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Dec 02, 2023

How Did We Get "Aladdin's Oasis" at Disneyland?

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Disneyland had what it thought was a solid expansion plan for the early 1990s.

This plan meant that – for four years – Disneyland Park would have something new to help drive up attendance levels. Which – given that the Happiest Place on Earth relied heavily on the annual visits of millions of Southern Californian locals in order to meet its annual attendance goals – seemed like a great idea. So budgets were approved, schedules were set. Mouse House managers seemed happy.

But then Disney's "Aladdin" opened in theaters on November 25, 1992.

This hand-drawn animated feature quickly became the highest grossing film of the year. This Ron Clements / John Musker movie also became the very first full-length animated feature to sell over a half a billion worth of tickets worldwide.

More to the point, "Aladdin" turned out to be an attendance driver at Disney-MGM Studio theme park in Florida. When the "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade debuted at that theme park on December 21, 1992 (some four weeks after this film had first bowed in theaters), people lined up along Hollywood Boulevard hours in advance to claim a great viewing spot for this twice-daily presentation.

Likewise the Soundstage Restaurant at that theme park was doing turn-away business for its "Breakfast with Aladdin." Which did not go unnoticed by the folks back in Burbank.

They turned to the team at Disneyland and said " … have you seen what's going on in Orlando with all of the ‘Aladdin’ stuff?" To which Disneyland managers said, "Yes, that's nice. But have you seen our already scheduled / budgeted expansion plan for the next four years?" To which the folks back in Burbank would say " … Mr. Eisner really wants to see some stuff in Disneyland that celebrates Aladdin." To which the people who work in the Team Disney Anaheim building said "Yes, sir. Right away, sir."

The first thing they did was order up a clone of Disney-MGM's "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade. Even with a rush order, this 5 unit parade (which was supported by a cast of nearly 100 performers) didn't begin rolling through Disneyland Park ‘til April 2, 1993. Nearly six months after this animated feature first arrived in theaters.

Interesting side note here: Because the parade route at Disneyland is so much longer than the one that runs through Disney-MGM, the Entertainment team in Anaheim decided to expand the cast of their version of the "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade. It featured three new sets of characters:

Trust me on this, people. You do NOT want to Google "Harem Camels." This walk-around characters from the "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade will haunt your dreams.

Which brings us to the food component of today's story. Because Disneyland really wanted its own "Aladdin" -themed restaurant that would then do the same sort of turn-away business that Disney-MGM's Soundstage Restaurant was doing with its super-popular "Breakfast with Aladdin" offering.

On a parallel track, the folks who ran the Tahitian Terrace at Disneyland Park (which had first opened back in 1962 and – I’m now quoting from the flyer that they used to hand Guests as they came through the turnstiles at the front of the Park – served " … unique Polynesian specialties served in an exotic setting bordering the Rivers of the Jungle Cruise") realized that this Walt-era restaurant really needed some TLC.

By that I mean: The waterfall curtain (This was one of the defining features of this Adventureland eatery. As Guests dined on teriyaki steak and Australian lobster tail, this waterfall curtain would suddenly part. And then performers would come out and spin fire torches or pull people up onstage & teach them to hula) was looking kind of raggedy. And the Park's Maintenance Team had a sit-down with the Imagineers about how …

Well, given that the Jungle Cruise was scheduled to undergo a reinvention the following year (The idea was that all of the boats in this Adventureland attaction's fleet would then lose their signature red & white awnings and then become far grubbier, more beat-up looking. So that Disneyland's Jungle Cruise and the soon-to-open "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" would then appear to be telling one consistent, cohesive story), the folks in charge of the Tahitian Terrace were like " … Hey, you’re making all of those changes to the Jungle Cruise next year. While that work is going on, can we please get some guys come by and fix the waterfall curtain at our restaurant? Cause it's looking kind of raggedy."

To which the Imagineers replied "We’ve got an even better idea. We’re now going to gut the Tahitian Terrace and turn it into ‘Aladdin's Oasis.’ Which will feature animatronics & elaborate special effects that happen right at the dining table in front of the Guests and a big cast of performers. And … "

To which the folks in charge of the Tahitian Terrace said " … We just need the waterfall curtain repaired."

It didn't matter. After nearly 30 years in operation (and 40,000 performances of the show which was offered with dinner at this Adventureland eatery), Disneyland's Tahitian Terrace closed on April 17, 1993. Only to then re-opened just three months later as Aladdin's Oasis.

To say that this was a rush job was putting in mildly. I got to talk with some of the folks who worked construction on this project. They talked about how – on the usual Disneyland restaurant redo – there was typically a full year between when a concept was first developed and when the finished eatery then opened its doors. In the case of "Aladdin's Oasis," from the moment where people in Burbank initially suggested this idea to when this new Adventureland restaurant then opened was five months.

Things were moving so fast on this project … Well, they initially didn't have any finished blueprints on site. So – to get a sense of what an Aladdin-themed restaurant might look like – one of the construction foreman went down to Main Street and purchased a copy of John Culhane's "Disney's Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film" with his own money. The construction team then regularly consulted Culhane's book when it was crafting props right there onsite.

The plan here was that "Aladdin's Oasis" would present eight shows a day starting at 11 a.m. (Three lunch-time performances and then five dinner-time presentations). With the final show getting underway at 10 p.m. every night.

As for the old Tahitian Terrace space with its waterfall curtain, it had been reimagined as this grand Persian Palace which has been built right at the edge of the Rivers that Disneyland's Jungle Cruise plies. "Aladdin's Oasis" is – for lack of a better term – a sixth century supper club. 250 people at a time would be seated & then greeted by Kazim, the owner of this now-ornate establishment. Which was now festooned with hanging brass lanterns, colorful canopies and Oriental carpets.

As Guests eyeball the menu (trying to decide if – for their entrée – they’re going to have the chicken shish kabob served with a herb yogurt sauce, the beef shish kabob with ride, or the vegetarian offering), Aladdin suddenly runs into this restaurant clutching a loaf of bread. He's then pursued by Jafar's henchmen. And – as these performers race up & down the aisles of this café – they then sing the "One Jump" song for the "Aladdin" film.

That moment pretty much established the style & tone of the show presented in "Aladdin's Oasis." It's not a beat-for-beat recreation of the storyline of that animated feature. But – rather – kind of a greatest hits. With the idea that – whenever possible – the storyline of this sixth century supper club show would then circle back to a food-based moment.

Take – for example – when "Friend Like Me" was performed in this Adventureland eatery. Before this song got underway, Guests were encouraged to rub the magic lamp which was right in the center of their table. It would then begin to smoke. And as the song began, servers would then come out and deliver dessert. Which was a chocolate lamp filled with chocolate mousse and a berry topping.

And did I mention the Audio-Animatronic version of Iago (which Gilbert Gottfried recorded all sorts of new dialogue for?) Or how Jafar actually performed magic tricks onstage, with he & an assistant jamming swords into the top & the sides of a box that Princess Jasmine was supposedly hiding in? Or the "Three Wishes," which was this scantily clad trio of girls who belly-danced and often sang back-up for Aladdin & Kazim.

There's a number of videos of the "Aladdin's Oasis" show up on YouTube right now. So it's easy for you to go see how elaborate & ambitious this Disneyland supper club experience once was. What's not easy to understand is why – even though "Aladdin" was a hit movie (and would then go on – in September of 1993 – to sell millions of VHSs) – why this Adventureland eatery then closed its doors in the late Summer of 1994 (Just 14 months after it first opened).

To be blunt, everything at a Disney theme park is considered its own profit center. It has to make a certain regular return-on-investment in order to justify the ongoing cost of staffing the place. And that just wasn't the case with "Aladdin's Oasis."

As it was explained to me … This Disneyland project had been so rushed (in order to make Michael Eisner happy. He reportedly insisted that "Aladdin's Oasis" had to be up & running at Disneyland Park before the VHS version of "Aladdin" became available for purchase in September of 1993) and the Company has spent so much money getting this sixth century supper club up out of the ground … Well, the only way this place could ever recover its construction costs was if every single seat at all eight seatings every day were filled. And especially during Disneyland's off-season (when fewer people went to the Park each day. Especially mid-week), that just wasn't possible.

Disneyland did what it could to boost advance reservations at "Aladdin's Oasis." For a time, if you booked a dinner package at this Adventureland eatery, you not only got a reserved viewing spot for the "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade, you also got a prime viewing spot for "Fantasmic!" thrown in for free too.

A few months after the very last presentation of the "Aladdin's Royal Caravan" parade rolled through Disneyland in June of 1994, "Aladdin's Oasis" shut its doors over in Adventureland. For a time, the Park's Entertainment team would use this space for a storytime meet-n-greet experience with Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie.

More recently, this space along the Rivers that make up Disneyland's Jungle Cruise was gutted so that the Tropical Hideaway could then be built. This quick service restaurant opened in Adventureland back in December of 2018. Its primary appeal is that you can get a variety of flavors of Dole Whip here, plus Polynesian themed nibblies.

Just so you know: The failure of "Aladdin's Oasis" back in 1993 & 1994 exacted a price. The Imagineers had two other supper club experiences in the works back then. One that was supposed to be built at Disney's Boardwalk and was supposed to have been Little Mermaid-themed, and another that was supposed to have been built inside of Disney-MGM as part of that theme park's Sunset Boulevard expansion. That one was supposed to have replicated the South Seas Club from Disney's June 1991 release, "The Rocketeer."

Did any of you get to experience "Aladdin's Oasis" in person? What do you remember of this short-lived dining experience at Disneyland?

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Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: "Disney Dish with Len Testa," "Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor" and "Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams." Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

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Be sure to check out Part One: How Did We Get "Aladdin's Oasis" at Disneyland?

The Tahitian Terrace – a Polynesian-themed restaurant which had operated in the Adventureland section of Disneyland Park for 30 years – was shut down in the Spring of 1993 to " … make way for Prince Ali."

"Aladdin's Oasis" (the dinner adventure) only operated for 14 months. This show closed in August of 1994.

Just to clarify here, though. The "Aladdin's Oasis" show closed after a brief 14 month run. But because the Park had spent so much money building this new Adventureland restaurant (Remember it had been a rush job – going from concept to throwing open its doors in just 5 months – on Michael Eisner's expressed orders) … That – in an effort to recover some of that money – "Aladdin's Oasis" (in 1995) re-opened as just a restaurant in Adventureland that didn't offer a show. People oohed & aahed at all the exquisite detail inside (the in-laid ceramic tiles in the floor. That 15 foot-tall tiger's head that sat at the center of the stage at the front of this restaurant. FYI: This served as the Cave of Wonders in the "Aladdin's Oasis" show).

This Adventureland restaurant was admittedly a beautiful venue. But Disneyland visitors in the mid-1990s weren't all that adventurous. At least when it came to food. And a restaurant that served Americanized Middle Eastern fare had trouble attracting customers back then. Which is why the only-a-restaurant version of "Aladdin's Oasis" closed in 1995.

The way theme parks operate financially … Well, Disneyland couldn't just tear "Aladdin's Oasis" down and start anew. They’d spent far too much money building the thing. Strictly for tax purposes, this big chunk of Adventureland real estate now had to just sit there, empty as it depreciated.

Disneyland would periodically try & find other uses for this space. For a time, there was a "Storytime with Aladdin & Jasmine" show staged inside of this now vacant restaurant. Two Cast Members dressed as Aladdin & Jasmine would first tell the story of the "Aladdin" movie. Then – as this show's finale – the Cave of Wonders would suddenly come roaring to life. And – in a puff of smoke – the Genie would magically appear by leaping out of this giant stone tiger's open mouth. And then … Well, it was time for the Guests to line-up and get their picture taken with these three characters from "Aladdin." Maybe grab an autograph or two.

But "Storytime with Aladdin & Jasmine" was only presented at the Park on a seasonal basis. Only during those times of year that Disneyland was busiest. For the most part, this Adventureland eatery stood empty for the better part of a decade. Until word came from Lucasfilm in 2007 that they were about to begin production of a new "Indiana Jones" film.

Given that the previous "Indiana Jones" film (i.e., the third in the series, "Last Crusade") had come out back in May of 1989 … To finally be getting a new "Indy" film after 18 years was a very big deal.

FYI: The gap between the release of the fourth film in the series (i.e, 2008's "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Indy" film No. 5 (i.e., 2023's "Dial of Destiny") is almost as long. 15 years & change.

Given that Disneyland obviously had its "Indiana Jones Adventureland" attraction (which opened in March of 1995) … Well, they saw the upcoming release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" as a synergistic opportunity. So Disney reached out to Lucasfilm and proposed a bit of cross promotion that would involve Disneyland Park.

Just to be clear here: This was back in late 2007 / early 2008. The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm wouldn't happen ‘til October of 2012. That's more than 4 years off in the future.

Translation: It was Lucasfilm – with the highly anticipated movie that Disney now wanted to capitalize on — that had all of the power in this situation. NOT the Mouse. Keep that in mind as we move ahead with our story here.

Anyway … In March of 2008, Disneyland announces that it will be holding auditions for a new show that will soon be presented in the Adventureland section of that theme park. They’re looking for performers with stage combat experience to fill the following roles:

This supposedly kid-friendly attraction – which goes by the name "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" – is supposed to be alive-action adventure that will be staged several times a day all over Adventureland. The idea here is that – over the Summer of 2008 (coming right on the heels of the theatrical release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." In fact, this new show at Disneyland would begin presenting performances at that Park on the very same day "Indiana Jones 4" was released to theaters. Which – again – was May 22, 2008) – Disneyland Guests could join Doctor Jones and solve mysteries, battle evil villains and uncover ancient mysteries.

On paper, this three month-long cross promotion (which – because it was only going to held at Disneyland over that theme park's Summer months – went by the title of "Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries") was a great idea. In their heart of hearts, the Entertainment team at Disneyland Park was hoping that the centerpiece of this three month-long seasonal event (That would be the "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" show. Which we’ll get to in a moment) would be such an enormous success that they’d then be able to turn this kid-friendly show into a permanent attraction at Disneyland Park.

Let me explain what was really going on here: Disneyland's Entertainment team was hoping that they’d be able to turn the "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" show (which – given its title – was obviously going to be staged inside of the now-empty "Aladdin's Oasis" with that 15-foot-tall version of the Cave of Wonders serving as the centerpiece of this show) into another "Jedi Training Academy" -like show.

Just so you know: The "Jedi Training Academy" started out as a kid-friendly offering at the very first "Star Wars Weekend" at Disney-MGM in February of 1997. This show was so hugely popular with the under-10 crowd that it was eventually pulled out of this seasonal event at the Parks and turned into an audience-participation experience that was then offered multiple times at Disney's Hollywood Studios as well as out in Anaheim at Disneyland Park.

Anyway … That was the template that Disneyland's Entertainment team was using. The Jedi Training Academy. So what they were shooting for here was a 15-minute-long audience participation experience themed around the adventures of Indiana Jones that could then be presented inside of the old "Aladdin's Oasis" restaurant.

Again, a great idea on paper. But harder to pull off in the real world then you might think.

Why? Okay. The villain in the "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was Irina Spalko, a Soviet scientist played by Cate Blanchett.

So to keep some sort of continuity between the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" movie and "The Secret of the Stone Tiger" stage show, it was decided that the villain of this kid-friendly audience participation show at Disneyland Park would also be a female.

Okay. So this 15-minute-long show would start out with a Doctor Rachel Flannery standing in front of the Cave of Wonders inside of the old "Aladdin's Oasis" restaurant. Only – according to Rachel – these supposedly long-abandoned ruins were now the Bengalese temple of Sherdil, the tiger-god.

As Dr. Flannery explains, Indiana Jones had recently rediscovered this temple and gone inside. Indy was supposedly searching for the Golden Rod of Sherdil, an ancient object which is rumored to have great mystical power. But it had now been days since anyone had last seen Doctor Jones.

Anyway … Rachel recruits the help of the kids in the audience. And by using various clues scattered around "Aladdin's Oasis," they figure out how to re-open the now-sealed temple of Sherdil. Whereupon Indiana Jones comes stumbling out of the Stone Tiger's mouth clutching the Golden Rod of Sherdil.

As Indy is thanking the kids in the audience for getting him out of that sealed ancient temple, he puts down the Golden Rod of Sherdil. Dr. Flannery now picks it up and seemingly suddenly gets possessed by the demonic spirit of Kartikeya, the Hindu God of War.

Just a quick reminder here: "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" is supposed to be a kid-friendly audience participation show for the under 10 set.

Indy now realizes that Doctor Flannery is holding the Golden Rod of Sherdil and is possessed by Kartikeya, the Hindu God of War. He first tries to wrestle this ancient artifacts out of her hands, but Rachel (because she's possessed by the Hindu God of War) is super-powerful. She punches Indy a few times, so he punches her back.

It was at this point that the mothers of Orange County got upset. That's a man beating up a woman in a show at Disneyland. To which the Entertainment team at that theme park said "Actually, no. That's Indiana Jones battling with an fellow archaeologist who's just been possessed by Kartikeya, the super-powerful Hindu God of War. Indy's battling with a female character, just like he does in ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.’ Which just opened at a theater near you."

That explanation didn't matter. The mothers of Orange County were outraged. They marched en masse to Disneyland's Guest Relations Department to lodge their complaints. Which is why – just days after the "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" show opened at that theme park, in an interview with the Orange County Register – Disneyland's PR team announced that "Secret of the Stone Tiger" would now be altered. Indiana Jones would no longer throw direct punches at the woman character (Doctor Flannery) in this supposedly kid-friendly show, he would simply dodge.

And speaking of dodging … What also upset the mothers of Orange County (as well as a significant number of Disneyland Guests) was … Well, in the agreement that Disney had cut with Lucasfilm to have the Indiana Jones character appear at that theme park during "The Summer of Hidden Mysteries," the Cast Member playing Indy was not allowed to meet with park guests in your typical meet-and-greet format. This meant that no one came away with a photo of or an autograph from their favorite archaeologist.

This meant that a lot of little kids walked away from the "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" show in tears. Not because Indy beat up the lady. But because Dr. Jones wouldn't sign their autograph book.

Irony here: Remember that scene in "The Last Crusade" where Indy accidentally bumps into Adolph Hitler at a book-burning rally. And the Fuhrer then signs Doctor Henry Jones, Str's grail diary.

So sure. Adolph Hitler gives autographs. But not Indiana Jones.

This is why the "Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger" show didn't become the next Jedi Training Academy. By the Fall of 2008, the only Indy-related things that was left in Adventureland was the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye."

More to the point, this is why – some ten years later (after "Aladdin's Oasis" had experienced enough depreciation that it could now be taken off of Disneyland's books) – this long-empty Adventureland venue was torn down in early 2018 and then turned into the "Tropical Hideaway." Which soft-opened in December of that same year.

Kind of appropriate that this new Adventureland eatery soft-opened. Because they serve several different types of Dole Whip here. Along with Bao Buns & Sticky Pork.

Full circle. Kind of back to what the Tahitian Terrace offered.

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Not so long ago, we got a query from a "Disney Dish" listener about some of those concrete slabs that Guests can see over at the Theater of the Stars at Disney's Hollywood Studios. These are the ones that feature the handprints, footprints & signatures of various celebrities. I believe the two slabs that we specifically asked about were the ones for Monty Hall & Bob Denver.

These were done back when Disney-MGM (Now Disney's Hollywood Studios) used to have a "Star of the Day" program. Which …

Well, to tell this story properly, we really have to go back to when the original Grauman's Chinese Theater (the building that the Chinese Theater – now home to "Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway" – was modeled after).

This ornate structure was built on the really-for-real Hollywood Boulevard back in the mid-1920s.

Mind you, this massive structure – which originally had seating for 2,200 people inside of one giant theater (but has since been subdivided into six smaller theaters. Which only have seating for 932 people now) – took 18 months to build. And as the story goes, Sid Grauman – the guy who originally funded the construction of Grauman's Chinese Theater – was taking movie star Norma Talmadge on a tour of this still-under-construction massive movie palace (which cost $2 million to build. A huge sum back in the day).

Anyway … Norma isn't really watching where she's walking. And as she's touring this still-active construction site, Talmadge accidentally steps in some wet cement. Sid – who was already a master showman – looked at Norma's footprints in that wet cement and immediately saw a promotional opportunity. He leaned over and – right next to Talmadge's footprints – used his finger to quickly scribble Norma's name and the date.

And thus a Hollywood tradition was born. Getting your footprints and/or handprints cast in cement so that they could then be displayed in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater. Back in the day, you weren't really considered a star in Tinsel Town until Sid extended an invitation to you to come on down and do the whole step-in-wet-cement thing with the whole Hollywood press corps looking on. Not to mention all of your adoring fans.

Okay. So the original Chinese Theater opens in May of 1927. And the clone of this structure that Disney was building in Florida in the late 1980s.

FYI: The Imagineers used the exact same blueprints that Meyer and Holler – an architectural firm that was based in LA – originally drew up for Sid Grauman when they were building a copy of this movie palace to then serve as the central icon [the castle, if you will] of WDW's third theme park

Well, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner wanted the forecourt of Florida's Chinese Theater to be just like the original in Hollywood. Which meant that the Imagineers needed to start collecting celebrities’ signatures in cement ASAP.

The first two modern day stars to be captured in cement for Disney-MGM were TV legend Carol Burnett and Cindy Williams, co-star of 1970s sit-com, "Laverne & Shirley."

Burnett signed her cement block onsite at the still-under-construction Disney-MGM back on June 25, 1988. She was down there then to film "A Conversation with Carol." Which was one of the very first things to be shot at Disney-MGM. This one-hour-long look back at Burnett's career was shot inside of the just-completed Soundstage 3. The live audience that attended this taping had to hike across a muddy construction site in order to reach this soundstage. The completed show would then debut on the Disney Channel just two months later and then repeatedly air on that cable channel in the months leading up to the official opening of Disney-MGM.

Cindy Williams – on the other hand – did her cement handprint ceremony out in LA on the set of "Save the Dog." Which was a TV movie that Cindy was shooting for Disney which would eventually air on NBC as part of that network's "Magical World of Disney" programming block.

That's the dirty little secret of the forecourt of the Chinese Theater at Disney-MGM (Now Disney's Hollywood Studios). Because the Imagineers needed hardened cement blocks with celebrities signatures & handprints & footprints that they could then put into place prior to the official opening of this Studio theme park on May 1, 1989 … A bunch of these were done in advance far away from Florida.

The giveaway is the date. If you see a cement block with a star's signature that says "1988" (EX: Alan Alda's block), that was most likely done off-site well ahead of the official opening of this theme park.

Mind you, for the actual grand opening of Disney-MGM (a three day-long affair that stretched from April 29th – May 1st), there were celebrities galore on hand. And the Mouse deliberately staged several events in front of the press where multiple stars pressed their hands in wet cements (at the same time, mind you) in front of the cameras.

Among the stars who did this as part of Disney-MGM official grand opening were Bette Midler & Kevin Costner. There were also representatives from Hollywood's golden age like Mickey Rooney & Ann Miller. Former glamor girls like Lauren Bacall & Audrey Hepburn. Television pioneers like Buffalo Bob of "Howdy Doody" fame, Imogene Coca and Edie Adams. Sitcom stars from the 1960s like Rose Marie & Morey Amsterdam. Not to mention Werner Kempler (Colonel Klink from "Hogan's Heroes").

Entertainment legends like Bob Hope & George Burns. Top music stars like Willy Nelson & the Pointer Sisters. Disney Legends by Annette Funicello & Art Linkletter. Not to mention modern day icons like Walter Cronkite, Leonard Nimoy and Dick Van Dyke.

And Disney did their damnedest to capture all of these celebrities’ signatures & handprints & footprints in cement. Which – after they dried & hardened – were then dropped in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater at Disney-MGM.

The week that WDW's third theme park first opened, Disney-MGM then kicked off its "Star of the Day" program. FYI: Annette Funicello officially kicked this program off.

This is the typical schedule that Disney-MGM's "Star of the Day" program followed (FYI: There were typically two "Stars of the Day" each week at this theme park. One would appear Monday – Thursday. Then the second star would make appearances at Disney-MGM from Friday – Sunday.

Sweet gig. Disney would fly celebrities who’d agreed to part of MGM's "Star of the Day" program into Orlando. They put these people & their immediate families up at the Grand Flo. Given them free admission to the Parks / assign them a Plaid to make sure that they never waited in line for anything. Comped all of their meals. Their hotel room as well.

All Disney asked in return was three hours of that celebrity's time each day that they agreed to be a part of MGM's "Star of the Day" program. They’d be picked up at the Grand Flo each day at Noon and then travel by town car backstage to the Studio theme park. Once there, they’d have a quick hair & make-up session. Then …

This celebrity's day in the Park would typically kick off at 1 p.m. with a "Star Conversation" in the Theater of the Star (This was back when that outdoor performance venue was located just off of Hollywood Boulevard next to the Brown Derby), where this performer would then answer questions that Guests in the audience of this show would ask. At 2 p.m., it was then time for this celebrity to then ride up Hollywood Boulevard while seated in an open convertible. They’d then take part in a public handprint ceremony that was staged in front of the Chinese Theater and then pose for some pictures out in front of that building.

By 2:30 p.m., this "Star of the Day" was now off the clock. The Plaid that was assigned to them would now run this celebrity back to the Grand Flo and/or take them to wherever their family was playing on property. Like I said earlier, sweet, sweet gig. Basically a free WDW vacation for you & your family in exchange for three hours of being adored by the theme park-going public. What celebrity would say "No" when offered this gig.

FYI: A lot of folks said "Yes" when offered an opportunity to take part in the "Star of the Day" program when Disney-MGM was still relatively new because they themselves were curious about the Park / wanted to check out the Company's new state-of-the-art soundstages, etc.

We were just talking about people taking pictures of those celebrities out in front of the Chinese Theater pressing their hand into the cement … If you didn't bring your camera to Disney-MGM and then couldn't capture an image of this performer in action … Well, if you wanted an official 5 by 7 black & white image of that "Star of the Day," all you had to do – when you were leaving Disney-MGM for the day – was swing into Guest Relations. They always had a stack of free pile of official images of that day's "Star" to then give away to Guests there.

Yes, I’ve been told by folks who worked at Disney-MGM during the height of that theme park's "Star of the Day" program (which was largely discontinued in the mid-1990s once Sunset Boulevard & Twilight Zone Tower Terror opened) that – yes – they’d wind up with multiple slabs of hardened concrete with that celebrity's signature in them.

If a decision was eventually made to install that celebrity's slab in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater at Disney-MGM, they’d actually gather those three or four cement slabs that this celebrity had signed over their stint as "Star of the Day" at that theme park and then decide which was the best looking slab with the easiest-to-read signature. Some celebrities have horrible handwriting.

If a celebrity really messed up when doing their slab as part of their public handprint ceremony, that one would then be trashed backstage. If they were all good, the multiples were then carefully catalogued and warehoused.

This brings us to Bob Denver & Monty Hall's cement slabs (The ones on display in the Theater of the Stars). When the decision was made to relocate this performance venue from the edge of Hollywood Boulevard over to Sunset Boulevard when WDW's third theme park was being expanded in 1993 & 1994 … The decision was made to place the cement blocks of television legends in that space. Which is when the Imagineers went back into the warehouse, pulled out a number of the signed cement blocks that celebrities had done as part of the "Star of the Day" program that weren't already on display in the Park and … Well, picked the performers with the strongest name recognition AND the best / clearest handwriting.

Quick note to Mr. Iger: You’ve got a warehouse full of cement blocks with celebrities’ signatures on them. Many of these folks were screen & television legends that are no longer with us. If I were Bob, I’d reach out to Van Eaton and hire them to auction some of those suckers off.

I was there for the press opening of Disney-MGM (34+ years ago). Almost got a broken neck from my head constantly whipping around at all the celebrities who were there in the Park for this event. People like Rick Moranis & Jim Varney. Three of the four "Golden Girls" (Betty White, Rue McClanahan & Estelle Getty). Comedy legends like Steve Allen & Tony Randall. Disney Legends like Jimmy McDonald (Got all sorts of stories from him about working with Walt as part of an interview I did with him at the event. Really need to dig out that tape at some point). Likewise Charles Fleisher, the voice of Roger Rabbit (Very funny guy. Kind of crazy, though).

If you want to get a sense of who actually took part in Disney-MGM's "Star of the Day" program (because not all of those cement blocks with celebrity signatures wound up being displayed in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater or over in the Theater of the Stars off Sunset), go to Mama Melrose. There – in the waiting area of that Muppets Courtyard restaurant – you’ll see dozens of those black & white 5 & 7 images that I was telling about. Those cards that Guest Relations used to give away of the "Stars of the Day."

This article is based on research for The Disney Dish Podcast "Episode 426", published on May 8, 2023. The Disney Dish Podcast is part of the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network.

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Okay. By now, you have to have seen all of the videos from Saturday night, April 22nd. That's when – as the 10:30 p.m. performance of "Fantasmic!" was drawing to a close at Disneyland Park – Murphy the Dragon (That's the nickname which this piece of show equipment has been stuck with since the Summer of 2009. We’ll get to exactly why Murphy is called that in a few minutes. Anyway … )

What's cool about this particular moment in "Fantasmic!" is that this is when this 45-foot-tall prop (Which looks just like Maleficent does when that Mistress of Evil turns into a fire-breathing dragon in Disney's hand-drawn film from 1959, "Sleeping Beauty") belches out this 35-foot-long plume of flame. Which then seems to set the Rivers of America on fire.

Very cool moment in this show. Looks great. People lined up along the shoreline in Frontierland & New Orleans can actually feel the heat from this sudden burst of flames.

Things got a lot little hotter than usual at 10:30 p.m. on April 20, 2023. The Maleficent-the-Dragon prop had just done its setting-the-Rivers-of-America-on-fire thing. Mickey had just said his line "You may think you’re so powerful. But this is my dream." And – after pulling the Sword from the Stone – Mickey (as he usually does in this part of "Fantasmic!") seemed to defeat the dragon. So cue the sound effect that now has Maleficent screaming in agony.

That sound effect was a little on the nose. For – as the air was filled with Maleficent's screams – flames started to shoot out of this mechanical dragon's head & mouth. Flames that are not typically part of this show.

If you’re watching the right video of what happened back on April 22nd, you’ll catch one of those truly classic, only-at-Disneyland moments. Where you’ll hear one kid's voice – as clear as a bell – say "Is that supposed to be happening?"

Not the first time America's youth has been traumatized when an animated piece of show equipment caught fire at a Disney theme park. How many of you remember the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney-MGM (Now Disney's Hollywood Studios)? There was originally this vignette where – as your tram was rolling down Residential Street – where, after you passed the Golden Girls house, you’d then come across Vern's house.

Side note: Vern was that off-camera / unseen character that Jim Varney was always interacting with whenever he played Ernest P. Worrell. Varney was a very, very funny / incredibly talented man. Original voice of Slinky Dog in the "Toy Story" movies. Made a quartet of Ernest movies for Disney in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Sadly passed away back in February of 2000 at the age of 51. Gone far too soon. Still quote him to this day (i.e., "Mean old Mr. Gravity").

At the end of Vern's driveway, there was this animated prop version of Herbie the Love Bug. And – as the tram rolled by – Herbie would then go through his pre-programmed routine. He’d pop a wheelie. Herbie's tires would spin & smoke. His hood would fly up. His doors would flap open. Herbie's headlights would flash and his windshield wipers would flap back & forth. If you were on the right side of the tram (the one facing Vern's house) you also might get sprayed with Herbie's windshield wiper fluid (Really just water). Fun little vignette in the Studio Backlot Tour.

There was however the day that Herbie caught fire while he was parked in Vern's driveway (As it's been explained to me, it's believed that the Rosco fog machine that had been installed on the underside of this animated piece of show equipment. That's what made it look as though Herbie's tires were smoking when he popped that wheelie) somehow got overheated and then burst into flame.

But here's the thing: The Imagineers had built this incredibly sturdy piece of show equipment. Which meant that – even as Herbie was on fire – he’d still go through all of his paces as each of those trams rolled up Residential Street full of Guests with their cameras.

Only now when Herbie popped a wheelie, opened his hood, flapped his doors and honked his horn … Given that this animated piece of show equipment was now engulfed in flames, it now looked as though the Love Bug was in agony. That Herbie was imploring those trams full of tourists to please stop. And – for God's sake – go next door to the Golden Girls house and grab a hose.

I’m told that at least 5 – possibly 10 – trams rolled past Herbie the Love bug while he was on fire before the folks from Reedy Creek got there and finally put out the flames. After this, the animated Herbie prop was removed from the Studio Backlot Lot.

FYI: Residential Street was demolished in 2003 to make room for the stateside version of "Lights, Motor, Action: Extreme Stunt Show." The Studio Backlot Tour officially shut down for good on September 27, 2014. It was a shadow of its former self at that point. Severely truncated.

Back to fires at the Disney theme parks … Look, Disney is very, very dedicated to safety when it comes to its theme park. But unforeseen things sometimes happen.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World. This family coaster first opened to the public back in May of 2014 (It was the very last piece of the New Fantasyland project. Which more than doubled the size of the Magic Kingdom's most popular land, going from just 10 acres to 21 acres).

Anyway, the show building that houses the 2000 feet of track that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train runs along is right in the middle of New Fantasyland. Which would have then made it difficult for WDW's horticultural team to get access to all of the real plants & trees that would then be needed to make this place look like it was actually " … over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seven fall."

FYI: Those are actually the instructions that the Magic Mirror gives the Evil Queen when she's looking to travel to the Seven Dwarfs cottage and get rid of Snow White once & for all. "Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seven fall. Just after the 7/11, the Dwarfs’ place will be the second cottage on your left. They’re right across from the Three Little Pigs. If you see the house where Goldilocks lives, you’ve gone too far."

Okay. So to make things easier to maintain the exterior of this structure, the Imagineers opted to cover the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train show building with artificial foliage. Fake grass (which looks great from a distance).

This family coaster had only been open five months when – in early November of 2014 – right after "Wishes" had been presented at the Magic Kingdom, a still smoldering fireworks shell tumbled out of the sky and landed on top of the show building for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This spent shell landed in among a clump of that artificial grass (which – this kind of surprised me – was made out of flammable material). And as a direct result, a small fire broke out.

Want to stress here that this was a very small fire. Lots of videos were taken that night of the top of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train aflame. What wasn't typically reported was that Reedy Creek was there in the Magic Kingdom within minutes of this fire being reported. They quickly put out that fire. And within one hour of this fireworks-related blaze being reported, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was re-opened and Guests were once again having a great time on this New Fantasyland attraction.

Side note: Many of the structures in Fantasyland at WDW's Magic Kingdom have a discreet sprinkler system that – just before each night's fireworks display – then wets down the roof of these buildings. So that this very thing (i.e., a fire that's accidentally started by a stray fireworks shell landing in the wrong place at the wrong time) doesn't happen. Does anyone out there know if the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has the same sort of system in place on the roof of its show building? I mean, I’d have to assume so. So what went wrong on that night back in November of 2014? Did this spent shell land in the one spot of the roof of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train show building where those sprinklers didn't reach?

And speaking of fire prevention … There's a famous story about the original version of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (the one that opened at Disneyland Park back in March of 1967). As the story goes, the Anaheim Fire Chief was touring this attraction just ahead of its grand opening. And when he got to the scene where the pirates have set that city ablaze (That scene is another one of Yale Gracey's masterpieces. He's the one who figured out that – if you place a piece of mylar in front of a fan and then light that now-moving piece of fabric with a red & an orange light – you now have a very real looking recreation of fire) …

Anyway, the Anaheim Fire Chief is touring the "Pirates of the Caribbean" show building at Disneyland and see that attraction's city-ablaze scene and basically says "You need a kill switch for all of the fire effects in this room. Something that can shut down all of these effects all at once. Otherwise, if you ever a fire in this room, my guys won't be able to tell what's real and what's not. And trust me, you don't want us wasting time in here putting out pretend fires."

And that fire chief's warning proved to be prescient. For just three months after Disneyland's version of "Pirates of the Caribbean" first opened to the public, a fire did break out in this very same room of the attraction.

Luckily, it only impacted just one Audio-Animatronic attraction. Do you remember that drunken pirate in the city-ablaze room? The one who's kind of holding himself upright by hanging onto a lamp post? He's got a bottle in his one free hand and is singing "Yo Ho Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)?

Near as they can figure, a Guest who was floating through this particular show scene aboard one of "Pirates" bateaux flicked a lit cigarette at this AA figure. That lit cigarette got caught somehow in this animatronic's costume. Which then caught fire.

But here's the thing: Disneyland's version of "Pirates of the Caribbean" has only been open for a few months at this point. So many of the Guests who are now floating through this New Orleans Square attraction are doing so for the first time. So they don't know what the "city ablaze" scene in "Pirates" is supposed to look like. So – when their boat slowly floats past this engulfed-in-flame animatronic figure – they don't raise an alarm with the Cast Members when they get back to this ride's Load / Unload station. They just think " … That was a very realistic looking fire effect."

The story – as it was told to me – was that … Well, it was only after "Pirates" had closed for the night and a Disneyland employee was floating through this attraction (This is something that they do nightly. Noting things to bring to Maintenance's attention. Stuff that can be repaired / addressed during Disneyland's third shift) when they then came upon the now-charred / grotesque / melted AA figure still supposed dangling off of that lamppost with a bottle in his hand.

Disneyland really dodged a bullet here. They were lucky that this one AA figure didn't set that whole show scene inside of "Pirates of the Caribbean" ablaze.

I’ve heard the very same thing about what happened during that performance of "Fantasmic!" back on April 22nd. That Disneyland was very, very lucky that the wind was blowing in the direction that it was this past Saturday night. Given that Isopar (that's the petroleum product that produces that 35-foot burst of flame that shoots out of the dragon prop's mouth) is incredibly flammable … Well, imagine if the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction that night? And some of that stuff had landed on the Cider Mill directly behind that dragon on Tom Sawyer Island? That's where all of the stage managers and technicians who actually run "Fantasmic!" are typically holed up when this show is being staged. I don't even want to think about what could have happened then.

Speaking of what could have happened … There's been a lot of speculation about why Murphy caught fire back on April 22nd …

Need to explain the dragon's nickname … How many of you remember the dragon that originally appear in "Fantasmic!" when this Disneyland show first debuted back in May of 1992? Back then (due to budget cuts), this piece of show equipment was just a mechanical head on a boom lift. Which then had lengths of non-flammable fabric hanging off of that boom lift to hide that mechanism. To further hide the fact that there was no dragon body below that dragon head, they used to release this cloud of thick chemical fog just before this scene in "Fantasmic!" got underway.

The only problem was that all of the TV ads for "Fantasmic!" (along with all of the billboards along California's highways. The full page ads in Los Angeles’ newspapers that summer) all showed Mickey Mouse in his Sorcerer's Apprentice outfit battling with a full-sized Maleficent-the-Dragon with a body below its head.

Disneyland's Entertainment was genuinely embarrassed by how the dragon originally looked in "Fantasmic!" But since the crowds kept coming to this nighttime show, it took them years (17 in fact) to finally persuade Disneyland management to allow them to upgrade this specific element of this show.

Garner Holt was then hired to build a second dragon for "Fantasmic!" Very tall order. Had to fit in a pit directly below the stage on Tom Sawyer (This is why this dragon is actually in two pieces. A body that's roughly 23 feet in height. And then a neck & head portion of this same figure that's 22 feet in height. This element then raises up into place once the dragon's body is in position. Forming one 45-foot-tall, fire-breathing dragon [FYI: "Fantasmic!" original dragon – the mechanical head of a boom lift – was only 40 feet tall]).

It took a heavy-duty, custom built elevator to quickly lift this 18,000 pound / 32-foot-wide figure up out of that pit. It only has 35 seconds to pull off this particular effect in that show. Four computers then power the 60 microprocessors which control Murphy's movement. Doing everything from control the actuator that sends that flammable petroleum derivative up to Murphy's mouth (where it's then squirted out under high pressure just before it's ignited. Which – again – is how you get that 35-foot-long jet of flame) to changing the color of this animated prop's LED-powered eyes.

Disneyland pulled the original version of the "Fantasmic!" dragon (i.e., the mechanical head on a boom lift) off of Tom Sawyer Island in March of 2009. New version of dragon was supposed to debut in June of that same year as part of Disneyland's Summer Fantasmic! promotion.

That didn't happen. Had gone from too simple a mechanism to too complex. Los Angeles Time – June 12th – featured a headline which read "Disneyland's dragon debut delayed." Lots of Ds in that sentence.

Hence the name Murphy. As in "Murphy's Law." Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Finally debuted in early September of that same year. All is forgiven. "Fantasmic!" new dragon looks fantastic. Big wow.

Still a trifle problematic. August 2010, during that moment in the show where the animated dragon prop has to rise up out of that pit in just 35 seconds (with the 22 foot long head & neck section then rising up over that 23 foot tall body section to form one 45 foot tall dragon), something goes wrong. Entire prop suddenly pitches forward. Murphy winds up with his nose rest of the stage portion of Tom Sawyer's Island. Show E-stops. Disneyland makes announcement "Please don't take pictures of the dragon looking like this." People do anyway.

Different theories as to what happened that night. Disneyland execs say neck mechanic broke. Folks at Garner Holt has told me that it was operator error. Wasn't until November of that same year that Murphy resumed his regular appearances in Disneyland's "Fantasmic!"

FYI: Disney does have a contingency plan if Murphy malfunctions / isn't able to appear that night in "Fantasmic!" There's a version of this show where that show scene can be handled by projecting animated footage on this show's water screens.

Final thoughts: There are those that say … Well, if Disneyland had just stuck with their original version of the "Fantasmic!" dragon (i.e., the one that was just a mechanical head at the end of a boom lift. FYI: This is what WDW's version of "Fantasmic!" – the one that's been running since October of 1998 and will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this Fall – still uses), this never would have happened.

Not true. Kevin Kidney (who was a designer on the original version of this Disneyland nighttime show. Back when "Fantasmic!" was called the "Imagination River Spectacular") tells a story about what happened just one week before this show opened on May 13, 1992. Which was when – as they powered up that fire effect – the dragon head then flew off of that boom lift and clattered to the stage.

Of course, since we now live in the age of "If you didn't take a picture, it didn't happen," no one outside of Disneyland Entertainment vets ever talks about that incident. But it did happen.

This article is based on research for The Disney Dish Podcast "Episode 425", published on May 1, 2023. The Disney Dish Podcast is part of the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network.

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