RediscoveringWaltDisney

This is the 1993 Walt Disney Imagineering Quarterly Report for the fourth quarter of that year. In it they discuss the unbuilt Disney Theme Park Disney's America, adding Bill Clinton to the Hall of Presidents, constructing the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, designing the Nautilus for Euro Disney and, more. This is when PC culture started to overtake the company. You can hear how some of the imagineers discuss the leftist talking points of the time about "equality," "diversity," "ethnicity," "alliances," and "issues oriented." The unbuilt Disney's America Theme Park and the revision of the Hall of Presidents is all about this. Disney's America was a proposed theme park that was going to be built near Washington, D.C. that told the revised history of America that was taking root in the country of the time. At Walt Disney World, The Hall of Presidents show and The American Adventure at EPCOT Center were both revised to reflect this new narrative. At Disneyland, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was also revised. The "experts" Disney teamed up with on these projects, are why Song of the South's 1996 theatrical release and later VHS/DVD releases were cancelled. This is an important obscure chapter in Walt Disney history. Release date 4th Quarter 1993 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This infamous promotional TV special is a pseudo-documentary on the UFO phenomenon that was part of pop culture in the 1990's. At the time, such serious documentaries on UFO's, close encounters, and alien abductions had become common place and such series as The X-Files were quite popular. A few years later such related theatrical films as Independence Day and Men In Black further demonstrate the interest in this topic. The Walt Disney Company decided to market their most controversial new attraction, Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter, rooted in such a manner. Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter was the first real horror ride in a Disney Park and a lot of guests as well as employees felt that it was too scary for their family friendly image. Disney licensed the content of the Alien franchise from 20th Century Fox with the premise that the alien from those films gets loose in the theater among around the audience. Lucasfilm collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering in the creation of this 4-D experience. There was controversy from the start stemming from the Alien films are rated R and at the time Disney Park attractions were only based on G or PG properties. Disney CEO Micheal Eisner was a champion of this attraction and brough George Lucus in to make it work, having already collaborated with him on Captain EO and Star Tours. The first version of this ride opened in December 1994 before Eisner shut it down for retooling believing it wasn't intense enough. The second version of this attraction opening in summer 1995 and guest complaints began immediately. The majority response from families was that this ride was far too scary for their children, but Eisner remained firm and even had the ride made more intense for a third version. Disclaimer signs were also installed outside the entrance, but this didn't deter the guest complaints. This was one of the many things that added to the rift between Eisner and Roy Disney Jr who was against this attraction being associated with his family name from the start. Only after the death of Disney President Frank Wells, did Eisner go ahead with his plans to install this ride. Due to the negative feedback, Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disney refused to allow this attract ion to be installed in their parks. In 2003 Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter was shuttered and replaced with Stich's Great Escape! This ride was based on Walt Disney Feature Animation's 2002 film Lilo & Stitch and used the same premise but was much more friendly for a family audience. Stitch's Great Escape opened in 2004 to much acclaim from guests. This TV special hosted by beloved actor Robert Urich has become legendary among Disney buffs. It only aired once and for years many urban legends began to take root about the content. If you didn't catch it during the one time you didn't see it at all. Some believed it was an update of Walt's own Man in Space series produced by Disney Legend Ward Kimball. For years Kimball claimed there was to be a fourth installment of that series that would have focused on UFO's and aliens but the United States Government shut it down. Kimball was a practical joker and is even credited with starting the urban legend that Walt was frozen so we can't take his claims as gospel. When Disney produced this TV special, they portrayed it as a serious documentary to the UFO experts they interviewed without telling them it was a pseudo-documentary to promote a theme park attraction and many of them were angry about it. Disney ignored their demands for an apology but never reaired this TV special again hoping it would be forever forgotten. Here is that special. Original airdate February 27, 1995 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional film about EPCOT Center played in a loop at the EPCOT Center Preview Pavilion at Walt Disney World where models, artwork, and other things were on display announcing the next phase of the resort. The voice of Disney, Dick Tufeld, narrates this film that features rarely seen animation of man's future existence living in deserts, at the bottom of the sea, and in outer space. The objective of how each World and attraction builds upon each other to work together is clearly defined in this film. Spaceship Earth and World of Motion taught guests about the past so they had the foundation to explore the future. Journey into the Imagination was about the creativity needed to shape man's destiny in a variety of ways. Other attractions depicted possible technologies that could make a better world for all in this future. We also learn that the point of World Showcase was a rejection of a one world government. In keeping with Walt Disney's values, every nation on earth retains their own unique cultural identity in this optimistic future and this exposition is hosted by the United States of America who's leading the way. In the narration, it's clearly explained that Walt Disney World was indeed the wienie (as Walt always put it) to attract people from across America and the world to view the technologies on display at EPCOT Center and hopefully be implemented in their home states and nations for a brighter future. EPCOT was never intended to be the theme park it became but a World's Fair meant to make a real difference in the story of mankind. There was always going to be this World's Fair on the future even though Walt's intended plans were much grander in scope than that. As an added bonus, also included is the EPCOT theatrical trailer narrated by Percy Rodriguez. This trailer played in movie theaters advertising what the Walt Disney Company was building. Original release date June 1, 1981 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This film was produced for Disneyland and played in the Opera House replacing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The film is comprised of vintage audio clips of Walt Disney telling his life story in his own words. Vintage photos and footage illustrate the story. A display of artifacts accompanied this film where guests could explore different items from Walt's life. When guests began complaining that Mr. Lincoln had been shut down, Walt Disney Productions incorporated him into the finale of the show. Walt Disney World also ran a version of this film in their Opera House as well. their museum display was different. At first it included a preview of the Western River Expedition attraction. When that ride was cancelled, a preview of EPCOT Center replaced it. In 1994 this film was released to VHS as a souvenir. An introduction and epilogue with Mickey Mouse was added to that presentation. We present the entire film with this intro and outro so you can hear Walt in his own words. The Disneyland version of the film ran until 2005 while Walt Disney World's shuttered in 1996. Original release date April 8, 1973 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Voice of Disney Dick Tufeld narrates this promotional film was released in 1980 for the brand new home video rental market. The park was only 8 years old when this footage was filmed. It captures Walt Disney World the way it was and many of the attractions as they were. Some of these places and attractions no longer exist. It also explores the surrounding areas around the park of hotels, shopping, recreation, and dining. This is Walt Disney World as Walt’s brother Roy and Admiral Joe Fowler built it. This is a historic time capsule of what Walt Disney World was like before the Eisner regime took over and Walt’s family was still running it. It was just a mom and pop theme park and not what we think of as Disney today. There’s also some very rare color footage of Walt Disney and Disneyland. The purpose of this video was to show families all that Walt Disney World had to offer so they’d want to plan a family vacation there. Original release date June 1981 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional film was released in 1983 for the brand new home video rental market. EPCOT CENTER had just opened and this video captures what it was like at the time. Many of these places and attractions no longer exist. There’s also a segment that shows EPCOT Center under construction as it was being built. This is a historic time capsule of what Walt Disney World was like before the Eisner regime took over and Walt’s family was still running it. It was just a mom and pop theme park and not what we think of as Disney today. The purpose of this video was to show families all that EPCOT Center had to offer so they’d want to plan a family vacation there or to take home as a keepsake of their trip there. The narrator is Philip L Clarke who later became the voice of Vault Disney on The Disney Channel. Original release date September 1983 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Mickey's Nutcracker is a 1991 Disneyland stage production that was filmed and aired on the Disney Channel for several years starting in 1992. It features many of the core Walt Disney characters in starring roles as well as Roger Rabbit who was being forced into Mickey's Gang hard at the time. Original airdate December 9, 1992 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This TV special features a selection of magicians doing their acts in different places around Disneyland. At the time, it was quite popular to do these sorts of themed specials in the Disney theme parks. The show is hosted by George Burns who had been a popular golden age comedian with his wife Gracie Allen but she died, his age became his schtick. (And yes, the whales in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home are indeed named after George Burns and Gracie Allen.) Figures include magician & sitcom star Harry Anderson with his Night Court co-star Markie Post, singer Gloria Estefan, Cheers star and future Pixar good luck charm John Ratzenberger, magicians Lance Burton, Dean Gunnarson, and Jonathan Pendragon, soap opera star Morgan Fairchild, and illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn. The special aired on NBC. Original airdate February 12, 1988 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On his TV show, Walt Disney often took his viewers to Disneyland so the viewers at home could see what was new and going on there. His entire TV show had been established to fund building the park and he had given progress reports from the start. After it was built, these progress reports continued has he kept updating things. For those of us living decades later, these episodes have become a time capsule of what Disneyland looked like in the past. Walt had said on several occasions that he’d build Disneyland to be an eternal world’s fair celebrating American ideals and many of these attractions no longer exist. Of special note is the American Indian Village that had been part of Disneyland from the start. In recent years this attraction has been smeared by woke leftists as racist but it was very inclusionary. Dozens of real American Indian Tribes were hired where they taught guests about their customs and traditions. At the time, no one was doing this and many of the American Indians and their tribes expressed gratitude to Walt Disney for allowing them a venue to educate the public that their people were not the constant stock villains often used in westerns of the time. Walt Disney, and his studio after his death, created several films and TV shows where American Indians were treated with respect and dignity; something that often gets ignored today. The American Indian Village was removed in the 1970’s to make way for Critter Country. You'll also see Holidayland, the only land in the history of Disneyland that closed down. Most of this footage was shot in 1956, the year after Disneyland opened and many shots in this episode come from the theatrical short of People & Places titled Disneyland USA. This episode was later split in half and aired as two episodes of Walt Disney’s Adventure Time, a show that aired on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the time slop of the 1958-59 season of The Mickey Mouse Club. This is also the first episode where Tinkerbell is named Official Hostess of Disneyland and to introduce the fairy bell Walt has in his office to summon her. You may also recognize shots from Walt’s introduction of this episode as being recreated with actor Tom Hanks as Walt in the 2013 film saving Mr. Banks. Tom Hanks is no Walt Disney and by the way, the shots of Tinkerbell in the recreation were reanimated by Disney Legend Mark Henn. The gag with Walt introducing Dick Wesson’s voice was a reuse of a gag used in Fantasia. Dick Wesson was the narrator of Walt’s TV show from 1954 through 1979. He was a well-known announcer and radio personality as well. He was one of two voices of Disneyland. The other was Dick Tufeld who hosted and narrated Disney productions and events even longer. Wesson appeared on camera in the film footage for the Rocket to the Moon attraction at Disneyland. He passed away in 1979 committing suicide after a long struggle with cancer. Original Airdate April 9, 1958 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This Disney Channel documentary tied in with the book The Official Mickey Mouse Club Book by Lorraine Santoli. It's narrated by Annette Funicello's Beach film co-star Frankie Avalon and features interviews with many former Mouseketeers and other Disney figures on the original show and its impact on American culture. It's mostly accurate but there's a few details that are incorrect. The highlight are the interviews with the grown up Mouseketeers. Not only is this valuable Walt Disney history testimony, but also about what it was like growing up in American culture in the 1950's. This is one of the final interviews with Annette Funicello and there's a nice tribute to Jimmie Dodd. Original airdate October 22, 1995 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional trailer were produced to tie in with the upcoming premiere of Mary Poppins at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Walt presents the manager, Bob Selig, with a Mousecar, the Walt Disney Studios' version of the Oscar. There was also the companion award the Duckster. Oddly enough, Selig isn't on the list of recipients of this award when you can clearly see Walt giving him one here. This trailer was one of the many ways Walt announced the release of his most important film that he ever made, Mary Poppins. Original release date 1964 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On his TV show, Walt Disney often took his viewers to Disneyland so the viewers at home could see what was new and going on there. His entire TV show had been established to fund building the park and he had given progress reports from the start. After it was built, these progress reports continued has he kept updating things. For those of us living decades later, these episodes have become a time capsule of what Disneyland looked like in the past. Walt had said on several occasions that he’d build Disneyland to be an eternal world’s fair celebrating American ideals and many of these attractions no longer exist. This is the first behind the scenes episode of Walt's TV show filmed after his death and the first to not have a host. The premise is the Osmonds explore Disneyland. The occasion was the opening of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion. Comedienne E.J. Peaker also joins in the hijinks and Kurt Russell gives us a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Haunted Mansion attraction. The Haunted Mansion had been in the original plans for Disneyland before it was even built but Walt didn't get around to building it until after the 1964-65 World's Fair. This was the first glimpse many Americans had of Walt Disney's final attraction. Kurt Russell was a child star who’d started appearing in Walt Disney films when Walt was alive and continued well into his early 20’s. This was really the first time you get the sense of how there was a friendship and respect he had for Walt that's continued to the day. The Osmonds were one of many such music performing family groups that were very popular at the time. Donny Osmond would later return to a Disney project as the singing voice of Shang in 1998's Mulan. In the 1960’s there was a trend to transition these bands into films and TV specials and that’s what this partly was. E.J. Peaker was a well known actress at the time appearing in both TV films and theatrical releases as well as guest starring in TV episodes of the era. Of special note is the American Indian Village that had been part of Disneyland from the start. In recent years this attraction has been smeared by woke leftists as racist but it was very inclusionary. Dozens of real American Indian Tribes were hired where they taught guests about their customs and traditions. At the time, no one was doing this and many of the American Indians and their tribes expressed gratitude to Walt Disney for allowing them a venue to educate the public that their people were not the constant stock villains often used in westerns of the time. Walt Disney, and his studio after his death, created several films and TV shows where American Indians were treated with respect and dignity; something that often gets ignored today. The American Indian Village was removed shortly after this was filmed to make way for Critter Country. Original air date March 22, 1970 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This promotional film was released in 1982 for the brand new home video rental market. It captures the park the way it was and many of the attractions as they were. It also focuses on details seldom seen in Disney park videos. Some of these places and attractions no longer exist. This is a historic time capsule of what Disneyland was like before the Eisner regime took over and Walt’s family was still running it. It was just a mom and pop theme park and not what we think of as Disney today. Everything in the park is explored from rides, attractions, restaurants and gift shops with the exception of Fantasyland, which was going through a major remodel at the time. There’s a section on the behind the scenes of the park’s history that covers some of that instead. The purpose of this video was to show families all that Disneyland had to offer so they’d want to plan a family vacation there. Original release date June 1982 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This episode of Walt's TV show was produced to advertise the then new release of Walt Disney Productions' big budget film The Black Hole. Hopes were high that this film would be the Disney answer to Star Wars but it tanked at the box office. Very few new episodes of Walt's TV show were being produced after Walt had passed away and of those new episodes that were made, virtually none went behind the scenes of the filmmaking process as Walt so often did and few were this ambitious. Major Effects follows the template of Captain Marvel (who was later renamed Shazam) where many of the same trappings were there. At the time a Saturday Morning live action TV series based on Shazam was airing and the Christopher Reeve Superman films were immensely popular. The premise of the episode follows a superhero learning about special effects from the wizards who make them happen. The result is a celebration of Walt Disney special effects. Cast members of note include the Barnstable Twins who were well known personalities at the time having appeared in sitcoms and TV commercials. Mike Jittlov appears as the Camera Wizard and was a stop motion superstar. At the time he was making short subjects for Disney animating Disney merchandise items and always appearing in these shorts in stop motion acting roles himself. Major Effects also includes a short he would later expand into the feature film The Wizard of Speed and Time utilizing many of the tricks he'd developed. He also co-directed this episode. Animation voice Lennie Weinrib provides several voices through this episode. The most notable of all the cast is Hans Conried in his final Walt Disney role; Bigger Than Life. He passed away a few years later. The end result of this production is something fondly remembered by those who grew up with it made on a shoestring budget that outshines the film it was trying to promote. It's a unique piece of Walt Disney history and enjoyed a few airings on The Disney Channel when they would air vintage content. Original airdate December 16, 1979 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

On March 1, 1941 Walt Disney was the guest on the radio program "Our American Way of Living." This Showcase aired during the intermission of the weekly Metropolitan Opera Broadcast. The host, Lucy Richardson Milligan, created this series featuring prominent Americans discussing different aspects of American ideals in hopes of combating the communist, socialist, and fascist leaning entering the culture at that time. This was mere months prior to America's involvement in World War II and the famous Walt Disney Studios labor strike. Milligan was President of the National Council of Women and was an advocate for racial and gender equality, modesty in the public square, and was a volunteer in numerous pro-American groups. She also saw what was happening in the world and feared for the future of our country. Being one of the few proactive women in the radio format, she organized these speeches to air on one of the most popular radio shows of the time so more people would hear them. This was a similar tactic the autocratic leftists had used in Europe and were using in the United States. The theme of these speeches were that every American should educate him or her self on the Constitutional principles of freedom and be a shining light onto the world in the face of totalitarianism. Some of the notable guests included J. Edgar Hoover, Carl Sandburg, David Sarnoff, and Walt Disney. Topics covered included "Out American Freedom," "The Soul of the American People," "Women in America," "Why I Became an American Citizen," "Our American Tomorrow," and others. Walt Disney's speech is titled "Our American Culture." By 1941, Walt's creations were already a fixture unique in American culture and he was regarded as a "common man's" artist making him the obvious choice to discuss this topic. It was an already well-known part of his story that he had come from the Midwest and hailed from humble means. This was believed to be one of the secrets of his success; he understood what culture was to the average American. Walt's animated cartoons also occupied a unique place in global culture having become ambassadors of American ideal into the world. Although, often excerpted in text form, this audio has rarely been heard or quoted in its entirety since its initial 1941 airing. Walt Disney's words are just as relevant for us today in our time as they were to the world in his because they are principled. The faces and names may change, but the root issues never do. This clip is presented in its complete unaltered for, Walt's flubs and all just as it originally aired in 1941. Original airdate March 1, 1941 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This PBS documentary hosted by Mason Adams aired in 1985 to coincide with the release of Walt Disney productions' Return to Oz. Return to Oz was one of the most ambitious films ever made with many of the who's who of Hollywood working on it behind the scenes. Because more people knew Oz from the MGM film and not the Oz books, the film didn't find an audience and bombed. It was still a well-produced film inspired by the books even going a little bit darker with some of the concepts in them. The behind the scenes material in this obscure documentary is rare and well worth seeing. The documentary covers the entire Oz phenomenon up to that time. Like Walt Disney, L. Frank Baum is a figure the militant left and revised the history of and perverted his works. Most people are only aware of the 1939 MGM film but Oz was so much more. Oz was the first successful fantasy novel and the most successful fictional book series of all times spanning over 70 years of official volumes and nearly 60 books. There were also multiple Oz silent films, 2 competing coming strips, storybooks, stage plays, animated cartoons, and tons of merchandise. Walt Disney grew up alongside the releases of the original Baum Oz stories and actively pursued making a film adaptation of his own. The rainbow jihad co-opted the Oz stories and characters and many of their trappings originate from them. Activists claim they use the rainbow because of drag queens and Judy Garland who sang the famous song standard from the film, Somewhere Over the Rainbow. "Friend of Dorothy" became code for members of the gay community to recognize and acknowledge each other. Many hardcore Oz fans despise America as founded, Christianity, heterosexual relationships and more. Many of the pop culture appropriation going on today originated with Oz. It's important that we rediscover how Oz is America's forgotten fantasy land and should be reclaimed from the revisionists who've defiled it. This documentary is a good place to start. Like Walt Disney, L Frank Baum would be disgusted by what's been done to his creations. Original air date June 1985 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

The American Adventure is an attraction at EPCOT Center. It has been revised in recent years, but this is a documentary about this attraction when it open and was constructed by Walt Disney's family. It opened October 1, 1982 along with the rest of the park. This promotional video was created to advertise what an achievement this production was at the time. It's a shame the show has been altered to become PC then Woke. Release date 1984 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This souvenir VHS tape celebrates the closing of the Walt Disney Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade originated in the 1970's and has become a Disney theme park staple as revered as any of the definitive rides and attractions. With much fanfare, it was claimed 1996 would be the final season of the parade and it would be retired. Lightbulbs from the floats were even sold to guests as souvenirs. However, Disney LIED. Within the year, the parade turned up in New York City to celebrate the release of Hercules and then went on a world tour to other Disney theme parks. It's since returned to the stateside parks and, although it's been retired a few times over the years, it never seems to go away. Original release Summer 1996 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This documentary explores the behind the scenes story and history of the Walt Disney Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade originated in the 1970's and has become a Disney theme park staple as revered as any of the definitive rides and attractions. Although the parade has been retired a few times, it always seems to return. Original air date July 6, 1986 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Actor Lloyd Bridges hosts this behind the scenes documentary for The American Adventure was created for The Disney Channel in 1987 and only ever aired a handful of times never to be seen again. The source for this video is from a master copy so you'll see some bars on the sides of the footage as this is the full magnetic tape image. At the time, The Disney Channel sometimes created documentaries about different aspects of the Disney Parks. by the 1990's this was dropped in favor of the occasional TV Magazine format. What's great about these longform documentaries is they chronicle the history of an attraction and celebrate it as it was built and not what it's been degraded into. Original air date July 4, 1987 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Captain Eeyore is a legendary cast member parody of the Captain EO attraction film. Cast member films had become a tradition starting in the late 70's and would be shown at employee events for amusement. It was filmed off hours in the tunnels beneath Walt Disney World using the Walt Disney characters in the place of characters in the original film. This was also a satire of what was felt was the dehumanizing conditions of Eisner's era Disney vs Walt Disney's Disney. Amazingly, Disney management was totally unaware this was going on and it became a form of resistance to the policies of the time. For example, Eisner banned the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum characters from the parks claiming he thought they looked like down-syndrome children. (This is even referenced in the dialog.) They feature prominently in the film. When this was produced, it was a time of transition between when Disney was run as a family company vs the global conglomerate it was becoming. It's filled with inside references galore and an important part of Eisner era Disney history. Evidently when Eisner found out about Captain Eeyore, cast member videos ceased being allowed. Release Date 1987 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

The Rocketeer was meant to be Disney's own Indiana Jones style franchise. It was based on the cult favorite comic book by Dave Stevens and featured an all star cast and used many of the top behind the scenes people of the day. The result wasn't bad but it was believed that because this was marketed as a Walt Disney Pictures release the film bombed. In truth, the summer of 1991 was a very competitive summer with the surprise hit being Robing Hood: Prince of Thieves. The film is much better than the comic book that inspired it and became more than the source material. Director Joe Johnson was later given the job to direct Captain America: The First Avenger because of his success with the end result of this film. This making of special aired in the summer of 1991 tying in with the film's release. Original air date June 19, 1991 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

John Rhyes Davies and Karen Allen star in this behind the scenes TV special celebrating the opening of the Disneyland attraction Indiana Jones & the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Although they don't revive their characters from Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's a glimpse at what they may have looked like if a 1990's installment of the franchise had happened. This special features the showmanship backstory of the ride, interviews with the creators, and culminates with Davies and Allen riding the ride themselves. These sort of specials celebrating the release of a new attraction had become commonplace at the time. Original air date July 18, 1995 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Star Tours was the first ever Star Wars theme park attraction ever built. In the 1970’s there has been discussions to build a Star Wars themed roller coaster featuring audio animatronics of the characters. Riders would decide if they would choose the light side or the dark side of the force. In the mock up most chose the dark side three to one to see the villains so the idea was scrapped and eventually evolved into Star Tours. Star Tours was rooted in a concept for an unrealized attraction based on the Walt Disney Productions’ film The Black Hole. When the film bombed plans ceased. The technology was later adapted for the theme park attraction Captain EO. Star Wars creator George Lucas collaborated on that attraction and allowed for a Star Wars version to proceed. The ride opened January 9, 1987 and since then there have been several editions of Star Tours. This Press Kit video was produced to announce the ride’s release and was distributed to the media. It features interviews from the main players. Original release 1987 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This is the full Captain EO film that no longer exists at any Disney Park. We present it here for historical purposes. Captain EO was the first theme park 4D experience using motion a control film ride simulator with real effects in the theater. The more famous attraction to use this technology, Star Tours, came the following year. Captain EO was the most expensive film ever made at that time. Starring Michael Jackson, produced by George Lucas, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola this was a major production at the time. The film ran from 1986-1997. Starring Michael Jackson as Captain EO Anjelica Huston as The Supreme Leader Dick Shawn as Commander Bog Tony Cox as Hooter Debbie Lee Carrington as Geek (Idy) Cindy Sorensen as Geek (Ody) Gary DePew as Major Domo Percy Rodriguez as Narrator Release date September 12, 1986 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.