Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Nancy and I are twelve days into a two week long road trip. And frankly, we’re both kind of fried.
The upside is … I’ve scored lots of great in-depth material for new JHM stories. Some of which you’ll see going up on the site as soon as tomorrow.
But for now, Jim sleepy. More importantly, Jim needs to rest up for tomorrow’s marathon length drive back to New Boston, New Hampshire. Which — according to Mapquest — is going to take at least 14 hours.
Ai-yi-yi …
So (please forgive me), but — because I really don’t have the time (or the strength) to hammer together a brand new column right now — I’m now going to foist another piece from the JHM archives on you. A story that details the real reason that “Splash Mountain” ended up being built in the Disney theme parks.
I promise — starting on Thursday — brand new stories for the site … but for now, let’s discuss why this flume ride made it off of WDI’s drawing board. Friends at Imagineering tell me that the *REAL* reason that this attraction got built is because Michael Eisner’s son liked the model!
Strange but true, kids. The story — or so I’ve heard it — goes something like this: back in 1984, Michael Eisner had just been installed at the new head of the Walt Disney Company. To familiarize himself with all aspects of the company’s operations, Uncle Michael was systemically touring each branch of the corporation.
When the Imagineers heard about Eisner’s upcoming walk- through of WED, they quickly sprang into action. With a new boss on board, who knew which previously rejected projects might now be rescued from the scrap heap? Something that Ron Miller and Card Walker had said “No” to years ago now might get an immediate “Yes!” from Michael today.
Sensing a once- in- a- lifetime opportunity, the Imagineers decided to make the most of it. They raided the warehouse at WED where all the old models are kept. In the days prior to Eisner’s arrival, they frantically dusted and touched up many of Imagineering’s dream projects. Among the proposed shows and projects that were resurrected for this occasion were Disneyland’s Discovery Bay, the Matterhorn for WDW’s Magic Kingdom, the African pavilion for Epcot’s World Showcase as well as Western River Expedition.
All of these intricate displays were spruced up and then carefully positioned around the WED model shop — as to give an impression that the Imagineers were working on them right that moment, rather than being projects that had been abandoned years before.
The Imagineers all hoped and prayed that something magical when Eisner came through would happen … and — in a way — it did. At the time, “Splash Mountai”n was a project that had really hit the skids. *** Nunis had been the only member of the previous Disney management team that had supported Tony Baxter’s idea of putting a flume ride in Disneyland’s Bear Country (And that was only because *** had been begging Tony for years to come up with a flume attraction for the Disney parks!). Everyone else had rejected the concept outright.
So the “Splash Mountain” model ended up being shoved in a corner — just days away from being sent over to the WED warehouse of no return. All the key positions in WED’s model shop were taken up by models of projects the head Imagineers hoped they could get Eisner to green- light. “Splash Mountain” (which then was known as “Zip A Dee Do Dah River Run” … which might explain why a lot of people at WED really hated that ride … anyway …) was hidden off in the shadows.
Finally, the big day of Eisner’s WED walk- through came. As it turns out, it was a Saturday — so Michael brought his son, Breck, along. An hour or so into the tour, Breck had grown tired of all the fawning adults that were following his father, so he began hanging toward the back of the crowd.
Once the tour group reached the model shop, Breck tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and the butt- kissing Imagineering managers. Which is how he ended up in the corner next to this cool little model of a flume ride. As the Imagineers began making their impassioned pitches for Discovery Bay, Breck gestured toward his father.
“Dad, come over here. Take a look at this.”
Which is how Michael Eisner ended up in the corner of the WED model shop, surrounded by 10 senior Imagineers, “Ooohing” and “Aaahing” over the plans for “Splash Mountain.” Michael asked his son to if any of the other models at Imagineering interested him. Breck gave the rest of the exhibits a quick once over, then said that — out of all the proposed attractions then on display — “Splash Mountain” looked like it would be the most fun to ride.
And that was that, folks.
When Eisner came on board at Disney, he had been told that the Mouse’s theme parks lacked teen appeal. Since recapturing that demographics was considered key to turning around attendance levels at Disney’s theme parks, Michael was determined to do whatever he had to to make Disneyland and Walt Disney World more appealing to teens.
That’s why Eisner had brought along Breck for his walk- through at WED. He wanted to see if there was anything the Imagineers had come up with that would excite his teenage son. Breck responded to the model for “Splash Mountain.” Five years later, the full-sized version was open for business at Disneyland.
Honest, folks. That’s how I heard it actually went down. From no less than five separate Imagineers.
Makes you think, doesn’t it? How the very existence of this thrill ride actually depended on one bored teenage boy who was trying to get away from a bunch of butt-kissing adults. Who knows what we’d all be riding this days if Breck had chosen another corner of the WDI warehouse to hide in?
Okay. That’s it for today. I promise. Brand new stories at JimHillMedia.com, starting tomorrow.
See you then,
jrh