The American Adventure (Epcot)

Last updated
The American Adventure
Epcot USA logo.svg
The American Adventure (23860708488).jpg
The outer facade of the show building
EPCOT
Area World Showcase
Coordinates 28°22′03″N81°32′58″W / 28.367462°N 81.549454°W / 28.367462; -81.549454
StatusOperating
Opening dateOctober 1, 1982
Ride statistics
Attraction type Theater Show
Designer WED Enterprises
ThemeColonial American town
Music Golden Dream
Audience capacity1024 per show
Duration28:30
Hosts Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain
Audio-animatronics 35
Sponsors American Express (1982–early 2000s) and Coca-Cola (1982–1998) [1] [2]
Wheelchair symbol.svg Wheelchair accessible
Assistive listening icon.svg Assistive listening available

The American Adventure is the host pavilion of the World Showcase area of EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. It is also the name of the pavilion's main attraction, an Audio-Animatronic stage show of American history. It is located between the Italy and Japan pavilions.

Contents

The pavilion includes the Liberty Theater (home of the stage show), an exhibition space called the American Heritage Gallery, the America Gardens Theatre live entertainment venue, and a quick service food location named Regal Eagle Smokehouse—a Muppet-themed barbecue restaurant. Additionally, there is a merchandise location that houses the former Art of Disney store that was located in Future World. [3]

Layout

Inside The American Adventure preshow area Epcotusa2.jpg
Inside The American Adventure preshow area

The pavilion is a single large building designed in the Colonial style. The building uses forced perspective to make a five-story building appear to be two and a half stories; there is a large ramp inside the attraction that slopes up, then down. [4]

Its main attraction is The American Adventure show. The lobby is a square room that has an oval-shaped area in the middle with a dome-shaped ceiling. The walls contain quotes from famous Americans, which include Walt Disney and Charles Lindbergh, and paintings of American life throughout history representing what America is all about. The Hall of Flags exhibit is a display of the different flags throughout U.S. history that you see as you go upstairs to the theater. In the upstairs lobby there are two more paintings of American life. In the theater, there are 12 statues, six on each side of the theater, that are spirits of American values personified.

List of paintings

TitleDescription
A Lesson for the FutureA teacher giving a lesson to her students outside, while men in the background build a school house
Building a Future TogetherConstruction workers building a skyscraper.
Compassion Knows No BoundaryA doctor and nurse treating sick people in another country
Defending FreedomA factory making planes for the battle fields of World War II.
Election DayTown's people gathered together to hear the election results
Giving ThanksFamily praying at the dinner table for their Thanksgiving meal.
Promise of AmericaImmigrants coming to America and see the Statue of Liberty.
Reaching for the StarsA depiction of the many things happening at NASA's space program.
Seeds of HopeNative American teaching the Plymouth Pilgrims how to plant corn.
Staying the CourseTwo sailing ships out at sea.
Westward HoSeveral wagons crossing over a river, possibly the Mississippi River

List of statues

Spirit ofPersonification
Adventure Seaman
Compassion Doctor
Discovery Mountain man
Freedom Pilgrim
Heritage Native American woman, possibly Sacagawea
Independence American Revolutionary soldier
Individualism Cowboy
Innovation African-American scientist, possibly George Washington Carver
Knowledge School Teacher
PioneeringEarly aviation pilot, possibly Charles Lindbergh
Self-RelianceFarmer
Tomorrow Mother and child

The American Adventure attraction

The American Adventure takes guests on a trip through America's history. It is narrated by Audio-Animatronic figures of Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain (who lived almost 100 years apart) with the voices of Dallas McKennon as Benjamin Franklin and John Anderson as Mark Twain. The show is presented in a theater-like auditorium, with sets and characters rising out from the stage floor to represent scenes from different historical periods. The characters provide insight into American life of the past through conversations in which they discuss the current events of their time. Periods include the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 (representing American industrialization), and the Great Depression. The presentation culminates with a musical film montage representing famous moments and people in American history from post-World War II to the present.

Changes

In 1993, the attraction was updated with all new animatronics and a new version of the theme song. In mid-2007, about 45 seconds of footage were added to the end of the Golden Dreams montage, the first updating of the montage since the 1993 renovation. The most notable addition is the brief footage of New York City Police Department/New York City Fire Department rescue crews after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. The Golden Dream montage and theme song were updated again in early 2018 to feature footage of more recent notable figures, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Madonna, Simone Biles, and Elon Musk, among others.

Songs

Theme song

The theme song for The American Adventure is "Golden Dream". The music was written by Robert Moline and the lyrics were written by show producer Randy Bright. Two versions now exist for "Golden Dream." with the original version arranged for choir and full orchestra by Don Mueller in 1980 and the arrangement heard today is a 2018 updated version by producer Harvey Mason Jr. [6] When speaking of the project Mason's goal was to "be respectful of the original arrangement while making it contemporary and relevant to what's going on in music today." [7] The song gets its biggest push at the end of the attraction, during the Montage sequence of famous Americans. The song is also used as the finale to Disneyland's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

The original version can be found on these releases:

  • The Music of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Epcot Center (1988)
  • The Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World (1991)
  • The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song (1992)
  • Walt Disney World Resort: The Official Album (1999)
  • Walt Disney World Resort: Official Album (2000)
  • Official Album: Walt Disney World Resort Celebrating 100 Years of Magic (2001)

The 2018 version can be found on iTunes. [8]

Attraction voice cast

ActorRole
Charles Aidman Father ("Two Brothers")
John Anderson Mark Twain, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Mic BellBanjo player ("Great Depression")
Dehl Berti Chief Joseph
Bob BoydTheodore Roosevelt
Bill BoylesConfederate brother ("Two Brothers")
Tricia Buttrill Susan B. Anthony
Steve Cook Matthew Brady
Robert Easton Thomas Jefferson
Walker Edmiston Andrew Carnegie, man in rocking chair ("Great Depression")
Al Fann Frederick Douglass, apple salesman ("Great Depression")
Bob Holt John Muir, store owner ("Great Depression")
Dallas McKennon Benjamin Franklin, Continental Army soldier ("Valley Forge")
Claudette Nevins Mother ("Two Brothers")
Patricia Parris Jane ("World War II")
Joe Rohde Alexander Graham Bell
Will Rogers Jr. Will Rogers
Mark L. Taylor Union brother ("Two Brothers")
Harvey Vernon Sailor ("World War II")
B.J. Ward Rosie ("World War II")
Frank Welker Continental soldier ("Valley Forge"), additional voices

The Voices of Liberty

The Voices of Liberty is an eight-member professional a cappella singing group that hosts patriotic choral performances in the pavilion rotunda throughout the day. The group also performs in year-round events including the Candlelight Processional. The group performs special performances during the holiday season and on the 4th of July. The group has performed for several U.S. presidents including Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. [9]

When recording or performing outside EPCOT, Voices of Liberty go by the name Liberty Voices. Voices of Liberty evolved from a group called Re'Generation that sang a cappella at Magic Kingdom in the 1970s. The group has released several audio recordings of their music. Derric Johnson is the founder/director/arranger of all the music sung by the Voices of Liberty, Liberty Voices and Re'Generation. [10]

America Gardens Theatre

Across from the pavilion is the America Gardens Theatre, an outdoor amphitheater. The America Gardens Theatre hosts concerts, singers, and bands from around the world. Many entertainment acts from around the world perform on this stage.

The America Gardens Theatre has hosted numerous shows since it was built. Over the years some of the more famous shows include Blast! and Barrage. During the park's two major festivals—the International Flower and Garden Festival in the spring, and the International Food and Wine Festival in the fall—musical groups from the 1960s through the 1990s perform as part of each festival's concert series ("Garden Rocks" in the spring, and "Eat to the Beat" in the fall).

In 1999, a revised version of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance was performed in the theater over the summer. Even though Flatley himself did not perform in the show, its popularity encouraged Epcot to bring the show back in 2000 for another summer run. Originally designed as an open-air theater, partial cover and backstage dressing and show equipment areas were added during a refurbishment that was completed before the inception of the Magical World of Barbie stage show.

In April 2015, the American Music Machine a cappella group began performing at the America Gardens Theatre using music arranged by “Glee's” Tim Davis. The group stopped performing on September 29, 2017. [11] [12] Their captain, Antonio Fernandez, moved on to join DCappella at the group's founding in 2018 as its vocal percussion. [13]

Candlelight Processional

During the holiday season, the theater hosts the Candlelight Processional. This show follows in the footsteps of the show first performed at Disneyland in 1960, and which was duplicated at the Magic Kingdom in 1971. The show relocated to the America Gardens Theater in 1994. The show includes an orchestra and massed choir that perform traditional holiday songs while a guest celebrity retells the nativity story. Some of the celebrities who have taken part in the Processional over the years include Andy Garcia, John Stamos, Marlee Matlin, Edward James Olmos, Haley Joel Osment, Susan Lucci, John O'Hurley, Jim Caviezel, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Jodi Benson, T.D. Jakes, Pat Sajak, and Heather Graham.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epcot</span> Theme park at Walt Disney World

EPCOT is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences division. The park opened on October 1, 1982, as EPCOT Center—the second of four theme parks built at the resort. Often referred to as a "permanent world's fair", EPCOT is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, particularly technological innovation and international culture and is known for its iconic landmark Spaceship Earth, a geodesic sphere.

<i>Soarin</i> Flight motion simulator at Disney parks

Soarin', also known as Soarin' Over California, Soarin' Around the World, Soaring Over the Horizon and Soaring: Fantastic Flight, is a flight motion simulator attraction at Disney California Adventure, Epcot, Shanghai Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea. It employs a mechanical lift system, a projected presentation on an 80 ft (24 m) concave 180-degree dome screen, and artificial scents and wind to simulate a hang gliding flight over locations in six of the world's continents. Many consider it the first flying theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress</span> Stage show at Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater audio-animatronic stage show attraction in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando. Created by Walt Disney and WED Enterprises as the prime feature of the General Electric (GE) Pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair, the attraction was moved to Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California as Carousel of Progress, and remained there from 1967 until 1973. It was replaced in Disneyland by America Sings in 1974, and reopened in its present home in the Magic Kingdom in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happiest Homecoming on Earth</span>

The Happiest Homecoming on Earth or the Happiest Celebration on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. It commemorated fifty years of Disney theme parks and celebrated Disneyland's milestone throughout Disney parks all over the globe. The "Homecoming" name was only used for Disneyland Resort; all the other Disney Parks resorts used the "Celebration" name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln</span> Stage show at Disneyland

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is a stage show featuring an Audio-Animatronic representation of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Originally created by Walt Disney for the State of Illinois pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, the show opened at Disneyland Park in 1965. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln has undergone several changes with advances in Audio-Animatronics technology and has been on a few hiatuses over the decades.

<i>Remember... Dreams Come True</i> Nighttime spectacular at Disneyland

Remember... Dreams Come True was a Disneyland fireworks display commemorating the 50th anniversary of the park in 2005 and 2006. The show featured fireworks, lower level pyrotechnics, isobar flame effects, projection mapping, lasers, searchlights, and lighting set to the soundtracks of some of Disneyland's rides and shows.

Magic Music Days was a program put on by the Disneyland Resort, the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort Paris and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Its intent bring in school and community groups to perform in the parks and/or take part in workshops or clinics. This program was replaced by Disney Imagination Campus which includes all performing groups and field trip ticket-only youth groups. Types of groups included:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonders of Life</span> Former pavilion in Future World at Epcot

The Wonders of Life pavilion was an attraction at Epcot at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was devoted to health care, focusing on the human body, physical fitness, medicine and nutrition. Attractions included Body Wars and Cranium Command. It is located inside a golden colored dome between Mission: SPACE and Wonders of Xandar. It opened on October 19, 1989, and closed on January 1, 2007. From 2007 to 2018, the Pavilion acted as EPCOT's Festival Center, before becoming a construction site in March 2019 in preparation for the upcoming Play! Pavilion to replace it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meet the World</span> Former attraction at Tokyo Disneyland

Meet the World was an attraction at Tomorrowland in Tokyo Disneyland that operated from 1983 until 2002. It was a show that explored the history of Japan over the course of 19 minutes, focusing specifically on the history of Japan's engagement with the outside world. The show featured an animated crane explaining Japanese history to a young boy and girl from Yokohama. The show featured dialogue between a number of audio-animatronic figures and a movie screen in the background. Park guides and maps said "explore Japan's heritage in an incredible time-travel adventure!"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Themed Entertainment Association</span> Theme park industry association

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and are distributed annually in a range of themed entertainment categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WestCOT</span> Cancelled Disney theme park

WestCOT was a planned second theme park for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was essentially a replica of EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and was dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture. The park was represented by SpaceStation Earth, a larger version of the geodesic sphere Spaceship Earth featured at EPCOT Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turtle Talk with Crush</span> Interactive show at Disney theme parks

Turtle Talk with Crush is an interactive talk show type attraction that has appeared at several of the Disney theme parks. It first opened on November 16, 2004 at The Living Seas pavilion at Epcot and later at Disney California Adventure in July 2005. The attraction opened in Hong Kong Disneyland from May 24 to August 10, 2008 as part of the "Nonstop Summer Fun" celebration. The attraction also opened in Tokyo DisneySea on October 1, 2009.

"There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" is the theme song to two Disney attractions, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress at the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World and Innoventions at Disneyland. It was also used in one scene of the Epcot attraction Horizons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Pavilion at Epcot</span> Pavilion of World Showcase in Epcot

The China Pavilion is a Chinese-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase within Epcot at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States. Its location is between the Norway and Germany pavilions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France Pavilion at Epcot</span> Pavilion of World Showcase in Epcot

The France Pavilion is a French-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase within Epcot at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. Its location is between the Morocco and United Kingdom pavilions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Pavilion at Epcot</span> Pavilion of World Showcase in Epcot

Japan is a cultural pavilion representing the country of the same name as part of the World Showcase area of EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Its location is between The American Adventure and Morocco pavilions.

<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>: Cosmic Rewind Enclosed roller coaster at Epcot

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an enclosed roller coaster at Epcot at Walt Disney World, manufactured by Dutch company Vekoma. Based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Guardians of the Galaxy films, it is the first attraction at Walt Disney World to feature characters from the Marvel Universe. Opened on May 27, 2022, it is Epcot's first roller coaster and Disney's first backwards-launched roller coaster. It replaced the Universe of Energy pavilion, which closed on August 13, 2017.

<i>Candlelight Processional</i> (Disney Parks) Annual Christmas event at the Disney theme parks

The Candlelight Processional is an annual live Christmas event held in Disneyland Park in California and EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The event was created by Walt Disney himself, and has become an annual holiday tradition for many guests. The processional is currently performed for only two nights only at Disneyland, and throughout the holiday season at EPCOT.

References

  1. ↑ Mindsai Productions; Disney Interactive (1996). The Walt Disney World Explorer (Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh) (1.0 ed.). Disney Interactive. Scene: The American Adventure slideshow.Topic title display field: "The American Adventure presented by American Express® and Coca-Cola"
  2. ↑ Young, Josh (April 9, 2014). "What Happened To Theme Park Sponsorships?". Theme Park University. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018. A Theme Park University reader recently posed the following on our TPU Facebook wall: 'When did Walt Disney world get away from sponsors of restaurants and attractions? Coca-Cola used to sponsor The American Adventure and Kraft Foods then later Nestle sponsored The Land.'
  3. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/06/new-barbecue-restaurant-featuring-craft-brews-to-debut-at-the-american-adventure-in-epcot-later-this-year/ Archived 2019-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Disney Parks Blog accessed 10/8/2019
  4. ↑ Wright, Alex; The Imagineers (2007). The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World : an Imagineer's-Eye Tour (1st ed.). New York: Disney Editions. p. 103. ISBN   978-0786848867.
  5. ↑ "Disney Song #47: New Song Bound". The MacGyver Project. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Hal Leonard Golden Dream SATB Arranged by Don Muller - Woodwind & Brasswind". Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  7. ↑ "Behind the Scenes With Walt Disney Imagineering: The Iconic 'Golden Dream' Anthem". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-05.
  8. ↑ "New 2018 Update Version of "Golden Dream" from the American Adventure at Epcot Now Available on iTunes - WDW News Today". Archived from the original on 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  9. ↑ OrlandoSentinel Original Voices of Liberty accessed 08/27/2023
  10. ↑ Derric Johnson. "About Derric Johnson - Musician, Conductor, Speaker and AuthorDerric Johnson". Derricjohnson.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  11. ↑ "American Music Machine News". WDWmagic.com. October 3, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  12. ↑ Burke, Bill (May 17, 2015). "Disney World ushers in upgrades for 'Coolest Summer'". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Who is part of the DCappella cast?". DCappella Live. Disney Music Group. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.