Image courtesy pinterest.com |
America Sings was structured similar to Carousel of Progress
(kind of a necessity since it used the same space). A total of six theatres
rotated around a central cluster of stages, each theater moving to the next
stage every four minutes. Guests entered the show in stage one, saw a brief
introduction, rotated through four eras of American musical history, then saw a brief
conclusion and exited from stage six. For the show’s narrators, Marc created
Eagle Sam, voiced by Burl Ives, and Ollie Owl, voiced by Sam Edwards. While
Eagle Sam is sometimes referred to as Sam the Eagle, he shouldn’t be confused
with our Muppet friend of the same name or the 1984 Olympic Mascot, Sam the Olympic
Eagle; those are three distinct characters. In a nod to taking over Carousel’s
space, Rex Allen, who played the narrator of Carousel, has a small part in
America Sings as Sombrero, a dog.
On a tragic note, America Sings was responsible for the death of a cast member shortly after it opened. On July 8, 1974, just nine days after its debut, Deborah Stone was caught between the stationary outer wall of the attraction and one of the inner moving walls. The 18 year old was crushed to death but her body wasn't discovered for nearly twenty minutes. Guests had actually heard her screams but thought it was part of the show. As a result of the accident, America Sings was closed for three days while safety lights were installed and the moving walls were redesigned to include breakaway panels. Thankfully, no further incidents were recorded.
Image copyright Disney |
Image copyright Disney |
Image courtesy allears.net |
No comments:
Post a Comment