4.  The Faces of the Carribean

Pirates of the Carribean Auction Scene
Image: Chris Murray, Flickr (license)

Back before Disney exported animatronic production to a third party, all the many faces of favorite characters were produced by a limited number of artists. As such, sometimes animatronics had the same face only with different hair or body shapes. This was EXTREMELY common in Pirates of the Carribean. In the Well scene, Mayor Carlos and the second tied up man from the left share a face. In the Auction scene, the drunkard on the bridge shares a face with one of the catcallers on the steps. The man of many hats in the burning city shares a face with one singing pirates by the donkey.

5.  Br’er Fox and Br’er Rabbit

Br'er Fox
Image: Haydn Blackey, Flickr (license)

While most of the animals from America Sings were generic enough to be directly imported to Splash Mountain, some of the most recognizable like Sam Eagle needed a bit of a cosmetic work first. Luckily, the tall frame of Sam Eagle was a perfect fit to become conniving Br’er Fox. Sam’s shorter partner, Ollie Owl, was a perfect fit to become the spry Br’er Rabbit. Ollie and Sam were stripped down and redressed with brand new animal skins on their way to Splash Mountain.

6. Honeypot Swing

Pooh's Honey Swing
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

Winnie the Pooh was a superstar of the 90s. Under the Eisner regime, this required a presence in the park. As such, everyone’s favorite bear immediately replaced a classic bear troupe that regularly performed across from Splash Mountain: Country Bear Jamboree (read about the original in this LOST LEGEND: Country Bear Jamboree). Even Teddi Berra didn’t survive the change, but her famous swing did. In the Heffalumps and Woosles scene, Pooh descends in a hot air balloon chowing down on honey. The mechanism that brings Pooh’s balloon up and down is the same mechanism that Teddi used to swing in on!

7.  Child Detection Agents: Actually Humans?

CDA Agent
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)

Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue replaced the daft Superstar Limo (which you can read more about in this DISASTER FILE: Superstar Limo). Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue has very few, mostly limited animatronics, but a few used to be the overly caricature Hollywood residents of Superstar Limos. Tim Allen, Jackie Chan, and even Whoopi Goldberg donned yellow jump suits and became Agents of the CDA. The old movie stars can be identified as they still hold the exact same poses as they did during Superstar Limo and even move in the same ways.