Disney Parks Rewind – April 1994 – Hall of Presidents To Move?
Plans for the Hall of Presidents and Snow White’s Adventures, a smoking ban, and a fall from the Skyway Gondolas featured in the Disney Parks news from April 1994, twenty five years ago.
Romance writers at Disney Village (April 2): Walt Disney World Village hosts an autograph signing with best-selling romance author Amanda Quick, as well as Iris Johansen, Tami Hoeg, Teresa Medeiros, and Deborah Smith.
No smoking (April 10): Visitors to Disney World could breathe easy, after smoking was banned in the Magic Kingdom’s attractions, their queues, stores, and restaurants. The ban also included employee areas at all three parks. Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios had banned indoor smoking in guest areas in April 1993.
Hall of Presidents to move? (April 11): Will the Hall of Presidents close at Walt Disney World? An Imagineering exec, Bob Weis, told the department’s in-house magazine Wdeye that the attraction will be heading to the planned Disney’s America theme park in Virginia. After a redo of the show, it would be focused on “our government and the intellectual underpinnings of how our country is organized.” WDW reps shrug off the suggestion.
Disney to get Duke Ellington exhibition (April 14): The Orlando Sentinel reports that an exhibition about Duke Ellington will be coming to Epcot in June. Created by The Smithsonian, the touring show at The American Adventure would compliment jazz performances at the pavilion.
Campaigning against Disney’s America (April 15): Plans to create a theme park about American history are becoming less likely, as a campaign against the project ramps up. The Associated Press reported that an anti-Disney lobby group was planning to spend $100,000 on radio and television ads, suggesting the park would worsen gridlock and air quality. The group proposed a year-long transportation study to delay road investments. Within days, the federal Department of Transportation announced that a full environmental review was necessary, because of the widening of Interstate 66. The process would take six months, at minimum, possibly even “several years,” the Washington Post reported.
Skyway plunge (April 17): A 30-year-old man fell out of the Skyway Gondola at Disneyland, dropping 20 feet into a tree. He was treated and released. The man’s lawyer claimed the drop was 40 feet, while the park noted that there was no mechanical error.
Aliens are coming, Sentinel reports (April 18): An early plan for The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, describing plans for the attraction. An Imagineering spokesperson dismissed the 1992 project summary as out-of-date.
Coast-to-coast bike ride (April 18): A caravan of 74 cyclists departed from Disneyland, on a 47-day long ride to Walt Disney World. The 3,229.5-mile trip was routed to pass through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana.
Surfing competition at Typhoon Lagoon (April 22): Just two months after fracturing her neck in an auto accident, surfer Britton Jefferies was competing in an exhibition match at Typhoon Lagoon. The All-Star Surfing Invitational ’94 pitted the Eastern Surfing Association against local members of the United States Surfing Team.
Green leaders (April 23): Florida Governor Lawton Chiles presented Disney World with an Environmental Education Award. The event was held at the Contemporary Resort and Convention Centre.
Snow White redo announced (April 25): The Orlando Sentinel reports that Snow White’s Adventures will get a makeover, closing from August to December 16. Instead of seeing the rush through the dark forest through the heroine’s eyes, the new ride will include more of the movie’s beloved characters.
Flower and Garden Starts (April 29): Over in Epcot ’94, as the park was awkwardly called that year, the International Flower and Garden Festival began on April 29. Daily garden tours, visits to the tree farm and nursery, and 165,000 additional annuals were featured in the event. The president of the American Horticultural Society, Dr. Marc Cathey, was scheduled to do four talks over the events’ first two days, to launch the Great Gardeners of America lecture series.