she comes across something that brings death to the forest. That was a very scary moment and Roy later said how gratifying it was to see 2,000 ConventionEars jump out of their seats. The sprite is very art neauveau in its design. Roy told us the selection tells nothing less than the story of Life, Death and Rebirth.

There were many exciting seminars offered on Thursday and Friday mornings. Richard M. Sherman did one with Bruce Gordon and David Mumford called Supercalifragilistic Song Safari that was so popular that a third session was added to the schedule. Richard and his brother Robert have written many of the most popular Disney songs including "It's a Small World" and the songs for Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. Richard played many of their hits and also played a few never-before-heard songs from Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The Sherman brothers are currently working on a new Winnie the Pooh film that is tentatively called The Tigger Movie.

If Paul Comstack was presented as a fictional character nobody would believe he could exist. Paul is a former rock 'n roll drummer who talks like an air-headed California surfer but what he says is pure genius. He describes himself as an "Imaginaholic" and the word is perfect. Paul was the principal Landscape Architect for the Animal Kingdom. He told us he got the job when he got an impromptu call to sit in with some of the Animal Kingdom's creative staff. In the course of the meeting several questions came up about animals and the plants they would need in a theme park. By coincidence, Paul had seen a show about that very topic the night before on the Learning Channel. So he knew all the answers. It was months after he got the job that he confided to his co-workers the source of his incredible knowledge. Listening to him, one quickly becomes aware that he really is a walking encyclopedia of plants. He delighted us with anecdotes about his travels around the world in search of seeds and cuttings for the Disney parks. Years before he had met an elephant, Durgha Kali, and when he met her again looking for plants that elephants like, she not only remembered him, but also helped him make the selections. When Michael Eisner first approved Animal Kingdom he commented that it would need, "Landscaping to power of ten." Paul kept quoting Eisner whenever he was arguing for more funds for Animal Kingdom. Anyone who has visited Animal Kingdom has probably already marveled at how overgrown the terrain is. When one considers that the area was devoid of trees when they started, one can only be totally amazed at what Paul and his staff have wrought.

Renowned animation author and historian John Canemaker presented slides and film to illustrate how storyboards were invented at the Disney studios and how they still are being used to tell the story of each movie in the best way possible. His new book, Paper Dreams - The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards has just been published by Hyperion. John is now working on a book about the Nine Old Men of Disney Animation.

David Pacheco and Lynn Phillips from Walt Disney Art Classics gave us a sneak preview of Fantasia 2000 sculptures that are being prepared for release for the Walt Disney Classics Collection and two-dimensional art to be released for Walt Disney Animation Art. One sculpture will be of the whales from the Pines of Rome sequence. Roy Disney was very involved with the final design of this piece and actually showed David where the sea gulls on the sculpture should be. The Steadfast Tin Soldier, his Ballerina and the flamingo with the yo-yo all are sculptures that have to stand on one foot. The sprite from the Firebird sequence will be available as a sculpture as well as a beautiful sericel. Donald and Daisy are standing under an umbrella as the first rain drops of Noah's flood fall. And Mickey looks up at Yensid and says "Oooops" as his adventure as the sorcerer's apprentice ends. David showed us many of his thumbnail sketches to show us how he and Lynn developed his ideas into the beautiful sculptures that the WDCC offers.

Paul Phillips showed us some examples of Fantasia 2000 collectibles from the Walt Disney Showcase Collection. There will be a Steiff Sorcerer Mickey with velvet and mohair and the traditional Steiff button in the ear. A Limoges box will be available of three different scenes: the flamingo and the yo-yo, Mickey, and Hop Lo and another Mushroom, from the Nutcracker sequence that is now cut from Fantasia 2000.
A porcelain teapot will feature Noah's Ark with Donald and many of the animals on the ark. A Lenox Sorcerer Mickey and an Armani sprite are also going to be offered to serious collectors. Most of these items will be released in editions of 2,000. But for some reason the Armani Sprite will released in an edition of 1,500.

Howard and Amy Boothe Green discussed their new book, Remembering Walt - Favorite Memories of Walt Disney. The book is drawn from interviews with over 120 friends, colleagues and family members. The Greens showed a film clip where the head of ABC kept interrupting Walt while trying to sell Peter Pan Peanut Butter the idea of sponsoring the Disneyland TV Show. It seemed to take all of Walt's self-control not to slug the unctuous man.

Also on hand at this seminar were Joe Grant and Burny Mattinson, who shared some of their personal memories that don't appear in the book. Joe talked about how excited Walt and he were to have a handicapped star in Dumbo. Burny told how one of his first duties at the studio was to bring Walt his weekly pay. Walt would stop whatever he was doing to count the cash. One day when it was raining Walt borrowed Burny's umbrella. Just before it was time for Burny to leave, one of Walt's assistants arrived to give Burny back his umbrella.

The Greens also introduced Richard and Catharine Greene who talked about the new Interactive Walt Disney Museum that just started on the Internet. Part of the site will be a permanent exhibition but another part will be temporary exhibits. They will show home movies and audio clips on the site. You can access the site through Disney.com or just jump in at http://disney.go.com/home/homepage/index.html. We also learned that once Walt gave Lily a special Christmas present. It was a puppy in a hatbox. That memorable event eventually appeared in a classic cinematic moment in Lady and the Tramp.

Among other events that occurred during the busy week was the sale of many Limited Editions. ConventionEars have to enter a lottery just for the opportunity to buy these items. Some of the more memorable items were an Armani Lady and the Tramp with and edition size of 750 and a sale price of $750, a resin piece of Mickey and Humphrey the bear that sold for $150 and had a edition size of 1,500 and a Maleficent Dragon for the WDCC with an edition size of 1,350 and a price of $795.

An auction held on Thursday evening featured items from Disney history such as props from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, costumes worn by Mouseketeers and original art by many famous Disney artists. As usual the items went for more money than most of the ConventionEars thought reasonable.

A Company showcase is another annual event. Twelve different sections of the Walt Disney Company including The Disney Store, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Interactive and Disney.com set up tables that have promotional items and are staffed to answer questions. Many of the tables gave us gifts such as very nice cloisonné pins.

For me a trip to WDW is not complete without a trip to the Character Warehouse, a Disney discount store on International Drive This is about a twenty-minute drive off the property. I went with two friends from California and was able to buy my Disney wardrobe for the year at considerable savings.

There are so many great restaurants in WDW that I love that I usually try to go back to my favorites. But I also try to experience new restaurants or those that I have not had time for during previous trips. I was able to try two new restaurants on this trip. I went to Wolfgang Puck's in Downtown Disney's West Side and thought the pumpkin ravioli delicious. But my favorite new (for me) restaurant is the Japanese restaurant - Teppanyaki Dining. The chef prepares the meal right at your table which actually a large grill. I had wanted to go to this restaurant with my friends from Tokyo, Yasushi and Naomi, but things didn't quite work out. I went by myself. Hopefully next year Yasushi and Naomi will be with me.

I also tried a restaurant called Hollywood and Vine in Disney/MGM Studios for a character breakfast. ConventionEars are given two breakfast coupons that can be used in various restaurants throughout WDW. I used one of my coupons here. My friends and I had a great buffet breakfast and got to meet Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and the chipmunks.

The closing event of the convention is a banquet. This one was called Journey’s End Jamboree. Remember the storyline I mentioned that was set up at the beginning of the convention with Cruella stealing the Pluto totem? That was finally resolved at the banquet with the totem being saved and Cruella getting her just deserts.

All the ConventionEars received another gift at the banquet, a charming pewter sculpture of Mickey and the Pluto totem. The scene resembles the opening moments of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones is picking up the forbidden idol. The food for the banquet was wonderful and the show was good, (though not as good as previous years.)

Still, the best part of the banquet was being with my friends. A few years ago I had met a Japanese couple, Yasushi and Naomi, who are avid Disney collectors. Last year they had a baby boy and they named him Mickey. If the baby had been a girl her name would have been Minnie. Little Mickey was at the convention though not at the banquet. Yasushi and Naomi had another couple from Tokyo with them at our table. We also had some friends from Detroit and New Jersey.

The theme of the Disneyana Convention for 2000 was announced at the banquet - It's a Small World. I thought how appropriate that was, since I was sitting with friends from the other side of the globe.

I left Walt Disney World very tired and very contented on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday the park was closed for the first time in its 28-year history and thousands of travelers couldn't fly out of Orlando because of Hurricane Floyd. Guests staying at the All-Star resorts were suddenly sleeping on the floor of convention centers. My timing could not have been better.