Checking References

Throughout the Disney parks are references to animated features–little details that serve as themed decor and also nods to a specific movie or character. For example, this sign in Liberty Square:

Ichabod Crane sign — Ichabod Crane was the main character in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” story, which Disney turned into an animated short for the 1949 film *The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad*. Side note: the Headless Horseman song in that feature is probably one of my favorite pieces of Disney music ever.

Disney is pretty well known for their animated films (I’m shooting for “understatement of the year” with that one), and they’ve made a handful of them, so it makes sense that they’d reference some of these great films in Walt Disney World. They’ve also made a whole lot of live-action movies over the years, many of which can be truly considered classics. Some of these films may not be as well known, especially to modern audiences, but that hasn’t stopped clever Imagineers from hiding some nods to them in the parks as well.

What follows here is a short list of some of these references, though please be aware that this is by no means all of them. Also, while I’ve tried to include photos where I can, I haven’t been able to get shots of everything. So some will just be written descriptions, and I apologize for that (and it just means that I need to take even more photos the next time I’m at the parks).

The Apple Dumpling Gang

Starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway as hapless outlaws in the Old West, The Apple Dumpling Gang came out in 1975. The slapstick comedy was one of Disney’s most successful films in the ’70s, spawning a much less successful sequel and even a short-lived (and also unsuccessful) TV series. Given the popularity of the first one, though, it’s makes sense that there’d be some mention of it in the parks!

As far as I’m aware, all of the references to the movie can be found in the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

This notice shows sketches of Don Knotts and Tim Conway as their outlaw characters from The Apple Dumpling Gang. Plus, here’s some bonus trivia to impress your friends with: T.W. Bullion, the “owner” of the Big Thunder Mountain Mine, just happens to share his initials with Tony Wayne Baxter–the Imagineer who helped create it. What a coincidence!

Quake City is the small Western gold rush town where *The Apple Dumpling Gang* takes place, and the Hard Times Cafe (famous for their apple dumplings) is also a part of the film’s story. This is perhaps the most “obvious” of the nods to the film, since it mentions apple dumplings right on the sign.

Theodore and Amos are the characters that Knotts and Conway play in the movie, and the “Hash Knife Outfit” is the tough-sounding name they try to use for their gang. I’ll admit, it does sound a fair bit more intimidating than the “Apple Dumpling Gang”.

As an aside: I recently watched The Apple Dumpling Gang, after not having seen it in probably a few decades, and it really does hold up. It’s full of goofy comedy that’s really fun, plus it’s just got a campy-but-innocent “classic Disney movie” feel. It’s entertaining, and it’s worth seeing again (or for the first time). As an aside to that aside: I don’t think I’ve ever actually had an apple dumpling, but I like both apples and dumplings. So I think I should really try one someday.

Summer Magic

Summer Magic, a 1963 musical film starring Hayley Mills and Burl Ives, tells the story of the Carey family (a widow and her three children) as they move from Boston to the tiny town of Beulah, Maine. Ives plays Osh Popham, the owner of the local hardware store, and Hayley Mills plays young Nancy Carey, one of the three children. Osh helps the family get back on their feet in what is a sweet (if a little aimless) story.

There are a couple of references to the movie on Main Street USA.

At the main entrance to the Emporium (on the corner facing the Walt Disney World Railroad) is a sign that, at the bottom, lists Osh Popham as the store’s proprietor. Quite a step up from a small town hardware store!

The Chapeau shop, according to the Main Street USA story, is owned by sisters Nancy and Julia Carey from *Summer Magic*. The store’s address, No. 63, is a reference to the year the movie was released.

There is (or at least there used to be — things change often at Walt Disney World) a photo behind the counter of The Chapeau. The two women in the picture are said to be Nancy and Julia Carey, all grown up and now the proprietors of the store.

This isn’t a movie reference, but this phone can be found in The Chapeau. Pick it up, and you can hear the chatter of a “party line” from around the turn of the 20th century. That’s when *Summer Magic* takes place, so this seemingly random detail adds a little extra to the shop’s story.

At one point in time, music from Summer Magic could be heard as a part of the Main Street USA loop. I haven’t been able to hear it personally, and I’ve read conflicting reports as to whether or not any of the film’s songs are still included in the loop. So the music may very well still be there, or it may have been taken out.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of my favorite films. Released in 1954, and starring Kirk Douglas, this adaptation of the Jules Verne novel tells the tale of Professor Pierre Aronnax and his assistant as they try to solve the mystery of a “sea monster” that’s destroying ships. Over the course of their adventure they team up with sailor Ned Land (Douglas), and they meet the mysterious Captain Nemo. There’s also a cool submarine, a giant squid, and a pet seal named Esmerelda–honestly, I don’t see how it’s not one of everyone’s favorite films!

There aren’t too many references to the movie in the parks themselves, and of course the ride directly based on it is long gone, but there’s some 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea love happening on property nonetheless.

This isn’t technically a movie reference, but rather a nod to the defunct attraction. It’s also *really* hard to find. If you go into the treehouse in the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh queue, and look over the door, you may be able to see this carving shaped like the Nautilus submarine.

In the movie, there’s a small scene about a penal labor island called Rura Penthe. Supposedly, somewhere in the Agrabah Bazaar shop in Adventureland, there is (or was) a reference to this. It’s said to be high up on a shelf, mixed in with the various boxes and such that make up the decor. I’ve seen pictures of it, and the item looks to be a dark-colored urn with a shipping tag that states delivery is to be made to the “colony of Rura Penthe”. The urn’s tag also includes some cremation jokes, as it’s apparently addressed to “Sirius Burns” at the “Ashes to Ashes Mortuary”. However, no matter how hard I’ve searched (and I have done so multiple times now) I haven’t been able to see the item for myself. Perhaps I just don’t know quite where to look, though it’s also entirely possible that this nod to the film has long since been removed.

Outside of Magic Kingdom, at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto (in the Polynesian Resort), you can find multiple references to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

TS helmet — Behind the bar, amid a variety of odd objects, is a diving helmet. It’s one of the same types used by the crew of the Nautilus. Whether this is an original prop or a replica, I can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely a film reference (and also a neat bubble lamp).

On one wall you can find a picture of the Nautilus submarine. Like many other things in Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, this picture lights up when certain drinks are ordered.

Near the picture of the Nautilus (and I apologize for not being able to take a pic, but the lighting was terrible) is a framed photograph of Walt Disney himself holding one of the giant squid tentacle props from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So that’s not just a reference to the movie, but an actual photo from its filming.

All of this is making me realize that I need to sit down and watch 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea again (and again, and again). Also, and I don’t know about you, but I have a sudden craving for calamari…

Tomorrowland

The movie Tomorrowland wasn’t exactly a huge hit, though I rank it as one of my personal favorites (you’d be surprised how often “not a huge hit” and “one of my personal faves” coincides). Even though it didn’t do well at the box office, though, there’s still a reference to it at Magic Kingdom. If you happen to see the new robot character iCan wandering around Tomorrowland, check out the logo down by his feet (or wheels, in this case). The word “Tomorrowland” is printed on a plaque there, and it looks exactly like the way the movie’s title was presented. The font, and the “O” being an atom, is the same. So the movie was based on the land, but in this case a bit of the land was then influenced by the movie. It’s like the circle of life, but with a robot.

Note: Unfortunately, while I have seen plenty of photos online, I have not personally encountered iCan and as such have not been able to get a photo of the logo. I’m hanging my head in shame even as we speak.

The Happiest Millionaire

This 1967 film is based on the true story of Anthony Biddle, a Philadelphia millionaire who boxes and keeps pet alligators in his home, amongst other eccentricities. It’s a musical, and at over two hours in length it was unusually long for a film (at the time).

The movie’s story opens with an Irish immigrant looking for work, and he finds himself taking on the position of butler to the Biddle family. It’s one of his songs, “Fortuosity”, that is the basis of this next reference: the name of a shop on Disneyland’s Main Street USA.

The Happiest Millionaire is an odd film, but one worth seeing. It’s the last live-action film with which Walt was personally involved (part of the long runtime, supposedly, is because nobody wanted to edit out anything that he had “touched” in the movie), and it’s a lot of fun in that classic Disney film way.

Every time I pass by this shop (or look at a photo of it, or think about it), I get the song from the film stuck in my head again.

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

Over at EPCOT, Journey Into Imagination has a couple of hidden (and obvious) references to live-action movies. For example, early on you’ll see portraits of some “inventors of the year”. One of these is Wayne Szalinski, the scientist who shrunk his kids (and later himself) in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise. Next to him is a portrait of Phillip Brainard–who created the substance known as “flubber” in the film of the same name. Both portraits are of the actors who portrayed them: Rick Moranis as Szalinski, and the late Robin Williams as Brainard (from the 1997 remake of the original 1961 Absent Minded Professor). At the beginning of the ride, too, you can see doors with these same names printed on them, suggesting that these scientists are now working on new experiments at the Imagination Institute.

A little further into the ride, there’s a room full of computers, and if you look at the floor to the right of the door you may see a pair of red sneakers. There’s also a sign in the window, warning visitors that there are “no tennis shoes allowed” inside this computer lab. These are both references to a 1969 Disney comedy film called The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, starring Kurt Russell as a college kid who accidentally gains the processing power of a computer.

Note: Through a combination of lack of foresight (I didn’t know I was going to write this post when I was last at EPCOT) and just failed photography skill (I tried to get some shots on the attraction, and they didn’t come out) I don’t have any photos to share of these particular references. Sorry.

As I said at the start, these are by no means all of the live-action film references hidden around the parks. I’m sure that there are plenty more that I’m not aware of (and if you know of one I missed, please politely let me know here in the comments), but these are at least some examples of the neat ways that Imagineers have payed tribute to classic Disney movies. It’s cool to see that even as they create exciting new films and franchises, they’ll still offer nods to what came before.