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>> Tony Hatch: From WDI Communications, this is The Quarterly Report, I'm Tony Hatch.
In this report, you'll learn about the ambitious project the
Walt Disney Company intends to open near Washington DC, Disney's America.
You visit the White House to meet President, Bill Clinton the first sitting Chief
Executive to appear in the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World.
You'll get an update as the Tower of Terror rises in Florida and you'll go
below as the submarine Nautilus set sail for France. All this coming up on The
Quarterly Report, as we wring out the 40th anniversary year of Walt Disney Imagineering.
When the story finally broke last month, it was one of the
biggest in Washington DC. The city that has seen its share of major stories.
Disney's America, shrouded in secrecy the project is to be located southeast of
the nation's capital in Northern Virginia near the rural village of Haymarket.
It would be the third Disney park in the United States and would open in 1998.
The creative team for Disney's America is headed by Senior Vice President, Bob Weiss.
>> Bob Weiss: The idea is to build a regional park that is not in any way a
Walt Disney World or a Disneyland. It is a small scale regional park and the
intent is to build a park which is a fundamental part of what a family's
experience of traveling to see Washington DC is going to be about.
So, if you if you pack up your family go to Washington DC you want to see the
monuments, you want to see the Smithsonian, you want to see all the
history and all the the activities of government.
You were able to see all those things in Washington but we wanted to build a complement to that.
Where you can come and experience them all, role play in all of them play an active role
and see and feel and be a part of history.
So you'll come here you'll be able to have rides, shows, interactive experiences that are both about the
history of America, they're about America today and they're also going to give you
a sense of America in the future.
>> Tony Hatch: Disney's America is divided into nine territories.
Crossroads USA, is where you entered. It's a civil war-era village
reflecting a time when canal boats were still competing with railroads for
traffic when something new called the department store was just making an
appearance and when news moved with the speed of the Telegraph.
Visitors may stay in hotel rooms outside the berm or in special Suites overlooking canals inside the park.
It is from Crossroads USA, that visitors can either head forward or backward in time.
Heading back into history is President Square, focusing on
the struggle of the colonists and the war for independence.
A new Hall of Presidents will be located here with its audio-animatronics presentation of all
our chief executives and the story of the building of the nation.
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Native America, explores the life of this continent first inhabitants the Powhatan
tribe lived in this area of Virginia and Native America will have an
authentically restored village representing that and other Eastern tribes.
Native America will also feature a Lewis and Clark whitewater raft
expedition through whirlpools and Rapids.
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Many historians believe the Civil War was the dividing point in the development of this nation, and it is a
civil war fort which becomes the next guest experience.
Historically, it's in the correct location because not many miles from the park is the Manassas battlefield.
Also known as Bull Run, where one of the first major battles of the Civil War was fought.
Inside the fort, a Circle Vision 360 degree film will put
guests in the middle of such a battle and outside will be staged authentic
reenactments of military engagements.
At night, the fort will become the backdrop for the classic confrontation between the monitor and the Merrimack.
The two Civil War ironclads that forever changed the way naval
battles would be fought. We the people, will be a powerful multimedia experience
showing the diversity of American culture, all housed inside a building
which looks like Ellis Island, New York. The exhibits will also explore subjects
like slavery, and the Vietnam War.
Enterprise, is a factory town which will show America's creative spirit from inventions to innovations.
The town itself represents the Industrial Revolution which also happens to be the
name of the parks major thrill attraction. A high-speed adventure
through a turn-of-the-century mill, culminating in a narrow escape from a
fiery vat of molten steel.
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Victory Field, will not only call attention to America's preeminent
position in the field of aviation. But show how Americans from diverse
backgrounds fought to preserve freedom in numerous Wars since the founding of the Republic.
Victory field will also have an interactive venue allowing
guests to experience flying jet fighters or operating tanks or possibly even
parachuting from a plane as part of basic training.
State Fair celebrates small-town America during the Depression era. With its throwback to a wooden
roller coaster in Ferris wheel and a ballpark show involving heroes from an earlier era.
Finally, there's Family Farm saluting the American farmer and others who work the land.
Crops will be harvested and guests will be invited to
participate in cow milking or making ice cream and for more entertainment
there'll be a country wedding barn dance and buffet. Again, Bob Weiss.
>> Bob Weiss: It is somewhat of an extension of what we started to do with
the Studio Tour, and what others have started to do it began with Epcot.
Which is to combine education and entertainment in a new way and to try to
strike a balance between a very cognitive issues oriented park and
something that is still repeatable and fun and interesting and lots of
teenagers want to come and ride rides and and that sort of thing so that's a challenge.
It will be a challenge because we have lots of new historical ground
here to cover to research and to figure out how to sort through the huge
historical library of what America is about and try to find icons that we can
we can recreate.
I think a big challenge is going to make sure that
we're fair to really represent the ethnic diversity of America and the
contributions that everyone has made to this and also to fairly represent
things that are negative about America. Things that have been tough issues that
that we either have overcome or have never been able to overcome and are still struggles.
If we build a nice little park that that is about American
history we fail. And what is most important about this
park is we have to go out and build alliances with important groups that
that are are defining what America is about today or have defined it in the
past and represent them well and those alliances and educational alliances are
going to make this park have it have a lot of breadth to it
>> Tony Hatch: Bob Weiss.
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There's a new star in the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World and
it shouldn't be any surprise that it's the current occupant of 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. President Bill Clinton, becomes the first
sitting chief executive to speak to guests at the Florida attraction.
Show Producer Rick Rothschild headed the effort to create the new show.
>> Rick Rothschild: We owe the
guests the the most accurate view we can provide. And because we're dealing
with any audio-animatronic figure that is of a human being versus a character
there's a difference in how you approach them. You're obviously trying to make them believably human.
>> Tony Hatch: The first step in the making of the president literally
began with his head and master sculptor Blaine Gibson who came out of retirement
in Sedona, Arizona to work on it as he had so many other chief executives.
>> Blaine Gibson: One of the things that I observed about Clinton and I started making little
simple drawings of Bill Clinton and I noticed that he had a very oval face
and this was the dominant thing. That was the absolute abstract essence that had to be
considered and then another thing was the way his hair seemed to fit fit his
skull into a cap being very close and coming in right here and here and
another thing that I observed about him was that
he had a natural tendency to jet his chin forward a little bit and I didn't
want to just have it out there because this is this was not a thing that was
always fixed on him but I wanted to get enough of that. So that there would be a
characteristic of one of his main poses so to speak.
>> Tony Hatch: While Blaine worked on the head a group of Imagineers headed by Rothschild and
writer Justin Siegel, headed to the White House to record remarks by the President.
>>Bill Clinton: My fellow citizens, we are the heirs of the great American Revolution as this
millennium draws to a close of the 21st century approaches. Let us pause to honor
the very idea of America. Today our nation stands as a symbol of freedom and
an inspiration to people all around the world. There is nothing wrong with
America that cannot be cured by what is right with America and there is nothing
wrong with the world it cannot be cured by the ideals that America represents.
The spirit of America is it's bright and hopeful today as it was in July of 1776
and we are ready to carry our great national experiment forward into the next millennium.
>> Tony Hatch: No stranger to microphones or cameras
President Clinton completed his remarks in only two takes. The Chief Executive
even took time to sign autographs. One of them for Rick's daughter.
>> Rick Rothschild: He's signed for me, actually for my daughter.
A certificate that she received last spring
participating in the Presidential Physical Fitness Program which is a
national program for school children and she won the highest award in her her 5th
grade level. It said to Gillian congratulations Bill Clinton and then signed the day.
[off camera] What was Gillian's reaction?
>> Rick Rothschild: It was sort of interesting because she actually said
well you didn't get Hillary too?
>> Tony Hatch: Even while the President was being recorded an
Imagineering group from Tujunga was busy putting together the Clinton figure.
One of Clinton's hands had to be reconfigured to accommodate the
president's mannerism of using a clenched fist to emphasize a point a
fact noted by rick during the recording session.
>>Shawn Connolley: My name is Shawn Connolley,
I at mechanical manufacturing at the Tujunga facility, and what we're doing right now
is trying to put together President Clinton's left hand to get the the
gesture that he gives as he speaks. It's a little bit different than what we
normally do, and our normal functions they're normal figures the hand would be
something like this and would just open and close like this to get this
particular gesture. What we have to do is bring these three fingers in a little
bit more tightly than as normal. While leaving his index finger out and
to close the thumb up around that. To give this type of a style so what I've
done is to bend these in and now we're bringing this up and I think we've almost got it. Got the look.
[off camera] All right, are you all set?
>> Dr. Maya Angelou: Yes.
>> Tony Hatch: The one scene at the new Hall of Presidents, another star of the show
is the distinguished writer, Dr. Maya Angelou.
Who recorded a narration for the program.
>> Dr. Maya Angelou: We the people...
with these words from the Declaration of Independence... we defined ourselves as a nation.
>> Tony Hatch: The WDI team recorded her in a studio on the East coast not far from
where professor Angelou teaches, at Wake Forest University.
>> Dr. Maya Angelou: Without that dream, we would not be Americans.
>> Bill Clinton: The quest for democracy must continue
until all the people of the world enjoy the freedom we must always fight to preserve.
The spirit of America is as bright and hopeful today as it was in
July of 1776, and we are ready to carry our great national experiment forward
into the next millennium.
>> Tony Hatch: When the show opened last month Dr. Angelou's
narration and the new remarks by Clinton and Abraham Lincoln were
greeted with a long round of applause by journalists who were there, to attend
Mickey's 65th birthday observance. Again, Rick Rothschild.
>> Rick Rothschild: The issues of equality in the United States that we're so focused on now with his new show I
think and I hope by having condensed it as we have and refocus the direction of it,
that it is not only meaningful to and more meaningful to adults that see the
show but perhaps a touch more relevant to to our guests of all ages.
The issues of equality in the United States that we're so focused on now with this new
show is obviously a very understandable issue to children my daughter's age and
older as well as adults, and I think the other thing of just meeting the
President that most people don't have obviously the opportunity that I and the
rest of the crew had and even when you go in the White House tour you hope
maybe you'll get a glimpse of the president but most people go to
Washington and don't even get as close as we we are going to be able to put
people to the president and I think that that's pretty meaningful even in the
context of the Magic Kingdom. >> Tony Hatch: Show Producer, Rick Rothschild.
Elsewhere in Walt Disney World, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is on the rise.
With its special elevator motors, hauled into place this fall
the faded Hollywood Tower Hotel is beginning to take shape. The building with a
commanding presence which can be seen from quite a distance is being worked on
by construction crews supervised by WDI on all-day shifts, seven days a week.
It's from the top of this building, where guests will get a brief view of the park
before they plunge from the 13th story to the ground and what will likely be
one of the most memorable rides in any theme park anywhere.
Finally, the Nautilus submarine. A walkthrough attraction destined for Eurodisney outside of Paris
will arrive in France this month the subs interior was completed last month
under the supervision of show designer Tim Delaney, with help from Tom Sherman.
>> Tom Sherman: It's probably the greatest kids playhouse that we've all enjoyed building.
We took scenes like from a movie when a Nemo demonstrated to
Kirk Douglas that he uses treasure as ballast. So of course we had to the
treasure room because there's always magic in that. Going in Nemo's cabin we
chose that because we knew that would be a rich elegant interior design and it
really represented the contrast between the Victorian style of his bedroom
versus the ironclad qualities of the ship. So there's a good contrast there
which is also the chart room because that was the nerve center of the ship.
And I think that that really kind of shows the scientific aspects of the boat.
The next scene which I remember very vividly from the walkthrough at
Disneyland and especially from the movie is the dive chamber. In the dive chamber
here it separates the technical part of the chart room with the salon.
So I've got water crashing on the inside with dive suits hanging there and it takes on
a whole different flavor. And overall that was our purpose of
laying out the submarine the way we did. So each scene had its own very distinct flavor.
The next scene after that is is the grand
Nemo's grand salon, and clearly that's the this is the piece de resistance
really the contrast between the Victorian interior and this ironclad
boat really comes together here. The great thing about this piece and again
it's at contrast between the the warlike and the destructive type of qualities of
the submarine and here he has his big pipe organ here. I think that this was Captain
Nemo's way of exercising his alter ego that kind of friends each side of his personality.
And then the last thing we had to do is put the engine room in and
that's part of the show because after the squid attack the engine rooms been
destroyed. Ah, or its been damaged I should say so we
want to make that again another contrasting scene. So I think the way
it's laid out and the experiences you go through each one each scene shows a
contrast yet it has a consistency as you walk through. It's really I think that's
really the key as to what makes this thing so fun. >> Tony Hatch: Tim Delaney on the Nautilus submarine.
And that's the quarterly report ending the year 1993 from all of
us at WDI Communications, we wish you a happy new year we'll see you next quarter.