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Description: "Hosts" Ben Franklin and Mark Twain present a dramatic and inspirational story of America and its people. Through a magical mix of motion pictures and "Audio-Animatronics" imagineering, you'll witness the struggles of the Pilgrims and early Colonists. See the Revolution from a foot-soldier's point of view. And watch as a young America discovers its western frontier. Share in the adventure as never before, as the Civil War, the Great Depression and global conflicts temper and strengthen the American national character. Finally, the images of America today re- affirm our country's greatest resource, our people, and challenge us all to continue the American Adventure.
Capacity: 2,048 per
hour/1,024 per show
Show Time: 28:40 minutes
Ride System: Sit-down Theater
Participant: Coca-Cola Company and American Express
The American Adventure, the flagship pavilion of Epcot World Showcase, celebrates the spirit of America’s history and diversity.
The pavilion, presented by American Express, is home to the American Adventure show, housed inside a 108,000-square-foot Georgian-style mansion.
In the dramatic 29-minute presentation, one of the most elaborate ever created using Audio-Animatronics® figures, hosts Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain take guests on a journey into the birth of a new nation and the resulting spirit of its creation.
Through the magic of Audio-Animatronics and an innovative combination of film and special effects, the show features such "performers" as Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Alexander Graham Bell, Teddy Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Disney "stage directors" have drawn reactions and movements from the Audio-Animatronics actors never before accomplished. "With live acting, the essence of a message may be caught in a moment; two actors making eye contact, or a subtle move of the body," said figure animator Dave Feiten. "In the Valley Forge scene, for instance, two Audio-Animatronics figures are hunched over against a chilling wind. As they converse, one of the soldiers takes just a split second to raise his head and look at his fellow compatriot. These are things that aren’t in the script but they give the figure that extra feeling of life."
Research for the American Adventure began almost three years prior to its 1982 premiere. Careful attention was given to ensure that the presentation is historically accurate, according to researcher Melissa Rhone.
For instance, in a scene depicting the Great Depression, pages of quotes from Will Rogers were gathered by Walt Disney Imagineers to incorporate into the scene. In order to duplicate the advertisements of the Depression era, architectural magazines were scanned. Music logs were searched to find an appropriate song for the banjo player on the porch -- "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?" In addition to obtaining Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural speech, Imagineers wrote to the Library of Congress for a copy of his unusual presidential seal to duplicate for his podium.
The show is held in a 1,024-seat theater complete with rich, Corinthian-style details: chandeliers, archways, columns, elegant fabrics and paneling. The theater includes the Spirits of America, twelve "marble" statues lining both sides of the theater, representing such American qualities as heritage, innovation, knowledge, pioneering, discovery and freedom.
In 1993, the show was updated to include a new generation of Audio-Animatronics figures, re-recorded audio tracks and a dramatic new ending sequence.
The new "Golden Dreams" ending sequence encompasses events from 1945 through the present. Notable new additions include Ryan White, the young hemophiliac who succumbed to AIDS after a courageous battle with the disease, Muppet creator Jim Henson and basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
Other American Adventure pavilion entertainment highlights: The Voices of Liberty a cappella singers, and the America Gardens Theatre, an expanded 1,800-seat outdoor theater used as a venue for special shows, guest performances and music series.
World Showcase is a kaleidoscope of 11 nations at Walt Disney World Epcot that offers a glimpse into the culture of each country.
1 February 1999: A new show is under construction at the American Gardens Theatre, due to begin on February 11th. A new 19th century sailing ship has been built, and is docked just behind the theater. The ship is actually built of styrofoam.
Thanks to Greg and Raechel for the info and photos.
Click a photo below for a larger version.
AMERICAN ADVENTURE PRE-SHOW QUOTES
Entrance Hall
1. West Hall: AMERICA HAS BEEN SETTLED BY PEOPLE OF ALL
NATIONS.
ALL NATIONS MAY CLAIM HER FOR THEIR OWN. WE ARE
NOT A NARROW TRIBE OF MEN . . . NO, OUR BLOOD IS
AS THE FLOOD OF THE AMAZON, MADE UP OF A THOUSAND
NOBLE CURRENTS ALL POURING INTO ONE . . . WE ARE
NOT A NATION SO MUCH AS A WORLD.
from REDBURN by Herman Melville
Painting #1 (BILL FLEMING)....Indians & Pilgrims in
fields at
harvest time.
Painting #2 (HERB RYMAN)......Ellis Island, immigrants
(1890-
1900) silhouetted against the
Statue of Liberty.
Painting #3 (SAM MCKIM).......Thanksgiving Dinner--Modern
family hosting Asian/Oriental
immigrant family.
2. East Hall: YOU WHO HAVE BEEN BORN IN AMERICA, I WISH I
COULD
MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS LIKE NOT TO BE AN
AMERICAN--NOT TO HAVE BEEN AN AMERICAN ALL YOUR LIFE--
AND THEN SUDDENLY WITH THE WORDS OF A MAN IN FLOWING
ROBES TO BE ONE, FOR THAT MOMENT AND FOREVER AFTER.
ONE MOMENT, YOU BELONG WITH YOUR FATHERS TO A MILLION
DEAD YESTERDAYS--THE NEXT YOU BELONG WITH AMERICA TO
A MILLION UNBORN TOMORROWS.
from SONG OF AMERICA by
George Magar Mardikian
Main Hall
1. South Wall: BRING ME MEN TO MATCH MY MOUNTAINS.
BRING ME MEN TO MATCH MY PLAINS.
MEN WITH EMPIRES IN THEIR PURPOSE,
AND NEW ERAS IN THEIR BRAINS.
from THE COMING AMERICAN by
Samuel Walter Foss
Painting #4 (CLEM HALL).......Building of skyscrapers
(1930's)
focus on Indian steelworkers.
THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES THERE WERE MEN WHO TOOK
FIRST STEPS DOWN NEW ROADS ARMED WITH NOTHING BUT
THEIR OWN VISION.
from THE FOUNTAINHEAD by
Ayn Rand
Painting #5 (JACK M. SMITH)...Wagon train heading west.
WHAT KIND OF MAN WOULD LIVE WHERE THERE IS NO DARING?
I DON'T BELIEVE IN TAKING FOOLISH CHANCES, BUT NOTHING
CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT TAKING ANY CHANCE AT ALL.
first sentence from THE WARTIME
JOURNALS OF CHARLES A. LINDBERGH;
second sentence from THE SPIRIT OF
ST. LOUIS by
Charles A. Lindbergh
Painting #6 (BOB MCCALL)......Modern space explorations,
focus on
all types involved in development
and machinery (e.g.: shuttle, astro-
nauts, technicians, and designers.)
Painting #7 (MIKE LLOYD)......Deck of clipper ship during
storm
with view of sister ship on star-
board.
2. East Wall: OUR GREATEST NATURAL RESOURCE IS THE MINDS OF
OUR CHILDREN.
from WISDOM MAGAZINE, Vol. 32, 1959,
article--Walter Elias Disney
Painting #8 (GUY DEEL)........Teacher and children under
tree with
construction of schoolhouse in back-
ground.
WHAT AFTER ALL HAS MAINTAINED THE HUMAN RACE ON THIS
OLD GLOBE DESPITE ALL THE CALAMITIES OF NATURE AND
ALL THE TRAGIC FAILINGS OF MANKIND, IF NOT FAITH IN
NEW POSSIBILITIES AND COURAGE TO ADVOCATE THEM.
from JANE ADDAMS SPEAKS by
Jane Addams
Painting #9 (CLEM HALL).......Medical assistance from
several doctors
being provided to South American child-
ren and their parents in plaza area.
Painting #10 (CLEM HALL)......Political campaign in rural
Minnesota:
1910.
3. North Wall: OUR WAY OF LIVING TOGETHER IN AMERICA IS A
STRONG
BUT DELICATE FABRIC. IT IS MADE UP OF MANY THREADS.
IT HAS BEEN WOVEN OVER MANY CENTURIES BY THE PATIENCE
AND SACRIFICE OF COUNTLESS LIBERTY-LOVING MEN AND
WOMEN.
from TIME, August 26, 1957,
article--Althea Gibson
Painting #11 (BLAINE GIBSON)..Focuses on teamwork in some
sporting
activity, e.g. baton being passed in
a relay race.
Painting #12 (TOM GILLEON)....Massive airplane manufacturing
efforts
(1942) with men and women (focus on
women).
THERE ARE THOSE, I KNOW, WHO WILL REPLY THAT THE
LIBERATION OF HUMANITY, THE FREEDOM OF MAN AND MIND,
IS NOTHING BUT A DREAM . . . THEY ARE RIGHT. IT IS
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
from THE NATIONAL PURPOSE (a debate
in the NEW YORK TIMES, May 30, 1980)
by Archibald MacLeish
Upper Lobby
1. West Wall: I THINK THE TRUE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA IS
BEFORE US.
I THINK THE TRUE FULFILLMENT OF OUR SPIRIT, OF OUR
PEOPLE, OF OUR MIGHTY AND IMMORTAL LAND IS YET TO
COME . . .
from YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN by
Thomas Clayton Wolfe
12 SPIRITS - The American Adventure Theatre
Adventure (Seaman)
Compassion (Doctor)
Discovery (Mountain Man)
Freedom (Pilgrim)
Heritage (American Indian)
Independence (Colonial Soldier)
Individualism (Cowboy)
Innovation (Scientist)
Knowledge (Teacher)
Pioneering (Aviator)
Self-reliance (Farmer)
Tomorrow (Woman and Child)