What a FANtastic weekend! D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, presented Destination D-Attraction Rewind (hosted by H20+) from November 21-23 at the Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort in Orlando, Florida. If you aren’t familiar, this was a members-only extravaganza with presentations by Disney historians, Imagineers and Legends. Aside from a very informative compilation of panelists and presentations D23 members enjoyed a pop-up Mickey’s of Glendale shop with exclusive limited edition merchandise (and PINS!), a Treasures of Walt Disney Archives exhibit as well as a sneak peek at Disney’s Tomorrowland. If you didn’t attend, don’t fret, you can join the D23 official fan club (for free) by signing up at the following link: https://d23.com/about-d23. There are upgraded membership levels available as well.
The weekend’s “theme” was divided into
two topics. First, on Saturday, the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair was delved
into because some of the Disney parks’ most beloved attractions are a result of
Disney’s contributions to the fair (Carousel of Progress, It’s a Small World
and the animatronic Mr. Lincoln). The second day’s theme covered beloved Disney
shows and attractions that are no longer in operation as well as little known
ideas and attractions that never quite made it to completion. I will give you all the details on the themed
days in the next parts of this series: Part
2, Saturday 11/22/14: Welcome to the World’s Fair and Part 3, Sunday, 11/23,14: Attraction
Rewind.
On Friday, I had the privilege of
attending a press conference to hear Walt
Disney Archive Director, Becky Cline, discuss in depth the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives
Exhibit that displayed World’s Fair souvenirs, iconic items from
attractions that are closed (such as a baby polar bear from Maelstrom).
Becky Cline proved to be a treasure in
her own right as she regaled us with the fabulous history of the items on
display in the Treasures exhibit,
bringing personality to each of the items I had just viewed. I was already thoroughly fascinated and I had
taken hundreds of photos as I walked through (lucky for you I narrowed it
down!!) but Becky really took it to a new level, as you will see.
Becky
Cline, Director of Walt Disney Archives, pictured above.
One of Becky’s
favorite items displayed in this particular exhibit is the “Irradiated Dime” from the Hall of Science at the 1964-65 New York World’s
Fair. She explained that you could put
your own dime into a slot and it would then be dropped though a nifty machine
which would shoot it with the “irradiator”.
The dime would change color and fall into a slot where there was a
Geiger counter that actually would prove to you that your dime was now
radioactive! Fortunately, Becky said
that the half-life of radiation for a dime is only about 22 seconds so it was
likely safe by the time it was placed into a sleeve and then handed to you to
take home.
Above,
the Irradiated Dime
Another
darling piece from the exhibit was this child’s
purse or tote, pictured below. While
it is not necessarily Disney related, it was included as an example of the
types of souvenirs that were purchased during the fair.
Below
is a 1964-65 New York World’s Fair adult
ticket. As you can see, adult entrance was granted for the price of $2.00
which is the equivalent of about $15.00 in 2014. It is interesting that certain attractions
were an additional fee or ticket, further increasing the price. For example, to gain entry to It’s a Small World, the additional cost
was .60 for children and .95 for adults.
There were ten million tickets for It’s
a Small World sold and all proceeds went to UNICEF.
Below
is a “long playing record together with a big full color picture book of a
happy voyage to visit the children of the world” with a picture of the “Tower of the Four Winds” displayed on
the front. This artwork is iconic, it is
featured throughout the exhibit. The
back of the record is available for purchase in a matted ready-to-frame picture
in the Mickey’s of Glendale Giftshop.
A
photo of the whimsical Tower of the Four Winds designed by artist/Imagineer Rolly
Crump.
Below
is a Mr. Lincoln record souvenir,
packaged and ready to go – as a postcard!
A World’s Fair guest could buy this record, write an address on it, affix
postage and viola, it was sent to a relative or friend. Surprisingly, some of these survived the
postal system and are still around.
Next
are items from beloved attractions that are no longer in operation.
One
of my favorite rides, Mr. Toad’s Wild
Ride was previously located in the area where you will now find The Many
Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Figment is pictured
below. Tony Baxter, a Disney Legend,
told us during a presentation that Figment was originally imagined and drawn as
a green dinosaur, however when Kodak (the sponsor) saw the logo they were
slightly concerned because their rival, Fuji, has a green dragon logo. Figment was promptly drawn to be a purple
dragon.
More to come!! Teresa
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