How many of you strolled down Disneyland’s Afternoon Avenue and experienced “Disney Afternoon – Live!”

Jim Hill

13 years ago

Picture this: It’s the Fall of 1990. And after a highly
successful summer (with attendance levels at the Happiest Place on Earth
reaching record highs thanks to this theme park’s 35^th anniversary
celebration as well as the popularity of the Party Gras Parade), Disneyland
management is now facing a very serious problem.

According to this theme park’s construction schedules (which
has the Imagination River Spectacular – later renamed Fantasmic! — premiering
in May of 1992 and Mickeyland – later renamed Mickey’s Toontown — opening in January of 1993), Disneyland
will have nothing of size opening in 1990.

Concept art for Disneyland’s
Mickeyland. Please note that the
version of Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
depicted here
would have sent Lenny the Cab outside to drive
across the
rooftops of Toontown. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

And given that the Happiest Place on Earth enjoyed record
revenues for the past five years thanks to the attendance surges that came on
the heels of the June 1985 opening of Videopolis, the September 1986 premiere
of Captain EO, the January 1987 opening of Star Tours and the June 1989 opening
of Splash Mountain … The suits are just not looking forward to an attendance
dip next summer all because Disneyland happens to be between projects in 1991.

But then they notice that “The Disney Afternoon” – the first-ever
daily two-hour block of syndicated programming for children – has just premiered
nationally. And two of the shows that make up this block – “TaleSpin” and “Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers” – are consistently
ranked as the No. 1 and 2-rated animated children’s series for the 1990 – 1991 television
season.

Which got the folks at Disneyland thinking: What if they
were to take a part of that theme park and then do a “Disney Afternoon” -themed
overlay there? Give the Guests a place where they could meet with the stars of “DuckTales,” “Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” “Chip ‘N Dale Rescue
Rangers” and “TaleSpin.” Would that really be enough to get Southern
California locals to come on out to this theme park in 1991?

Well, as it turns out … Yes, it was. “Disney Afternoon – Live!”
(which stretched from Disneyland’s Motor Boat Cruise all the way back to the very edge
of Mickey’s Toontown’s construction site) turned this backmost portion of
Fantasyland into Afternoon Avenue.

Photo by Jim Hill

Disneyland Guests entered through a kiddie-sized version of
Duckburg U.S.A. …

Photo by Jim Hill

… where they then interact with walk-around character versions
of their favorite “Disney Afternoon” characters like Scrooge McDuck …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and/or get their picture taken inside of cleverly designed,
three-dimensional “Disney Afternoon” -themed photo spots.

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of photos … If you headed down to Stage One …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and then went backstage …

Photo by Jim Hill

… Baloo the Bear (AKA Papa Bear from “TaleSpin”) was there
in his dressing room, waiting to meet with his fans.

Photo by Jim Hill

Here’s an intriguing bit of trivia for all of you Disney
theme park history buffs: This “Meet-Baloo-in-his-Dressing-Room” character encounter
was actually kind of a dry-run for the type of Guest experience that the
Imagineers would be trying to create inside of Mickey’s Movie Barn in a year or
so later. So WDI and Disneyland’s Zoo Crew did a lot of testing with this Baloo’s-dressing-room
set-up. As they tried to get a handle on basic issues like how to you handle
Guest flow in a situation like this and how much time is too much with the
characters. But I digress …

Anyway … Wherever you went in this part of Fantasyland, you’d
find attractions that had been re-imagined as “Disney Afternoon” -themed adventures.
Be it the Motor Boat Cruise, which had now been rethemed as a fanciful float
through Gummi Glen …

Photo by Jim Hill

… or the Fantasyland Autopia, which had just been renamed as
Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Ranger Raceway.

Photo by Jim Hill

Another popular component of Disneyland’s “Disney Afternoon –
Live!” was the Videocade Game Center. Which was where park visitors could then
try their hand at the new “Chip ‘N Dale Rescuer Rangers” and “DuckTale” video
games.

Though – to be honest – what the Guests really seemed to enjoy
the most about Afternoon Avenue was that
they then got the chance to interact & play with walk-around versions of
their favorite “Disney Afternoon” stars. Which – given how hugely popular “DuckTales,”
“TaleSpin” et al were back then – was a very big deal. If you happened to be
under the age of 10, that is.

Photo by Jim Hill

Anywho … It was 20 years ago this week that Disneyland
management finally pulled the plug on “Disney Afternoon – Live!” And though
this in-park happening may have been one of the Anaheim theme park’s more
short-lived extravaganzas, it is still fondly remembered by many Walt Disney
Television Animation fans.

So how many of you got to go to the Happiest Place on Earth between
March 15^th & November 10^th, 1991? And – if so – what do
you remember about Disneyland’s “Disney Afternoon – Live!”

Your thoughts?

Editor’s note: The text of this article was modified on November 15, 2011 to make a necessary correction / fold in additional information.