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Walt Disney World is proud to announce the addition of a new land to help celebrate their 100th Anniversary.
Straight through Fantasyland, beyond Cinderella's Carousel, you will leave the sounds of It's A Small World
behind to travel to yesterday. The gates of the Magic Kingdom's newest land (located where Ariel's Grotto
formally resided) will pull you back in time. Journey back with us to a day where Walt's imagination first materialized.
Please welcome Yesterland! Here in Yesterland you will enjoy all the past attractions you thought had permanently
retired since 1971. Stroll the streets of the past and enjoy the attractions you thought you'd never see again! Relax and
enjoy, no "E" tickets required here!
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The Country
Bear Jamboree
Howdy
folks! Welcome to the one and only, original Country Bear Jamboree, featuring a bit of Americana—our musical heritage
of the past.
In
1971, the Country Bear Jamboree opened to an enthusiastic response as one of the original attractions of the Magic Kingdom
at Walt Disney World, Florida.
As
you enter Grizzly Hall, get ready for close to 16 minutes of good ol' country music! You'll be entertained by 18 bears, a
raccoon, a buffalo, a stag and a moose the likes of which you may never see again.
Big Al, Zed, Ted, Henry, Liverlips McGrowl, Teddi Beara, Trixie
and Bubbles, Bunny and Beulah will entertain you with songs like:
My
Woman Ain't Pretty, but She Don't Swear
Mama, Don't Whip Little Buford
Tears Will Be the Chaser for My Wine
All the Guys That Turn Me On Turn Me Down
Blood on the Saddle
The Ballad of Davy Crockett
"So
clap your hands, and stomp your feet
and try to keep right with us.
One sure thing the bear band's got
is good old country rhythm."
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Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
When Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, Mr. Toad
had secured himself a place among other Disney greats in Fantasyland. Surrounded by such classic characters as Snow White,
Peter Pan, and Pinocchio, Toad was clearly among Disney royalty.
In fact, Toad not only earned himself a full-blown
attraction in Walt's second, grander theme park, but he had a unique distinction. He may not have appeared in the Mickey Mouse
Revue with other classic Disney characters, but one thing that Toad DID have, though, was two attractions in one. Well….
sort of. Like other attractions such as Space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion (with its two stretching rooms), and others, Mr.
Toad's Wild Ride has two different lines (or queues). However, unlike the aforementioned rides, each line for Toad gives you
a different adventure altogether. While one side took you through a Trophy Room, Kitchen, Gypsy Camp, Pub, Keg Room (who said
there was no alcohol in the Magic Kingdom?) and "Rain Room", the other (Track B) flung you along in your car through a Library,
Barnyard and Barn, Town Square, Jail, Prison and Shireland. So much for heading "Nowhere in Particular" as the attraction's
theme song (also known as "The Merrily Song") proclaimed! Both tracks led Toad to a similar fate, though. While he was able
to narrowly escape the police, gypsies, and Judge, he couldn't avoid the oncoming train in the blackened tunnel.
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This is where things get weird. Really weird considering you are in Walt
Disney World. So where are you after kissing the front of a train at incredible speeds? Why, hell, of course! Yes, in clearly
what can be called a radical departure from the cute and cuddly Disney holds so dear, you and your car-mates end up surrounded
by Satan and his demonic minions in the bowels of a "Disney-fied" hell (which some have described as it's a small world for
the 5th time in a row). Yes, pitchforks and all, these long-nosed devils and their leader (complete with requisite horns and
pointy moustache) show you what happens to bad toads that get hit by trains. Of course, in typical Toad fashion, he (and you)
find a way to escape this three minute attraction which brought you face-to-face with Hades himself!
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
One
of the most innovative attractions ever created for the Disney theme parks was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A Walt Disney
World "E-Ticket" attraction since its opening day on October 14, 1971 (back when WDW used individual coupons instead of pay-one-price
tickets), this Fantasyland ride closed exactly 23 years to the day after it opened, making it the only E-Ticket attraction
to ever be removed from the park.
The 38 passenger (39 with the Cast Member "Captain") subs used in the 20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea attraction based on the Disney film of the same name were distinguished by their Roman numeral markings on the
outside. They were built in a shipyard in nearby Tampa, and then brought over on flatbed trucks to Walt Disney World. In fact,
when "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was open, the 24 subs that operated at Walt Disney World and Disneyland gave the Walt
Disney Company the 5th largest naval fleet in the world!
Guests will board Captain Nemo's submarine one again to travel
under the sea through coral reefs, dark caverns and into unexpected danger below deadly ice caps in the original lagoon 20,000
Leagues first sailed in 1971.
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Legend
of the Lion King
The Kodak sponsored
show that used to be in FantasyLand has returned to Yesterland. Rafiki tells the story of Simba and The Lion King. In the pre-show area you see a short clip with The Circle
of Life before proceeding to a 500 seat theatre.
The show was predecessor of the popular Lion King on Broadway show, and
has been brought to life here with puppet animals. I Just Can't Wait To be King, Be Prepared, Hakuna Matata, and Can
You Feel the Love Tonight are the songs performed in the show.
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The Mickey Mouse Revue
The Mickey Mouse Revue opened on October
1, 1971 and closed in September of 1980.
Disney's Yesterland now brings back to you, The Mickey Mouse Revue!
Guests
will be brought into a holding area outside the main theater that is largely colored pink, just like the original attraction.
The walls show paintings of Mickey as numerous characters from his films, such as the Sorcerer's Apprentice from "Fantasia."
A live cast member's spiel about no eating, drinking etc is given at this point, as well as a warning to not sit on the rails
of the pre-show theater. A funky sounding 1970s music score, heavy on bass, signals the beginning of the pre-show film which
for this opening portion consists of an animated line representing the soundtrack that moves and squiggles when there is talking
and music.
The show starts with the Audio-Animatronic orchestra figures conducted by Mickey Mouse rising up from the
stage while playing cartoony warm up music. Mickey then laughs and counts an intro and the characters begin an instrumental
medley of various Disney songs including: Heigh Ho, Whistle While You Work, When You Wish Upon a Star, and Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee
(An Actor's Life for Me).
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Snow White's Scary Adventure
Snow White's Scary Adventures
is based on the 1937 classic film, which was Disney's first full-length animated feature. One of the original rides available
on opening day in 1971, the attraction was first refurbished in 1983. Closing in 2014 to make room for the Chronicles of Narnia
ride, Yesterland is proud to bring it alive again for Walt Disney World's 100th Anniversary.
Ride on one of the dwarfs'
mine cars into Snow White's adventures as the Evil Queen pursues Snow White into scenes from the animated film. Be there as
the Evil Queen transforms into a grizzled old hag. Get tempted by the poison apple. Beware falling rocks!
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Carousel of Progress
Carousel of Progress started as an attraction
at the New York World's Fair in 1964-1965 and was sponsored by General Electric. It was a smash hit and was moved to Disneyland
once the Fair closed. It opened in July of 1967 in Tomorrowland.
General Electric was eager to have a presence in
Walt Disney World so Carousel of Progress left Disneyland in the fall of 1973 to relocate to Florida. It opened in the Magic
Kingdom's Tomorrowland on January 15, 1975. The theme song changed from There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow to another
Sherman Brothers song: The Best Time of Your Life. Apparently General Electric wanted to encourage people to buy appliances
now instead of waiting for tomorrow. When the Magic Kingdom still used ride coupons, this was a free attraction.
The
end scene was changed once during this version of the show. When the show premiered, the room was done in a country style
with brick walls, an open kitchen with copper pots, a fireplace, and a snowy winter scene outside. This scene was updated
in 1981 and featured a new kitchen, multi-level lights, new woodwork, and a tropical patio area. General Electric ceased sponsorship
of the attraction on March 10, 1985, although the company continued to present Horizons at Epcot.
The show was completely
revamped in 1993. The new official name of the attraction was Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress and a video was shown in
the holding queue that talked about the historical nature of the attraction. There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow was reinstated
as the theme song at this time. Andrew Duggan's narration as the father was replaced by a new track of humorist Jean Shepherd.
Rex Allen, who narrated the World's Fair and Disneyland version of the show was used for the voice of the grandfather in this
version. For those who miss hearing "The Best Time of Your Life", you can sometimes hear an instrumental version of it near
the Plaza Pavilion.
The Carousel of Progress closed permanetly in 2012.
Yesterland invites you to enjoy what
was once a Walt Disney marvel. Enjoy an involving stage show in this famed revolving theater. Take a journey with an American
family as it experiences technological changes throughout the twentieth century.
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Swiss Family Treehouse -- Disney's 1960 live-action film
"Swiss Family Robinson" may not be so popular today, but this classis Walt Disney attraction is really worth a look. The make-believe
tree beautifully recreates the home the shipwrecked family in the movie builds for themselves, right down to the organ in
the "living room" and the skylight in the parents' bedroom. An original Walt Disney World attraction, it closed in 2009 to
make room for Rupunzel's Tower.
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